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November 2nd Industry Newsletter
November 2, 2000
November is upon us. It's time to get your web sites
ready for the 2000 holiday shopping season! This will
be the biggest season ever for both Merchants and
Affiliates!
As always, feel free to contact us at refer-it@internet.com
with any questions or comments.
Best regards,
The Refer-it.com team
- TOP 10 PROGRAMS FOR OCTOBER 2000
- WEBTRENDS AFFILIATE PROGRAM CANCELLED
- THE HOLIDAYS ARE COMING!
- WELCOME NEW SPONSOR
- NEW 3-STAR PROGRAMS
- PRODUCT REVIEW: INSTANT SALES LETTERS
- SEEKING THE SUPER AFFILIATE
- Q & A
- INDUSTRY NEWS
- PROGRAM NEWS
- CANCELLED PROGRAMS
- CONTACT US
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TOP TEN AFFILIATE PROGRAMS BY CLICKTHROUGH, FOR OCTOBER 2000
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1. E-Commerce Exchange
http://www.refer-it.com/main.cfm?screen=pinfo&pid=1298
2. Garden.com
http://www.refer-it.com/main.cfm?screen=pinfo&pid=2604
3. ThinkLink.com
http://www.refer-it.com/main.cfm?screen=pinfo&pid=3892
4. Amazon.com Books
http://www.refer-it.com/main.cfm?screen=pinfo&pid=2
5. One & Only Internet Personals
http://www.refer-it.com/main.cfm?screen=pinfo&pid=1174
6. AutoFusion's CarPrices.com
http://www.refer-it.com/main.cfm?screen=pinfo&pid=347
7. Lending Tree Branch Network
http://www.refer-it.com/main.cfm?screen=pinfo&pid=1024
8. Registrars.com
http://www.refer-it.com/main.cfm?screen=pinfo&pid=2809
9. Stamps.com
http://www.refer-it.com/main.cfm?screen=pinfo&pid=2623
10. Paytrust
http://www.refer-it.com/main.cfm?screen=pinfo&pid=1999
* Note: The Top Ten programs are calculated by the absolute
number of clickthroughs each program received on Refer-it.com,
exclusive of Adult sites.
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WEBTRENDS AFFILIATE PROGRAM CANCELLED Ryan Lee
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Webtrends, a popular site traffic analyzer, has cancelled its
affiliate program. Effective immediately, affiliates will no longer
be paid commissions, but past commissions earned will be paid.
Why did the affiliate program shut down? According to Webtrends,
the company's target market is medium to large size companies, and
a majority of the affiliate referred companies were small in size.
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THE HOLIDAYS ARE COMING! Ryan Lee
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The 2000 holiday season is on the way and is expected to be bigger
than last year. According to Jupiter Communications, online sales
during the 2000 holiday season will approach $12 billion, up 66
percent from the $7 billion spent last year.
How do shoppers feel about the upcoming shopping season? In a
September 2000 Bizrate survey, 59% of potential online shoppers
fear late purchase arrival while 65% plan to begin shopping online
before December.
What does all of this mean to you? Get your links up early!
You might have noticed holiday decorations are already up in major
department stores and malls. The online world is no different. Promote
pre-holiday savings now.
Warn visitors that waiting until the last minute to shop online
can mean delayed shipments. Offer convenient product links for an
easy shopping experience.
Some merchants are already offering discounts for early shoppers. Take
advantage of these specials and feature them prominently on your site
and in newsletters. Merchants should look into creating early shopping
coupons and discounts for affiliates. If your merchants do not offer
special holiday promotions, contact the affiliate managers with your
questions and comments.
Here are a few examples of merchants offering early holiday savings:
Buy.com recently offered 30-40% off yellow-tag merchandise during the
month of October:
http://www.refer-it.com/main.cfm?screen=pinfo&pid=3959
Toysrus.com (and Amazon.com) is offering discounts of up to 75% on
selected toys until February 4th:
http://www.refer-it.com/main.cfm?screen=pinfo&pid=2776
For more merchant promotions, check out "Program News" in this issue.
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WELCOME NEW SPONSOR
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Qwest Dex:
Enhance your site by providing visitors with contact information,
maps and driving directions for North American businesses.
http://www.refer-it.com/main.cfm?screen=pinfo&pid=5561
********************** s * p * o * n * s * o * r ********************
TOP50.TO AFFILIATE PROGRAM - PAYS $2 CPA!
The new and improved Top50.to is a web directory with the best websites
and offers on the net. Refer a webmaster to Top50.to and you'll get $2
per new approved list-member! Do you have a lot of friends? Get them to
join Top50.to as regular members, and we'll give you $.50 per sign-up!
Top50.to is your One Stop Shop for cash, fun and the best offers on
the net - and the Ultimate Traffic Generator for Webmasters.
Join now - it's free:
http://adz.cc/click.php3?a=828&i=839&s=n_5
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NEW 3-STAR PROGRAMS
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BigSwapMeet.com
Big Swap Meet offers web hosting and credit card transaction services
for small businesses.
Pays $350 commission for each sale:
http://www.refer-it.com/main.cfm?screen=pinfo&pid=5579
BizBlast.com
Business solution provider that offers easy-to-use tools, marketing
and promotion assistance.
Pays 80% of first month's revenue:
http://www.refer-it.com/main.cfm?screen=pinfo&pid=5542
IBM
Offer your visitors products from a name they can trust: IBM.
Pays 4% on software, 2% on training courses, 1% on hardware,
and $.03 per click:
http://www.refer-it.com/main.cfm?screen=pinfo&pid=5525
KnowledgePlay.com
Features over 11,000 educational toys and school supplies.
Pays 5% commission on all sales:
http://www.refer-it.com/main.cfm?screen=pinfo&pid=5506
LampLogic.com
Offer your visitors unique lamps featuring logos, team emblems,
graphics and more.
Pays 3% commission:
http://www.refer-it.com/main.cfm?screen=pinfo&pid=5594
MusicSpace.com
The premiere source for As-Seen-On-TV CD compilations, like Monster
Ballads, Monsters of Rap and Goin' South.
Pays 7% on every sale:
http://www.refer-it.com/main.cfm?screen=pinfo&pid=5621
Check out more of the latest programs at:
http://www.refer-it.com/countads.cfm?id=315
********************** s * p * o * n * s * o * r ********************
Join Kaplan Test Prep’s Affiliate Program and earn up to $25 per
enrollment! After 60 years of growth and profit, Kaplan, the world
leader in test prep, is sharing the wealth. Our site offers online
courses, books, software and more!
For details visit http://www.kaptest.com/affiliates and join today.
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PRODUCT REVIEW OF INSTANT SALES LETTERS Ryan Lee
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Writing sales letters can be one of the most difficult and time
consuming tasks facing webmasters. Instant Sales Letters by Yanick
Silver is a new product designed to help. After getting my hands
on a copy, I spent a few hours going through the product in detail
and here are my results:
Instant Sales Letters is a collection of sales letter templates,
but don't let the simple idea fool you. Yanick has created a resource
that can save you hours of work and increase your affiliate sales. What
impressed me was the ease of use and quality of work. Just pick a
letter category, cut and paste into your email or document and you
are basically done. Personalize each letter with your company
name or prospective clients name and you have a high quality
sales letter.
The sales copy is outstanding: clear and to the point. Not too "salesy"
with just the right amount of personalization.
The best part of Instant Sales Letters are the internet-themed templates.
I have dozens of "Business Letter Books" on my bookshelf and could not
find internet related topics (forget trying to find affiliate related
letters). Here are a few of the letters you can choose from:
"Asking An Editor About Submitting Articles"
"Endorsement of New Product (your affiliate link)"
"Creating Links to Your Site"
"Recruiting Affiliates (and Sub Affiliates)"
"Joint Venture Proposal Offering Percentage"
"Request for Testimonial & Testimonial Form"
I would have liked to see more letters related to general correspondence
(affiliate rejections, site review requests, etc.) But on the other
hand, it was a relief not to be overwhelmed with hundreds and hundreds |
of letters I would never use.
If you have a website, I highly recommend this product. And, of course,
you can also join as an affiliate. It is a 2-tier program that pays
45% (1st tier) and 5% (2nd tier).
Learn more about Instant Sales Letters:
http://www.refer-it.com/countads.cfm?id=352
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SEEKING THE SUPER AFFILIATE Shawn Collins
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The quality of your affiliates may be more important than the
quantity. And the epitome of high-quality affiliates is the super
affiliate, a precious and highly sought after creature. Like other
rare birds, the super affiliate might require special care --
but this special care can pay off big. Shawn shows you how to
recognize a super affiliate when you see one. Read the article:
http://www.clickz.com/cgi-bin/gt/article.html?article=2690
********************** s * p * o * n * s * o * r ********************
EARN CASH WITH FREE CONTENT FROM DOTCOM.COM
When you sign up now for Network Solutions’ dotcom.com affiliate
program, you’ll earn $.05 per click every time your visitors click
on dotcom.com from your site thru December 31!
And 3˘ a click in 2001. Offer your visitors a wealth of dot com
information including news and articles on the Internet economy,
research, analysis, AND dot com directory, the on-line business
find engine. Visit
http://www.networksolutions.com/landing/P19C70S144N0B11A1D26V2
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Q & A Ryan Lee
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Today's question comes from Barry B.
QUESTION: "Is it better to develop a site concept and then intertwine
a few quality affiliate programs into your site or develop a 2-3 page
mini-site and promote 1 program per site?"
ANSWER: That is a great question! Let's assume that you will be
promoting other merchants products and not your own. Both of these
affiliate concepts can be successful if done correctly.
Whether you are promoting 3 products or 1 product the key concept to
remember is "targeted messages". If you choose 3 products, make sure
they are interrelated and geared towards the same audience. An example
would be to promote a search engine ebook, online web promotion
membership and an internet marketing newsletter to marketers. Often,
webmasters become greedy and try to sell everything under the sun.
This is called the "mall mentality". Your message will get watered
down. I believe that you are better off promoting 5 or fewer focused
products.
For example, you can create a "Search Engine Resource Site" and
feature articles, newsletters and tips about search engine placement.
Then choose 2-3 search engine products that you truly believe in and
promote them throughout the site. If sales are high, you might even be
able to negotiate a favorable commission rate with the merchants.
An example of a 2-3 product site is:
http://searchengine-listing.com
However, a one-product site has some distinct advantages as well.
Your audience's experience will be focused entirely on one product
which might lead to a higher clickthrough rate and more profits.
An example of a one-product site is:
http://www.ballfourbook.com
Perhaps the biggest disadvantage of a one-product site is complete
reliance on that merchant. Here is an example of how it can go wrong:
A website is created promoting a search engine book. You have spent
hours setting-up doorway pages, testimonials, articles and other
information related to that product. What happens if that company
suddenly goes out of business or stops their affiliate program?
You are out of luck! It can be dangerous to rely solely on another
company for your income. When planning to create a one product site,
choose merchants carefully and practice due diligence.
Another way to protect yourself is create a network of one-product
sites. That way, if one or two of the companies go out of business,
all income sources are not lost.
Regardless of the path you choose, no one will visit the site unless
they know about it. That means, promotion is the vitally important.
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INDUSTRY NEWS
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Buy.com and Half.com announced Monday the creation of a joint
marketplace that will sell used CDs, videos and DVDs from both
companies.
Click here for the full story:
http://www.referit.com/main.cfm?screen=articles&id=89
Reel.com
After months of waiting, Reel.com has finally revealed a new affiliate
program.
Read the full story:
http://www.referit.com/main.cfm?screen=articles&id=90
Stamps.com Slashes 240 Jobs
Internet postage company Stamps.com (Nasdaq: STMP) announced Monday that
it has slashed its workforce by 40 percent in a bid to streamline its
operations and improve profitability...
See The Full Story:
http://www.ecommercetimes.com/news/articles2000/001023-6.shtml
Fogdog Acquired
Popular online sporting goods retailer Fogdog.com was acquired by Global
Sports in a deal valued around $38 million. As part of the acquisition,
Fogdog also laid off more than 20 people on Tuesday, and insiders say
that they will lay off most of their 140-person staff in the coming months.
********************** s * p * o * n * s * o * r ********************
Commission Junction, the leading affiliate marketing solutions
provider, has transformed sophisticated affiliate marketing
software into an affordable and easy-to-use Web-based service
that provides a turn-key solution for managing revenue-sharing
relationships. As an application services provider (ASP),
Commission Junction provides a network of more than 1,400
merchants and 300,000 content sites with a comprehensive suite
of affiliate marketing services.
http://www.cj.com/Custom/teamcj.pl?457950
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PROGRAM NEWS
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ThinkLink
ThinkLink Communications boost their commissions 50% during the
month of November. Refer 100 subscribers and you'll also earn a $100
bonus. Plus 100 free minutes of calling for the holidays and a chance
to win a holiday entertainment or a home business package:
http://www.refer-it.com/main.cfm?screen=pinfo&pid=3892
ArginMax
ArginMax is doubling the commission to forty percent (40%) for the
month of November. ArginMax is a natural dietary supplement designed to
improve sexual performance:
http://www.refer-it.com/main.cfm?screen=pinfo&pid=2626
Flooz.com
Flooz.com is doubling commissions for November & December. Flooz.com
is offering a 3-tiered commission program, where you start at 8% and
can earn up to 12%:
http://www.refer-it.com/main.cfm?screen=pinfo&pid=3718
Buy.com
All new webmasters who join their affiliate program now through
12/31/00 will be entered to win one of ten (10) $250 buy.com gift
certificates:
http://www.refer-it.com/main.cfm?screen=pinfo&pid=3959
Interliant
Interliant has increased their commission to a $75 flat fee (vs. $40)
through 12/31/00. Additionally, customers who sign up for the Web
Special Unix plan during this period will receive 1 free month of Web hosting
service:
http://www.refer-it.com/main.cfm?screen=pinfo&pid=4817
Bargainclothing.com
Your visitors will receive $10 off purchases $50 and over. You must
use banners and links from ConnectCommerce:
http://www.refer-it.com/main.cfm?screen=pinfo&pid=2316
Gadget Universe
Your visitors receive $5 off any online order:
http://www.refer-it.com/main.cfm?screen=pinfo&pid=4514
Jos. A Bank
Jos. A Bank is offering Free shipping on all orders:
http://www.refer-it.com/main.cfm?screen=pinfo&pid=5120
**ATTENTION MERCHANTS:
Running an affiliate promotion? Creating new coupons or discounts?
Let us know about it! Contact Ryan Lee at rlee@internet.com
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CANCELLED AFFILIATE PROGRAMS
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TAKE DOWN YOUR LINKS!
The following sites have either gone out of business or ceased
their affiliate operations:
BigWords.com
Eve.com
Investor Broadcast Network
AmericanGreetings.com
Webtrends
********************** s * p * o * n * s * o * r ********************
***ClickZ: B2C Email Strategies****
November 14-15, Long Beach, CA
Trends
New Products
Case Studies, and much more!
Learn how to strategically use email to reach and retain
your best prospects and customers--while improving ROI!
REGISTER today at http://www.emailconference.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 Aylward, Product Director
(212) 547-7904 or mailto:caylward@internet.com
Advertising Questions?
Contact: Brian Farrell, Sales Manager
(212) 547-7917 or mailto:bfarrell@internet.com
Webmaster or Affiliate Inquires and Merchant News?
Contact: Ryan Lee, Associate Editor
(212) 547-7909 or mailto:rlee@internet.com
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REFER-IT.COM SPONSORS
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Amazon.com (Books)
http://www.amazon.com/
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AutoFusion's CarPrices.com (Automotive)
http://www.carprices.com/join.html
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Business.com (B-to-B)
http://www.business.com
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E-Commerce Exchange (E-Commerce)
http://www.qc123.com
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Quest Dex (B-to-B)
http://www.QwestDex.com
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DellHost.com (Web Hosting)
http://www.dellhost.com
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ThinkLink.com (Telephone)
http://www.thinklink.com
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Lendingtree.com (Banking)
http://www.lendingtree.com
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One & Only Internet Personals (Classifieds)
http://www.oneandonly.com/associates/welcome.htm
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Copyright 2000 internet.com Corporation All Rights Reserved.
Legal Notices: http://www.internet.com/corporate/legal.html
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