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Affiliate Summit conferences are always fun events to meet new people and find out what they’re up to in person, as opposed to behind a computer screen. One of the most popular inquiries we often get about our network is for the education vertical – more specifically eLearners. A hot commodity of parent company EducationDynamics, we have been managing this affiliate program for over four years now. If you’re interested in promoting eLearners stop by our booth (RG2017) at the Affiliate Summit East event to see yours truly and I will answer any questions you have about the program.

However, if for those affiliates who are not able to attend ASE this time around but are still interested in learning more about the program, here are 10 things to know about this merchant and their great selection of offers:

1. It’s about quality, not quantity. We appreciate the affiliates that can send 1000 leads a day, and we appreciate the affiliates that can refer those 1000 people who are real individuals and actually do inquire about schools of interest.

2. eLearners has some awesome education offers you will love, the latest being the high-converting Grants & Degrees campaign that is currently available to all affiliates. They also offer Degrees for Working Moms and Online Student Financial Aid.

3. Affiliates often ask us: “What are the most popular areas of study?” Well, they happen to be criminal justice, nursing and just health in general, law programs, as well as business degrees.

4. Affiliates love our dynamic tools to promote including, special campaign-branded banner ads (we even have a few in Spanish), direct-to-school form text links, and search box widgets that send prospective students to landing pages based on their selection from the drop-down menu.

5. The program does not allow host and post – GASP! I know this is a shocker and that affiliates are always asking for permission to do this, but via our program, it’s not something that’s permitted at the moment.

6. We often get the question: “What are your payouts?” Well, we offer $5-$40 for each verified lead an affiliate refers.

7. We only accept referred leads from the United States and Canada, and a little unique content never hurt anybody.

8. PPC is accepted in the program, but we do not allow brand name bidding. It’s just the right thing to do, guys.

9. We actually answer emails within 24 business hours – you are not just a number with us.

10. And finally, how do our top affiliates earn big bucks in the program? Well, they publish fresh, unique content and SEO is the name of their game.

If you would like to learn more about the eLearners affiliate program, come by our booth to us or feel free to reach us via email at eLearners at shareresults dot com.

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10 Things to know about eLearners

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In a letter to Jean-Baptiste Leroy, Benjamin Franklin famously said, “In this world, nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes.” Even though you might not always be assured of conversions that lead to be commissions, what you can be sure of is that any money you earn as an affiliate is taxable income.  If you don’t declare this income, it’s entirely possible that, someday, somebody’s going to come knocking on your door wondering why you haven’t given the government its cut.

We’re not tax experts here at Share Results, but many of us have been involved in some kind of entrepreneurial enterprise in one form or another, and have had to deal with the resulting taxes. Here are a few points that have been assembled from members of our team to give affiliates a little bit of advice on how to handle taxes.

Remember that affiliate marketing is a business

Any time a person makes money through a business venture of any kind, it is incredibly important to declare that income at tax time. Even if it’s not enough to put you into another tax bracket, the best thing we can suggest is to always be honest with your government’s revenue agency.

The reason being is that affiliates often start out slow before they become successful. Once you start to earn enough money for the government to want its cut, it’s best to make sure that you have been honest all along, so that there are no discrepancies in your earnings.

Be prepared

Recognize that any income that you receive will be taxed. To avoid having to pay a lot of taxes all at once, it is a good practice to put some money aside as it comes in, so that you will be ready at tax time. Some people like to put these funds in a high-interest account, so that they’re earning a little bit of interest while waiting to use the money to pay for taxes.

Not doing so could result in you not being able to meet your tax obligations in a timely fashion, which could result in monetary penalties. Nobody wants to pay interest on tax money, so be sure to be prepared for the inevitable.

To know how much money you have earned from the Share Results program, simply log in to your affiliate account and navigate to the payment history section. You can produce a report here that will show you your income over a specific period of time, which will allow you to find out how much you earned over a specific calendar year. For more information, contact your affiliate manager, and they will be happy to go over everything that you need to know.

Read the Terms and Conditions

Every program or network handles taxes in a different way. In some states, there is an obligation for networks to deduct taxes from affiliate earnings, while in most others affiliates are payed directly and it is up to them to declare the income. It’s extremely important to read the Terms and Conditions of any program you belong to and make sure that you are aware of the tax laws in your state or province.

Reducing the obligation

Once your business starts to grow, you should look into ways that you can reduce your tax payout. Like any business, you can write off expenses, so be sure to save receipts that can be used to lessen your tax obligation. There are also other techniques that can be put it into effect, depending upon the size of your business. To find out what methods you might be able to employ, it’s best to refer your questions to someone who makes their living dealing with tax issues.

Talk to a tax professional

In order to be absolutely certain that you are handling your tax obligations correctly, the very best thing to do is to talk to a tax professional. A Chartered Personal Accountant (CPA) should have all of the answers that you are looking for, and can often advise you on the best ways to handle your business taxes. If possible, find out from other affiliates in your area if there is a CPA that they can recommend.

You may also be able to find out some information from your affiliate manager. If you are in a different country from a program that you belong to that is generating your income, you’ll want to find out what that is going to mean for your business.  The best way to find out is to refer your questions to a professional.

Once again, we are not tax professionals, but we do think that it is important that affiliates know that there is a responsibility to pay taxes on earnings, and to be prepared for that eventuality. With help from a professional accountant, or other tax professional, you’ll be able to find out the best way to ensure that you are paying your taxes properly, and keeping as much of that money as you can.

If you have any information on how you manage your taxes that you want to share with other affiliates, be sure to leave us a comment below. If you have links to places where affiliates can find out more information, feel free to leave those as well.

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Affiliates Business Tips | As Certain as Death and Taxes

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Like I mentioned a little while back, I recently subjected myself to watching Mel Gibson’s cheesy rom-com “What Women Want” (I was clearly not looking for any deep or enlightening entertainment at the time). As our hero Nick Marshall runs analyzing his own relationships with women, I too began to assess my own relationships and found myself wondering about a little something I’d like to call “What [do]Affiliates Want?”

I’m not talking about the numerous, yet insightful, articles which beg merchants for coupon promotions with clear expiry dates and competitive commissions, I’m thinking about how this movie would turn out should it have been set in the last year or so, with Dear Mel playing an affiliate manager instead of a well… we’re not quite sure WHAT Mel was playing (was he a creative director, or an account exec? Will Hollywood ever be able to determine between the two?!) ! So here is a rundown of “What Affiliates Want”, the movie based on the Mel Gibson flick, as interpreted by me.

It’s springtime of 2008. Mel Gibson plays Rick Partial, an affiliate manager for Dare Consults, an affiliate marketing network. Rick doesn’t need to be a particularly handsome fellow- he hides his identity behind a computer screen all day! Rather than being a pompous, chauvinistic pig, Rick is kinda, well… socially awkward. Must be all that time he spends online instead of interacting with his co-workers and actually talking to his affiliates and clients.

Socially ineptness aside, Rick happens to be a great Affiliate Manager. He’s helped his affiliates in his programs achieve an impressive amount of sales and his programs are able to maintain some of the most enviable conversion rates around. However, there is one account that is standing between Rick and his looming promotion – The Blankie-Sweater Account. Rick knows that this program for the sleeved blanket has a ton of potential, but no one seems to be willing to promote it. “Why would anyone want to buy a sleeved blanket? Is this a joke?!?” affiliates sneered back in response to Rick’s recruitment efforts.

One dark and stormy night, Rick is working from home, uploading new Blankie-Sweater banner creative to the Dare Consults network. “Hey!” you chime in, “Isn’t that a task for affiliate coordinators?” You see, Rick is a bit of a control freak, and the only coordinating his AC’s are doing is timing his afternoon Coffee Spot binges. Yikes! Anyways, while Rick is working on his computer, he becomes electrocuted when lightning strikes the building and causes the power to go out. When Rick wakes up and logs into his office email the next day, he is plagued by voices. “Hey! How about some new banner creative buddy?” “2% commission on all sales –are you kidding me?!?” “No, no –that’s cool. I don’t need any new promotions for like, the 5th month in a row. You Jack-A$$!” The voices seem to go away when he shuts his computer off, but they immediately return when he begins receiving notifications from his BlackBerry. Eventually, Rick begins to realize that the voices he hears are the thoughts of the affiliates he encounters. He tries to respond to affiliates in a manner which he thinks is fit, only to have them snap back at him. Rick begins to believe his new-found abilities are truly a curse.

When Rick attends the Biggest Affiliate Convention EVER, he gets stuck in an elevator with the renowned affiliate guru, Tony Wallace. When Rick confesses to Tony about the “voices in his head” Tony tells Rick that he should use his exclusive ability to help jumpstart his programs, especially the Blankie-Sweater account. But of course, being at the Biggest Affiliate Convention EVER, Tony Wallace isn’t the only person Rick meets…

He also encounters Marcy, a fellow up-and-coming affiliate who is experiencing relatively good success within her programs. Rick is immediately drawn to Marcy, and the two promise to keep in touch –which naturally turns into an online flirt-fest. Rick encourages Marcy to take a chance and become an affiliate for Blankie-Sweater.

Overtime, he discovers that Marcy’s inner thoughts are the key to boosting up the Blankie-Sweater account. He begins to apply her ideas to the program, and miraculously, everyone suddenly wants to become an affiliate and promote Blankie-Sweater! Blankie-Sweater is so impressed with the positive response garnered by the affiliate program, they decide to keep up with the positive momentum and go in whole hog by creating a popular Blankie-Sweater infomercial! As for our hero Rick, he finally gets his promotion! And his little lady Marcy –she’s still around in Rick’s life. Her programs are doing super well (especially Blankie-Sweater), and life is perfect. Now if only she could get Rick to come out from behind that computer monitor….

Related posts:

1. What Affiliates Want Part 1 of 2 –Special Mother’s Day Edition

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What Affiliates Want Part 2 of 2

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Welcome to the newly redesigned Share Results blog. We’ve been working hard to make this space more accessible for affiliates who are looking for information on the industry, affiliate marketing tips and techniques and information on how to use the Share Results software to leverage their affiliate marketing campaigns.

Not only does the site look a lot different, we have also added some new functions to open up the space to encourage interaction between affiliates and commenting on blogs. The intention of the redesign was to create a forum where affiliates and merchants can learn more about the business, and get involved in the conversation.

Our goal at Share Results is to provide merchants and affiliates with the tools they need to spearhead successful affiliate marketing campaigns. Lately, we have been writing blogs about how Facebook might affect affiliate marketing campaigns, what makes for effective affiliate managers and tips for merchants on brand bidding. Of course, we also use this space to let affiliates know about promotions that affiliates can take advantage of by being a part of the Share Results network. And if you’re looking for tips on how to write effective blogs, you’ve come to the right place.

If you like a blog entry, you can use one of around 220 different networking sites like Facebook and Twitter to immediately share it with your friends. You can also vote on each article to let us know whether you like it or not. And be sure to let us know why in the comments section!

The whole team at Share Results gets involved with blogging. You will find posts from our marketing department, affiliate managers, and even our designers like to get in on the blogging action from time to time. If you’re looking for entries by a specific person, you can now click on their name, read their bio and find all of the articles that they have contributed.

Affiliate marketing works best when it happens within a community, and we’re proud to present an arena for affiliates to become a part of a community. We also want to share with you some posts by other bloggers that we think are pretty great, so look for lots of interaction and information.

Stay tuned for more great articles and exciting affiliate offers. We have some great contests coming up for affiliates, so make sure to come back and check us out regularly.

We’d love to know what you think about the new blog and our articles. Make sure to leave us a comment and let us know what you think!

Related posts:

1. Make 2010 your Best Year Yet
2. Affiliates, Merchants, Join us for our Holiday Blogging Event to Get Ready for the Holiday Season!
3. Share Results Enters the New Year with a New Website Design

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The Newly Redesigned Share Results Blog

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A recent article on ClickZ.com cites that businesses in the Entertainment and Health industries paid more for lead gen services delivering “premium” details “during the second half of 2009.” Another clear sign that lead generation or lead gen is big business for companies, especially those in affiliate marketing. Thousands of companies in the affiliate marketing industry specialize in lead generation to acquire new customers. There is a strong preference for the ease with which an affiliate can get paid commissions simply for referring customers through a lead form rather than an action that requires a credit card. As such, affiliates get a bit overzealous about generating revenue and forget that merchants have specific needs for their products and services, too. That said, an affiliate should be aware of what exactly the merchant needs from them, in order for both sides of the business to benefit from lead gen campaigns.

Evaluating Traffic Placements
Affiliates often are driven to sign up to an affiliate program when the payout and the offer looks like an attractive fit. However, these days, traffic placements are more comprehensive now that social media has entered the mix. A paid search affiliate should ask more questions about whether or not a merchant will permit things like brand name bidding and direct link. Even more important, some merchants may not be too keen on lead gen affiliates using social media to generate leads. For instance, Planning Family is a great offer that has gained popularity with Share Results affiliates, but this merchant does not allow affiliates to generate leads via channels like Facebook or Twitter. To be certain about what methods of promotion are accepted when generating leads, go directly to the affiliate manager of the program.

Evaluating the Potential Customer
Affiliates should evaluate whether or not they have the right prospective customer base for the product or service. A database of 100k US-based female users may seem like the perfect fit for an offer like Free Stuff For Your Baby, but what percentage of them are expectant or new moms? What is their average age of their children? Do they have any other children? What is their average income and do they respond to products for babies? This is just something to think about before launching a campaign for a merchant that is targeting a niche market.

Quality not Quantity
Lead gen affiliates often make the mistake of thinking that when generating leads for a merchant that it’s all about volume. This isn’t always the case. A merchant like eLearners may be interested in a high volume of education leads, especially during peak school months like January and September. However, unless they see those prospective students actually enrolling in the months ahead (especially during a downturn economy), it’s not very profitable for them to payout a lucrative amount for each lead. So, evaluate the quality, by asking the affiliate manager of the program for merchant feedback. Also, Share Results Traffic and Transaction Reports are available to use in order to determine just how many web visitors are clicking through specific tools and are successfully filling out and completing a lead form.

Negotiating Commission
Some affiliates have come to us requesting higher commission on an offer before they’ve even signed up to an affiliate program. While $1.20 CPL may not seem like a lucrative payout for a lead, there’s more to consider than just the commission. Remember that merchants have to look at how much they can offer based on their budget. They may only have a small margin to work with and need to be reassured that those leads will actually convert. If a commission is not that lucrative, but the offer is an excellent match for the customer base, one approach to getting a higher commission can be to launch a test campaign over a period of one to three months (or whatever can be afforded) and then ask for feedback from the merchant about how those leads referred actually converted. If the conversion rate is high enough, it’s a good time to inquire about getting a commission increase. Communicate with the affiliate manager for the program and make a case. This obviously doesn’t happen overnight, but stay the course and keep being open to negotiations, just don’t do it before signing up.

Thanks to affiliate programs like eLearners.com (and now CuteKid.com’s CPL campaign) affiliates are getting their feet wet in the lead gen business. Remember that success in lead gen doesn’t happen overnight. It can be a long process of establishing what the merchants need in a customer and the need for affiliates to refine their strategy used to target that audience.
What are your thoughts on lead gen? Feel free to contact us via affiliates [at] shareresults [dot] com with your feedback and questions?

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What Lead-Based Merchants need from Affiliates

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In our last post in the How to Become an Affiliate series, we looked at a few of the different types of affiliate marketers. In this, the third and final installation in this series, we will look at two more types of affiliate marketers.

Email Affiliates

If you can get people to sign up for a newsletter that will promote certain goods and services, then you can become an email affiliate. Obviously, you need a forum to get people to sign up for a newsletter, so that’s step one. But once you have a list of individuals, you can start sending targeted promotions and offers.

The great part of this strategy is that you know that, having signed up for the newsletter, they want to receive your emails, but the disadvantage is that some of these emails might not make it through their spam filters. Another downside is if they choose to unsubscribe, you have lost them as a lead forever.

PPC Affiliates

Pay-per-click, or PPC marketing, is a little more advanced, but can be a very lucrative way of generating income. What’s most important about this advertising method is having a good idea of how to do it before attempting it. Because you pay every time someone clicks on your ad, you have to know exactly how to target the right people through proper keyword usage, effective text, and relevant landing pages.

For those who choose to put in the effort, the rewards are there. PPC gives you a great deal of control over your budget, and you will be able to directly target very specific audiences. Comparing how many surfers clicked your ads versus how many signed up for services will allow you to easily track your ROI (return on investment).

However you choose to go about it, the most important thing to remember is that you only get out what you put in. The chances of an affiliate being successful with a neglected blog with a few banner ads, are slim to none.

However, if you’re willing to dedicate just a little bit of time every week to your marketing efforts, then this can be a great way to make some extra money. And if you’re willing to go all-in and become a full-time affiliate marketer, then you have to approach it as such, or you’ll be back at your old job before you know it.

No matter which direction you choose, one thing you can be assured of is that you will never be bored. The world of affiliate marketing is fascinating and there are many exciting aspects. Learning how to effectively market products is a science in and of itself. Learning new ways to target specific audiences and tracking campaigns to more efficiently manage your business can be a compelling activity. Once you’ve been bit by the affiliate bug, you’ll finding yourself really enjoying your marketing efforts.

If you want to get started in affiliate marketing, or if you are an affiliate who wants to become more successful, our affiliate management team can give you a hand. The Share Results team is here to answer whatever questions you have, and can supply a great deal of information on how to create a successful campaign.   Contact us at affiliates@shareresults.com for more information.

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The holidays are the most wonderful time of the year, and present merchants and affiliates with tremendous earning potential. In fact, holiday shopping can account for up to 50% of an online retailer’s yearly sales, meaning that affiliates too have an equal opportunity to leverage this peak shopping season.

In 2008, an estimated 85 million people shopped on Cyber Monday, known as the kick-off date to the online shopping season. This year, many online retailers are looking to the Monday after Thanksgiving to bring another sales surge.

The Black Friday – Cyber Monday weekend accounts for a significantly large portion of the holiday sales for online retailers. Yahoo Advertising reports that Black Friday is the new Cyber Monday, stating,

“When compared with the average day in November, Black Friday showed a 147% increase in conversions, while Cyber Monday had a 73% increase in conversions.”

This year, the lucrative Black Friday – Cyber Monday weekend falls between November 27-30; affiliates, make sure your campaigns are ready!

The 2009 forecast looks promising, when compared to 2008. Amazon.com has reported its third quarter income has increased to $199 million from $118 million last year. It’s forecasting 4th quarter growth of 21% to 35% over last year.

To leverage your earning potential, it’s important to note what shoppers will be looking for:

1. Deals
2. Discounts
3. Coupons

As economic difficulties continue, consumers are looking for money-savers now, more than ever. Coupon sites have seen monumental growth this year, with shoppers looking for discounts and deals. Sites such as RetailMeNot are seeing over 200% growth over last year.

According to Netelixir , keyword search advertising is expected to be the most important customer acquisition channel during the 2009 holiday season. With Google reporting a 7% increase compared to the third quarter of 2008, PPC affiliates will have a great opportunity to increase their search revenue. For affiliates looking to try their hand at PPC, the holidays are the perfect time to get started. And with Share Results’ recent launch of their SEM Agency , it’s easier than ever to get the support you need to drive the success of your affiliate marketing campaigns.

For more techniques, tools, tips and great resources to make sure you’re getting every last drop out of your affiliate marketing campaigns, be sure to come back to the Share Results blog . Until November 27, Share Results is throwing a big Holiday Blogging Event, packed with all kinds of seasonal information regarding trends for Q4, tips to get the best deals, consumer trends and how best optimize your affiliate marketing campaigns.

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Affiliate Earning Potential During the Holidays

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With our recent affiliate dashboard makeover, we couldn’t let our merchants go without a new dashboard makeover as well.

Here now, are a few of our merchant interface changes in a little more detail.

New Welcome Dashboard: The redesigned merchant interface allows our clients to get more information, with less effort. Merchants can immediately see their KPIs, allowing them to quickly change their marketing campaigns in response. This new interface reduces the number of clicks, and more importantly the time spent searching. So with new graphical reporting, merchants can analyze their program performance from the moment they log into the Share Results system.

Top Performing Affiliates: Displays in descending order the top 10 affiliates earning commissions in the merchant’s program for the current month. Includes quick links to affiliate details such as IDs, username and website URL. Other info in this section includes impressions, clicks, click-through-ratio, registrations, approved transactions, total commissions earned for the current month.

Top Banners: Displays the best performing creative by EPC for the merchant’s affiliate program. Includes thumb nail version of creative where applicable. This includes creative by type such as banner, flash, text link, coupon and widgets.

Period Comparison: Displays a graphical trend of the overall program stats over a specific period. Compares stats by number of transactions, impressions, clicks, number of affiliates generating clicks, amount of revenue share commission generated, amount of CPA commission generated, total program commissions and program EPC (earnings per click).

Reports: Allows merchants to quickly access top-level reports directly from the welcome dashboard. Reports include Quick Summary, Traffic, Earnings, Transactions and showing results month-to-date.

If you are a merchant of Share Results we encourage you to take some time to log into your account and provide us your feedback about the new appearance. Email us at: merchants@shareresults.com

Originally posted here:
New Look for Share Results Merchant Dashboard

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It’s no secret that affiliate marketing is a rapidly growing industry. What makes it so unique and successful is the very foundation that it’s built upon – the affiliates. As such, it is vital for merchants and affiliate programs to appropriately search out and recruit affiliates that pertain to their vertical. But how are the affiliates supposed to choose between programs? What makes a good affiliate program? What affiliates are looking for—and remember that they are what drives the industry—are incentives. So, what kinds of incentives are crucial to successful recruitment during a launch?

To help you answer these questions, we have found two blogs that identify several key factors and give a comprehensive look at effective incentives.

Conversion Counts explains 10 Affiliate Incentives that Work for affiliate programs. Conversion Counts offer a wide array of online marketing solutions and publish a blog that is designed to help readers earn higher revenues and boost conversion rates.

Avangate Blog evaluates why programs with high commission rates don’t necessarily mean a successful program unless coupled with strong affiliate incentives. Founded by Bob Walsh, Avangate Blog is a great resource for software vendors on the Internet that focuses on how to sell software, ecommerce solutions for software vendors, internet marketing for the software industry, and reviews of important events.

If you want to keep up-to-date, you can download the OPML file on our BAMroll page.  We also have badges for your blog, if you’re already a BAMroller.

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BAMroll Update: August 20, 2009

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With the economy ad it is, there is a great opportunity for affiliate marketers to help consumers find savings. This is back-to-school clothing coupons, for example, are such a lucrative promotion for affiliates.

But there is one area where consumers where consumers will spend more this back-to-school season, and that’s Back-To-College. As a recent survey by the National Retail Federation reports:

Even with the uncertainties the economy continues to present, college-bound students and their families are prepared to shell out a little extra this year. NRF’s back-to-college survey, conducted by BIGresearch, found that college students and their parents will spend an average of $618.12 this year, up three percent over last year’s $599.38. [emphasis my own]

So affiliates should be consider promoting products that college kids will need to head back to the campus.

One thing that all college kids need are supplies to write those grueling term papers, such as ink toner. So the Love Toner and Excel Toner affiliate programs are excellent opportunities for affiliates. Love Toner is perfect for affiliates with US traffic, and Excel Toner lets affiliates target Canadian college kids. They also both have coupon code promotions running until the end of August.

With the Underground Hip Hop affiliate program, for example, affiliates can promote 1,000 different s-shirt designs, 100 different sweatshirt/jacket designs, and 100 hat designs to urban-minded college kids. UGHH.com also offers a number of coupon deals, so affiliates can also help those college kids save money. Affiliates can offer their users coupon codes to save 10% off on all orders, $10 on orders of $75 or more, or $25 on orders of $ 150 or more. The UGHH.com affiliate program also offers a 60-day cookie and flat CPA of 10%.

To target college girls, affiliates can also get in on the Stylefly affiliate program. Emphasizing wearable, feminine pieces from popular women’s designers, it’s the perfect opportunity for affiliates looking to target girls who want to head back to campus looking smart. Stylefly also offers affiliates coupon codes so that they can offer consumers a 25% savings on orders until September 30th, 2009.

Another great opportunity for affiliates who want to target college kids is the T-Shirtmonster affiliate program. In addition to featuring a 60-day cookie, affiliates can promote thousands of cool designs. The really cool thing about T-Shirtmonster is that it lets consumers create their own custom T-Shirts within minutes!

With the cost of books, computer accessories, and the clothing they wear, college kids can be much bigger spenders than other student demographics. So affiliates can’t afford to pass-up targeting them during the back-to-school season.

Not only are there so many things that college kids need, from clothing to supplies, but they’ll also be looking for some savings. By offering them saving on those items, then, affiliates can really take advantage of the back-to-school season.

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Back to School, Back to College

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Because that back-to-school season is such a big one for retail, it’s also a hard one on families going back to school. They’ll be spending a lot of money, so they’ll also want to save wherever they can. What this means for affiliates is that there’s a great opportunity to promote back-to-school savings.

Coupons are going to be particularly good this back-to-school season, because consumers will be spending less. As a recent survey by the National Retail Federation reports:

[...] the average family with students in grades Kindergarten through 12 is expected to spend $548.72 on school merchandise, a decline of 7.7 percent from $594.24 in 2008. Total spending on back to school is expected to reach $17.42 billion.

[...] 56.2 percent of back-to-school shoppers hunting for sales more often, [...] and 40.0 percent are planning to increase their use of coupons. [emphasis my own]

To target school girls, affiliates can use coupons from the Stylefly affiliate program. to offer consumers a 25% savings on orders until September 30th, 2009. And to target the urban-minded student, affiliates can promote clothing and music through the Underground Hip Hop affiliate program and offer coupons that will save consumers 10% off on all orders, $10 on orders of $75 or more, or $25 on orders of $ 150 or more.

Antoher item college kids will want to save on is ink toner, so the Love Toner and Excel Toner affiliate programs both have coupon code promotions running until the end of August. And for helping students save on their multi-media needs, the Nero affiliate program is currently offering affiliates coupon codes that will save their customers 10%.

Just because consumers will spend less this back-to-school season, it doesn’t mean that they need less than they did last year. So by helping back-to-schoolers save on the things they need, affiliates can help get them back into the classroom, and earn commissions for that good-deed too.

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Back to School Coupons

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Nearly every affiliate has considered making the leap from being a part-time affiliate marketer to being a full-time one. Well, in the latest episode of Coffee with Nicky, our CEO, Nicky Senyard, explores what’s involved in taking that step. From the experience it takes, to how it’s a leap of faith that be based on your what you’re passionate about, Nicky goes over some considerations that every affiliate should make when taking their affiliate marketing activities to the next level.

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Becoming a Full-Time Affiliate

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Nero Inc. Inc. has joined the affiliate program in the Share Results Network. Nero products, including award-winning Nero 9 suite, will offer affiliates up to 20 % revenue share on sales.

MONTREAL, QC. June 17, 2009 –The Share Results affiliate network today announced that Nero Inc. has joined the network to offer a new affiliate program. The award-winning Nero software products, including Nero 9, the user-friendly and intuitive software which allows users to rip, burn, copy, share, and enjoy music, photos, and videos; and Nero Move it, the easy transcoding solution to enjoy your digital content on iPod®, PSP®, or upload to online communities, will now be offered with special affiliate revenue share opportunities. In addition to Nero offering affiliates tiered revenue share, Share Results offers $1 for each affiliate referred to the affiliate network and $100 for each qualified merchant referred.

Nero affiliates will be able to earn as much as a 20% commission for sales in the United States and Canada. A large array of banner choices and styles are available for affiliates, with credit for sales that occur within 45 days. Nero also provides affiliates with the opportunity to promote using paid search, coupons and incentivized traffic.

“The addition of Nero to the Share Results affiliate network represents an excellent opportunity for technology retail affiliates in the U.S. and Canada,” said Nicky Senyard, CEO of Share Results. “Nero is a renowned brand that offers affiliates the chance to promote a product with immediate global recognition. And affiliates of Nero will now have access to the in-depth tracking reports and enhanced marketing tools available through the Share Results affiliate marketing software.”

Nero is the creator of liquid media technology, enabling liquid content creation and distribution anytime, anywhere, and on any device. The company provides consumers with the freedom to simply enjoy their music, photos, and videos, regardless of hardware or file format, by taking a unique platform neutral, standards-based approach to solution development. More than 300 million units of Nero’s trusted software solutions are used in the home, on the go, and professionally.

Affiliates can join the Nero program at: http://www.shareresults.com/local_affiliate_desc.php?mid=14602. If affiliates have any questions on how to promote Nero, they are welcome to send an email to affiliatemanager@nero.com.

Affiliates who join the Nero affiliate program will enjoy dedicated support, and a variety of functions and features offered by the latest version of the Share Results affiliate marketing software. Version 4.5 of the Share Results software features a variety of new tools, such as a deep link tool and creative shopping cart. This is in addition to a wide range of existing features and tracking reports.

The same software that powers the Share Results network is also available to be white labeled. Completely brandable and customizable, it allows merchants to create an affiliate experience that reflects their brand.

About Share Results
Focused on building strong, proactive relationships, Share Results offer complete affiliate marketing solutions to the ecommerce space. Dedicated to meeting the unique needs of their partners, Share Results offers three types of affiliate marketing services: an affiliate network, affiliate management services, and affiliate marketing software that’s available for white labeling. Staffed by passionate, affiliate marketing professionals, Share Results has established partnerships with some of the most trusted and brands online, including Photobucket, eLearners , and GoNannies.

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Read more from the original source:
Share Results Adds Nero Inc. to Network Affiliate Program

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Specialists in fine Chinese teas, GoldenTeahouse.com is celebrating the launch of its new affiliate program in the Share Results network by offering affiliates an exclusive 25% commission.

Golden Teahouse (www.goldenteahouse.com), the online supplier of premium Chinese teas and teaware has launched its affiliate program within the Share Results affiliate network (http://www.shareresults.com/affiliates.php). As a special launch promotion, it is offering affiliates an exclusive promotion of 25% commission on all sales until May 31st, 2009. Affiliates will also enjoy advanced tracking reports and a variety of marketing tools.

In addition to the special 25% commission, the Goldenteahouse.com affiliate program will also feature a 90 day cookie. With an average order size of approximately $60, affiliates are expected to earn $15 per sale during the promotion period. Once the launch promotion ends, affiliates will still enjoy a commission of 15%, and will earn an average of about $9 per order.

“Health and gourmet food affiliates are being offered a great opportunity from GoldenTeahouse.com,” said Nicky Senyard, CEO of Share Results. “The special launch promotion and 90 day cookie can really increase their earning potential. And backed by the Share Results software, affiliates will have all the resources they need to optimize their online marketing campaigns.”

To join the Golden Teahouse affiliate program simply click here https://www.shareresults.com/local_affiliate_desc.php?mid=15584 or contact affiliate manager Sue Long affiliates(at)goldenteahouse.com.

Goldenteahouse.com specializes in the finest teas around China, with both detailed cultural information on the topic of Chinese tea, as well as teas and teaware at great prices. Offering free samples with every order, and a flat $3.95 worldwide shipping rate, GoldenTeahouse.com also gives shoppers free shipping on orders over $50. Launched in 2005, GoldenTeahouse also offers a wide-range of teaware, including tea makers, pots, cups, tea boards and gift sets.

“Searching out and discovering the absolute best teas in China is what we do, and what we try to do best. Finding the ideal solutions to market these teas is something we can always use help with, and for that we are extremely excited to have the close association of Share Results. They’ve given us the framework and know-how to take advantage of their large network of retail affiliates and turn it into a sales network of our own. That hopefully means more of the same great teas floating around the world, and lots of wonderful, healthy tea never hurt anyone!”

Affiliates joining the GoldenTeahouse affiliate program will be able to benefit from the newest version of the Share Results affiliate marketing software (http://www.shareresults.com/software.php). Version 4.5 of the Share Results software features a variety of new tools, including a deep link tool, a creative shopping cart, and advanced merchant search.

The same software that powers the Share Results network is also available to be white labeled by merchant who prefer to run their own affiliate program in-house. Completely customizable, it allows merchant to both create an affiliate marketing experience that reflects their brand and offer their affiliates a vast array of tracking reports and marketing tools.

About Share Results
Providing complete affiliate marketing solutions to the ecommerce space, Share Results offer three types of service: (1) an affiliate network, (2) affiliate management services, and (3) white-label affiliate software solutions. Share Results works closely with its partners to meet their unique business needs, and has established partnerships with some of the most trusted merchants online, including Photobucket, eLearners , and GoNannies.

Original post:
Golden Tea house Offers New Affiliates Special Commissions with the Launch of a New Affiliate Program with Share Results

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In tough times companies are forced to make difficult decisions. Sometimes they make wrong ones. Best Buy made an epically dunderheaded one this week when it announced via email that affiliate commissions for two of its best selling product lines was being dropped from 1% to .25%. A quarter of a percent is insulting to anyone you refer to as a partner. The backlash on boards like ABestWeb.com has already built up as professional affiliates wonder how such a big player could display such a lapse in judgment.

Anatomy of a Bad Decision
Corporations are prone to knee jerk reactions. Especially in crisis situations or tough times. When it comes to cutting costs often the cutting is done by those not directly involved in day-to-day affairs.

In this case you can almost imagine the thought process: We are practically giving away commissions to affiliates on items that would sell anyways! Why don’t we cut the commission rate and increase our profit margin?

A bad decision is made even easier by the fact the Affiliate Channel is often a nebulous component to most corporations’ online marketing strategy. Difficult to understand, easy to undervalue, corporate advertisers often make the mistake of treating the channel with a “set and forget” mentality or deliver campaigns to affiliates with the expectation they will accommodate last minute promotions which should have been planned well in advance. Many such advertisers also make the assumption that affiliates will not make business decisions of their own and simply take whatever leftovers are handed to them.

Real Troubles
In Q3 of this year Best Buy reported that profits dropped 77% year over year. According to the report 4,000 employees at its headquarters were offered buyout packages in an effort to cut costs. The report also quoted Chief Executive Brad Anderson as saying,

“We believe that there has been a dramatic and potentially long-lasting change in consumer behavior as people adjust to the new realities of the marketplace. We also believe that customers will continue to reward those retailers who understand their needs and desires, and offer relevant solutions at fair prices.”

Obviously the company is taking serious steps to make themselves more profitable. While I genuinely wish the best for their employees, cutting the commission percentages on a few top selling items will not make or break the company. It will however sour relationships with affiliates.

It’s an Affiliate’s Marketplace
Anderson is right that customers will continue to reward retailers who understand their needs. So will affiliates.

Best Buy runs their affiliate program with Commission Junction. According to numbers released by CJ comparing same store retail sales, network wide CJ affiliates averaged 73% growth on Black Friday and 39% growth on Cyber Monday year over year. Impressive numbers when compared to comScore posting of overall online sales during the same time period.

Presumably sales were good for the Best Buy affiliate program as well. The email explaining the commission cuts seems to support that stating:

“The Best Buy affiliate sales force has exceeded our expectations during these trying economic times. These important contributions are greatly appreciated. This commission reduction originates strictly out of economic necessity in a growingly price-sensitive marketplace.”

According to Yahoo Tech News the Wii is the top selling item this holiday season. Laptops are another hot commodity. Many other merchants sell both including Buy.com, Amazon, Wal-Mart, and Target. All of whom are competing with Best Buy for the same customer.

As an affiliate you have a choice. Are you going to stay loyal to Best Buy and refer your valuable traffic to them for .25%? Odds are you are going to send the traffic to a merchant who is offering better commission on those same items. Whatesmore, as an affiliate it is just as simple to send all of your traffic to a competitor instead of attempting to redirect traffic for those few items whose commission you are being low balled on.

Gut Check
It would be one thing if Best Buy was withdrawing ads from areas that have a poor ROAS.

Because of their footprint it is doubtful that Best Buy will suddenly pull back from television or print ads, nor should they be expected to do so. The stores that provide jobs to the approximately 150,000 employees are obviously their bread and butter. But surely if they are pulling back from the affiliate channel due to a “growlingly price-sensitive marketplace” they are also pulling back from CPM buys online. As typical with corporations more comfortable with offline campaigns than online campaigns, this doesn’t seem to be the case you can still see them in remnant media placements.

So the affiliate channel, the one that creates the most return for the advertiser’s dollar is the one Best Buy has chosen to cut. It’s expeditious to cut revenue to a channel you don’t understand in order to create higher profitability on items you feel you will sell anyways.

The fact is in these tough times affiliates are sensitive as well. The professional ones will send their business to merchants who are truly interested in cultivating a partnership. Only time will tell what a dent .25% will put in Best Buy’s affiliate program and their overall sales.

Read more:
Best Buy Gives Affiliates a Slap in the Face

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