Books Direct

BFC Direct - New Creative & Half Term Offers

noreply@blogger.com (Emma Pearson) — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 13:33:00 +0000

February half term is nearly here and with the cold front due to continue for the next few weeks many parents will be looking for something to do to entertain the kids! The team at BFC Direct have been looking for great items that will do just that. We have come up with three great products that should keep the children entertained come rain or shine.

Animal Tracks & Signs – RRP £15.99 BFC Direct Price £5.99 save £10!

This fascinating book is a species by species guide to the clues left behind by over 300 animals from all around the world. Look out for tracks and footprints, feeding signs, droppings and pellets, animal homes and hiding places and other specific behaviour, all detailed here.

Usborne 50 Make and Do Activity Cards – RRP £5.87 BFC Direct Price £2.49 – better than half price

Banish boredom forever with this exciting new series of activity cards from Usborne! Each pack contains 50 absorbing and creative activities that will enrapture, entertain and engage children 365 days of the year.

Charlie and Lola Activity Set – RRP £21.98 BFC Direct Price £10.98 – Half Price

In a very handy carrycase, you'll find an extremely good sticker book, an ever so lovely colouring book, coloured pencils and lots of brilliantly patterned paper. Plus, we've included the My Completely Best Story collection: five favourite Charlie and Lola stories based on the hit BBC television series.

Creative featuring all of the above sets is available within the interface and will be live until 21st February.

If you require any variations to the current creative sizes available please let me know I am sure that we will be able to sort something out for you.

Many Thanks

Emma

National Storytelling Week Promotions

noreply@blogger.com (Emma Pearson) — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 12:05:00 +0000

With National Storytelling Week fast approaching, 30th January – 6th February, we have decided to celebrate! To encourage storytelling each day we will be giving away a classic well loved children’s books with every order over £10 when you use one of the below vouchercodes. All codes are set up and available within the affiliate window interface.

Saturday 30th – We’re Going On A Bear Hunt – voucher code 5028
Sunday 31st – Where The Wild Things Are - voucher code 5029
Monday 1st – Dahl Quiz Book – voucher code 5030
Tuesday 2nd – Winnie the Witch – voucher code 5031
Wednesday 3rd – Meg and Mog – voucher code 5032
Thursday 4th – A Bear Called Paddington – voucher code 5033
Friday 5th – Jungle Book – voucher code 5034

To celebrate National Storytelling week we also have some great sets at some of the lowest prices online. There is a set for all ages to enjoy;

Amazing Machines - RRP £19.99 BFC Direct price £5.49 less than 55p per book!
Beatrix Potter – Tales of Peter Rabbit Complete 23 Book Collection RRP£114.77, BFC Direct price £27.49 only £1.20 per book.
Chronicles of Narnia – 7 wonderful books by C.S. Lewis is enough to make any children’s imagination run wild. RRP £34.99 BFC Direct price £9.99 a saving of 71%
Roald Dahl – 16 glorious tales from Roald Dahl in a beautiful slip case. RRP £94.84, BFC Direct price £25.99 only £1.62 per book.

Also check out our video gallery where you can find author interviews and tips on how to make a story come to life.

We hope you take this opportunity to share your favourite story with a loved one.

NB: only one voucher code can be used per transaction.

Kind Regards

Emma

Emma Pearson
E: epearson@bca.co.uk
T: 01793 747084

BFC Direct Book Bonanza

noreply@blogger.com (Emma Pearson) — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 15:36:00 +0000

For one week only we will be launching the BFC Direct Book Bonanza! With a different offer each day there is real money to be made!!

Monday 18th – Chase away those Monday blues by returning to your childhood. Any affiliate that puts through a sale over £10 will receive a free copy of Guess How Much I Love You by Sam McBratney (RRP £10.99). Limited to one copy per affiliate.

Tuesday 19th – Banners Day, by simply placing one of our banners on your home page (please send us a screen grab) we will award you 4% additional commission for the day. It’s going to be a bannerific day!!

Wednesday 20th – Parents’ Day, chance for your users to grab a free parenting book by Gina Ford worth £12.98 with every order. Promotional code will be required and will be released Monday 18th.

Thursday 21st – Extra commission, everyone approved to the programme will receive 10% commission for a 24 hour period.

Friday 22nd – Get ready for the weekend (and school holidays!) and win an Xbox 360! Any affiliate that puts through 8 or more sales by the end of the weekend (Sunday 23:59hrs) will be entered into a draw to win an Xbox 360 Arcade.

Check back next week to see our amazing National Story Telling Week Promotions. You can also keep up to date with the latest promotions by following my blog http://booksdirectaffiliates.blogspot.com/

If you have any questions please contact me.

Kind Regards

Emma
Tel: 01793 747084
Email: epearson@bca.co.uk

January Update

noreply@blogger.com (Emma Pearson) — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 16:19:00 +0000

Christmas is done and dusted for another year and the New Year is well underway. For those lucky few, what a great way to start the first week back at work with a snow day. Unfortunately work is walking distance for me so I had no excuse!!

To go with the current weather conditions we have some very snowy sale creative which is available within the Affiliate Window interface, for those of you who placed dynamic deal of the week creative on your site the sale creative will already be live. With up to 90% off a huge range of books there is definitely a bargain to be had.

We are also working on some book and price lead creative which will hopefully install a new lease of life into the affiliate programme. The new creative features three key products.

We hope that the creative will be available for general use early next week, the creative will over write the general BFC Direct creative. With two types of creative available check that you have the creative on your site that best suits your target audience. If you require any additional creative sizes or one for a specific book please get in touch and I will see what we can create for you.

Emma

December Update

noreply@blogger.com (Emma Pearson) — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 14:34:00 +0000

Well where has the year gone and more to the point the decade?! This time next week all the presents will be unwrapped and the turkey carved and Christmas will be done and dusted for another year.

Deal of the week has been a success with Mr Men book set proving everyone’s favourite so much so that we are now out of stock until the New Year. Sadly due to the postal cut off dates deal of the week has now come to an end for this year. Don’t worry; if you are using the promotional banners we will be keeping these within the Affiliate Window interface for use next year. In the mean time the deal of the week will be replaced with standard BFC Direct affiliate banners.

We will be busy between Christmas and New Year preparing the new websites for launch and enabling 000’s of items of stock ready for the new Books Direct Bargains which will be launched within the affiliate space in January/February. As a result of the new sites launching there may be a period of down time for the BFC Direct site. We will try and give you as much warning as possible and depending on the length of down time will review whether or not compensation is applicable.

In my last general update I mentioned we were working on a data feed, as with anything technical nothing ever goes as planned. We are nearly there with the feed however there are a few key elements that are missing. We require the developers to spend some time adjusting it which we hope will be done in the New Year. In the mean time if anyone would like a CSV data feed please contact me and I will see what I can pull together for you as a stop gap until the HTML feed is ready.

Overall we are pleased with the launch of the BFC Direct site and we are working hard to come up with a good launch incentive for Books Direct Bargains. The Golden ticket event was a fantastic success and we are keen to look at some more affiliate incentives. Let me know what motivates you to generate more sales, or if you have an idea that you think will benefit the programme as a whole I want to hear from you.

Remember that today is the last day you can order from BFC Direct and still qualify for delivery before Christmas.

All that’s left is to say a massive thank you for your work on the programme this year, may it continue into the next.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

Emma

50 Classic Children's Books

noreply@blogger.com (Emma Pearson) — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 16:22:00 +0000

Christmas alarmingly close, three weeks today! There has never been a better time to buy books for children. I think they make a great gift, and a timeless classic can be passed down from generation to generation.

At BFC Direct we sell classic children's books to suit all ages we have pulled together a list of 50 great titles both old an new, take a look at our list (in no particular order) and see whether or not you favourite book from your childhood is there.

Can you find your favourite childhood book here? Have we missed off a classic book?
Post below and let us know, you never know when may expand the list!

Christmas is fast approaching

noreply@blogger.com (Emma Pearson) — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 15:43:00 +0000

Christmas is nearly here, 5 weeks today will be Christmas day, and if like me you are planning to do most of your shopping online, who wouldn’t?! Cashback, vouchercodes and delivery to your door. If you’re an online shopper that makes it only 4 shopping weeks left!

With so much to do and a new website to be built before Christmas I think everyone at Books Direct has put Christmas at the back of their minds. This weekend was the first time that it dawned on me that the festive season that I love so much is nearly here!!

Last weekend there was a shift in advertising and TV programmes that really made me sit up and pay attention, the full swing of Christmas advertising has started with Christmas films such as A Christmas Carol and Nativity receiving a lot of air time, Doctor Who is back with a new assistant and Christmas isn’t Christmas without the return of the Coca-Cola advert.

So what are we doing at books direct in the lead up to Christmas?

Competition – when we launched BFC Direct we released a great competition giving affiliates the chance to win their Christmas Shopping. Two out of the 7 categories have now closed, but you can still be in with a chance to win. The following categories are still open,

New website – Books Direct will be back in the New Year with a direct to consumer proposition. We are really excited about the range of the books that we can bring direct to the consumer and the prices that we can offer them at! We will be looking to launch the new look and feel Books Direct site & affiliate programme site in January 10 so watch this space!

Christmas Hot Picks - We have some great items which tie in with what’s on at the moment; Dr Who 2010 annual and activity pack, A Disney Christmas Carol book to accompany the film, a variety of TV related annuals, and not to disappoint we even have a bit of James Bond 007 for the kids. The Twilight saga is also high up there on our prediction for best sellers this Christmas, with New Moon being released today these books are going to be a must have for any teen or adult that is not already obsessed. These are just a few of the great titles that we think will be popular this year!

noreply@blogger.com (Emma Pearson) — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 14:42:00 +0000

It has been nearly a month now since we have launched the new BFC Direct affiliate campaign. It is one of our first direct to consumer ventures and like any new business we are learning and adapting to the feedback that we are given.

We have been constantly looking at how we can help to improve the affiliate performance on the campaign. We are busy working on a data feed for the price comparison sites; we hope that this will be released before Christmas – fingers crossed for no technical glitches!!

Up until now we have been running in my opinion some great promotions (I may be biased);

• 7 different prize draws to celebrate the launch of the campaign – its not to late to be include in 5 of these!
• Increased commission of 10%, decreasing to 8% in Jan
• Free book on all orders over £10 using the publicised promo codes – offer ends 31st November
• Free P&P on all orders over £25
• Deal of the week, all offers have had over 50% off the RRP, another 5 weeks of deals still to come all with at least 50% off the RRP.

Even with these offers we have still been looking at how we can improve the site for users and help to increase conversion. This week we have made some minor changes to the site which has helped to increase usability and this morning we have had a major price slash across a wide range of titles, most of them the cheapest online! A few of the best offers can be found below. They are also featured products on our home page. Or alternatively if you wish to push a specific product please feel free to deep link.

                          RRP  Original Price Current Price
Mr Men Collection          £115.00    £62.91         £37.99
Disney A Christmas Carol   £9.99      £8.99          £4.99
Hannah Montana Annual      £7.99      £6.49          £3.99
Dear Santa                 £4.99      £4.49          £1.99
Disney Story Treasury      £12.99     £11.99         £4.49

We have also been busy adding author interviews and the up and clips of new releases such as A Christmas Carol and Fantastic Mr Fox. We are always looking at ways in which we can improve the campaign and help increase performance, whether this may be a different creative size or a fresh innovative idea I want to hear from you. With and in house design team we can often come up with solutions with a very speedy turn around.

The next thing on my agenda is providing weekly email creative for the offer of the week; let me know if you are interested in using this type of creative.

I would love to hear your ideas, no matter how big or small & enjoy a challenge!

Emma Pearson
e: epearson@bca.co.uk t:01793 707084

Books Direct Offer Planning

noreply@blogger.com (Emma Pearson) — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 14:00:00 +0000

Hello there,

We’re planning on putting together some new offers for use on the Affiliate Programme, but rather than us telling you what to promote, we thought it would be interesting to hear from you what you think would make a good offer, based on your customers and on previous offers.

Why not have a look around our website and see what books are available?
http://www.booksdirect.co.uk

You might have some clear ideas of particular titles that you’d like to see offered as a set, or perhaps it’s a particular author or genre.
Whatever the case, let us know your thoughts via this post or send us an email by 15th May. We may not be able to make all of your suggestions but we’ll certainly look into it!

We look forward to hearing from you soon!

Louise

Louise Ashley-Cox
Online Marketing Executive
Books Direct
Lashley-cox@bca.co.uk
01793 747153

Books Direct Prize Pool Giveaway Day!

noreply@blogger.com (Emma Pearson) — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 14:56:00 +0000

Affiliate Window HQ played host to an affiliate afternoon last Friday (27th February 2009) where the two lucky winners of the Books Direct Prize Pool were picked and announced.

The Prize pool ran since the 1st June 2008 and closed on the 31st December 2008. During this time two affiliates – Paul Wheatley and Fraser Edwards ran the brand Paid Search through a specially set up affiliate ID. The commission paid was at the standard rates but Paul and Fraser only received payment for the cost of running the paid search. The rest of the commission was set aside into a rolling prize pool that accumulated each month.

Every month any affiliate who had driven at least one sale or more than one hundred clicks was entered into a draw. Five winners were picked at random, each receiving a fifty pounds bonus alongside a Golden ticket entry into the draw. The draw took place each month from August through to December, totaling twenty five tickets. At the end of October Books Direct also ran a landing page competition, choosing another five Golden Tickets from the best landing pages created and submitted.

So on Friday there were a total of thirty tickets in the draw and the final prize pool totaled £17,331.86. Sarah Day – the Online Marketing Manager for Books Direct presented a company update to the attending affiliates followed by a short open discussion. Some interesting suggestions on how to improve the Books Direct programme were raised and we will be looking at how best to implement these in the very near future.

Finally, after months of anticipation the time came to pick the two winners. Helen Smith, Head of Online and Creative at Books Direct performed the honour and the first name to be pulled from the draw was easyfundraising.org.uk. Unable to attend the day we were able to contact Jonathan Scott on the phone later in the afternoon to share the good news. The second winning ticket that was pulled out belonged to Richard Gibson from Freebiejeebies.co.uk. Richard was in attendance and needless to say utterly delighted at the result!

So congratulations to both easyfundrasing.org.uk and Freebiejeebies.co.uk, both win a staggering £8,665.93 each!

Overall the afternoon was a great success, and something Books Direct plan to do again in the future. The prize pool is now fully closed but Books Direct is certainly eager to try new enterprises like this again in the future.

If you have any questions about Books Direct, or the prize pool in particular please do feel free to get in touch.

Best wishes
Louise

Online Marketing Executive
Books Direct
Lashley-cox@bca.co.uk
01793 747153

Prize Pool Draw event

noreply@blogger.com (Emma Pearson) — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 16:44:00 +0000

Hello All,

The wait is finally over!

The final amount for the prize pool has been confirmed at a whopping £17,331.86, which will be split between two lucky winners in the draw.

We will be holding the draw and celebration at the Affiliate Window Offices in London on Friday 27th February at 1.30pm, and anyone with a Golden ticket is invited to attend.

For those of you who do have tickets, you should already have received an email, but on the off-chance that you didn’t get it the details of the event are as follows…

Directions to the venue can be found using the link below
Map

Affiliate Window
3rd Floor
100 Leman Street
London
E1 8EU

The afternoon should last around two hours, and the agenda will be as follows:

Welcome
Update on Books Direct
Background on the Prize Pool
The Prize Draw
Q&A session
Drinks and nibbles

We’re really looking forward to seeing you there, and would be grateful if you could confirm whether or not you’ll be able to join us by Wednesday 25th February. You can get in touch either by phone or by email.

Don’t worry if you can’t make it to the draw. Every ticket will be included in the prize draw regardless of attendance and has an equal chance of winning. Winners will receive confirmation by email or phone no later than Monday 2nd March.

Thanks and regards
Louise

Online Marketing Executive, Books Direct
Lashley-cox@bca.co.uk
01793 747153

Prize Pool Winners to be announced!

noreply@blogger.com (Emma Pearson) — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 16:21:00 +0000

2008 was a very busy year for all Books Direct affiliates who participated in the Prize Pool, and now the closing date and 30 day cookie period has passed, the results are very nearly in.

The Prize Pool has exceeded our expectations and has raised over £15,000, which will get split between two lucky winners, to be announced in the next few days.

We'll be contacting the winners direct, so finger's crossed you'll be hearing from us very soon!

Thank you to everyone who has contributed to this trial, it's been great fun to work on. Good luck!

Books Direct Prize Pool

noreply@blogger.com (Emma Pearson) — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 10:27:00 +0000

Dear all,

A merchant aiming to build a successful affiliate programme needs to ensure that affiliates are rewarded for their efforts fairly, as well as running an engaging programme that isn’t afraid to try new things in an ever advancing industry.

For some time after launching with Affiliate Window back in April this year we discussed PPC options that were available on the programme. We wanted to explore ways to combat concerns that might arise from allowing varying PPC terms and conditions from affiliate to affiliate on the same programme.

A suggestion then came in the way of two affiliates – Fraser Edwards and Paul Wheatley.

The idea was for Books Direct to close down their privately run PPC campaigns and in place these two affiliates would work together to replace the revenue stream through brand. We would be paying the campaign cost but apart from that the campaign would be run at no profit to these two affiliates. Although both are active on Books Direct through their own accounts a completely new and separate one was set up solely for brand activity. The commissions that would be generated through this Books Direct brand affiliate account would then be put into a prize pool and this money would be re-distributed to active affiliates on the programme.

Therefore since 1st June 2008 all of Books Direct PPC has been run through the affiliate channel. We have allowed it to run for the first two months to give time for the affiliates to stabilise their campaigns and to give us a chance to assess the potential pool fund. The cost of running this account is being paid by Books Direct, while the remainder of the commissions earned plus the network override generated through the brand activity has been stored as a prize pool.

So why have we done this?
The profits generated through private allowances on brand activity will now be shared back to those affiliates who potentially risk losing commissions from their cookies being overwritten by brand cookies.

We are by no means suggesting that the system adopted by Books Direct is feasible for all programmes, or that it is a total solution to these concerns, only that it is a trial we have decided to undergo.

So what does this mean for you?
We plan to run this activity until the end of the year. By which point the prize pool generated will be a substantial amount.

For more of an idea of the amount; activity for June collected a pool of £1,236.97, activity for July collected a pool of £2,627.38 that’s a total so far of £3,864.35.

If you already are a Books Direct affiliate you will be included with a chance to receive this prize pool. If you are not already an affiliate your participation can be secured by joining the programme and generating commissions from now until the end of the year.

How will the pool be distributed?
Each month, all affiliates who have made a sale, or at least 100 clicks, on the Books Direct programme will be entered into a prize draw. Each sale will count as one prize draw entry, so the more sales you make, the more chances you have to win. If you have made more than 100 clicks, but no sales, you will receive one prize draw entry.

Each month, 5 winners will be selected who will each receive a prize of £50, as well as a Golden Ticket to enter the main draw in December, to win the remaining prize pool, which will be divided between 2 winners.

Each month the prize draw starts afresh, but you can enter every month and increase your chances of winning the big prize!

If you have not yet joined up to the Books Direct affiliate programme and would like to do so please click here

We would welcome your comments and suggestions so please feel free to get in touch.

Kind regards,
Sarah Day
Online Acquisition Manager
Books Direct
sday@bca.co.uk
01793 747015

Affiliate Window Account Manager: Anjulie Truong
BooksDirect@affiliatewindow.com

noreply@blogger.com (Emma Pearson) — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 08:30:00 +0000

Books Direct relaunches on Affiliate Window!

I'm happy to announce that the Books Direct programme relaunches today on Affiliate Window. Links are now available, so sign up now!

Don't forget, you can earn up to £16 commission per accepted new member!

To thank you for your continued support of the programme, we are running an amazing prize draw, offering you the chance to win a fantastic trip to watch the Monaco Grand Prix, including flights, transfers and accommodation! See the blog posting for full details on how to qualify!

The TradeDoubler programme will close on 28 May, so please switch your links across asap.
If you have any questions about the changes, or any other aspect of the programme, please don't hestitate to get in touch. Thanks for your continued support, and good luck with the prize draw!

noreply@blogger.com (Emma Pearson) — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 08:20:00 +0000

Win a trip to the Monaco F1 Grand Prix!

The Monaco F1 GP is probably the most famous race in the world; with it's unique track (the city's streets) it is one of the most exciting; and, without a doubt, it is the most glamorous! And you could be there, with Books Direct!

Every new member you generate between April 22nd and May 14th will count as an entry into the prize draw. But to encourage you to switch links, every sale made through Affiliate Window will count as 2 entries! What's more, if you promote this prize draw to other affiliates on your own blog, we'll give you an additional 10 entries into the draw!

The prize package includes:

Return flights to Nice;

3 nights hotel accommodation inc. breakfast;

Airport Transfers by coach Track Transfers by train

Sat & Sun Welcome Drink & Nibbles

So remember, the more sales you make, the more chances you have to win! Good luck!

Terms and Conditions:
Please read this information carefully:
1. This free prize draw is open to all affiliates of the Books Direct affiliate marketing programme who make a sale between 00.00am on 22 April 2008 and 23.59pm on 14 May 2008 via TradeDoubler or Affiliate Window; or any such affiliate who promotes this prize draw to other affiliates via their blog and sends a link to the article to sday@bca.co.uk by 23.59pm on 30 April 2008.

2. The prize draw is open only to UK residents aged 18 or over except for employees of BCA, their families, agencies or any other company ( including Affiliate Window and Trade Doubler) directly connected with the administration of this promotion.
3. Prize draw entries can be made as follows: 1 x new member application via TradeDoubler = 1 x prize draw entry; 1 x new member application via Affiliate Window = 2 x prize draw entries; 1 x blog posting, where the link to the posting is sent via email to sday@bca.co.uk = 10 prize draw entries.

4. Sales totals will be taken from the TradeDoubler and Affiliate Window interfaces as at midday on 15 May 2008.
5. The draw will be made on 16nd May 2008.

6. The winner will be drawn independently and at random from all valid entries received and will be notified by email within 72 hours of the actual draw date.

7. The prize consists of one trip to the Monaco Grand Prix for 2 people from Fri 23rd to Monday 26th May 2008, and includes:

- Direct return flights to Nice from Leeds Bradford Airport (outbound: dep 12:10 LBA, arr NCE 15:30; return: dep 16:00 NCE, arr LBA 17:25)
- 3 nights hotel accommodation inc. Breakfast
- Airport Transfers by coach
- Track Transfers by train - Sat & Sun
- Welcome Drink & Nibbles
- Thomas Cook Sport day bag / rucksack (1 per 2 people)
- Thomas Cook Sport representative service

Other meals, drinks, transport to Leeds Bradford Airport and insurance are not included in the prize.

8. No alternative prize is available and the prize is not transferable.

9. For winner's details please send an email to: sday@bca.co.uk within 28 days of the draw date.

10. The winner may be asked to participate in non paid publicity accompanying or resulting from this draw.

11. By entering the free prize draw, entrants agree to be bound by the rules and by any other requirements set out in promotional material.

Promoter: BCA, Hargreaves Road, Swindon SN25 5BG

noreply@blogger.com (Emma Pearson) — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 17:06:00 +0000

You might have noticed some changes to our site and our banners - and even this blog!

That's because we've relaunched the Books Direct brand with a new look, better offers and more choice.

Thanks to your help, the Books Direct brand, which was previously just an umbrella brand, has gone from strength to strength, to the extent that we've now merged the World Books and World of Mystery & Thriller clubs under the Books Direct brand, and made it a club in it's own right.

We are in the process of building a new website which will launch later this year, that will give inproved usability and conversion rates.

You'll continue to earn £8 for every new member generated by your ads, but we've now added even more offers where you can earn double commissions - that's £16 for every new member! What's more, as these offers require an upfront payment, there are no reversals!

What's more, on some of these offers, the books are FREE! All the customer pays is P&P, making them an ideal ad for freebie or discount sites, as well as great for cashback sites as there are no reversals.

See below for details on all these offers. All links are available in TradeDoubler, but if you would like a personalised list of links, which include your TradeDoubler ID, please email me at sday@bca.co.uk stating your affiliate ID and I'll send you your links.

Roald Dahl
http://www.go.booksdirect.co.uk/affmini1/?bcat=16736&extra_data=club0085;00M2539
ursting with Dahl’s unforgettable characters this 16 book set will be a huge hit with readers of all ages. Join Books for Children and we'll send you this magnificent collection for just £4.99 (+£2.99 p&p).

Thomas the Tank
http://www.go.booksdirect.co.uk/affmini2/?bcat=16736&extra_data=club0085;000M2540
Books for Children is delighted to offer this collection of 18 Thomas & Friends adventures featuring pictures from the popular TV series. Join today and we'll send you the set for £4.99 (+ £2.99 p&p) , saving £81!

Beatrix Potter
http://www.go.booksdirect.co.uk/tioli2/?bcat=16736&extra_data=club0085;000M2538
Peter Rabbit and his friends are among the most cherished of all children's characters. Books for Children is proud to offer you a beautifully presented set of all 23 Beatrix Potter stories for just £9.99 (+£2.99 p&p)

Top Gear
http://www.go.booksdirect.co.uk/tioli11/?bcat=16714&extra_data=club0011;000M2566
Get in gear and grab these two great titles from Top Gear’s own Jeremy Clarkson and Richard ‘The Hamster’ Hammond for free as your introduction to Books Direct. All you pay is £1.99 p&p.

Philip Pulman Trilogy
http://www.go.booksdirect.co.uk/tioli32/?bcat=16758&extra_data=club0029;000M2582
The Golden Compass, has its roots firmly in Phillip Pullman’s classic trilogy, His Dark Materials. As your introduction to Books Direct, we’d like to offer you the entire fantastic adventure for free. Just pay £1.50 p&p.

Martina Cole - FREE BOOKS
http://www.go.booksdirect.co.uk/tioli16/?bcat=16714&extra_data=club0011;000M2560
Martina Cole is one of the biggest names in the literary world thanks to her realistic, disturbing and imaginative plots. Now you can get 2 of her latest titles for FREE! (plus £1.99 P&P) when you join Books Direct today!

New Year, New You
http://www.go.booksdirect.co.uk/tioli14/?bcat=16714&extra_data=club0011;000M2585
It’s time for a new year and a new you. Whether you want to tone up, detox or just feel fab these three books are your guide. Join Books Direct today and you’ll get all three for just £4.99 plus £1.99 p&p.

Chick Lit
http://www.go.booksdirect.co.uk/tioli15/?bcat=16714&extra_data=club0011;000M2575
Need a book to snuggle up with? For a lazy read on holiday whilst soaking up a bit of winter sun? Indulge yourself with these books from the Queens of chick-lit fiction for just £4.99 plus FREE P&P when you join Books Direct

Bad Girls Biographies
http://www.go.booksdirect.co.uk/tioli17/?bcat=16714&extra_data=club0011;000M2584
In today’s celeb-obsessed world, it’s easy to be dazzled by the glamour! But who are the real people behind the hairspray and makeup? Now you can find out for just £4.99 (plus £1.99 P&P) when you join Books Direct today!

Books Direct is Changing!

noreply@blogger.com (Emma Pearson) — Wed, 05 Dec 2007 12:36:00 +0000

During 2008, you’ll see some big changes in the way Books Direct works.

Books Direct was previously our umbrella brand, and sat above all of our book clubs without actually being a club itself.

However, partly thanks to our affiliates, Books Direct has become a strong brand and one which we’re keen to build on.

So from 1 January, our "World Books" club will be rebranded as Books Direct. As part of this move, World of Mystery and Thriller will also merge into Books Direct, creating one club, with broad general appeal.

Initially, we’ll continue to recruit into the other clubs under their existing brand names; so Books for Children, as well as our specialist clubs, we will retain their existing websites, but they will become "in association with Books Direct" and will sit on new URLs.

As part of this change, a new, single platform website is being developed on the www.booksdirect.co.uk URL. From 1 January, this will only be available to current members and new customers will not be able to join via this URL.

Later in 2008, the aim is to have Books Direct as our single brand, which will mean having everything on one new and improved site: watch this space!

What does this mean for you?
From December 14th, the URLs currently being used for customer acquisition will cease to exist.
Instead, they will be replaced by the URLs below:
Books for Children becomes www.bfc.booksdirect.co.uk
Fantasy & Sci Fi becomes www.fsf.booksdirect.co.uk
Military & Aviation becomes www.military.booksdirect.co.uk
History Guild www.history.booksdirect.co.uk
TSP becomes www.tsp.booksdirect.co.uk
Railway Book Club becomes www.railway.booksdirect.co.uk
World Books becomes www.joinnow.booksdirect.co.uk
World of Mystery & Thriller becomes www.joinnow.booksdirect.co.uk

The brands "World Books" and "World of Mystery & Thriller" will cease to exist for new member recruitment. Instead, there will be one club, called Books Direct.

All World Books/Mystery & Thriller banners will be replaced with Books Direct banners
The URLs for all links in the TradeDoubler system will be replaced as above, as well as the URLs for all special offers being replaced. A new logo for the Books Direct club will be made available.

What action is required?
We are unable to run the URLs in parallel. Therefore, please ensure that by December 14th that the links you are using are all being hosted by TradeDoubler. This will ensure that your links are automatically updated with the new creative and URLs.

If you are using the current URLs in PPC or other campaigns, please ensure that these are updated on 2nd January

If you are using the www.booksdirect.co.uk on your site, or for PPC, please replace your URL with www.joinnow.booksdirect.co.uk

If you are using the World Books, World of Mystery & Thriller logos on your site, please ensure that this is replaced – a new logo will be provided within the next couple of weeks

I appreciate that there is a LOT of information here, so I hope that this all makes. If you have any queries whatsoever, please don’t hesitate to get in touch. More details and reminders will be provided over the coming weeks.

A4U Expo

noreply@blogger.com (Emma Pearson) — Mon, 29 Oct 2007 12:26:00 +0000

Today is my first day back in the office after attending the fantastic A4U Expo in London last week. What a great event!

From my perspective, it was great to just get a couple of days out of the office, surrounded by a group of people who are so passionate about affiliate marketing and to see what an industry it has become.

There was so much to take in, but the main points I took from it all were:

(1) The phrase "content is king" has never been more true. New features such as Affiliate Window's "Shop Window" product, and the Content Generator from Paid on Results are making it even easier for merchants to provide up-to-date content for affiliates to use. Product Feeds are clearly a basic "must-have" - this has probably been the case for some time, but I guess the event just really hammered this home, and getting a decent product feed is top of my list for the Books Direct programme!

(2) Social Networks are going to be huge from a marketing perspective - once we all figure out exactly how to get the most out of them! What was clear though, was that to really make it work, you need to carefully consider the medium and create something that suits. Given that Books Direct works on a club mechanic, and that we already have a vast range of member reviews and other UGC, it seems like we're in a great position to be able to take advantage of the social networking phenomenon. I'll certainly be giving some careful thought to capitalise on this next year...!

(3) The last click debate continues...At both the Expo and at AdTech, I saw that the use of universal tracking tags seems to be becoming more prevalent, with many merchants starting to take a more holistic view of how online sales are generated. This is definitely something that we'll be looking into more next year to help us better understand ROI from various campaigns and to attribute media spend appropriately. It's clear that various media owners will then want to take this to the next level, where commissions are apportioned accordingly. I think this is a good idea in practice, but someone is going to come up with a straight-forward and robust way of doing this for merchants to really embrace it.

I met some fantastic people, and just wanted to say thanks for everyone who took the time to chat about what they're doing, and how we could work together. I especially wanted to thank Gary, Fiona and Tara at Equator for introducing us to some great people, and to Clarke Duncan who spoke so enthusiastically about affiliate marketing that I came away thinking how glad I am to work in this industry and how much I enjoy my job! :)

Earn Double Commissions - £16 per sale

noreply@blogger.com (Emma Pearson) — Mon, 15 Oct 2007 11:24:00 +0000

This week there are some fantastic new offers available from Books Direct and, to help you promote these, we're offering DOUBLE COMMISSIONS. That's £16 for every new member you generate.

Get a complete set of Roald Dahl books for just £4.99 when you join Books for Children; or the Delia Smith collection for just £12.99 plus one book free.

Also offered are an 18-book Thomas the Tank Engine set for £4.99, or else a Fantasy & Sci Fi "Elements" Encyclopedia set - ideal for Halloween! These offers convert really well and because customers pay upfront with a credit card, there is no screening meaning virtually no rejects!

This is our peak time, and so a great time to take advantage of these new and improved offers.

Links and creative are below. Simply replace the affiliate ID (407311) with your own TradeDoubler ID.

Books for Children: Thomas the Tank Engine
World Books: Delia Smith
Books for Children: Roald Dahl
Books for Children: Beatrix Potter
FSF: Elements Encylopedia

Double Commissions until 31 August!

noreply@blogger.com (Emma Pearson) — Thu, 23 Aug 2007 09:22:00 +0000

Don't forget that you can still earn double commission when you promote our Beatrix Potter box set offer. Until 31 August, you'll receive £16 per new member recruited to the Books for Children club via this offer!

You can see more details by clicking here

This offer has been performing really well. Average click to sale conversion is around 5%, with some creatives delivering over 10% conversion. The 120x60 banner is the best performer. You can add it to your site using the code below, replacing "TDID" with your unique TradeDoubler ID:

< a href="http://clkuk.tradedoubler.com/click?p=1324&a=TDID&g=16752590" target="_blank">
< img src="http://impgb.tradedoubler.com/imp?type(img)g(16752590)a(TDID)" border="0" /> < / a >

Don't forget - as customers pay upfront for this offer, there are NO DELETIONS meaning you'll get paid for EVERY CUSTOMER YOU SEND US via this offer!

A4U Awards - Vote Now!

noreply@blogger.com (Emma Pearson) — Fri, 17 Aug 2007 15:26:00 +0000

Are you a member of the affiliates4u forum? As part of their a4u expo in October, they are launching the a4u awards, voted for by members.

For more information visit http://www.a4uexpo.com/a4uawards.php. There are various categories, including those for merchants and affiliate managers (!) So make your opinion count, and vote now!

And if you're not registered yet for the Expo, click on the banner at the top of the page to sign-up. It guarantees to be a great event!

Weekly Update: Chick Lit & Cookery - new offers

noreply@blogger.com (Emma Pearson) — Wed, 15 Aug 2007 10:17:00 +0000

Merry Christmas!

I know it's a bit early, but with just 19 weeks left until the big day, I know that many of you will be working on building new sites ready for the festive season! With that in mind, why not check this blog where you can find out more about why you should promote Books Direct, useful information on each of our clubs, our PPC policy, and our latest special offers.

Books make great Christmas gifts, and Oct/Nov are our biggest months. Make sure you're promoting our clubs to take advantage! We've also got 2 fantastic new offers which you can take advantage of - read more below.

This week we've got two great new offers for you to promote to your customers.

The first is a fantastic "chick-lit" deal, which offers three titles from some of today's best-selling authors for a great low price of just £4.99 when you join World Books. These make great holiday reads, and should prove really popular! See the offer here

The second offers some culinary treats for just £7.99! Enter the Saturday Kitchen Cookbook and tuck into Gordon Ramsay's Fast Food and save £26 on the RRP when you buy these 2 books for an unbeatable price of just £7.99 when you join World Books! Read more here

And don't forget, you can still earn DOUBLE COMMISSIONS on our Beatrix Potter offer until 31st August, PLUS take advantage of our Marian Keyes "free book" offer until 30 September!

Links are available on the TradeDoubler interface for all of these offers and more! Alternatively, contact me with your TradeDoubler ID and required sizes, and I will send link code to you.

Books Direct: How it Works

noreply@blogger.com (Emma Pearson) — Tue, 14 Aug 2007 10:51:00 +0000

Customers select a specified number of books at a highly discounted price, e.g 6 books for 1p each on World Books.

They pay nothing upfront.

By joining the club, they commit to join a set number of books - usually 4 - during their first year of membership, all with at least 40% discount on the RRP.

The customer pays for the books after they have received them.

Customers receive 10 days free home trial on every book.

As an affiliate, all you have to do is get customers to sign up. As long as they are accepted as a member (we decline duplicate applications and previous poor payers) then you receive commission. We pay £8 commission per new member.

Books Direct: PPC Guidelines

noreply@blogger.com (Emma Pearson) — Tue, 14 Aug 2007 10:45:00 +0000

Like many companies, Books Direct run our own in-house PPC campaigns. However, we understand the value that affiliates can add in this area. Therefore we are happy for you to bid on our brand terms.

However, we ask that you don't use our club display URLS, with the exception of http://www.booksdirect.co.uk/ which has been reserved for affiliate use. Our club display URLs are:

http://www.worldbooks.co.uk/

http://www.booksforchildren.co.uk/

http://www.fsf.co.uk/

http://www.mysterythriller.co.uk/

http://www.railway.co.uk/

http://www.historyguild.co.uk/

http://www.etsp.co.uk/

http://www.militarybookclub.co.uk/

Variations on our URLs (e.g http://www.worldbooks.offer.co.uk/) are fine.

We are happy to provide assistance with the development of landing pages, and have a vast library of images and copy which can be provided on request.

We are also able to help suggest suitable keywords based on our best-selling authors and book titles.