If you look just a little deeper, however, you’ll find that the world of affiliate marketing isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. Your affiliates aren’t always strong, loyal soldiers who will help you win the battle of online sales. More often than you’d care to imagine, your affiliates can turn out to be untrained, cowardly, or disloyal, and your business can suffer greatly. Are your affiliates cheapening your brand? Here are some ways it could be happening even under your fearless leadership.

They Could Do Anything to Sell Your Stuff

Someone who will do anything to sell sounds like a committed go-getter, but “anything” encompasses, well, anything – the good and the bad. Some of your affiliates could be pushy, shady salespeople who would lie, cheat, or steal to get referrals. You affiliates could make false claims or empty promises. They could deliberately mislead potential customers, putting profit above anything else, including above ethics and the good name of your business. Affiliates who do anything to sell can seriously cheapen your brand and hurt your image. Their practices will reflect on you, and customers will question the ethics and authenticity of a business that does anything to sell – even if your business doesn’t condone it.

They Could Derail Your Branding Efforts

Your brand is much more than just your business. It’s how your business is perceived by the public, and it incorporates many aspects including colors, logos, graphics, tone, writing style, and more. It takes a lot of work to build a brand and foster brand recognition, and a few rouge affiliates could cause a significant setback in your branding efforts, potentially destroying everything you’ve built. For example, you have no control over where your affiliate banners appear. If an affiliate puts them on an adult website or a controversial political website, for example, your brand could become widely associated with that type of content, whether you want it to or not. Your brand’s image could plummet quickly.

They Could Interact with Customers on Your Behalf

If an affiliate sends over a customer, and that customer is unhappy with their purchase, a few things could happen. They might complain directly to you. They might complain to you and the affiliate who referred them. They might not complain to you at all, and instead bash you all over the affiliate’s site (or elsewhere). If a customer is dissatisfied and takes it up with your affiliate, you have no control over how that affiliate will respond. Will they be polite or rude? Will they be helpful or evasive? Will they bring you into the loop or not? Your affiliates will become your customer service reps, regardless of their qualifications. With affiliates, you’re at risk for having unhappy customers you’ll never even know about. If a customer leaves a bad review on an affiliate site, you don’t have a fair chance to respond.

Affiliate marketing can be a very lucrative venture for both you and your affiliates. There are plenty of reliable, trustworthy affiliates out there who are only interested in making money in a way that makes both you and them look good. Unfortunately, with an open program, there’s no way to weed out the bad apples until it’s too late.

Mey Lau is a marketing strategist at SEOMap. Check out this website to read more of her work.

Watch This Video

Notice the clickable embedded link in the video at the very end? That’s just one of the cool things you can do with this video player.

Features

• Brand videos with a Clickable Watermark Logo and drive traffic to your money sites or to affiliate offers to make cash.
• Perfectly Time an HTML Overlay or Opt-in Form Overlay that will pause the video until the user clicks a submit button!

• Perfectly Time a Clickable Banner Ad to show up and vanish on queue (if you like) to get attention and send people to your offers!
• Perfectly Time a Working PayPal Buy Button – right inside the video! – to make sales of your products right from the video!
• Allow Affiliates to Embed Videos On Their Site with their own affiliate links in the video to sell YOUR products!
• Allow Visitors to Embed Your Video (even YouTube videos through your SVP) with all the logos, ads, buy buttons, etc. intact!
• The logo, banner ad, end splash image AND the Viral Like & Tweet buttons will ALL use the Affiliate’s Link! It is so EASY!
• Monetize the End-Splash Image as an affiliate link or as a big PayPal Buy Button!
• Create attention grabbing beginning Splash Images to engage people to play and watch your videos.
• OWN YouTube by Setting Start & Stop Points for any embeddable video! Add your logo and position it where you want.
• Snag people and Redirect Viewers to Any Site You Wish after the video ends!
• Perfectly Time the Reveal of Content, download links, opt-in forms, buy buttons, or even other videos to keep visitors engaged and get them to take action!
• Drive viral traffic and improve rankings to your YouTube videos using the Pinterest Pin-it Button – just check a box!
• Drive viral traffic to your video page using the Facebook Like Button!
• Use self hosted videos, Amazon S3 hosted videos or YouTube videos!
• Videos play on Mobile Devices – Including the iPhone and iPad!

I think my favorite feature is being able to embed banners and links into other people’s videos. Are you seeing all the possibilities with video now? You can get more information about Simple Video Pro here.

Search Engine Optimization

While focusing on what search engines are looking for is important, the rules are always changing and it can prove to be quite difficult to keep up. Typically, the most important thing to remember is to stay organized. Make your website easy to navigate and properly title and file your information. Always add keywords, not only so search engines can find things easier but so your audience can as well. Focus more on those who are going to be visiting your site than search engines. Go to Google, Bing and Yahoo for the latest Search Engine Optimization tips to brush up on the latest changes and you should be all set.

Offer Your Audience Something Unique

In order to be a successful website owner, you must offer something that people are looking for. Whether that is content such as tips on how to keep your garden thriving, or services; make sure you are giving your audience something that they are looking for. One great way to see if a site like yours has already been created is to use the Google Keyword Tool. This tool allows you to type in keywords or key phrases and get a glimpse into just how much competition you are up against on the web. If you can find a way to tweak your niche or field so that you have a smaller number of competitors, then you are making the whole process that much easier for yourself.

Social Networking: An Easy Way to Get Attention

Social Networking Sites are extremely popular these days. They are a great platform not only for personal use but business use as well. Twitter and Facebook are two of the most commonly used options. Twitter makes it simple to connect with people by posting 160 character snippets, while Facebook allows you to create Fan Pages for your website which allows people to easily find you. Facebook advertising is an amazing way to target only the people you want to; whether it be by age group, or likes and interests.

Other sites to consider using are Stumble Upon, Digg, Delicious and Pinterest. These are all fantastic ways to get your name out there and allow more people access to what it is you have to offer. Every time you make a change or have something special going on with your website, it is a good idea to post the news to all of these websites.

Show Consistency and Simplicity

Consistency is important when it comes to running any website. Update your content on a regular basis and post content that is of high quality. You want to focus on both quality and quantity with your website. Do not ever throw information together, because your visitors are going to be able to pick up on this. Show them that you care about what you are doing and that is going to shine through your work. If you feel rushed on a regular basis, then do what you can to adjust your schedule so you have time to truly focus on the task at hand and not begin to feel overwhelmed or as though you just have to post something even when you don’t have much to say.

When it comes to your website’s design, keep it simple; yet interesting. People who come to your site are typically going to be in a hurry and if they cannot easily find their way around within the first few seconds of stopping by; it is very likely that they will move on to the next website. Put special attention on your organization such as the links on your main page and make it easy for people to see where they need to go to contact you in case they have any questions.

Guest Posting

Check out websites similar to yours and show your expertise. Comment on forums, blogs and websites that are related to your niche and give advice. If you’re able to, have a link to your website in your signature so people that see your high quality information and are interested are able to find out what it is you do.

Getting people to come to your website naturally is the best way to get traffic and maintain it. What you are looking for is repeat visitors. These are those who are going to bring you in the most business; not only their own business but the business of their friends and family members.

This is a guest post by Cyril who is an online marketing expert with BigAnthem and recommends using multiple methods to get traffic for a website. 

You Only Pay for Visitors

With another form of advertising – say magazine advertising or advertising on the radio – you can potentially risk having thousands of viewers or listeners but not having anyone actually go to your website. With PPC you only pay when someone actually does click on your advert – so an unsuccessful campaign costs you nothing.

The Traffic is Targeted

When you use PPC your advert will be placed on sites that are in your niche or that are relevant to your subject matter. This means in other words that you won’t have lots of people visiting your site who aren’t at all interested in your subject.

The Traffic is Filtered

Of course you only want people to visit your site who are not only interested in your subject, but also willing to part with some money and to make you more money than you are going to spend – especially you’re paying for this traffic. The solution then is to simply provide more detail in your advert, and this way people will know precisely what you are offering before they come to your website.

You Can Budget Precisely

With PPC you can set a maximum amount you want to pay each day or each month and ensure this way that you don’t exceed your budget. And this amount is incredibly flexible too meaning that you can opt to pay more than ten dollars a day if your sheepish and just want to try it out, or can pay thousands a day if your business model is tried and tested and you want to make a lot of money.

It’s Flexible in Other Ways Too

At the same time PPC is flexible in other ways too. It can be an image, or it can be just text. Meanwhile there are so many different ad networks you can use that you can have it on almost any kind of site. Chances are that whatever your needs, PPC can help you.

It’s Dynamic

Ad not going well? Well then you can try rewording it as soon as you like and see if that improves matters at all. With traditional forms of advertising you have no choice but to wait for the next month or longer even, whereas with PPC you can change it immediately and do so every day if you wish.

You Get Feedback

PPC is fantastic for getting feedback and due to its’ nature you will get a wealth of information on how many clicks you had and how many views among other things. Because you can tweak your ad and your budget on the fly this then means you can test out different business models and really see what works.

This post was written by Vadim Kirichenko from Wisdek.com. Vadim has been using Adwords and other PPC networks for many years now and believes that PPC is one of the best advertising methods.

Derek Halpern of Social Triggers has come up with a structure for what he calls The Perfect Blog Post.

Like this? Get more marketing tips from Social Triggers.

Here are the 9 areas of the perfect blog post and what Derek says about them.

1. Headline – Goal = Grab Attention

Your headline gets read more than anything else on your website. That’s why your headline serves one goal: grab attention so people feel compelled to read your opening.

2. Opening – Key Insight #1

Direct marketers have long known that if you get people to read your first 3-4 sentences, they’re more likely to read your entire article. That said, the point of your opening is to get people to read your opening… and that’s it.

3. Half-Width Image – Key Insight #2

When people make snap decisions about text, they prefer fewer characters per line (CPL). The half-width image shortens the line length of the opening – fewer CPL – thus enticing people to read because it caters to their preferences.

4. Sub-Head – Big Promise #1

This sub-headline has one main goal… to entice people to read your first piece of content and that’s it. How? Make a promise to your readers… give them a benefit.

5. Content – Connect Emotionally

Your first piece of content should aim to trigger an emotion in your reader. When people get emotional, they pay attention. They’re also more likely to take action after being put into an emotional state.

6. CTA 1 – The Soundbite

Use a click to tweet “quote” right here. Why? Who do people quote? People quote authorities. Enticing people to quote you positions you as an authority. Plus, people like tweeting quotes and you’ll get more traffic from social media as a result of it.

7. Sub-Head – Big Promise #2

Here’s where you promise people exactly what they’ll learn… the step-by-step method… the how to. You already connected. Now’s the time to get people to take action.

8. Content – The How To Section

Give people practical, easy to implement advice. Get people results and they’ll remember you forever. Also, practically useful content is more viral than other types of content.

9. CTA 2 – Buy or Subscribe?

Here’s where you close out your article with another call to action. You can include a “buy now” CTA or a “subscribe.” I often use subscribe.

Is This The Perfect Blog Post Structure?

What do you think of this blog post structure? Is it something you would use on your own blogs?

About RevenueStreet.com

RevenueStreet represents the next generation in Affiliate Networks. RevenueStreet is a global performance-based marketing firm, specializing in lead generation and customer acquisition.

RevenueStreet is a division of TheMediaCrew.com, Inc an industry leader in online marketing, delivering full-service, results-focused solutions.

RevenueStreet was ranked 29 out of the top 50 affiliate networks by Website Magazine in 2011.

It never hurts to have a gentle reminder of the very basic, yet important tips we were given, or learned early on. We all get to a point where something is capturing our attention more than normal, either a tight deadline for a particular project, or trying to garner more work. So, it’s only reasonable to think that we might neglect the basics.

Read on to receive that reminder we all need from time to time.

Point 1 – Goal Setting

Setting goals has always been good advice. But perhaps it’s never been quite as important as when you are a self-taught entrepreneur. There isn’t anyone, except for maybe family, to push you as a manager in a traditional office would do. So, you must rely on yourself more than ever.

Setting goals is a great way to keep you on track, providing motivation to accomplish what you believe you can do. Of course, you need to believe you can, first. A quote that I just recently read, by Lydia M. Child, is very fitting here: “Belief in oneself is one of the most important bricks in building any successful venture.”

Once you conquer that, set milestones to reach the big goal. Each time you reach a milestone, give yourself a mini-reward, or a pat on the back…whichever you can afford. If you are just starting out, pats on the back will do.

When you reach your goal…or, perhaps, just before you do, set another one. Keep yourself motivated and on track, or things like deadlines and bills will sneak up on you without warning.

Point 2 – Keep up with the Industry Trends

You should always keep track of what is going on in your industry, because it’s most likely changing often, especially when it’s tied to the Internet and technology.

If I could recommend one of the easiest ways to stay on top of everything, it would be to browse the Internet …and often. You can learn what is new in your industry by simple searches on your niche, browse the competitor sites, and communicate with your visitors or customers to find out what they are looking for when they come to you.

Point 3 – Grow with Technology

If you can count on nothing else, you can count on the fact that technology will change. Keeping up on the changes will allow you to maintain your business to its fullest capabilities. Not only are there various electronics such as iPhones, iPads, web-conferencing, and much more, but you also have to maintain your computer system that helps your entire business to function well.

You also might have a staff that you will need to communicate with through technology, which will require someone to keep it up and running with updates and system changes. If you don’t want to hire a server administrator to do it for you, then the need for continued training and education might be in store.

Fortunately, there are many online courses you can take such as VMware vSphere 5 training. You can take these courses in the comfort of your own home, and stay current on all the changes that are guaranteed to happen.

Point 4 – Organization is Vital

Have you ever tried to work in an area that is not organized? I have, and it’s frustrating and disruptive to thinking clearly and working efficiently. If you are spending time looking for something that you should be able to find right away, then you are taking valuable time away from production.

So, organize for clearer thinking, as well as a more productive atmosphere. Here are some ideas to keep you organized:

1. Use shelving and cabinets to keep the desk and floor clear
2. When working with deadlines, set milestones and use email reminders to stay on track
3. Make a daily schedule, with the most difficult tasks to be done first
4. Schedule breaks to make sure you take them

These should help anyone get organized, but there is probably more you can do specifically depending on your business. For example, if you sell retail, keep track of your inventory in an organized software program, and update it regularly.

Point 5 – Refresh and Update Your Written Content

One of the most important tips I can give would be to keep your business current and updated as changes occur. That includes your written content on your website, advertising, printed material such as brochures.

Take for example, your website. If you don’t change it up, and often, visitors have no reason to come back, because they have already browsed through it. I would also suggest that you give it a slight personal feel to the reading so the reader can relate. Use real life examples and a style that is easy to read.

Some people are not comfortable in writing their content, which is fine. That is what freelance writing is all about. You can find freelance writers at websites like Elance to help you out, either short or long term. They are independent contractors, so you don’t have the cost of hiring someone like you would in the traditional setting.

In Closing

I have shared some information that you can hopefully apply to your business to enhance productivity and growth. And, the best news is that they are easily applied to any Internet business, no matter what your niche is.

This is a guest post by Kathy Barber who decided to take her passion for writing and turn it into a full time career as a freelance writer. She is currently working on a series of articles that is inspired through her research on www.ecourseclassroom.com of Cisco CCNA courses. When she is not writing, she enjoys spending time with her husband and son, traveling, researching, cooking, and dabbling in photography.

So what is PeerFly?

In their own words PeerFly is a one-of-a-kind cost-per-action based affiliate ad network. Unlike other affiliate networks, their system is custom built from the ground up and doesn’t rely on unreliable hosted mechanics. They’re currently accepting publishers from all countries, in any vertical so if you’re looking to join an affiliate network definitely take a look at PeerFly.

I myself recently joined PeerFly and am very impressed with their application process. All their verification steps are automated and they even tell you where your application is in the queue to be verified. I can’t remember another network having anything like that.

I was assigned Luke Kling to be my affiliate manager which made me very happy. If you haven’t seen his Affiliate Manager blog yet I totally recommend you take a look at it. He definitely knows what he’s talking about and is not your run-of-the-mill AM just pushing you to run an offer.

You can learn more about PeerFly here.

When I first started using the plugin the statistics for my blog were as follows.

• Average Time on Site: 00:01:48
• Bounce Rate: 67.62%
• Pages/Visit: 1.72

During the first three weeks of using the SimpleReach Slide plugin I was getting a steady increase in the time on site of visitors and the number of pages per visit of each visitor.

For some reason, during the last week of the case study the numbers decreased dramatically enough to affect the overall average over the four weeks of the case study. Here are the final numbers for the four weeks of running the plugin.

• Average Time on Site: 00:01:46
• Bounce Rate: %72.04
• Pages/Visit: 1.60

As you can see the numbers are worse than when I started using the plugin. I think the main reason for this is that my recent posts have generally been shorter. For example, the Free Shirt Friday posts are basically just photos and don’t take very long to read.

During the use of the plugin, one issue that I kept seeing was that the social sharing buttons were not getting displayed correctly. I’ve seen some other people mention this issue so it doesn’t seem to be specific to my setup.

In summary, I think the SimpleReach Slide plugin can help increase visitors stay on your site longer. You just need to make sure you have enough compelling content for your visitors to consume. I probably won’t continue to use the plugin however, due to the social sharing display issue.