Holiday Message from Ros
This is just a quick note to wish you and yours a very happy and healthy Christmas.
Most of you read the NPT to learn how to improve your financial situation… and not just for my witty repartee. 
I hope that over the holidays you are able to take time to think about and appreciate those for whom you work so hard throughout the year.
You, your family, friends and the larger community are the REAL gifts in our lives. Their comfort, support and encouragement fuels our continuing desire to both succeed and share the gift in kind.
In that spirit, I thank you from the bottom of my heart for making me part of your extended circle. For that, I am truly blessed.
With your continuing support, homeless and hungry people are being housed, fed and cared for this year; and together we can make an even bigger difference in the world in 2007 and beyond.
From my home to yours… I wish you peace, harmony and all the joy of the holiday Season and all the best of success in the New Year.
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Blog Tagged: 5 Things You Didn’t Know about Rosalind Gardner
There’s a new game in town and it’s called blog tagging.
The person tagged has to tell 5 things about themselves that the blogging community didn’t know. Then they have to tag five more friends with blogs to do the same. It’s like a blog chain letter, but ultimately more fun and really gets those links going.
I was tagged by Jeremy Palmer, who was tagged by Scott Jangro, who was tagged by Shawn Collins, and so on and so forth.
Here’s my list:
- At the age of 13, I spent the first half of my summer holidays selling flowers from buckets on the sidewalk in front of the Wellesly Street subway in Toronto, from 9 to 5 on weekdays and Saturdays. I earned enough during the first half of the summer to buy an airline ticket to Holland where I spent the rest of the school vacation hanging out with my cousins, sans parents.
- At 14, I was ‘kidnapped’ by a gang of young boys while on a walking tour of Tangier, Morocco with my mother. They so captivated my attention that I didn’t even realize that the group had left the area without me. Neither did my mother apparently, as when we reunited at the bus about an hour later, nary an eyebrow was raised or a comment uttered. In the meantime, I had visited two of the boys homes and their parents’ shops, traded my running shoes for a pair of beaded slippers, smoked a cigarette and accumulated an armful of silver bracelets.
- My favorite game is Scrabble and my average score is 300.
- Somewhere at the bottom of one of the drawers in my office there are a few letters of commendation for having saved some lives while I worked as an air traffic controller. Funny how they noticed only those few times. Then again, that WAS my job.
- Oh, and I AM natrually blonde.
OK, Yanik Silver, Anik Singal, Colin McDougall, Jim Edwards and Jeff Mulligan - you’re all IT!
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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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Thanksgiving: Keep the Focus on Giving
For millions of Americans, (Canadians too) the Thanksgiving holidays are a time spent with loved ones around feast-filled tables and expressing gratitude for the past year’s blessings.
It is also a time to remember those around the world who are less fortunate. Although tomorrow is Black Friday - the hottest sales day of the year - today (tomorrow and always) let’s keep the focus on giving.
Here are 4 ways you can give more this holiday season:
- While doing your holiday shopping is to look for merchants who donate a portion of their proceeds to charity.
- As an affiliate, do your best to promote those merchants. Look too for charities that sell online, such as Unicef (a Commission Junction merchant).
- Give a portion of your virtual real estate to promote charities such as the Red Cross.
- Last but not least, sign up for one program and designate your favorite charity as the recipient.
I wish you all a happy and safe Thanksgiving holiday!
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Congratulations to April and Joel!
After years of searching for a mate through online dating services, Joel Bolton (my friend and virtual assistant), met April at a party held by a mutual friend one evening a couple of years ago.
Well, the sparks flew and on October 6th at 6PM, Joel and April were married on Chebeague Island off the coast of Maine… and I’m absolutely thrilled for them both!
Congratulations and Best Wishes for a Happy and Blessed union!
P.S. to Joel… Take April on a honeymoon, will ya? I can actually handle our support desk for a little longer than 2 days.
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Ros Gardner is ‘Cruel and Unfair’
OK, I don’t usually respond to these things, but I thought this was funny - in a bizarre kind of way.
I am apparently ‘cruel and unfair’ according to the following response to my “More on the Adwords Update… Don’t Believe Everything You Read” blog entry.
If you haven’t read the entry, I talk about an affiliate marketer who posted a bunch of fluff (about Google’s latest whack on affiliates) that could have lead new or uninformed affiliate marketers up the garden path.
Not once did I mention his name.
Yet, he learned about the post, then posted a response in his blog that linked back to mine. (OK, that was the bizarre part… and THANKS for the plug!!! :-))
Hi Rosalind,
I was reading (name removed)’s latest blog entry which showed your criticism of him.
I think it is very cruel and unfair what you have done and written about him as I know first hand he is a very successful affiliate and is a very down to earth guy (I meet him at the World Internet Summit this year). I can only say good things about him as he has helped me out with my affiliate programs and always has time for me.
I think, if you are going to criticize him you should do it on his blog and give him a fair right of reply.
Anyway, I don’t want to harp on but I think you should consider what you have written as he is a very nice young man.
Jamie
This was Joel’s reply:
Hello Jamie,
On behalf of Rosalind, thank you for your feedback about Rosalind’s “Don’t Believe Everything You Read’ blog entry.
I’ll definitely pass along your concern.
I suspect the article sounds a little harsh, but the main point was that if you are posting information about how Google is handling their ranking, and billing yourself as ‘the essential guide’, then you better be as correct as possible with your information.
Rosalind’s point was that it is content and relevance that wins results, both from Google and more importantly, for your qualified customers.
She never named (name removed), nor did she include a link to his blog… so essentially it was an anonymous ‘pot shot’.
You may be right that it would have been good for Rosalind to check in on (name removed)’s blog and present her point of view there within his own forum.
Rosalind was responding to her readers (who’ve had many concerns about Google’s recent adjustment) with her consistent message that content and relevance to the topic at hand win the search engine ranking hands down, especially over the long run.
Apparently (name removed) isn’t shy about returning a shot.
I see he links to Rosalind’s article, and puts her success down due to a lower ranking then his in the Clickbank Marketplace.
In fact I’d wager Rosalind’s status, in terms of profitability and professionalism, with both her peers and a majority of her ’students’ remains quite ‘Super’.
One thing I believe both (name removed) and Rosalind would agree on is his comment: “Personally I believe being a super affiliate is about getting results and being able to help other people achieve success too.”
I know Rosalind ‘lives’ that, and I suspect (name removed) is truly committed to that goal too.
Again thank you for your comments. I will pass them along to Rosalind. I’m sure it’s more mole hill than mountain in the grand scheme of things.
Kind regards,
Joel Bolton
Executive Asst. to Rosalind Gardner
Joel obviously ‘got it’ - the point that is.
My comment was never about the other marketer. I didn’t use his name or point to his blog because I didn’t want to waste YOUR time.
I used the erroneous information posted on his site as a way of driving home two points:
- Don’t follow blindly. Do your homework, and;
- The homework lesson isn’t all that hard if you just go with Google’s requirement to produce relevant and useful content for your visitors. I suspect many affiliate managers would prefer to see their products promoted likewise.
Here’s another point.
The fact that someone is a “very nice young man” (or woman) doesn’t make them smart or knowledgeable… and I’m sick and tired of all the charming, nice, personable and what-have-you-people who try to schmooze you out of your hard-earned bucks on crap information.
Yes, I’m just SO cruel and SO unfair. 
Ros
P.S. Thanks Joel!!! I certainly wouldn’t have responded as nicely as you always do!
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Aaaah… Shucks!
A little shameless self-promotion here, folks… based on a post I just read over at Revenews entitled, “Affiliate Summit Buzz on Best Presentation“.
While comments like that are always nice to hear, one of my favorites came from Pedro Sostre of Sostre & Associates via Lisa Picarille (Senior Editor at Revenue magazine), and later confirmed by Pedro himself.
About my presentation, Pedro, a seasoned Internet and affiliate marketer said “Although I didn’t learn anything new, I was reminded of many things I’d forgotten.”
I consider that a huge compliment coming from a professional like Pedro.
Getting back to basics, DOING the basics, is always more effective than constantly chasing the latest and greatest technologies.
You’ll notice that in Pedro’s work as site makeover artist for Revenue magazine.
He takes mish-mash sites and turns them into works of art using basic tried-and-true design techniques.
Want your own site made over by Pedro? Apply through Revenue.
Want your site to convert better?
Get back to basics- build customer relationships through list building - just like Colin said.
Cheers,
Ros
Learn more of ‘the basics’ in the Super Affiliate Handbook.
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Happy Canada Day, eh!
Canada celebrates its 139th birthday today and I just wanted to wish everyone a Happy Canada Day!
Ed and I started celebrating the big event last night by hosting a Canada Day Eve block party.
I picked up an XM Satellite Radio home kit yesterday and we pumped tunes through my Bose Wave radio all night. What a convenient outdoor stereo setup that is - and the sound quality is absolutely fabulous!
Although we Canadians aren’t typically ‘flag wavers’, Canada Day brings out our true colours.
Residents were asked to ‘wear Canada on their sleeves… shirt, pants, hat’ and (almost) everyone showed up sporting red and white (OK, Mr. R., what was up with the yellow ‘American Eagle’ shirt?). LOL
The house, yard and even the food was decked out in red and white maple leafs.
My favorite moment of the evening was when the kids all started singing “OH, Canada!” when the Canadian flag cake emerged. The adults joined in and some of the younger grownups even knew all the words.
I hope you’re planning to attend the festivities and fireworks in your town today… and be sure to show your colours!
And if you are a Proud Canadian affiliate marketer, here’s a thought for Canada Day 2007…
When I started writing this blog entry, I thought I might include a short list of well-know actors and actresses that most folks don’t realize are Canadian.
I did a Google search for “Canadian actresses”, and the second entry that came up was CanadianCelebs.com, a site about famous Canadian actors, musicians and sports figures.
If you check the site out, you’ll see that it isn’t being monetized in the least.
Now, if that were MY site, I’d be linking to music (try Celine Dion, or look for CPL offers like Advertising’s FREE tickets to Madonna’s Confessions Tour offer), movies (Amazon.com, Peerflix), sporting event tickets (StubHub) and sports paraphanelia (eg. eAdvertising’s Free NBA Player Jersey offer), all of which sell incredibly well online.
I’d also include a section that sells Canadian goods through CafePress (do a search for “Canada”).
So, there ya go… a nice little project to have up and humming along nicely by July 1st, 2007.
Happy Canada Day!
Cheers,
Ros
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Congratulations Shawn Collins!
Shawn Collins, Affiliate Summit co-founder (along with Missy Ward of CPAEmpire) won the Performance Marketing’s Most Vocal Affiliate award at the Third Annual LinkShare Golden Link Awards held in New York City Tuesday night.
WAY to go, Shawn!
… although you have to find it interesting that Shawn - THE Most Vocal Affiliate - isn’t listed as a speaker at his own event.
Cheers,
Ros
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NPT Newsletter: Bloggin’ Road Trip
After getting Ed’s stuff loaded into the moving truck (before an audience), he and I spent 8 LONG days travelling across Canada enduring mostly insipid road food and bad coffee.
TJ’s Hangar Sports Bar and Grill was an exception to the food rule and my Starbucks‘ Grande Mocha sporting ‘The Way I See It #76‘ was well worth the trip to Thunder Bay, Ontario, however.
“The irony of commitment is that it’s deeply liberating – in work, in play, in love.The act frees you from the tyranny of your internal critic, from the fear that likes to dress itself up and parade around as rational hesitation. To commit is to remove your head as the barrier to your life.”
- Anne Morriss
The real saving grace was two days of hiking and fine dining in beautiful Banff and Lake Louise, Alberta.
Having the XM satellite radio was absolutely awesome. If I didn’t know 90% of the words to all the tunes of the 70’s - I certainly know them now!
I’m definitely ordering the components so that I can listen to it at home now too.
(Note: If you’re in Canada and love the CBC, get Sirius Satellite Radio. CBC isn’t on XM.)
Internet access was fairly consistent except in Tobermory, Ontario (population 3436) which suffered a total outage the night we were there.
However, I managed to tap into the docked Chi-Cheemaun Car Ferry’s wireless system using my Sony Vaio. Although the connection terminated when we set sail, I still managed to get a little bit of work done.
In case you missed them, these entries were posted to the blog in the past two weeks:
- ‘CNN’ of Affiliate Marketing
- Training for Affiliate Managers
- How NOT to Post Testimonials: DVDDropShip Example
- Update on Colin McDougall
- Corey Rudl Remembered
- Amazing Clubs Program
- About Your Google Adwords Account
- Time for the “PowerPause”
Over the next week, be on the lookout for the following posts:
- Commissions Completely Tanked!
- Affiliate Marketers Respond to CJ’s LMI
- Ed Gets Keen about Internet Marketing
- …and more!
‘Til next time… promote and prosper!
Cheers,
Ros
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