Shawn and Missy just released the dates for Affiliate Summit East 2010 which will be back in New York City. The dates are August 15-17, 2010 and will be back at the New York Hilton.
You can see more on the Affiliate Tip Blog.
Looking forward to the event.
| By Matt McWilliams, Legacy Learning Systems Today it seems everyone has a website. You’re not everyone though, your site is your business. Your site should be professional and encourage your visitors to buy! Shoppers today are skeptical and have more choices than ever. |
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I’ve found that many affiliates are missing or misusing these five critical pieces on their websites. Are you? 1. Informational content. Conventional wisdom tells us to get to the point and eliminate clutter on our site, but you need informational content to help convert the skeptics and less knowledgeable visitors. Informational content serves two purposes. First, it’s a great service that customers won’t forget, converting confused customers into ready-to-buy machines. Secondly, a good article is chock-full of keyword-rich content that can vault you to the top of search engines and drive substantial traffic from links from other sites. 2. “Contact Us” Page. Often, the hardest obstacle to overcome is consumer trust. These people are about to give some serious information. You must do everything possible to earn their trust! In Geno Prussakov’s book, “Online Shopping Through Consumers’ Eyes,” 83% of web users say a physical address gives them more confidence than a P.O. Box. Almost all say that no address is a major deterrent. Geno also notes that by a 4-to-1 margin, users prefer an actual email to a “contact form.” Give them every way possible to contact you! 3. Privacy Policy. Is my information protected? What data are you collecting? Will I get spammed? These are all questions that visitors ask themselves. Not having a clearly written privacy policy that answers important questions can cost you their business. In their eyes, you’re hiding something and must be a scam. A good privacy policy lets customers know about things like cookies, your anti-spam policy, form encryption, etc. This page should be linked to from every page. 4. Customer Testimonials. You may not get emails often thanking you for your service, but when you do get a thank you, do you make use it? The first thing is to thank them and show genuine happiness that you helped them. Then ask permission to use their testimonial. About 50% of people will let you. Testimonials are priceless trust builders, so make sure you take advantage of them. Place them throughout your site and create a prominent “Testimonials Page.” If you don’t have any testimonials, ask your affiliate manager if you can use the merchant’s. 5. FAQ Page. Most people will never view this page, but the ones who do want answers and they want them fast! Anytime someone asks something, add it to the FAQ. Ask your friends to look at your site and think of FAQs. It will lead to more sales, guaranteed. Any one of these missing components can cost you conversions and ultimately money. Check your site and make sure that you have all of these important pieces. If you have them, make sure they are complete and you’re using them to their fullest! About the Author: Matt McWilliams is the Affiliate Manager at Legacy Learning Systems in Nashville, Tennessee. Legacy’s ‘Learn and Master series’ has a mission of “Bringing Personal Dreams Within Reach,” making difficult skills, such as guitar, piano, drums, ballroom dancing, and more accessible through multimedia self-education courses. Full Bio >> |
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Affiliate Summit is the best show show for affiliate marketing on the planet. There is no other convention where you can get so up close and personal with affiliate managers and share ideas with your collegues.
I have been impressed so far with the Affiliate Summit show in Las Vegas. Here is a Affiliate Summit Recap from Las Vegas. There are many affiliate programs here that have made this show for the first time. The number is too high to list them all but let’s just say there are many that have not been to previous Summits. You can also check out the video on the right for a recap from someone at the show.
I have spoken to many affiliate managers that I have had dealings with in the past and I am currently working a few deals that could not have been made without face to face conversations. One of my main goals was to get a merchant that sells bedding products, although it is not a main niche for me I have been ranking very well for without working for it. When you have a lot of pages online that just happens.
Many affiliate mangers just love talking to affiliates face to face, it is good that you know who and what methods are being used to promote their programs. They want to know if you are using PPC and/or natural SEO. Sure you can put that in an email but face to face is the way to go. There is no alternative to meeting with an affiliate manger and get to know them. One affiliate manager that I use to work with was running a program that fits one of my other sites perfectly. If not for the Shareasale program sheet that Carolyn put together I would have had no idea.
I have had a great breakfast with James and Arlene Martell who I have had numerous conversations since I have been here, mostly about the industry and where it is heading. Once again there is a lot of talk about mobile marketing, it is fascinating to see people thinking outside the box with that in mind. Everyone here is either on their Blackberry or their Iphone so this conference is filled with tech minded people.
Speaking of food I also had a great dinner with Todd Crawford who I have been wanting to meet for years.
There are many people that I have known for years here at Affiliate Summit some working for the same old programs and some with other merchants. Many affiliate managers just love talking to affiliates face to face, it is good that you know who and what methods are being used to promote their programs. Being at Affiliate Summit can and will improve your bottom line if used correctly. Being serious about affiliate marketing without coming to Affiliate Summit is a mistake. Can’t wait to attend Affiliate Summit in New York in August.
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One of my favorite affiliate marketing programs
You always want to join an affiliate program for a product that is used by everyone and always gets replaced from time to time. It just makes good business sense to have a program like this on your sites especially if you are already in the niche.
I call programs like this a Proctor and Gamble affiliate program as it is always a staple in peoples life and no matter what the economy is doing people still need these items. People don’t stop buying things like toilet paper or toothpaste when the economy is bad. The same goes with pajamas.
The CrazyforBargains.com Affiliate Program is my favorite bell weather program because the site converts very well and people need pajamas.
Some highlights of the program is
12% commission all sales
• 365 day tracking cookie
• Well-categorized datafeed updated weekly
• Monthly promotions, coupons and pre-coded content
• Telephone sales affiliate tracking
• No reversals on customer returns – Yes this is correct!
• Special incentives for top performers
• Parasite-free program
• Online affiliate forum on Abestweb.com to facilitate two-way communication
• Sleepwear affiliate blog, up-to-date program news for affiliates. Dedicated and responsive Shareasale.com affiliate management team
What I like most is that the program is run on Shareasale which is my network of choice. If you have any pages on your site dedicated to apparel this program needs to be up on your sites. Take a look at the CrazyforBargains.com Affiliate Program
NyFalcon Forum Abestweb
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