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Affiliate Marketing in December: Wrap it Up

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Cyber Monday (see Affiliate Marketing in November) sales in 2011 were up 20 percent from a year earlier as of noon Eastern time according to International Business Machines Corp. (IBM) According to ComScore,online purchasing was forecast to rise to $1.2 billion from $1.03 billion last year.

And it's not just the Americans who made online sales records during the Christmas shopping frenzy. Folks all around the world seem to be happy to open their wallets during the festive season, even during a recession!

Offerings are as varied as the individual recipients, but there are definitely ‘staples' in the realm of gift-giving.

Think electronics, clothing, toys & games, books, jewelry, food & beverages, personalized items and keepsakes…. and oh, just go take a look at what's trending at Gifts.com Top Picks for Christmas to get very specific ideas. 🙂

And as is the case every other month of the year, December includes a number of holidays and unique special event days that you can tie into your affiliate marketing promotions.

Month-long celebrations:

  • Hi Neighbor Month
  • National Stress Free Family Holiday Month
  • Read A New Book Month
  • Safe Toy and Gift Month
  • Universal Human Rights Month
  • Write to a Friend Month

Most notable special days in December 2016:

  • December 11, Rosalind Gardner's birthday 🙂 (BTW, I stopped counting at 50.)
  • December 20, Hanukkah (begins at sundown the previous day)
  • December 25, Christmas
  • December 26, Kwanzaa
  • December 26, Boxing Day (UK, Canada, Ireland)
  • December 31, New Year’s Eve


Celebrations by Day in December 2011:

  • 1 Eat a Red Apple Day
  • 1 World Aids Awareness Day
  • 2 National Fritters Day
  • 3 National Roof over Your Head Day
  • 4 Santas' List Day – we hope you are on the “Nice” list
  • 4 Wear Brown Shoes Day
  • 5 Bathtub Party Day
  • 5 Repeal Day – The 21st Amendment ends Prohibition. I'll drink to that!
  • 6 St. Nicholas Day
  • 6 Mitten Tree Day
  • 6 Put on your own Shoes Day
  • 7 International Civil Aviation Day
  • 7 Letter Writing Day
  • 7 National Cotton Candy Day – would you like some fairy floss?
  • 7 Pearl Harbor Day
  • 8 National Brownie Day
  • 8 Take it in the Ear Day
  • 9 Christmas Card Day
  • 9 National Pastry Day
  • 10 Human Rights Day
  • 11 International Children's Day – Second Sunday in December
  • 11 National Noodle Ring Day
  • 12 National Ding-a-Ling Day
  • 12 Poinsettia Day
  • 13 Ice Cream Day
  • 13 Violin Day
  • 14 National Bouillabaisse Day
  • 14 Roast Chestnuts Day
  • 15 Bill of Rights Day
  • 15 National Lemon Cupcake Day
  • 16 National Chocolate Covered Anything Day
  • 17 National Maple Syrup Day
  • 18 Bake Cookies Day
  • 18 National Roast Suckling Pig Day
  • 19 Look for an Evergreen Day
  • 19 Oatmeal Muffin Day
  • 20 Go Caroling Day
  • 21 Forefather's Day
  • 21 Humbug Day
  • 21 Look on the Bright Side Day
  • 21 National Flashlight Day
  • 21 Winter Solstice – the shortest day of the year.
  • 22 National Date Nut Bread Day – or September 8!?
  • 23 Festivus – for the rest of us
  • 23 Roots Day
  • 24 Channukah – date varies
  • 24 National Chocolate Day
  • 24 National Egg Nog Day
  • 25 Christmas Day
  • 25 National Pumpkin Pie Day for recipes see Pumpkin Nook ‘s Cookbook
  • 26 Boxing Day
  • 27 Make Cut Out Snowflakes Day
  • 27 National Fruitcake Day
  • 28 Card Playing Day
  • 29 Pepper Pot Day
  • 30 National Bicarbonate of Soda Day
  • 31 Make Up Your Mind Day
  • 31 New Year's Eve
  • 31 Unlucky Day

My favorites (in addition to my birthday) are St. Nicholas Day (SinterKlaas in Dutch), the solstice, Festivus and Christmas. LOTS and LOTS of gift-exchanging to be done.

What are your plans for the festive season?

Did you find this post informative and useful? If so, please share it with others! If you have a comment, question or suggestion, please leave a comment below!

Cheers,
sig-ros

Where are the Jobs?

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As it is highly unlikely that U.S. Congress members will see past their differences during the current term to pass the Jobs Bill and put people to work, I did some research to find out what types of jobs are available.

Fortunately for those of you interested in making money online, the news is good!

I did a job search at SimplyHired each of the terms I selected showed an increase between 77 and 722 percent since November of 2009.

Here's the graph…

And here are the terms I searched…

  • Blog jobs increased 722%
  • blogging jobs increased 106%
  • web Design jobs increased 76%
  • facebook jobs increased 375%
  • wordpress jobs increased 734%
  • social Media jobs increased 257%
  • affiliate Manager jobs increased 132%
  • marketing jobs increased 77%

Hmmmm…. the 2 terms with the largest increase? Blog and WordPress.

That alone should tell you that there are jobs out there for those with writing (blogging) and WordPress design skills.

You got 'em – USE 'em to earn some coin.

For some ideas on how to use your skills, please see my Make Money Helping Local Businesses Start a Blog article.

If you don't know how to blog, learning has never been easier or less expensive than that available through my Academy (aka Affiliate Blogger PRO).

We supply tutorials, videos and a community forum to help you learn everything you need to know about blogging and affiliate marketing.

California Affiliates Get a One Year Reprieve

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After having my sites offline for over a week, I'm happy to return and share some reasonably good news that pertains to the Affiliate Nexus Tax.

Thanks to Amazon and other retailers in California, new legislation was passed that repeals the tax temporarily.

The retailers must lobby for a federal tax solution to be implemented by July 2012, or the Nexus tax will resume in September 2012.

So… like I said, it's reasonably good news.

You can get your Amazon links back out there for the upcoming holidays, OR go for the Skimlinks alternative, which lets you promote Amazon through a 3rd-party.

To read more about the current situation in California, please read California Legislature Passes Legislation: 1 Year Reprieve of Affiliate Nexus Tax on the PMA site.

Affiliate Marketing: How Long Does it Take to Make Money?

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“How long does it take to make money as an affiliate marketer?” is a question I get asked almost every day.

Rather than spell (type) everything out in an article, I decided to make a video to try and answer that almost unanswerable question. 🙂

Thoughts, questions or suggestions? Please leave a comment below!

Cheers,

Ros

Affiliate Promotions on Craigslist

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Well, I've just come across another example of an affiliate marketing coach who charges through the nose for training that takes people down a path leading to nothing more than a waste of time and effort.

In this case, the affiliate ‘coach' teaches his students how to place ads for Clickbank products on Craigslist.

If you've come across this advice — request a refund and leave the program now!

Under Craigslist's Terms of UseSection 7, subsection k, you must agree

… not to post, email, or otherwise make available Content that constitutes or contains “affiliate marketing,” “link referral code,” “junk mail,” “spam,” “chain letters,” “pyramid schemes,” or unsolicited commercial advertisement; …

Obviously, that includes posting ads that link directly to Clickbank products, which is exactly what he advises.

UGH!

Perhaps, that's something that worked for him in the past — but teaching it as an affiliate marketing method to new students of the topic is just wrong… especially when the lesson is part of his “Quick Start” series.

Seriously, if he's teaching this crap, how can you trust any of his other advice?

So, like I said before, if you see this video in your training package, just cancel that $200 per month subscription and join a REAL affiliate training program – Affiliate Blogger PRO – (shameless self-promotion of my own product).

I specialize in sharing REAL, honest promotional methods that work (and don't abuse Terms of Service) — but only if YOU work. 🙂

Affiliate Marketing in August: Potatoes and Sea Serpents

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Researching August holidays and celebrations proved once again that assumptions can be oh so wrong!

I was amazed by the number of named days and monthly celebrations that came up.

My favorites by far are Play in the Sand Day, Bad Poetry Day (which I definitely will not celebrate), Kiss and Make Up Day and Rice Pudding Day – which I will celebrate with Vietnamese rice pudding made from rice vermicelli. YUM!!!

Here are 2 lists of all the holidays and celebrations coming up in August.

Days to Celebrate in August

  • 1 National Raspberry Cream Pie Day
  • 2 National Ice Cream Sandwich Day
  • 3 National Watermelon Day
  • 4 U.S. Coast Guard Day
  • 5 Work Like a Dog Day
  • 6 National Mustard Day first Saturday
  • 6 Wiggle Your Toes Day
  • 7 Friendship Day – First Sunday in August
  • 7 International Forgiveness Day – First Sunday in August
  • 7 National Lighthouse Day
  • 7 Sisters Day – First Sunday in August
  • 8 Sneak Some Zucchini onto Your Neighbor's Porch Day – now that's nasty!
  • 9 Book Lover's Day
  • 9 Chinese Valentine's Day/Daughter's Day – 7th day of 7th Lunar Month
  • 10 Lazy Day
  • 10 National S'mores Day
  • 11 Presidential Joke Day
  • 11 Son and Daughter Day
  • 12 Middle Child's Day
  • 13 Left Hander's Day
  • 14 National Creamsicle Day
  • 14/15 V-J Day – which date do you celerate as the end of WWII?
  • 15 Relaxation Day – now this one's for me!
  • 16 National Tell a Joke Day
  • 17 National Thriftshop Day
  • 18 Bad Poetry Day
  • 19 Aviation Day
  • 20 National Radio Day
  • 21 Senior Citizen's Day
  • 21 Summer Olympics ends in Rio
  • 22 Be an Angel Day
  • 22 National Tooth Fairy Day – and/or February 28
  • 23 Ride the Wind Day
  • 24 Vesuvius Day
  • 25 Kiss and Make Up Day
  • 26 National Dog Day
  • 26 Women's Equality Day
  • 27 Global Forgiveness Day
  • 27 Just Because Day
  • 28 Race Your Mouse Day -but we are not sure what kind of “mouse”
  • 29 More Herbs, Less Salt Day
  • 30 Frankenstein Day
  • 30 Toasted Marshmallow Day
  • 31 National Trail Mix Day

Month-Long Celebrations in August

In terms of month-long celebrations, I know that there are many of you who will join me in celebrating National Golf month.

  • Admit You're Happy Month
  • Family Fun Month
  • National Catfish Month
  • National Eye Exam Month
  • National Golf Month
  • Peach Month
  • Romance Awareness Month
  • Water Quality Month
  • National Picnic Month

In terms of affiliate marketing, I think the foodies win this one hands down.

Seriously, who with a food blog could resist doing a “Happy Potato Day” post?

Hmmm… that could be fun to do on almost any blog.

Maybe we should make it a movement – 'cause who doesn't love potatoes?

Note: If you've never been, the best potatoes in the world are grown and cooked in Ecuador. Their Locro de Papa soup (Potato-Cheese Soup With Avocado) is probably the world's ultimate comfort food… and a heart attack waiting to happen.

OK, that was an aside. What would you sell to celebrate Potato Day?

Mr. Potato Head of course!

Alright, that was perhaps a little over the top, but you can see how letting your mind wander (and get a little twisted) will fire those neurons to come up with unique ideas — stuff no one else is blogging about — even when it seems like there's NOTHING to blog about in a given month.

OK, now start thinking about sea serpents!

Did you find this post informative and useful? If so, please share it with others! If you have a comment, question or suggestion, please leave a comment below!

Cheers,
sig-ros

Affiliate Marketing in July: Start the Party

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July is the month for national day celebrations in Canada and the U.S., i.e. Canada Day on July 1st and Independence Day in the U.S. on July 4th.

Happy Canada Day!
Happy Independence Day!

Here is a list of all holidays and observances that present affiliate marketing opportunities for July 2016:

  • 1 Canada Day / Dominion Day
  • 1 Creative Ice Cream Flavors Day
  • 1 International Joke Day
  • 2 I Forgot Day
  • 2 World UFO Day
  • 3 Build A Scarecrow Day – first Sunday in month
  • 3 Compliment Your Mirror Day
  • 3 Disobedience Day
  • 3 Stay out of the Sun Day
  • 4 Independence Day (U.S.)
  • 4 National Country Music Day
  • 4 Sidewalk Egg Frying Day- Hmmmm, I wonder why!?!
  • 5 Work-a-holics Day – even though everyone is on holiday
  • 6 International Kissing Day
  • 6 National Fried Chicken Day
  • 7 Chocolate Day
  • 7 National Strawberry Sundae Day
  • 8 Video Games Day
  • 9 National Sugar Cookie Day
  • 10 Teddy Bear Picnic Day
  • 11 Cheer up the Lonely Day
  • 11 World Population Day
  • 12 Different Colored Eyes Day
  • 12 Pecan Pie Day
  • 13 Barbershop Music Appreciation Day
  • 13 Embrace Your Geekness Day
  • 13 Fool's Paradise Day
  • 14 Bastille Day
  • 14 Pandemonium Day
  • 14 National Nude Day
  • 15 Tapioca Pudding Day
  • 15 Cow Appreciation Day- Go out and give a cow a hug
  • 16 Fresh Spinach Day
  • 17 National Ice Cream Day (third Sunday of the month)
  • 17 Peach Ice Cream Day
  • 17 Yellow Pig Day
  • 18 National Caviar Day- something's fishy here
  • 19 National Raspberry Cake Day
  • 20 National Lollipop Day
  • 20 Moon Day
  • 20 Ugly Truck Day- it's a “guy” thing
  • 21 National Junk Food Day
  • 22 Hammock Day
  • 22 Ratcatcher's Day
  • 23 National Hot Dog Day
  • 23 Vanilla Ice Cream Day
  • 24 Amelia Earhart Day
  • 24 Cousins Day
  • 24 Parent's Day – fourth Sunday in July
  • 25 Culinarians Day
  • 25 Threading the Needle Day
  • 26 All or Nothing Day
  • 26 Aunt and Uncle Day
  • 27 Take Your Pants for a Walk Day
  • 28 National Milk Chocolate Day
  • 29 National Lasagna Day
  • 30 National Cheesecake Day
  • 30 Father-in-Law Day
  • 30 International Day of Friendship
  • 31 Mutt's Day
  • 31 System Administrator Appreciation Day

Let the parties begin!

Any affiliate in almost any niche can help their readers celebrate by sharing ideas for:

  • Party invitations
  • Party decorations (think flags)
  • Barbeque recipes
  • Drink recipes and ideas – my favorites, beer in a Canadian flag wetsuit (see pic below) or a Caesar in a glass with a Canadian flag drink umbrella 🙂
  • Themed dessert recipes
  • Party Games

Having hosted more than a few Canada Day block parties, I think of all those things that you need to support a crowd:

  • BIG fancy ice buckets to hold beer and other drinks on the patio
  • Shade umbrellas
  • Flags (LOTS and lots of flags)
  • Balloons
  • Holiday Tableware (suggest plastic items for pool parties)
  • Themed yard ornaments and pool toys
  • Canvas chairs with Canadian flags (or hockey team logos)
  • Beach towels with flags (no need for a pool, a sprinkler for the kids will do)

BTW, if you do a Google search for “Canada Day Party” with or without quotes, you should see 2 listings with some of my Canada Day party pictures come up from years past. 🙂

Good SEO, eh?

Check out how I Got a First Page Google Listing in Only 9 Seconds.

Because it was a Canada Day, part of our requirement to attend the party was to wear something red and white… so patriotic clothing is another suggestion you can share with your visitors.

And after you've finished getting your site together to help your visitors celebrate the holidays, take time to read these 2 motivational articles about gaining independence through having your own business:

Did you find this post informative and useful? If so, please share it with others! If you have a comment, question or suggestion, please leave a comment below!

Cheers,
sig-ros

P.S. Independence and national holiday celebrations occur throughout the year in other countries. For an extensive list of national days around the globe, please visit Wikipedia – National Days.

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