Styckr.com Image Hosting
After some testing it looks like my Ad FREE, No Limit, unlimited image hosting site is complete. As of this posting I'm serving up several hundred pictures and the server is wide open for plenty more. I'd encourage everyone to check out Styckr.com for FREE, NO ADS, Image hosting.
At Styckr.com you can upload images up to 10mb, setup a private gallery, public, and get access to all the easy posting code. Ideally Styckr.com is perfect for hosting large photos for your MySpace profile or facebook account.
Granted eventually I may need to do some small amount of advertising, but for now enjoy the clean slate.
Slopsbox.com And Butterfly Marketing
More often than not curiosity gets the best of me, just like my kitty Halo, but I hate giving up any personal information to potential spammers. The ugly truth to Butterfly Marketing is that they will use and abuse your email for sending you time sensitive offers. I'm not interested in that. I want to know the meats and potatoes, methods used, how to compete, and just generally find out what's going on in my niche of choice.
The use of Slopsbox.com allows me to give up an email and check said inbox for a period of up to 24hrs. I can set any email address I want, like dontripmeoff@slopsbox.com or interwebsFTW@slopsbox.com and both will work and receive emails, less attachments. Now, I can sign up to questionable marketing sites, find out what they have to offer and leave without ever having to receive another annoying piece of failed marketing.
Thank you Pirate Bay for another useful tool in my arsenal.
Adsense Style Sheet Ads
Ok, maybe not CSS style sheet ads, but damn close. It's now possible to create an ad, place it on your site, and in the future change the ad directly from your Adsense control panel. So, for people like me with multiple ads across multiple sites, when changing the look and feel, it becomes simple. NO MORE EDITING INDIVIDUAL ADS!
Just wanted to bring this to the attention of those who haven't made an ad lately. You can see the official Google FAQ on the Ad Management here.
We now offer the option to create new AdSense units which you can customize and update within your account to see changes directly on your site. When you create a new AdSense unit, details of the ad unit (like colors and channels) will be stored in your AdSense account. This gives you faster, simpler ad management, allowing you to make changes to an AdSense unit on-the-fly without needing to re-paste the ad code or make additional changes to the page itself.
Ahh, simplicity.
WidgetBucks WidgetSucks Review
My first impression of WidgetBucks was a positive one, especially considering everyone, including my grandma, was promoting it. However, I'm always suspicious of bloggers promoting a BRAND NEW company before any kind of real testing can be done. Although, since the dust has settled some new light has came into the dark closet of WidgetBucks ads.
For starters, Andy Beard first reported of hidden links within the code, although later it was fixed. So don't forget, if you are using WidgetBucks, update your code, because otherwise you are unwittingly contributing to a massive link campaign for Mpire. This entire debacle was my first turn off.
Second, they promise the highest payouts and BETTER payouts than typical CPC programs. Which is fine and dandy, if they didn't report clicks and revenue in a fashion that bloated the figures. They can get by with it, because they hide it in their terms and conditions, but they have a magic button that cuts your earnings by 50% or more. Be sure and keep track of not just your daily earnings, but weekly and even monthly, because they will change.
The statistics for one of my channels, for a single day, went from $1.80 to $.54. This is a sizable cut that is not clear to the common publisher, because of their intricate system to hide the facts. The change in earnings took a process of more than 24 hours, although they were merrily displaying $.10 per click during single day reporting. Am I being a bit melodramatic? Perhaps, but it still pisses me off and just another reason for me not to trust them.
But guess what, they know how to manipulate the blogosphere. You would have thought a week after launch that WidetBucks was the best thing to happen to the internet since broadband. I'm gonna keep my distance and for all you bloggers who jumped on the affiliate band wagon, why not take the time to consider what you are promoting before getting greedy for a few dollars.
And that reminds me, I need another post to bash AuctionAds, because I have yet to see my tiered payout. pfft.
Nails Escrow.com Review
Recently I sold off one of my websites for a substantial amount of money, at least for me. Now, I'm not a stranger to selling websites, since that's originally what I started off doing over a year back. However, those sites were not established and generally sold in the neighborhood of $300-$400, something easy enough to receive through PayPal and not require contracts. This site was different, it was in the upper $x,xxx range and I was not willing to give PayPal any of it, AND I was worried about protecting my ownership until the funds were verified.
The process was simple and the transaction painless, mainly in part to the great communication the buyer had and because I'm such a charming bastard. Anyways, we agreed to a set of terms, negotiated final price, and both decided to protect our interests we should make sure it was legally binding. eBay was our first choice for such a transaction, since the auctions were considered binding and everything would be in writing...nothing hidden.(I hate he said, she saids) The auction was setup as a Buy It Now and the buyer was notified immediately after posting, so no one else would jump in and ruin a perfectly good transaction. 
Then, we both setup Escrow.com accounts, which was quite possibly the most painless thing I've ever done. Initial setup required only the basics and I opted to wait on revealing my financial details until I was sure the transaction would go through. Escrow was used for the domain ownership and as such Escrow.com had a simple sales template that I filled out using the predetermined details we discussed earlier. Within 15 mins the details were mailed to the buyer, where he was required to accept or decline.
After accepting the rest of the process was almost completely automated. The buyer was required to choose a payment option and in this case Wire Transfer was the only option for the dollar amount. Afterward Escrow.com kept in contact with me, notifying me when payment was selected, payments received, and payments verified.
After verification of monies, I was required to transfer the domain. After doing so I notified Escrow.com and then they checked to see if things had changed with the whois. Essentially it took about 48 hours for the process of money transfer to verifying domain transfer took place. After that it was as simple as me choosing a payment method.
Getting My Money
It's as easy as entering your banks routing number, account number, and making sure you have your Bank's address on file. But here is a TIP, ACH transfer and Wire transfer are not the same thing. Banks have a different Wire transfer routing number than the routing number found on the bottom of your checks, which is the correct routing number if you plan on doing an ACH transfer. I goofed, but caught it in time before batch processing had taken place.
Escrow.com Customer Service
Simply fantastic customer service! Not once did I feel like I was being left on hold too long, going through irritating automated messages, or getting the runaround. All I received was polite customer service attention and assurance that my problem was going to be fixed.
Thanks Escrow.com!
This was NOT a paid posting, only my honest to goodness opinion of a quality service. Because it was so painless, I may end up using it on smaller transactions now as well, just to play it safe.
phpBay Review
Let me start by giving a brief over view of the Wordpress plugin phpBay. It's a tool used to help integrate you're eBay affiliate marketing with any Wordpress powered blog. By entering a few variables and filters you can easily add a list of eBay items into your post with each link automatically containing your referral link. It's not a free plugin and requires a one time fee for unlimited domains for $39.
Who could benefit from such a plugin?
Almost any blog could benefit from this plugin. Chances are even personal blogs go into details about certain products from time to time and this is just another tool in your shed of marketing. However, just because you could benefit from the plugin doesn't mean it's for everyone. eBay affiliate commissions can be minimal and require substantial traffic to convert to anything worth getting a check for.
Can it be used with other advertising programs?
Typically when people ask this they mean, 'Can I use phpbay with Adsense and not get banned?' Yes, you can use this side by side with Google Adsense, because it is not a form of contextual advertising.
List me the Pros of phpBay.
- plain and simple installation, exactly like every other WP plugin.
- decent selection of options to make sure you display the right eBay items.
- fairly inexpensive for what you get.
- good customer support.
- does not require a mysql database, therefore ideal for light weight hosting.
List me the Cons.
- only one instance of phpBay ads can be displayed at one time, therefore you must place phpBay ads after the <more function. (See below for more of my frustration in this.)
- not enough options. Although decent I'd like to see the ability to integrate it into sidebars, not just in posts and better category selections.
- costs money. Yes I did list that as a Pro, but as many free WP plugins that are available, this should be one too.
Summary
It was a decent purchase and defintely not a waste of money like so many other programs and scripts available out there. I would consider this plugin juvenile in it's existence and would hope for some more development in the very near future. The inability to display more than one instance of itself on a page is very frustrating and should at least be remedied with a short cut fix.
Adsense Deluxe is a perfect example of a plugin that was designed to work with no more than X instances of itself on a page. This should be easily integrated into phpBay so that if it detects more than one instance of itself on a page it doesn't load the others. As it stands now, it will screw up your RSS feed without placing the code after the <more tag.
Currently there is nothing else really to compare it to in the marketplace of Wordpress plugins. However, when compared to other eBay affiliate tools like BuildANicheStore, it has a long way to go. Check back soon for my review on BANs.
eBay Affiliate Tracking Boo Boo
eBay announced today another instance when tracking for their affiliate program through Commission Junction failed to record properly. According the email a small percentage of affiliates were effected on Sept 19-20 when their program failed to track ACRU's and winning bid's/BINs. As usual eBay will be setting the affiliate revenue earned right and throwing in an unspecified bonus.
Last time this happened I was not lucky enough to receive a bonus, but my earnings did fluctuate. I have a feeling this time, based on my earnings, I was not one of the publishers effected. Although I feel the pain of those that were.
When problems like this arise it makes it difficult to properly track your marketing efforts. I'm familiar with this in regards to my Amazon store and use of Adwords to market the products. As far as you know, when tracking fails, you had no conversions and may have given up almost 2 weeks ago.
Stay strong, affiliate marketing kicks ass!
Where to find eBay PID
Ever since the post on replacing AuctionAds with the Ebay Affiliate Tools, I've noticed a number of searches coming in with users trying to find their PID. It's not very obvious in Commission Junction and very easy to put the wrong figures in, to get credit make sure your using the write numbers.
The easiest way to find your Ebay PID is to log into your Commission Junction account. From your main account page at the very bottom there is a drop down menu for a list of affiliate programs you are subscribed to. From here select eBay, this should bring a popup with details of the program.
Under the Get Link section click on 'Text Link'. Then click 'Get HTML' from any of the links listed, it really does not matter which one. After clicking you will be shown a review of the link you choose to get HTML for, along with the HTML code. Essentially you can ignore everything but the details, which contain your PID, directly under Link Type.
Hope this helps and happy affiliating.
Leaving No Referral Link Unturned
At times it can be a bit intimidating becoming an affiliate and entering the world of affiliate marketing. Thankfully for people like myself and others, there are small steps that you can take to get your feet wet. In addition, using every tool available you can maximize your profits, leaving no penny on the sidewalk. Compare4.us is one such website that allows a webmaster to spread their referral link.
The Big 2 in Affiliate Programs.
- Amazon.com Affiliate Program
- Commission Junction
With these two programs you can get started affiliating and selling products no matter what niche your website covers. The idea is to get as many affiliate links out there, in forum signatures, and on ecommerce sites that allow profit sharing.
What makes Compare4.us so unique is that it passes on 100% of the revenue earned from your affiliate link, there is no publisher ID rotation. This means that every visitor you send and converts, you get all the revenue! Ipods, PlayStation 3 and more can be price compared and then purchased using your affiliate ID.
1) Sign up as an Affiliate at http://Compare4.us
2) If you don't have an Amazon Associate ID, sign up for one at Amazon.com.
3) If you don't have a Commission Junction account, sign-up for one at CJ.com. Select eBay as one of your affiliates and get an eBay PID.
4) Email the Affiliate Program your Amazon Associate ID and CJ / eBay PID.
5) I'll put your ID's in the database and every click from your affiliate links will have your code nested in the outbound links to Amazon and eBay for all 682,892 products.
6) Promote your links. Build keyword specific links with relevant landing pages. Work on conversion with real-time reports that show traffic.
7) Collect your revenue directly from Amazon Associates and Commission Junction.
For tips like these and others check out the eCommerce is Impossible Blog.
Don’t Like Auction Ads? Use This.
I can't seem to enjoy perusing through the affiliate program section of webmaster forums anymore. Every other thread seems to contain some post bashing AuctionAds in some way, from their lousy support to their failed statistics. I'm not going to bring up conversion, because as a long time ebay affiliate with CJ, I realize that it's a weird market where conversion seems to be all over the place. That aside.
Is 100% Payout Really 100% Payout?
Go with what has been tried and true and offers all the benefits of AuctionAds. I'll take you through step by step so you can finally wave 'bye bye' to AuctionAds.
Getting Started
Ebay does not offer their affiliate program direct to webmasters, rather they use Commission Junction for their tracking and payout needs. If your not already a Publisher it's time to sign up, because CJ offers a ton of programs no matter what niche website you are running.
Commission Junction Publisher Application
Once you are accepted simply search their merchants for Ebay. At the time that I applied to be a publisher for Ebay it was set on automatic approval, so application turnaround is fast.
Getting Links
Unfortunately CJ does not offer a comprehensive list of links and tools to get the most out of your Ebay affiliate program, but Affiliate.Ebay.com does!
This is the general start page for getting things done: Ebay Affiliate Tools
Ebay Flexible Destination Tool - Comparable to AuctionAds URL Converter
From here you can create an affiliate link to any page within ebay, by simply using your CJ Pub ID and Ebay's Flexible Destination Tool. By simply following the step by step instructions, similar to AuctionAds you'll get a link that will get you the commission you deserve.
Ebay Product Kit - Comparable to the AuctionAds Ad Code Wizard
The Ebay Product Kit comes in two different flavors, basic and advanced. The basic simplifies finding products in categories and allows for choosing how you want your add to look. However, the Advanced Product Kit gives you the most options and even takes you beyond the options provided by AuctionAds Ad Code Wizard.
Editable Fields:
- Height and Width down to the pixel.
- Product search through keywords and categories.
- Type of font.
- Header type.
- Border and Text color.
- Options to open in new window.
Ebay RSS Feed Generator - Not offered by AuctionAds.
This is a very powerful tool when used in conjunction with a program like Carp. It easily ads your affiliate code to an Ebay Product RSS Feed.
Editable Fields:
- Keyword and category search.
- Excluded search terms.
- Min & Max pricing.
- Specific sellers or item location for geo targeting.
- Sort by buyer options such as BIN, ending dates, and free shipping.
- Number of Bids.
Ebay Keyword Links - Not offered by AuctionAds.
Keyword Links gives the webmaster the ability to generate keyword tracking ID's on the fly. In addition, establish new user welcome pages that help new user sign up conversions to maximize your payouts. Lastly you can display all items in a gallery view, a little bit more visually appealing than in standard list view.
Ebay Editor Kits - Not offered by AuctionAds.
It's all about increasing click through and conversions, the Ebay Editor Kit makes it easy to do both. This is most familiar to the spammers who like to generate splogs that resemble Ebay, but can be used successfully in any legit site.
From your Sniplet Creator you can select from all of the traditional sizes of advertisement, change colors, change up keywords, and see your changes happen in real time. When your done you will have a nice looking block of Ebay ad displaying the item, price, auction end time, and gallery image.
Cliff Notes To a Wall of Text
- Sign up at CJ and apply to the Ebay merchant.
- Navigate to Ebay Affiliate Tools.
- Follow on screen instructions.
- Start making money without worrying about AuctionAds business practices and reporting abilities.
Of course all of your links produced and advertisements can be tracked through your CJ account. Reporting is updated continuously through the day and advanced reports, clicks, and referring url's are available.
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