Welcome to the AffiliateTip.com Newsletter for December 2004. Be sure to check out the AffiliateTip.com blog for the latest news and information at http://www.affiliatetip.com/blog/

Topics in this issue:

1. Affiliate Tip: Free Custom Toolbar
2. Ask Shawn Collins
3. AdSense vs. Affiliate Programs
4. Affiliate Tip - Geo-Target Your Visitors
5. Affiliate Program News
6. Becoming an Affiliate
7. Top 10 Affiliate Programs - November 2004

1. Affiliate Tip: Free Custom Toolbar
Looking for a good way to promote your site, and in turn, your affiliate links? Try offering your visitors a custom toolbar.

You know, the kind that Google, Yahoo, eBay, etc. distribute to their users. It's a great way to brand your site and spread around some of your affiliate links.

There are various ways to go about getting a toolbar built. You can work with a programmer of your choosing, buy a customizable version, or try out EffectiveBrand.

They will enable you to put the whole thing together at no cost (including your logo) with their wizard.

Why would your visitors want this toolbar? Well, if they like your site, this will enable you to offer them one-click access to areas on your site.

Plus the toolbar is branded for YOUR site, the search feature searches your site (or Google, Ask Jeeves, Yahoo or any other search engine), it has a built-in RSS reader, a messaging tool (deliver messages right to the browsers of people that get the toolbar), and you can insert & customize icons for multiple purposes (including listing affiliate links).

Visit http://www.affiliatetip.com/affiliate_tip_19.php for more details.

2. Ask Shawn Collins
I am frequently asked questions about various aspects of affiliate marketing by affiliates and affiliate managers, and I do my best to respond with thoughtful answers.

Since many people have the same sorts of questions about how to succeed in affiliate marketing, I am going to start answering questions and posting them publicly to benefit all.

Visit AskShawnCollins.com to ask any question about affiliate marketing and I will answer it in the AffiliateTip.com blog.

3. AdSense vs. Affiliate Programs
Question: I have read that the AdSense program through Google is proving to be more profitable than many affiliate programs. What do you think?

Answer: I think there is no rule of thumb for all affiliates. One key issue is how a given affiliate is promoting affiliate programs. There are many affiliates that rely on search engine arbitrage and e-mail marketing to promote affiliate programs, and they have no way to work with AdSense.

However, the affiliates with content sites can do quite well with AdSense. I am not going to cite my personal performance numbers, but I typically see a better clickthrough rate and effective CPM through AdSense than I do with any affiliate programs.

Read the rest of the answer at http://www.affiliatetip.com/blog/archives/
ask_shawn_collins_adsense_vs_affiliate_programs.html

4. Affiliate Tip - Geo-Target Your Visitors
Since we're working on the World Wide Web, it stands to reason that we should be targeting different regions with appropriate offers.

For instance, if a person from Boston hits your sports memorabilia site, it would likely be most effective to push Red Sox and Patriots goods on them.

But when somebody hits your site from Liverpool, England, they are more likely to buy goods for the Everton Football Club than for teams from the New England area.

It's all about better serving the customer by anticipating their needs and building a relationship that encourages the customer to return for subsequent purchases.

But personalization is generally a costly bell and whistle, and the average Webmaster cannot afford to add this functionality into their site.

Visit http://www.affiliatetip.com/affiliate_tip_29.php for more details.

5. Affiliate Program News
eHealthInsurance
http://www.affiliatetip.com/out.php?pid=125&lid=2
Did you know that January is the best season of the year for selling health insurance? Adding an award winning health insurance program like eHealthInsurance to your web site will be a great way to help your visitors to find affordable health insurance plans that will meet their needs. Sign up today!

Fat-Check.com
http://www.affiliatetip.com/out.php?pid=213&lid=3
Fat-Check.com is a new affiliate program with our own great dating, sweepstakes and games offers. We pay up to 2.50 per free registration or up to $25 per dating upgrade. Average EPC (all offers)=$25.86. Join today - one login for all offers, online stats, and great customer service. Volume pricing available.

InstrumentPro
http://www.affiliatetip.com/out.php?pid=372&lid=2
The InstrumentPro external datafeed for both the CJ and MYAP is now available. The feed can be converted to either comma-separated .csv or tab-delimited .txt and converted to either CJ or MYAP links. If you are interested, please shoot me an email at shawn@instrumentpro.com and I will get you set up.

Lightspeed Affiliate Program
http://www.affiliatetip.com/out.php?pid=110&lid=1
Sign up for the Lightspeed Affiliate Program, earn $0.75 per lead, and get paid monthly. Join today to take advantage of the year-end Lightspeed Affiliate Bonus Program. Three top-performing Lightspeed Affiliates by year-end will be rewarded with cash bonuses. The highest volume driver will earn $1,000.00. Join now.

UGG Australia, Teva Footwear, and Simple Shoes
UGG Australia: http://www.affiliatetip.com/out.php?pid=504&lid=2
Teva Footwear: http://www.affiliatetip.com/out.php?pid=503&lid=2
Simple Shoes: http://www.affiliatetip.com/out.php?pid=505&lid=2
Earn 9-13% commission on sales for UGG Australia, Teva Footwear, and Simple Shoes! Our affiliate program offers you a dedicated affiliate team, external and Commission Junction datafeeds, and a 3-month EPC of over $32 (and climbing). By the way, our top affiliates earned over $7,000 in November.

6. Becoming an Affiliate
Question: How do I, in becoming actively involved as an affiliate to another website, technically speaking, actually place the affiliate ad on my website usually. Do I need to be knowledgeable as a computer technician? I need an example of how to technically, on my computer screen, become an affileate. Is there only one way involving copying and pasting there logo on your website or is there another general way.

Answer: In order to begin the journey of becoming an affiliate, your first step is to create a Web site. This requires that you have a host for your site, as well as a means for creating and uploading your pages.

As far as hosts, my personal favorite is PHP Webhosting ($9.95 a month).

Also, if you are serious about your efforts as an affiliate, I would urge you to purchase a domain name for your site. As far as domains, I like GoDaddy ($8.70 a year).

Read the rest of the answer at http://www.affiliatetip.com/blog/archives/
ask_shawn_collins_becoming_an_affiliate.html

7. Top 10 Affiliate Programs - November 2004
Below are the Top Ten Affiliate Programs for November 2004 as tracked by the AffiliateTip.com Affiliate Program Directory.

The Top Ten affiliate programs are calculated by the number of clickthroughs each program received on AffiliateTip.com.

1. Great Expectations
2. InstrumentPro
3. ClubMom
4. CPAEmpire.com
5. MaxBounty.com
6. AllPosters.com
7. Tiger Direct
8. eHealthInsurance
9. CoverClicks
10. GoodbyeSpam

As always, I'd love to hear from you! Drop me a line and let me know if you have any suggestions or questions.

Take care,
Shawn Collins

shawn@affiliatetip.com
http://www.affiliatetip.com/
39 Clark Street, Summit, NJ 07901
908-522-0056