Flycell No Longer Accepting Sprint Traffic

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In an announcement dated today, the ringtones provider Flycell announced that they will no longer be accepting traffic from Sprint, Nextel, or Boost customers through its landing pages.  There is a process being put in place to allow affiliates to become certified to accept Sprint traffic, but it is going to be looked at on a case-by-case basis from Flycell.

This is another case of the carriers pulling back from ringtones aggregation sites like Flycell.  Mark my words, it won’t be long before one of the major carriers (Verizon, T-Mobile, AT&T or Sprint) announces that they will only be selling ringtones through their proprietary store.

CPA Empire affiliates are encourage to redirect their Sprint traffic to our Ringtones.Net offer, which does still accept Sprint customers.

To see the official Flycell notice with instructions for become certified, click below.

sprint_notice_08-29-08

Internet Explorer 8 – Trouble for Affiliates?

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Everyone is talking about privacy.  There have been hearings in Washington D.C. over NebuAd’s behavioral advertising, and now Microsoft is throwing their hat into the ring, with Mozilla likely to follow.

I am an avid fan of FireFox, personally.  I believe it is a much better, faster, more secure browser than Microsoft’s Internet Explorer.  All the of new features in IE7 were practically carbon-copied from FireFox.  But that is an argument for another day.  The matter at hand is privacy, and how it is going to affect your business in the months to come.

Internet marketers have enjoyed carte blanche to put cookies and tracking pixels all over their advertisements, landing pages and websites for years.  This allows them to track enough information to be effective at using the internet as a medium.

Lately, however, there has been an outcry in the media and the public at large over privacy concerns.  Just how much information are we sharing with these companies, and how are they using that data?  Obviously, the number one goal of most internet companies and marketers is to make money, so you can bet that is how these systems came into existence.  The concern is that there is too much personally indentifiable information being traded and stored in these databases.

Google, for one, has been ridiculed for their web search history function.  When users sign up for a Google account, they have to uncheck a box to opt-out of web search history.  If they don’t do this, and many will not, then Google is tracking every single query that you put into that search box, 24/7.

If you are like me, you probably use Google for just about everything.  Need directions?  Google it.  Need to order a pizza for dinner?  Google it.  Need to find a nice restaurant for your 5th anniversary?  Go to OpenTable, but still, I found that through Google the first time.

With Internet Explorer 8, Microsoft is going to be taking a pro-active approach by trying to block these cookies, and even tracking pixels, before they capture your information.  On the one hand, I see the appeal of having stricter privacy on the internet, but on the other hand, that is going to be a huge problem for people that do business and market on the internet.

How are we going to customize our sites to the user for a better experience if the cookies that recognize them when they return are blocked?  How will affiliate marketers and ad networks accurately track conversions of pixels are blocked?  These pixels don’t capture any information, they are like a switch that goes off when someone gets to the confirmation page of the offer.

If the rumors are true and Mozilla is planning to follow suit with their next release of FireFox in early 2009, it could be a very interesting year for affilate marketing.

I’m sure that we will find a way around it.  If there is one thing that internet marketers are lacking, it certainly isn’t ingenuity.  We have been able to find a workaround to new technology and have found ways to exploit loopholes at a breakneck pace.  The technology and the minds are on our side, and as much as the browser companies can try to thwart it, there is always going to be a way to target marketing on the internet.  That is why it was designed, and it is what makes the world of e-commerce go ’round.

Just Do Something!

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I’ve been reading blogs all day about what you should do to start making money online. There is a lot of info out there. Some of it is legit, and most of it is complete crap. The one piece of advice that sticks in my mind is this: stop reading about it and get out there and do it!

It doesn’t matter what your niche is if you never create your site.  It doesn’t matter what your keywords are if you never create an AdWords campaign.  It doesn’t matter which banner you use if you never place it on your website.  There are a million and one different ways to market things on the internet.  What separates the men from the boys is action.

As you know, I am an Affiliate Manager for CPA Empire, one of the largest Affiliate Networks in the world.  We have hundreds of new affiliates apply for our network every single day, and a lot of them get approved and assigned an AM (like myself).  The thing that never ceases to amaze me is how quickly today’s excited new affiliate turns into tomorrow’s $0.00 affiliate.  I would say that, on average, 80% of my new affiliates never respond to the first email that I send them.

Don’t worry, this is not a post dedicated to ranting and raving about the ins and outs of being an AM.  It is meant to be an encouragement.  When people get into this industry, they are so full of hope and wonderment.  The idea of making money from their computer at home is so foreign to them that it’s almost hypnotizing.  Just like with anything new, they dive into forums, subsribe to newsletters, maybe even spring for a conference or two.  But, again, it all adds up to hollow effort if you aren’t practicing what you learn.

I’m sure that most of us know how to ride a bike, so you can relate to this.  When my dad tried to teach me how to ride a bike, he explained everything that he could about the mechanics of the bike and what kept it upright.  All that knowledge could not prepare me for what it felt like to get on the seat and try to pedal away from him that first time.  What did help was him running beside me and holding the bike up while I got a feel for the balancing act of riding.

You can use resources like forums, newsletters and conferences to keep you on track, but you have to start pedaling before you’re going to go anywhere.  Even if you suck at it, you will be ahead of 90% of the people that populate those forums.  In case you haven’t noticed, even the experts are still learning.  We are in one of the fastest growing and fastest changing industries in the history of mankind, and it’s not slowing down anytime soon.

So strap in, sit down, get an energy drink or some coffee, and do some actual internet marketing.  It might do you some good!

Meet Emily – The Future of Online Advertising

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The following video is not an actor.  It is a computer-generated animation.  I don’t care if you are a video gamer, cg movie afficionado, or whatever, you have never seen anything like this.  Wait until the part at the end where they change the textures on her face.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bLiX5d3rC6o]

Now just imagine what a landing page for an affiliate promotion could look like with that technology.  We already have landing pages with those cheesy looking video spokespeople, and they supposedly increase conversions by 50%.  This is the next level.  Just thought you’d want to take a look.

Obama’s VP Pick – Bad for Online Community?

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This is a very interesting angle to the 2008 Presidential Race.  John McCain could potentially get a leg up on the tech-savvy community by going after Barack Obama’s running-mate Joe Biden for his past Senate voting record against Net Neutrality.

According to CNET, “On Net neutrality, Biden has sounded skeptical. In 2006, he indicated that no preemptive laws were necessary because if violations do happen, such a public outcry will develop that ‘the chairman will be required to hold this meeting in this largest room in the Capitol, and there will be lines wandering all the way down to the White House.’ Obama, on the other hand, has been a strong supporter of handing pre-emptive regulatory authority to the Federal Communications Commission.”

In multiple cases, Joe Biden has also sided with the FBI, Hollywood, and the RIAA regarding Copyright law.  In fact, according to CNET, “Biden was one of only four U.S. senators invited to a champagne reception in celebration of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act hosted by the MPAA’s Jack Valenti, the RIAA, and the Business Software Alliance…”

This is an issue that could have long-term repercussions in the online industry, even the affiliate marketing and online advertising industries could eventually feel the shockwaves.  If Biden starts pushing Bills to side with everyone but the little guy, who’s going to be next?  Affiliate Marketers?  Online entrepreneurs?  It’s a scary thing when you start to mess with Net Neutrality (which I am a big supporter of).

We need to take action to make sure that the free internet stays free in the years to come, especially as it becomes more and more a part of our daily lives and our livelihood.  You can read the more at Adotas and CNET.

New changes to Google AdWords Quality Score

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Google is doing it again.  Although they are sure to be controversial (they always are), these changes could benefit Affiliate Marketers a lot more than the last few rounds of changes.

Here are the changes:

  • Quality Score will now be more accurate because it will be calculated at the time of each search query
  • Keywords will no longer be marked ‘inactive for search’
  • ‘First page bid’ will replace ‘minimum bid’ in your account

The first point on the list is huge.  Instead of using a broad Quality Score to determine the placement of your ads, Google will be calculating the Quality Score on the fly based on a number of factors.  These factors include Keywords and Geographical Location.  In my opinion, it’s about time Google implemented an automatic Geo-Targeting method for ads, and it’s finally here.  How nice would it be to never have to worry about paying for clicks that get sent to a “country-specific redirect”.  There have been controls to specify what countries your ad gets placed in for years, but nevertheless it still happens.

The second change involves keywords no longer being labeled ‘Inactive for Search’.  This won’t necessarily be a huge boon to search marketers, but it does increase the overall pool of terms & keywords that can be targeted, even if they are extremely longtail.  More keywords equals more clicks and revenue for affiliate marketers.

Possibly the biggest change is the new ‘First Page Bid’ listing.  It has long been a guessing game to figure out the sweet spot between paying too much for clicks, and having your ads show up on the 2nd, 3rd or 4th page of results.  Some might say that this will cause an upward trend in keyword bid prices, because inexperienced marketers will now know how much they need to bid to get on the first page.  I don’t see this being a long term issue, because they will either run out of money or decide it’s not worth it to bid with the big boys because they can’t get the traffic to back out for them.

My feeling is, the more transparency that Google has, the better.  It’s no fun trying to guess what you need to do to be successful as a search marketer.  The more information we have about how the system works, the better that we will be able to use it and optimize our campaigns to be as profitable as possible.  It doesn’t matter how complicated the system is, the cream will rise to the top.  If you are a full time affiliate marketer, you should take these changes and run with them to gain a lead on the competition as quickly as possible.

If you want to read the changes for yourself, checkout the official post on the AdWords Blog.

Are ringtones dead?

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There’s been a lot of talk lately about whether we  have seen the peak in the ringtones market.  I personally don’t think that ringtones are dead just yet.  However, they are a lot harder to get in to if you are a new affiliate.  The keywords on the big 3 search engines are getting to be quite expensive, and without the higher payouts that the top affiliates are getting from their networks, it is almost impossible to be competitive.  There are, of course, other ways to promote ringtones besides search, but it’s not exactly going to be like the glory days when bids were low and conversions were high, and the ads could say “Free Ringtones!” without mentioning the $9.99 that would mysteriously end up on their phone bill the next month.

These changes are bittersweet, because although they have made it a tougher industry to compete in, they have also legitimized it to the point where now the carriers are trying to figure out how they can get a bigger piece of the action.  The lingering question is, once the carriers (T-Mobile, Verizon, Sprint, AT&T, etc.) decide to take control of the ringtones game, would they need affiliate marketers anymore?  Obviously we all know the value that we bring to the advertisers, more so than than even they do, I’m sure.  But the carriers hold the power, they control the medium, and if they decide to flip the killswitch, it’s game over.

One bright spot amidst all these rumors of war & doomsday predictions is the International Ringtones market.  Countries like Canada, Australia, and the UK are nowhere near the saturation level that we are experiencing here in the United States.  The point of this article is not to get into a heated debate about specific offers and how they are converting in what countries, it’s just to gain a high-level perspective of where the market is going.  For those that keep their ear to the ground and jump into new countries and markets at the right time, the rewards could be great.

2008 Breakaway Conference – Affiliate.com Announcement

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The 2008 CPA Empire Breakaway Conference took place on Thursday and Friday in Denver.  There was quite a turnout of top affiliates from all over the country, as well as special guests Declan Dunn, Jeremy “Shoemoney” Shoemaker and Jon Fisher.

The big news of the conference was the announcement, given during the opening banquet on Thursday night, that CPA Empire is changing to Affiliate.com.  Along with this change are going to come some welcome improvements to the network, including a brand new in-house tracking system.

If you’ve never been to an event thrown by Scott Richter, put it on your to-do list.  He knows how to have a good time, and we had a good time over the 2 days and 2 nights of the conference with after-hours events at 5 Degrees and Theorie Nightclub, as well as the Mountain Ranch Club at Coors Field for the Friday Rockies / Padres Game.

Anyone can qualify to come to the Breakaway next year, it’s just a matter of being active on CPA Empire, running offers with us, and making a bunch of money!  That’s all for now, I’ve got a stack of emails to get through and a crazy 2 days to recover from…

Come on in…

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Welcome to Inside Affiliate.  My name is Josh Todd and I’m an Affiliate Manager at CPA Empire, a cost-per-action affiliate network.  This blog is going to be an outlet for all things Affiliate Marketing, whether it’s trends in the industry, new ideas, old ideas, gossip, hate mail, flame wars, the whole thing.

So pull up a chair, feel free to subscribe to the feed, and prepare to be amazed!  Ok, that was cheesy, but at least prepare to be occupied for 5-10 minutes whenever there’s a new article posted.  For free.  Normally you have to pay for that kind of entertainment, right?