google
yahoo
bing

Ringtones Myspace Trends

5 People Speaking Their Mind - Put In Your Two Cents!

Posted on May 30, 2007 in Affiliate Tips, Google, Ringtones  

With affiliate Marketing and online marketing you come to watch trends to see whats hot and whats not. Before I run an offer i always search on Google Trends for the targeted terms just to see whats going on in the world of search. I look to see if it is holding steady, gaining ground or taking a nose dive. This helps me gage if i want to pour a little or a lot of dough into the project. I was just playing around and was checking out a few intersting trends.

Ringtones:

Ringtones Trend

As you can see volume wise ringtones were big in 2004 and 2005 and even into 2006 but has steadily dropped off. Overall what does that mean less people are searching for ringtones. Overall it means if you are only banking on Ringtones for you online income you should be looking elsewhere. I always say diversify just like with stocks. Uou never know when a hot niche will dry up or the cat will be out of the bag for your loss of huge profits.

Myspace:

myspace trend

As you can see and as everyone knows Myspace had a huge year in 2006 and continues to grow in 2007. But i have to ask the question of how many myspace accounts that are beign created now are done by marketers trying to bulletin and message spam the users. With the huge volume doesnt always mean huge profits as most people that have tried myspace you have to get large volume to make a buck.

With that said the real point fo the post is to utilize tools that are out there. Check out trends, see whats hot in the news, whats taking off, whats making a nose dive. Keep a pulse of what people are searching for find a way to market to them that isn’t the same hum drum way and you can turn it into big profits.

Clicks Don’t Equal Sales

2 People Speaking Their Mind - Put In Your Two Cents!

Posted on May 22, 2007 in Affiliate Tips, PPC  

I need a computer to count how many times I see a user post in a forum or send me an email saying. Affiliate marketing isn’t real i sent 10,000 visitors to the offer or site and didn’t get one lead. Usually the main reason it doesn’t convert is the traffic is untargetted or the traffic isn’t really traffic.

First there are programs/sites all over the net that will popup, under, intersestial for a split second your ad/landing page in a window then 98% of the time the user just closes it or it gets closed by a program. But the programs call these visitors when they aren’t. These are those get 10000 visitors for 5 bucks etc… I have tried one or two of these I won’t lie but the traffic is JUST TRASH!

Secondly I find people are taking the wrong traffic and pushing it to the wrong offer. Example one guy emailed me that his stuff wasn’t converting and he was pushing a ton of traffic to the offers. They were mortgage offers. Well the traffic he was pushing was myspace, screensaver type traffic. I told him there is his problem you can’t expect that traffic to convert for mortgage and debt, maybe other screensaver or zwinky or ringtone offers but not mortgage and debt. Don’t get me wrong that traffic may get a convert or 2 for mortgage and debt Just not a 1:2 or 1:4 return.

Some Tips:

1. Target your Traffic to Your offer (common sense you would think).

2. Get Cheap traffic don’t just rely on PPC look to CPM, direct advertising.

3. Track Your results by using your CPA networks Subid.

4. Before you buy traffic form a source search around google, forums and blogs to see what other people say about the traffic seller. (read no 5)

5. Just because a traffic source didn’t work for one person, doesnt mean it won’t work for you.  

6. When you have targetted traffic and it is working well. Play with your bids, and your ad copy to increase your return.

Remember clicks don’t equal sales.

CPA News You can use, Elite Retreat, Mothers Day and more

2 People Speaking Their Mind - Put In Your Two Cents!

Posted on May 2, 2007 in Affiliate Tips, Elite Retreat  

This week has been a very busy week for me with rolling out new campaigns and pushing old ones harder but it is working out great so far.

First of Elite Retreat… Time is running out to get your free ticket … only 48 hours to get your entry in.

Elite Retreat – Orlando Free Ticket & Room Contest (Only 48-Hours Remain) – SIGN-UP NOW!

WHAT: 48-HOURS REMAIN – FREE ELITE RETREAT – ORLANDO TICKET GIVEAWAY
WHEN: Ends at Midnight this Friday, May 4, 2007
CONTEST RULES: To enter for a chance to win free registration to the Elite Retreat, along with two nights free lodging and meals (breakfast & lunch) you will need to send an email to (contest(at)eliteretreat(dot)info). Please be sure to include your contact information, (name, email, address, phone number, and mailing address) and provide a stellar answer to ONE of the following questions by THIS Friday at midnight:

A) What do you feel the future of affiliate marketing holds for affiliates?

OR

B) What is the most powerful form of online advertising and why?

PRIZE: One lucky winner will be chosen from all responses submitted. Winner will receive one FREE Ticket to Elite Retreat – Orlando and two FREE nights lodging and meals (breakfast & lunch).

Next one is Mothers Day… are your campaigns ready… flowers, gifts, ecards and more are all great offers for mom. But don’t forget about product sales like jewelry or engraved items are always loved by mom well…. maybe more soo loved to be given to mom… as a mother loves anything with thought.

Lastly Summer is coming up and people are getting ready to travel… so get those summer time campaigns rolling and before you know it you will be rolling in the dough.  Hotels, Flights, Vacations, and much more are hot for the summer so don’t miss out.

Thats it nothing earth shattering today (besides the ER free ticket contest)… but maybe someone will find it usefull.

You are having success with a CPA offer now what?

5 People Speaking Their Mind - Put In Your Two Cents!

Posted on April 24, 2007 in Affiliate Tips, PPC  

So you are having success with a CPA offer, now what? I received this question via my contact form so i decided to answer it.
Here are a few questions that go thru my mind when i have success with a CPA offer:

1. Am I reaching all of the audience i can (Meaning advertising on other advertising networks, sites etc)
2. A. Should I create a landing page If i am sending it directly to the offer page (will it increase conversions?)
B. Can i improve My landing page/site?
3. Should I bid more to capture more clicks? or Should i bid less and see if my conversions hold? (I usually test both)
4. If I am not already setup to promote via Natural Search Engine rankings, is the offer going to last and make it worth it to target natural rankings?
5. Is there a similar offer that i can promote the same ways?
6. Can i target another audience with this offer?
7. Try different Ad copy to see if i can get better click thru ratio.
8. Have I researched enough Keywords?

So there are a few questions and thoughts to get you going and moving on to making more with CPA offers.

June 2007 Elite Retreat is Open for Registration

1 Person Speaking Their Mind - Put In Your Two Cents!

Posted on April 18, 2007 in Affiliate Tips, Elite Retreat  

Get your bags, laptops, business plans, and questions ready as the Registration for the June 2007 Elite Retreat in Orlando is open. For those that don’t know what Elite Retreat is, it is an opportunity to interact with some of the top minds in the business and having them critique your business plan, websites, and answer your questions. If that isn’t enough you also get one on one time with each speaker.  This is not a listen and hope to get one question in at the end of their sales pitch, like other conferences. Your questions are welcomed and answered with examples and input from all speakers. No matter where you are at in your business, it is an opportunity not to be missed. I attended the first Elite Retreat and my only regret was that i didn’t take better notes, but thats where the one-on-one coaching calls following the conference come in handy. So if you are looking to move your business upward and get advice from some of the best in the industry plan to attend Elite Retreat in Orlando.

Attendance for the Elite Retreat (June 8 & 9) – Orlando event is limited to 30 participants and is based on a first-come, first served basis. The Keynote Speaker will be Alex Zhardanovsky the Co-Founder of AzoogleAds. Other speakers at the Orlando Elite Retreat are Jeremy “Shoemoney” Schoemaker, Lee Dodd, Neil Patel, Kris Jones, and me ;)

I almost forgot the best part (Free Lodging) the Elite Retreat is having a Special Offer: For a limited-time, the cost of admission ($4950) to Elite Retreat includes FREE two-days lodging and FREE breakfast and lunch buffet at the host hotel ($750 value). Offer expires 4/30/07 or until tickets sell-out, whichever comes first.  Sign-up today at http://www.eliteretreat.info

How to Track Keywords & Tell Which Keywords Convert

50 People Speaking Their Mind - Put In Your Two Cents!

Posted on April 12, 2007 in Affiliate Tips, Keywords, PPC  

First off thanks to all those who have used the new contact form it works great… almost to great as i got TONS of questions. So i decided to answer my first one today which revolves around tracking keywords for your campaigns and how to tell which ones convert. The Actual Question is:

How do I know which KeyWord is converting the best? 

1. How Do You Know Which Keyword is converting best?

  • First you have to Track your Keywords either using 3rd party software, custom software or simple code.
  • The Simple code can take the searched Keyword and tag it in the subid placement.

Place this code in between your head tags:

<?php ob_start();

if(isset($_REQUEST['kw']))    

    {    

         $kw = preg_replace(‘/%20/’,’ ‘,$_REQUEST['kw']).”";

        $k1w = urldecode( $_REQUEST['kw'] ).”";  

    }    

    else    

    {    

       $k1w = NULL;  

    } 

?>

Place this code where you want the Keyword to appear in your Subid:

<? echo ( ( strlen( $k1w ) <6 ) ? “Default Text” : “$k1w\n” ) ; ?>

The Reason for the <6 is if the string is less than 6 characters the “Default Text” will be put in instead of Keyword brought in, u can change this number.

Now your Affiliate Link in your page will be like this:

“http://www.CPANETWORK.com/12345?subid=<? echo “$k1w\n”; ?>”

Now in Google or MSN you can Append your destination links with the Keyword Dynamically. So your destination Url will be:

http://www.somesite.com/?kw={Keyword}

Now once you Make thos changes your Keywords will be appearing in your Subid output in your CPA network. So you can see what keywords are producing leads and which ones aren’t.  No you know which ones are producing leads you can delete keywords that aren’t producing leads. Do make sure you give enough time to see if the keywords really perform or dont perform. As in you don’t want to delete a keyword that only has one click but didn’t convert you want to look more at higher volume keywords that don’t convert, because the smaller volume the next click could be a lead.

What to Promote for Easter

2 People Speaking Their Mind - Put In Your Two Cents!

Posted on April 4, 2007 in Affiliate Tips  

I can’t believe it but people are actually asking me what they should promote for Easter. To me seasonal and holiday stuff is a no brainer, just look what sells around those times and promote it. But for those that are really lazy here is a brief list from me of various things you can promote for Easter and should do decent with:

  1. Flowers (Duh)
  2. Easter Candy (Cabury eggs, chocolate etc…)
  3. Ecards (Electronic Cards of course the offer needs to be geared towards easter)
  4. Easter Gift Baskets
  5. Clothes (Specifically dresses many women by a dress just for Easter)
  6. Christian Gifts (Bibles, Christian Books etc..)

Ok there you have it now get to work and making money. I will say if you are just getting started promoting Easter stuff you are a little behind the ball, BUT you can still make money!

Super Affiliates and How much I Make

6 People Speaking Their Mind - Put In Your Two Cents!

Posted on April 3, 2007 in Affiliate Tips, Working Online  

Lately a lot of posts in various forums are asking questions of what classifies as a super affiliate and what various affiliate marketers make. So i decided to discuss this topic. 

What is a Super Affiliate. Honestly it depends on the program you use, some affiliate networks don’t have the volume and a super affiliate would be someone that brings in 5K a month, while some networks classify a super affiliate that bring in 10K and some may say its 100K a month. In my opinion if you are bringing in 10,000 or more a month you are a super affiliate and doing something right. But that is just my opinion.  (A funny story I was running a campaign for a biz thru linkshare a while back really just thru it up with no effort i was only sending like 5 leads/sales a day but i was spending next to nothing and the company contacted me after a month stating I was their highest earning affiliate, which was great for me as they made me custom ads etc.. and started sending them 20 leads with little effort on my part.)

Second, How much do i make… honestly it is none of your business… but I can say I make much more than i could have at my 9 to 5 with my electrical engineering degree. With that said instead of people posting how much do you make a day or how much you earn an hour etc. etc…   take those 5 minutes you wasted and turn that into 5 minutes of tests and tweaks to sites or campaigns. Those 5 minutes will be better spent that way. Sure seeing those checks or testimonies help to give you some pep in those down days but looking at other peoples big checks isn’t going to put that money in your pocket. Testing, tweaking, trying will.

Lastly only you know how much money is enough. Some people are happy making 50K a year some it takes 100K some 500K  or a million or more. Whatever money is enough for you it all starts with your first campaign and first landing page or offer and builds from their. Take what you know and can do and multiply it!

CPA Affiliate News You Can Use, Google CPA / PPA, Profit Margins, and Volume Traffic

2 People Speaking Their Mind - Put In Your Two Cents!

Posted on March 26, 2007 in Affiliate Tips, Google, PPC  

At CPA Affiliates we try to provide up-to-date information and news you can use. This week I will discuss a little about Google’s CPA or Google’s PPA whichever you want to refer to it as, Profit Margins on PPC to CPA Campaigns, and discuss What to do when Volume traffic isn’t there.

First on to Google’s CPA / PPA. If you haven’t heard yet you must be under a rock but Google have officially announced their PPA (Pay Per Action, basically same and CPA Cost Per Action) model for their advertising system. I think this is a good move fore google and an opportunity for advertisers but don’t think this will kill off all (if any) the CPA networks out there. There are MANY reasons why it won’t kill them off and honestly Shoemoney (Jeremy Schoemaker) made a great post adressing 6 reasons why Google’s model isn’t going to knock out CPA Networks.  No reason for me to reiterate what he said so check out his post.

Now on to PPC to CPA profit margins. I get asked all the time what profit margin should i shoot for. Well the best answer is the highest you can get. BUT with that said sometimes there is SOOOOooo much competition their isn’t a whole lot of margins out there. This is the key though. If you have the money profit is profit no matter how you look at it. But if you want most bang for your buck and have limited budget you want to go after bigger return items. There are many offers out there that you can get 3:1 4:1 2:1 and 1:1 returns. The  key is trial and error. Some campaigns i am happy to making 50% profit for what i spend while other campaigns i want 200% profit for what i spend. But to be honest if you got the money, i have a few on autopilot that i on get 10% return on it (better than any bank would give you for your money) but I leave it run because i have the spare cash and it doesn’t stop me from promoting other things or trying new projects.

Lastly I want to talk about volume traffic. This one is a kicker as people will contact me and say I got this campaign running I am getting good return but the traffic isn’t there i am only getting 1 or 2 or 3 leads a day. First off i tell them congrats on turning a profit some people go a month or two without much of any profit. Then I ask them what are you targeting and how many keywords are you using, usually the answer tha comes back is they are going after less than 100 keywords. Well there is the reason you aren’t getting volume. But many times by adding more keyowrds etc.. your return goes down and doesn’t make it worth while. But most importantly try adding more keywords targetting keywords that are a littl out of the box for what you are targeting sometimes you will be surprised with the converts, other times you won’t. Here is the real KEY if you can’t get volume and increase return stick with the low volume but try to replicate it with another offer. 10 dollars a day profit times 100 offers is 1K profit a day.

Which CPA Network is the Best?

7 People Speaking Their Mind - Put In Your Two Cents!

Posted on March 21, 2007 in Affiliate Networks, Affiliate Tips, CPA Networks  

I get asked this all the time which CPA Network is the best? Well honestly it is a tough question to answer but yet it is easy. It is easy to say what CPA Network is best for me but it is hard for me to say for sure what CPA network is best for you. I use MANY CPA Networks, but i do have a few choice networks that are my bread and butter. But this post isn’t about me it is about you and what CPA network will work best for you.

First, search the CPA networks, see who has good reviews and reputation with other webprenuers. You can do this by visiting blogs, forums and even searching for review of CPA Network X. Once you narrow your list down to 20 or 30… yes there are hundreds of CPA networks out there but the key is finding the right one for you.

Second, DON’T automatically signup for all those networks. Contact them and ask them about their offers, ask for a list of there offers (with links if possible) and even rates (not all will give you the list of rates but if you ask about specifc offers they will tell you). Now go through them and compare the various networks. See what networks have offers you want.

Third, ask about those specific networks in forums like digitalpoint or earners forum. People will tell you their thoughts and experiences. Don’t let one bad apple ruin it for you. Meaning if one poster is adimant about not using Network X but everyone else is posting good things most likely the guy was promoting spam or illegal stuff and got caught and didn’t get paid (for some reason these types also love to flame networks after they get booted).

Fourth, Make sure there terms and payout terms are to your liking, Signup and start promoting. If you start doing well ask for higher payouts, many people don’t even know they can ask for higher payouts. You can and will get them especially if you can send a nice number of leads. Also you can ask for quicker payouts which helps when promoting via PPC.

Fifth, If you find you don’t like your AM at the network ask for another one, or try another network. Find one that appreciates you and just doesn’t treat you like every other 2 bit out there.

Lastly,  There are times Exclusives are Truely Exclusives, when that is the case and you know you can promote that offer well signup for that network. I have signed up for 3 different networks only for 1 offer as they were the only ones that had it. BUT the more you are in the Affiliate market you will realize that even Exclusives aren’t always Exclusives. Meaning that another company may have that same offer but the exclusive may be on the design or layout (this can make a huge difference in your conversions at times, I was promoting one offer on one network then tried same offer with similar but different landing page and my conversions increased by 10%!).

I hope this helps those in their search for the best CPA Network. In the upcoming weeks I will post a list of all the CPA networks I currently use, notice i didn’t say signed up with as there are some networks i signed up with tried some things and never used them again.

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