The Power of Affiliate Sales

On the Internet, the classic referral system has morphed into a highly automated and accountable affiliate sales program. Utilizing an affiliate program allows you to empower other people to sell or market for you in exchange for payment per lead and payment per sale, as either a flat rate or percentage of the sale. An affiliate program offers an extremely measurable return on your investment because you only pay when a sale or lead is generated.

There are two ways to approach an affiliate program. The first is to purchase your own affiliate software and establish your own distribution network through the people and web site owners with whom you have relationships. This is the very least expensive route as well, with software typically priced at $100 or more. You determine the price per lead or per sale and there are no additional fees.

The second route, which we tend to endorse more frequently, is the inclusion of your promotions in an established affiliate system. These systems typically cost a bit more to set up, but give your web site exposure to hundreds of thousands of potential affiliates and their clients. After setup, you determine the price per lead or per sale and the affiliate system provider typically charges a percentage of that price as their fee. Typically the fees associated with the system are in direct proportion to the number and quality of affiliates that can be brought to bear upon your campaign.

Once you are an established merchant within an affiliate system, you must then gain affiliates. Affiliate web site can range from link farms – sites with hundreds of links back to merchants and their products – to well-established and high volume specialty sites. My opinion is that no link is a bad link. I tend to apply very few filters, if any, to those willing to send traffic and potential sales my way.

After commission rates, the next item that attracts affiliates are the creative graphics and promotions that your company offers. Empowering your affiliates goes beyond just establishing yourself as a merchant. Once embarking on an affiliate program, time each month should be budgeted for evaluating the performance of your ads, creation and delivery of new ad campaigns, gauging hits versus sales (conversions) and interacting with your affiliate base. The more you do to help your affiliates succeed, the more successful you will be.

A final note is that affiliate programs are not overnight success systems. You are building a network of affiliates that requires time and maintenance to be successful. This network, over time, could be enormous and truly make the difference in the success or failure of an ecommerce site, but time must be allowed for that monitored growth.

The company we recommend most for affiliate sales is ShareASale.com. Based out of Chicago, ShareASale.com has a very reasonable entry price, provides an array of tools for tracking and interacting with your affiliates and, most importantly, has over 100,000 affiliates available. Check them out at www.shareasale.com

Darryl Parker is the founder and President of Internet marketing and Charlotte web site design firm Parker Web Developers. This series on web marketing is intended to present useful tips for business owners and decision makers. The series precedes an upcoming book compiling these topics. Your feedback is greatly appreciated.

Wikis, Weblogs and RSS: What Does the New Internet Mean for Business?

Knowledge@Wharton


FROM THE WEBSITE:
The Internet may be entering a new phase that will decentralize control inside companies, enable employees to collaborate more easily, and drive efficiency. But corporations that want to use the web strategically to build corporate value will not just need to make radical cultural changes, they may also need to master a new vocabulary with terms such as Wikis (software that allows anyone to update and edit web pages instantly and democratically); Weblogs (online journals more commonly known as blogs); and RSS (really simple syndication) feeds, which distribute content from the Internet.

Arcane as these terms may sound to anyone but the initiated, the technology behind them is hardly fancy. Wikis, blogs and RSS feeds are relatively simple tools that will have a huge impact on the way people -- and companies -- communicate and do business. So how is the Internet changing? How can companies seek to understand the technological effects of these changes? And what cultural adaptations should companies make to capture value from these new tools?

Read and learn about your future.

J&J Computer Supplies for hard-to-find Computer and Medical Equipment, Hardware and Software

From the website:

Computer Supplies
J & J Computer Supplies is a complete computer solutions provider for all corporate hardware and software needs. Our specialties include all name brand and white box computer systems, servers, projectors, printers, scanners, toners, cables, and hard-to-find computer parts and accessories. As a company, our focus is on customer satisfaction to ensure our customers are 100% satisfied with our service.

Medical Hardware
One of J & J Computer Supplies specialties is providing hospitals and medical equipment providers with hard to find, computer related medical parts and accessories.
J & J Computer Supplies has a vast network of resources in place to find all types of medical equipment, such as monitors, hard drives, optical drives, media, etc. We are able to provide our customers with new, used, or remanufactured parts from nearly all equipment manufacturers.

Small Business Software

Small Business Software

From Software-Announce:
This site is a hidden gem! Small Business Software contains a daily small business blog . In addition the site contains a small business forum , a collection of business resources and articles, a free content directory of articles that can be republished on other websites.

The articles are really a trove of information here is a sampling of some of the great marketing and software related articles.

Fear, Greed and Social Software

Corante

The Red Couch: Interview: Buzz Bruggeman

Buzz is scheduled to attend BlogNashville


Brugge

excerpt:

Every industry has them and you probably know a few in your sector. They are professional connectors, people who know everyone in their industry and seem to have their hand on the pulse of what’s happening. They help people find jobs, make deals, form book partnerships, and so on. They know about emerging products and services before anyone outside the development teams and certainly long before many in the press or industry analysts get wind. Those folks consider the connectors trusted sources.

In the Blogosphere, the Connection King is Buzz Bruggeman, and no one who has met him has ever wondered why he’s called ‘Buzz.’ He works rooms at tech conferences, keeps an ongoing email dialog with scores of people, each of them influential in their own way, totes a bag filled with an array of the latest beta devices and software for distribution to friends and industry insiders. In the case of this book, he connected Microsoft’s Andy Ruff who thought of it and its two authors. He's likely to have been that “informed source” in a recent tech-related article. In short, when you really want to know what’s going on, what’s hot and what’s not in the PC industry, Bruggeman is the go-to guy.

The blog is the killer app

Blog: The killer app

Once upon a time, email was considered the "killer app", or the piece of software that was going to revolutionize something or another. Well now email is largely just a pain in the fundament, and the blog is fast becoming the new killer app. Jut what at what it is doing to news, communications, marketing, business, education, politics...and yet email was around in the 80's, and took nearly a decade to catch on. Blogs are spreading like wildfire. And for good reason! Just look around this site and you will see hundreds of ways in which it is changing the world of business, marketing and communications, and so much else.

If you would like to share your success stories, please drop us a comment, and let's talk.

-Dave

Data Analysis Software

Arbitron

Featuring:
SmartPlus - SmartPlus is an easy-to-use multimedia application that gives you powerful analytic and reporting tools and outputs pre- and post-buy reports in formats that are ready for e-mailing or posting to your Web site.
TAPSCAN - TAPSCAN® Radio helps you find the best stations for your radio buy with detailed research, scheduling and reporting options.
Media Professional - a buying and planning application that gives you access to Arbitron respondent-level radio ratings data and to listening data for otherwise non-reported stations.
Media Professional Plus - enables you to buy and plan for radio without the restrictions of standard radio Metros.
Custom Coverage - helps you analyze, plan and buy radio listening at both the county level and outside of standard Arbitron Metros.
TVSCAN - allows you to run demo, trending and ranking reports for television viewing data and plan, schedule and post television advertising.
Market Analysis - allows you to tap into Competitive Media Reporting (CMR) data on local market TV advertising expenditures.
QUALITAP - helps you uncover the lifestyles and media habits of specific demographic and geographic groups.
MEDIAMASTER - is a mixed-media campaign reporting tool that helps you see the impact of an entire campaign. Examine radio, television, print, cable and outdoor media buys in a single report, all with the same base of comparison.
PRINTSCAN - allows you to plan, buy and track newspapers and magazines simultaneously, as well as create insertion orders, track revisions and cancellations.
PrintPlus - simplifies print buying and lets you do more work in less time.
Marketmate - Marketmate-TV and Marketmate-Radio, from IMS, are planning applications that easily tabulate local market reach and frequency for all TV and radio markets.
NEWScope - NEWScope helps you effectively evaluate newspaper schedules on a market-by-market basis by giving you access to circulation data for both daily and Sunday newspapers.
MediaMix - Use this optimal system to combine reach and frequency results for broadcast TV, radio, magazine, newspaper, cable, outdoor and other media schedules to get bottom-line results for your media buy.
MRPrf - a Web-based solution that helps you quickly create winning media plans. It combines all media and all markets in one easy-to-use application.
Brandfx - a powerful media flowcharting software that gives you all the flexibility and functionality of a spreadsheet along with all the analytical strength of a custom media flowchart program.
Local RollUp - a versatile reporting solution that complements Brandfx perfectly. It applies advanced database technology that consolidates, organizes and summarizes all of your planning data from Brandfx flowcharts into a single, comprehensive information resource.

Mobile Bytes

Concise Windows Mobile Software reviews.

Succinct reviews, bargains and a lot more...

Here is a description of the blog & its purpose:

I'm a junkie. I check a dozen or more Pocket PC/Windows Mobile web sites several times a day. I love finding and trying out new software on my Pocket PC. I don't like reading long reviews and I don't care how many stars a reviewer thinks a program is worth. I want to know what's new, what does it do, does it actually work and how much does it cost. If that sounds good to you then you've found the right place.

Good stuff! Check it out!

Greensboro News & Record on the Rise of the 101s

Entrepreneur Roch Smith Jr. takes on the 101 World
and organizes bloggers one city at a time

N&R coverage of Roch Smith Jr. and his growing 101 network. "Smith's product is the rough equivalent of an alternative newspaper -- that's published continuously instead of weekly."
(via Ed Cone)

EXCERPTS:
Greensboro101.com is a central Web page that uses sophisticated software to produce an up-to-the-minute listing of what's going on with Greensboro's blogs.

The site is open to anybody who wants to read it, but its special feature is that bloggers can link their blogs directly to the site. Then, as they update their sites with news or comments, Greensboro101.com automatically presents a rolling list of topics from all the blogs for that hour. All the readers do is click what they want to read.

The software does the work. "I've described it as democratic and agnostic," Smith said, meaning he doesn't cast his opinions into the mix.

Smith isn't the only person to operate such a site. But he plans to make it stand out with creative software and the involvement of local people. He has also appointed an advisory board of local people for the site and holds regular meetings.

For Smith, 42, it's all an effort to keep the Internet very local and very accessible.

Last week, Smith launched Charlotte101.us and Nashville101.com. If those sites catch on, Smith is ready to go to any city where there's a market. The key, said his friend, journalist Ed Cone, will be to find local people in those cities who can work for the sites to keep them uniquely local.

Smith's product is the rough equivalent of an alternative newspaper -- that's published continuously instead of weekly.

TheLadders.com maintains the world's first customer service blog.

TheLadders.com Steps Up Digital Marketing Efforts with Atlas

TheLadders.com, the world's leading $100,000+ job Web site, today announced a partnership with Atlas (www.atlassolutions.com), a provider of digital marketing technologies and expertise, and an operating unit of aQuantive, Inc. (Nasdaq:AQNT), for campaign management, reporting and analysis, and integrated search marketing.

"Our goal with Atlas is two-fold," said Alexandre Douzet, vice president, operations, and co-founder of TheLadders.com. "With the Atlas Suite we are looking to connect highly qualified, active job applicants with the most $100,000+ positions available on the Web. In addition, Atlas and its powerful campaign management software enable us to go a step further by helping us understand the passive job seeker on the Internet."

Ourmedia.org

OurMedia's Promise:
Ourmedia provides free storage and free bandwidth for your videos, audio files, photos, texts or software. Forever. No catches.

J.D. Lasica of OurMedia is planning on attending the BlogNashville conference.

Social Software for Set-Top boxes...

via plasticbag

Making your TV jump through hoops...

SOCIAL SOFTWARE: Yahoo! vs Google Race Heats Up As Yahoo! Enters "Social Software" Space

Upcoming Social Network Formerly Code-Named "Mingle" Announced - Blogging, PhotoSharing, and More
March 21, 2005

Summary
Yahoo's "Mingle" project has been formally announced, and re-named "Yahoo 360" - a social network or "social software" platform integrating Yahoo's existing products such as instant messenger, photos, local search, music, and groups with new offerings such as blogs, mobile blogs and sharing tools for recommending movies, restaurants and other items.

...
Marcel van Leeuwen, CEO of YEALD, believes Yahoo 360 will succeed where many others will fail. It could become "both huge and financially successful," van Leeuwen says, because, as he puts it:

"It's not just another blogging site.
It's not just another photo site.
It's not just another music site.
It's not just another review site.
It's not just another email site.
It's not just another messenger site.
It's not just another news site.

It's not just another niche site.

It's the link that makes many of Yahoo's services come together and more valuable."

HBS What a Blog Can Do for Your Small Business

Harvard Business School

Article at About.com
excerpts:
The blogging movement is picking up speed with the launch of blogs on our About.com network and the purchase of blog software company Pyra Labs to Google. More companies are experimenting with the blog environment. Will blogging become the next mainstream application like email? Will business blogs improve your business?

What does Blogging Provide to Small Business?
-Blog software is easy to use. Simply write your thoughts, link to resources, and publish to your blog, all at the push of a few buttons. Blog software companies such as, Movable Type, Blogger.com and Radio Userland all offer easy blogging tools to get started.
-Blogging is a low-cost alternative to having a web presence. For small business owners without the time to learn web html or the money to hire a designer/developer, blogging offers an inexpensive method to get your company's name out on the Internet.
-Updating the weblog is a much quicker process than contacting a web designer with changes or doing the coding and uploading yourself.
-Business blogs provide your small business with a chance to share your expertise and knowledge with a larger audience. A powerful benefit for consultants and knowledge workers. Examples of Business Blogs

Gizmodo is a weblog about everything about gadgets and gizmos for those who want to remain on the cutting edge of consumer electronics. As a web magazine, Gizmodo is quickly building a specialized audience in consumer electronics with an advertising business model.
Research Buzz is an excellent resource tool for Internet research. An information provider, Research Buzz provides advertising and a special paid edition of their newsletter.
Joel on Software is a blog that displays Joel Spolsky's knowledge and views on software development. The blog acts as a method for Joel to highlight his expertise and promote his small business, Fog Creek Software.
Jupiter Research, a top business market research company has a blog for each company analyst. The weblog provides analysts with the means to connect with their audience on a regular basis.
Loosetooth.com Shop Blog, by Brandy Agerbeck, is an online art shop blog that provide customers with a way to get to know the store owner. This blog is an e-commerce site with buy and shop options.
MacroMedia the software company provides a customer service blog for users and staff to share solutions in an organized fashion.
Blogs do have a downside. Blogging does not provide the functionality of web pages, has limits for e-commerce solutions and can be time-consuming with regular posts. But with minimal costs, it maybe advantageous to start blogging and position your business early. Is your small business blog ready?
Other Guides:
Anatomy of a Blog
A Blog Can Help Your Business
Business Blog Resources

The Bottom Line on Business Blogs

They've moved beyond the realm of diarists and techies to benefit mainstream businesses.August 09, 2004

excerpts:
So how do blogs fit into a business?
They can be used in several different ways. Many companies use them for communication and collaboration among distributed colleagues, partners, suppliers, customers and others. That's the most popular use. My personal favorite is that they also can be used as a unique, informal way to establish a company or individual's reputation or brand. Other businesses use them to improve operations (like for project management or tech support knowledge-sharing), to demonstrate expertise (useful for professional services businesses) and to establish competitive differentiation. Blogs let companies reach out to value chain members with organizational news, marketing promotions, new product announcements and more.
To get a sense for the effective use of small-business blogs, check out www.clip-n-seal.com/news and www.sbblog.com.

-Blogs can really give a company substantial business benefits:
-They're cheap, easy to launch and don't require HTML expertise.
-They make working in groups easier, are community-builders and can be more inclusive (and interesting!) than e-mail.
-They strengthen internal and external business relationships and improve productivity through interactive information exchange.
-They're not intrusive, since users have to seek out a URL to read the content.
-They improve branding by presenting a more authentic and distinctive voice for a business than canned PR or MarCom messaging.
-They're more searchable than e-mail and instant messaging, so they're effective as an information or knowledge-base archive.

Tools of the Trade
What do you need to get a blog started? You must acquire a blogging software platform or personal publishing application, easily identified with a Web search. You also should have RSS, which will help you syndicate and share your content with other sites. RSS will let you post your headlines to blog aggregators and search engines. That way, they're easily findable and don't get lost in the noise of millions of blogs.

Joining the Blogosphere
For many companies, blogs have become a business staple. They're mainstream and not just for techies! Blogs, though, are not for every company. Their informal style probably won't suit very conservative organizations. But they're great for companies that value freedom of thought and informal communication of ideas. If the fit is right, companies must decide:

-Who should blog.
-Whether the company is really committed to the ongoing care and feeding that blogs demand.
-What's to be achieved by the blog.
-Who will get access to company blogs. (They're password and access level protectable.)
-How blogs will fit in with the company's content strategy, which may include e-mail, blogs, wikis, the Web, voice mail, newsletters, PR and MarCom.

Blogs are a unique vehicle for communication. While they're not for everyone, many small and midsized businesses will find that they're a great way to craft a distinctive image, convey important messages and relate informally with the outside world.