ZillionBits-Its about number$ and te<h^0!0gy

When you’re writing, whether it’s direct sales writing such as sales letters and promotional packages, or whether you’re simply communicating to your subscribers through your newsletter, there are a few principles to keep in mind:

• Buying decisions are based on emotions - the “needs” of your prospects, and how well you can “sell” your solution to those needs to your readers.
• People have a subconscious BS filter that automatically goes on red alert when they read a sales letter or are the target of a sales pitch. Reasoning with a prospect that already has that mental shield up will only make her resist more - you have to first prevent that shield from getting up, and failing that, you need to use an emotional bridge to get through the BS filter.
• To understand the “needs” of your prospects, you have to get into their heads to find out what they want (as in “a stronger and straighter golf swing” instead of “a better golf club”). Once you have that information, you can use it to write powerful, compelling copy that touches readers directly at their emotional core.

I’ve long been a member of Amazon’s affiliate program, One of the new features available via the Amazon Associates program is the Amazon aStore, which Darren Rowse already reviewed, but here’s the quick summary: an aStore is an Amazon-hosted website that displays Amazon products chosen by the associate. It can be customized to a certain degree to let the visitor also see categories of products, but it really needs more customization capabilities. All product information comes from Amazon’s databases, of course, and any purchases made through an aStore earn the affiliate a commission. The idea is to make it easy to build a featured set of products and include it on an associate’s website with no programming required. (If you’re willing to invest some time and do some programming, however, you’re better off looking at Amazon Web Services, you’ll get much more control that way.

Anyhow, I was wondering if it was possible to integrate AdSense into an Amazon aStore, so I did some experimentation and came up with The HDTV Shoppe (opens a new window).

Google has sent Internet marketers - especially affiliates - into a uproar with their latest AdWords “summer cleaning.”

Over the past week, advertisers have literally been getting booted out of Google Adwords. That includes advertisers who spend more than 5 figures a month on AdWords. I’ve spoken with multiple super affiliates, and they are all in an uproar over what appears to be yet another “affiliate -unfriendly” move by Google.

I can’t say Google never warned us. They announced new algorithm changes in December of last year. But when advertisers started getting kicked out starting a week or so ago, it hit hard - like it came out of nowhere

An anonymous Affiliate Classroom contributor and PPC affiliates complains…

“I had an ad doing 6.7% CTR and have spent well over $150,000 on Google Adwords in the last 2 years – now they’re telling me that I need to increase my minimum bid for 300%! No way!”

So what is Google really up to? Have they gone the way of pure evil? Or is is this part of a larger and more complex agenda? Read the rest of this entry »

Ok so you think you have found a good affiliate program to promote on your website or in your newsletter? There are some basic things you need to look out for before joining any affiliate program. Some of them may seem minor but those little petty things can cause you to lose hundreds of dollars in affiliate revenue.

Here are some of the basic things to watch out for when joining an affiliate program:

No Affiliate Manager Contact InformationIf they don’t provide you with a way to contact them about their affiliate program then what are you going to do if you have a problem? Who are you going to email or call if your check doesn’t arrive?

Commission Is To LowDo you really want to spend time on an affiliate program that pays a measely 2%? I see these programs all over. They pitch their affiliate program and make it sound like it is a privelidge to join their affiliate program and earn pennies per sale. I usually stay away from programs that offer less than 8% commission. I will go a little lower if the products sell good and there is a good profit. Read the rest of this entry »