A look back at Affiliate Marketing in 2014
Affiliate movers and Shakers of 2014 – Social Networks. Continued growth in sales from Pintrest, Facebook and nice to see significant growth within the mobile marketing sector, we have seen some publishers/affiliates cross promote from one to another with success. We have seen mobile affiliate marketing contribute around 8% via some of our Clients, increasing from 2% end of 2013. I would expect to see mobile affiliate marketing to significantly increase in 2015. So tips for merchants is to continue or start to accommodate these affiliates.
For affiliates who want to know more about mobile affiliate Marketing, how to begin and what sort of budget you will need, I highly recommend IMGRind who produced this youtube video with the beginner in mind. I watched it and even I learned something new.
Coupon sites
Whist the number of coupon sites still increases, it’s probably time for merchants to just start working with a handful of good coupon sites, the space is now very saturated, good news for the merchant who knows how to use coupons sensibly without a great deal of compromising of their margins, but for affiliates this is not such great news. The Coupon sites that really shone in 2014 were the ones who had an advantage, their own marketing budget.
Retailmenot.com even had their own TV commercials. There is a new marketing tactic that a few of coupon sites have started to use, including Retail Me Not, consumers are allowed to post and share coupons they find around the net, not just coupons that have been set up to be propagated in the public arena but coupons that online retailers had set up for specific marketing campaigns like Fbook or Twitter. We saw an increase in the number of customer retention coupons that had been issued to customers via a news letter and then propagated by consumers on to various coupon sites. We will see an even bigger rise of consumer coupon sharing in 2015, it’s not a bad thing really if merchants know how to use coupons and coupon sites, its just now online retailers have to rethink their cost to acquire a new customer and understand that cost for retention purposes may need to be adjusted. For Online retailers who already are at war with coupon sites, the sticky wicket will be, if you send out a customer news letter with a coupon in it, just know it may be posted on a site some where by a consumer, but ultimately, it will be the affiliate who gets all the heat.
So 2014, too many coupon sites but it’s still swim or sink in this industry, so if the coupon sites don’t have traffic coming across their site, game over anyway, Darwinism rules.
Did we learn anything?
It’s incredible to think that people are still trying to sell e-books on how to
get rich quick –  business schemes  – Burn Fat – Increase Muscle – Self Empowerment – Body Enhancement – el al
And they want to set up an affiliate program, maybe some of them who wrote the e-book “enlightenment” should read what they wrote.
Did we learn anything?
Find out here WayBackMachine, I think we did!
Happy New Year 2015
Sparklers for Halloween – What a great Idea
WeddingSparklerStore.com
Halloween is closing in and we have a great promotion of 15% off our Halloween Sparklers.
 Landing page is http://weddingsparklerstore.com/collections/halloween-sparklers
 Sparklers take around a week to continental united states, they have to be delivered via ground shipping.
So customers will need to order well in advance of Halloween to avoid disappointment.
Banners are uploaded category Halloween. Fall weddings, http://weddingsparklerstore.com/collections/sparklers
 We have a huge selection of fireworks and wedding themed party poppers.
In addition, we have favors too, yes they can be customized too.
We are seeing conversions of 5.4%
Sparklers are not just for weddings but great for any event that requires a touch of magic.
We sell a range of sparklers that don’t just light and fizzle and poof gone, but we carry a selection that comes in a box of
thirty six 35inch long sparklers.
Banners
.
.
Affiliate Program is via Shareasale.com, 60 day cookie, 8% on all referred sales: Merchant ID 54409
Is that Golfing Bear wearing a Lyle and Scott Logo
A bear cub was caught on camera playing his own version of golf at the 15th hole at a golf course in British Columbia. Now if only the bear was wearing a Lyle and Scott polo, shucks we missed a trick there, or did we?
Before….
After ….
What’s that?
Oh look… the baby bear has a Lyle and Scott Golfing Logo attached, oh silly bear!
Join the USA Lyle and Scott Affiliate Program, 15% commission on all referred sales.
Can you bear not to be a part of our team?
Via webgains.com click here to join
Who own your business? A warning to anyone selling online.
I wrote an article in 2008 called who really owns your business. http://www.affiliateprogramadvice.com/index.php/2008/08/02/who-really-owns-your-online-business/Â still relevant today.
Recently, I have encountered two ecommerce platform “solution†providers that have had such a dramatic effect on two of my clients business in terms of sales.  One client has to redo his entire site using software that no one developer will ever have total control over his business ever again.  The other clients ecommerce platform provider is so bad, her check out is completely rendered useless and is now seeking a new platform. What’s going on out there?
Client one. Trusted his entire lively hood to an ecommerce provider , who is just one person by the way, that had a website template which he could customize over and over again for all his clients. A great business plan when you think about. Buy a template and then, like a conductor of an orchestra, hire cheap freelancers to meet the demands of his clients which may include daily maintenance, updating images, functionality adding widgets and aps and so on. Essentially, managing the clients selling vehicle and allowing the client to just get on with the other aspects of running their business. Sound familiar? Of course it does, this is how most ecommerce platform agencies work. Only in my client’s case, it was just one person managing a bunch of freelancers who only get paid per job. So what happens when the ecommerce provider gets sick and can’t work anymore? Who is around to manage the freelancers? Who has kept track on all the client’s needs, who is there to prioritize jobs? And when the clients check out process fail, who is there to fix it, who has the passwords? Answer is no one. At what point do the clients lose their compassion? Answer, when their business of sales in is affected.
Client two.  “I don’t think the tracking is working, did the website change?†“No, nothing has changed.†“Something is not right, let me checkâ€. “I can’t test the tracking because your shopping basket does not work, I can’t check outâ€.
Maybe the online retailer should take some part of the blame for losing business? Should they not be checking their website every day? Should they be leaving their very livelihoods in the hands of just one person, just one agency, just one employee? Misguided and naivety is all I can attribute to the clients, if they were promised a solution and ended up with what essentially is nothing more than a blog site then they should get some kind of remuneration for loss of sales, who knows what the potential of new sales in would have been.
My advice for any want to be online retailer, choose an ecommerce package like shopify/open source, this way if your developer should suddenly disappear, there are thousands of other developers out there that can jump in and take over at a moment’s notice.  Know all user names and passwords so you never get locked out of your own business. Know who controls the different parts to your website, who is your hosting company, who has the hosting details, who has the domain name details, who essentially can bring down your website, your business and your income, make a list today and make plans in case anything happens to you.
Welcoming WeddingSparklerStore.com
WeddingSparklerStore.com is the destination for wedding day sparklers at competitive prices.
Sparklers are deemed as novelty items, they are safe and can be used in all major US states.
Because they are sparklers, they can only be shipped by ground transportation.
This affiliate program is for USA only and will be via Shareasale.com
WeddingSparklerStore.com – Our mission statement:
We want our customers to have or add a little light into their wedding day with a few subtle sparkling additions that will help their big day glow that much brighter. We have a fabulous selection of wedding sparklers and matching sparkler accessories, The Wedding Sparkler Store is ready to help our customers craft a delightfully stylish day with just the right twinkling accents. Sparklers and lanterns have been a part of the wedding tradition for years, and a modern twist means that these wedding fireworks will make our customers big day unforgettable.
Sparklers can be used for different holidays  – birthdays, St Patrick’s day, Hanukah, Christmas, heart shaped for valentines day and festivals of lights or any event that requires a touch of fizz, dazzle and sparkle. Wedding Sparkle Store offers free shipping on orders over $50.00.
We will ship your order on the same day but If they receive an order after 3PM PST it will go out the next business day.
This applies to the sparklers themselves. If ordering a personalized sparkler accessory this may take about 2 weeks.
We also offer a sparkler safety tips and advice and how to take photographs of the sparkling event using your camera.
We love working with wedding planners. We offer bundles and have a large variety of assorted sparklers in different shapes and sizes, check out the 35″ sparklers.
Don’t forget Sparklers give that little bit of magic for any celebration not just for weddings.
Prices start from as low as $2.50
Affiliate Program
Affiliates get 8% on all referred sales, we have a cookie date of 60 days.
Open PPC policy, incentive sites welcome, we offer coupons and banners, data feeds
We will notify you when the program goes live.
Pup Protector on NBC News – Hit and Run Victim Creates ‘Pup Protector’ Products
Be Safe and Be Seen
The LED collars and LED Leashes has made headlines on NBC News – Hit and Run Victim Creates ‘Pup Protector’ Products
The Pup Protector is a worthy product to promote, the story behind the product is motivating owners in the USA to buy the LED collars and Led Leashes for their dogs from this awesome company,
even NBC and ABC News is buzzing about such a neat way to keep owners and their dogs safe.
Walking your dog at night, we take for granted that we are safe and for the most part we are. As a dog owner, how many times have I been anxious when I cant see Maisey as she runs across the field and disappears into the darkness? How many times have cars not seen me or my beautiful Golden retriever when we have tried to cross a poorly lit street? Having lived in both an urban setting and remote country setting, I always will need to take Maisey out for her evening walk. IÂ bought a cheap LED collar and it was nothing short of one of those rave necklaces you get at a firework show, huge and ugly and batteries you cant find anywhere. The Pup Protector collars and Leashes are super high quality, pearl LED lights, four colors and just awesome, but don’t take my word for it, check out the pup protector customer reviews
We feel privileged to be managing the PupProtector.com affiliate Program and if you would like to join up and promote Pup Protector LED collars and Leashes, just click hereÂ
What we are offering our affiliates, a whomping 20% on all referred sales, 60 day cookie, no PPC restrictions, Incentive sites welcome, Coupon codes offered and a dedicated affiliate manager. This program is run through Webgains.com
Welcoming OMGFASHION.com – coming to the USA
OMG Fashion is an International hip and modern online fashion website, that provides the latest styles & trends starting from under $5.00
Where else can you buy that must have dress for under $10.00?
Where else can you get that celebrity look for as little as $16.00
OMGFashion has everything you need under one roof, shoes, accessories, jackets and coats, skirts, swimwear and so much more.
We will offer 7% commission and cookie date of 30 days.
We will have regular promotions and we offer exclusive coupons.
We will have an open ppc policy (Exclusive to affiliates driving sales within the USA only)
We will have a US product feed. Incentive sites welcome
Via Shareasale.com, we will announce when the program goes live.
We will also be looking after OMGFashion affiliate program in the UK.
Stay tuned for more details
Welcoming SmokStik.com – New Client
The World’s Favorite Electronic Cigarettes
So let’s get down to brass tacks. SmokeStik is the World’s Favorite Electronic Cigarette! With the new addition of flavors; Vanilla, Cherry, Cappuccino and Strawberry that come in SmokeStik’s famous XL size, it is just an amazing addition to an already classic and popular lineup. If you are not sure which one you like, experience all of these flavors with the XL Cartomizer Variety Packs, a pack that contains one XL cartomizer (flavor cartridge) of each flavor in addition to Menthol – which isn’t itself a new addition to SmokeStik as a flavor, but still is a customer favorite and worth a second look as well
What is a SmokeStik?
It is one alternative to traditional cigarette smoking, that for the first time, allows the smoker to go through all the motions. It does not have carbon monoxide, tar, or any other known cancer-causing chemicals found in traditional cigarettes and cigars. An electronic cigarette is essentially litter-less in that it is free of ashes and stubs. Unlike traditional cigarettes, the SmokeStik has no open flame, and is cool to the touch, greatly reducing potential bodily injury, and property damage. What you are “smoking” is a mist or vapor. This vapor is created as liquid glycerine, propylene glycol, and food grade flavorings are vaporized by a tiny component called the atomizer. When you want the best quality, and a company that will stand behind you, there’s only one choice: SmokeStik. It’s the reason more than 200 celebrities and other high-profile persons use our product on a daily basis.
The Affiliate Program – In house or Via Cj.com
SmokeStiks are THE ONLY e-cigarettes packaged and assembled in the USA. We are the manufacturer of this product and are able to offer one of the HIGHEST affiliate commissions (25% of the sale), we know we did our home work
Here are our program highlights:
- we have warehouses in the US, Canada, and UK
- +2% conversion rate on PPC channels
- average sales amount is $110 we offer flat links &Â industry sized banners, includes social and mobile sizes too.
- we offer 10% off savings
- Free Shipping
- Consumer savings calculator
- Coupons
- Data feed coming soon
- No PPC restrictions
- Fast affiliate commission pay out
- Dedicated affiliate manager