I know, I know.. two posts in as many weeks – I’m turning into a prolific blogger again (don’t worry, it won’t last!). Anyway, I had a question in the Ask Lammo postbag last time that I started to answer but realised that my answer was getting rather on the large side and so perhaps was worthy of being a standalone post.

The question asked was:

Who is your business hero/role model?

Now normally I don’t go in for the whole “hero/role model worship” thing – I try to be my own person, and think you’ll never get far trying to emulate someone else. That being said there are people out that it’s easy to admire their personality traits and business practices. As I mentioned in the last post, I’ve found Sir Richard Branson’s autobiography to be very motivational and inspiring, and I can also say the same about Lord Sugar’s book which I read at the start of this year, although (especially with Lord Sugar’s book) it also served to remind me that I actually don’t want to build a huge business like Amstrad or Virgin, that is answerable to institutional investors, responsible for hundreds of people being able to meet their mortgage payments, and taking me away from watching my kids growing up.

It’s also easy to admire people within the Affiliate Industry as it’s choc full of self-starters and “let’s do it and see what happens” people. Just take a close look at what some of the great folks in AM have done over the years, and you’ll find something in common with most of them – They started with next to no money, had some great ideas and worked bloody hard. Don’t think you can just copy what they did and make it yourself – you need your own “great idea” and your own passion and determination to see it through with a shedload of hard work. My own “Affiliate Heroes” are the likes of Mark Boyd, Dom Hodgson, Clarke Duncan, Frank Paul, and Chris Clarkson (as well as many, many others..that covers those I’ve forgotten lol), who I would class as “Serial Entrepreneurs” – the awesome ideas just keep coming, but unlike most people these guys actually act on those ideas, rather than wait for someone else to do it and then say “I thought of that once”

If I had to choose one person as my ultimate business hero however, without a shadow of a doubt it would be Warren Buffett. Not because he’s the third richest person in the world, but because despite being the third richest person in the world, he’s never forgotten who he truly is, or what makes him happy. He doesn’t work from a 70-story gleaming skyscraper on Wall Street, preferring a small functional unit in Omaha to run his investment business that generates $1.4m in dividends a day.

Just because he’s a billionaire a couple of times over (47 at last count!) doesn’t mean he feels the need to live in the Playboy Mansion either – preferring to live in the home that he bought for $31,500 in 1958. He doesn’t feel the need for the status symbol of a chauffeur-driven Rolls-Royce, driving himself around in a fairly modest Cadillac DTS, and you won’t find him quaffing champagne and canapes with the other “rock star businessmen” – he’s strictly a cheeseburger and coke guy.

What does a guy DO with $47 billion dollars anyway? Well, if you’re Warren Buffet, the answer is.. give it away! He’s pledged to give away 99% of his fortune to good causes, primarily with his good friend and fellow uber-rich-dude Bill Gates. The only problem that faces Warren now is can he give it away quickly enough before he’s earned even more.. if you’ve ever seend the movie “Brewster’s Millions” with the late great Richard Pryor, then you’ll know how hard that can be!

Put simply, Warren Buffett is the most normal, down to earth, rich guy I know – And that’s why he’s my business hero.

Who’s your business hero?

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

Ask Lammo: Who is your business hero?

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That’s the most frequently asked question in my postbag at the moment (Jason even blogged about it), and as I explained as a comment to that post, I just haven’t had the desire or inclination to think of anything to blog about – At least not with any authority.

I’ve had a delve into the Ask Lammo postbag, and have managed to pick out a few decent questions amongst all the crap:

I tried posting an SEO job on elance with plenty of specifics such as do follow only, PR2+, no blog comments etc. but all the proposals completely ignored these and quoted for basic ‘any old crap’ links. Are sites such as elance a waste of time, or am I expecting too much?

I haven’t used elance myself for link building, but I’d say you get what you pay for on there. I’ve had some coding jobs done, and taking time to choose a reputable company that charge a reasonable price (i.e don’t choose someone ‘cos they’re cheap!) and checking out their feedback from previous customers etc can make all the difference.

Is ECU available in Canada?

No, we’ve launched the US version, but at the moment have no plans to expand into Canada.

What are your short term and long term goals in business, do you have a get out plan?

My short term plan is to pay my mortgage each month.
My medium term plan is to pay my mortgage off.
My long term plan is to invest in others to help them do the same.
I love what I do, so whilst the sites I run may come and go, I don’t think I’ll ever “get out” again.

How did Richard Branson make his fortune?

If you’re interested in learning about how Richard Branson got started in business (as well as get an insight into his way of thinking about Business), I’d thoroughly recommend reading his autobiography “Losing my Virginity” – I first read it when I started my affiliate business in 2000, and found it incredibly motivating.

I then re-read it in 2005, and found some great “mistakes” that I myself had made over the previous five years, so was able to learn even more.

How many niche affiliate websites do you think one person could manage?

That depends.. How often do the sites need updating? How long does it take to update them? How big are your “niche” sites? I’ve got a combination of all sorts of site – Sites that are 500+ pages of unique content that require very little updating (but take half a day to update when its that time), and sites that require daily TLC, whether that’s 5 minutes or an hour. I’ve got 5 page sites, 50 page sites and 500+ page sites.

You’ll soon find out how many you can manage when you run out of time (as if you’re anything like me you can’t stop having new ideas and trying stuff out) – at this point you need to let some of the neglected stuff go rather than leaving it on the “i’ll get around to looking after that site” pile.

what is the best way to drive traffic into a website besides search engines?

This is probably stating the obvious, but social media can drive just as much (if not more) traffic than Google – Really engage with Twitter and Facebook.. unlike Google, they’re real people, and you can actually speak to them and help them find what they’re looking for, and get paid to do so!

Look at PR too – We used to get HUGE spikes in traffic to our freebie site whenever it was mentioned in any of the Womens Magazines (Bella, Womans own etc), so make friends with some journalists and let them know you’re THE expert in your field that they can speak/refer to every time they’ve got a relevant story.

Please do keep your Ask Lammo questions coming – I’ll try not to wait 5 months before the next session!

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

Ask Lammo – Where the hell have you been?

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Once again in no particular order…

To everyone who’s been to Think Vis before, raved about it and persuaded me that a 650 mile road trip over the course of a weekend was going to be a great idea. You weren’t wrong!

To Dom and the whole Think Vis team for putting on exactly what affiliates want from a conference: Parties you can actually network at, sessions that are truly interesting/educational/inspirational, Guitar Hero, Giant Scalectrix, Pick and Mix (Genius!), no pushy network sales staff (again, holding it on a Saturday.. genius!).. and all for around a quarter of what other conferences charge! I tip my gold sparkly hat to you Dom

To Dave Naylor – For ripping the shit out of hand-reviewing one of my sites in his session. I managed to scribble down a couple of pages of quick fixes based on his suggestions, and will be cracking on making all the changes he suggested as soon as I’ve finished this post – I’m not going to be one of those who gets given loads of brilliant advice from one of the Industry’s top experts and then decides they know better (anyone who’s ever seen an episode of “Property Ladder” will be familiar with that sort of person), so I hope to catch up with Dave at Think Vis 6 in September having made all the changes and reaped the rewards!

To Zak Edwards from Prezzybox – For not knowing that by “submitting” his site on the Think Vis website, he was putting it forward for Dave’s critique as above – Cue some great banter/disagreements between the two, and much amusement for everyone else.

To Chris Clarkson for the brilliant (and now bordering on traditional affiliate fare) all-you-can-eat-meat-feast at Fazenda. It’s also nice to see that Chris is a big fan of UK city breaks such as this.

To Micky from Existem AM for babysitting duties on the Friday night (not that we gave you much choice!)

To Mark Boyd for keeping me stocked with pick and mix throughout the day, even if you have now got me banned from all Big Mouth programs for “cookie stuffing”

To Paul Smith for giving what was for me the best session of the day. I didn’t make a single note during the time you were on stage, and can’t think of too much I can take away from a business perspective, but for me your session was just truly inspiring, and had me glued to my seat waiting on your every word. If I had to think of how I could transfer your session into a business lesson, it would be “sometimes you should just do cool stuff for the hell of it, and by putting your all into it and not being too serious, you can get some awesome momentum and have a shedload of fun too”

To all the other speakers too – There was only one session I saw that I was actually disappointed with, and that probably has as much to do with the fact I was expecting too much of it, but having done a couple of panels sessions myself at a4uexpo last year, I have a new found respect for anyone who has the balls to stand up on that stage and jabber away for 45 minutes, so I ‘d like to say a big thanks to all those who spoke, even if I didn’t get a chance to see their session.

To each and every person who attended – What makes Think Vis so much better than other conferences? Is it because it’s not in London? Is it because the network sales force aren’t there en masse? Is it because it doesn’t take itself too seriously? Is it because it’s a quarter of the price? Well yes, it’s all that, but so much more – it’s the people who DO go to Think Vis who make it what it is – they’re there because they love the Industry.. and it shows!

And to those who didn’t attend – Because you’d been out on the lash too much on the Friday night, so slept through the entire conference, recovering just in time to get back on the lash for Saturday night.. you know who you are!

To everyone else I’ve forgotten – And I know there’s loads of you.. But I was very drunk for most of the weekend.. and my memory isn’t very good at the best of times!

Who do YOU want to thank?

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

Think Vis Thanks

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Here’s a new one for me – a rant on someone else’s behalf (although I have had this happen to me in the past hence why it’s got my back up)

I spotted the following tweet from fellow affiliate Purple on Friday:

Now, it’s perfectly acceptable for a merchant to ask an affiliate where they are being promoted (although IMO there shouldn’t be any need for them to do so as their network should provide full transparency so they can SEE where traffic is coming from with the need to ask each affiliate), but is there really any need to accompany said request with a threat of reversed commissions?

Fair enough if you’ve asked politely and said affiliate has ignored your request to send a strongly-worded follow up mail, but to go straight in with “tell me where you’re promoting us or we’ll decline all your commissions” shows a distinct lack of respect for affiliates, and ruins all the good work the previous account manager did in building up a relationship with Purple. My advice to him was as follows:

It doesn’t cost anything to be polite and show some respect to an affiliate, and when it’s the first contact you have with them, it’s even more important that you remember your manners and realise that whilst there are a lot of bad apples out there, not EVERY affiliate is trying to rip you off, and if you speak like this to all the ones you don’t know, then they’ll soon decide they’d rather work with people who don’t treat them like shit.

It’s always nice to end a rant with a happy ending though, so here’s the end result from Purple himself:

So well done Mr or Mrs Account Manager – you’ve confirmed that those £3 of commission were indeed genuine (which of course you could have seen for yourself by following the link from your referral report!), and pissed off a true content affiliate. Job Well Done.

ps. I should point out that Purple hasn’t asked me to post this on his behalf.. I took it upon myself after feeling the need to vent (140 characters just won’t cut it), and you’ll also note that I haven’t named and shamed the merchant (or network) involved – I’ll leave that up to Purple to decide if he wants to.

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

Dear Merchants, not EVERY affiliate is trying to rip you off

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Time for another dip into the Ask Lammo postbag…

Can you recommend the program affiliate site quick?

No, I can’t. I don’t recommend ANY Affiliate Marketing program – You can’t learn AM from any handbooks or guides – it’s not something that has a step-by-step process. You need to dig in, get your hands dirty, make your own mistakes and learn from them.

how old was sir alan sugar when he made his first million?

No idea, I’m reading his autobiography at the moment, so I’ll let you know!

what companys does lord alan sugar own?

Oops Joanna.. it’s no good doing a quick Google search on your iPhone before you go into the Interview…

What tips and advice can some of the most successful entrepreneurs provide for students hoping to start their own businesses one day

Make “one day” today – Get started, make some mistakes, correct those mistakes, learn “on the job”, and re-invest everything you’ve got (both time and money) for a couple of years. Don’t wait for “the right time” – Just roll your sleeves up and dive in!

Are you a millionaire ? (cash in the bank)

lol, no – far from it!

how much would you say you make a month?

I’d say that’s between me and my accountant! Don’t worry too much about what other people are earning – focus on what you’re earning, and how you can increase that figure.

championship next year??

Is this the end of the mighty Argyle ?

Is Peter Reid a good football manager or is he best left in the 90′s?

Must have known I’d get a few Argyle questions given their recent financial troubles. At the time of writing, we’re sitting comfortably mid-table in League One, three points off the playoffs. I’d settle for that come the end of the season, in fact right now I’d settle for having a club still this time next season.

As for Peter Reid, the guy is performing miracles despite working without pay and with his hands tied behind his back at the moment – All his “stars” are being sold to keep us in business, he’s not allowed to bring in anyone to replace them, and yet he’s managing to get results and playing much better football than we’ve had at Home Park for the previous 3 seasons. He even paid the office heating bill out of his own pocket during the recent cold spell – I hear he’s working his way up towards “water-into-wine” as his next task.

Hi I am a complete newbe I am looking to set up either a dropship,affilliate or buya ready made website I would like to earn 2 to 3 K a month any ideas where I can look ?

You haven’t indicated your available budget – If you’re looking to buy an established site that will bring you in £2-3k a month, then you should expect to pay anywhere between £40,000 and £100,000 for it. If you don’t have that sort of budget, then building your own sites up to that level is your best bet. “The Smingle Method” is a tactic that is both proven and scalable for establishing your Affiliate Marketing business.

Could you give me a quote for removing 80 metres of existing skirting board and re-fitting new skirting board (I’d need you to supply the new skirting board)?

Erm, I’m struggling to think how on earth you arrived at an Affiliate Marketing Blog looking for an answer to this question!

Do you have to do ppc marketing in order to get traffic for the affiliate marketing program?

No, you can get traffic (free) without doing PPC – Although if you do PPC too, you can very quickly find out what keywords have good volume and convert well, and are therefore worth chasing.

Hey Lammo. I have a football blog and I am trying to promote it by submitting articles unique articles with my embedded link to popular sites. What is better to submit these articles of unique content to other sites to get a link or simply put it on my own site so I get unique content.

Put those articles up on your site, and assuming your site is any good, do some proper link building. Set up Google Alerts for some footy terms (team names, player names etc), and engage with the website owners and bloggers about the content they have written – ask them if they’d mind linking to your blog too – it’ll be good quality, on-topic links that might actually bring some traffic too – much better than crappy article site links.

Hi, I am trying to get my head around the whole voucher site business model but can’t get a feel for where to best source vouchers and also how and how much commission is earned from promoting a voucher. There seems to be lots of information all over the web about setting up a site but not the business model so any help you can offer would be great. thanks.

The first (and only) thing you need to realise when entering the voucher code space is that you will be competing against some VERY big names, with VERY VERY VERY deep pockets. You can use something like icodes to source the vouchers and power your site, but I feel you’re better off implementing vouchers into an existing site to increase conversion than create another standalone VC site.

hi is the elottery still running?

Nope, a real shame as I used to earn great money from it “back in the day”, but they moved the goalposts too many times for my liking, and moved away from being a good little Affiliate Program into the MLM “Live your Dreams” mentality – The official line is that they shut down after being sued for false advertising, but several people have claimed that they simply ran out of money after members dwindled, and no doubt we’ll see the founders start up another MLM “revolution” that will be “even bigger and better than VWD/eLottery”

Do YOU have a burning question that you’d like me to answer in the next Ask Lammo post? If so, just pop your question into the pop-up in the bottom right hand corner.

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

Ask Lammo: No, I’m not a millionaire and no, I can’t fit your skirting boards

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Every year I think to myself “I’m going to get off my arse and start sending out some goodies myself this year”, and every year I’m too busy dealing with the Christmas rush to think about it, that I leave it too late – Now I’ve no doubt that the “unsung” account managers at some of the networks would really appreciate the recognition of the hard work they’ve put in all year, but how do I decide who gets a pressie and who doesn’t – Is there an Affiliate Marketing Naughty/Nice list? So, instead I’m sending virtual recognition to all those people (you know who you are really!), and only sending a physical present to someone who I know deserves it, and for whom it will really make their Christmas.

I don’t know them personally, and I don’t even know their name. But I do know that they’re having a tough time of it, and would really, really love to open a present from a lazy blogger in Devon.

It might be the only present they get this year. Now I don’t know where they live, but it’s more than likely going to be in Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bosnia, Kenya, Kosova, Kyrgyzstan, Liberia, Montenegro, Mozambique, Romania, Serbia, Swaziland, Ukraine or Zimbabwe, as that’s where Operation Christmas Child send their “shoeboxes” packed full of goodies to help bring a smile to the faces of the children there.

I’ve created a shoebox, and filled it with a Soft Toy, Car/Truck, Ball, Playdoh, Toothbrush, Toothpaste, Soap, Colouring Book, ,Wax Crayons Sticker Book & Stickers, Pencils, Hat & Glove Set, Scarf, Sweets, and a Small Bag. Some little boy aged between 2 and 4 (only a little older than Jack) is going to have a smile on their face come Christmas Day, and I’d much rather create a tiny bit of happiness in a remote corner of the world like this than send a bottle of booze to an affiliate who doesn’t really need it.

So, if you’re thinking about sending me a Christmas pressie this year, please think about whether there’s a better cause than my stomach that could benefit more from a small donation – I’m still happy to scoff any choccies etc that get sent my way, but if you’d rather donate whatever you’d normally spend sending affiliates gifts to the charity of your choice, then please do so – I’ll salute you for it!

And of you’re an affiliate who receives lots of presents from the networks, then remember – the pleasure is in the giving, not the receiving! Please remember to support your favourite charity, with whatever you can afford to give.

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

Merry Christmas Affiliate Land – you’re getting bugger all this year

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The Esporta Affiliate Program is available on Affiliate Window and pays commissions of £2.50 for every valid lead. These are paid on form fills of the Free Guest Pass, attendance of a booked guest pass and join ups resulting from form fill and attendance.

The Esporta Group operates 55 health and leisure clubs in the UK and Ireland providing market-leading facilities and services to the premium segment of the health and leisure market. With first-class racquets facilities, state-of-the art gym equipment, luxurious swimming and spa areas, restaurants, classes of all types, family activities, crèches, specialist sport shops, health and beauty treatments and a wealth of social events so there should be something for almost anybody.

Esporta will also offer, on occasion, longer guest passes such as a 5 day or 7 day family pass.

Esporta Affiliate Program Vital Stats
Esporta Health Clubs does not allow any affiliate to bid on brand terms, nor are affiliates allowed to use these within a display URL in any PPC advertising. This includes mis-spellings of the brand. Any affiliates found to be doing so will be removed from the programme.

This includes (but is not restricted to) the following terms:

Esporta
Esporta.com
Esporta.co.uk
Esporta health and racquets club

Please add these keywords to your negative keyword list to prevent your adverts displaying in error

Direct linking from any PPC activity is also not allowed.

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

Esporta Affiliate Program

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A huge proportion of my working day is spent helping newbies out, answering questions about Affiliate Marketing in general, as well as SEO, web design, marketing, PPC, and all those other things that I used to know nothing about. I’ll be honest with you – sometimes it’s frustrating answering “what niche should I work in?” or “how much money will I make from my voucher code/cashback/shopping directory site?” for the hundreth time that week.

But most of the time it gives me enormous job satisfaction to see a newbie go from wet behind the ears to the top of the search engine pile, with a great portfolio of really useful sites – some take years, others take months. But they’ve all worked hard, made a lot of mistakes and learnt from them. Hence my job satisfaction. But wait a minute.. training newbies isn’t my job! Running my affiliate business is my job. If I help a newbie go from £0 to £3,000 a month (for instance), let’s see who benefits from our work:

The Affiliate: Assuming no PPC or massive overheads, he or she is now £3,000 a month better off.

The Merchant(s): Assuming average 5% commission, this affiliate is now generating an extra £60,000 a month of business.

The Network(s): Assuming Industry standard overrides of 10-30%, they’re getting an extra £300 to £900 a month.

If I’m lucky, the affiliate will choose to use Easy Content Units Pro, and I’ll be a whole £19.99 a month better off. Not exactly retire-on-a-yacht money! Which is why I rely on the 2nd tier system that most UK networks have in place – In theory I would earn a % of every affiliate who I refer to a network (and subsequently mentor), meaning that if I help an affiliate go from £0 to £3,000 a month, I might be lucky and get an extra £150 a month paid by the network(s) out of their override)

Except it just doesn’t seem to work that way..

I’ve been referring affiliates to networks for the best part of 7/8 years now, and have referred thousands of affiliates over that time, most of whom will probably have never earnt a penny. However I know of affiliates who I personally referred to networks who now earn anything up to £10,000 a month. I should be coining it in.. but I’m not.

I used to earn several hundred pounds a month from Affiliate Window from my referrals a few years back. Then one day it all dried up, and when I asked a few weeks back where the 2nd tier reporting had gone, the reply I was given was “it’s not possible to do a report.” – so am I still earning 5% of every affiliate I refer as promised or not? I see lots of £2 CPA sales for new affiliates (who have paid £5 to join), but no 5% ongoing?

At the other end of the spectrum, once again it’s hats off to Paid on Results who have the most open 2nd tier reporting going – I can clearly see those affiliates I have referred, and every sale they make. I don’t earn very much from my POR referrals, but I can trust them 100% that the figures are correct. They’re also (AFAIK?) the only UK network to pay ongoing lifetime commission on any merchants you refer to them.

I should also give credit to Affiliate Future, who I know several affiliates have claimed don’t track 2nd tier sales.. I do see a steady monthly amount coming in for them, so I trust their reports.

The other networks are much of a muchness – they either pay a pittance one-off CPA, or claim to pay a % that just doesn’t add up when you look at the reports.

The networks all want fresh blood in the Industry. They would like them to be trained and/or mentored so that they are successful quicker and on a larger scale. They all want the next generation of super affiliates. However (on the most part) they don’t bother to train/mentor themselves, and fail to reward affiliates as per their original “2nd tier” promises.

Oh well, I’ll keep on doing it for the love of it.

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

Affiliate Networks: It’ll all end in tiers

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Time for another dip into the Ask Lammo postbag..

have i lost my northern rock shares?

Yup, I’m afraid so. All NR shares are now publicly owned. I did warn readers at the time that it wasn’t looking too rosy!

What do you think the top xmas toy sold thru ECU will be?

We recently released our “Top 12 Toys” unit, which automatically updates with the best available price for each of the offical top 12 toys forecast for this year. Of those listed, I’ll be buying the Lego City Airport for my boy, but I think the GoGo Pup will come out on top this year.

How do you keep the motivation up to carry on whilst working at home full time?

What do you do when you’re feeling de-motivated?

I actually find it easier to work from home on my own rather than in an office or around others – I actually knuckle down and get more done without other people around. Of course there’s still days that the phone/doorbell doesn’t stop ringing, and you get chuff all done – Those days you just have to give in and accept that you’ve had a bad day – take some time away from your desk, and start again fresh the next day.

why don’t you like bob dylan’s music?

I’m not a huge Dylan fan, but I don’t *think* I’ve ever said I don’t actually like his stuff.. wait for a blog post/tweet to come out and bite me on the arse now!

Should I add more info to existing ‘reviews’ over time or create separate pages/posts.

I want to get better page rank for individual articles and I am thinking that google goes by individual URLs, but what about the authority of the site in general?

Personally, I always prefer to update existing pages with new content, as freshness of the content is one of the many, many factors that G take into account when ranking sites – If you’re targeting the longtail, then this could work well for you.

If I gave you $100 to bet at roulette what would you put it on?

I’d cash out and play Blackjack with it!

is google in the middle of a major update designed at kicking affiliates yet again?

What do you think about the latest Google algo ‘update’ that appears to have ripped millions of sites apart with little or no traffic & finding spam sites above them?

I’d said it time and time again – Google’s aim is NOT to slap, kick or otherwise penalise affiliates – They simply want to give the most relevant results possible for their users. The ever changing nature of the web means that they need to constantly freshen things up, and every now and then they throw the baby out with the bathwater.

If you’re building really good sites that offer real value to real people (and not just trying to rank on google), then the basic premise of SEO (good on-page SEO + links) will see you rise to the top over the long term. Focus on making your site the best it can possibly be for your users, and Google might just look favourably on you in future.

Hi… are you John Gaukroger?

No, I’m afraid not!

Why are Bolton Wanderers just so brilliant?

I’d imagine it’s the pills you’ve been taking, Mr Bishop.

Why is the tax system so complicated!?

Remember, tax doesn’t HAVE to be taxing.

Whats the best way to get a site indexed?

Link to it from a site that is already indexed.

In about seven months I will be out of work due to a change in circumstances. I earn a few quid a month from my existing mini sites but not enough to go into full-time affiliate mode. What would you recommend I do in the seven or so months to boost my earnings (I have a goal of an extra 1000 pounds a month) so I can hit the affiliate ground running?

I am thinking of starting a new site and spending about 80% of my time on it from now to then (20% spent on keeping my existing sites running).

Two issues I have with this are a) eggs all in one basket and b) what area/niche to work in?

Do you have any funds available to buy an existing site? Quite often it’s easier to buy a site that has a few years history but the site owner has fallen out of love with the site. With a fresh pair of eyes, it’s quite often easy to spot new revenue streams and optimisation techniques that can repay the purchase price much quicker than anticipated, and you wouldn’t be spending 80% of your time chasing an idea with potential – you’d be spending 80% of your time breathing new life into an established venture.

Regards what niche to work in, I would say don’t chase the money – If you’re gonna be spending most of your working life working on this site, then it needs to be a subject matter you can continue to write the four hundredth blog post about 6 months down the line if it’s only earning you beer money. Too often I’ve bought a great domain which will make a killing in one sector or another, only to give up after spending a day or two building the site, and realising that I have no interest whatsoever in the subject matter. Put some passion into your sites!

For now, I wouldn’t worry about having all the eggs in one basket. I’d focus on getting the hens to lay them in the first place. THEN you can worry about where to put them

Once again, thanks all for your questions – please keep them coming!

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

Ask Lammo: Chickens, Eggs, Puppies and Slapping

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Been a while since I handed out one of these awards. These guys are more than deserving though, having pissed me off as BOTH a customer and an Affiliate!

First as a customer.. I booked a “twin” hotel room through them. Which on arrival at the hotel wasn’t a twin, but a single. If I wanted a room to sleep two people, I’d have to pay an extra £45. Which of course I had to do. On returning home, I complained to Hotels.co.uk’s “customer service” (I use the term loosely) department, and was given short shrift – It would appear that the word “twin” has no relevance to the number of beds in a room, nor the number of people it will sleep, and I wasn’t getting any of my money back. First time I’d ever used them, and without a doubt it was now going to be the last.

I’d spent the best part of two years slowly integrating deeplinks to hotels via hotels.co.uk on buy.at before this experience put me off them, so although I haven’t added any links since then, I wasn’t going to be anal enough to go through hundreds of pages and remove all the deeplinks I’d already set up for them and replace them with new deeplinks for different merchants.. except now I have to, as hotels.co.uk have forced my hand..

Some bright spark at Hotels.co.uk thought it would be a brilliant idea to change their site structure, instantly breaking every single one of my deeplinks overnight, and ensuring that my conversions (which were never great) have plummeted to zero. No-one thought to make sure that the old URLs redirect to the new ones (the hotels still exist, it’s literally just the URL structure that’s changed), and they all have a bog standard “not found” 404 page – At least a “Sorry, we can’t find that hotel in Manchester – here are some other Manchester Hotels” page would have mopped up some of the sales and meant I could afford to leave the links in place for the time being.

So, where I should be building my business as we enter the busiest retail period of the year, instead I’ll be hunting for and replacing hotel links that shouldn’t even need touching – thanks Hotels.co.uk!

Anyone recommend a GOOD hotel aggregator that allows deeplinking and converts well (oh, and actually gives a toss about their customers and affiliates!)?

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

Muppet of the week: Hotels.co.uk

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