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How to pick an Affiliate Management Company to Manage your Affiliate Program.

So this is something that seems so simple and soo many people can make soo many claims that it is insane.  The real truth behind picking an Affiliate Marketing company to manage your Affiliate Program is actually a lot more easy than you think, but a lot more tricky than you would think as well.

There is a lot to take into consideration about all of the firms out there.  Probably 95% of them work with AdWare that can and will steal from you, however it will look like legit sales and the firm will deny it or play dumb when you call them out on it, especially if they are being bonused on performance or total sales and can allow their Affiliates to redirect and hijack your own internal Marketing and stuff cookies to take credit for sales they never earned or sent.  Even on one of my favorite online marketing forums, ABestWeb.com where you can learn about adware or parasites, and the community is completely against adware, over half of the firms and “trusted firms” actually still work with adware and hope no one calls them out on it.   Just so we are clear, Adware is not the same as trademark bidding, the types of adware I am talking about hijack the end users browser and set cookies on the end users computer and take credit for the sale if that person shops, regardless of where that person came from.

So the first thing I recommend when looking at an Affiliate company is to see if they work with these types of companies because chances are that if they currently work with them or adware Affiliates in their other programs, they will probably work with them in yours, regardless of what they say.   Look through the Parasiteware and Unethical Affiliates Forums for a few of the big ones and then look through your perspective agencies Client list who have programs on CJ, Linkshare, Google, etc… are listed on the Parasites websites, if they are then they are more than likely in the Adware too.   You can also look at 5 Star Affiliate forums for another list or more discussions on adware.  Furthermore, would you actually want to trust a firm that allows their other Clients to be stolen from so they look better and can get paid more?  You also have to realize that the Affiliate Networks know about this and don’t do anything about it because of the amount of Money that they actually make off of the theft.  Anyways, read the parasite forums at ABestWeb.com and then check that Outsourced Affiliate Program Manager’s other clients to see if they allow their Clients to partner with AdWare that can or will steal from them and ask yourself if you are willing to be stolen from too.  (On a side note, not all of the companies listed in the Parasite forum are still using adware that steals, however many of them are and still have the ability to stuff cookies on your own internal PPC, your Email campaigns, your SEO and any way else someone finds your site).

The next thing to think about is payment.  Affiliate programs can easily take 6 months to a year to really get going and in that time frame you need your Manager or Management company to be responsive and guide you through which Affiliates you may want to work with and which you don’t.  Or you may be the type of Client that just says, don’t let anyone steal and grow this program, either way, your Management company should treat each Client equal because they should not be charging one company any more than the other and if they are worth their weight or are actually able to grow your program like they are supposed to be able to grow it, then they should be able to make just as much money with you as they would with larger and smaller brands.  Smaller brands are usually hard to get going in the beginning but do catch up to the big guys.  I grew a small brand into a program doing well over $650K per month from around $20K to $40K per month, and I did it Adware free.

Make sure your Affiliate Management company can cover everything.

Affiliate Marketing involves all types of Marketing from Email and CANSPAM Compliance to PPC, to CSEs, to Datafeeds, knowing basic HTML and even how to do graphic design work.  If your firm cannot answer questions about CANSPAM or even basic html or even the benefits of an Affiliate Network vs. a CPA Network (There is a huge difference) as well as the benefits and downfalls of the different Affiliate and CPA Networks, then you should move forward with them.  If they are not versed in multiple types of Online Marketing and don’t have basic skills to answer questions without using your own internal resources or billing you for hiring someone else on to do their job, then why hire them or go with them when you can find someone or hire someone or outsource to someone else who can do it all.

It is also important to remember that if your Affiliates are Spamming, you may be just as legally responsible for CANSPAM Violations and Laws as they are so make sure your Firm or Agency can answer the questions and have solutions to help protect you.

Another thing to think about with the Agency is are they too good to be true?

Most Agencies say they work with thousands and some say hundreds of thousands of Affiliates.  The truth is, out of those huge numbers, maybe only 5% can drive sales.  Out of those 5%. 2-3% are probably only shopping through their own links and maybe driving a legit sale once a year and even less are able to send you a sale once a month or quarter.  Don’t let them play numbers games, it really is to good to be true.  The next 1% may be big producers, but they are also the parasites that are ripping you off and the trademark bidders that are eating away at your own internal efforts and basically ripping you off.  The last 1% that is where you get the actual added value with real legit sales.

The truth is that with each program, Affiliates need to build new campaigns, test them, build content and get it indexed, work on building you into their sites and blogs, and the Manage will need to go out and recruit new ones specifically for your niche.  They may have a ton of Affiliates, but a huge portion of the remaining 5% may not actually be in your niche either and therefore are useless to you.  Talk to your Agency about how they recruit and the different methods they will use.  You can always give them a boost with advertising, but at the same time, it is up to them to get the word out and keep it out there.

Avoid Agencies that recommend listing on every network.  This not only leads to a million issues with tracking if you don’t include last click in software and custom programming, but numerous network fees, a program that is impossible to manage and if it is  because you want that other Network’s Affiliates, well that means you have a very lazy Manager or Agency.  It is their job to know those sites and their job to recruit them into your Network and your program.  That is why you are paying them.  Seriously think about that one.

The last warning I will give about something to look for in an Agency is if they put you on Auto Approve.  This is one of the most dangerous things you can do.  Not only does it open you up to fraud Affiliates, Spam Affiliates, Adware and Parasite Affiliates who can steal from you, but it also shows your Agency and Manager don’t care enough about your brand to actually review each individual Application.  If they don’t have time for this, and don’t have time to recruit other Network’s Affiliates for you, they do not have time for you!  I don’t care how reputable they are, this is a serious issue and always a huge mistake.

Anyways, enough rambling.

When you are looking for someone to help Manage and Grow your Affiliate Program, make sure you have someone that will not only protect you, but will also protect your brand, your company, give you the time you deserve and work with your program and your Affiliates, not let the Networks do the work while you pay them for taking the credit.

If you would like me to list some firms, besides myself who I would recommend, please feel free to leave a comment here with your email address and I will gladly share with you some of the firms that I believe do a good job of taking care of you, your brand and your program.

Best,

Adam

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Americas Biggest Export, Consultants? What Skilled Workers Can Start To Do To Take Back Jobs.

More companies are outsourcing white collar jobs to help manage the outsourced blue collar employees.

One thing I noticed, well I didn’t notice but everyone  bitched about and then became reality, then took us for a horrible whirlwind, helped lead to fear, then people spending less money which fed into our recession, etc… or you can call me a conspiracy theorist if you want, is that our jobs were being outsourced, mainly US Blue Collar jobs and then the white collar jobs like programming, etc… to third world and even non third world countries.

Actually, that isn’t surprising at all.  Even South Park on Comedy Central had episodes about this with people from the future taking over blue collar then white collar jobs, and other shows had similar spoof, but none really took it to the extent of recession, etc… for the most part.  However I have noticed a lot of trends.  You can agree with me if you want but if you disagree, I completely encourage you to respond here and let’s have a debate about why you think I am wrong because there is a very good chance I am.

Initially, American online companies for example found that companies in India could do their programming work cheaper than having American Programmers (Just using programming and India for this example because I recently came across this exact situation with an ex client)  write their “custom code” cheaper and more efficiently.  They slowly started outsourcing parts of the code to India and other countries and then realized that Programmers in the US were more expensive and started firing them and moving towards more outsourcing.

Then, all of the sudden their IT departments started to disappear and only have a few key people left  and most of the people building the code, etc… were actually in different countries.  This was looked at by the executives as being great.  They cut costs and found great alternatives.

Then reality sunk in.

(BTW this is from what I have seen, this could be 100% different where you work and from what you have seen which is why I want you to share your experience with us here).

The Indian code (This is actually code from multiple countries, I am just using Indian code because that is where most of the companies I have consulted for (namely the recent ex client) that had this issue outsourced the work too, nothing personal at all)  was just stolen code with patchwork that not only crashed, but caused a lot more damage to their systems and their sites and caused more downtime and a heck of a lot more loss in potential customers, repeat buyers, downtime, revenue and sales, etc… then it would have actually have cost to keep their American Employees employed and their Companies and systems actually up and running which also would have kept their customers happy, trusting their companies and everything running smoothly.  (Not to mention the time zone and language barriers that became unbearable).

So what started to happen then was that companies could no longer function with the outsourced Country’s Programmers and workforce anymore so they now had to hire some people back or fill the positions that they originally outsourced and now not only have to pay those salaries again, but also had to keep paying for the people in the Countries they outsourced too since they are the ones who provided the bad and patchwork code and understood it.  What’s even worse is that some of them preached for so long to their investors, etc… that outsourcing was the answer that they actually had to continue to do this and further dig a hole into their companies, budgets and profits and find new ways to cover it up, which actually is leading me to the point of this whole rambling.

When America lost it’s blue collar and lower level white color tiers of employees to other countries, and other countries could not provide the same quality work consistently (Not all countries or companies) as the American employees did, but companies had to stick with the outsourced companies too….These outsourced companies now need someone to help manage their own staff and live up to the guidelines and expectations that the American Companies now require again and also have to be able to speak and/or interpret the American English language 100% and also be available during US business hours since the obvious solution of cheaper foreign labor did not pan out.

Basically, what seemed like an obvious solution to an expensive group of skilled workers backfired on companies to where they not only have to or had to start rehiring these workers, but they also now have to keep some of their outsourced companies but also send their own employees and hire employees who are now very expensive in these countries full time to make up for the years of shotty work which are now effecting their businesses.  These companies also had to train them and help get them work visas or dual citizenship.  The good news for Americans with this issues is that this is essentially creating a new market for Americans to capitalize on where Americans who have the outsourced skills can now become foreign consultants and start to claim some of these jobs and help bring them back to America.  Or at least have these companies in other countries have to start outsourcing back to us and spend the money on us to bring the skills that only we have to make it so they can continue to work with us which also helps bring our money and jobs back to our country,,,,not to mention provides more motivation for our country to continue to get more educated and be able to compete better in the world market.

We definitely had a very hard time and a huge loss in jobs, but these companies that outsourced for the most part learned or are learning their lessons and Americans are starting to now get their jobs back, but as very skeptical Consultants.

For me, this means that America now has a new opportunity to be the consulting export leader of the world and in reality, that can be a seriously profitable and lucrative export that no one else is really actually capitalizing on.  Exporting our knowledge and the knowledge that our companies have forgotten about is a seriously missed and overlooked skill and talent that we can offer and I think that this could be a solution for a lot of unemployed Americans and companies that need help because they got screwed by outsourcing.

I talk to companies regularly that have issues because their fired their team and outsourced following the trend and now need help pulling themselves back out of the gutters.  The thing is that they need to revisit the people that built their companies and systems and made them what they are.  I’m not saying other countries don’t have talent, but the people who built the systems and were dedicated are the ones who know it and can really make it work again.

Before companies start firing, it is time for the Executives and higher levels to start taking their own hits and keep the people that matter, not trying to outsource their jobs when in reality, a few years down the line they will have to spend a heck of a lot more to fix this mistake.

So unless they are trying for a quick solution then quitting, outsourcing all of the work and firing most of your team is a sure fire way to shoot yourself in the foot.  Not to mention that if you are running a large company and start with layoffs, your employees get scared, stop spending money, the people they talk to could also get scared and start spending less, and it slowly starts to trickle down.

Eventually more people stop spending because of fear and then end up spending on things they cannot afford when they see how much they have saved and feel a little more confident but because of all the random fluctuations, we end up with mini recessions which leads to more fear, less spending and then more layoffs.  Eventually it leads to an even more solid period of a lack of spending which leads to more layoffs since sales are down and more people unemployed who will not be spending money and we start to find ourselves in the situation we are in now where we are stuck in a really bad recession which is hopefully ending as sales are now finally starting to pick up.

We are also finding ourselves starting to be more creative and creating new jobs and new roles and one thing I think that America can do very well is become the leading export of our knowledge,,,,consulting on what we originally built and other countries can only patch.

I love our country and am probably being biased on this one, but at the same time this is something I have seen again and again.   This article is also not meant to offend, but to help get Americans to think about what we can offer to the world Market and what other countries may want.

One thing that I think we can do to help not only ourselves but other countries grow is our knowledge and experience and offer it through Consulting to help bring not only money back, but also our jobs.  Wouldn’t that be funny if one of our biggest exports became Consultants?

That could also actually help lead to bringing back the blue and white collar jobs to the USA.

Because of the serious language barriers, etc… companies overseas are now hiring Americans which cost a lot more, which are raising their prices and then they are trying to charge American companies more.  Or the US companies have to pay and send an employee over to live there and spend long periods of time there, which is also even more expensive for food, hotel or housing, etc…  What I can easily see starting to happen is that these same companies will realize it is much cheaper at this point to get coding and work that is done right the first time and done well and not have to spend the money fixing the same thing over and over and not have to miss deadlines, sales, launches, etc…

This opens up the door for college students and lower level employees to start coming in again, then eventually you need someone else with more experience in that department to help manage, mentor and teach these emlpoyees so the higher up white collar jobs start to appear again.  So in reality, the outsourcing not working and the quality that some of these overseas companies cannot provide could essentially not only create a need for them to have to outsource and recruit back to us which brings money back in to our country, but also brings back our jobs and hopefully moves them back to the USA so we can start to fix our own economy.

Anyways, that is just some food for thought and I would love to know what you all think as well.

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Google Ad Position Preferences. Can you pick the spot your ad appears in again?

So one thing I noticed when playing with Adwords in their new interface about a month or so ago was that you can set your preferred placements between the 1 and 10 spots in Google Adwords.  For those of you that remember companies like Go TO which became Overture which is now Yahoo Search Marketing, you’ll remember that you used to be able to pick where and which place your ads would show and you could really get a gauge for how to optimize your positions and get a seriously solid ROI.

The downside to not letting an algorithm pick your placements and make you bid was that it did not leave an even playing field for smaller advertisers since you would have to pay a lot more to get the 1 to 3 spots if you have a great converting term and it allowed your competitors to completely work your budget over and your spend because you would pay .01 per click higher than the next person bidding below you so your competition would reap the benefits of allowing you to be in the number 1 spot and make you spend a lot more than they had too for the number 2 spot, unless someone was doing it to them as well.

Now, there are some third tier search engines like Go Wholesale which I believe still do allow you to pick your placements, but I am not sure if they still tell you who is next behind you, etc… and it has been a while since I used that one in particular, but those ones get fun and competitive and make for a great advertiser vs. advertiser competition.  However, you also have to be careful with these third tier search engines like GoWholesale because even though I have had great results with them, some weeks you will flourish and other weeks you can miss out big time.  You don’t always know where the traffic is coming from or the quality so keep a close eye on them, you should also be very selective with the third tier engines as most will result in big time losses, high margins for ROI, click fraud, etc…. but there are a few like GoWholesale.com that actually do seem to be able to drive some legit traffic and sales, if you are in that niche.

Anyways, back to my point of this post lol.

What I am wondering is how relevant it would be to change the 1 to 10 spot for ad placement preferences in the  keywords editor spreadsheet.

To get to this spread sheet and see what I am talking about,

  • Log into your Google Adwords Account.
  • Click on the campaigns tab on the top.
  • Click on any campaign.
  • Click on the ad group.
  • Click on the keywords tab.
  • Use the edit drop down and select edit in spreadsheet.

This is also where you assign unique urls to each keyword in the new Google interface as a quick heads up.

My question to all of you is have any of you tried using these placements, setting them to the 3-5 or 5-7 spots and has it been successful?  Have you seen your average placement staying within that range?  This could be a seriously fabulous way to help manage your campaigns and really find a higher roi by being able to focus your ads into a particular place in the Adwords rankings and as we all know, sometimes you convert well in the 1-3 other times you only convert in the 3-5.  This could be a great way to find out which spots will convert and which will be a flop.

I’m testing it right now with one of my Clients and it seems like it is working alright, but I also want to hear if any of you are playing with this and how it is working for you.

Please feel free to leave a comment and how google ad preferences are working for you.

Best,

Adam

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Negative Matches, the c*ckblocker of the search world.

Ok, so hear me out on this one.  Along time ago, my old boss was trying to explain to a frat boy intern in our office about Search Marketing in PPC.  I explained it one way but he was still confused about what everything was and the types of matching etc…  so my boss at the time jumped in and the example that ended up actually sticking with the frat boy intern was an example that actually stuck with me too.

This boss was not only someone I had looked up to, but still do.  I actually also heard this same story told by my boss a couple years ago to another fratboy turned employee (kind of funny how examples that you think are unique travel and you hear them over and over when you don’t expect it) and although it is completely inappropriate for office language and comparison, it actually does work and get the point across.  The thing though is that the version they told only goes into advanced matching types.  My version goes the extra step and talks about negative keywords being the c*ckblockers and if you want to know why, then keep reading.  BTW, I did have a couple of chardonnays and am on an airplane and I hate flying so that is why this is being written so poorly and apparently I think is a good idea to post.

So lets think about being in a bar.  Suppose you are there to pick someone ip, however there are a ton of people to choose from.

You look up at the bar and see a girl or guy standing on the bar dressed in a slutty outfit, girl or guy because who knows who is reading this and hey, to each their own, and they are just dancing around, causing a scene and getting almost all of the attention in the bar.  This is called the broad match.  Where you just type in the keyword or phrase and this person or your ad just jumps out and doesn’t care who sees them, as long as they get the attention.

The broad match gets most of the attention, doesn’t turn anything down and can be used in a number of ways.  It doesn’t discriminate and will show up no matter how you search, as long as that term is in your phrase, word or search term.  Luckily though the broad match that gives it away has a friend sitting at the bar below him/her.  This friend is the phrase match.

The phrase match is the friend that dresses like the broad match but also requires a drink or two before he or she will give you any attention.  He or she needs something a bit more specific to get his or her attention.  Something that is at least a bit relevant, but has something a bit more and needs to be impressed before you get his or her attention and him or her to show up.  The broad match wants vodka and doesn’t care how he or she gets it. But the phrase match will only give you attention if you mention it with cranberry or with tonic.  He or she is more selective about the type of person looking for him or her but still likes to have fun and a good time.  The phrase match shows up often and regularly, but at the same time it is a bit more selective and doesn’t just give it away to anything that looks for it.

Now we have the exact match.  This is the librarian and conservative guy or girl at the end of the bar drinking a soda instead of doing shots like the broad match and mixed drinks like the phrase and probably reading a book.  This could also be the quiet and intimidating man or woman that you really have to know what you want because if you don’t and you try to approach him or her, he or she will reject you on your own and you will be invisible to him or her since he or she will only show up if you are exactly what he or she is looking for.

The exact match is very selective, has a brain and is completely selective on who he or she shows up for.  This is the match that doesn’t always bring someone home, but when he or she does, it usually converts into something a bit more meaningful, like a sale or a second date.  Although you don’t get a lot of traffic with the exact match and he or she doesn’t meet as many people, the people that do come up to him or her are usually more quality and usually turn into something better.

Now we have the last matching type, the Negative Keyword or Keyword Phrase.  This is the protective family member or friend.  The sober sister that stands in the way of everything he or she doesn’t approve of and stops you from getting through.  These are what help to not only improve the quality of your campaign, but they really target down your traffic into the best possible matches possible so you don’t loose a ton of money on wasted clicks.

Here is an example of the Negative match and the bar.  You have three types of guys coming up to hit on the broad and phrase match (Since exact is so selective he or she doesn’t need the extra protection or help).

Guy number one is a biker and white trash player.  He not only has the cocky attitude, but he also pushes his way forward.  Luckily your negative matching bff has your back and quickly not only pulls your off the bar and the stool, but also drags you to the bathroom after having the bartender announce that there was a motorcycle with it’s headlights on that just got towed at the bar and he should leave.

Guy number two is the thug that not only pushes his way past the bff cockblocker and tried to hit you with a serious line.  What he doesn’t know is that while you are talking to someone else and he is about to reach out and grab you (click the link) your best friend thanks him for the $20 martinis and asked when he’ll be buying the round of shots for you and all your friends.  Anyways, this scares the thug off and your ad is safe from being clicked and having your ad wasted on someone that didn’t actually want to stick around and make the purchase.  If he cannot afford your product, then keep him away from the goods.

Guy number three is the average guy who has a decent job and is dressed ok.  He looks like a decent person and he makes it passed the exact match because although he or she is his type, he just didn’t look in the right direction to catch the exact matches eye.  It was a missed opportunity from a potential shopper, but then again, for that one missed there were maybe 80 clicks or men and women that just weren’t even going to shop so you still saved money.

So anyways, this guy comes along and he makes it up to the phrase match who is staring at the broad match both surrounded by people at the bar and taking all of the attention.  The Negative match sees him standing there and at first lets him go through to talk to her friends, but all of the sudden the negative spring into action.

The Negative match saw him/her checking out a couple other ads instead of her friends the phrase and broad and because of this realized he or she may be a cheater.  Not  only could he lead them onto thinking there was about to be a sale, but go with a competitor, but he also didn’t have a guaranteed sale on the other end so the Negative says who do you like, jumps in and takes them out.

Anyways, this may not be the most politically correct or professional way to describe how match types and negative matches work for your PPC campaigns, but then again, it is one that seems to stick with most people.

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Welcome to the Adam Riemer Marketing Marketing Blog

Hi Everyone,

I wanted to welcome you to the Adam Riemer Marketing Blog at AdamRiemer.me.  I’ll cover everything from Online Marketing including Search, Shopping, eCommerce, Sales Funneling, Media Buying, AdWare, Affiliate Marketing and how to combine these with your traditional marketing campaigns as well.  You’ll get a first hand experience about what it is like to work with and deal with Clients, both the good and bad sides of it.  How to select Marketing firms to work on your campaigns and pretty much everything in between.

For the past 10 years or so I have been helping everything from NonProfits and Mom and Pop Shops to Fortune 500 companies not only revamp their Marketing and increase Sales, but also help them prevent theft from Affiliates, Competitors, find better firms to work with that protect their interests and not the firms interest and how to help not only bring your company online, but also help to improve your offline marketing and how to combine it with the online channels.

Anyways, I hope you come back to visit the Adam Riemer Marketing blog often and let me know what you think.

Best,

Adam Riemer

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Example Blog Post

sixteen-nine

Why Magnetic Headlines Are Crucial for Your Posts

Welcome to Rainmaker. This is a sample post to get you started on your journey. Don’t forget that your headline is the most important aspect of writing a great post, and getting readers to read your opening paragraph. The first four to six sentences of your post are critical, because if you don’t hook your audience, they will get bored and click away. What is the benefit you will provide readers that you promised in the title? Be sure to describe the signs of the problem you will offer a solution to toward the end of your post.

Use subheads to improve readability and gather interest

Here you can begin to describe the underlying causes of the problem you have the solutions to, using persuasive arguments and great storytelling, and readers will have no choice but to read more.

Subheads help readers scan your content quickly

Bullet points are helpful to keep your copy reader-friendly, and a proven standard for making a solid argument:

  • Tell a great story, but don’t over-write it. Be authentic!
  • Use internal cliffhangers to entice readers to read more.
  • Use a great image to make an impression on readers from the start.

Subheads draw readers’ attention to your call to action

When you provide real solutions and insights for your prospects and customers, you build trust and authority that will allow you to deepen the conversation further with an opt-in or call-to-action. Sign up here! This is where a compelling call to action makes it clear to your readers what they need to do next to implement your solution. Good luck!