After I wrote one newsletter, queued up 5 blog posts, wrote more specifications for the developers of my software project, consulted with a partner on an ongoing project via Google talk, consulted with another partner about a planned project via email , read through dozens of email, processed the day's checks and did some affiliate marketing research – when the snow started coming down in HUGE “Toronto-type” flakes this afternoon, I just HAD to take a break and build this snowman. 🙂
Time to Affiliate with Apple iTunes
A December 27th press release from Hitwise reported that Apple iTunes visits skyrocketed by 413 percent on Christmas Day.
NEW YORK, NY – December 27, 2006 – Hitwise, the world's leading online competitive intelligence service, today announced that the market share of visits to the iTunes website was up 413 percent on Christmas Day 2006 (December 25, 2006) versus Christmas Day 2005 as new iPod
owners flocked to the web to download iTunes.
In addition, the market share of visits to the Apple Store (store.apple.com) showed an increase of 110 percent when comparing Christmas Day 2006 to 2005. The Apple Store was the fourth most visited website in the Hitwise Retail Index on Christmas Day 2006.”
So, isn't it time you signed up for the Apple iTunes and Apple Store affiliate programs and caught the rest of those folks who are downloading music for their new iPods?
Are You Flushing Potential Commissions?
So, the checks are coming in regularly and you're quite happy with what you are making on that particular offer… so it's on to the next project.
Not so fast!
You may be flushing commission potential down the proverbial drain and not even know it!
Did you know that some companies have multiple affiliate program offers with different payout rates, but that those offers aren't necessarily available all in one place?
For example, the CPA network eAdvertising.com, sent this announcement about an offer for Relationships.com…
A Christian Dating site that helps to ‘Bring Christian Singles Together.' Very modern and relevant for today's dating campaigns, and is not overtly religious. Pays $3.50 on EVERY profile signup.
Now, if you visit Relationships.com and click on the ‘Affiliates' link, you'll see that it is part of the Sparks network of affinity-focused personals sites.
Under Program Payout Scale you'll see:
You will earn 55% of the first-time sale for any of your visitors who sign up as a paying member.*
If you refer other webmasters to our affiliate program, you will earn 10% of the commissions they make.
However, nowhere on the affiliate signup page does it mention a CPA offer of $3.50 per profile signup.
Which offer is better?
Well, that depends on your traffic. If you have LOTS of traffic to send, I'd recommend the CPA offer. On the other hand, if you have a mailing list of loyal subscribers who might be interested in purchasing one of the services that MingleMatch offers, I'd recommend the percentage payout program.
The point is to look for different offers.
If you receive a notice from a CPA network about an interesting offer for a particular company, check the company's website and see what they offer through their in-house program.
Too, you should check to see whether they make different offers through the big networks, eg. CJ.com and Linkshare.
Do your homework to maximize your affiliate income.
For more affiliate marketing tips and strategies, get the “The Super Affiliate Handbook: How I Made $436,797 in One Year Selling Other People's Stuff Online†by Rosalind Gardner.
New Year’s Resolutions: Your Turn
I made my ‘short list' of New Year's resolutions public which is one of the ways that I stay true and on track with my goals.
So, now it's your turn. 🙂 In what ways do you plan to grow your Internet and affiliate marketing business this year? Will you…
- Build a web site? Re-design your existing site for improved conversions?
- Set specific goals to increase your income?
- Start a subscriber list? Find ways to build your current list bigger?
- Invest in training or adopt a mentor?
- Start a blog? Learn to use social bookmarking techniques?
- Produce more or better content?
Tell us what your plans are by leaving a comment below – then commit to the process. We'll be doing follow-up with you! 🙂
Happy New YEAR!
My List of Resolutions is Short this Year
Last year around this time I shared my New Year's resolutions for 2006 with you.
As resolutions go, I kept some and broke some. However, considering my overall income increased by 17% and I managed to take even MORE vacations than usual, I have to conclude that 2006 was a pretty darned fine year.
So on to 2007. I'm keeping my resolutions pretty basic this year – In a nutshell, I plan to double both the income increase (to at least 34%) as well as the amount of time I take off.
How do I plan to accomplish that? Well, basically, by being more productive, increasing the size of my subscriber lists and the amount that I communicate with my visitors and subscribers.
Pretty simple, eh? And as I succeed in those ventures, I plan to share the “how-to's” with YOU. So, stay tuned!
Fastest Growing Online Product Categories
On December 28th, comScore Networks released its estimates of consumer online non-travel (retail) spending at U.S. sites for the 2006 holiday season through Tuesday, December 26.
According to the press release, “total online retail spending reached $23.11 billion, marking a 26-percent increase versus the corresponding days in 2005. Sales during the week prior to Christmas (December 18 – December 22, 2006) rose 38 percent versus the corresponding week in 2005. Importantly, year-to-date non-travel e-commerce spending surpassed the $100 billion mark for the first time ever on Saturday, December 23, 2006“.
If you are looking for a new niche market to work on in 2007, here are the fastest growing online product categories…
If you think those niches are completely saturated with competition and therefore not worth your time or effort, think again.
You can survey your potential competition and then do it better. Go narrower and deeper within the category, sell higher quality goods, or offer better prices. Most importantly, brand yourself in a unique way that makes YOU and your affiliate site memorable in your visitors' minds.
Don't run scared from big markets – take advantage of them!
YOU are Person of the Year for 2006
Congratulations! TIME Magazine named “YOU†Person of the Year for 2006. Why? According to the December 2006 issue of the magazine, “In 2006, the World Wide Web became a tool for bringing together the small contributions of millions of people and making them matter.â€
Jeremy Palmer and I also identified user-generated content as one of the most significant growth areas in 2006 during our GotoWebinar “Affiliate Marketing in 2007: The Outlook†call last week.
Also significant was the growth in API's for affiliate marketers such as Amazon.com Webservices, the eBay Developer Program and Commission Junction's free Web Services for Publishers and Advertisers.
Are you using the tools, contributing more to the webscape and branding yourself as a source of great information within your market? If you feel like you could do more in that regard and you missed the call, not to worry. Although the call won't be posted, we'll have much more information to help you build your affiliate marketing] business in the next few months. That's a Hint. 🙂