Screen Glare

What is AGLOCO?

For those of you who have been living under a rock and do not know what AGLOCO is, AGLOCO is the new company from the folks behind AllAdvantage.com. The purpose behind ALGOCO is to build an economic network that enables individuals on the Web to share in the profits that their data and their actions help create. AGLOCO is more than a Web site and it is more than a Viewbar company. It is a network that links people, their information and their friends together to form something bigger.

Originally I was skeptical, but back in college I made a great deal of money gaming systems like AllAdvantage.com through the use of dynamic page loading scripts that basically turned one of my computers into a 24/7 random web page viewing machine. So, I decided to join-up!

Myspace Was Built to Market AGLOCO

The best way for an affiliate to start making money from AGLOCO is to refer friends, family members, and colleagues to sign-up for AGLOCO, and have them sign-up their friends, family members, and colleagues. Some would consider this to be nothing more then another Viewbar MLM scheme, but it’s not. Heck these guy’s even got on Robert Scoble’s PodTech. Now I REALLY wanted to get in this action and I knew just the place to find all of my friends, family members, and colleagues; Myspace!

The great thing about Myspace, in addition to having all of my immediate revenue generators, is the fact that the heavy Myspace users are easy to market too with “get rich schemes.” I mean what 17 year old can resist making easy money through a simple sign-up and download?

How to Promote AGLOCO Through Myspace

Well the first thing you need to do is go to ALGOCO and sign-up. Once you have signed-up, you will receive a confirmation email that requires you to click through to activate your account. Now that you have set-up your account, you will be given an reference code that can be used for on and offline promotion of AGLOCO.

Now the easiest thing you can do is go to your Myspace profile and edit your profile to include a quick pitch about AGLOCO. Here is a simple example of some text you can use:

• Get Paid To Search The Web Just Like I Do, Sign-up For AGLOCO Today!

You could always get more creative, but honestly, why do that when the real ways to drive traffic are through bulletins, comments, and of course MAP’s (Myspace Affiliate Profiles).

Promoting AGLOCO Through Myspace Bulletins

This is method requires the least amount of work, but is also less effect then the other direct, more aggressive methods. Essentially, all you do is log-in to you existing Myspace account, click “Post Bulletin” and enter text similar to this:

Get Paid to Search the Web Just Like I Do

Hey everyone, no this is not some automated MYSPACE spam. It is really me, insert name, writing this.

Recently a friend of mine told me about the return of a program that I used in college to make some decent cash for doing something I day everyday - surf the web.

AGLOCO is building a new form of online community that they call an Economic Network. They are not only paying Members their fair share, but they’re building a community that will generate the kind of fortune that YouTube made. But instead of that wealth making only a few people rich, the entire community will get its share.

What’s the catch? No catch - no spyware, no pop-ups and no spam - membership and software are free and AGLOCO is 100% member owned. Privacy is a core value and AGLOCO never sells or rents member information.

I have been using it for over a week now and I am already making money from it. What’s better is that you can also make money from getting others to participate in the program.

I would not be writing this if I did not think it was a great idea, so do yourself a favor and sign-up for ALCO today!

Thanks,

insert name

Hit submit, and watch the sign-up’s pour in.

Promoting AGLOCO Through Myspace Comments

This is an excellent way to directly market the program to your friends who ignore bulletins, and to expose the program to individuals who are not in your direct network. Now, there are a number of scripts that can automate this for you, but that is beyond the scope of this post, so let’s just say you have to do this manually. Again, log-in to your Myspace account, go to your friends section and begin posting comments on all of your friends pages. Due to the nature of Myspace, I suggest using an linked image and a brief one line message.

Here is an example:

• Get Paid to Search The Web Just Like I Do!

This is very time consuming, but hey, nothing worth getting is ever easy…

Promoting AGLOCO Through Fake Myspace Profiles

This is my favorite. This is also pretty easy, and honestly, if done right, like any other Myspace Affiliate Profile, takes on a life of it’s own. The basis of all of my MAP’s is a lovely young lady. I usually make them appear to be a little more professional and sophisticated, so they are seem capable of pulling of a pitch of a product, service, or promotion. Once i have the images (use Google images) and content build I put the final touches on the site. Now that the site is live, I go and find guys, any guys, and start adding them as friends. I do this everyday, for a couple of weeks (not all day). After that, you will start to see more and more requests to add your profile as a friend….the true “viral” effect.

Sign-up and Start Marketing!

Now that I have given you the business plans to make a ton of cash, all I ask is that you use my refferal code BBBT3500 or this use this Sign-up Link to get started with AGLOCO. That’s not too much to ask is it?

Does Your Affiliate Program Have a Blog?

It better.

Blogs were built to be personal. Blogs were built to be social. People being social is what we call networking. Networking builds contacts. Contacts build business. So in a nutshell, Blogs are the online equivalent of a networking receiption for potential business partners. If your affiliate program does not have a blog, you are missing out on one of the easiest and most cost effective ways to build your affiliate program.

How To Build Your Affiliate Program Through a Blog

Building your affiliate program through a blog is really quite easy, here are some tips to get you started.

• Do Not “Hype” Your Program - There is a time and a place for everything. Your affiliate program blog is not the time or place to hype your program. The top notch affiliates, the ones you who are the true revenue generators, will see through this and move on. Save the hype…spend your time promoting your blog, not your program.
• Show How to Best Promote Your Program - It’s your program, so you should be the expert on how best promote the program as an affiliate. Show potential affiliates specific examples of how they can promote your program through their site.
• Give Affiliate Best Practices - It’s not enough to just show people how to use your affiliate program, give them the knowledge of how to become a better affiliate for any program. You will not only attract more affiliates writing about best practices, you will also be branding you and your program as an expert in affiliate marketing. Being a respected authority will build trust with perspective affiliates.
• Leverage Third Party Content - Do not be afraid to link to, discuss, or build upon content that is not your own, even if it is from a competitor. You can’t be expected to know everything and come up with every new idea, but part of having the best affiliate program and being the best affiliate manager possible is educating your affiliates on the lastest in affiliate marketing. Leverage other’s content to improve the performnce of your affiliate base.
• Bait Potential Affiliates - I have said it before that linking is the best way to get someone’s attention online. Want to land some large affiliate marketers? Start linking to and discussing what they are talking about. They might not notice the first time, but eventually they will.
• Avoid Reporting on Industry News - That is what Google News and dozens of other sites are for. Don’t waste your time. Write some more affiliate best practices.
• Be Creative, Original, Open, and Honest- This is the toughest one, but the most important one. I like to think that being open and honest will lead to being original. Original companies, people, and blogs are almost aways creative. Start with being open and honest, the rest will follow.

Are You Building an Affiliate Program Through A Blog?

If so, add your thoughts, ideas, experiences in the comments section about what has worked best for you in building your affiliate program through your affiliate program blog!

20% of Your Affiliates Will Produce 80% of Your Revenues

According to Shawn Collin’s AffStat Affiliate Marketing Benchmark Report, Affiliate Programs are starting to fade, and the number of large affiliate programs is also declining.

Here are some of the number’s:

• 9 percent of retailers now have 10,000 or more affiliates. This is a significant drop from the 15 percent last year.
• 37 percent of retailers now have 500 or fewer affiliates up from last year’s 24 percent

Affiliate Programs Are Concentrating on the 20%

But is this a mistake? After all, isn’t one of the purposes of an affiliate program to proliferate your brand across the Internet in a cost effective manner? One of the best parts of an affiliate program (and Internet Retailing in general) is the “long tail” effect of having the ability to have an “unlimited” amount of sites promoting your products. As long as it is not costing you anything, why would you want to make your program smaller?

Why You Should Concentrate on Both the 80 and the 20

Is it easier for 10,000 affiliates to generate one sale per month, or to have 500 affiliates generate 20 sales per month. Theoretically it is easier to have 10,000 affiliates generate one sale each, but getting all of those affiliates to produce consistently is often challenging. It is challenging in the same way that giving 500 affiliates all of unique tools and resources they need to generate 20 sales a month.

No matter what the current size of your affiliate program, you need to pay equal attention to growing your 20% and your 80%. Give your top 20% affiliates unique tools, resources, contests, bonuses, and a dedicated account manager. The cream of the crop wants to know they are the cream of the crop. Treat them like you would your best sales associates, because they are (in an online sense.) Consistently grow your 80% - your affiliate program should be in a consistent state of affiliate growth.

Promote, promote, promote.

Keep your affiliate acquisition costs low by starting an affiliate program blog, where you can attract new affiliates through affiliate tips, news, and information. Find some excellent affiliate directories and get your program included. Even if an affiliate only generates one sale a year, that sale is valuable…How much more will that customer buy from you in the future?

Affiliate Programs Are Not Going Anywhere

They represent one of the (if not the) lowest costs per customer acquisition across all marketing channels. The affiliate marketing game is always changing, and therefore affiliate managers need to stay up-to-date with the latest technologies and trends.

I would highly suggest any affiliate program or affiliate program manager pick of a copy of the 2007 AffStat Affiliate Marketing Benchmark Report. For only $129, you get an in-depth look at the state of industry. There is no doubt this report will pay for itself 10 fold.

To Be a Successful Affiliate You Need To Scale

One of the easiest ways to scale your Affiliate Marketing business is to automate and delegate as many tasks as possible. When I first began as an affiliate marketer, one of the most time consuming tasks was keeping track of all of the different campaigns, costs, commissions, revenues, and conversions. Although I tried not to get too caught up in “the numbers”, because I was running my affiliate efforts like a business I needed (wanted) to view my numbers daily.

(more…)

Let’s face it, most people get into affiliate marketing thinking they are going to get rich quick

Unfortunately, most affiliates lose more money then they earn. Some affiliates will make some pocket change, but soon quit because the time, effort, and dedication necessary to make it rich as an affiliate does not align with their need for instant gratification and success.

Here’s Why YOU Will Never Succeed at Affiliate Marketing

You want to become an affiliate to make money, not to fulfill a need of “users”. Everyone wants to make money, but if you decide to become an affiliate solely based on the pursuit of money, it will show early and you will not last long. Create something that users will find useful, learn how to sell through the site, and you will be well on your way to making big money.

You have no business acumen. Yes being an affiliate is certainly more fun then filling out TPS reports at your day job, but it is a business. Most do not know a lick about running a business. A lack of general business knowledge will greatly hinder your success.

You don’t know how to sell (or market). You make money when someone buys something, don’t you think you should know how to make them buy? Text links and banner ads do not click themselves. As an affiliate, you are an extension of a company’s sales staff. Act like a salesperson, think e-commerce, and start selling!

You can’t scale. If you think one site is going to make you rich, you are dreaming. Hey, I am a dreamer too, but not about affiliate marketing. When it comes to affiliate marketing you need to have multiple sites, with multiple offers, in order to make the big bucks. What if every week you could create one site that made you $500 a month….Learn how to build sites that require low maintenance, and then work towards creating and promoting a lot of them.

You try to do it all yourself. How many people do you know that are sucessful by themselves? Chances are none. Why? Because you need help from others in order to make it big. You can waste your time doing things you suck at or, you can outsource what you suck at to others who are could at while you concentrate on doing what your good at. The results will be better and you will make more money.

You lack persistence and the willingness to succeed. Listen, I worked 100 hours a month for six straight months when I first started as an affiliate and made a whopping $100. Do you have the persistence and willingness to suceed that it takes to sacrifice that much time for so little gain just that you have the possibility of making big money in the future? Most people don’t and that’s why most affiliates aren’t that successful.

So What Is An Affiliate To Do?

Spend two hours a day, every day, for the next six months, reading about affiliate marketing, listening to affiliates speak, experimenting with your own site, and following the information, programs, and techniques discussed on this site. I might not have every answer, but I have the answers that will help you to avoid all of the mistakes I made. So sit down, shut-up, and let me help you to become blinded by profits!