Radical Changes at Yahoo! Search Marketing
Yahoo! Search Marketing (YSM) is removing “Top 5 Max Bids,” “Position” and “Your Cost” from the Manage Bids portion of their interface in early December. The View Bids tool is also going to be removed.
In their place will be the Estimated Average Position and Bid Range for Top Positions data columns.
According to the email that I got a few minutes ago, Read more
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MasteryTV’s Tom Wood: Biggest Spammer in My Inbox
I signed up as a MasteryTV affiliate partner when it first launched and I’ve been trying to get off Tom Wood’s list ever since.
In every email he sends there is a link labelled “Immediate and Permanent Removal from Mailings”. I’ve clicked that link (which is coded with my email address) each time I receive spam from Mr. Wood, and yet the crap still arrives week after week after *&/=@! week.
I’ve phoned the MasteryTV offices twice and both times left a message. Yet, still the mail comes.
OK, so Tom Wood is a SPAMMER. But more interesting is the fact that his affiliate program has been replaced with a ‘refer a friend’ link.
What a neat trick. Get affiliates to promote your site, then remove the program so they can’t earn anything and THEN spam the heck out of them.
All-round nice guy that Tom Wood.
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Google Answers No More
Ever had a question for which you couldn’t find an answer — even on Google? A question that was so important that you would pay for the answer?
Well, that’s what Google Answers did - and still does - but only until the end of the year as announced yesterday on the Official Google Blog.
Google Answers users specified how much they were willing to pay for an answer and given adequate motivation ($) a Google Researcher with expertise in online searching would come up with an answer. Answers are publicly viewable to registered users who could also contribute to the answer.
Although questions will no longer be accepted or answered, the existing QnA database will remain available. Good to know, especially if you are interested in the Nuclear radiation per MMBtu for coal plants - a $200 question, BTW.
Judging by the number of $200.00 questions, this could be an opportunity for those with Answers.
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Link Swapping is Killing Your Site
By the way, while you’re visiting Revenue Magazine, take a look down the right side navigation for a link to the article, “Link Swapping is Killing Your Website” by Michael Cheney, author of “The Website Marketing Bible“.
My sentiments about link swapping, exactly!
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Revenue Magazine
I managed to hit the couch for an hour and a half the other day to gobble up some of the latest edition of Revenue Magazine. It’s another good one, (I even read all the ads) and the content includes:
- The Mobile Marketing Monster: Mobile ads emerge as a force to be reckoned with.
- The Posh Payoff: Marketing luxury goods and services pads the pocketbook.
- Video Ad Explosion: Marketers move online to get their ads in motion on the small screen.
- Sex Education: If you can get past the content, there are plenty of lessons to be learned from successful adult industry affiliates.
- Gambling Stakes Rise: Online gambling is illegal in the U.S., but many online marketers continue to bet big.
- Taking a Stand: ShareASale is tough on commission stealing, but founder Brian Littleton likes to have fun along the way.
- Leading the Way: Online lead generation is exploding but still has egg on its face from scammers pushing illegitimate offers.
- Affiliate Advantage: Anne Fognano
- Performance Marketing Prognostication: Experts ponder the past, ruminate on the future, highlight the challenges and weigh in on the current state of the market.
Get your own copy of Revenue Magazine today.
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Birthday/Christmas Card Contest
Yes, December 11th, my birthday is fast approaching and like last year, I’m having a little contest.
Here are the contest rules:
- Send either a birthday or Christmas card addressed to me (Rosalind Gardner) at PO Box 24091, Penticton, BC Canada V2A 1X4
- Your card must reach me by December 17th to be eligible.
- Please PRINT your name and your email address (legibly) in the card so that I may get in touch with you.
- Lastly, complete the following sentence in 100 words or less. “The best thing about affiliate marketing is ________________”.
The winner will receive a prize package that includes a copy of Derek Gehl’s “Warp Speed Wealth“, a softcover copy of the “Super Affiliate Handbook” and a one-hour consultation with yours truly.
Total package value - $555.00.
Notification will be sent out and published here in the NPT blog on December 18th.
Happy birthday to me, Happy birthday to me….
Cheers,
Ros
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eDay: The New Cyber Monday
First there’s Black Friday, then Cyber Monday and on Linda Buquet’s blog today, I learned about yet another day in the holiday season: eDay.
eDay is a term coined by Coremetrics™ as the top sales day of the Christmas season.
San Mateo, Calif.—November 6 , 2006—Coremetrics™, the leading provider of on-demand web analytics and precision marketing solutions, today released data dispelling the marketing myth that “Cyber Monday,” the Monday after Thanksgiving, is the largest online shopping day of the holiday season. With 2006 U.S. holiday eCommerce forecast data from its LIVEmark benchmarking service, Coremetrics advises retailers to expect their highest traffic day to be Cyber Monday, and the top sales day one week after Cyber Monday, which falls this year on December 4th. Coremetrics predicts that sales on this date, which it has coined “eDay,” will be 19% higher than “Cyber Monday,” and that 2006 overall holiday retail sales will increase 16% over last year’s holiday season.
Read the rest of the press release.
And let’s not forget that there’s RosDay coming on December 11th… but more about that tomorrow. 
Whatever the day, every day during the holiday season is a great day for affiliate marketing.
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Newbies: Need Help with eMail?
This week, Joe Robson’s Newbie Club newsletter includes 4 tutorials that will help newbie affiliate marketers get control over their email. The tutorials include:
- “How To Disable Automatic Email Downloading”
- “Email Tips”
- “How To Access Hotmail Through Outlook Express”
- “How To Set Up Email Filters”
The first tutorial, How To Disable Automatic Email Downloading, is especially important! My computer used to end up with viruses until I figured out how to do just that!
Note: You will have to sign up for a free Newbie Club membership to access Joe’s newsletters.
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10 Ways to Get Your Affiliate Site Ready for Christmas
Is your affiliate site ready for Christmas?
Jeremy Palmer and I held a Holiday Shopping Teleseminar on Black Friday (November 24th) to assist affiliatemarketers ready their sites for the busy holiday season ahead.
The good news is that if you haven’t started your holiday promotions, you still have time to do so. Contrary to the popular claim that Cyber Monday is the biggest online shopping day of the year, Comscore ranks it as the 12th busiest shopping day and most e-tailers report their peak days happening between December 5th and the 15th.
Better yet, the opportunity for new and seasoned affiliate marketers continues to expand. Disenchanted with holiday shopping crowds, limited selection and stock, a record 114 million people are forecast to buy online this year; and the average consmer will spend $728 - compared to $681 in 2006.
Here are 10 basic points to consider as you prepare both your site and your paid search campaigns. Read more
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Free Training Resource: Recognized Expert Radio Show
Awhile back Bob Sommers interviewed me for his ‘Recognized Expert’ Radio Show in a segment called the “Starting Your Own Affiliate Marketing Business“. Check it out, and while you’re there, be sure to sign up for Bob’s newsletter to get instant access to over 100 additional shows on topics such as attitude, branding, marketing, public relations as well as writing and speaking skills. Other interviewed guests include Mark Widawer, Tim Knox, Bart Baggett and Joe Vitale. Great free resource!
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