Ros Rants & Raves

Greetings!

Matt H.'s affiliate marketing success story in last weeks newsletter, http://NetProfitsToday.com/_npc/2003-09-30.html#thankyou, inspired a ton of questions about the affiliate marketing business.

One avid NPC reader wondered why I promote new products in almost every issue of the NPC, when I have my Super Affiliate Handbook to promote.

Well, let me tell ya.

The objective of the NPC is to share good information about what works and what doesn't in this business.

I learn what works and what doesn't because I'm constantly working on my own sites. To keep improving them, I do my best to keep abreast of new information and technology.

Fortunately, every week I get a pile of JV offers and product review requests from authors and software developers.

I read the ebooks and test the software, and then I tell you about the 10% that I like and find useful.

If you read a lot of the newsletters, you've probably noticed that I rarely talk about a product the week it's released. That's because some of the software takes time to show results.

Sure, I lose 'first-mover' advantage... but what good is that if I don't know for sure that it's REALLY a good product? I'd rather lose a commission or ten, than have you think that I gave you a bum steer.

The bulk of my business still resides in marketing products through affiliate programs that have nothing to do with Internet marketing... so I can afford to focus on quality over quantity.

As for promoting just my ebook, it takes information AND tools to build a business.

If I only told you to get the nail into the wood, without telling you about hammers, I wouldn't be doing my job.

Happy to share the wealth...

Cheers,
Rosalind
NetProfitsToday.com
SuperAffiliateHandbook.com
http://NetProfitsCoach.com

Teleseminar

Gary Knuckles and I had another great teleseminar about affiliate marketing last Thursday evening.

He asks the questions, and I ramble on and on and on. :-)

There IS a lot to tell, all of which (and MORE) is of course covered in the Super Affiliate Handbook.

The nice thing about the book is that you can refer to it over and over and over again.

SuperAffiliateHandbook.com

Gary only briefly mentioned his Internet Information Manger software at the end of the call.

I'll say this about that. I've tested it, and if I wasn't so comfortable with the information management system that I've developed over the last 6 years, I'd use his.

Of those I've reviewed and tested over the years, his is absolutely the best.

It's an excellent way to keep all of your affiliate/broker links, email contacts, usernames, passwords and all your other affiliate business information easily accessible.

If you're just starting out in this business, and don't yet have a 'system' for keeping track, take a look at IIM.

http://wetrack.it/budgetware/af.cgi?169

Clickbank Links and CBMall

There's been lots of news revolving around ClickBank lately and how they handle affiliate links. Since I recently told you about CBmall, the ClickBank Affiliate Storefront, I thought I'd check in with owner Jeff Mulligan to determine the impact of this on CBmall.

Here's what he said:

"Much of what ClickBank is doing is to improve security, but since CBmall already has advanced security built in, that part doesn't matter so much. At this point, they have stated that the old hoplink system will always work - good news for those with hoplinks in emails and eBooks. I am working closely with Dan Henderson, ClickBank's VP of marketing on this. Rest assured that whatever ClickBank does or does not do, CBmall will remain compatible."

Also, A lot of readers have asked me the following question about CBMall:

"Can I make money with CBmall even if I have no site?"

The answer is YES. You can promote CBmall through eZine ads, articles, forum postings, email signatures and offline methods like classified ads, flyers, business cards, press releases and more. Many of these methods are very low cost or even fr/ee.

To learn 15 ways to earn with CBMall, simply visit the site below:

http://www.CBmall.com/15ways.asp?storefront=webvista2

You Asked About... Getting Traffic

Rosalind,

I recently purchased the Super Affiliate Handbook and have been thoroughly enjoying every page of it!

(SuperAffiliateHandbook.com)

I have over 5 years as a full time software developer, both web and windows, in addition to marketing experience, and have been really excited to build a new website and start promoting several affiliate products.

My biggest concern is generating website traffic.

You did not make any mention inside your e-book of services where you can buy a bundle of hits to your website for a fixed dollar amount (ex: 25,000 guaranteed hits for $100, etc). Do you have any experience with this type of advertising medium? Is it legit?

Also have you ever heard of a site that claims to use server side scripting to detect search engines and emulate a site with hundreds of links, keywords, and pages to get your site listed near the top of major search engines. I know that you mentioned to stay clear from such technologies in your e-book, but after reading through the entire site they claim that out of over 1,000 customers only 2 have gotten in trouble. The way that the service offering is explained to me on the site sounds very appealing.

Another service reserves a set of keywords for MSN 8 users for flat fee of $1000-$1500 / yr. For example, if you had the service and a user of the MSN 8 browser types in affiliate program they would go straight to your site (just like how AOL keywords work). Have you ever used this before?

Best Regards,
Nick W Jabbour

For Nick and everyone else trying to get more traffic to their websites.... the quick answers to the above questions are ... no, no and NO.

I specifically don't talk about such methods (read 'ploys') in the Super Affiliate Handbook, because they're all useless.

1. Paying $100 for 25,000 guaranteed hits that are not targeted is a waste of money. That's like advertising guitars in a sewing magazine. What's the point? Only pay to drive traffic that is 'targeted' or specifically interested in your products.

2. What kind of company promises to get top search engine rankings for ALL of their customers? What if a hundred of those customers are working within the same topic? Would ALL of them still get top rankings? No! Obviously an empty promise, eh?

Besides, what if you were one of the two who 'got in trouble'? Are you willing to risk losing your entire business? Will that company pay for a new domain registration, build you a new web site, and pay for a new advertising and marketing campaign? It's not worth the risk.

3. Aaah... they keword ploy. About a year ago, I got sucked into an offer like that to the tune of $1500. The keyword phrase was 'dating service', which is one of my most popular keywords on the pay per clicks. After 8 months, all I received was two clicks. It took that much time and a whole lot of yelling to get my money refunded.

Focus your efforts on building a content and keyword-rich site and use those dollars to promote through ads in relevant ezines and the pay per clicks.

Minimum bids are still a penny at:

ah-ha.com
http://www.qksrv.net/click-1226911-9756453

Kanoodle
http://www.qksrv.net/click-168978-10274873

In addition to PPC traffic, you'll learn 28 more REAL ways to get traffic to your site by reading the Super Affiliate Handbook.

SuperAffiliateHandbook.com

Traffic Equalizer

NPC reader, Dave, asked me what I thought about Traffic Equalizer.

So I spent a chunk of Sunday thoroughly reviewing it.

I gave it a list of 2560 dating-related keywords, and it generated as many pages in slightly under five minutes. And the pages it generates aren't just gobbledy-gook garbage, either.

After seeing the results, I had enough confidence in the results to repeat the process with several more of my domains, and thousands more keywords.

Jeff Alderson, the software developer, used it to get traffic to a dating service review site (oh JOY!) that he built in June. He went from 103 visits at the end of June, to 30,067 visitors to the site by the end of September.

Time will tell how much additional traffic TE brings to my sites, and I'll let you know the results.

Judging by Jeff's previous success with the outstanding Adwords Analyzer, I'd be willing to bet the the results will be fabulous.

Adwords Analyzer
http://www.xybercode.com/ezGaffurl.php?offer=webvista2&pid=1

Traffic Equalizer
http://hop.clickbank.net/?webvista2/trafficeq

He Loves the Super Affiliate Handbook SO Much....

To prevent theft of the Super Affiliate Handbook, I use Bogdan Ravaru's Clickbank Automater software, which allows only one computer per order to access the Handbook. If an attempt is made to download another copy of the Handbook using the same receipt/transaction number, the software denies access to the book.

A few days ago, a customer who had been denied access, and didn't have access to his first copy of the ebook, left a message with my answering service.

I verified his receipt number and immediately emailed him another download link.

Here is how he responded...

Rosalind,

Thanks for your considerate reply.

However, last night I repurchased your fabulous book on Clickbank. So, at some point you might issue me a credit for one of the purchases.

Congratulations on a great book.

Thanks,
Richard Osorio

Now, that's a testimonial! :-)

If you haven't downloaded your FIRST copy of the Super Affiliate Handbook yet, you're missing out.

It explains step-by-step exactly what I did to make $430,000 last year with affiliate programs. I STILL do it, and now you can too!

SuperAffiliateHandbook.com