MGECOM Blog

Fighting the Affiliate Tax in North Carolina

Update: Sign the online petition today

Unfortunately the affiliate tax, or “Amazon Tax” as it is not-so-affectionately known amongst internet marketers, has reared its head in a big way in North Carolina.  House Bill 558 and Senate Bill 487 are both currently under discussion in the Finance Committees.  Even worse, both seem to be on the fast track and are expected to have signatures within two weeks.  It is undoubtedly time for North Carolina affiliates to join together in an organized front against these unfair bills.  A similar effort has worked in Minnesota, Maryland, and California.  If we band together in a professional and aggressive way in this state, we can see the same success here.

I have made repeated calls to Representative Luebke (the Chair of the House Finance Committee) at 919-733-7663 and have been unable to secure an official meeting.  Similarly, with Senator Hoyle (the Chair of the Senate Finance Committee), a standing meeting time has not been secured.  In both cases, the best advice given is to “catch them in the hallway”.  Acting on that great advice, I will be at the General Assembly for North Carolina located in downtown Raleigh on Tuesday, June 23, 2009 at 8:00 am.  I invite and IMPLORE each of you in NC to join me.

Tuesday is the day of choice as the House Finance Committee has a standing meeting every Tuesday at 8:30 am and the Senate Finance Committee has a standing meeting every Tuesday at 1:00.  The address is North Carolina General Assembly, Legislative Building, 16 West Jones Street, Raleigh, NC 27601.  Please meet me there.

Additionally, I invite everyone in NC, and anywhere else for that matter, to meet with me in the mgecom, inc. corporate offices on Monday, June 22, 2009 to discuss strategy and actions for the approach to the Finance Committees.  The meeting will be at 2:00 in the afternoon.  Our address is 51 Kilmayne Drive, Suite 300, Cary, NC 27511.  This meeting is equally important as the push on Tuesday will be since it is imperative that we have an organized effort behind us.  Please make arrangements to attend, regardless of your location.  There are plenty of overnight accommodations in the Triangle for those of you who will be traveling.  This is an important event for all affiliate marketers in North Carolina.

Please RSVP to the Monday meeting at mgecom, the Tuesday meeting at the General Assembly, or to both by emailing me directly: matt.enders@mgecom.com.

To review, here is the plan:

Monday, June 22, 2009
2:00 pm meeting at mgecom offices to discuss strategy

Tuesday, June 23, 2009
8:00 am: meeting time at the North Carolina General Assembly
8:30 am: House Finance Committee standing weekly meeting
1:00 pm: Senate Finance Committee standing weekly meeting

The remainder of the times available on Tuesday will be spent in attempts to find, and secure meeting times with any bill sponsors, cosponsors, or finance committee members.  I will continue to attempt to secure these meeting times in advance, however, we may have to act quickly on-site to locate the correct people.

Please attend!  This is our industry and our state!

New Tool for iContact Affiliates (Updated!)

We’re constantly working to come up with new ways for our affiliates to promote the iContact product. We know that each of your promote in your own way, whether that is through a coupon/deal site, a blog, email blasts, or even direct referrals to clients who need email marketing management software. For some of you, we’ve created something new to help you out! Below you’ll see our new Comparison Chart. This graphic is a visual breakdown of the features of iContact, Constant Contact, and Vertical Response. With this image you’re able to show your website visitors and referrals how these different options stack up and why iContact comes out on top! Take a look and see what I mean:

Update: New Graphic!

iContact Comparison Creative

Look for this creative to be available in Commission Junction soon, but in the meantime, if you would like to use this chart to help promote iContact, feel free to right click the image and select “Save Image As…”

Also, if you’re not in the iContact Affiliate Program, there’s no better time to start! Click here to Sign-Up on Commission Juction and start earning 700% commission on every sale you refer!

2009 FIFA Confederations Cup Gear Available at Soccer.com

The 2009 Confederations Cup is underway now in South Africa between the winners of the six confederation championships, the current World Cup champions (Italy), and the host country (South Africa). This will prove to be a great warm up for World Cup play outside of the qualifying matches that will continue throughout the summer. It’s time to start gearing up to support your favorite national team with great replica and fan gear from Soccer.com!

Fans and players alike will be looking for a place to get the best gear at a great price, so it’s up to Soccer.com affiliates to help get the word out! Be sure to use the product feeds in both CJ and Pepperjam to find the products that fans will want and promote them through your sites, blogs, and email blasts. If you can’t find the jerseys or t-shirts you’re looking for, be sure to email me and I’ll be happy to help you track it down if it’s available.

 Check out the jerseys from some of the Confederations Cup teams below and be sure to head over to Soccer.com to check out the full 2009 Confederations Cup product line-up.

 

With the Confederations Cup going on now and the World Cup just around the corner, it’s a great time to become a Soccer.com affiliate. Get more info and sign-up today!

Shop the Bunny Promotions for this week

The following are the promotions for the Bunny Shop:
Shop The Bunny:

  • -Take 25% Off Your Entire Purchase -This Week Only!
  • -Receive 30% Off Select Swimwear Styles
  • -End of Season Clearance- Hundreds of Items on Sale Now!
  • -Select Lingerie Now 30% Off!
  • -Panties for Only $6.99
  • -Shop Sexy Playboy Swimwear for Exclusive Online Deals
  • -Shop Sexy New Arrivals from Playboy’s Bunny Shop!
  • -Bunny Shop Online Gift Cards
  • -Same Day Shipping!

Are you earning with the Bunny Shop? Become a Bunny Shop affiliate today! 

Already in the program and need something?  Contact the Bunny Shop affiliate manager Jen Kiernan directly.

Playboy Weekly Promotions

The following are this week’s promotions at the PlayboyStore.com:

Playboy Store:

  • -Take 25% Off Your Entire Purchase -This Week Only!
  • -Receive 30% Off Select Swimwear Styles
  • -Select Playboy Instructional DVDs: Now 3 for Only $40
  • -Shop Sexy Playboy Swimwear for Exclusive Online Deals
  • -Playboy Activewear Sale- Styles for under $30
  • -End of Season Clearance- Hundreds of Items on Sale Now!
  • -Select Playboy Lingerie Now 30% Off!
  • -Playboy Magazines: Buy 5 for Only $35
  • -Select Panties: Now 3 for $18
  • -Up to 30% Off Select Sexy Playboy Footwear
  • -Men’s Loungewear & Essentials: Now 20% Off
  • -PlayboyStore.com Online Gift Cards
  • -Same Day Shipping!

Not in the program? Ohhh you’re missing out!  JoinThe Playboy Affiliate Program now on LinkShare. If you have any questions please contact Jen Kiernan the Playboy Affiliate manager Directly.

IMA Looking for Web Design Affiliates

The Instant Merchant Accounts Affiliate Program is in full swing and looking for new affiliates. If you’re an affiliate, or maybe someone looking to get into affiliate marketing, here is a very specific type of affiliate that we are looking for: web designers.

Web designers are one of my favorite groups of affiliates to work with. They have a great knowledge and understanding of ad placement and the tech behind truly effective web pages. Also, they have the perfect audience to recommend web services and products to. That is why IMA wants you in the affiliate program! We know that you serve a huge number of businesses and individuals by building their e-commerce websites. All of these clients need a payment processing solution and Instant Merchant Accounts from iMAX Bancard is that solution. So, if you’re going to recommend a great product and service to meet their needs, why not get paid for it?

Sign-up today to start referring all of your e-commerce clients to IMA and get a minimum of $20 per approved application plus $5 residual payment for as long as they keep their merchant account! With a 90%+ approval rate, just send them to fill out the application and watch the money come pouring in!

Heels.com on Facebook

Since Facebook has recently changed how their front page displays your friend’s information, Heels.com has decided to put a little more effort into it’s Facebook Page. Now that we can plant little splashes of shoe love into the information streams of our friends, we see a great opportunity to spice things up. Take advantage of our hard work and add us to your friends.

Check out some of the simple things we have done so far on the Heels.com Facebook Page, like sharing sales and our hot Heel and Deal of the day. Our Deal of the day is the cheapest  you can find it ANYWHERE, typically being slashed down to 50% off.  Our question for you, is what else do you want to see? We know you love shoes, but how can we make the way we interact with you on Facebook more fun? Do you just want more photos and videos of shoes? Become a friend on Facebook and let them know!

Join the Heels.com Affiliate Program. Have questions, comments, concerns etc? Contact the Heels.com affiliate manager Jen Kiernan directly.

The New Galacticos – Affiliates Take Note

 

First came Kaká from A.C. Milan, then Ronaldo followed from Manchester United. This solidifies a second age of the Galácticos under Perez’s presidency. Spending nearly $230 million between these two recruits into Real Madrid’s line-up, Perez has set records for player bids, and he doesn’t show signs of being finished. In fact, there are several other big names being linked back to Madrid prospecting, including Silva and Villa of Valencia FC.

 What does this mean for affiliates? Be looking for a big rise in Real Madrid jersey and kit interest. Fans of these players will be looking to make their move with their idols to La Liga, and Madrid fans will be looking to welcome them into the fold by wearing replica gear sporting the new members’ names. Though the new Madrid kit has not yet been released, you can stay in the loop regarding it’s street date by signing up for Soccer.com email, text or IM alerts, because you know it will be a hot item.

Also, take the time to promote the Ronaldo Man. U. jerseys (away, third, and UCL) while supplies last, as they have just become a piece of soccer history.

Become an affiliate today if you would like to promote the best soccer gear on the net!