Be very, very quiet. I'm hunting affiliates!!

I would like to continue the affiliate marketing partner discussion today with a review of OfferVault and CPA/DNA.

As you dig into OfferVault a little deeper you will see the offers listed are actually listed with other affiliate marketing networks. Although you might like an affiliate marketing partner listed at OfferVault you will still have to get the advertising through another site.

With that being said, OfferVault is more of a search engine to find affiliate marketing partners but you still have to make contact with another affiliate marketing network such as CPA/DNA.

CPA/DNA is much like Commission Junction. They differ in the affiliate partners they represent. Like CJ you will have to apply to each affiliate marketing partner to participate in their program.

What’s nice about both CJ and CPA/DNA is you don’t have to fill out anything to apply to a company. You just click a button and your site information is then forwarded to the affiliate partner. Many companies okay you application instantly, others may take a day or two.

I added another page to this site (Free and Trial Offers) and put up banners from CPA/DNA. The new page will have free offers and trial offers.  Even though the offers are free for consumers, you as (an advertiser) are still paid a commission for leads or sales.

The banner advertising is available for you to use free of charge. There are numerous advertising tools for each affiliate marketing partner. Tools include HTML or Java banner code, text link code, email copy, search engines, tool bars and so on.

CPA/DNA seems to offer more styles of marketing options than CJ. CPA/DNA also offers an array of tools and tracking reports for you to use at no charge. These are very handy and show you graphically what is happening at your site.

The easiest way to see if advertising works is to track how many people actually visit (tracked as an impression) the banners website (or text code or whatever marketing tools you may be using). If people are visiting the site advertised then you are half way home. 

The second half of that equation is targeting the advertising to customers who are ready to purchase. Lookers are great but you are trying to create a profitable home based business. My vision with this site is to provide not only information but also provide useful tools for a home based business.

Prepaid debit cards, Yahoo affiliate program, Amazon aStores, Amazon Affiliates, Outright.com, Amazon wireless, AVG Technologies, National pen Promotional Products and so on are provided as useful tools for an online home based business.

Like I have said in the past I am a big believer in prepaid debit cards for use online. I will transfer only the money I need to the card. If I have money deposited to the card I transfer that to my business account right away. 

So, if my card number is stolen or I lose my card it is not tied to my personal bank accounts. Since rates and such vary I advertise more than one provider for you to choose from. 

The same goes for Amazon Affiliates and Yahoo affiliates. If you are looking to get started in internet marketing Amazon and Yahoo make it very, very easy. Everything thing you need to start an online business is available from Amazon and Yahoo. Websites, products, advertising, statistical tools and training are all provided in one place.

Outright.com offers online accounting services that rival Quickbooks. I am lucky enough to have a wife with an accounting and business background. If I did not have that resource available, I would definitely be looking for an accountant. If I can do that from the comfort of my home even better.

National Pen Promotional Products is also offered as a tool to get your websites name out there. People are curious by nature. The web makes it easy for any individual access to information to feed that curiosity.

If I see a web address that sounds interesting to me, I take a look. It costs me nothing but a minute of my time to check it out. If I don’t like or need it I can leave with no one the wiser. But if by chance I find something interesting, your advertising efforts have paid off. Get your websites name in front of people, every chance you get.

  

My next blog will be a discussion of article marketing.

Like always, join and follow the blog, click the banners and text links to start making money. You can use the EWAHR forum to post questions or request a review of a site. You can also email me directly at ewahr2011@yahoo.com

 

Peace.

Another look at affiliate marketing partners

Today’s topic will be affiliate marketing partners. I have blogged before about my affiliate marketing partners and why I use them. Now I will talk discuss why you should use them.

As I am sure you recall my intent is to create long term part-time income. The blog and the websites are the foundation for that plan.

One of the first good articles I found about affiliate marketing showed me the worth and potential of advertising on a website. Unlike an Amazon or Yahoo online store where you are paid a small advertising fee for each transaction, affiliate marketing partners pay a commission for either sales or leads.

Some of the commissions are very substantial. There are also hundreds (probably 10’s of thousands) of affiliate marketing opportunities.  

Commission Junction alone has thousands (literally) of affiliate marketing partners to choose from.  Ranging from accessories (hand bags, shoes etc.) to Travel (airfare, hotels, cruises) and everything in between.

If you have decided on your niche market, you will need to find relevant affiliate marketing partners. Advertising Banners and text links are provided by the affiliate partner. All you need is a place to put HTML or Java code and you’re in business. 

You are required to have a functioning website and not all affiliate marketing partners will accept your application. I have only been rejected by a couple of very large companies. Some will review your site for traffic and relevance before accepting your application.

Commission Junction makes the application process very simple (one click). The advertising is also very easily accessed and current. You will have more options for advertising code then you will ever be able to use.

Many of Commission Junction’s affiliate marketing partners run sales and promotions (like free business card pens) and/or extra incentive plans for marketers (you). I have also signed on with Clickbank, Offer Vault and CPA/DNA who are also affiliate marketing partner “brokers”.

You can read my blog about Click bank here. Offer Vault and CPA/DNA are new to me. Offer Vault is somewhere between CJ and Clickbank as far as affiliate partners go. They offer partnerships from an extremely wide variety of companies. 

Were CJ is more main stream Offer Vault is a little left of center. Not all major brand name companies (a few but not like CJ) and things as off the wall as advertising for a class action Paxil lawsuit. The commission is $550 per lead qualified lead.

Here is a very good video explaining Offer Vault.

If your blog is about medical lawsuits with drug companies or where to finds the best attorney, then they have an affiliate marketing partner for you.

CPA/DNA affiliate marketing partners are a little different. From what I have seen so far a portion of the marketing partners offer free trails (a free 30 day trail of Direct Buy) or free samples (Zantac, Snuggle). 

They do have some mainstream partners like Teleflora and 1-800 Flowers. I will be adding advertising from both in the next few days. I do have advertising up for a few new affiliate marketing partners.

National Pen Promotional Products, eBillme (an alternative to PayPal), Outright.com (affordable online accounting services), Russell Simmons Rush Card and Silver Prepaid Master Card (if you don’t want a prepaid Visa card) and iNet Video ($5 DVDs) are my newest partners.

Again I am trying to keep the affiliate marketing partners relevant to the websites. But I also want to add a few fun ones to the mix.

National Pen Promotional Products has a campaign running now that offers a free business card pen. This is a great offer for consumers. One the other side of the relationship marketers (like me) receive $1.00 for each pen given away. Win,Win. You get a free pen with your business card copy on it and I get a buck.

Commissions vary widely so you will have to explore each one. Some like Russell Simmons Rush Card pays $6 for each application accepted (acceptance is guaranteed). Outright.com offers an online alternative to Quickbooks and pays marketers $25 for each new online customer.

One of the cool perks is the fact the companies (affiliate marketing partners) keep track of the point of origin for up to 45 days (in some cases) via “cookies”. If a customer uses your banner or text link to access a site, they will credit all transactions from that customer to you for the next 45 days, no matter how they get there.

This again is all used as the foundation for a long term business model. Based on number of impressions I have received thus far I am confident overtime they will create income. And remember these affiliate marketing partnerships cost zero dollars to use. You can also market these partners and their products on other online sale sights like Craigslist, Corkin.com and Kijiji (ebay classifieds).

I highly recommend using affiliate marketing at your website.

Like always, join and follow the blog, click the banners and text links to start making money. You can use the EWAHR forum to post questions or request a review of a site. You can also email me directly at ewahr2011@yahoo.com

Peace.

It's up, and it's good!!!!

The following is an excerpt from a previous blog. The blog discussed setting goals for your home based business. View the entire blog here.

Short term goal: I will use the internet and multiple websites to create income by developing Affiliate and Referral partnerships.

Cost to maintain websites will be paid from monies generated by sales and referrals from those websites. Along with monies generated from PPC viewing of internet advertising.

Advertising cost for websites will be paid with monies from above as well as “click exchange” credits.

1 year goal. All websites will be self-sustaining. Traffic flow shows moderate to steady increase to all sites.
2 year goal. All websites show positive cash flow. Expand number of sites by 25-50%

I hope you notice the plan does not include being rich in 90 days. As long as I am not investing any money out of pocket, I am not overly concerned about the time it takes to be profitable.

I began this project in February of this year (2011) it is now May. I am now 90 days into the project. My websites are moving slowly, but they are consistently showing an increase in traffic to the site and the affiliate marketing partners I advertise at the sites. 

Just looking at impressions, the advertisers have seen 12,892 impressions, with a click through rate of around 5%. Here is where my site differs from other opportunity and/or review web sites. I don’t have a problem showing you the zeros. It serves no purpose for me to “gild the lily”.
 
Offering you “photo shopped reports” doesn’t help my cause (or yours for that matter). It won’t take you long to figure out the numbers are manipulated.

I have said this more than once and I will continue to say it. You have to invest time and effort to have a successful business at any level.

If you need money today to pay your bills, you will need to find a traditional job. Building a successful, profitable online business cannot be accomplished in one day.  Or in one week or one month. 

I continue to use Amazon Mechanical Turk, MySurvey and Vindale Research daily to create small amounts income. (less than $100 a month).

My quest for a profitable business also opened a door for my wife to become involved with Alpine Access (she now works from our home) a company I reviewed. It also helped me get a part time job setting appointments for an Independent sales person.  

This message is for the 99ers, Do not give up, even though the economy has changed drastically, there are still many opportunities to create income with non-traditional work models. Keep in mind you will need to be patient and creative.

I have to date, not spent a single penny out of pocket. In fact I have made a couple of hundred bucks with sites like M-Turk, MySurvey and Vindale Research. And I am receiving more and more followers every day.

I still believe the affiliate marketing partners will prove to be profitable over time. If you look around the site you will see a couple of new partners like Russell Simmons Rush Card, Outright.com and National Pen Promotional Products.

Like my other affiliate partners, they offer products relevant to running a home based business. National Pen Promotional Products offers a free business card pen to those visiting the site.

I have always been a big fan of “swag” (small inexpensive advertising gifts) from sales people. I bet I haven’t bought a coffee cup or ink pen for myself, to use at work since the early eighties. 

Business cards, pens, coffee cups and coasters are great ways to have you business name out in front of people. They end up being a very good and inexpensive advertising tool that people actually keep and use. 

Swiss army knives, clocks, Frisbees, snow scrapers and so on, are fun for a minute, but you end up seeing most of those at garage sales.

I will give a more complete review of my new affiliate marketing partners in the next few days.

Like always, join and follow the blog, click the banners and text links to start making money. You can use the EWAHR forum to post questions or request a review of a site. You can also email me directly at ewahr2011@yahoo.com
 

Peace.

The road goes on forever, but the blog remains the same

For those just joining this blog I want to lay-out a simpler plan than I used, to start making money with no start up capitol. Since I was going into this project with little experience I ended up going down roads that lead nowhere. Hopefully this will save you some trips.

Step One: If you need cash right away (yes, you can start today) register with Amazon Mechanical Turk (the hyperlinks in this blog will lead you to the registration page). If you have decent typing skills or are multi-lingual M-Turk has many small tasks for you to perform. 

Of all the hits at M-Turk, transcription and translation pay the most per hit completed. Even with only point and click skills money can be made with M-Turk. Here is a link to my review of M-Turk. The review has a link to Work at Home No Scams.com’s very complete review of M-Turk and how they operate.

Step Two: Register with at least one purely survey provider. I recommend MySurvey.  Of all the different survey providers I have tried, MySurvey gives you the best user experience. Unlike some other sites MySurvey pays you (in points which you can turn into cash) for every single survey you take and provides you with points earned data immediately.

Some of the providers will take you 3 or 4 minutes into a survey and then disqualify you. Since data isn’t shown in real time you have no idea if you were credited anything. MySurvey pays a minimum of 5 points for every survey you start.

Step 3: Is an optional step. It is in fact a good way to create substantial additional income. Fushion Cash offers surveys but their main business is providing trial offers from advertisers. Where surveys pay nickels, trial offers pay folding money.

If you have great attention to detail, will take the time to read the fine print and will follow through on canceling trial offers when they end, this type of provider may be for you. If you do not, stay away. You will end up paying for services or products you don’t want or need.

The other issue is most offers are one time deals. The upside is many, like a trial offer from Direct TV pay hundreds of dollars per transaction. 

Step Four: Choose a web page topic. Be it a blog, a forum or a direct sales website or something in between, if you plan to try internet marketing you need a product or products. Choosing a blog topic.

Step Five: Build a free website. This step is for building some longer term facets of your home based business. The goal of this project is to create a long term part-time income. This will be done using no start up capitol. Any opportunity to access free in formation or web presence should be exploited.

Exploited meaning you should take full advantage of free services. Many of the sites I have visited or used treat free members in the same fashion as paying customers. Some don’t. 

Step Six: Develop affiliate marketing partnerships or open an Amazon aStore. You will want to market (advertise) a product of service at your website. Remember you are offering a free membership to your website, you need to market a product or service to create income.

Commission Junction and ClickBank offer access to affiliate marketing partners that will work with even the newest internet entrepreneur. Make sure you choose affiliate marketing partners that are relevant to your website. If you are hosting a knitting blog, don’t advertise shotguns. Remember the rule, If it doesn’t add value to the process, don’t do it.

If you have time and want more than one stream of income take the time to look at the tried and true low start-up cost home based business opportunities. Companies like Avon, Amway, Tupperware, Mary Kay and PartyLite all offer name brand products with years of experience in the field.

Avon has the lowest start-up cost and offers a strong marketing program for beginners. Just like McDonalds they offer products and service people can depend on no matter where the buy the product.  The also offer a credit line for buying product. Once you pay the initial $20 you should have no out of pocket expense.

Like McDonalds, you have to follow the rules and procedures Avon provides to be a true success. Companies like Avon and McDonalds spend a huge amount of money on research, marketing and training tools for representatives. They know what works. They are experts in their respective fields. Exploit that knowledge. 

If you are marketing your own product line by all means think outside the box. If you would rather be safely inside the box, try a program that is proven. Follow the training and tips offered and you will have some measure of success. In this type of opportunity you write your own paycheck. All the marketing work has been completed you simply let people know you are a representative.

All these companies require very little real sales effort on your part. Buyers of these brand names know the products. They will buy based on past experience. You give those customers a catalog and let it do its work. I will discuss the other companies more in my next blog.

Like always, join and follow the blog, click the banners and text links to start making money. You can use the EWAHR forum to post questions or request a review of a site. You can also email me directly at ewahr2011@yahoo.com

Peace.

More about scams

Hopefully, I didn't ruffel too many feathers with yesterdays review. After looking around the web some more, I found I am not the only offering a less than flattering review. A progam like that is the reason people have a bad experience and give up on internet commerce.

I know, it happened to me. I have been sweet-talked out of money more than once with the promise of a huge return. The only thing I know for sure (based on the last 3 months) is there is no offer available on the internet that will allow you to retire in 6 months. Unless you will turn 65 in 6 months, of course.

Do not waste yourt time with sites that make “promises” or “guarantees” of any kind!! What do we learn as children “Promises are often broken”. These kind of sites (and I am not singling out One24) have nothing to lose by making empty promises. Before anyone can shut them down, they have made enough money to move on to the next scam.

No one (yes, I said no one) can guarantee you success in internet marketing. In the first place, chances are you will never see your upline face to face. Questions or advice must be received over the internet or telephone. It is much easier to lie when you are not looking someone in the eye.

This has rouse has been praticed since time began. Only now instead of snake oil peddlers we have Internet marketing entrepreneurs.

I have also noticed for the most part legitimate offers for home based businesses have a single home page that provides most of the details of the business. And pricing is not five pages into the checkout process. I am to the point where, I can feel the scam coming on very early in the process.

I think maybe all the “good scam ideas” have been used up and now, all we see now is a re-hash of the same old thing. With that being said, scams make it very difficult to find the legitimate opportunities. That is why sites like mine EWAHR, Work at home No scams.com and 99ers.net and many, many more are a necessity.

Someone needs to be the “guinea pig” and take one for the team to expose the frauds. I think part of the problem is folks get involved in a scam and think they have to “work their way out of it”. Even though they may figure out early on they are involved in a scam, they need to see if they can at least make their money back.

Then before they know it, they are part of the same scam they are trying to get away from. Always make sure when you get involved in any work at home opportunity, you understand how to get out if it doesn't give you what it offered.

I am going to cut it a little short today, I need to spend sometime finishing up the EWAHR Newsletter for the month of May. Remember, it will contain upcoming reviews, guest articles written by EWAHR followers and special offers and links to my Affiliate marketing partners not offered at my websites. Sign up today!!

Like always, join and follow the blog, click the banners and text links to start making money. You can use the EWAHR Forum to post questions or request a review of a site or, you can e-mail me directly at ewahr2011@ yahoo.com

Peace.

EWAHR Newsletter and choosing a blog topic

Welcome back! I will begin today with the EWAHR newsletter. For those of you who have already signed up, Thank You. The newsletter will be emailed in the first week of each month..

The news letter will include: a review not posted at the EWAHR blog, upcoming topics, special coupons and discounts from my affiliate marketing partners and links to affiliate marketing partners not advertised at the blog.

I would also like to invite followers of the blog to submit a short article (200-400 words) on how you are building your home based business. I will feature 1 submitted article each month in the newsletter. I will also add a link to your website or e-mail. Articles may be submitted at ewahr2011@yahoo.com

Selecting a blog topic can be the toughest task of all when starting a home based online business. There are so many factors going into the equation. Subject, content, webpage, traffic, SEO, audience, advertising, affiliate marketing and the list goes on.

Subject matter to me, is the most important concept. The idea is to create a blog that will have some longevity. If you have been doing this (building an online business) for any length of time, you know it doesn't happen overnight. So, pick a subject that will keep your interest for the next few years.

You will need to add fresh content to your blog at regular intervals. I update my blog daily. This is the only way to keep traffic coming back to your webpage. People won't return to read the same thing they read a month ago.

You don't need to be the world's leading expert on a given subject to write about it in a blog, you just need to relay your perspective.

Subjects literally range from A to Z. It can be animal, mineral or vegetable. For every subject, there is an audience out there dying for more information. You have an opportunity to provide that information.

Hobbies, work experience, musical or artistic talents, opinions, poetry, children's stories, life experiences, relationship advice or just about anything else you can imagine can be used as a blog subject. If you have been employed as a Doctor. Lawyer, Indian chief, Butcher, Baker or Candlestick maker you have blogging material.

Like I have said before, I spent a number of years in manufacturing. I have met 100's of “Experts” (degreed persons) and even more, useful non-experts (those of us with out degrees, who have been doing the same job for 10 years or more) who had more practical knowledge than the “Experts”.

Do not sell yourself short 99ers!! We worked hard for many, many years. The knowledge we have collected over those years is valuable and needed. Whether you know the best cleaning products for mopping tile floors or you can re-build a diesel engine with your eyes closed. You have information other people can use.

Make a list of 10 things you could talk about with your friends or neighbors. Put the items you like the best at the top. Now look at the top 3.

Any of them look like something people would want to read about? Are you passionette about any of them? Could you have a conversation with a friend or neighbor about the subject?

Well then my friend, you have a blog topic.

Like always, join and follow the blog, click the banners and text links to start making money. You can use the EWAHR Forum to post questions or request a review of a site or, you can e-mail me directly at ewahr2011@ yahoo.com

Peace.