Interesting Affiliate Marketing Video by Roslind Gardner

I recently came accross the below video by Rosalind Gardner. She gives some very good advice about how long it takes to start making money via Affiliate Marketing.

You may want to check out her YouTube channel for other interesting videos. She is also on Twitter and Facebook. Check her out.



Check out her book below;

Books: Why She Buys

Editorial Reviews from Amazon.com

From Publishers Weekly

The founder of Female Factor Strategic Consulting is a convincing cheerleader for marketing more effectively to women. She points out that women purchase or are the key influencers in about 80% of all consumer product sales in the U.S. alone—but 90% of marketing execs trying to reach them are men. In her crusade to teach marketers to become female-literate, Brennan offers very practical advice, urging readers to think twice before using overtly masculine competitive messages, to avoid violent images and language, and to realize that women, focused on practicality rather than cool bells and whistles, require fairly sophisticated marketing: pink is not a strategy, she reminds us tartly. The five important global demographic changes affecting female consumerism—more women in the work force; delayed marriages and therefore more spending on self; lower birthrates resulting in fewer kids (but more stuff); a divorce economy, which translates into needing two of everything; and the growing rate of active older women—mean that the female market must be well catered to. BrennanÖs style is smart and straightforward, and her pragmatic advice is spot-on; marketers should take note. (July)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Review

“Bridget Brennan’s book provides a highly readable road map to help marketers and salespeople understand women’s beliefs, values, and sensitivities. Given that women account for a high percentage of purchases, while many products are developed and sold by men, a reading of Bridget’s book will go a long way to closing this gap and improving the satisfaction of both genders.” —Philip Kotler, S. C. Johnson & Son Professor of International Marketing, Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University

“Bridget Brennan’s highly informative and entertaining book provides keen–and unusual–insights into both the psychological makeup of women consumers and the demographic facts that everyone in business needs to know in order to execute marketing strategies in this challenging economic environment. Long live the Female Economy!” —Joseph V. Tripodi, chief marketing and commercial officer, The Coca-Cola Company

"Ms. Brennan is all about the commerce she observes. 'If the consumer economy had a sex, it would be female. If the business world had a sex, it would be male. And therein lies the pickle.' [She] explores the marketing opportunities offered by trends…all of which leave women making even more buying decisions." –Wall Street Journal

"Is the customer always right? Yes, She is: An entertaining and …rich account of…untapped opportunities. Fun and anecdotal." --Financial Times

"Lively, insightful and relentlessly engaging…should be required reading for anyone burdened with a Y chromosome." –Fortune Small Business

"Brennan details the major trends behind female spending and provides strategies for companies to crack the code." –Forbes Woman

“[Brennan] explains why the existing misunderstanding of gender cultures isn't just a gender gap but a gender "canyon," and provides case studies of female-focused initiatives from marketers such as Callaway, Ryland Homes, Lululemon, Lexus and MasterCard" – Advertising Age

“Word of mouth can make or break a brand, and this book confirms the fact that women talk to other women more about products than men do” --Journal of Consumer Marketing

"Why She Buys [guides] retailers and consumer goods manufacturers on how [women] are increasingly powerful consumers and how they think and shop."–LA Times

“Nab the Women’s Market” – Investors Business Daily

“Since we (women) are driving the economy and the economy could use a boost, it’s all good news” – ABC NEWS NOW

“[Women] are the most important constituency because they make all the decisions….a much needed perspective” – Fox Business Morning

“Witty and insightful” – Marie Claire India


From the Hardcover edition.

Book Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Crown Business (September 13, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0307450392
• ISBN-13: 978-0307450395
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.1 x 0.9 inches

Affiliate Blog How To: A Travel Related Blog

My online friend, fellow blogger and contributor to several of my other blogs Ron Moorby has a blog about a trip that he went on. Canada Summer 2007, is a collection of photos, and observations by Ron about what he did on this trip.

I thought it might be interesting to turn this blog into a travel blog and see if we could generate some passive income for Ron.

When I say passive income, I mean that Ron can take this blog that he created for fun, and place affiliate links on it. By placing affilate links on the blog he can sell books, photo equipment and other travel related goods and services. And over time it will generate for him some income that he does not have to do too much work to maintain. It will be there for as long as there is an internet possibly. And by using some of the features of search people will be able to find it for years to come.

Lets start our plan, by doing a pros and cons survey.

Here are a few of the pros;
- Ron is well traveled
- Ron has many photos of trips that he has made around the world
- There are many affiliates that offer goods and services that Ron could promote on his blog.
- Ron is a prolific blogger, he knows how to create post and put them into his blog.
-

Here are a few of the cons;
- There is a steep learning curve that Ron will have to climb.
- Ron will have to join affiliate programs
- Ron will have to learn how to post affiliate links
- Ron will have to market his blog
- It will be a huge investment in time
-

OK, now that we have a few of the pros and cons of doing this laid out. It helps to understand where we might need to start if we want to do this.

step one - Join affiliate programs - Here I want to keep it simple in the beginning, so we will have Ron join the Amazon.com affiliate program first.

And net start a google AdSense account.

I think these two affiliate programs are a good way for a beginning affiliate to get exposed to some of the ideas involved with affiliate marketing.

After Ron has taken this step, we will move on to the next step as well as get more into the total overview of our plan.

Video of Interview with Larry Joseloff of Shop.org

I thought this interview with Larry Joseloff of Shop.org about how the affiliate marketing space is changing in 2008 was kind of interesting. What do you think?



This and other interesting videos can be found at The State of Affiliate Marketing in Online Retail

How to build a music blog: An Example For Beginning Affiliates. Pt. 6

OK in today's post I just want to give you a look at the example music blogs that I built for my "How to build a music blog" series. I will explain the affiliate links that I used in a later post. And also give you some insight into why I did certain things in certain ways. Please check it out and let me know what you think.

SqueezeMyLemon Blog

BackBeat Blog

Note the affiliate links that I am using. Also notice the mp3s that I link to as well as some of the images.

And if you still are not convinced that using blogs is a very popular thing, read this; One blog created 'every second' this from the BBC who based it on the number of blogs being tracked by Technorati.

How to build a music blog: An Example For Beginning Affiliates. Pt. 5

OK, today I want to continue talking about mp3 music blogs as a vehicle for affiliate marketing. I know that some of you may be thinking what is this guy talking about. Well one of the things that I have advocated since I started this blog is that you should try to link various communities.

Well that is one of the things that I am trying to do in this series of post. I want to link the affiliate marketers and the audiobloggers. In my mind they are a natural match and it seems logical to me that every audioblogger should also be an affiliate marketer. And visa versa many affiliate marketers could benefit from having an audioblog or two.

A lot of information that you will read on affiliate marketing is not very concrete. No one is telling you exactly how to do it. No one is giving you good accurate information. Also technology is moving so fast that it is difficult to understand the best practices. This is true of both audioblogging and of affiliate marketing. That is why I thought it would be a great idea to provide some examples of how to do this.

Mp3 blogers, audiobloggers, what ever you want to call them, have an excellent format for affiliate marketing. So that is why I am continuing with the series. You could of course scroll down to see the post in this series, but if you are reading this for the first time here are the post in the order that I wrote them.

Please click links below to read parts 1 & 2.

How to build a music blog: An Example For Beginning Affiliates. Pt. 1

How to build a music blog: An Example For Beginning Affiliates. Pt. 2

How to build a music blog: An Example For Beginning Affiliates. Pt. 3

Some Lite Reading RE MP3 Blogs

So here in part 5, I want to give another interesting article that I think speaks to the point that I have been trying to make that audioblogging is blowing up. Listen. And learn. form the BostonGlobe.com.

And a small blurb from the article;

Bay Area music journalist and scholar Oliver Wang, 32, whose site Soul Sides many bloggers look to as a model for its clear presentation and Wang's thoughtful essays, spent 10 years as a college radio DJ. He began posting sound files in February 2004, making him a granddaddy of the genre.

This quote led me to Soul Sides So You Want To Start an Audioblog page. Which is the take of one of the people who started the whole audioblogging phenomena. Mr. Wang's take on it, I think complements what I have tried to say in this series and it is good to read the ideas of a sucessfull audioblogger and learn form his experience.

And Tofu Hut (another popular audioblog) also has a guide to audioblogging from back in 2004. Check out his, HOW TO MUSICBLOG: pt. 1.

Finally I would like to say, that I know there is a different mind set of some audibloggers, they are not interested in commerce. And some of them may even feel that they are selling out by doing affiliate marketing. But when you consider that many audioblogs get hundreds and even thousands of hits a day.

How to build a music blog: An Example For Beginning Affiliates. Pt. 3

Please click links below to read parts 1 & 2.

How to build a music blog: An Example For Beginning Affiliates. Pt. 1

How to build a music blog: An Example For Beginning Affiliates. Pt. 2

In this third part of my continuing series "How to Build an Affiliate Music Blog" I want to cover and concentrate on the tools that can be used by a begining affiliate to create a low (to no cost affiliate blog). I say low cost because I will be concentrating on tools that are for the most part free to use.

I am assuming that if you are reading this you probably have not created an affiliate blog before. That is why I won't to keep the cost of putting it together low. That is why I will also be recommending the use of free tools.

There are those who will tell you that you get what you pay for. Most of these people are trying to sell you something. I on the other hand am trying to show you how to make money. So for every tool that I list here there is a corrosponding version that can and will cost you large sums of money. Feel free to spend what your budget will allow or you can use the tools I mention here and when you understand how to use them better you can upgrade to the pay versions.

One of the truly revolutionary things that has happened in the online world is the proliferation of free online space. It is mind boggling to think of all the free space that a small business can find and use online. Basically the only limitations are your imagination. Google, Yahoo, MSN and several other online companies are battling for the hearts and minds of consumers and one of the ways that they are trying to intice us is by providing free online space.

2. Selection of tools

a. Blogging platforms - One of the coolest things about the environment that bloggers find themselves in today is the many free blogging platforms are out there. It really is mind boggling. I've noticed that some bloggers have the attitude that you really need to use a pay blogging platform to be effective. But I can tell you that some of the most successfull music blogs out there use the free blogging platforms.

And if like me you are parsimonious then you may want to wait until your blog starts making money before you spend money on a blogging platform. Also there is steep learning curve and unless you already know many of the ends and outs of useing a blog then you may be wasting your money. But hey it's your money, and as a business man I always urge people to spend money, who knows some of it may trickle my way.

OK enough of the soap box, here are a few of the blogging platforms that are out there for you to use.

-Blogger
-Live Journal
-Journal Space
-Wordpress

I have chosen Blogger for my example blog because it is the simplist and most elegent solution to the problem. You can build a blog in a matter of mineutes and within an hour you can have one up and running and be publishing stuff on the internet. I know this to be a fact, because I just did it a couple of days ago and we are going to do it again.

It is beyound the scope of my little "How to series" here to go into all the ins and outs of blogging platforms. But you can read a very interesting article by Susannah Gardner that I think covers most of the considerations that a begining blogger should think about. Her "Time to check: Are you using the right blogging tool?" is a great read and will help you decide what blogging platform you may ultimately decide on using.

One last point about my choice of blogging platform. The various blogging platforms are actually communities of people. We will use this fact to attract members of the various communities to our new blog.

b. Affiliate Networks to use. Because this is a music blog and becasue I already have many relationships with merchants who sell music online, I will be using those merchants and the affiliates networks associated with them. I am using these merchants as an example.

You can and should use affiliate networks that you have examined and decided that they fit your goals and the way you want to run your program.

You can read this post to better understand Affiliate Networks and merchants. And get some of the things that you may want to consider when you decide which affiliates you want to use.

How well do you know your Affiliate merchants

Just to clarify the affiliate merchants that we will be using while making this example blog are;

Examples of affiliate merchants include;

iTunes Essentials

Visit the Sony Music Store today!

Music123

Musicmatch Jukebox Plus

Amazon Associate Program

Musicmatch Jukebox Plus

Rhapsody - which has a free down load promotion going now

Also there are affiliate Networks that will administer many of these merchants for you, for example; LinkShare is an e-commerce business solution for over 3.5 million online relationships. Become an affiliate of the LinkShare Network for FREE and earn revenue by linking to over 500 premier online merchants.

And then there is also All Posters.com. Because they have many posters of musicians they make a perfect affiliate for this kind of blog.

I will close this post by letting you know what is left to cover.

• Using Referes
• Linking Strategy
• RSS Feeds
• Photos and Blogs

I will cover these topics in future post. And I hope this information is helpful and would love to hear from anyone who is trying this.

How to build a music blog: An Example For Beginning Affiliates. Pt. 2

In my last post I introduced the idea of starting a music blog for affiliate purposes. In today's post I want to cover the planing phase.

I can hear you saying, "If I wanted to do planing I would have kept my day job in Corporate America." Well if, like me, you have several different blogs that you maintain you have to plan. As a matter of a fact, I can't do anything with out having a plan.

Now when I say plan, I do not mean a 100 page power point presentation, with color glossy photographs that have a paragraph on the back explaining what each picture is about.

No, what I have in mind is something that will guide you through a complex process. For some people that can be something as easy as just making a list of steps that you are going to follow. A check list of sorts. You may not even write it down. Me I have to make notes. I have reached that age where I have to write things down to remember them. You know what they say, "Memory is the second thing to go".

And besides what would I have to write about if I did not write about planing. One of the things that happens to many bloggers is that after a while they run out of steam. It is difficult to day in and day out come up with post that others will want to read. This is one of the problems that having a plan will help you avoid. I have to refer back to the plans that I initially wrote for some of my blogs to regain my focus and to make sure that I am creating new ideas that fit in with the stated purpose of the blog.

So let's get started. The first thing you need to plan is the Name of your blog.

Name Your Blog - It is important to give your blog a unique name that allows readers to get a glimpse into what the blog is all about.

One reason to give your blog name some thought is to ensure that you have a unique name. If you choose a name that is being used by some other site, or one that can be confused with something else you run the risk that your blog will not be found. And you may put in a lot of hard work building your blog only to find that you have to change the name at some later time. So put in a little work up front and choose a unique name.

Choose a name that is meaningful. I have seen many blogs that have names that do not give any idea of what they are about. And you can name your blog this way too. But you will have to build name recognition, and this task is easier when the name is relevant to the subject matter of the blog. The point is to think about it, and give your blog a name that helps your reader understand what your blog is all about. A meaningful blog name may even help you to stay focused as you post to your blog.

I suggest that after you have decided on a name that you enter it into a search engine and see what comes up. This step will help you see what other sites are using the words that you pick for your blog's name.

In my case I named my music blog "Squeeze My Lemon" because the blog that I am going to create is a blues music blog. Squeeze my lemon is a reference to an old Blues music lyric. If you have heard the Led Zeppelin tune "The Lemon Song" then you are no doubt familiar with this lyric. If not, don't worry it is just an example, but I am hoping that blues music fans will relate to that name.

Ideas for naming your blog;

• Name it after a band that plays the type of music you will blog about.


• Name it from a music lyric.


• Name it for a musical instrument.


• Name it for a performer, songwriter, or individual related to music.

This list could go on and on, but I just wanted to give you some ideas of things you could use to create a unique name that is relevant to the kind of music blog that you will create.

Purpose of Blog - Next I like to write a purpose of the blog. You may feel that you know what the purpose of your blog is. But I can tell you from experience that after you have been writing a blog for a while, it can become difficult to stay focused. And having a written purpose will help you to focus.

Having a written out purpose will also help you later when we start promoting the blog. You will have an answer when you are asked to describe your blog.

You could write something like the following;

The purpose of the Squeeze My Lemon blog is to be a blues music resource. It will be a collection of links to other blues music resources, including books, blogs, articles and other media. The main focus of the blog will be a place for blues music fans to download legal mp3 files.

Squeeze My Lemon is a blog that will review other blues mp3 blogs as well as provides links to free and legal online mp3s. Discussions of digital music and the hardware needed to play digital music will also be covered. Tips, and "how to" information will be provided to help the modern music enthusiast make informed choices.

It will also be a platform for affiliate links. Links to digital music providers as well as hardware and other music equipment will linked to.

List of possible purposes for your music blog (besides being a platform for affiliate links).

• 1. To keep others informed about the music industry. News, concert dates, venues, trends.


• 2. Hardware, mp3 players, car audio, home stereo equipment, portable digital players.


• 3. To interface with other fans of a certain band, group or performer. ie a bolg about Led Zeppelin.


• 4. Provide links, references to music.


• 5. To give the history of a band, musical form or style of music.


• 6. Again there could be many purposes for your blog, this list is just provided to get you thinking.

Sources of content - Now that you have chosen a name for your blog and you have a good idea of the purpose of the blog it is time to think about the source of content. This is the biggie. The other steps in planning were the lead up to this step.

The sources of content depend on the purpose of the blog. And the purpose is reflected in the name you chose. For example if your purpose is to inform, then your sources may be news web sites, books, magazines and other resources that give you news.

If your purpose is to entertain then you may have to create content or find legal sources of entertainment out on the web.

If your purpose is just to collect a group of resources for your own edification (which is an excellent reason to keep a blog / journal) then again, you will have to do some searching to find sources.

In my case because I have chosen to blog about blues music. I will use the following sources (they are being presented here as examples).

• 1. Amazon.com down loadable music.


• 2. Other music blogs.


• 3. The local edition of my news paper.


• 4. Local Bands.


• 5. Various RSS Feeds.


• 6. flickr.com.


• 7. Google images.


• 8. Yahoo images.

So in today's post I have tried to give a brief plan for the creation of a music blog that I will use for affiliate links. I am doing this to help new affiliates get an idea of how they can create an affiliate program step by step. In future post I will go over the tools we will need to implement the blog plan that I have developed in this post.

Feel free to add your comments or ideas to make this plan better.




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Reading to get ideas and an interesting article.

Wow, I already failed in my attempt to blog everyday for 30 days in a row. Well actually I have written in most of my other blogs everyday for some time now, but I really want to write in this blog everyday also.

I believe that content is more important than anything. And if that is true then I need to create some everyday. But even though I think about affiliate marketing everyday, I don't always write those ideas down.

One of the things that helps me to write about affiliate marketing or create content for any of my blogs is reading about the subject matter. I kind of have to keep my ear to the ground for ideas, by reading on the subject. But sometimes I even fall behind in doing that.

I recently however read a very interesting article Monetization Options for your Web Content by Carsten Cumbrowski at Revenews.com.

In the article Mr. Cumbrowski looks at the different ways to monetize content on the Internet. The common methods to monetize content on the Internet that he covers are; access/subscription fee, display advertising, sponsorships, contextual ads, and affiliate links. Then he list a few advantages and disadvantages of each and looks at various problems related to each method.

He then reaches some conclusions and discusses other problems with affiliate marketing. I think this article makes for good reading and may lead to interesting discussions in the affiliate marketing community.