Thanks Bean Bag Bazaar & Hannah Swift / Existem AM

Just a quick thanks to Bean Bag Bazaar, Hannah Swift and Existem AM for the Whopper Faux Leather Bean Bag that they've sent me to review on my Christmas and Voucher codes site (which I now have to update!)



And bloody hell its a whopper all right! I was on the phone to a client when my neighbour was knocking on my door. I relented after a few minutes and answered, with phone in one hand I opened the door with another. Afraid it was another idiot asking if I want to answer some questions, I answered with my "someone's calling me a winger face". Luckily I was met with a huge blue sack that only just fit through the door (and some purchases from Morgan Computers).

I was told that I could have any of their products I wanted, but seeing as I've got all the furniture I need (plus some more) I opted for one of their cheapest products. I'm supposed to be giving it to a friend for her to review for another of my sites, but I'm just thinking I'll keep it and get rid of the sofa in the games room!! I never use it anyway!

So thanks guys (and gals). I better get my creative juices flowing again tomorrow.

Loving The New Window Shop (That's Right!)

Window Shop is a new "3D" shopping site from Amazon. It lets you scroll through their latest best selling prdoucts in a similar way to iTunes and listen to samples. To be honest its nice and shiny and that's enough for me! You can also see trailers for video games and hear books.

Will I regularly use it? Probably not!

Bugger! It works. I found the new Seth Godin book on their and have bought it. You can hear an audio sample of it before you buy!

One (many) things they've missed out though, is the viral element. There's no "send this to a friend", "post the clip to my blog", "add this video to Facebook", "rate this product", "people have also bought", "you like this, you'll also like".

p.s. I always take Seth on holiday with me. A day on the beach without a Seth Godin Audio Book is like breakfast cereal without the milk - wholly unsatisfying!

NMA Article: IAB to issue industry guides to stop the misuse of online voucher codes

Stop press: There's a damming (albeit short) article on (the misuse of) Voucher codes in the current edition of NMA

The AMC has identified practices by some voucher code sites that could damage brands' affiliate campaigns. These include registering the cookie that pays the affiliate with the retailer after the consumer has already made a decision to buy.

At least the IAB is talking sense - but will anything actually happen?

But when you read "The move by the IAB comes in the month nma revealed research by industry trade body the Institute of Sales Promotions showing brands are failing to fulfill online competitions and promotions, including vouchers, with consumer complaints up by 750% (nma 16 October)." Surely there is a problem that needs addressing?

Don't Believe The Hype - All That Glitters May Not Be Gold

One thing I love about the Affiliate industry is that basically earnings aren't limited. What I love about my SEO business is that you work with fantastic people. But as the economy slows I was thinking about just checking the risk factor involved with taking on certain clients. Thankfully out of the blue Debbie from RiskDisk.com called me to talk about their product which allows you to see limited and non registered company financials.

After checking the risk and financial status of some potential clients I wondered "what sort of profits do you need to be classes as a Super Affiliate"? I knew that most networks would only see one side of the equation. They'd see your income from the network and not what it cost you to deliver the sales (although they could have an educated guess).

What I found was interesting.

Now I don't want to name names as that'd be just a bit crap. Thankfully I'm educated in financial matters so I can look and their balance sheets, financial summaries, P&L accounts and Cashflow data and ascertain what if they representative and see if significant amounts of cash have been moved from the business account to their personal accounts. However ....

One affiliate paints themselves as a super affiliate, a guardian of the industry and one to be respected, well ... Looking at their financials from their accounts which ended in the last quarter of 2007 the net worth of their company was NEGATIVE between £100k and £200k (not giving out exact figures) and their cash levels had plummeted by a factor of 4 over the previous year.

And their credit score well its bad. RiskDisk says "this company appears financially valueless". Now you may have thought that this was just a non-trading company. But I've checked the companies that the person is also a director of and they're actually classed as non-trading to Companies House.

Now thankfully not all my earnings are from the affiliate industry - they're pretty sporadic after effectively taking a couple years off work. But those that found a profitable method and improved on it are still doing very well (perhaps I should have kept working instead of downing tools?)

(I'm sure these successful affiliates won't mind me talking numbers - its publicly available information anyway.)

If you take UK Web Media Risk Disk says that its safe to give them credit of £218k and have a score of 1 (you can't get any better). [Financials removed by request]

If you look at eConversions,[Also removed by request - but healthy]

Net Media Planet on 31st July 2007 had a net worth of £1,973,000 and £1,701,000 as cash in the bank. They were owed £1,030,000 and owed £765,000. These guys know what they're doing.

CK Net has a suggested credit limit of £28,000 and a credit score of 1. They had a net worth of £270,000 and cash in the bank of £446,000 on 31st August 2007.

You may say these are brand bidders so "what did you expect"? Well they do paid search very well!

But there are other affiliates out there that don't say how well they're doing and they're doing very well. Most of these affiliates concentrate on niches and really are jolly nice people.

So what can you learn from this? Well, my advice is that you've really got to be careful about reputation as they're often self-perpetuated and a little myopic. I'd say that its far better to find out who runs the sites you can see as being successful and monitor what they do to find out how you can improve your business.

I've made the mistake of being a bit to honest in what I've had success with in the past and have seen loads of sites copy me over the past couple of years (since I got back into working) so I'll been keeping schtum out that and prefer highlight how I feel the industry can be improved. I still give my private thoughts to friends and the odd tid-bit publicly. But why should you trust me? Well that's up to you to work out.

p.s. "look at me, I'm a super-affiliate" LMAO!

p.p.s If any company wants their financials removed either PM on the forum, MSN me (details up top) or email me on lee@[myAFhandle].co.uk.

p.p.p.s. If anyone wants Risk Disk call Debbie on 0844 871 1868 (no kick back for me :-( )

What's Hot In 2009

Well I'm not exactly going to be giving away everything I'm working on - partly because I don't know yet! But here's a few things that are top of my list:

• Valentine's Day Gifts - Last year this did well with very little work on it. This time out I'm planning to do a lot of hard work on it and work very closely with a few select merchants and agencies.
  
  
• Easter Eggs - Last year this did very well - but it was a lot of hard work getting the content together. This time it'll be a case of filling in the blanks and being more selective about which merchants to promote. I've also been working on the price comparison side of things, hopefully that'll work too.
  
  
• Activity Gifts - This has been a site that I've let go to waste over the past few years and I'm determined to make it work as its ripe for the targetting the long tail. 
  
  
• My MP3 Players review blog has really suffered during 2008 as the first part of the year was spend writing content on the events blogs and then from March I was focused on Christmas. 
  
  
• I know there's a big market for Sexy Gifts too, so I'll try and find time to target that market.
  
  
• Hopefully the Mitsubishi Laser TV will come to the market in the UK and I can start selling them here!
  
  
• I also have to work on the World Cup Football blog as the qualifiers for the 2010 tournament will be coming to a climax.
  
  
• I've got a load of sites to start off too. Digital Cars will be a blog about digital in-car products. I'm going to start off a blog about flying cars and hydro cars. I'm thinking about doing a Haloween blog, and I may start a Mother's day one too.
  
  
• Then I need to work out why I bought a cognitive enhancers domain, and other ones to do with mood clothes, various ones to do with robots. I've also got a utility suppliers domain I need to do something with.
  
  
• Oh, I suppose I better work on that 3D TV domain too!

So What Actually Is Wrong With Some Voucher Code Sites? Case In Point

So many voucher code sites aren't cookie cutters? They add massive value?

Just using MDS Batteries as an example.

There are about 50 voucher code sites that have MDS listed. The funny thing is that I've never been aware in the past 7/8 years of them running an affiliate programme to offer a discount code - prove me wrong.

Site's like MyVoucherCodes say "Reveal All Discount Deals and Visit site". But there are no voucher codes.

Here's an example below:



With A1 it says "Reval All Promotions and Visit the website" - but there's no promotions to show:



VoucherCodes.com says "Show Current Discount Codes + Site" - but there isn't any? Aren't you tricking the user?



VoucherCodeReards.co.uk says "Show Current Discount Code & Visit Site" - guess what?! No code!!



At least MyFreeDiscountCodes does it right and tells people that they don't have any codes!!!



So the issue with most of these sites is promise something they can't deliver just for a sale - regardless of how that affects the merchants and their brand. Regardless of the fact that they're advertising a code they don't have.

What makes me laugh even more is the affiliates that are told to remove codes then add them back to their site later and when are pulled up about it - blame their "automated CMS system" that adds codes (cough)!

And Joe is starting to put down his thoughts about code sites - I'll read with interest. Let's hope that this blog and other ethical affiliates will help educate those intent to employ short-termist policies.

Don't Trust Google's Public Transport Maps

I'm down to the big smoke today for a couple of client meetings and then I thought I'd catch another one tomorrow. Driving is ace if you're not going into central London. Unfortunately I'll be letting the train take the strain so I'll have to catch public transport up into north London to see another client. I used the TFL site and that was spot on. But I thought I'd print a map of the area so I can walk from the station to their offices (its not far) and then I saw the "Public Transport" button on Google maps.

A trip that would take 45 mins via the TFL site ended up being 4 hours and 40 minutes via Google!!!



Er nah! And they say they shouldn't "do evil" - pretty evil if you're going to suggest I do that journey!

The Power Of Content Affiiliates

From Will the internet survive the economic meltdown?

Matt Brittin, director of Google UK "cites the statistic that more than half of UK shoppers have changed their minds about which brand to purchase after doing research on the internet."

Let's just ignore content affiliates and place all our efforts on the affiliates that target your brand shall we and don't educate, inform or eulogise your products or services.

Content affiliates change consumers' minds towards (or against) your brand - work with them.

Things That Make Me Laugh - "Our Site Is SEO'd" Links

I'm going to do an occasional "Things That Make Me Laugh" (but its actually a polite way of saying "things that get my goat!"

Today's victim are SEO agencies that feel the need to link back to their own site from the bottom (they even do sides!!!) of their client's sites.

Are they that desperate for link juice that they abuse their client's websites?

Take JustSearching.co.uk, they link back to their own site from virtually every client page and there's 69,500 of them.

In fact only 3 of the first 100 links listed have anything to do with SEO! Pure madness! This is the sort of trick I used to play in 1998 when I SEO'd my first client site.

A couple of things. My view of links, and I'm sure Google's too is that they should be earned and be in context to the site they're on.

If a visitor is on a site about cufflinks, fashion or villas are they really worried, concerned or interested in who did their SEO? It's obviously just there for SEO purposes.

You could say that its there to game Google. My view is that SEO is a people business, its a service. That's why all my business is from recommendations. I don't even bother ranking for any SEO phrases. In fact my site is five years out of date and I'm only getting a new one built as its about time bloody time (and people kept saying it's shite).

But why infect your clients' sites to benefit your own business - in my mind its not on. Client's needs come first!

Matt Cutts Says Create Special Landing Pages For Local Search

lol - I've just gone through and tweaked a client's site to help them appear in Google Local Search. What I didn't do is create special landing pages for that purpose as it'd appear spammy - hey but now I've just seen Matt suggest I do!




darn it!

Still seems a bit spammy to me though! :-(

Pick A Network - EPC Openness

I'm hoping other affiliates will publish their top five EPC's for the year so far from a chosen network.

Here's my five from Awin.

Savile Row - £3.22 - freaky
Findmeagift.com - £0.56 - stocked one of my target products
Gardening Direct - £0.53 - no idea how
Character Online - £0.47 - another merchant stocking target products
Vodafone - £0.47 - from an old site I don't work on any more

And I'm shocked to find out my highest volume of sales was Dixons - shocking.

I'm tagging these five to discuss their top earning merchants for a given network:

* Kieron
* Chris Frost (nearly typed "Christ"!)
* Keith

Maybe some won't want to though :-(

Change your language on Facebook To Pirate!!

Completely non-work related I know.

But you can change it so your options are in Pirate and not normal English!










To get there just go to Account > Language

or if you're already speaking "Pirate" and you want to change back its Arrrrrcount > Tongue

Be Good With Your Emails Or You'll Get Outted By Yahoo!

Has anyone else seen these notices on Yahoo!? If you're thought of being a spammer by Yahoo they'll let everyone know.

I'm not sure how big the impact would be on Click Through Rates to natural results, but I'm sure it won't help!



Has anyone else seen them?

Yahoo! must be very sure they're right as I know how easy it is to look like an email spammer when you're actually sending people emails they've asked for. I hope this doesn't blow up in their faces - i.e. be sued!

Affiliates And Their Rose-Tinted Glasses

I was going to call this "You don't need a brain cell to be an affiliate, but it helps".

I constantly see affiliates moaning about drops in commissions or when merchants stop them brand bidding, ppc'ing direct to merchant, removing the use of discount codes or paying less commission for them.

Fine, they're unhappy when they're earning less - that's natural.

But what amazes is me is when other affiliates think they're immune to the usual scrutiny that other marketing channels face.

If a merchant is PPC'ing and the agency aren't meeting targets then they're pulled up on it. They may have to close it down or tweak it.

If SEO isn't working, the agency will expect to brought to task and get their backside in gear.

Just because an affiliate is driving sales - it doesn't mean that it is in the merchant's best interest to keep that relationship going in the same context.

Many affiliates will think WTF! This is because affiliates don't think like merchants. They don't really care to be honest - as long as they're getting their nice BACS payment at the end of the month all is good in the world of affiliate marketing.

From a merchant's point of view they'll tweak and modify their marketing channels until they obtain the desired return on their marketing spend. This may entail reducing commissions, stopping direct to merchant ppc'ing, changing how discount codes are used, or whatever they feel will achieve it.

It amazes me that affiliates that drive sales by creating certain types of discount code sites unwaveringly feel they're adding value when the first time their site or cookie enters the consumers world when they're sat in at the merchant's checkout with their credit card in hand, knowing exactly what they're buying and why, after spending a fair while on the internet researching the merchant and product, then spending more time (may be half an hour) in the merchant's site - oh then they see this box when they're 95% through the whole research and buying process that says "Enter Discount Code".

The user searches "merchant name discount code" and is met with a voucher code site that may or may not have any live/usable codes and a cookie is dropped.

You don't have to be a fecking genius to work out that in this instance the affiliate hasn't added any value what-so-ever to the whole research and buying process.

In my mind the user had already been "marketed to". In the next 30 seconds no more external marketing should affect the deal. The customer is sold to, they're there, they've got their plastic out, they're putting their numbers in!! HELLO BIG WAVING HAND!!!

I'm not saying there's only one way of being an affiliate. That's patently untrue. What I am saying is that affiliates shouldn't criticise merchants for wanting to make this channel work for them.

Just like affiliates measure and gauge the performance of PPC, SEO, link building, content creation etc. Just because affiliates analyse their EPC from different merchants and select which to work with, IT DOES NOT MEAN that merchants should not also analyse what works for them!

If merchants are happy for affiliates to take commission in the last 30 seconds of the sales process then that's fine for them. But for affiliates to say "we're getting you sales - so shut up" those merchants should ask "at what cost?"

Update: At least Ray is trying to add value/earn his commissions!!!