So the 2010 a4uawards are nearly upon us, and today the team have announced that nominations are open for the “community choice” element of the awards. Somewhat disappointingly, only five of the 25 awards up for grabs will be decided by the coalface workers of the Affiliate Marketing industry, with the remaining 80% of the awards decided for us by a “panel of experts”. That’s why it’s even more important than ever to ensure that your voice is heard by nominating your favourite people for the following awards:

Community Choice (Publisher) – This is a new award for 2010, and one that I think could do with some narrowing of the criteria: on what grounds should we be nominating/voting in this category? Should we be looking to reward the best newbies who went from £0 to full time in 2009? Or the affiliates who took time away from their own businesses to help others out tremendously (think Smingle)? Or will the networks be voting en masse for the names that appear on the top of their balance sheets?

Affiliate Marketing Blog of 2010 – This is the category that I was somehow shortlisted in last year, although deservedly I was nowhere near the winning post, with the excellent Affiliate Stuff scooping the top prize, and Lee McCoy getting a highly commended. It’s going to be hard to dislodge those two from the top – could newcomers Affiliate Doctors or Mark Boyd get your vote?

Publisher’s Choice – Account Manager at a Network – IIRC, this was a combined network/agency/merchant award last year? There was certainly some confusion with a similarly titled award I seem to recall. Anyway, it’s clear as day this year – What account manager has gone the extra mile for you?

Publisher’s Choice – Affiliate Manager – Who’s your favourite Affiliate Manager (not at a network)? In fairness there’s at least 10 affiliate managers I can think of who would be thoroughly deserving of this award, going well beyond the day job and help make their affiliates’ lives easier.

Publisher’s Choice – Affiliate Network – Can anyone topple Affiliate Window and stop them winning for the fourth year running? I can’t see it myself, but then perhaps you think differently?

If so (and that goes for any of the awards), then you need to make your voice is heard – and the only way to do that is to nominate your favourite affiliate (sorry, I don’t agree with “publisher” but that’s a debate for another day), blog, network account manager, affiliate manager and network to ensure they make the shortlist.

Of course once the shortlist is announced, then the annoying “vote for me” campaigns begin in ernest. Now I’m not convinced that such campaigns have any effect at all, as I believe that most people cast their votes based on their own experiences and opinions over the previous 12 months (I know I do!) rather than obeying a mass email/banner/facebook campaign demanding “vote for me, even though I’ve done bugger all for you in the last 12 months”

So, get your nominations in now – you’ve got until the 1st March to do so. If you don’t nominate your favourite person/company and they’re not shortlisted, then you’ll only have yourself to blame!

Originally written by Lammo.net, a blog all about Affiliate Marketing

a4uawards nominations now open – make sure your voice is heard!

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3. a4uawards – Last chance to nominate

Why is it that so many people want to get into affiliate marketing? Common reasons include the lure of a working week that may potentially require just a few hours input for a huge return; the chance to work from home, to make your own hours and to fashion an online empire whilst wearing your pants and eating toast.

The great part of this idealised vision is that for many people it can become a reality with determination, skill and a little luck. However, the deciding factor that makes most people give up the day job and stick with affiliate marketing is the day job itself. Relatively few people who work in an office all day enjoy their work and affiliate marketing provides for some the ultimate escape route to do what they love every day, to wake up to something that’s as stimulating and exciting as it is frightening and adventurous.

However, it’s just as easy to get rid of the day job and then start an affiliate marketing venture that ends up becoming just as much of a chore as your previous job — only now you’ve got to rely on yourself for your income. This will cause the sense of escape and self reliance that you began to feel to drift into the crushing apprehension of yet another tedious, unlovable routine. Must it be like this? No.

There are many reasons why people end up quitting affiliate marketing because they’ve become disinterested or disillusioned by it at an early stage. This is usually because they’ve attempted to do something that a) they don’t enjoy and b) has already been done a million times by countless other affiliates with varying levels of success. For this discussion let’s use the example of voucher code sites. They’re currently a popular focus with new and existing affiliates alike, in no small part due to the relatively simple set up process and because the web is swamped with ready made ways in which to build them.

However, is there anyone out there who can say that running a voucher code site would inspire passion and interest in them? Doubtless a tiny percentage of those running them. And is there anyone who genuinely thinks that they could start a site which would be able to fend off intense competition in battling its way to the top of the search engine rankings in an already saturated market? The answer is almost certainly no. This goes for other similarly popular affiliate ventures such as shopping directories and cashback sites. Unless you have some REAL competitive advantage coupled with an all-consuming passion for these areas, consider other options.

The main point here is that there are plenty of great affiliate ideas out there already, but to avoid simply jumping on the bandwagon only to fall off and be crushed beneath its wheels, you must realise that each and every one of us has the potential to think of some original, unique and above all profitable angles of our own. The best way in which to do this is to sit down with a pen and paper and write down your main interests/hobbies/distractions or indeed vices. From the list, look at each and try to think of one or two decent affiliate ideas, then see if anyone else has thought of them.

It’s all about finding a niche in the market and filling it before someone else does. Once you’ve hit upon an idea in this way the chances are that building a site, doing the necessary research and recruiting link partners and merchants to feature on it will not just be easier, but it will be enjoyable too. If you’re already passionate about a subject and you base an affiliate site around it then adding content which is interesting and unique won’t require much effort as you’ll already be brimming with ideas and information. The key to making an affiliate site that will perform is, after all, not just to have the idea in the first place but to follow through on it.

We are not for a moment suggesting that absolute uniqueness is the only route to success. Many a good affiliate has identified existing markets where the level of competition is manageable and has simply created a site or sites that improve on those of the competition by a margin, often relatively small. Clearly for an affiliate site to be viable, there must be consumers and merchants so the market place must already exist. In many cases it is therefore about a creative approach to an existing market. Your passion and commitment to the subject may, in many cases, be the factors that distinguish you from your rather more average competitors. Visitors will recognise this, as may well the search engines over time given the ever greater importance of time on site and click-through ratios.

For many, the real prize may be nothing more than being there at school home time or being the only working parent at your toddler’s first school play. The sleepless nights over finances, the regular questioning of your own abilities, the frustration of the many failures along the way: all of these count for nothing at these moments. At the end of the day affiliate marketing can be a viable alternative to the ‘real’ world of employment and should be as much about enjoying your work as it is about making money. Many of us frequently try and define ’success’ in an affiliate marketing context. The real answer can be found quite easily by looking in the mirror each morning.

Originally written by Lammo.net, a blog all about Affiliate Marketing

Do what you love.. Love what you do

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19th January 2009 was the day we finally released the very first public beta version of Easy Content Units, and what a whirlwind year it’s been – the system has been tweaked literally (take note Jamie Redknapp!) hundreds of times to take on board new features, suggestions and improvements from users, of which there are now nearly 1,300! Amazingly, this tool that we created initially for use on our own sites has generated more than 24 million impressions on other users sites in the previous 12 months – not bad from a standing start!

To help celebrate our first anniversary, we’d like to invite you to take a peek at what the Pro version of ECU can do, with a very special £1 offer.. With ECU Pro, you get:

ECU Pro usually costs £19.99+vat per month, however if you join via the button below you can try it out for just £1. Yup, the full version of ECU Pro, for a whole month, for the princely sum of a quid (including vat). This is a strictly limited offer for the first anniversary of Easy Content Units, and will expire at midnight on the 1st February 2010.

Sorry, this offer has now ended. However, please click here if you would like further information about ECU Pro.

Originally written by Lammo.net, a blog all about Affiliate Marketing

Happy Birthday to ECU!

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Many people get into affiliate marketing not just because they’ve heard about the money that’s to be made, but because they want to get away from office politics, the grumpy boss or the daily commute that can be such a pain. Or all of the above.

One of the ‘perks’ of affiliate marketing is that you can work from home, setting your own hours and sitting in your dressing gown whilst you work. Sounds great, right? Well, working from home isn’t always as peachy as it sounds. Sometimes, it just plain sucks.

First and foremost there’s the loneliness. While office work can be boring and commuting can be frustrating there’s always something to look forward to, whether it’s catching a bit of fresh air at lunch or chatting to your work mates about last night’s telly around the water cooler. Plenty of important relationships are formed at work, but working from home largely removes any chance of this happening. Of course there’s a big part of affiliate marketing that’s about forming relationships with merchants and with fellow affiliates, but there’s little chance of a face-to-face on a daily basis and reading emails or talking on the phone are not really substitutes for banter and the bustle of human proximity in an office. Interaction with other people doesn’t just have an impact on your levels of loneliness, it’s also linked to many other emotions. If you’ve gone from having a job with regular interaction to working from home there’s a high chance that your levels of motivation, productivity and general happiness could all potentially deteriorate. Being on your own in an empty house or flat doesn’t give you much incentive to get on with working and the internet itself is so full of juicy distractions that a seriously fragmented workflow can sometimes follow.

Part of this problem is a complete lack of feedback as to how you’re really doing. The size of commission payments is all very well and good as a measure of financial success but in the absence of direct feedback it can be hard to tell if you are doing as well as you could — or should. Whilst many people working from home will have family or friends around for certain portions of the day to stave off the basic loneliness, without colleagues around to give you obvious (and subliminal) hints as to your progress at work as well as your capacity as a sociable human being, some people can find themselves becoming lethargic and poorly motivated simply because they feel underappreciated and unrewarded. You may have felt under-valued in the “day job” but at least you had some feedback!

The realities of being your own boss are simple: as a boss, you tend not to treat yourself particularly kindly. Because much of the support you get from human contact at work happens at a subconscious level, when you start working from home there’s a chance that you’ll begin to feel frustrated and depressed but you simply won’t know why. Almost as mirror issue to this one, working from home might reduce your ability to cope with personal interaction as your daily conversations are limited to emails and the two dimensional medium that is the phone. Being able to interact face to face with other humans on a professional and personal level is something that needs constant practice and a home worker can all too easily lose their edge or – worse – start to actively avoid such encounters.

There are also health factors. Affiliate marketing and working from home both encourage a very sedentary lifestyle. You can spend hours writing content, seeking out keywords and scouring forums for inspiration whilst barely moving a muscle. As the old expression suggests, a healthy body is linked to a healthy mind, so your health is not something to be neglected. However, the temptation when working from home is to sit in your work area, drink sugary hot drinks and eat superficially gratifying by overly fattening foods. A lack of motivation and interaction can lead to depression and boredom which in turn lead to overeating, under exercising and an ever expanding waistline.

Finally there are the distractions. If you have a family there is a very strong chance that you’ll feel far more obliged to spend time with them that you would otherwise have spent working on your affiliate sites. This is part of the reason that so many affiliates work late into the night because their days are taken up with domestic comings and goings and other distractions: that leaking gutter can seem so appealing when faced with writing a particularly challenging piece of content . ..

Right – gutter fixed, back to work. The lack of structure to a working day and the often nocturnal working pattern can lead to irregular sleep patterns which, in turn, can exacerbate health issues and create a long term sense of weariness.

Ultimately there are plenty of drawbacks to what, on the surface of things, may seem to be an idyllic working environment. Understanding and accepting that they exist is, of course, the key to ensuring that you address them head on when embarking upon an affiliate career – or indeed any other primarily home-based role. Whilst we have to a large highlighted some of the worst-case scenarios in working from home, the truth is that your own ability to adapt to working from home is entirely subjective and different for each person. An environment which might be a struggle for some is one in which others will thrive. It’s also important to note that most people who talk about the pains of working from home are most likely still doing it many years after they gave up the office environment.

The good news is that for each and every hazard there are plenty of equally powerful positive aspects and approaches to working from home which we will examine in another post here at Lammo.net.

Originally written by Lammo.net, a blog all about Affiliate Marketing

Working from Home sucks!

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Sometimes being an affiliate is absolutely brilliant and many of the benefits of working from home are immediately obvious to anyone who has ever had to deal with the daily grind of office work or the daily commute.

Here we are briefly exploring some of the more obvious benefits that make working from home a rocking alternative, as well as throwing in a few of the hidden benefits which aren’t as easy to identify without having experienced working from home for yourself.

Firstly there is of course the removal of the daily commute from your schedule. Not only does commuting take time out of your day and causes millions of people unnecessary stress on a daily basis but it is also a huge cost consideration. Commuting can cost thousands a year, whether you’re using public transport or covering the costs of running a car and that’s before you consider the impact it has upon the environment. Working from home makes you greener and better off – fact! It also generally improves your mental wellbeing as you won’t have to sit in traffic, endure the nuances of those particularly irritating fellow commuters or indeed base your home near to your office. This will further free you up to choose where you live. The internet is a truly global marketplace: as long as you’ve got access to a decent broadband connection you can take your work anywhere. Whether you’re working in a croft in the Highlands or a Penthouse in the City you’ll be able to make just as much money.

Next there’s the food. Working from home means you’ll never again have to guiltily munch on an overpriced, under-nourishing sandwich. You can not only reduce the costs of lunch every day but you can improve its health benefits by making your own healthy alternative every day. Even simply strolling to the shops without the constraints of a lunch hour is a huge benefit in its own right. You can also avoid the lunchtime rush and do whatever you need to keep your general health levels up. This means that off-peak gym membership is an option: you can skip the busiest times of the day for this – and indeed for everything you do. This is of course linked to managing your own working time and for many people their most productive period of the day isn’t defined by the set hours in an office. As an affiliate you can create your own timetable that suits you, with many people finding that working late or starting early is far better for them than adhering to the 9 to 5.

Choosing your working space and adapting it to your own requirements and tastes is yet another major benefit of working from home. Creating a room that functions as your office and which is organised to tease the best work out of you doesn’t need to take long or even cost very much and you should end up with something that is a far cry from the clutter, confinement and claustrophobia of the average soulless office cubicle.

Perhaps one of the less obvious benefits of working from home is the potential for serious, hard core concentration that you just can’t get in the office environment. Most people find that if they’re working without distraction at something that interests and stimulates them they will become more productive and able to maintain good productivity levels over a longer period of time. Working at home is conducive to getting your head in ‘the zone’ in contrast with so many office environments in which co-workers, time restrictions, endless meetings and other distractions sometimes make decent concentration levels all but impossible.

There is of course the worry that you’ll be negatively impacted by the lack of direct feedback from colleagues whilst working from home. In practice you will generally find that if you’re given the time and the opportunity to work on a project alone, make mistakes and learn lessons, you’ll have a far more enriching experience than one that is subjected to constant scrutiny and micro management by others.

Whilst most of us are essentially social beings and fear we may struggle in the absence of office-based human contact, the reality is that we simply find new means by which to interact. The affiliate industry offers plenty of events and opportunities for face to face networking and the building of lasting relationships. There are networks, fellow affiliates and merchants to engage with on the telephone, via various online forums and in meetings where appropriate. The point here is that YOU are setting the agenda and YOU can determine how much face to face contact you need and plan accordingly. If you are in a meeting with someone it is because you want to be there.

As you have probably gathered, I’m quite a fan of working from home, though I hope you’re aware that just as there are upsides there are always downsides to consider alongside them. Ultimately how you respond to working at home and how you change your habits to fit in with the new lifestyle depends upon your personal tastes. If you like the structure of an office day there’s no reason that you can’t apply similar constraints to your day whilst working from home, it all depends on your discipline levels and personal preferences.

For many of those working at home, there is, above all, one priceless benefit: they can structure their work around precious and irrecoverable time with their families. Not the other way around.

Originally written by Lammo.net, a blog all about Affiliate Marketing

Working from home rocks!

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Series three, episode one, of the Dragons’ Den aired on August 3rd 2006. James Seddon walked into the Dragons’ Den asking for £75,000 of the Dragons’ ‘hard earned’ money, in return for a 10 per cent stake in his business. James started his pitch by describing how nutritious eggs are and how they make the perfect breakfast food, but continued by stressing how many difficulties one faces when boiling an egg.

Such problems were said to include five minutes to boil the water, five minutes to boil the egg and then however long it takes to do the washing up! Indeed, fifteen or so minutes to enjoy a boiled egg does seem like a rather long time. James Seddon then claimed that he had invented a way to make boiling an egg as easy as making toast (eat your heart out Delia!).

James presented his solution in the form of the Eggxactly (a play on words that all the Dragons found highly amusing). The Eggxactly is a water free egg cooker that was invented by Mr Seddon after he found himself frustrated when trying to cook his daughter the perfect boiled egg. Fed up with overcooking the egg (or worse, under cooking), James hit upon the idea of using a stretchy soft heating element, which encased the egg and used a microprocessor to control the cooking time and the heat setting. The unique heating element provided good thermal contact with the egg, regardless of the awkward shape.

After this eureka moment, James developed the process further, first by creating a prototype and then improving upon it. By the time he entered the Dragons’ Den, he had spoken to four major companies, one of which was Home Tek (producers of Ainsley Harriott’s successful cooking appliance range). The projections were that the business would turn over one million pounds in its first year and seven million pounds by year four – ambitious targets indeed.

The Dragons that day included Peter Jones, Deborah Meaden, Theo Paphitis, Duncan Bannatyne and Richard Farleigh. The first to question Mr Seddon was Peter Jones, who had a good look at the product and then, Peter being Peter, examined the prototype and asked for a demonstration of a four minute egg! Perhaps he was feeling peckish that day. Mr Seddon said he could provide a five minute egg but Peter insisted on a four minute egg! James decided to go ahead and cook a five minute egg anyway.

Whilst the egg was cooking, Deborah Meaden questioned the ability of the product to turn itself off. Meanwhile, the device started to beep, signifying that it had finished cooking and – much to James’ dismay and embarrassment – he realised that he had not actually put an egg in the egg cooker! This was enough for Deborah Meaden to declare herself out!

Another disastrous demonstration ensued, during which the Dragons continued to discuss the product. It was explained that Mr Seddon had patents which covered the unique technology contained in the Egg cooker. A further demonstration having failed (the prototype this time), Mr Bannatyne and Mr Paphitis declared themselves out.

Despite failing to successfully demonstrate a working prototype, Mr Seddon secured investment from two dragons: Peter Jones and Richard Farleigh, who both invested £37,500 for 20% each of the company.

So, where exactly is the Eggxactly now? Has Mr Seddon hit that one million target yet? The answer is no, not yet at least. The Eggxactly is due to hit shops during the Autumn of 2009. Originally, it was hoped that the product would be ready for Christmas of 2008 but this was not to be. However, the product is currently gathering accolades whilst still in development. As an example, in March 2008 the Eggxactly won best new green product in the E-On EnergyLab competition.

The Eggxactly website is, however, fully up and running – and what a very attractive site it is. It offers a plethora of egg filled information, from recipes to all the information you ever wanted to know about an egg but never bothered to ask. Most importantly it includes detailed information on the new Eggxactly product. By all accounts, the Eggxactly will be available in six different colours: black, green, yellow, red, blue and pink. Furthermore, interested customers will be able to pre-order it for just £25. Once you have registered your interest, the Eggxactly team will e-mail you with details of when ‘eggxactly’ the product will be ready for distribution.

It seems that while the public greatly anticipates the arrival of a convenient, no water, no fuss, no washing up, ‘non boiled’ egg boiler, we will all have to wait just that little bit longer. The episode in question is also a superb example of the need for thorough preparation and concentration when presenting and selling any form of product or service. However, it seems that this particular story may just be beginning.

Originally written by Lammo.net, a blog all about Affiliate Marketing

Dragons Den: Where are they now? – Eggxactly

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Many entrepreneurs have tried their luck in the Dragons’ Den only to be ridiculed by Duncan Bannatyne, rebuked by Peter Jones or barked at by Deborah Meaden. Indeed, it takes a brave soul to venture into the Dragons’ Den and ask for a portion of the “hard earned inheritance” owing to Theo Paphitis’ children. More often than not, the Dragons will declare themselves out of a proposed business venture and, in doing so, they will leave many entrepreneurs reeling from some fiery words. Therefore, when the Dragons sit up and take notice of a potential business opportunity, it is usually to the credit of the entrepreneur. Even so, moving a Dragon from a point of interest to secure a firm offer, which is in itself one that the entrepreneur would be happy to accept, is a completely different matter. Moreover, a divided Dragons’ Den is a fairly regular occurrence.

It came as little surprise, therefore, that Julie White’s pitch for £75,000 to fund a baby products company called Truly Madly Baby was given a mixed reception. Duncan Bannatyne and Doug Richard found themselves unable to fully understand the target market whilst being left unimpressed by Julie White’s financial projections. Indeed, for a company that had a turnover of just £2,600 in its first year of trading, it was certainly a questionable move by Julie to value the company at an estimated £6 million by year two. In fact, this was enough to end the speculative interest of Rachel Elnaugh, who had suggested that the business would be better placed as a mail order or online company. In any case, all but two of the Dragons had ruled themselves out at this stage.

Multi-millionaire Peter Jones, however, saw the potential in Julie White’s business. Often seen as the champion of the entrepreneurial underdog, Peter Jones will often take a punt on a business venture that targets a market he finds interesting. Speaking after the show, Peter Jones admitted that baby clothes and products were of interest to him and there was a worthwhile opportunity to explore in Julie White’s company. However, having offered the full £75,000 for a 50% share in the business, Peter Jones’ offer was countered by Theo Paphitis, who weighed in with the same figure for a 47.5% share. To Julie’s immense credit and testament to her nerves of steel, she was able to negotiate a better deal with Peter Jones, whose offer of £75,000 for a 45% stake in Truly Madly Baby was gratefully accepted. However, this share was still 20% more than Julie had intended to give up.

Nevertheless, the opportunity to work with Peter Jones and the desire to make her company a success were enough to see Julie agree to the deal. Peter later added that he could see enough potential in the business to convince him that it could become a nationwide force. Moreover, the fact that Peter had recently been made a father again obviously struck a personal chord with the Dragon. In hindsight, perhaps Julie White should have given more consideration to Theo Paphitis and his extensive influence in the domestic retail industry, which would have no doubt placed the Truly Madly Baby product at the forefront of its niche market in the UK. Nevertheless with Peter Jones’ revised offer accepted, the task of making Truly Madly Baby a household name could begin.

Founded in 2004, Truly Madly Baby was in desperate need of a cash injection. Visiting the Dragons’ Den in 2005 was a rewarding experience for Julie White, who described the adventure as “really fantastic and very exciting. a dream come true”. However, her deal with Peter Jones was later rescinded after Julie sought investment from an another source, details of which remain unclear. Nevertheless, the decision not to work with one of the most successful Dragons could be seen as either very silly — or a very gutsy move. Either way, the ties with the Dragons’ Den ended before they really began.

Currently, the Truly Madly Baby business has grown to include somewhere between 200 and 500 consultants in the UK, including Guernsey and the Orkney Islands. Whilst the health of this side to the business cannot be easily assessed, the online element of the company is flourishing. Indeed, the trulymadlybaby.co.uk website has become an important resource for baby clothes and related products. It would appear that Julie took on board Rachel Elnaugh’s suggestion that the online side of the business would be the most lucrative. The website now comprises a number of departments, including those selling products that can be attributed to Learning, Bedtime and Fun time.

The Truly Madly Baby website features a simple yet effective design. One of the most important aspects of e-commerce is to produce a website that is user-friendly and offers intuitive navigation. Without any doubt, trulymadlybaby.co.uk addresses these requirements and more – clean layouts, large navigation buttons and an uncomplicated checkout process make for a pleasant online shopping experience.

Starting up a new business is always hard work. Julie White proved her entrepreneurial skills by attracting investment from one of the most successful Dragons, whilst retaining enough determination to ultimately do things her own way. Whether she prevails in this extremely competitive category in the longer term remains to be seen but early signs are encouraging and Julie certainly seems to have the degree of focus needed to succeed in the current climate.

Originally written by Lammo.net, a blog all about Affiliate Marketing

Dragons Den: Where are they now? – Truly Madly Baby

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Stories of rags-to-riches entrepreneurs are fairly common in a society that has, despite the current recession, been gripped by consumerism for many decades. Arguably one of the most remarkable of all such stories is that of 57 year old businessman, Chris Dawson. Growing up in his home town of Hooe in Plymouth, it became evident at an early stage that Dawson’s youth would not be spent following a traditional academic route. Indeed, Dawson left school at 15 without any qualifications in order to follow in his father’s footsteps as a market trader. Undoubtedly, the lack of formal qualifications did not hinder his early successes on the market stalls.

After several years as a street trader, Dawson was making in excess of £10,000 each week. These figures are fairly difficult to contemplate for the majority of the UK workforce. If the national median salary for graduates is somewhere in the region of £25,000 per annum, the fact that an unskilled and uneducated market trader from Plymouth could make around half a million pounds in the same period whilst still only in his early twenties raises an important point about successful entrepreneurs.

Indeed, the likes of Chris Dawson are not bound by conventional norms when it comes to making money. School leavers, college leavers and graduates can all expect to enjoy relatively successful careers, which will often consist of working their way up corporate ladders or educating themselves into lofty positions. However, even the CEO of a relatively successful company or the director of a national bank would struggle to match even a fraction of the wealth generated by the elite of our entrepreneurs. Such people are possessed by an inherent quality or trait that enables them to fully appreciate a market and where it could be heading. Moreover, entrepreneurs are able to influence the market rather than be swept along by it, which is a skill that many business owners simply do not possess. Whether these traits can be learned by others remains to be seen, but in the case of Chris Dawson they are undoubtedly innate.

Part of Dawson’s early success could be attributed to his innovative trading methods. In a recent interview, Dawson explained that whilst his fellow traders would be content to pack up their stalls on a miserable day, he would instead create a warm and inviting atmosphere that could continue to draw in the masses. As such, Dawson learned at an early age to think very much “outside of the box” – to do what everybody else was doing but in a different, more inventive way. Something that would stand out from the crowd in order to draw the attention and interest of potential customers.

Following his considerable success at market trading, Dawson organised the necessary funds to launch The Range in 1988. Featuring a superstore that comprised some 15,000 square feet of retail space, The Range quickly became a popular outlet for just about everything – DIY tools, toys and other household and gardening related items. Despite the decidedly shoddy surroundings of its first store, The Range hit a turnover of £1 million within just four months and managed to accrue a profit of £250,000 in its first full year of trading. Just a couple of months later, Dawson expanded his new business interest by opening up another The Range store in Exeter. Nowadays, there are 38 operational The Range stores across the UK and the company employees more than 2,300 nationwide and turns over £190 million each year. Chris Dawson, as founder and CEO, receives a generous annual income from the business that is thought to be in the region of 9% or £17 million.

The entrepreneurial acumen of Chris Dawson is such that his sights, although firmly set on steering The Range through a difficult recession, will often wander in the direction of other opportunities. Indeed, Dawson, true to his market trading roots, has recently purchased the entire stock of failed furniture retailer, MFI. Worth around £68 million at typical retail prices, Dawson no doubt snapped up the stock at a fraction of wholesale cost, although he has understandably proved unwilling to discuss precise numbers. Filling some 2,400 articulated lorries, the former MFI stock will be sold online via tradingbargains.co.uk, which may be seen as an attempt by Dawson to venture a little further into the world of e-commerce. Even if this website proves unsuccessful, in The Range Dawson has a perfect outlet for the stock, so this move can only be seen as a win.

Dawson also branched out into the finance sector towards the end of 2008 with the introduction of a prepaid MasterCard for The Range customers, which will not offer credit but can be used to purchase goods up to the value of money pre-loaded onto it. The idea behind this card service is to enable customers to keep track of their spending habits whilst providing a convenient method of payment. Furthermore, from Dawson’s point of view the card will be seen as a risk-free baby step into the complex and often treacherous world of finance, which will no doubt help pave the way for a future credit lending service should it be considered viable. Whilst he may be regarded as something of a “Del Boy” from Plymouth, Chris Dawson is a wheeler dealer with a difference – he is now conservatively estimated to be worth around £150 million.

Dawson’s story should inspire all of us as affiliates to look hard at our own market place and to consider how we can approach it “with a difference”. With mounting pressure in both PPC and natural search, affiliates who are able to deeply understand their target markets and to create the online equivalent of Dawson’s warm and inviting market stall will surely be among those to thrive over the next few years.

Originally written by Lammo.net, a blog all about Affiliate Marketing

How Chris Dawson made his fortune

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We’re always being asked to click “here” or visit “this site” online whether we’re reading a blog, a forum post or indeed on sites of just about any type you care to think of. There is a widely held idea that constructing a sentence that instructs the viewer to click ‘here’ for more details and using the ‘here’ as the anchor text for a link to a partner’s site is the most natural way in which to build links. Rather than telling you straight away whether this is actually a good idea or not, let’s perform a simple test. Head over to Google and type in “click here”. Then hit search and see what pops up. We’ll wait a minute.

Done? It was Adobe’s homepage wasn’t it? Even if you just go for “here” Adobe pops up as number three. This is because there are so many thousands of sites linking to its homepage to allow their users to download one of the software products that have become indispensable in today’s online world. Almost every one of them links to Adobe by asking their users to “click here” or “here”.

The power of anchor text
This is a clear demonstration of the influence of anchor text in search engine rankings. In a sentence that is designed to get people to download an essential program this is fine. For other sites, not as useful. If all of your inbound links are for the text “here” or “click here” then there’s virtually no chance that you’ll ever get your site anywhere near the top of the search engine rankings – certainly not through your link building efforts alone. Though it may seem ‘natural’ to a person who spends much of their time reading things online, it doesn’t adhere to the way in which search engines work. The anchor text (the text displayed for the link itself) should therefore contain keywords which are relevant and which support your site’s keyword strategy. The same thing applies to your own internal linking endeavours. Links on your own site, whether on navigation menus, headers, footers and in-line in text should also contain relevant anchor text.

Choosing the right text
For all but the most strongly ranked sites, it is essential that you avoid the overly competitive, generic keywords. “Here” is potentially the best example of such a keyword! The key to link building and to creating the kind of natural link structure that should assist in improved search engine ranking for your site is both specificity and diversity. Choose keywords or phrases that best represent the content of your site. Back them up with plenty of high quality content that is coherent, uniquely written and of absolute relevance to your site. Ensure that any links you have agreed with partners are “deep links” pointing to the page that has the greatest relevance to the anchor text in the link.

A little subtlety goes a long way
It is worth avoiding repeatedly using exactly the same keywords or phrases to land on the same page. Not only will this look questionable to the search engines (considerable effort is spent looking for excessive “patterns”) but it may also limit your chances of reaching the ever diverse internet audience, many of whom will come up with some very odd keyword choices when searching for precisely the kinds of things your affiliate site is promoting. Whilst relevance is critical, you should go for a range of relevant anchor text keywords for each page.

Some people talk about linking volume being important. Whilst much depends on the competitiveness of the category and your chosen keywords, it isn’t all about big numbers. Rather, the search engines are looking for the ongoing acquisition of a modest number of good, relevant links on an ongoing basis. This signals that your site is alive and well and that it is regarded as being of value by an ever-growing online community. Conversely, any site which instantly gets thousands of inbound links before it has really got on its feet will potentially be seen as search engines as attempting to gain unfair advantage in some way or other, with the assumption being that it may be guilty of link buying or other shady exploits. You run the risk of being blacklisted as a result.

At the end of the day, a sentence which instructs the user to actively click on something, whether it’s with a “click here” or a “this site” piece of anchor text, is a sentence which is clearly revealing the intentions behind its link. Not only will it look and feel like an exercise in link building and deter visitors from clicking on the link, but it will also ultimately compromise your potential search engine rankings when you consider that you could have presented your link in a far more organic, natural, keyword-driven way.

Lack of control
Now whilst you can request the keywords or phrases that you’d like for the anchor text for your link, without having direct control over the content on the other site there is of course no guarantee that the link will be placed exactly as you wish. If you are gaining the link as a result of trading content in return for the link as we have described elsewhere here at lammo.net, the best way around this is to provide the content with your link subtly pre-included, usually best within the body of the text, in context. That way you’ll be sure that your link will occur in the best possible way within a natural sentence structure and with the required anchor text. Many busy webmasters will be only too happy that you have already done the contextual work for them!

In conclusion, although there is a widespread tendency for clicking “here” online it doesn’t mean that in the affiliate world this is a useful way of building links that form the “natural” pattern seen as desirable by the search engines. Once again we come to the realisation that building links the ‘hard’ way is the only way in which to create tangible results and pave the way for future success for your affiliate site.

Originally written by Lammo.net, a blog all about Affiliate Marketing

Should you link-build for “here”?

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“There is no such thing as a problem, only an opportunity” is one of the oldest and arguably most over-used sales truisms. There is of course some truth in it, if only you have the imagination, skill and resilience to handle the situation objectively.

Few of us are immune from some form of criticism. We have web sites and as such we are in the public domain. With the ever increasing use of blogging and social media as a means of promotion, some of our competitors – or simply people who may not like us for some reason, however unjustified – will use these highly public channels to criticise us in some way. How we deal with this says a great deal about us and determines whether we improve or worsen the market’s perception of us.

Why do they do it?
Consider for a moment that Hitler’s propaganda minister is credited with the statement that if you tell a big enough lie and repeat it often enough, people will come to believe it. Now of course we are not suggesting lying as a strategy. Not for a moment. However, there are plenty of people out there who are not averse to using at least a highly distorted view of the truth as a means of self promotion and in some cases to launch an unwarranted attack. The more this occurs, the greater the likelihood that at least some of our target audience may start to believe that there must be some truth in it. In the social media world, support for a particular position can grow rapidly and within a matter of hours one acidic blog post may have turned into a potential PR disaster. This is particularly true if there is an association with a major brand: these are always popular targets. The motivation may be a simple as a personal grudge; it may be a misguided belief that in so doing they are in some way working for the “greater good”; there may be ethical objections; an aggressive competitive agenda; or indeed they may simply be unpleasant or nigh on certifiable. Worse still, they may be — at least in part — right!

Response or dignified silence
One of the first decisions in any such situation is a go / no-go decision. Does the attack merit a response? Does the attacker have any credibility? Does the attack appear to be gaining in momentum or visibility? What, if any, threats are involved in the attack and what are the potential outcomes? In many cases a dignified silence may well be the most appropriate response, hard as that may feel at the time. This is particularly true with “repeat offenders” who may routinely air grudges to anyone and everyone who will listen. You can be fairly sure that you are unlikely to be their only target and that their credibility is likely to be limited as their target audience recognise the repeated nature of their attacks and the underlying self-absorbed motivation. Responding to any such attack involves significant management time and resource and therefore cost, if nothing else in terms of the work sacrificed in favour of responding. If the attack can reasonably be seen as simply “noise” with little merit and the likely impact is minimal, a dignified silence will generally go further to support your credibility than wasting resource engaging in a platform with limited visibility and value.

Planning a response
Stop. The first thing you should do is ensure that you are in complete control of your own emotions. Few of us are genuinely thick skinned and whether criticism is directed at us personally or simply at the business, it is only human nature to feel that we are personally under attack. A brisk walk, a cup of tea or whatever you routinely do when stress levels reach unacceptable heights is vital. The desire to respond in fairly aggressive terms can be overwhelming but is, of course, the last thing you should do. The world’s blogs and forums are packed full of eye-wateringly aggressive posts from people who failed monumentally at this first stage.

With your “business head” now restored, assuming you have determined that the criticism merits a response, you need to plan form, structure and location. If it appears that the issue is spreading and will not be confined to one or two sites, it may be best to create a full and detailed response in one central location and to post brief, informative and relevant responses with a link to that location. This may be your own blog or forum or perhaps the highest profile web property that already appears to be engaged in the dialogue.

Perception plays a critical part in any response. This is one of the reasons why information placed in the public domain, must be handled with considerable forethought. Don’t just type directly into a post. Write your response locally and review it in a word processor, running it past any colleagues, partners or clients that are affected or named in the issue at hand. Always ensure you have consensus internally before committing it to the public domain. A retraction at a later stage can be far more damaging than the original criticism!

Response tone
First and foremost, regardless as to the degree of provocation, never allow your response to appear personal, aggressive or overly defensive. However, make sure that you “humanise” your business and practices as far as possible. The more “real” you appear, the harder it will be for others to blindly join in in pure “attack” mode. We all find it hard to be unpleasant to someone who is being courteous, if not friendly in return. Be accommodating and friendly in tone. A little humour carefully interjected into your response may also help to defuse things although should, of course, be treated with the utmost care. Your overall tone should be honest, credible, friendly, open and caring.

Less is more
Tempting as it may be, don’t write a book as your first response. Not only will those involved in the dialogues resent having to wade through it but it can appear to be pre-engineered in readiness for such a situation (not a positive sign). Stick closely to addressing the points raised and remember at all times that focus is everything. Don’t be tempted to pre-address further issues that “may” be raised. You may unwittingly start further debates or raise further concerns that may otherwise have remained unstated. Be prepared to continue the dialogue and to answer further issues raised as a result of your initial response.

Win the war, not the battle
The long game here is in creating the right view of your organisation in the minds of the wider readership of the dialogues. Don’t focus on winning the argument with the initiator and his or her supporters. Rather, acknowledge their right to raise the issue, demonstrate a clear understanding as to why they have raised it (ignoring any completely irrational arguments they may have raised) and then take each element of their criticism and explain your position and the reasoning behind it insofar as confidentiality will allow, all the while emphasising the commitment of your hard working team. If your position has inherent limitations, acknowledge these, explain the current absence of alternatives and that you are constantly working to refine and improve it. Make it clear that upsetting anyone is the last thing you ever want to do and that you don’t treat it lightly as simply a “cost of doing business”.

Building support
If a single criticism appears to be turning into a flood, it may well be worth enlisting the support of those partners and clients you know to be fully on-side (clearly avoiding those for whom making them aware of the issues raised could damage the relationship!). They may be more than happy to post responses in your defence – many will have been the object of similar attacks themselves and will sympathise deeply. Acknowledge and thank those who have expressed support or understanding for your position. The scope of the debate is hard to identify – there may be many other blogs and forums involved that you have yet to identify. It is therefore important that you thank people for their “messages of support” generally rather than singling out any individuals. Not only will this avoid leaving any supporters in the wider debate accidentally un-thanked but it will create or reinforce the impression that you have many supporters and that there is more than one possible view of the debate at hand – without having to rather lamely say so yourself.

The above approach should help greatly in handling “after-the-event” situations and with some skill, the problem really can be turned around, at least minimising and at best reversing a potentially negative outcome. Your courteous, concerned and professional approach will very often see the public sympathy turn in your favour and for those criticisms born of malice or simple ignorance and for those contributors simply throwing stones, the outcome is likely to be at best neutral and at worst negative for the complainant. While each situation will vary, experience suggests that you have far more control over the outcome than you may have originally thought. These principles really can apply to most situations and demonstrate the importance of effective communication management.

Whilst handling such situations professionally is vital, getting things right in the first place is also critical to any successful internet business. You will never entirely eradicate complaints and issues with goods or services but shaping them (or in the case of affiliates, choosing them) to the best of your ability and maintaining an open and honest dialogue with consumers should minimise most issues and defuse others from the outset before they become a public domain issue.

On the hopefully rare occasions where this fails to prevent a public complaint, you know what to do!

Originally written by Lammo.net, a blog all about Affiliate Marketing

Dear Webmaster… You suck!

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