Introducing the Noz X from Warrior. This is the lightest lacrosse head on the market. Warrior has created this head with hollow chambers throughout the frame that they have then injected with Nitrogen to create a lightweight performance head that doesn’t sacrifice on durability. It weighs only 4.2 oz (unstrung) and yes, it meets 2010 head specifications for all levels of play. So, latest technology, lightest weight, durable, and it meets all level specs? What’s not to love?

This head will be a dream for players looking to lighten their stick to pick up some speed, so be sure that this promote this in any featured product sections you might have! Check out the full product specs for both the strung and unstrung version of this head from Lacrosse.com by clicking the image below…

My second published article appeared in Issue 8 (October 2009) of FeedFront Magazine.  This magazine will be distributed to attendees of ad:tech New York, Blog World Expo, and PubCon.  You can also view the entire magazine online.  My article is titled “Lessons From North Carolina’s Affiliate Tax Fight” and is on page 26.  It appears in its entirety here:

Over the years many events, technologies, and companies have changed the face of affiliate marketing. The current battle against the Affiliate Tax (Advertising Tax, Amazon Tax) is one of the most important events to happen in our young industry. The Advertising Tax has the power to both reform and injure our entire industry. To date New York, Rhode Island, and North Carolina have all passed the tax. Other states have seen the damage these laws do to small businesses and have shot down similar legislation.

Being headquartered in North Carolina, mgecom took a leading role in the fight against the Advertising Tax. In this fight, we learned many things which could be of great value should you find yourself in a state considering the implementation of the Advertising Tax. My best advice is this:

• Start an online petition and gather as many signatures as possible. The volume of signatures is important, but more from your state equals more relevance to lawmakers.
• Gather short, personal stories from every affiliate you can reach whose business will be negatively impacted. Print and bind these, and hand deliver them to your legislators.
• Use Twitter to get the message out and gain new supporters. Create a hash tag (we used #ncaffiliatetax) and include it in every Twitter update you write.
• Talk to the Performance Marketing Alliance and leverage their experience, data, and reach.
• Utilize the enormous power and community of ABW (ABestWeb.com) and other affiliate marketing forums.
• Organize face to face meetings with anyone in your state who has an interest in seeing the law shot down. Use these meetings to plan your group strategy.
• Don’t wait to start the fight. Make yourself heard as soon as the legislation appears. Even better, be preemptive and start educating your legislators on our industry.
• Visit your legislators in person. Meeting with lawmakers from your county is very important, but talk to anyone who will listen, particularly if they are on your State Finance Committee.
• Call your legislators multiple times. Don’t settle for speaking to an aide.
• Be persistent.

In North Carolina, we were unfortunately fighting against the perception of “fairness” in the eyes of lawmakers. Many were focused on ensuring that Amazon.com and local book retailers were both subject to the same taxes and removing what was seen as an unfair competitive advantage. North Carolina being in a significant budget deficit certainly did not help our chances. To lawmakers, the Affiliate Tax seemed like a way to both close the budget gap and keep local retailers happy.

We found that personal stories from affiliates and getting legislators to see how the Affiliate Tax laws negatively affect small businesses and individuals was much more effective than speaking to them about their misconceptions of fairness and new tax revenue streams. In the end we lost the fight, but we did make headway with key legislators. Now, we will work towards repeal of the Affiliate Tax.

New You and Me Book

We have a new book launched last week, You and Me. We’re seeing and hearing great things about it from everyone! Check it out for yourself, and consider changing some of your text links to promote this special gift for the holidays that are fast approaching. Grandparents have the perfect story book to share their child hood with their grand children, and this book also works for parents, aunts and uncles and special friends, so be sure to update your links accordingly.

Signed-By-The-Author Promotion 9/29-10/18

On top of the new book launch, we will be having another Signed-By-The-Author event, where personalized storybooks (My Very Own Name, My Very Own Fairy Tale and My Very Own ABC’s) ordered 9/29-10/18 will be signed by author Maia Haag! No codes will be necessary for your customers to take advantage of the promotion. All storybooks ordered during these will be signed by Maia. This is another wonderful promotion to help boost your earnings and commissions in the next few weeks, so be sure to update all of your websites with this promotion as well.

Not in the ISeeMe.com Affiliate Program? Click HERE for more info or Join on CJ!

The August 2009 issue of FeedFront Magazine (Issue 7) featured an article I wrote titled “
Inside Information on Affiliate Classifying”.  Here is that article, in its entirety:

When my company takes over the management of an existing affiliate program or launches a new one, we do so using the Structured Diversity Method I have developed. Affiliates are categorized into three distinct classifications: Aggregate Volume, High Potential, and Premium Partners.

Each affiliate within any given classification is equally significant and must be treated with a high level of importance. This ensures that your affiliate partners are able to consistently improve their sales volume and helps your program become a significant portion of your overall online revenue.

Aggregate Volume affiliates comprise the foundation of your program. These affiliates are what most would consider rookies to affiliate marketing. They will likely have many questions and may need to be taught the basics of generating traffic and converting visitors. These affiliates typically generate a few orders each, per month.

Your program should be designed so that you have hundreds of converting affiliates at the foundation level who occasionally generate individual sales, but who, as the Aggregate Volume group, contribute a significant amount of monthly revenue.

High Potential affiliates are important both as a group and individually. This group does not typically make their living entirely from affiliate marketing, but they are generating consistent sales each month. Their commission earnings play a role in both their business and personal budgeting. High Potential affiliates are likely to increase their sales rapidly if they are given the right tools.

Premium Partner affiliates are your top performers. They may or may not be considered an industry Super Affiliate, but regardless are generating a significant amount of your monthly sales. These affiliates should be viewed as a method of “sharpening the tip” of your affiliate program. They have the ability to drive significant amounts of revenue, often in a very short period of time. More importantly, their high performance level is often sustainable over time.

You can build a significant revenue generating program through Aggregate Volume and High Potential affiliates alone, but overall growth will be inconsistent and slow. Likewise, a program built with Premium Partners alone may not be sustainable over time as any number of factors beyond your control could temporarily or permanently affect their sales volume. The loss of even a single Premium Partner in a program consisting only of this group will result in a significant decrease in overall revenue.

In utilizing the Structured Diversity Method for your affiliate program design, you will be able to reach profitability from the sales generated by Aggregate Volume and High Potential affiliates alone.
However, you must attract and recruit affiliates of all three classifications in order to realize the sharp growth curves you are looking for. You must manage your program under the assumption that each partner in each classification wants to earn more with your program and is actively working on improving their business. If you provide the tools and assistance needed, you will find a steady flow of affiliates advancing their performance level and generating more sales in your program.

Matt Enders is the CEO and Founder of mgecom, inc., a leading Outsourced Affiliate Program Management firm.

Issue 7 of FeedFront Magazine can be downloaded here.

The iContact contest has been underway for nearly 2 weeks already! It’s flying by and it’s great to see so many affiliates working toward getting qualified for the drawing that will take place once the contest wraps on October 31st. Remember to keep working toward that goal and make sure that you stay tuned to the blog here and check your newsletters for bonus entry opportunities!

Right now however, it’s time to reveal the first of the 3 prize packages that the winning affiliate will get to choose from! We have titled this pack “A/V” and it’s an entertainment enthusiast’s dream! Here’s what it contains…

Note: Excuse the poor image quality…Actual prizes will look much better.

Included in the prize package is…

• A Sony Bravia 52″ LCD HDTV/240Hz/ 1080p (Valued at $2799.99)
• A Klipsch HD Theater 300 5.1 Surround Sound System with Subwoofer and Satellite Speakers (Valued at $399.99)
• A Sony PlayStation 3 Slim Gaming System/Blu-Ray Player (Valued at $299.99)

Note: If any of the above prizes are not available at the time that the prize is awarded, it will be replaced with an item of similar function, quality, and value. Don’t worry. It will still be awesome.

The only things we’ve left out are the games, Blu-Ray discs, and popcorn to get your party started! This is an awesome prize pack with a total value of just under $3500 and it could be yours! All you have to do is qualify. In case you’ve forgotten how to get an entry into the drawing, here’s a refresher…

• Have consistent referrals of 6 sales per week for 4 weeks.
• Have one week of 12 referred sales.
• Have a total of 60 referred sales for the duration of the contest (Sept. 14 – Oct 31)

*Bonus Entry Opportunity!* Refer 15 sales during the iContact Pre-Holiday Sale going on NOW! (Sept. 23 – Sept. 30)

There you have it! Get out there and start sending customers to iContact! Get qualified early so you know you’ve got a chance at one of the prizes. Remember to stay tuned here to the blog or to the mgecom Twitter account for updates and news on the other 2 prize packs, as well as other bonus opportunities! Also keep an eye out for newsletters with similar info.

Update! Prize Pack #2 (Active and On-The-Go) Revealed!

Update! Prize Pack #3 (Fashionista) Revealed!

If you’re not an affiliate, you can’t qualify to win the prize. So, sign up today so you can start promoting and get your shot!

There are many benefits Heel That Pain has to offer it’s affiliates. Here are some that you may not be aware of:

• Aggressive commission  of 17%-20%
• Free Shipping on all orders over $30
• New affiliate bonus
• International Shipping
• PPC friendly policy
  • Only restriction is Trademarks
• 100% guaranteed
• Doctor Recommended
• 99.7% successful in treating all forms of heel pains
• Affiliate program on two networks
  • Google Affiliate Network
  • Commission Junction

If you’re not in this program click the network above that you’d like to join! Heel That Pain products are the way to treat your heel and foot pains. Like I said they are 100% guaranteed so what do you have to lose?!

For more information on the program check out the Affiliate Tool Center or contact me directly.

I’m pleased and proud to announce that I’ll be managing the PetScriptions program. This is a great program to get involved with and here are some of the reasons why:

Program Benefits:

PPC Bidding Rules
As an affiliate of Petscriptions.com, you are permitted to utilize PPC in any way you would like to generate affiliate sales!
Also, we offer commissions on ALL products listed on the site. Yes All of them. So Join us now on CJ and get started! Any questions or concerns you have can sent to me directly so sign up and start earning with us.

LOVE is a splendorous Thing and we LOVE the DV ‘Slouch.’ In 3 staple-colors, they’ll have you wondering how you ever knew happiness without them. You know, your hopelessly devoted to these miracles of modern fashion. As always these shoes are exclusively made for Barefoot Tess in larger sizes by the designers themselves like Steven Madden. And they are available at a great accent piece for pulling together your entire look. Get your fave’s today!

If your not in the Barefoot Tess affiliate program then you’re missing out! Commissions are 13%-15% and we have a very friendly PPC policy only restriction any usage of our trademarked terms. Join us on CJ now.

Also, please feel free to direct any questions or concerns to me directly.

It’s about that time again. We’re quickly heading into Q4, and that means it’s time to start promoting for the holiday season if you’re in retail. iContact is well aware of this, so just in time for Q4 promotions, they have one of their own! Between now and September 30th, anyone who upgrades from a free trial to a paid account will get 15% off their monthly rate! Already have a paid account but need to increase your contact list size? Upgrade to a bigger plan and get 15% off as well!

This is a great time to either increase your email marketing efforts or just get them started. During the sale, monthly rates start at $8.46 per month (regularly $9.95). It’s hard to beat this deal! On top of that, if customers pay for a full year, they get another 10% off as well!

Get this deal out quick since it won’t last long! Banners and text links featuring the sale are already in place in CJ so head over to your Account Manager to pick up the code for these links!

As always, email me with any questions. It’s a great time to start promoting iContact with such a great offer, so if you’re not an affiliate, sign up today!

Also, don’t forget about the contest going on now!

The Instant Merchant Account affiliate program from iMAX Bancard has been running quietly for some time now. However, for those of you who are members of the program, you may have noticed a few changes to the landing page/application page. Though the changes have been small, they are significant, so here’s a rundown of what has been tweaked…

Lowest Rate Guarantee: iMAX has added a guarantee that they have the lowest rates. In fact, if you are processing with iMAX and find another company that will process payments for lower qualified rates, they will pay you $500 and close your merchant account with no early termination fee.

Added Security: Another item you’ll notice being added is a new security badge to the page. While all application submissions were secure before, IMA has beefed up its security efforts to give all applicants greater peace of mind.

Application Review: Instead of having applicants review their application information prior to clicking the “Submit” button, we have moved the review to a second page of the application process. Now when an applicant clicks the big red button at the bottom of the page, they will be able to review all of their entries into the app, review payment terms, etc. and then finalize their application.

All of these changes and additions make for a much better user experience and we hope that all of our affiliates are seeing the benefits! If you have any other recommended adjustments to the landing page to help with conversions, don’t hesitate to email us!