Super Affiliate Marketing Blog

I recently coined this phrase “the chameleon approach” when discussing with other publishers/webmasters about how to increase their CTR’s and revenue on each of their sites. First let’s begin by explaining what a chameleon is. It’s a reptile that has an awesome defense mechanism which enables it to meld itself into it’s surrounding environment to avoid being eaten by predators. So what does this little guy have to do with webmasters and marketing?

Well, over the last year or so Yahoo released it’s beta of YPN as a great alternative to those who didn’t feel like lowering themselves to the strict regime of Google AdSense. When YPN leaves beta stages in the late Fall of 2006, I’m sure MSN will come out with their beta of whatever contextual publisher solution they are planning in their evil M$ labs. But don’t be afraid, because this is actually awesome news. We are going from one dominant force in contextual advertising (AdSense), to three total. Now the point of these networks is a huge benefit for webmasters, even more so than for advertisers, because webmasters now have a chance to truly bank from their sites. Sure, AdSense was amazing until recently, but Google gives us very little feedback on what we can do to enhance our ads, aside for changing around the colors and sizes of the ads, big woop Google, thanks for that.

Your site is your bread and butter. It’s your platform for generating income, and for many of you, a savior to break away from your boring 9-5 job working for the man. So if it’s so damn important to you, why are you still following the generic form of advertising? You guys are much smarter and even more creative than you may think.

So back onto the topic of chameleon marketing. Your goal should be to generate income, correct? Alright, so why not meld your ads INTO your content, instead of putting up the generic leaderboards and 468 banners and those ever so obvious vertical flashy banners. People KNOW those are ads, and if they’re interested, sure, they’ll click it, but you should want to get clicks out of people interested in your content, not only the ones interested in the ads. By taking the ads and turning them into chameleon ads, you will increase your CTR and income by a TON (I’m too lazy to give out figures).

I most recently gave some advice to a good friend by telling him to get rid of all of his AdSense banners and squares, and to meld them into his content. After a day or so of testing out different methods, he’s now averaging a 1.2% CTR as opposed to his old avg of 0.4% CTR. That’s a huge difference I think! He’s in the UK so he can’t enjoy the benefits of YPN yet, but I can assure you, YPN CTR’s are INSANE and the revenue is HUGE too.

So by taking ads from YPN or AdSense (YPN is SO much better to work with, and their CTR’s and payouts are just awesome) and making them LOOK like they are part of your content, by switching the types of ad formats around, you will increase your overall CTR and payout. Your users will think that the ads are part of the site, which is really what Google and Yahoo’s approach was in the beginning.. to create an ad network to serve relevant ads to the topic on websites relevant to what advertisers are offering. Sooner or later this will become the norm, and your CTR’s may go down, but for the time being, it’s time to jump onto the bandwagon of cash and earn what you’ve been waiting for!

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Things are moving along nicely. I took some time out to read some feedback from my phase 2 post of last night.. And I’ve come up with what I think is a solid solution to cater to most webmasters, big and small.

I’m not doing the consulting as a primary business. I am charging serious webmasters and affiliates because they are just that, serious, and it’s really tough to weed out the ones who are serious about making money on here from the tons of emails I get every damn week. Most people are looking for quick, free advice. Those people will need to focus on my blog or radio shows. I cannot answer everything I get, because quite frankly, I just don’t have the time to do so, even though I’d like to.

With the consulting, I won’t be taking an active role in selling anything. You should choose the option you think you need most. I must stress that if you are not good at self starting, or keeping yourself motivated, please don’t bother buying anything, as I don’t want you to waste your money and time, and most importantly, my time.

I have come up with 3 solid packages to choose from.. All packages have a 10 client limit per month. It’s only fair of me to disclose this now, because my goal is not to take on as many clients as possible, but to cater to the needs of those who really do need it, and delegate my spare time accordingly.

Consulting Packages:

1- $150 for 12 questions answered.
2- $300 for 25 questions answered.
3- $500 for 1 on 1 consulting per block.

Members Area:

$40/mo - This is totally seperate from the consulting. A great option for webmasters and affiliates who can’t drop $150 for questions, but still want access to information that will be private from all of the lurkers (and maybe some of your competitors). With this package you’ll gain access to content updated bi-weekly. It will focus on case studies from my consulting clients (all names, markets/niches will be changed for confidentiality purposes) where I will provide an in-depth approach to many of their questions and solutions provided. There will be a private forum too, in which only members will have access to. I’ll also have private radio shows for members only answering questions and discussing topics from a much more in-depth approach. There will also be contests for members only that will allow them to win consulting blocks from me. One lucky member each month will also be allowed to take part in my private radio show and grill me for 20 minutes straight. I figure that the content from this option will only take a limited amount of my time, and it will also be a really great member run private community, free of all spammers and cheaters. Excpect many of my super affiliate friends to be hanging out on here, and as with everything else I am involved in, speaking your mind about everything and anything is allowed. You won’t be banned or censored for anything except blatant harassment of another member.

There will be a rev-share affiliate program model seperate from the consulting. Not sure yet on when this will launch, but I’ll try and set it up quickly.
Consulting explained:

The first option is great for smaller webmasters and affiliates who don’t have a lot of cash on hand, but need answers to get the ball rolling on their projects. The investment is pretty low considering my other options.
The second option allows clients to submit approximately 20 questions that they need answers for, which they can’t find on forums, blogs, or in any ebooks. It’s a great way for a self starter who is serious about getting answers they need to begin or even continue with their projects.

The third option is more of a hand holding approach. My time is limited, but I will give the client a total walkthrough of what they need to do from start to finish for a new or existing project. Consulting will be available via AIM/Skype of phone. Instead of doing everything at one shot, we’ll probably go through a few steps over the course of a week, so I can leverage my time and yours, and you’ll be able to play around with some ideas we discuss, and hopefully come up with your own stuff that we can discuss too. Each block is equal to 3 hours of consulting per week. It may not sound like a lot, but I can assure you, it will cover all of your necessary bases. It’s also fairly cheap if you have questions on SEO approaches and want to learn straight away how to do something the way I do it.

With all three options everything is 100% customized for the client, and there is no general bullshit answers for anyone. I’ll have a confidentiality agreement that we will both sign, so that you can feel safe and secure when discussing your project. Think of this as part psychologist and part strategist. I’m sure most of you know by now I have a very aggressive and NO BS approach to business and marketing online. You won’t get the sugar coated nice guy approach either. Everything is totally straight forward and easy to understand.

PS - I’ll be using most of this post’s copy on my site, so if you notice it on here and there, don’t email me to tell me I’m duping my own content

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Some quick news for everyone. I’m now in phase 2 of my affiliate consulting service. Phase 1 consisted of trying to find the best price to offer to affiliates from a consulting stand point of what works and what doesn’t work. I’m so anti-ebooks because the information is too broad, and too general for anyone to do well and recoup their costs from the service/product. Generally, if the customer doesn’t file for a return, then they are left fairly unsatisfied. I’d like to change all of that and use this as an opportunity to truly help webmasters. As many of you know, my time is quite limited, and I’m pretty much doing this so that I can help SOME people who are quite serious about increasing their revenue and traffic, and just plain tired of falling for all of those “look at me, I’m so rich and you’re not” approaches.

Alright, so back on topic..

My design is just about ready (thanks to the awesome designers over at - Professional Designers). I’ve also decided on a price, it’s a bit higher than I originally hoped (original was at $300, currently it is $500) to launch at, but I think it weeds out those who are truly ready to change their income and traffic situations, or those who need guidance in creating a site that can earn them a healthy income. All of my consulting work is 100% tailored for the client’s needs, there is no cookie cutter bullshit here. No generalizations. No on size fits all. All advice will be drafted based on the client’s needs. This is more of a teaching/hand holding process to teach people what to do, and what not to do.

I do plan on having an affiliate program, but it will be by invitation only. I do not want everyone and their mother spamming out my services, because quite frankly, I don’t know if I can even service more than 10 clients a month. I will be taking pre-orders once the site launches, and it will be based on a first come, first serve basis. I won’t reveal commission information just yet, but my affiliates will have a chance to earn a generous percentage from each referral, plus a chance to win a free consulting block from me each month.

So if you know some serious webmasters, who are sick and tired of reading forums, blogs, and buying useless ebooks, and want direct help from a teacher-student approach, then your best bet is to email me directly, and tell me why you think you’d make a good affiliate for my program.

I’m only interested in filling 25 affiliate slots, so don’t wait too long. Also, all clients will be invited into the affiliate program, and will be given a different commission tier, seperate from the primary affiliates. I know it sounds strange, but I’d like to assume as much control over my consulting firm, my clients, and my affiliates as possible, so that nothing gets whored out.

Just a reminder, this isn’t for everyone. I do plan on having a much cheaper option for everyone, but have no idea when that will launch. Don’t feel ashamed if you don’t have $500 to spend on this. You can still ask questions in my radio question blog post and I will try and answer everything on my upcoming radio show. Just be realistic and patient.

That’s all for now.. I still have some of the worst tree pollen allergies ever, so I’m waiting until my voice is back to normal before I start with any of the radio shows. My doctor says it shouldn’t be very long now until they pass, so keep checking back and see if anything has been launched. And to those who’ve asked, all of the radio shows will be streamed via a flash player on this blog and the mp3’s will be hosted by me for everyone to listen to 24/7 wherever you may be in case you’ve missed the live broadcasts.

Okay, I think I covered all of the recent updates. Thanks for reading, and keep pluggin away at your projects!

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