| http://www.refer-it.com |
Thursday, July 12, 2001
internet.com's
REFER-IT.COM INDUSTRY NEWSLETTER
"Affiliate Resources, Revenue and Tips"
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Sponsored by NewMedia ~ Internet Trade Show List ~ Juniper Bank
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[refer-it top ten]
Congratulations to Juniper Bank - #1 for two consecutive months!
[new sponsor]
Merchant Partner Plus
[featured articles]
How to Start a Lifetime Commissions Affiliate Program
Christopher Pearce, LifetimeCommissions.com
Helpful Affiliate Terms: Part One and Two
Cynthia A. Arko, Refer-it.com
[merchant of the month]
EPage Classifieds Service Provider (CSP) Program
[industry/program news]
[july webmaster tips]
[3 star programs]
[contact us]
[refer-it sponsors]
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[refer-it top ten affiliate programs] June 2001
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1. Juniper Bank
http://www.refer-it.com/Main.cfm?screen=displayProfile&id=6137
2. eHealthinsurance.com
http://www.refer-it.com/Main.cfm?screen=displayProfile&id=6429
3. Merchant Partner Plus
http://www.refer-it.com/Main.cfm?screen=displayProfile&id=7026
4. Qwest Dex
http://www.refer-it.com/Main.cfm?screen=displayProfile&id=5561
5. uSubscribe.com
http://www.refer-it.com/Main.cfm?screen=displayProfile&id=5976
6. LowerMyBills.com
http://www.refer-it.com/Main.cfm?screen=displayProfile&id=4092
7. DreamMates.com
http://www.refer-it.com/Main.cfm?screen=displayProfile&id=4303
8. Dating Cash.com
http://www.refer-it.com/Main.cfm?screen=displayProfile&id=570
9. NextCard
http://www.refer-it.com/Main.cfm?screen=displayProfile&id=1443
10. SportingBetUSA.com
http://www.refer-it.com/Main.cfm?screen=displayProfile&id=6679
* Special congratulations to Juniper Bank for earning the #1 program
ranking for second consecutive month.
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[welcome new refer-it sponsor]
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We are pleased to welcome Merchant Partner Plus as a new Refer-it.com
top sponsor!
Affiliates earn up to 10 percent on sales and have control of product
offerings. Merchant Partner Plus provides complete "front end"
functionality of a fully e-commerce enabled website - your own online
store front. Access is provided to the entire Merchant Partner Plus
database of products. Select items customers are most likely to
buy and then "stock the shelves" - you are ready to sell!
Keep your customers coming back to your website.
[join program link]
http://www.refer-it.com/countprograms.cfm?id=7026&type=2
********************** s * p * o * n * s * o * r ********************
Be A NewMedia Know-It-All!
Want to find out What's Next on the Net? NewMedia knows what's
happening next in business, design/development and technology.
NewMedia comes in both Web site and weekly e-mail newsletter
flavors, too. Get in tune with What's Next on the Net.
http://www.newmedia.com
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[featured articles]
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How to Start a Lifetime Commissions Affiliate Program
Christopher Pearce, LifetimeCommissions.com
Advertising on the Net just seems to get harder every day.
The search engines are starting to charge you just to look at your site -
and they don't even notify you if your listed.
You can pay for every visitor in a pay-per-click search engine - and check
your bids every day to make sure you haven't been kicked off the top 10,
and even then you can't be sure all your traffic is targeted, let alone
real.
Or you can pay for banner impressions - which are in my opinion,
promptly ignored by 99.85 percent of all surfers. It's all completely
overwhelming. What's an online marketer to do? How can you possibly
compete with the rest of the universe, let alone get ahead of it?
Welcome to the wonderful world of affiliate programs!
[full story]
http://www.referit.com/main.cfm?screen=articles&id=155
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Helpful Affiliate Terms
Cynthia A. Arko, Refer-it.com
It's not easy to understand the many terms associated with doing business
online. We've put together a list of terms to help guide your affiliate
marketing efforts.
[part one]
http://www.referit.com/main.cfm?screen=articles&id=157
[part two]
http://www.referit.com/main.cfm?screen=articles&id=158
Refer-it.com is now delivered to more than 14,000 subscribers.
Submit an article on an affiliate marketing topic and we'd be
happy to promote your site or service.
[submit an article]
mailto: carko@internet.com
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[merchant of the month] EPage Classifieds Service Provider
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[Program Name:] EPage Classifieds Service Provider (CSP) Program
[Program Manager:] Brad Waller (waller@ep.com)
[Company Background:] EPageŽ was founded in 1994 as an internet only
business dedicated to providing the best classified and auction services
to its customers. The EPage network (ep.com plus affiliates) has about
750,000 visitor sessions each month, and displays over 1,000,000 ads per DAY.
With features such as account management, ad renewals, email notifications,
searching over 20,000 classified sites, two affiliate programs, and Free
custom classifieds for any web site, EPage can do more for your
advertising needs than anyone else on the Web.
Since the original site launched in 1994 (ep.com), EPageŽ has begun
operations of several other sites dedicated to connecting buyers and
sellers, including auctionpage.com, top3.com, and most recently
adjungle.com.
[Launch Date:] April 1996 (CSP); 1997 (referral program); 1997 (Auction
only version); 2001 (add two tier to referral); 2001 (AdJungle.com)
[Homepage url:] http://ep.com/
[Affiliate info url:] http://ep.com/b/csp.html
[Description of Affiliate Program:] The CSP program is our premier
service where we provide branded classified and auction services for
other web sites. We pay 20percent of the gross fees collected through an
affiliates site. With over 20,000 members, including regional portals,
specialty sites, and ISP's, you probably have already visited our
classifieds (perhaps without being aware it was us!)
We added a 10 percent lifetime "referral fee" program in 1997 from affiliate
concerns that customers would bypass them and go right to our site.
When signed up for this program, all IDs that are created through an
affiliate link will be tagged for this affiliate. If this user ever
pays us any money, no matter which site (the original affiliate, another
affiliate, or our own site), the original referrer gets 10 percent of the
payment.
Sites can create an auction only version of this (we call this program
the ASP Program or Auction Service Provider) through our site at
http://auctionpage.com/ which is based on the same technology and runs
identically to the CSP program.
Earlier this year, we added two-tier capability to the CSP and ASP
programs. Basically an extension of the referral program, we now also
pay affiliates matching fees for other CSP/ASP sites they refer.
Currently we are offering a 100 percent match (for the first 12 months) of
the money earned by your subs for anyone who signs up under you. When this
offer expires, we will return to the base 50percent match.
We can pay out up to 50 percent of the gross fees collected (20 percent CSP,
20 percent two-tier, 10 percent referral). Our latest foray into this area
is a new company called AdJungle (http://adjungle.com). The service is an
advertising network for micro-advertisers who can spend as little as $1.50
to have their ad exposed to thousands of people.
[Details and Results:] Our CSP program was one of the first, started in
1996. By the end of 1997, the EPage affiliate program had over 500
members; 1998 saw explosive growth, increasing to over 8,000 members.
EPage now hosts more than 10 percent of all classified sites on the Web.
Affiliates can use network categories and be showing thousands of ads
from day one, and they can also create custom categories with Auctions
and/or Classifieds for their site. New customization options were just
released in March to further enhance the utility to webmasters.
[Competition:] No direct competition, as we are the only ones to offer
co-branding, custom categories, and ads shared throughout all sites in
the network. There are other sites (just check the Refer-it listings)
that do some of these, and none have the reach that we have in
classifieds. We have been consistently in the top 9 classified sites
(and usually number four or five) by measured traffic since anyone
started measuring.
[Average Order:] $40
[Commission (1st tier):] 20 percent (CSP/ASP), 10 percent (Referral)
[Commission (2nd Tier):] 20 percent (CSP/ASP)
[Payment Frequency:] Monthly over $20
[Program Type:] Two-Tier (pay by sale)
[Is the program free to join?] Yes
[Tracking System Used:] In-house
[Number of active affiliates:] ~7,500
[Growth Rate:] 100 affiliates per week
[Keys to the affiliate program success:] Being there from the beginning sure
helped, but we are still around because we offered a service that almost
everyone can use for free, and we pay them out of our profit if they bring
in any money. We also listened to the affiliates and designed the program
for their needs and requirements. We pay promptly (within 10 days of the
end of the month for money earned that month) every month, and have never
missed a payment.
[Top affiliate success stories:] My favorite story is about Lisa Irby of
IRBY-enterprises.com. She joined our program and had little to no activity
for months, if not a year. Then, all of a sudden she became one of our top
affiliates. You really notice when someone goes from $2.20 in earnings to
over $300 in a month! What happened that caused her to go from a poorly
performing affiliate to a top 10 performer? She graduated from college and
decided to put some time into her web site. It's as simple as that.
The lesson here is that every affiliate counts, and they all have something
to contribute, so do not set minimum performance levels for your affiliates.
Keep them all because you never know if you have a few diamonds in the rough.
Lisa took everything that she learned and created another site:
http://www.affiliateblunders.com/
[Where do you see your affiliate program in 12 months?]
Right now the program accounts for about half of our revenues. I hope to
see this increase to 75 percent with the addition of our two-tier program.
Our reasoning is that web developers, ISPs, and others who help out webmasters
can set up their customers with our program and both will make money. A
developer can set up a clients site with their own classifieds that have
their look, we do all the work in hosting that part of their site, and
everyone shared in the revenue. It is a win-win-win situation. Working
like this, it does not take long for a designer to be earnings hundreds of
dollars a month of residual income from sites they set up.
Brad Waller
VP, Affiliate and Business Development, EPage
http://ep.com
********************** s * p * o * n * s * o * r ********************
Don't get left in the dark.
Internet Trade Show List (http://www.internettradeshowlist.com) is the
definitive list for information on hundreds of industry trade shows,
seminars and conferences! Stay in tune with the latest advancements
in internet marketing, publishing, technology, telecommunications
and more.
http://www.internettradeshowlist.com
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[industry news]
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Affiliate Petition against Microsoft Smart Tags
Do you believe that Microsoft's Smart Tags technology
poses a substantial threat to affiliate marketing?
Shawn Collins has launched an online petition to protest against
SmartTags and says:
"Smart Tags threaten to dilute the effectiveness of affiliate links,
where a merchant pays a commission to an affiliate for generating clicks,
leads, or sales from a link located on the affiliate's site"
Smart Tags, as explained on Microsoft.com
(http://www.microsoft.com/windows/ie/preview/smarttags/default.asp)
are "a feature of Internet Explorer that add smart links to pages you view.
Smart Tags enable real-time, dynamic recognition of content on Web pages
and offer you relevant options as you work. By hovering and clicking on
these smart links, you can get access to additional information or
perform convenient Web tasks."
The "No More Smart Tags" petition is located here:
http://www.affiliatemanager.net/petition.htm
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Commission Junction officially announces the launch of its Open Marketplace
According to Commission Junction, the open marketplace will make
pay-for-performance advertising truly measurable, by publishing payment
and conversion statistics on all advertisers, publishers and ads in the
Commission Junction network. Instead of advertisers and publishers trying
to make CPM ad deals in the dark, CJ is turning on the lights and allowing
both sides to see metrics that matter.
[press release]
http://www.referit.com/main.cfm?screen=articles&id=156
********************** s * p * o * n * s * o * r ********************
Earn at least $25 per new credit card customer, with tiered compensation
levels up to $40 per sale!
The Juniper Bank Affiliate Program is the #1 rated Affiliate Program on
Refer-it.com. Find out how Juniper's affiliates are making more and
more money each day.
http://referit.com/countprograms.cfm?id=6137&type=2
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[program news]
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BabySongs is having a Christmas in July special. All customers who
buy the BabySongs Christmas Video, will get the BabySongs Christmas
Audio for FREE. Offer ends August 10, 2001.
Two promotional banner sizes are available and will be updated each
time a new special is announced.
[join program]
http://www.refer-it.com/Main.cfm?screen=displayProfile&id=7106
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800.com is having a blowout sale featuring new releases and old
favorites at up to 50 percent off list price. With titles starting at
ONLY $4.94. Act now - prices are valid for a short time and some offers
are limited to stock on hand.
[join program]
http://www.refer-it.com/Main.cfm?screen=displayProfile&id=1637
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Get into shape with Vitaminlab's tremendous summer savings.
Save $10 off any order over $40 by using coupon code: SUMMER10
Save $20 off any order over $75 by using coupon code: SUMMER20
Save on popular weight-loss items including MetaboTrim and Fat Grabber,
Chitosan Complex, Hot-Selling Omega-3 products like Super EPA and Flaxseed
Oil, herbal products like Saw Palmetto and Ginkgo Biloba,
Don't delay visiting www.vitaminlab.com to take advantage of these
tremendous deals and feel free to forward these coupons to your friends,
family and affiliates
[join program]
http://www.refer-it.com/Main.cfm?screen=displayProfile&id=2903
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Everyone needs something to read at the beach.
Highlight these great enews.com summer deals on your site today:
- Save 84 percent and keep up with the latest music in Rolling Stone!
- Having a barbeque? Try Food & Wine and get a FREE corkscrew!
- SAVE UP TO 90 percent on magazines you love like People, Elle, Maxim & more!
- Summer gifts are just a click away! Include our summer gift giving
recommender on your site today.
[join program]
http://www.refer-it.com/Main.cfm?screen=displayProfile&id=289
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Sign-up for the Payless.com Affiliate Program - just in time for the
Back-to-School shoe buying season! Payless ShoeSource, North America's
largest family footwear retailer, is offering a great online marketing
opportunity for your web site with a shoe-buying customer demographic.
Payless ShoeSource sells one in every six pair of shoes sold in the
United States and now offers FREE in-store shipping.
[join program]
http://www.refer-it.com/Main.cfm?screen=displayProfile&id=6705
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The Site59 travel web site has gotten a face lift.
They've made the site easier to navigate and much faster, with a renewed
focus on Last-Minute Travel Experiences!
There are more packages than ever on the homepage and with beauty comes
speed; Site59 will load pages, find flights and send you on a great weekend
getaway faster than ever! You can choose your dates, or just your preferred
weekend, and departure city and get started right from the homepage.
The following three new types of packages are offered:
Flight & Hotel Packages, Flight Plus Packages (do not include hotel),
and Hotel Plus Packages (do not include flights).
Search is smarter and better than before. Search by destination, package
name or keyword from the top right corner of every page.
I just did a search for "mountain climbing" and got a list of more than 38
packages from New York.
[join program]
http://www.refer-it.com/Main.cfm?screen=displayProfile&id=7073
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Dell is offering a FREE DVD OR CD-RW UPGRADE!
Get the summer started off right with a select new Dell Home system
and a highly entertaining extra - Get a FREE DVD or CD-RW Upgrade!
Offer ends July 23, 2001 at 11 pm, CT!
[join program]
http://www.refer-it.com/Main.cfm?screen=displayProfile&id=4686
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$25 Affiliate Summer Bonuses from Personal Creations * Christmas in July
Sell at least $200 worth of merchandise for the month of July and
Personal Creations will add $25 to your commission check!
You can sell $200 of any type of merchandise. Help your visitors beat the
rush while they stock up and save 40 to 80 percent during the Christmas
in July Sale! This is the largest discount sale of the year. Now through
August 31, 2001 save up to 80 percent off on personalized
Christmas decorations and ornaments.
[join program]
http://www.refer-it.com/Main.cfm?screen=displayProfile&id=5781
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Ashford.com offers five (count 'em, five) great 20 percent off coupon
offers on specific products:
Waterman Pen Model 41105
Ashford Price = $75
20 percent off Coupon C2ABFAAAAA = $60
Expires 8/1/01
Ladies Seiko Watch Model SFX886
Ashford = $87.50
20 percent off coupon C2ACNAAAAA = $70
Expires 8/1/01
Men's Seiko Watch Model SJB022
Ashford Price = $87.50
20 percent off Coupon C2AC5AAAAA = $70
Expires 8/1/01
Hugo Boss Fragrance - Men's Model UPC737052351100
Eau de Toilette Spray 3.4 oz.
Ashford Price = $49.00
20 percent off coupon C2AC8AAAAA = $39.20
Expires 8/1/01
Hugo Boss Fragrance - Men's Model UPC737052351018
Eau de Toilette Spray 1.7oz.
Ashford Price = $39.00
20 percent off Coupon C2ACBAAAAA = $31.20
Expires 8/1/01
These are unlimited use coupons so your customers can buy till
the cows come home (and let's hope the cows are lost!).
Test them all and see which coupons work best for you.
[join program]
http://www.refer-it.com/Main.cfm?screen=displayProfile&id=1405
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Crank up your promotion of HelloDirect.com on your site this summer
and get a hands-free headset, the JABRA EarSet, absolutely FREE!
($50 value) Just post net sales of $500 or more between June 15th and
August 31st and you'll receive this high-performance cellular headset
as a special thank you. You will still earn your regular 10 percent
commission on all sales.
About the EarSet: It's incredibly small and incredibly clear. Both the
speaker and microphone are built into the earpiece, so there's no boom
to contend with, and no speaker feedback. Just place the tiny EarGel
in your ear and the mic is perfectly positioned for consistent voice
pick-up. The EarSet is perfect for safe and comfortable hands-free talk on
virtually any cellular, PCS, or mobile phone.
[join program]
http://www.refer-it.com/Main.cfm?screen=displayProfile&id=1450
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Sephora.com affiliates will earn 7 percent commission for the month of
July plus an additional $25 for the first sale.
Sephora.com is now offering a tiered compensation program as part of
their enhanced program.
Earn 5 percent on monthly sales up to $1000,
Earn 6 percent on monthly sales of $1000 - $5000,
Earn 7 percent on monthly sales above $5000, and receive
a $250 check for monthly sales above $10,000.
[join program]
http://www.refer-it.com/Main.cfm?screen=displayProfile&id=6635
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The 4th of July is over but summer celebrations have just begun at
Hallmark.com. Many new items have been added to the Summer Sale category,
so be sure to Hallmark.com's Summer Sale and receive 25 percent off select
albums, collectibles and CDs. The sale will continue until July 27th.
[join program]
http://www.refer-it.com/Main.cfm?screen=displayProfile&id=2942
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Free Beauty Gift with Purchase at Nordstrombeauty.com
Nordstrombeauty.com is a cause for celebration - now cosmetics, skin
care and fragrances are just a click away. For a limited time only
when you or your customers make a beauty purchase of $50 dollars or
more online you'll receive a free satin covered compact mirror with
the nordstrombeauty.com logo. Offer expires 7/19.
[join program]
http://www.refer-it.com/Main.cfm?screen=displayProfile&id=5699
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Free 30-minute Phone Card For You!
Highlight Lens Express on your home page for the month of July and
receive a FREE 30-minute phone card! Just 2 easy steps:
1) Put our Free Shipping link or any other Lens Express banner/link
on your home page now.
2) Send an e-mail to Mdevine@lensexpress.com when it is up and
Maura will send you your free 30-minute phone card!
[join program]
http://www.refer-it.com/Main.cfm?screen=displayProfile&id=3436
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Summer Kick-Off Promotion with Increased Commissions!
ShopAtHome.com is increasing commissions for the summer months!
It's their way of saying thank you for being a part of the affiliate
program and generating affiliate enthusiasm.
Between now and August 1, 2001, earn 40 percent on orders for free items,
and 50 percent on magazine subscriptions!
Summer means fun in the sun, family trips, relaxing by the pool,
reading your favorite magazines, shopping for summer clothes, party
supplies, gardening tools and more! ShopAtHome.com has what your
customers are looking for! Offer a HUGE selection of free catalogs
and magazines and earn an average of $1.10 commission per order for
FREE items, and an average $9-12 for magazine subscriptions!
[join program]
http://www.refer-it.com/Main.cfm?screen=displayProfile&id=4699
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[july webmaster tips]
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Random Image: This is cool
Use this script to randomly display a different image each time the page
is visited. Any number of images can be used, and set-up is very easy.
http://javascript.internet.com/miscellaneous/random-image.html
Basic Calendar: Nice calendar for Web page display. Highlights the date
and the day of the week. Well-documented code to help you customize
any font, color, or size you want. Internet Explorer.
http://calendars.javascriptsource.com/basic-calendar.html
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[3 star programs]
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New three star programs include: General Vitamin Corporation, Office
Depot, 1-800 submit and more!
Check out the latest 3 star rated programs at:
http://www.refer-it.com/countads.cfm?id=315
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[cancelled programs]
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As a result of the recent CJ merchant changes, the cancelled programs
list has been updated:
http://www.refer-it.com/main.cfm?screen=articles&id=112
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**ATTENTION MERCHANTS:
Running an affiliate promotion? Increasing commissions?
Creating new coupons or discounts? Let us know about it!
Contact refer-it@internet.com
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[contact us]
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As always, contact the Refer-it team with any questions or comments.
Advertising or Affiliate Solutions Questions?
Contact: Cynthia A. Arko, Product Director
mailto: carko@internet.com
Advertising Questions?
Contact: Brian Farrell, Sales Manager
mailto: bfarrell@internet.com
Webmaster Inquiries and Merchant News?
mailto: refer-it@internet.com
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[refer-it sponsors]
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Juniper Bank (Credit Cards)
http://www.juniperbank.com
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eHealthInsurance.com (Insurance)
http://www.ehealthinsurance.com
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Qwest Dex (Services)
http://www.qwestdex.com
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LowerMyBills.com (Finance)
http://www.lowermybills.com
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One & Only Internet Personals (Classifieds)
http://www.oneandonly.com/associates/welcome.htm
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uSubscribe (Magazines)
http://www.usubscribe.com
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DreamMates.com (Matchmaking)
http://www.DreamMates.com
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MerchantPartnerPlus.com (B2B)
http://www.merchantpartnerplus.com
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