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New Merchant Announcement: YesFor Affiliate Program!
YesFor Affiliate Program is now live in ShareaSale!
YesFor.com is an online clothing retailer, carrying the latest fashions in dresses, blouses, pants, skirts, handbags, lingerie, and other fashion accessories. They have the lowest prices online – up to 70% lower than anywhere else!
Customers enjoy the lowest prices and free worldwide shipping on the latest styles. Here are the program details for affiliates:
- Earn 7.5% starting commission on each purchase – up to 10.5% based on sales!
- 60-day cookie duration – get the credit you deserve
- Datafeed coming soon via SAS, Datafeedr, and PopShops
- Deals available via the SAS Deals & Coupons Database, For Me To Coupon, and iCodes US
- ShareASale Exclusive Merchant
- Extensive keyword list available for PPC campaigns
- Monthly newsletter – stay informed of all the latest promotions
Trisha Fawver is managing the program. Reach out to her with any questions you have. We’re here to help you succeed!
JOIN NOW AT SHAREASALE
- If you have already joined the ShareASale network, simply log in and add YesFor to your existing account.
- If you are not in the ShareASale network, you can sign up through the YesFor application.
Playoff Teams Are Set – Sign Up Now For Free Hockey Pool!
Playoff Action Begins Wednesday!
FREE to enter, EASY box-style picks, PRIZES!
The annual Snow Consulting Hockey Playoffs Pool is ready! Edited 4-15-2014 to add/edit prize.
Everyone is welcome and encouraged to join! Sign up now and you could win a prize from one of our sponsoring merchants! EASY to play: the hockey pool is set up as an easy box-style pick; your biggest task is coming up with a fun name for your team!
Here’s the INVITATION LINK.*
And here’s how the prizes are shaping up!
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ZooShoo.com: $50 store credit | |
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Ties.com: $50 store credit | |
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CompAndSave.com: $50 store credit | |
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SunDiego.com: $50 store credit | |
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20Jeans.com: $100 Store Credit as a Grand Prize |
*No password needed to sign up – we’ll get you the password and ID you need to keep up with your standings when playoffs begin!
ShareOnly 2 Weeks Left For Affiliate Bonus Blog Post For LunaBazaar!
At the end of March, we posted this Affiliate Bonus Opportunity for Luna Bazaar:
You still have time to write a post and get your bonus; the opportunity is available all through the month of April. Not sure what to write about? We’ve inserted screen shots from LunaBazaar so you can see the wide variety of event decor and party favors they offer.
Don’t forget the 2nd component of the offer: Drive $200+ in sales and get a 2nd bonus! And the best part? As an affiliate, your blog post is going to drive commissioned sales far into the future because of your time and effort today.
Take the time to be inspired; it’s fun to browse! Write your post and follow the instructions for notifying Trisha. It is prime season for bridal showers, baby showers, graduation parties, etc. Take advantage today!
Join The Hockey Playoffs Pool!
There Are Prizes! Snow-Consulting Annual Hockey Playoffs Pool!
Go Ahead and sign up now – make your picks. Changes can be made until Game Time April 16th!
It’s so easy to sign up – go to the Invitation link below, have a fun team name in mind, and fill in the info so we can find you if you win. Then pick one player in each box!
Here’s the INVITATION LINK.*
There are 23 of these boxes – make 1 pick in each! That’s it!
It’s a simple box style where you pick one in each box. Easy! We all have our favorite methods for picking. Somebody we know just picks the most French-sounding name. Yes. That’s how they pick.
As usual, our generous merchant sponsors are stepping up with some great prizes. We have a stack of $50 shopping codes already and will get all the details put together before the first game.
TODAY you just need to follow the INVITATION LINK* and get signed up. We’ll remind you to make last minute team changes before the first game. Good luck!
*No password needed to sign up – we’ll get you the password and ID you need to keep up with your standings when playoffs begin!
ShareHyperWear SandBells® On Today Show!
AFFILIATES: SANDBELLS® ON THE TODAY SHOW! COUPON DEAL SO YOU CAN LEVERAGE GREAT PR!
The HyperWear SandBells® were featured today in the 3rd hour of the Today Show #HotNHealth segment. Joy Bauer offered tastes of various veggie enhanced food products and then got Christian Slater and Tamron Hall to play a quick game of catch with the SandBells™.
It was a fun, light-hearted segment that gave HyperWear SandBells® some great exposure. Christian didn’t want to part with his two he picked up; he was practicing the “squeeze” that strengthens your grip. Joy retrieved one for Tamron so they could play High-Low Toss.
Joy to Christian: “You toss high”
Joy to Tamron: “You toss low”
Tamron to Christian: “Don’t you hit my face!”
Christian to Tamron: “Don’t you hit my”
Even though the segment was just a few minutes long, it was great branding for HyperWear SandBells® and now HyperWear has a special coupon deal for affiliates:
Buy a Sandbell® and get 25% off any Sandbell® DVD. Use code: TODAY Offer good: 4/3-4/9 SAS Link ID: 194400
ShareWhat’s Your All-Time Favorite April Fools?
It’s April Fools Day!
We asked everyone on the team for their favorite April Fool’s prank for this post.
– Roger – Messy Joke Alert: Friend of mine in college was given toilet paper when the roll was empty. It was not real paper and disintegrated upon wiping!
– Randy – My one daughter decided when she was like 10 that she would do the ol’ “put the saran wrap on the toilet” trick. Luckily I saw it ahead of time but I told her I didn’t and that it made a huge mess! She was so proud of herself that she had snuck one past me!
– Ginette – My Best April Fools was on the Doctors and My Husband. I had three ultrasounds and all said it was a boy, but I just knew it was a girl. So I made a deal with my Husband, if it was a boy he could choose the name and I could choose the name if it was a girl. April Fool’s Day ( Also Good Friday) 20 years ago our daughter was born, best April Fool’s ever!
– Trisha – As a long-time The Office fan, I have to go with the classic of putting your co-worker’s desk supplies in jello!
– Judi – I found 12 Simple April Fools’ Day Pranks at Mashable and 27 Pranks You Need To Really Own On April Fool’s Day at Buzzfeed. I can’t seem to choose a favorite, but #6 at Buzzfeed is reminiscent of the Onion Apples showing up as #10 at Mashable. We asked Todd Farmer if we could mention his epic prank with onion apples. I don’t know if he can get his kids to eat anything on April Fool’s Day or not. I’m guessing “Not”. Enjoy:
– Anita – is busy working. Quoted from her Facebook page: “Oh boy, it’s going to be a day full of lame April Fool’s jokes and posts. From Robert Reich and Kickstarter no less. Can’t wait for the day to be over.”
– Tanya – I am not a prankster, I prefer jokes…! Two fish swim into a concrete wall.
One turns to the other and says “dam”.
LunaBazaar Bonus Offer: Write A Blog Post, Get A Bonus!
Bloggers: Write 200+ words about LunaBazaar or some of their exciting new products and get a bonus! And there’s a second bonus for driving sales!
We’re excited to announce a fantastic sales bonus for LunaBazaar affiliates! You’d be crazy NOT to participate in this EASY bonus during the month of April – all you have to do is write!
That’s right, every blogger who writes a 200+ word** article about Luna Bazaar during the month of April will receive a $5 bonus just for publishing an article on your site. Even better? Drive $200 in net sales between April 1st and April 30th and we’ll dish out another $25 bonus!
Driving $200 in sales could be a piece of cake! (Probably wedding cake!)
The Month-to-date Average Order Value for March is $81. And we are just now headed into peak wedding-buying season. It’s time to decorate for receptions, bridal showers, Sip-and-See-teas, even graduation, Mother’s Day and holiday spreads! With all the ways LunaBazaar brings the good life to your home decor, it’s pretty easy to show the advantages of stocking up!
Just in case you haven’t heard, LunaBazaar color-matches across product lines. So when you discover all the paper lanterns, fans, parasols, bottles, vases, napkin rings, paper straws, mason jars, candle holders, pom poms, place cards and favor bags, you can forget worrying about matching colors and just create the tableau of your dreams!
They just added baker’s twine which is hot with crafters, and they’ve added those trendy paper straws in all the cool colors, too. Name cards/place cards and place card holders are a really popular item for showers and receptions. You’ll find lots of variety, which makes for great conversation starters at the event.
Important! In order to be eligible for the $5 bonus you must email Trisha the link to your blog post with “April Blogger Bonus” in the subject line and include your SAS or CJ ID. It must be posted between April 1st and April 30th and contain 200+ words. The subject must be primarily Luna Bazaar related or wedding related featuring only links to Luna Bazaar. The $25 bonus for driving sales is open to all current publishers.
**As a quick reference, 200 words looks like this. (I love this tool. Thanks, Trisha!)
Remember: Once you’ve published the article, please email the URL to Trisha with “April Blogger Bonus” in the subject line and include your network ID (CJ or SAS). Please let her know if you have any questions at all – happy writing!
TheHairStyler Affiliate Program Adds EBay Enterprise Network
Now you can join TheHairStyler.com Affiliate Program at ShareASale OR EBay Enterprise Affiliate Network!
TheHairStyler.com is the perfect program to promote during Prom, Graduation, Wedding and Bridal Shower season! You earn aggressive commissions while offering your visitors a chance to try on thousands of different looks!
Find all this and more at TheHairStyler.com
You’ll find hundreds of styles, colors, cuts and even makeup to try on! And you can upload different photos and coordinate the whole bridal party!
Can Affiliate Links Hurt Your Ranking?
How Important are Links?
Link profiles are a big part of Google and Bing’s formula for deciding how relevant your site is to its searchers. Sites linking to you can have either a positive or negative effect on your site and its ranking. Quality relevant sites linking to you help bolster your relevance and authority, while thin low quality sites can drag you down. In any natural link profile you will find a wide variety of sites linking into your site and over time this number will vary and grow depending on your industry and popularity.
What kind of link is an affiliate link to your site? Google does not directly address this in their guidelines, however in the strictest interpretation of their definition of links, affiliate links could be defined as “unnatural” and “Paid Links” according to the guidelines.
Google has become increasingly vigilant about link manipulation or unnatural links- where websites owners are buying links to improve their link profiles and manipulate their ranking artificially. In the past year, Google has brought the hammer down on link exchanges, blog linking networks, Advertorials, guest blogging networks and paid text links that are intended to skew link profiles. Sites involved in this kind of activity were penalized and in some cases removed from Google’s index.
Affiliate Links and Merchants
So the question is what kind of impact does an affiliate linking to you have on your site and what are the best practices for having affiliates link to you? Google is aware of the major affiliate networks and attempts to handle affiliate links appropriately by not giving any real influence or endorsement to them. Thus, inbound affiliate links should not have any real impact on a site’s link profile.
You should also know that the affiliate networks already have a Disallow command in place on their site’s robots.txt file. What this means is that no search engine robot is supposed to index or follow the affiliate link to the merchants site or give it any value. An example would be a ShareASale link which looks like this:
http://www.shareasale.com/r.cfm?B=112233&U=12345&M=1234&urllink=
If you take a look at the robots.txt file at ShareASale.com you will notice that it includes a disallow command for anything that has the /r.cfm in the URL.
Disallow: /r.cfm
This should put your mind at ease as a merchant. Affiliate program links through the major networks cannot influence your SEO in a negative manner as the links do not get indexed past the network and cannot pass any value one way or another. There is no reason to demand that all affiliates use a nofollow attribute in their links as it really does not affect your site.
What Affiliates Should Do
For affiliates it is important to know how your own site and links are being perceived. Below you will find an excerpt from Matt Cutts, the Head of Webspam Engineering at Google on how “paid links” or ”paid relationships” should be disclosed to Google:
Google would like affiliates to follow suggested best practices disclosing all paid relationships by using a rel=nofollow attribute on affiliate links and the failure to do so may negatively impact the affiliate’s website.
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What do you mean I’m not approved…
OK, so you’ve built your first web site or started that first blog post and now it’s time to monetize it and make a ton of money. You’ve heard about affiliate marketing and that it’s easy money. Not so fast, don’t give up that day job just yet, if ever.
All you have to do is place some text or banner ads for merchants on your site and they will pay you for every sale/lead you send their way. Sounds easy right! You’re ready to go so where do you find these merchant affiliate programs. You learn about all the affiliate networks and join Shareasale, Linkshare, CJ Affiliate by Conversant, etc and then sign up for programs you’d like to promote and wham! You get the dreaded, “sorry your application was not approved” emails.
Your ego takes a hit and it let’s some air out of your enthusiastic tires. Before you throw in the towel, take a deep breath, step back and look at what you’re doing and maybe what you can change to get accepted the next time. Let’s look at some affiliate newbie NO-NOs.
Old MacDonald Had A….
You know the rest. If your web site consists of nothing more than endless banners, then you’re running a banner farm and the chances of you getting approved by most merchants are slim. The ship sailed on banner farms in the early 21st Century. Google has made it very plain that “content is king” so the odds of you ranking anywhere of any significance is nil if your site only consists of rows and rows of banner images. Just don’t do it.
Let’s Make A Deal
Coupon and Deal sites are right up there with Banner Farms unless you’re able to find just the right niche. This particular arena is really over-saturated. That window of opportunity passed around 2010 and even those who entered early in the game are struggling after all the Google Panda, Penguin, Peacock, Polar Bear and Pony updates, not to mention deep pockets of VC money.
A few years ago I had one of the TOP coupon sites tell me that their Q4 Marketing budget was $2 million. That’s who you’re up against in the coupon/deal world these days. It’s going to be next to impossible to rank in the search engines organically or paid when you are going up against the big guns with these types of budgets. Again, content is king so what is there about your web site that will make it stand out from all the others.
There’s No There There
Patience grasshopper. You’ve signed up for the affiliate networks but the paint isn’t even dry on your web site yet or worse, you haven’t even started. Do yourself a favor as well as the affiliate managers and don’t apply until you have a viable working site so they can see how you intend to promote their merchants’ products. Number one rule, don’t submit an 
application with no URL or one that links to an “Under Construction” or “Coming Soon” page; even worse, they get a 404 Error. Same thing goes for your name, don’t leave that field blank or just put your first name. If you want to be considered as a professional, present yourself as one. Who’s more likely to get the job interview, the person in a holey t-shirt, shorts and flip-flops or someone in a suit and tie.
Location, Location, Location
Do you live in a state with a sales tax nexus law in place? The merchant’s program description should let you know if that’s an issue; so if you reside in the great states of AR, CT, GA, KS, MN, NC, NY, PA, that could be the reason for your denial. California enacted a workaround for its resident publishers, you’ll have to sign an affidavit for each out-of-state merchant who doesn’t collect CA Sales Tax. If you CA residents need the affadivit for any of the merchants Snow Consulting represents, you can find them here: California Affiliates: Affidavits And Instructions.
Follow the The Performance Marketing Association’s Internet Sales Tax Reform Updates for up-to-date information on this fluid issue.
Best Things In Life Aren’t Free
If you’re serious about affiliate marketing as a business then be prepared to invest some serious time and at least a little money. You can buy a domain name for under $10 a year and there are hosting plans for less than $5 a month. Meaning, free is not necessarily good, pop for some cheap hosting so your URL doesn’t read myaffiatesite.weebly.com
This is not to knock Blogger, Wix, WordPress.com (not .org), Freewebs, Weebly or any of the other ones out there. But if you’re going to submit sites like myaffiliatesite.blogspot.com, then you’re not perceived as a serious marketer and perception is everything when you’re trying to get your foot in the door.
Smile For The Camera
If you’re affiliate marketing through a blog and you have a picture of yourself on it (as you should) or are using google authorship please make sure it’s a flattering image. Scowling just doesn’t work. Look pleasant and professional like you enjoy what you do and not having a root canal. Who wants to work with an unhappy camper?
Courtesy of 2013 Affiliate Summit AffStat Report
Moral of the Story
This isn’t to discourage you from pursuing affiliate marketing, these tips are to help you steer clear of easy mistakes and help you stay ahead of the pack. If you get turned down, please don’t take it personally (nobody like rejection, we get that). If you’re not getting accepted into programs, start with some of the smaller networks, find merchants that auto-approve affiliates and go out and prove yourself.
If you get turned down, put some thought into why you applied to that program, the affiliate manager certainly will, trust me. Does your site make sense as a partner for that product? Review everything mentioned in this article. Make changes and improvements where you can. Once you’ve corrected these areas, reach out to the Affiliate Manager and see if you can re-apply. As you can see from the chart, over 45% of affiliates surveyed in the 2013 Affiliate Summit AffStat Report say they contact the Affiliate Manager after being declined.
Driving Miss Traffic
The main way you are going to generate sales/leads for merchants is through the traffic to your web site. Observe what the successful affiliates in your niche are doing. You don’t have to reinvent the wheel, just ride along or build a better vehicle. How are other affiliates getting that traffic? Well, you better know some SEO or someone who does, have a blog and integrate social media into your game plan.
Courtesy of 2013 Affiliate Summit AffStat Report
We’re Here To Help
The Affiliate Manager is there to help you succeed once you are in their program so don’t be afraid to ask for some guidance in promoting their merchant. They are not, however, there to train you how to do affiliate marketing so don’t overstep. Learn as much as you can and follow some of the affiliate marketing gurus like Shawn Collins on Twitter, Facebook, Google+, etc.
One caveat: when reading articles, check the date and if it is over one year old, take the information with a grain of salt as affiliate marketing is very fluid and is constantly changing and evolving.
- Courtesy of 2013 Affiliate Summit AffStat Report
WRAP UP
In review, are you
- A banner farm
- Just coupons and deals
- Invisible
- Living in a sales tax nexus state
- A freebie domain name and hosting user
- A sourpuss
If any of these apply to you, rethink your marketing strategy and start fresh.
If you’d like to learn more from the 2013 Affiliate Summit AffStat Report which gives you all kinds of data from demographics to average income from affiliate marketing etc., you can access the Report here as well as take the 2014 Survey going on now through April 30, 2014. Results will be released later in the year.
“Affiliate On and Prosper”
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