One day as I was testing my Autoresponder system, I thought I had a bright idea. Turns out it it was indeed a bright idea, but not a new idea.
I was setting up my AWeber account to automatically send the download page for an eBook I sell when I noticed there was a place to fill in a confirmation page link. I wondered what this was, so I checked it out.
I found out that after a person opts in to your mailing list, you can have them automatically sent to a page on your site. The alternative is to use AWeber's generic response. This response takes you to a very white page with a thank you note on it and a link back to your site.
I'll never use that generic link because it does nothing for me! This person has already been to the home page of the site - it's where they subscribed to the newsletter in the first place. You need to send them to a special "Thank You" page, with a link to an Affiliate Product (or two). That way they return to your site, see what else you have to offer, and possibly buy something!
Wednesday, February 28, 2007
at
2:37 pm
Posted by
Evelyn Grazini, AC Student and Staff Writer
One day as I was testing my Autoresponder system, I thought I had a bright idea. Turns out it it was indeed a bright idea, but not a new idea.
I was setting up my AWeber account to automatically send the download page for an eBook I sell when I noticed there was a place to fill in a confirmation page link. I wondered what this was, so I checked it out.
I found out that after a person opts in to your mailing list, you can have them automatically sent to a page on your site. The alternative is to use AWeber's generic response. This response takes you to a very white page with a thank you note on it and a link back to your site.
I'll never use that generic link because it does nothing for me! This person has already been to the home page of the site - it's where they subscribed to the newsletter in the first place. You need to send them to a special "Thank You" page, with a link to an Affiliate Product (or two). That way they return to your site, see what else you have to offer, and possibly buy something!
Monday, February 26, 2007
at
5:12 pm
Posted by
Jeffrey Perren, AC Magazine
I was going to write a mini-tutorial on How to Create a Great Landing Page.
Not surprisingly, I quickly discovered others had gotten there first. Going beyond surprise into delight, I came across a column by Jeanne Jennings on ClickZ that tells all about it -- neatly, concisely, and chock full o' helpful tips.
Here are a couple of samples out of several:
- Don't Just Send Them To Your Home Page
"Yes, this is what's easiest to do. But in most instances, it's not best. Especially when the product or service you're promoting in the e-mail doesn't appear on the home page (I've seen it done). Don't make people search for what you've told them is there. Take them straight to it."
- Match Your Landing Page to Your Call to Action
"A good e-mail engages readers by telling them about something, then setting an expectation for what they'll find when they click through. If you're promoting a ... Read More →
Friday, February 23, 2007
at
2:36 pm
Posted by
Matt Van Atta
Once upon a time, an affiliate marketer had a website on which he promoted a $25 product via an agreement with a merchant.
One day, a potential customer entered the affiliate marketer’s website and looked around. Reading the website content about the product, the customer was sold. Clicking on the affiliate’s link, the customer purchased the product from the merchant, and the affiliate marketer received his commission. And they all lived happily ever after.
And the next day, it rained.
Read More →
Wednesday, February 21, 2007
at
4:47 pm
Posted by
Jeffrey Perren, AC Magazine
With Microsoft's change in Outlook 2007's rendering engine from IE to Word, the appearance of email's in the Inbox will change.
No more CSS or animated GIFs or Flash. No more background images and colors. But the outlook, so to speak, may not be that bad.
Despite Microsoft's indiffere... Read More →
Tuesday, February 20, 2007
at
5:41 pm
Posted by
Evelyn Grazini, AC Student and Staff Writer
The next time you check your Google AdWords account, look for the new Quality Score column (or an option to activate it). The new column was scheduled to appear next week, but it may be released earlier. Google has been letting people know this is coming, but the information they provide is still vague, in my opinion.
You may have received a letter from Google outlining the new quality score criteria. It explains that they are trying to improve the quality of ads served to users by making improvements to the way the Quality Score is evaluated. (The Quality Score is important because it is used to set the minimum bids for keywords.) This new system will apparently give the advertiser the benefit of the doubt when the AdWords system does not have enough data to set the minimum.
According to Google, this is a good thing for advertisers – well, for some advertisers. They are expecting complaints from advertisers that see an increase in their keyword bids (and it looks like a fairly large number of keywords will be affected). But, they... Read More →
Saturday, February 17, 2007
at
4:31 pm
Posted by
Jeffrey Perren, AC Magazine
Search marketing spending hit almost $9.5 billion last year. Since 86% went to paid search ads, there's a lot of life in that old horse yet.That means revisiting some of the basics, such as measuring ROI, tracking conversion and other elementary best practices. But, it's time to add to that basic toolkit some of the newer income generating methods. Video is an obvious choice. Google paid $1.65 Billion for YouTube, a company that hadn't even been in business two years earlier. Maybe they know something about how to make money online.
eMarketer predicts that video ad spending will increase almost 90% in 2007. They also predict that 1 in 10 Internet ad dollars will go for vi... Read More →
Friday, February 16, 2007
at
1:45 pm
Posted by
Jeffrey Perren, AC Magazine
"Conversions" - that's the theme of the February 2007 issue of Affiliate Classroom Magazine. Working affiliates explain how they increase sales through proper site development, powerful copywriting, and adding new revenue streams to existing sites.
Cover Story: Conversion Fundamentals
Get a new appreciation for how things like usability can really affect your conversion rate!
AIDA and Affiliates
Good copywriting can really raise your conversion rate. This article shows how you, as an affiliate, can apply a tried and true copywriting formula to increase sales.
Adding New Income Streams
Got some sites where you just can't seem to raise the conversion rate? Check out these ideas for adding new income streams to existing sites.
Plus Tips from Managers
In this issue we're starting an ongoing series of tips straight from merchants and managers. Debra Rabin, manager of one of the We... Read More →
Thursday, February 15, 2007
at
4:54 pm
Posted by
Matt Van Atta
Maybe you’ve heard about the bomb scare in Boston that resulted from the placement of electronic devices throughout the city as a promotion for Cartoon Network’s “Aqua Teen Hunger Force” program.
Opinions can vary on whether the promotion was well or poorly thought out, or whether the Boston authorities may have overreacted. Regardless, the case serves as a perfect example of what guerrilla marketing is – and perhaps, what it isn’t.Guerrilla marketing’s purpose is to achieve maximum return in terms of exposure, at minimum cost in terms of money and resources. It’s geared particularly toward small businesses with limited budgets, although major corporations such as Sony, General Electric, Citigroup – and Cartoon Network – have used the approach. Some guerrilla marketing efforts have led people to question the ethics of its practitioners. Boston Mayor Thomas Menino even called for a citywide ban on guerrilla marketing campaigns, calling it a “nitwit technique.” It makes me wonder if Cartoon Network a... Read More →
Wednesday, February 14, 2007
at
5:52 pm
Posted by
Evelyn Grazini, AC Student and Staff Writer
Affiliate Classroom was one of the first companies to introduce readers to the "scent" of a web page. (See "What Odor is your SEO?") And now here's a new term you may run across. It's called Pogo-Sticking! I always wanted a pogo stick when I was a kid, so this one had me curious.
How many times have you performed a search and didn't find what you were looking for? Or visited the same page of a web-site several times to get back to the main page, or search results page? Well, when you do this you are pogo-sticking!
Anytime there is back and forth activity it's called pogo-sticking. This can happen within a web page, when a person goes back and forth between individual product pages and/or home pages looking for their desired information, or between SERP results pages.
Basically, pogo-sticking occurs when a person jumps back and forth between different pages. This usually occurs when something is searched for and the search engine results page (SERP... Read More →
Monday, February 12, 2007
at
1:23 pm
Posted by
Matt Van Atta
My last post focused on the conversion rate, and I looked at some factors to consider when selecting a product to promote. A high conversion rate alone does not necessarily translate into high commissions, particularly if the product being sold carries a low price point or a low commission percentage.
When you identify a potentially lucrative product (and carries both a decent price point and commission rate), the prospect of high conversion levels can dance in your head. However, it’s a mistake to jump in and sign that affiliate agreement without at least thinking about other possible factors.
For instance,
The merchant’s commiss... Read More →
