WordPress Data Feed Import

Creating an affiliate website that promotes a single merchant is slightly different than creating a regular general purpose website or blog. The goal of an affiliate website is to redirect traffic through to the merchant’s website where, ultimately, the sales will be handled.

With the above in mind, here are a couple tips to help you maximize the success of your affiliate website or blog.

Familiarize Your Site

Design your affiliate site to look similar to the merchant’s website. Don’t mistake this for a license to steal the merchant’s design, but you can use a similar color scheme and place your navigational elements in the same location . When the visitor clicks through, the shock from a different site will be minimized.

If you’re promoting a number of different affiliate merchants on your site, each with a different design, it’s best to keep your own design very neutral. Use standard colors, place your navigation prominently on the page, and remove as much clutter as possible.

Add Calls to Action

Inform the visitor that the final website she clicks through to will contain additional product information and explain what she’ll need to do when she gets there; for instance, add the item to her cart or sign up for a program. Pay special attention to your individual product pages. Spell out the call to action because if there is no call to action, then she will not take action .

Tags: affiliate marketing website, building affiliate websites

With services like PayPerPost and Sponsored Reviews cropping up, it was only a matter of time before affiliates learned they could use it to their advantage.

I’ve just noticed a rather creative attempt to use the sponsored reviews systems. One of the advertisers at Sponsored Reviews is offering up to $10 for your review of a website hosting/building program. The twist – the advertiser does not own the site – she is just the affiliate and asks you to use her affiliate link in the review.

Sponsored Reviews - a creative twist?

While affiliate marketing via blogs is still a relatively new and mystical subject for some bloggers, it is gaining traction. As more bloggers educate themselves on affiliate marketing, the model of paying for merchant website reviews with an affiliate link may backfire; the blogger may see the potential for herself, sign up for the affiliate program, then use her own affiliate link.

A way around this may be to have the bloggers review your affiliate website. If your site goes beyond being a thin affiliate, you may receive some positive reviews from the blogger, thus driving traffic to your own personal creation and opening up more opportunities for converting visitors into customers. This method would also help you build link love, gain traffic, and you can actually collect visitor information for future marketing (i.e. build a list).

Just some food for thought.

Tags: paid blog reviews, pay per post, payperpost, sponsored reviews, sponsoredreviews, paid blogging, affiliate blogging, affiliate blog

Some changes are currently being made to the support ticket system. If you’ve filed a ticket in the past seven days, please take a moment to use the contact form so it can be handled via e-mail in the meantime.

Just to keep you updated, this new ticket support system will actually be integrated within the member’s area Dashboard. It will make it easier all around to keep an eye on outstanding tickets and for you to submit a ticket.

Another update will be posted when the new support system is online.

One of the oldest affiliate programs online has made some additional advancements for its affiliates. The new model is called Context Links and works by adding affiliate links to keywords within your content automatically.

The program is still in beta, but it doesn’t mean you can’t test them out on one of your affiliate sites. If you’re already an Amazon Associate, then you can log into your account and snag the necessary code to make it happen. It’s simply a matter of customizing how many links you wish to display and how you wish to display them, then pasting the code into your website.

Context Links are a quick and convenient way to add links to your website and monetize your content. Context Links automatically identify and link relevant phrases within your page content to Amazon products, unlocking new ad inventory and saving you the time from having to manually create links. You can add the links to your pages in minutes, and we provide a wealth of options to customize how they are displayed. (Emphasis added.)

Context Links Beta - You Create the Content. We’ll Link It.

From the example website, it looks as though it’s very tastefully executed and the pop-ups appear to use AJAX which gives it a very web 2.0 feel. Clicking on the Buy Now button takes the visitor into a new window which can be annoying to some (who aren’t using tab control), but it’s nice for the web master which means the visitor never truly leaves the original website.

This program may prove useful to bloggers and other site owners who simply wish to add another revenue stream or a small revenue stream to their website. Just, be careful to use it wisely and not annoy your visitors with all those various underlined links.

Tags: amazon affiliate program, amazon context links beta, blogging money

The NetShops affiliate program has added ten new affiliate stores to its already bountiful selection. Now, we will see more than 100 affiliate stores to choose from. The new stores are in various niche areas with a pronounced slant towards the furniture marketing.

• OnlySlippers.com
• Playhouses.com
• GiftsForHim.com
• GardenStatueShop.com
• BedroomFurnitureMart.com
• GreatRusticFurniture.com
• JustBathroomFurniture.com
• ModernFurniture.com
• MoreOfficeFurniture.com
• SleighBeds.com

NetShops also provides their affiliates with data feeds, and some of the best ones available. Good formatting, nice titles, and clear descriptions which makes cleaning up the file quick and easy.

NetShops has a wide array of specialty items ranging from toys to furniture to more unique items such as candelabras. If you’re not already a NetShops affiliate, it’s a program you should consider.

Tags: netshops affiliate program, affiliate datafeeds, data feed marketing, specialty affiliate stores