Sources of Untapped Affiliate Programs

For the most of us, the toughest part of making money with Adwords begins with finding merchants that dozens of affiliates are not already promoting; and merchants who can convert a visitor into a sale.

I just ran across this list of affiliate program directories and they are full of affiliate programs that off the beaten path. Some of the best gems I've found are "in-house" affiliate programs that the average affiliate will never discover unless they have a specific interest in the company or it's profits.

You will want to take some time each day (or maybe an entire day) to visit and evaluate programs that sound interesting to you. Some criteria I use when looking at programs include:

1. Low-to-no affiliate credit leaks. That means 1-800 numbers plastered prominently on the site, Adsense, or other ways of redirecting your customers in a way that you won't be compensated. I saw a new program on CJ yesterday and quickly joined - "As Seen on TV". They feature just about every hot product shown on TV, plus a 20% commission.

That sounded great. But when I visited the site, I found 2 glaring problems; first a huge ORDER NOW 1-800-BLA-BLAH, and second, the shipping and handling on the products was nearly as much as the products themself (and you're not going to be paid for that).

To top that off, after joining the program at 20%, hours later I have a new offer to from them for a . . . 1% commission. These guys have all the makings of major league sh-tballs and I wouldn't spend a nickel promoting a program like that.

Check them out at: http://www.tvproductsdirect.com

One other important note - it's not unusual for programs to grab a bunch of affiliates with a high commission rate and then attempt to change it lower. You do NOT have to agree to any new offers.

2. Evaluate the sales process they use. Low-cost items don't require the kind of follow-up that high-cost items do. Does the merchant have follow-up systems in place?

3. Is the merchant selling a cheap "get 'em in the door product", then trying to sell something more expensive later? This is OK if you get paid for both (but usually you don't).

Here's an example from an affiliate program I managed - and dropped them like a hot potato when they started that scheme.

They sold a $27 ebook and paid a 30% commission - which at the time was on the high end for an ebook in that niche. 30% is low by today's standards, though. The kicker is that when people joined our affiliate program, we promised them "lifetime commissions on any customer you refer". That's the right way to do business, but not how 97% of affiliate programs operate. Very cool.

But, then they decided "we aren't going to pay a commission (20%) for this $2000 program we offer" - that's a very hefty $400 to an affiliate. Then later they implemented the same policy for a $600 program they offer. And if the customer isn't still cookied, then nothing else is being paid either.

As an affiliate, you have no way of knowing what's going on. You're losing money and you don't even know it - which is all the more reason you MUST be doing name squeezes for all affiliate products you promote. Don't trust any business to look out for you - take control. Take full control - I'm working on a program that shows affiliates how to do that and it's tentatively called "The Affiliate Super Plan".

3. Look for a good chunk of commission - or recurring commissions on all sales. If you're promoting via PPC, that's $30 and up for me. Of course, that's also if you're just looking at a straightup sale. I'm going to share in the Affiliate Super Plan how you can actually turn the tables on merchants and take advantage of them to build YOUR business. In that case, a break even scenario works just great.

Well, I spilled many more beans than intended here. So here's the list I promised:

- http://www.affiliateguide.com/
- http://www.associateprograms.com/
- http://www.affiliatematch.com/
- http://www.earnfind.com/
- http://www.affiliate-programs-guide.com/
- http://www.affiliatesdirectory.com/

Best wishes, John
AdwordsIncome.com

Good Homes Blog

I've got an exciting new project happening with a group in Sedona, Arizona that's just been launched. It's been an experiment to develop an info product called Adsense Income - soon to launch. Take a look at the Good Homes Blog.

Carl Galletti's Wicked Cool Secret

A year and a half ago I was struggling to make ends meet. Maybe Tara and I had $800 in savings. Maybe.

I'd been asking God, the Universe, any higher power that would listen for a change. I was working my butt off and getting nowhere. It was making me nuts.

RESPONSE: Willie Crawford invited me to his conference.

My biggest hurdle, it turned out, wasn't getting affordable airfare on 3 days notice. It wasn't getting OK from my wife, who'd be stuck at home alone with a 15 month old. It wasn't getting away from work - I was self-employed. It wasn't the dozen other potential blocks that presented themself: my biggest hurdle was my mind and it's desire to buy into limitation.

Using the Abundance Course, I let each limitation go.

And I went to Florida for my first Internet marketing conference where I met fellow Sedona resident, and top Internet marketer Carl Galletti.

It's funny how sometimes you have to fly 2000 miles to meet someone who lives 10 minutes away.

Carl's just a phenomenal human being. For lack of a better way to describe him, his outwardly laid-back approach to life lulls people into his underlying charm. I see marketer after marketer blaring away for all the attention, but in the end, Carl seems to go home with his fair share of the money.

If you've ever wanted to believe that good guys can make lot's of money too, Carl is your role model. I could write for weeks about what I've learned from Carl as a marketer. He's a master.

In my last blog post I told you I would reveal a great idea from Carl. I'm keeping my promise right now.

There is no more competitive market online than selling Internet marketing products. When a new product comes out, my email box - and I'm sure your's too - is full of every guru pitching it. Go buy John Reese's Traffic Secrets! Or, whatever.

Now, here's why Carl is so smart - and it's where he seperates from the pack (and it's how you can explode your own business). He knows that people are looking for the best deal; they want the most value they can get for their money.

So, Carl - who buys re-sale rights to everything - always has the best offer. He simply refuses to be "out offered". He's discovered that someone else can generate big buzz - and he can take advantage of that buzz, to build his own business, by offering over-the-top value to people.

GET THIS - IT'S PRICELESS: If you have a hot competitor in your market - if someone else is gaining all the attention - then offer anyone who buys your competitors product a free bonus. Make it good. Give them something great. I'm not talking about some crappy collection of ebooks. A tangible, physical product - or downloadable multi-media material. And, establish a relationship that makes you the go-to guy/gal.

Imagine if people came to you in your niche, because you ALWAYS have the best offer. Imagine what kind of competitive advantage that would give you over other advertisers.

In my last post, I told you how I'm adding an additional 280 subscribers per month for a certain product. My friend, I'm doing that for a number of products in my niche. I'm building my business by targeting the customers of other brands in my market.

More importantly - imagine having actual paying customers become a part of your business (they have to send you their purchase information to claim their exclusive bonuses). Competitive advantage = more sales. Buyer information = invaluable business asset.

Best wishes to YOU, John

A Few of My Favorite Internet Marketing Tools . . .

I really don't promote much on this blog. I prefer sharing ideas, generally.

As I've shared in the past, I originated this blog to push my own learning curve with Adwords and PPC advertising. I'll always come back to that base, because it's my bread and butter money-maker.

But, because I've had some success I can afford to buy my favorite toys: Internet marketing software. I spend way too much on this stuff; some of it I use once or twice and forget I have.

Here are some I use on a regular basis.

Article Bot - I couldn't get my credit card out fast enough to pay $497 for a one-year license. It took me six months to learn how to use it effectively (some life events, like my house burning down, played a role in that). But I love this software. A minimal part of my online income comes from Adsense, but it's the most fun. Article Bot is a page generator like nothing else on the market. Period. The rest of it is crap, though crap I've loved. It's like dating a supermodel, I guess. One gets spoiled and good looking women never look quite as good again.

Keyword Locator Plus - Because of my approach to PPC and building Adsense web sites, I really like the program best of all I've tried. I call it the 3D version of Adword Analyzer. It gives tons more information and I've been profitable with it. I use this program almost every day, regardless of what I do. I've been working on some video tutorials - useful if you own the program or not - where I show you how do some of my research.

SEO Elite - This is my latest toy, but it has me excited about doing more organic SEO. Using this software, I now know exactly what it will take to unseat my #1 competitor on Google. It's nowhere near what I thought it would be - and I'm excited. Domination in paid listings AND organic is the knock-out punch I'm after.

What else . . .

Camtasia. I tried Instant Video Generator, but there were bugs in it for me. I'm using Camtasia to create training videos that I'm offering to subscribers - better than the series of thin content "e-courses" or retread ebooks everyone else is offering. Check out http://keywordlocatorplus.com for a peek at how I use Camtasia to give good information while encouraging people to buy that affiliate product I'm promoting.

These are the tools you'll find open on my computer most of the time. Check them out if they sound interesting to you.

Best wishes, John