Sales from the EDGE
Back Issue #026
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Sales from the EDGE Issue #026
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Sales from the EDGE
Breaking Through the "White Noise" Of Selling on the Net
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>From time to time, the EDGE publishes important updates that
you need to SELL on the Net. Most "latest and greatest" Net
marketing & sales developments simply waste our time. Today's
"hot new technology" is tomorrow's "whatever happened to?"
Occasionally, though, something comes along that STICKS. It
might NOT even be NEW... but we need to be reminded. When
that happens, the EDGE cuts through all the "white noise" of
Web marketing. It explains the issue and outlines clearly
how YOU can best take advantage of it.
SALES FROM THE EDGE is sent ONLY to SiteSell product owners.
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April 6, 2002
Issue #026
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
o SITESELL NEWS
1) Free Book Build It! Launches... To The Moon!
2) SBI! About to be Split...
SBI-B! -- Site Build It! Basic
SBI-E! -- Site Build It! E-commerce
o Featured Articles
1) How to Add SUPER-Affiliates to Your PREselling Team
a) Introduction
b) Setting The Stage
c) The Tools
d) The STEP By STEP Process
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>>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~SITESELL NEWS~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
>-News-
---1---
>-News-
Free Book Build It! Launches... To The Moon!
In the last issue of the EDGE, we announced how we had
TOTALLY UPDATED, and were about to release, the Affiliate
Masters Course... as a *PDF* e-book. And that this PDF book
was going to be created for the 5 Pillar Affiliates (our
PREselling partners of SiteSell products) by a new tool...
> Free Book Build It!
Free Book Build It! automatically customizes the Masters
Book for each affiliate, complete with their own special
tracking URLs. All they have to do is upload it and offer
this powerful PREseller from their sites.
Well, we've launched!
And WOW! Our servers almost crashed during the initial
deluge. And no wonder. This tool...
o ensures that affiliates get credit for every sale
generated by this powerful PREselling e-book.
o transforms large ASCII-based documents into PDF, a much
more accessible and enjoyable reading format, which
increases the perceived value of our PREselling tool. This
translates into more downloads, more sales, and greater
commissions for 5 Pillar Affiliates, our partners-in-sales.
o makes PDF document-customization accessible to our ENTIRE
partner sales force. Previously, "do-it-yourself"
customization was only available to affiliates who owned
full versions of Acrobat, which is a rather expensive piece
of software.
--
As I write this, Free Book Build It! module is churning out
tons of fully-customized PDF versions of SiteSell's most
effective PREseller...
> The Affiliate Masters Course!
Of course, none of this means a thing if the free course did
not "deliver the goods." Needless to say, it OVERdelivers.
Countless gurus have pronounced The Affiliate Masters Course
as the "best information on building a successful affiliate
business at ANY price... and it's free." Recently, one of
my very first Net-marketing heroes on the Net, Audri
Lanford, had this to say about the course...
------------------------------------
"...the most comprehensive resource is Ken
Evoy's free, intensive five-day "Affiliate
Masters" course. It is probably the best
single resource on affiliate programs. We've
read a LOT of stuff on affiliate programs,
and this one is exceptional -- HIGHLY
recommended."
Audri Lanford
http://www.wz.com/
------------------------------------
The Affiliate Masters Course is INDEED a FREE all-the-info-
you-need-to-know approach to building a profitable affiliate
business from the ground up. As you may or may not know,
it's also EXCELLENT for folks who'd like to sell their
professional services online or for those who want to build
and refer targeted traffic to their primary sales site.
-----SIDEBAR-----
Why is The Affiliate Masters Course such a
great PREseller for Site Build It!?
Great question! Here's why...
It really IS the complete STAND-ALONE
tutorial for building a successful affiliate
business. It's free, and NO PURCHASE of any
sort is required to ensure success. This
establishes SiteSell's credibility, integrity
and commitment to your success. However...
While building an affiliate business by hand
is completely "do-able" of course, certain
strategies and techniques ARE tedious and
mind-numbing work. And because The Affiliate
Masters Course defers to Site Build It! and
its suite of state-of-the-Net tools as the
solution to all the drudgery, most
subscribers soon find themselves thinking...
"My time is worth more than $0.50 an hour.
Why am I spending hours doing this by hand
when I accomplish the same thing in minutes
by clicking a button?".
Makes sense to me! ;-)
http://buildit.sitesell.com/
-----SIDEBAR-----
And NOW, our A#1 PREseller is available for direct download
in PDF e-book format directly from over 1,000 affiliate
sites already. It's completely updated, and formatted in
that easy-on-the-eyes, easier-on-the-brain style that has
made SiteSell's e-books famous across the Net!
And, if you like, *YOU* could make it available for download
from your site, too... and start earning income from sales
of Site Build It!.
If you are not YET a 5 Pillar Affiliate member, the BEST
program on the Net is still completely FREE! Sign up at...
http://affiliates.sitesell.com/
... and then get your own version of the Affiliate Masters
Course e-book, fully customized for you, thanks to Free Book
Build It!. :-)
>-News-
---2---
>-News-
SBI! About to be Split...
SBI-B! -- Site Build It! Basic
SBI-E! -- Site Build It! E-commerce
The buzz about the upcoming new modules for SBI! has been
intense. Our support staff has been working double-time
answering questions and fielding enthusiastic comments...
SBI! really is about to become...
> "THE NEXT GENERATION OF E-COMMERCE WEB HOSTING."
Think about it... you don't have to understand how the phone
works to make a business call. That's the way e-commerce
Web hosting should be... and WILL be, soon.
Many questions have focused around pricing and options. So
let me clarify the most common questions. I'm a firm
believer in two principles...
a) K-I-S-S -- stay on the right side of the 80-20 rule, and
you'll always come out ahead. And that's the way we've
structured Site Build It!.
b) The value bundle. AOL is the ultimate "consumer value
bundle." SBI! will be the ultimate e-commerce value bundle.
SBI! is a system, a process, that works. It removes the
technology and lets the user focus on doing business.
As such, the new functionality will be presented to
potential customers as two choices...
Choice #1) Site Build It! Basic (SBI-B!) -- This will have
all the current functionality in SBI!, PLUS opt-in e-zine
capability, AND full server-side logo-creating and
navbar-marking ability. You will have top-notch,
fully-customizable look-and-feel and navigation, combined
with the ability to reach your visitors again and again
through your e-zine.
Who is SBI-B! for?...
a) affiliates
b) people selling services, a HUGE opportunity -- if you
missed it, see this ALL-IMPORTANT article...
http://www.sitesell.com/site-sell-backissues-024.html
With the addition of e-zine capability, SBI-B! becomes a
powerful tool for FINDING targeted POTENTIAL clients and
CONVERTING them into ACTUAL ones! If you have even a remote
idea of possibly selling a service online, don't miss the
above article.
c) people who want to refer TARGETED traffic to their online
stores.
--
Choice #2) Site Build It! E-commerce (SBI-B!) -- Owners of
this new value bundle will have access to the complete
functionality of SBI-B!, PLUS they will be able to...
o get their own merchant accounts to take credit cards
o sell and fulfill/ship e-goods exactly the way we here
at SiteSell do (if you have an e-book, collection of
e-photos, sounds, etc. for sale, this is for you)
o have the same kind of reporting and back-end tools
that we do
o even run their own affiliate programs!
o do a MailOut to customer and affiliate lists (HECK, we
can finally abandon OUR OWN, now-antiquated code and
replace it with this slick, state-of-the-art MailOut!)
-----SIDEBAR-----
Some e-com companies focus their ENTIRE
business on delivering just ONE of these new
functions. Other companies focus on selling
one, or another, of Site Build It!'s many
OTHER functions already in place, such as...
o brainstorming and researching keywords
o regular Web hosting, with all its html,
ftp, cgi, etc.
o submit Web Pages and track all the Search
Engines, and re-submit based on their
behavior and activity, NOT "auto-pilot"
style.
o rank-reporting at the engines
o Pay-Per-Click research and mass-bidding
o sheesh, you don't even have to worry
about renewing your domain name! SBI! does
it automatically.
SBI! will do it *ALL*... if the programmers
don't croak from exhaustion first, that is!
;-)
This will be a major leap in e-commerce Web
hosting.
-----SIDEBAR-----
> ***AND REMEMBER OUR ALL-IMPORTANT HEADS-UP***
Current SBI! owners will get the full SBI-E! bundle free,
until renewal time (or for at least two months, whichever
lasts longer). The e-commerce module will be sold
separately, far cheaper than competitors like digibuy.com
(who only provide an order form -- at a far greater price).
But if you buy SBI! right now, and start getting your e-book
ready now... you'll be in great shape to get the entire
e-goods/e-commerce/affiliate/mailout bundle for free for the
rest of the year (not including the per-sale transaction
fee, which will also be less than all competitors).
http://buildit.sitesell.com/
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
>> THIS ISSUE'S FEATURED ARTICLE
-------
---1---
-------
How to Add SUPER-Affiliates to Your PREselling Team
SBI-E! will, as mentioned above, include the ability for you
to run your own affiliate program. Naturally, SBI-E! comes
with a clear, step-by-step Action Guide that makes the whole
process so simply DO-ABLE. The Action Guide gives
invaluable advice for using SBI-E! to build your business.
One of the chapters, of course, covers how to build a huge
and productive group of affiliates (yes, we know a few
things about that). As part of that strategy, we've been
developing an intriguing methodology for a) finding
SUPER-affiliates who would fit with whatever you are
selling... and then b) convincing them to join your program.
In that vein, we present here what is an exciting, REAL-TIME
experiment. Only one problem? Who could I use as a guinea
pig?
Ah... I know. A good friend of mine! :-)
---------------
a) Introduction
---------------
It's no longer BIG news that one of THE most cost-effective
ways to advertise products on the Net is through your own
affiliate program. Reduced to the basics, affiliate
marketing is deceptively simple...
Recruit a large number of eager, productive affiliate
partners, and pay them a generous commission for each sale
they refer to you. Treat them like gold, and make sure they
receive credit for each and every sale they refer.
Of course, this isn't Never-Never land, and in the real
world things work a LOT differently. Productive affiliates
are hard to find. SUPER-affiliates, those highly respected
affiliate-marketers who flood your Web site with hordes of
eager-to-buy visitors, are scarcer than hen's teeth.
In other words, starting up your own affiliate program is no
Internet marketing panacea. It's no guarantee that your Web
site will come rising up from the doldrums. Generally, less
than 10% of your entire affiliate force will ever earn a
check from you, and only 1-2% will do so on a consistent
basis.
I don't mean to depress the daylights out of you, but it's
important we start this discussion with a REALISTIC view of
the "state-of-affairs" in affiliate marketing. And a
REALISTIC approach to affiliate marketing means YOU must
take an ACTIVE role in the recruitment of new affiliates.
You can't just throw up a "Join Affiliate Program" link
and wait for zillions of affiliates to eagerly send you
tons of traffic. BUT... you can make it work...
... if you work at it. And START right.
And the right way to start is by recruiting key SUPER-
affiliates, the same way I did when I picked up the phone
and called Allan Gardyne in Australia and Ralph Wilson in
California. Without the key support of these two
individuals, SiteSell would have had a far slower start.
Why is it so important to start with SUPER-affiliates?
There are so many reasons...
1) Credibility
2) Fast start
3) Rapid build, especially if you use a 2-tier system.
But I'm getting ahead of myself. As I said, the key to
building an affiliate program is to find and recruit
SUPER-affiliates that fit with your product offerings. Let's
set the stage by using a real world example, a company that
is coming online and just about to launch its program.
--------------------
b) Setting The Stage
--------------------
To add some real substance to this discussion, we'll be
using Axiom Audio as an "as it happens" example...
http://www.axiomaudio.com/
-----SIDEBAR-----
You may remember Axiom Audio. They provided
a testimonial for us shortly after signing
up to use SureFire Premium Processing, which
we had just launched a few months earlier...
http://surefire.sitesell.com/
In that testimonial, Amie Colquhoun, Director
Marketing and Communications, mentioned that
they were already selling $50K per month.
Well, with a bit of help from MYSS! 2002,
they've already tripled that amount! Send
Amie an e-mail if you'd like to know what she
thinks about MYSS! 2002 and SureFire Premium
Processing. I just LOVE stories like this.
-----SIDEBAR-----
A bit of background on Axiom...
Axiom Audio sells exquisite quality loudspeakers and home
theater systems, of all shapes and sizes (I know, I've been
pasted to my back wall by my Axiom's home theater system!)
-----SIDEBAR-----
Naturally, everything starts with a quality
product. And they've got that in spades.
They have the disadvantage of shipping hard
goods, but since they design and manufacture
it all themselves, and since they're in
Canada (with our famously feeble dollar), the
value offered to world-wide consumers is
enormous.
NOTE: While YOUR business is likely smaller
than Axiom's, pay close attention to the rest
of this article. EVERY SINGLE POINT APPLIES
TO YOU, NO MATTER HOW BIG YOUR BUSINESS IS.
-----SIDEBAR-----
Now that Axiom is convinced that it's possible to sell on
the Net, they're ready to go the distance...
o they'll be launching a "new look" Web site (again based
on the principles of MYSS! 2002 -- no matter how big or how
small you are, whether you sell services, widgets, or
e-goods, I can't over-emphasize how important this book is).
o they'll be improving their back-end and automating their
systems (another important major new area covered by MYSS!
2002), and...
o they'll be launching their own affiliate program. Now
that they've got their "feet wet' and "get the Net," I
expect that their business is ready to go vertical --
their affiliate program will take them there.
So... now that they're ready to start their own affiliate
program, they're ready to recruit a highly motivated team of
SUPER-affiliates to drive sales through the proverbial roof.
-----SIDEBAR-----
As you know, SiteSell's affiliate technology
is in-house and proprietary. So when Axiom
Audio asked my advice about affiliate program
software, I had to do a little digging.
However, after I had reviewed the offerings
of the major providers and consulted with
Shawn Collins (who recently switched his
ClubMom program from BeFree to Kowabunga), I
recommended that Axiom power their program
with Kowabunga's My Affiliate Program...
http://www.myaffiliateprogram.com/
I've talked with the folks at Kowabunga. You
won't find a sharper, smarter group of
people. Excellent program. Top people.
Incidentally, I'm sure you know how much I
respect Ralph Wilson, of WilsonWeb.com...
http://www.wilsonweb.com/
He has called Kowabunga's My Affiliate
Program the "Cadillac of affiliate software".
-----SIDEBAR-----
So KOWABUNGA! Let's go!
------------
c) The Tools
------------
Now that Axiom is just about ready to launch, it's time to
start our "SUPER-affiliate safari." Of course, they'll need
some special tools to locate and catch some of these exotic
and important big-game animals!
Hmmm, pretty good analogy! :-)
So let's delve into our Internet Marketing Tool Box and pull
out the tools we'll need for this job...
i) Search Engines
If you don't have any idea who your competitors are, and who
THEIR major affiliate-partners are, you'll need to unearth
them by doing keyword searches at the SEs. You may elect to
use any combination of the following...
o Google: The reigning king of the SEs, Google returns
targeted relevant results on a consistent basis. Its page
rank algorithm (its patented method of assigning a rank to
pages depending on the credibility of its incoming links)
means you'll seldom find spammy or irrelevant results in
this database.
o Teoma: A relative newcomer on the SE front, Teoma is
AskJeeves' crawler-based engine. Although still relatively
unknown, Teoma has mastered the knack of delivering targeted
relevant results in a clean and uncluttered interface. And
its "Refine" and "Resources" features comes in handy here.
o Ixquick: This meta-engine is particularly helpful.
Results are delivered according to a site's performance (for
your keyword) based on top 10 rankings across a wide breadth
of engines. In other words, it tends to deliver the "SE-
savviest" sites.
ii) Pay-Per-Click Search Engines
o Overture: The importance of using Overture as a
research tool will ultimately depend on the product you
sell. In the case of Axiom Audio, it is VERY important.
For instance, a single search for "home theater system" very
quickly unearthed a couple of worthy potential
SUPER-affiliates...
o Bizrate.com
o DealTime.com
o PriceScan.com
There's little arguing that the top search positions for
competitive (and therefore EXPENSIVE!) keywords are likely
maintained by companies worth doing business with (or by
your competitors)! Overture searches often yield great
sites to plug into the Internet Success Spider (below)...
iii) Neil Shearing's Internet Success Spider...
http://www.scamfreezone.com/spider/
Here's how this tool works...
You enter the URL of a major competitor, and select the SEs
of your choice. Click "Calc popularity" and sit back while
the Success Spider goes to work.
What does it do?
Neil's Spider hunts down and displays the main sites that
are linking to YOUR major competitor -- the elusive SUPER-
affiliates!
For instance, just for fun I entered "Bose.com" into the
Spider to find sites that linked to this major competitor of
Axiom Audio (you can ask the Spider to check one or several
engines at the same time).
Almost immediately, I found a potential partner in Geek.com.
Alexa confirmed enough traffic to justify contacting them.
Although I didn't see any links to Bose, I did find the
"Geek Store" -- a section of the site that provides a series
of affiliate links to major partners. Perfect!
Add that one to our contact list!
While the Spider saves you time, it's NOT perfect. At
first, you'll get excited because you'll see huge link
counts at the top. But these are often useless sites like
Geocities or Free Yellow Pages. Dismiss these out of hand.
It's the next "level" of sites that often yield gold. So
you'll need a couple of "qualifying tools" (toolbars,
actually) to separate the true gold from the Fool's gold!
It's not uncommon to find that some sites, despite a huge
number of links to your competitor, don't receive enough
traffic to justify contacting. Conversely, don't dismiss a
site outright because the Spider reports it as only having a
few links to your competitor. In my time spent with the
Success Spider, I'd say there are no hard and fast rules to
follow.
You have to do some sifting to find the TRUE gold. But it
IS there! (Neil Shearing, who markets the Spider, explains
this further in the manual that comes with the Spider -- be
sure to read it.) That sifting brings us to the last of the
tools that you'll need...
iv) Two "Qualifier" Toolbars
o Alexa Toolbar
If you don't have this installed on your computer...
Run (don't walk) over to...
http://www.alexa.com/
And download it NOW. Not only does Alexa report the TRAFFIC
of the sites you're investigating, but it reports RELATED
LINKS as well -- also handy for turning up more prospects.
-----SIDEBAR-----
To get Alexa TRAFFIC stats on the Windows
version of this tool...
Click the highlighted "Ranking" link. On the
following page, find the link entitled "About
this data".
You'll find the traffic data midway down the
next page in the left-hand column. :-)
KNOWING a site's TRAFFIC is an invaluable
"BS-detector."
(An old alpha 1.3 version exists for Mac,
which also gives the traffic stats. It may
take some hunting, however, since Alexa no
longer offers it.)
--
Beware of a couple of possible situations
that could mislead you substantially...
1) If a site uses ad network (such as
IDG), Alexa's traffic stats will be way too
high, since you actually get IDG's stats and
not that site's traffic. You'll see "IDG"
rather than the domain name, so you'll know.
To get around this, enter a ridiculous URL
that does not exist, to get a 401 or 404
page, i.e. a "dead page" that does not serve
up an ad. For smarter sites, it may take
some experimenting to get this to happen.
2) Watch out for sites that organize by
subdomains, rather than build around a single
www presence, since Alexa reports PER
subdomain. Those sites generate far MORE
traffic than it appears (ex., our very own
sitesell.com site delivers much more traffic
than appears at www when you include all our
other subdomains, such as myss, myws, myps,
myks, mynas, build, buildit, secure, etc.).
(By the way, "internal" pop-ups and unders
are not counted by Alexa in order to avoid
over-reporting. And you can't fool it into
over-reporting your own site by visiting it
over and over again.)
-----SIDEBAR-----
o Google Toolbar
Google's Toolbar displays a PageRank score. This score is a
good indication of the quality of that site's in-pointing
links. The toolbar is free, and installs in seconds...
http://toolbar.google.com/
--
OK, since there is no single perfect TOOL, we've developed
a step-by-step process for using the above tools. It's
the most cost-effective way to build a high-quality
SUPER-affiliate contact list...
---------------------------
d) The Step By Step Process
---------------------------
OK, now we're finally ready to begin the hunt for those
elusive SUPER-affiliates. Saddled up and ready to go?
Great, let's get started!
STEP 1) Use the SEs to Find Major Competitors, and Potential
SUPER-Affiliates By Searching for Keywords
Search for your most important keywords (ex., "home theater"
at the SEs listed above...
a) Google: For good results.
b) Teoma: Use the "Refine" and "Resources" features after
the search, too. These have a great way of networking you
to interesting spots.
c) Ixquick: "SE-savviest" sites.
d) Overture: sites ready to pay for your keywords are
SERIOUS.
Keep two lists, one for DIRECT COMPETITORS, and one for
POTENTIAL AFFILIATES.
NOTE: Your biggest competitors may not even show up at this
stage. They don't need to worry much about Search Engine
Optimization (SEO) because they have such high "top of mind"
awareness and/or because they have excellent affiliates who
take care of the SEO for them.
-----SIDEBAR-----
SiteSell, for example, doesn't optimize any
of its Web pages. There are two reasons for
this...
First, it puts us into direct competition
with our affiliates (which is unethical), and
second, we simply don't need to -- our
affiliate force provides all the traffic we
need!
-----SIDEBAR-----
Naturally, add important competitors (who do not show up
during SE research) to your "competitor" list as you think
of them. I *ASSUME* that you do know who your most
important competitors are, right? ;-)
-----
OK, back to keyword searches. When you find competitors, do
a VIEW SOURCE (on your browser, in the menu VIEW > SOURCE).
Do a FIND (control+F) on that page for...
"Keywords"
You will find your competitor's list of "META keywords" that
THEY feel are important. Add them to your list of keywords.
Axiom Audio sells loudspeakers and home theater systems.
So, after starting with a few of your own keyword searches
(such as "home theater" above), you'll quickly build a
growing list of keywords from the META tags of others...
audio speakers
home speakers
stereo speakers
best stereo speakers
stereo speaker reviews
loudspeakers
loudspeaker review
compare stereo speakers
compare loudspeakers
home audio speakers
bookshelf speakers
home stereo speakers
surround sound speakers
high end speaker
hi fi speakers
home theater speaker system
home theater system
home theater review
home theater accessories
home theater equipment
dvd home theater system
dvd home theater
home theater audio
home theater speakers
best home theater
compare home theater system
best home theater system
custom home theater
home theater package
home theater sound system
home theater center
best home theater speaker
home theater audio system
home theater surround sound
home theater comparison
home theater DVD
home theater information
home entertainment theater
home theater speaker package
buy home theater
buying a home theater system
home audio theater
custom home theater system
guide to home theater systems
home theater system review
sterophile guide to home theaters
As your keyword list grows, keep doing more and more
searches for the new keywords. Continue this process until
you get the feeling that the same sites are turning up, or
until you're bored silly and want to move ahead (you can
always generate more competitors and potential
SUPER-affiliates by returning to this STEP later).
Remember, your best SUPER-affiliates will be high-traffic
sites that promote products that fit with what you sell --
BUT KEEP AN OPEN MIND REGARDING "WHAT FITS." THINK
CREATIVELY. For example, Axiom Audio does not have to be
strictly looking for AFFILIATE sites that promote
loudspeakers. Electronics, high-end gift stores, etc., are
all potential candidates.
For example, you'll find "Sharper Image" somewhere along the
way. Add sharperimage.com as a potential "competitor" to be
used later with the Spider to find affiliates of Sharper
Image -- affiliates of Sharper Image could very likely be
interested in other "high end" products like home theaters.
*AND* also consider sharperimage.com as a potential
affiliate -- they could sell from their site while Axiom
does the "drop-shipping!" (And DO check out their META tags
because these could take you in a whole new direction!)
-----SIDEBAR-----
Hmmm... looks like the Web design staff at
Sharper Image picked up a copy of MYSS! 2002.
In MYSS! 2002, we used Sharper Image as an
example of how NOT to build a Web store.
If you already own your copy of MYSS! 2002,
check out the Store volume and compare our
comments and advice with the current version
of their store. And if you do *NOT* yet own
MYSS! 2002, what are you doing without what
is widely acclaimed as the "indispensable,
must-have BIBLE of selling on the Net?"...
http://myss.sitesell.com/
(The Store volume of MYSS! 2002 was an
entirely new volume, while ALL of the other
volumes (Product, Site-Selling,
Traffic-Building) were totally updated and
overhauled. MYSS! 2002 is simply
head-and-shoulders above anything else on the
Net at ANY price, let alone ITS price.)
-----SIDEBAR-----
In short -- any site that can market your product while
still staying "in character" is a possible
affiliate-partner...
o Audiophile sites (GuideToHomeTheater.com)
o Music lovers sites (AudioShopper.com)
o Industry/review sites (HomeTheaterMag.com)
o Resource sites (HomeTheaterSound.com)
o Magazine sites (Stereophile.com)
o General shopping sites (Bizrate, etc,.etc.)
o Price comparison sites (Pricescan.com, Nextag.com).
So be sure to vary your keyword searches beyond the
immediately obvious ones (home theater systems,
loudspeakers, etc., etc.). Throw out a "web" (pardon the
pun!) that catches ALL potential partners.
-----SIDEBAR-----
Here's another little used strategy that will
help find major competitors quickly...
Visit a few of the major "high-end" affiliate
networks, (Befree, LinkShare, Commission
Junction) to find the major merchants in your
niche that currently operate affiliate
programs...
http://www.befree.com/affiliate_partners/programs_you_can-join.cfm
http://www.cj.com/publishers/clients.asp
http://www.linkshare.com/clients/index.shtml
Chances are the best ones will have large
partner forces, with a stable of
SUPER-affiliates generating the bulk of the
sales.
Add these to your COMPETITOR list. We'll find
their SUPER-affiliates in the next STEP.
-----SIDEBAR-----
OK, let's recap this first step...
Perform related keyword searches to unearth your major
competitors and possible partner sites. For good measure
visit a few of the major affiliate networks to find the
really BIG players in your niche.
---
STEP 2) Use the Success Spider to Find More Affiliates
One by one, plug your list of COMPETITORS (direct and
not-so-direct, such as sharperimage.com) into the Success
Spider. The Spider finds these sites' major referrers, who
will make great potential affiliates for your own products.
Start with your major competitors, the ones that you most
likely already know. For Axiom Audio, I'd use Bose.com,
JVC.com, and other similar manufacturers. See which sites
are linking to the really BIG players!
Add these to your AFFILIATE list.
---
STEP 3) Use the "Qualifier Toolbars" -- Alexa, Google
Visit ALL potential partner-affiliates with both Alexa and
the Google toolbar enabled (don't forget to check the
related links as reported by Alexa to find EVEN MORE
potential affiliates).
Eliminate sites that don't score within the top 100,000
sites. Use the visit count too, eliminating sites that
don't score at least 5-10,000 visits. As you "mine" new
prospects, you'll get a feel for what sort of partner
opportunities exist within your market. At that point, you
may want to modify your cutoff numbers accordingly. Just
remember, the better a site's Alexa's ranking, the more
they'll be inundated with offers from merchants, and the
more difficult they will be to approach.
Keep a list of sites that make the "cut".
---
STEP 4) Prioritize and Categorize
At this point in the exercise, you should have a fairly
extensive list of STRONG possible partners.
Separate the known SUPER-affiliates (like FatWallet,
DealTime, Nextag, Bizrate) from the smaller potential
candidates. Why?
You'll need to develop and propose custom deals for each
one. Believe me, if you can recruit one of the big players
into the fold, what you'll lose on a few extra percentage
points, you'll make up in sheer volume of referred sales.
SUPER-affiliates know their value to a merchant, and they
constantly weigh offers. As such, they'll expect special
consideration (some large SUPER affiliates will even charge
a "slotting fee" -- a fee for referring your goods to their
visitors. GreaterGood.com is a good example of such an
affiliate).
Next, divide up the rest of your potential partners
according to your niche. For example, Auxiom Audio might
wish to separate audiophile, music lovers, and industry
review sites from the rest of the pack. Each of these
potential partners will need more specific material to
promote Axiom Audio properly. This might included detailed
product specifications, current industry reviews, and
possibly even soundbytes.
---
STEP 5) Get the Administrative Contact Info
While you can get the contact info from each site, or from
Alexa, I prefer to use...
http://www.betterwhois.com/
Just plug each domain name of your potential new
SUPER-affiliates into betterwhois.com and record the contact
info of the ADMINISTRATIVE CONTACT. This is usually the key
decision-maker.
And that's important -- it will often permit you to bypass
the whole "filter layer" between the key deal-maker and you.
---
STEP 6) Before Contacting... Be Ready!
Got a nice list of affiliates? Especially those who already
work with competitors, say....
o SoundStage.com
o HomeTheaterSound.com
o GuideToHomeTheater.com
o AudioRevolution.com
Don't just contact them. Prepare!
Be ready on all the following fronts...
1) Does your product fit? Or can you position it such that
it DOES make sense on your potential affiliate's site?
2) Do you have a really great product? Some affiliates will
pitch anything. But the really GOOD ones LOVE to pitch
products they LOVE!
3) Have a good pitch ready about your company. Time in the
business. Proprietary technology. Great reviews.
Dedication to customer service.
4) Does your site SELL? Any affiliate with half a brain
won't pitch your product if your site is ineffectual.
5) Commissions -- have your answers ready regarding amounts,
1-or-1-tier, lifetime commissions, schedules, real-time
stats, special tracking features, methods of money transfer,
duration of cookie. Have special offers/levels ready. If
one site uses coupons, come up with an idea BEFOREHAND for
this. If you aren't prepared, you'll be blown out fast.
6) Promotional support -- what tools, banners, articles,
etc., do you provide?
7) Analyze their sites. What can you offer that's SPECIAL
and that's UNIQUE for them?
---
STEP 7) Contact and Sell!
OK, ready. Send them an e-mail.
What's that?
No one answered?
Right.
You're dead.
Don't mail. Phone.
Years ago, when we were just starting, the only way I could
get Allan's and Ralph's ear was by phone. That's ten times
as true today.
-----
OK, let's summarize the 7-STEP process, and then I'll leave
a good friend of my with quite a REAL-TIME CHALLENGE...
STEP 1) Use the SEs to Find Major Competitors, and Potential
SUPER-Affiliates By Searching for Keywords
STEP 2) Use the Success Spider to Find More Affiliates
STEP 3) Use the "Qualifier Toolbars" -- Alexa, Google
STEP 4) Prioritize and Categorize
STEP 5) Get the Administrative Contact Info
STEP 6) Before Contacting... Be Ready!
STEP 7) Contact and Sell!
--
Easy as pie. Right, Dougie? Meet Doug Burdon, a good
friend of mine. Doug Burdon is one of the principles in
Axiom Audio.
I should also tell you something else about Dougie. When he
first got started with his computer, I had to tell him that
his word processor was "not working" because his keyboard
was upside down. He uses AOL and still doesn't understand
when he's on the Net and when he's not.
But he knows his business. And he knows how to dig. He's
not afraid of some hard work.
Now that the 7 STEPS are firmly in Doug's lap(top), we're
going to see how Doug Burdon of Axiom Audio fares as he
builds and contacts his own contact list...
... after I help him turn his computer on. ;-)
Then, we'll report back to you with results and, I am sure,
some great tips on how to get that ever-elusive
SUPERSTAR-affiliate playing on YOUR team!
Stay tuned.
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