The Basics of Affiliate Success: Part 1 - Running a Business

[Billy Kay]

A. Run your site like a Business

You may not be Wal-Mart, but like Wal-Mart, you're a business, and you need to run your website like a business to succeed. You will need to be an expert in - or hire - and have

1. A CEO to make the tuff decisions that come up DAILY

2. A secretary

3. A business phone

4. A business license

5. An accountant, bookkeeper, accounts payable and accounts receivable manager

6. An attorney

7. A graphics artist

8. A copywriter

9. A PR person

10. A company spokesman

11. A customer service rep

12. A research & development department

13. An IT specialist

14. A web designer

15. A Network/Merchant relations manager

16. A security officer

17. A Mailroom clerk

18. A written business plan

19. A maintenance man and janitor

20. A human relations specialist

21. Advertising Department

Before I even get into the nuts and bolts of making a website, choosing merchant partners, picking products, etc...

The first and most important thing you need to accept is that Affiliate Marketing is a BUSINESS.

No matter what niche you decide to get into, there will be 1000 competitors. If THEY are acting like a business and you're not... who will succeed?

You need to objectively look at the above list and decide what you are capable of, and what needs to be farmed out.

You need to accept that EVERYTHING on the list is necessary to succeed. Think of any successful business... I'll be using online giant Wal-Mart in my examples, but it can be a company with no online presence like Dennys.

Is there anything on the list they do NOT excel in? No!

Read the list. Accept the list. Do the math. Soul search.

The list is NOT designed to scare off noobs. It's a list of what you'll need. I didn't know any of them when I started. YOU will have to decide what you can learn and what you will need to farm out.

Best,
Billy Kay

[Billy Kay]

THE CEO

Most affiliates post publicly that they spend their days building pages. But what came before building a page was the result of the CEO's decisions. In reality, your entire business day is making decisions:

Should you update your coffee mugs page?

Wait! It's March! Should you begin your Easter page?

Should your Easter pages be pink and purple?

Should you work with Linkshare? Or Sharasale? Or Both?

Should you add Girly Checks? Checks Unlimited? Both? Neither?

Should you incorporate the checks in existing categories? Create a new category? Devote a new site soley to checks?

When do you drop a non-converting merchant?

If you drop Payless Shoes, do you replace them with something similar? Or just leave a void?

You're Legacy Learning's top producer. When - and how - do you ask for a commission bump?

You're still on dial-up on a Commodore computer. When should you upgrade?

Will having a presence on Twitter improve your bottom line?

Think about it. You're entire day as the CEO is making decisions.

And every single decision you make affects your income in a big or small way.

Hence, you need to be qualified to make them.

This means that everything on the list, you have to be an expert in (if you're doing it all on your own) or understand the basics of (if you're farming things out). If your developer says there's a php issue, you need to at least grasp what he's talking about, so that when he gives you your options, you can make an informed decision.

Best,
Billy Kay

[Billy Kay]

The Secretary

When the CEO makes a decision, the secretary handles the details. I'll use a silly example, but it will illustrate the importance of the secretary.

The CEO says you're running low on toner. He did his job and made the decision to get more.

The secretary and her invaluable Rolodex then decides:

Do you get it at OfficeMax or Target?

Pay for delivery... or schedule time to drive to the store

Get it today - or can you wait for a sale

Which toner is best? Which is more cost effective?

Buy ONE - or a pack of twelve?

You're almost out of #2 pencils. Can you wait on the toner and combine the trip to Target?

The drive to OfficeMax is a business trip - should you write down the mileage? You go at lunchtime and there's a Burger King next to the OfficeMax. If you have lunch there can you write it off? (Sorry, no)

If you buy the case of 12, where will you store them? Does toner go bad?

Who knows how to install the toner in the printer? Who has that owners manual?

I know it's a silly example, but every decision the CEO makes has a dozen mundane - yet important - details that need to be accomplished.

Are you capable of carrying them out?

Do you have the time to carry them out?

Multiply this one toner decision by the dozens of decisions the CEO makes daily, and you'll quickly realize that mundane tasks are time consuming and (assuming you purchased a cheap generic toner to save money and it does nothing but leave blotches of ink on your letterhead)... they also have an impact on your bottom line.

Best,
Billy

[Billy Kay]

A Business Phone

Let's assume your HOME phone is an answering machine. Someone calls it and get's the typical message:

"Hi! This is the Smith's. We're not home right now, but if you leave a message at the beep..."

Or if you answer it, there's usually the sound of a baby crying in the background.

Or you hear a "Family Guy" episode because the phone is in the living room

Or you found a cool pre-recorded message from Captain Kirk and Star Trek music to use.

Does your 5-year old daughter ever answer the phone?

Do you turn the phone off during football games?

If you called Wal-Mart, would you get any of those things? No!

If a websurfer, or Linkshare, or a merchant, or an OPM called the number you have listed, would they get that?

If the situation were reversed and you called an OPM, would you want that?

Would YOU buy from a company - or partner with a merchant - who has Captain Kirk on their answering machine?

You need a separate business phone.

AND, it has to answered in a business-like fashion.

If your company is JUST YOURSELF, you should consider an answering service. While they have many upgradable add ons for more money, you just need the basic:

They answer the phone

Tell the caller you're in a meeting

Take a message and give you the information via email or text, or

ask the caller if they'd like to leave a voice mail

Without a business phone, you're not a business

Best,
Billy Kay

[Billy Kay]

The Business License

At some point, some websurfer WILL contact the Better Business Bureau and file a complaint against you.

It's usually along the lines of

"I went to Steve's website and he said PetCo had a sale on dog dishes and when I clicked thru to Petco the sale ended last week! They are clearly a fraudulent business. Please help me."

The BBB is required to investigate, and here is what will happen:

We tried to contact Steve's site but there was no phone number (see the above post) and we've determined that they are an unlicensed business operating in Clark County, NV. We have added them to our list of bad companies available on our BBB website 24/7 for the whole world to see"

The websurfer, feeling vindicated, starts pasting that reply all over the Internet.

GET a business license!

If you're a "real business", you can go to Chamber of Commerce mixers, network, and meet someone who can help your business grow.

Ask yourself, if YOU were a merchant like Petco, which affiliate would you rather work with and form a lasting mutually beneficial partnership with:

Steve - I work under the radar in my underwear - affiliate

or

Steve the businessman affiliate?

Without a business license, you're not a business

Best,
Billy Kay

[Billy Kay]

Accountant

Everyone is always saying "Make a website about something you're passionate about or something you're knowledgeable of.

That's fine. If you love snowboarding and create a blog about it - cool.

But the second you put an adsense ad on it or an affiliate link, you're a business.

And a business needs an accountant, bookkeeper, accounts payable and accounts receivable manager.

Every penny coming into the business - and every penny leaving - has to be accounted for.

You can't simply cash a check from Commission Junction and go spend it at Toys R Us.

You can no longer use the IRS Short Form every April.

Every money you receive will now become "Accounts Receivable", which will have a dozen or so sub-categories on your tax forms. You need to document, save and categorize every penny that comes into the business.

Everything you spend is now "Accounts Payable". It has dozens of sub-categories and it also has to be documented, saved (receipts) and put in a category.

If you work out of your house, how much of your computer expenses can you write off?

Toilet paper? Do you only poop on company time? LOL

You come to Las Vegas for Affiliate Summit and stay 2 extra days? Can you write off the extra days?

Can you write off your breakfast each morning at The Wynn? (Only if you were talking to someone else in the biz at the time and you documented it)

The phrase you say more then any other phrase from now on is "Can I have a receipt for that please"

You donate your old computer and some clothes to Goodwill. They give you a blank receipt. What dollar amount can you claim?

You'll spend a lot of time looking at you P&L (Profit and Loss Reports). On the bright side, a P&L report will show you exactly where your money comes from - and exactly where it goes.

For example, I just ran a P&L for last month, and "Banking Charges" takes TEN PERCENT of my gross profits!! That's way too much!

It includes the $14 a month the bank charges for an account, the per-check fee, the percentage the credit card companies skim off the top of every online sale, the per-sale fee from the merchant bank... and the one thing I can control right now: the six bucks I'm charged when I use an ATM at a gas station, movie theater, etc.

Geez! $6.25 to The Mirage and $2.75 to Bank of America to withdraw $20. That's worse then a loan shark!

I use Quickbooks software AND an accountant.

Tax laws seem to change on a whim - always to your disadvantage. A business needs an accountant.

Best,
Billy

[Billy Kay]

The Attorney

Most of the posts on affiliate forums are "Can I do this - is this acceptable?" or "Can this merchant do this to me?"

A major merchant on a major Network recently unlocked all transactions from December, saying there was a glitch, and everyone was overpaid. Even tho the affiliate contract states LOCKED commissions can't be changed (that's why they are called LOCKED!)... apparently they CAN if you're the Network's biggest merchant!

There will be 50 responses - all from anonymous affiliates - NONE of whom are attorneys... and to be honest, you never get the legal answer. You act on a group consensus - which is a scary way to make your business decisions!.

Imagine if Wal-Mart made their important decisions based on that!!

What if you live in a Nexus state? What are your options?

What if someone is cloning your site? What are your options?

What if someone is PPC bidding on your name - only to send the person to your competitor? What are your options?

Also, there are THREE supposed partners in your affiliate business partnership:

The Network
Do they have an attorney?
Is their priority YOU - or their own bottom line?

The Merchant
Do they have an attorney?
Is their priority YOU - or their own bottom line?

You
Do you have an attorney?

Do you see how the odds are stacked against you in your business partnership if you don't?

Who actually writes the TOS agreements that you must digitally sign and agree to? It's NOT you, that's for sure!

I have a 1-email rule. I contact a Network or Merchant with a question. If they don't respond in 4 business days, they hear from my attorney.

They tend to respond if the same question is asked on your attorney's letterhead

There are many options. I've always used Legal Service Plan. For $40 a month, you get all the free calls you want, and they'll send letters on your behalf.

You're flying blind without a business attorney. Get one!!!!!

Best,
Billy

[Billy Kay]

Graphics Artist

Unless your website is all black and white text... you will need graphics.

Graphics provide color... and in many ways "define" you. I was at a website yesterday that was about the oddest pictures in the world. Their logo, and all their graphics were loud and colorful. It worked!

Those same designs would not work on an Attorney's website.

There was a time way back in the cave-man days of the Internet when you could get away with using stock graphics and clipart.

But the Web... and more importantly - Websurfers - have evolved. The minimum people will accept has gone up substantially. The bar has been raised.

The second a visitor gets to your site you are judged. Your logo and your graphics are the first thing a visitor sees - and will determine if they stick around to read your content.

There are countless thousands of graphics artists out there. USE them!

Look at this forum's logo above. Debbie wanted a LEARNING forum... and her logo looks like a school chalkboard, which evokes a learning experience. And since it's a professional logo, the reader feels safe reading the content in the hope of learning something.

And the logo is only ONE graphic.

You will need Halloween graphics. Easter graphics. Mother's Day.

Even your "Buy Now" or "Click Here to Order" buttons should be professionally designed - and match the theme of your logo.

Pick your favorite retail store and visit their site. I'm sure you will find a professional logo, Buy Now buttons that you WANT to click, and - at this time - a bunch of Shamrocks and other St Patrick's Day graphics.

The easiest comparison I can make is to compare your logo to a book cover.

You walk into Barnes & Noble and they have 25 books on display. If you're like most people, you'll pick up TWO of them and browse the content. WHAT made you choose those two over the rest? The graphics on the cover.

You can get a logo for $25. All businesses have logos. If you want to be a business... get one!

I can't use a real life example of an site that looks bad because of no logo - the odds are it is an affiliate site... and we never reveal other aff's sites. So I'll show an example from my music career.

My son took a picture of me having a cigarette outside an historic courthouse in an old mining town here in Nevada.

When we were thinking of CD artwork, this picture came to mind. I used my website graphic artist to re-do this picture, and the font she used, the elements she added, etc, tell a listener exactly what kind of music is on the CD without ever hearing it.

0907-Pioche5.jpgsongsfromtheheart.jpg

Your logo will do the same.

Best,
Billy Kay

[Billy Kay]

The Copywriter

Your website will have words. Text. Content.

Someone has to write it. Are you qualified? Don't laugh, but I've seen many sites over the years where it's clear English wasn't the writer's favorite subject in school. Something as simple as spelling errors drive me away immediately. Someone who doesn't know the difference between "there" and "their"... or even "they're"... will cause me to click away immediately, as I don't want to listen - or buy from - a blithering idiot!

A blithering idiot? KNOW your target audience. That phrase may work on a gag coffee mug website, but not on a new baby clothes website.

Once you decide on your target audience, pick a "personality"... and stay with it throughout your website.

As an example, let's say there's a website for yellow socks:

If Bill O'Reilly from "The O'Reilly Factor" owned it, it would be a caustic content site. He would blame the Democrats for the demise of yellow socks.

If Kim Kardashian owned the site, she would talk about how sexy yellow socks made her look

If President Obama owned the site... he'd still be "weighing his options and not actually doing anything yet".

What?????

I used these three people to make a point. Assuming you have a general nature site, you don't want to offend your visitors. You're selling socks! Yes, you have an opinion about the President. Yes, you think Kim is hot! No one visiting your website needs to know it.

Once you determine you're target audience, you'll know what personality to use. A younger audience expects hipper language (BAD means GOOD). A site on Jazz music requires smoother, sexier language.

Here's just SOME of the things your content will need:

1. You need to sound enthusiastic!
If you sound bored, tired, or just "going through the motions", your visitors will sense that and run away.

2. Knowledgeable
Since I'm using a socks example, people need to know upfront that you know something about socks. In my niche (personalized gifts), my parents owned a Trophy Business. So I've known about engraving since my early teens.

3. The Tease
You have to get their attention. Look at the ads on the sidebar in Facebook. Mine always say "Stunning women want to meet you". Look at the subject lines on the emails you delete: Save $500 on your car insurance right now"! They're all teases. Some we click on - meaning they did their job. They got us to read the content. For this example (socks) a simple tease would be "Check out these really cool soft and sexy yellow socks"

4. Compelling Descriptions.
Any and every question a person can have about your product needs to be answered and addressed prior to a purchase. The size, color, price, available options. Online visitors can't smell, taste or feel a product. All the sensory experiences we get by trying on a new shirt at a store need to be filled via text on your website. If you left anything out - any unanswered question, you can loose a sale.

5. A Call to Action
You spent an entire page saying how great this pair of yellow socks are. It's important that you have a call to action. A BUY NOW button. A CLICK HERE TO ORDER BUTTON. Actually, you need at least TWO call to actions. You need a BUTTON for people used to looking for a button, and a text link for people who cruise the web with images disabled.

6. A Reason to buy NOW!
A college education is something you plan for down the road. A pair of socks isn't. Think about it. Someone searched Goog for "yellow socks". Of the million search results, they chose your site. They read your content and liked your socks. This is NOT the time for them to leave and think about it. To go to other sites and see what else is out there. They need a reason to buy NOW!

The buy now choices are everywhere! Sale ends Today! Free Shipping Today! Buy one, get one free. Exclusive coupon code.

7. There are no shortcuts to good content.
Go to your favorite retailer's website. Pick a product at random. Copy a random line from the product description and search for it in Goog. How many results for that line? A Zillion? That's because of datafeeds - Networks supply an excel database of all a merchant's products. It used to be a great way for you - and a zillion of your competitors - to create thousands of pages of content. The search engines, in order to give relevant search results, do not want a million results for the same search. They have vigorously started deleting duplicate content sites. If you use a datafeed to create content, you HAVE to manually change and personalize the product descriptions to remain in Goog's search index.

With the advent of Social websites and RSS feeds, tools have been introduced that go out and search for (whatever parameter you ask it to) yellow socks, pull that content in and then place it on your website automatically. This works for a SMALL niche of websites, but in general you should avoid these.

Just last night I went to a Forum I founded (I'm no longer a part of) and saw a bunch of posts from people I respect. On closer examination, all the posts were pulled in from RSS feeds (the person didn't actually log into the forum and type a post), and if you went to the post to read it, after the first few lines there was a link that said "More"... which took you OUT of the forum to the site that originally posted the story. On a sad note, there were NO responses to any of the threads. Near as I can tell, there are no actual HUMANS in this forum with actual DISCUSSIONS... which is what a forum is supposed to be for.

There are many sites devoted to proper copywriting. Learn it. Your content is all you have.

All My Best,
Billy Kay

[Billy Kay]

Public Relations Liaison and Company Spokesperson

This is probably one of the most important persons at your company. Someone needs to be the face and the voice of your company.

If you've heard of me, it's because when I was just an affiliate, I said what needed to be said. No sugar-coating. No mouth filters. I made enemies, but even they respected my integrity when I called them out. Boy I miss being able to say what I want.

With the advent of Social Sites, the rules have changed, and your voice is paramount to your success. If you have the finances to hire a PR professional, do so! If not, search Goog for the new social etiquette rules of engagement.

Here's a short primer:

Choose a face/avatar... and stick with it. Make it a face that fits your niche/personality. If you run a Hunting Lodge website, don't make Pamela Anderson in a bikini your avatar just because you like her picture. Don't change your avatar all the time. People quickly relate an avatar to a person and look for it - scan for it.

Take Pepsi for example. They're avatar is their Pepsi Logo. People are used to seeing it. If the spokesperson changed the logo to her elementary school picture, or her dog, or her garden plant that just blossomed... would her usual followers see her when they scan?

At best, have a few seasonally changed logos. For example, Pepsi could have a GREEN Pepsi logo for St Patrick's Day. Maybe an upside down logo for April Fools Day. Etc.

Pick a voice, a temperament, a personality... and stick with it. Ideally, you want an enthusiastic, friendly, caring, approachable and knowledgeable personality.

Enthusiastic: Let's say you lowered all your prices by ONE PENNY! LOL. Big deal! Your PR person will happily Tweet that because it IS a savings! It WILL help people during the recession! Your PR person's enthusiasm will infect others with enthusiasm.

Friendly: Doesn't matter if your wife just left you. You just got a bogus speeding ticket. When you're working, you need to SMILE and be friendly What's the old saying: "It takes more muscles to frown..."

Think about it! There's one empty chair at the DMV - you'll be stuck there all afternoon... hence you'll HAVE to socialize. Do you want to sit next to the guy who's wife just dumped him? The guy who was just ticked for doing 55 in a school zone? Or Miss Smiley Face?

Approachable: There are many people in our business who seem more important than ourselves. They are made out to be gurus. Or Experts. You follow them on Twitter... but you never DARE respond. It's because they don't come off as approachable. And who looses when communication doesn't happen? Everyone!

Caring: We all love Brian Littleton from Shareasale. He own a multi-million dollar company. He's important. He can cut off your revenue stream. Yet he's enthusiastic, friendly, approachable AND caring. You KNOW if there's an issue, he'll look into it because you KNOW he cares. People need to know YOU care - you're not just doing a job.

The SOCIAL in Social Networking means "back and forth".

So many companies don't get that! They think having a Facebook Fan Page or a company Twitter account is just another way to spam - to put advertisements in.

I don't want to pick on anyone in OUR industry, so... I follow the M Resort on Twitter and Facebook. They GET IT! They have the same promotions as every other casino - buffet discounts, room specials, 2-for-1 drinks - but they definitely are thrilled to tell you! And rather then appearing as an ad - they RESPOND when people comment (both good and bad). They make loyal guests even more loyal, and they help convert the non-believers

I say "they" because (shhhh) more then one person posts as "The M Resort". Which leads me to...

Have more then one profile! Most successful people do!

I have my Johnny Bravo affiliate profile where I can say things like "I'm scratching my arse at the moment"

I have my Merchant profile where I am staid and business-like for my customers.

I have my Musician profile. Don't follow me if you don't like Country Music!

I have my friend and family profile, so my business and customers followers don't have to look at baby pictures of my new niece.

True - and very recent - example. A friend who is VERY talented at his profession. His facebook posts (which are for both his personal and business lives) - are filled with business success stories - and personal political and religious views (which will offend half the population) and every other word is the f-bomb. I know a major company didn't give him a major job because they didn't want to take a chance on his off-color opinions. Having TWO separate profiles on FB would have eradicated this problem.

All My Best,
Billy Kay

[Billy Kay]

The Customer Service Rep

We have all had to call our cable company, our bank - and other companies we all need in our daily lives - and we form a permanent judgement about that company by the end of the call. All of mine our nasty - LOL - but I have to have Cable TV, so I have to put up with them.

We affiliates aren't a local monopoly. Whatever our site is about, there are thousands of other similar sites - all hoping to get a piece of your traffic.

No matter how well you predict issues and create an FAQ page to stem off "needless" Customer Support tickets, someone will always have a question you didn't anticipate.

In my niche of personalized gifts, no matter how many checks and balances are in place, we still send out items where we occasionally spell "Johnny" wrong, and have to deal with an irate customer.

While I have many strong points, dealing with the public in a professional manner is not one of them. After the CEO, I firmly believe the Customer Support Rep is the most important person in your company.

Below is just a primer of what's involved in customer support, and if it sounds overwhelming and scary... GOOD! That's how important it is!

PRE-SALE SUPPORT:

Every day I get "useless" support emails. Stuff like "What size is this 8x10 picture frame?" or "Your order form says this item can be personalized with only 12 letters/when you can't enter any more, you've reached the character limit. My son's name is 26 characters long. What should I do?"

The obvious answers are "What part of 8x10 don't you understand?" and "Either use his short nickname or look for a different product - or give birth a new son and give him a normal name!" Which is why "I" try not to answer support emails, because that is how I'd respond

I use two college girls WITH enthusiasm and good writing skills who actually respond with things like "Thanks so much for visiting our site! We're so glad you found us! I apologize that our website isn't clear on the dimensions of an 8x10 picture frame. I'll be glad to help you with this. Yada yada yada"...

I've actually made autoresponders out of their replies over the years, so I can sound warm and fuzzy on those days I act as customer support.

I highly suggest pre-making personalized autoresponders for support emails. They are basically the same issues you anticipated and made into an FAQ page, with the ability to be modified on a whim. Quick example: On my FAQ page I state something like "If the product says it's available only in blue and red, don't ask us if it comes in green - it doesn't! Just friggin' blue and red! No Green!" Which inevitably leads to an email asking if it's available in orange - aargh! So I now have a warm and fuzzy "Does this come in blue" autoresponder that I can change one or 2 words to fit the question.

And that's just email pre-support. You also need pre-support via live chat (some are free), Twitter, Facebook, etc. There are zillions of websites. Someone is on your site. Right now! You just beat the odds and have someone willing to spend money with you. How you handle the pre-sale question will determine if they never come back - or if you have a customer and fan for life.

POST-SALE SUPPORT:

Few people contact support after a sale - unless there's a problem. The person contacting you will be irate. In my niche, VERY irate! If someone we made a Salesman of the Year Award/John Smith, shows up at the big awards dinner and it says "joj Smoth", we get an extremely upset support ticket. I wish it wouldn't ever happen, but it does.

It goes without saying, that the way you handle a post-sale support ticket can determine if someone starts an anti-you page on Facebook or not.

SUPPORT UPSELL

It's probably happened to you. You call your cell company with an issue. They schmooze you, fix the problem, and before you hang up, they offer you an upsell: Would you like to call France for free for the next 90 days?

It didn't come naturally to me, but upsell is part of business. Use it! I have "public" coupons on my site. But I also have many that aren't listed. Our "Ooops" coupon for example. If we really did spell "John" wrong, and we told the customer we'll send a corrected one right away, the last thing we say is "Our way of saying we're sorry for the inconvenience... use OOOPS as your coupon code and get anything you want from our site with an additional 10% off for the next 30 days."

Or if they're calling about an issue with a St Patrick's Day item - and you resolved it - say "a lot of our customers also like this item (pick one) - you should check it out"! Or... don't forget to bookmark us because Easter is right around the corner and we have some really great exclusive engraved Easter gifts!"

I hope I've shown how important it is to think out and plan a customer support role for you website. I know I have made many sales - that would have been lost - simply by answering the online chat window. And a lot of them were HUGE! Someone who needed 3000 crystal candy dishes with their logo for a hotel in Santa Fe. Support is the most important DAILY "chore" I have.

All My Best,
Billy Kay

[Billy Kay]

A Research & Development Department

Everybody's website starts out as a blank page. What gets placed on it is the result of R&D. You probably looked at other websites and decided on a theme. You noticed that most companies have links on the left, content in the middle and banner ads on the right - and you followed suit.

What I like about my industry is that I don't have to do a lot of researching and testing on my own. I just visit the big player's sites - the Targets, the Amazons - and assume they already did all the A/B testing, and in the retail niche, it's clear visitors want navigational links on the left, so that's where I put them.

There are dozens of little gadgets you can add to your site - for example the "Like us on Facebook" button. The company I use has already done the research and determined the best placement of the button, it's size, and that it works best in conjunction with the Tweet This and Google+ buttons.

Remember when your mom used to say "If Johnny jumped off the Brooklyn Bridge, would you?" In this case, YES! There are things I haven't fully grasped yet - like RSS feeds - but all the important sites have them as an option, so I do too.

R&D also determines who you associate with online. As an individual, you can friend Hugh Hefner, The Pope, Eddie Van Halen, etc. As a company, you need to choose carefully. There WILL be external links on your site. You need to research the people and companies that you send your visitors to. Your company's reputation is its greatest asset.

Your website isn't a book - it is never completed. A week doesn't go by where my competitors haven't added something new to their website. For example, Competitor "A" adds a slideshow of their top sellers to their home page. Within two days, Competitor B follows suit. Followed by Competitor C. Followed by... ME!

All My Best,
Billy Kay

[Billy Kay]

An IT Specialist

You're business is online - therefore you have to know everything that's involved in getting - and staying - online!

Your Internet connection is critical to your success, and in my opinion, the most fragile piece of the puzzle. It's very temperamental.

Just a few of the things you have to know - and master:

1. Your main connection to the Internet. Is it cable, DSL, wireless? Do you know the settings?

2. Do you know the proper way to re-boot your cable connection?

3. Do you have your Internet provider's telephone number and your account number written down? If cable is out, you can't go online to get it!

4. Do you use a wireless router? Do you know how to set it properly?

5. Do you have a backup provider? My friends still laugh at me because I still maintain an Earthlink dial-up account. But it's saved my butt many times when cable is down - or when I'm at a small desert motel in the middle of nowhere who are too far off the beaten path to get cable and never hear of Wi-Fi! Hec - I use it when I'm staying at a casino on the strip! Wi-Fi costs $45 a day - local calls are FREE!

6. Do you know and understand the settings of your hosting account? Or what an .htaccess or robots.txt file is for?

7. If you're uploading files, you need an FTP account. Do you understand the settings - when to upload as a binary file and when to upload as an ASCII file?

8. Do you know which files should be uploaded to your regular server and which ones to upload to your secure server?

9. When you go to a cafe that offers free wi-fi, are you sure no one is eavesdropping?

10. Do you know why, when I plug something into my USB port (like if I want to put the pictures from my digital camera onto my hard drive) I loose my Internet connection? LOL Drives me nuts! One has nothing to do with the other!

All My Best,
Billy Kay

[Billy Kay]

A Web Designer

One of the most critical parts of your business is your website. Without a website, you have no online business!

Countless books have been written on proper web design. Colleges offer courses of the subject. That's how important it is.

Hundreds of things go into creating a website - and it seems a new gadget is introduced every week. Besides html, you need to grasp php, javascript, the different types of graphics, how colors affect your site visitors, how you website appears on the various web browsers, page layouts and designs - and so much more.

As a beginner, I strongly recommend using a template. If your hosting company didn't supply you with some, there are many available online for free. All you have to do is substitute your log for the sample logo, your links for the sample links, and your products for theirs.

Then as you learn the various codes - like JavaScript - you can incorporate them into your site. For example, I USED to have to update the (C)2011 to (C)2012 manually - on 50,000 pages! Now I just change one file - the JavaScript code - and all my websites change automatically.

I mentioned colors earlier. In the beginning, my sites were brown and green - sort of a manly hunting lodge color. One year I attended a session at an affiliate conference about how colors affect your site's visitors. I found out most of my visitors were women - and most of them were grandparents - and I was alienating them without even knowing it! I started changing my color schemes that evening!

I also change my site's appearance seasonally. It has pink and red around Valentine's Day, green around St Patrick's Day, it's orange during Halloween and Thanksgiving, etc. And since I don't want to have to change 50,000 pages manually, the colors are changed by one file, the .css file.

Besides basic web design, you need the know the bare basics of SEO (Search Engine Optimization). In the beginning, you won't know enough to get #1 in the rankings, but you need to know what NOT to do - what can get you banned from search engines. Once you've been banished from the search engines, there's no way to get back in, and you'll have to abandon your website.

I strongly suggest you don't submit your website to the search engines for a month after it's "completed". Don't Tweet it. Don't tell your friends on Facebook. While Google and Bing update their database continually, there are hundreds of search engines that have a one-time indexing. What they see today is what your listing will appear as 5 years from now.

DO tell your friends and peers about it via email or Skype, and DO have them give you their comments. Other eyes will always see the things you overlooked.

DO look at your website on all browsers - as it will look different on each. DO look at it on various screen resolutions. My site is viewed the most (30%) on Safari! And most of my visitors see my site in 1024 x 768 resolution, which tells me most of my visitors are on laptops or have upgraded their desktops with good monitors - so I tend to cater to them.

Which leads me to... getting a stats account. You hosting company usually provides you with bare basics statistic. There are many available online. They are critical to your success.

If you know where your visitors are coming from, you can tweak accordingly. If all your traffic comes from Bing and none from Google, find out why.

If all your visitors look at the ONE page the search engine sent them to - and then immediately leave - find out why.

If you get a lot of "exit clicks" (the last page someone was on) on your pet bowl order form - yet you never get an actual order for that pet bowl - go to that page! maybe you entered the wrong price. Maybe you forgot to add the "Order Now" button.

Your stats are your lifeblood. Read them daily!

All My Best,
Billy Kay

[Billy Kay]

A Network/Merchant Relations Manager

If you've heard of me - Billy Kay - it's because I spent 10 years giving merchants and Networks a piece of my mind. Any untracked sale, any decrease in commissions or cookie durations, any delay in responding to an email - someone was outed publicly!

Those days are over. While I still share my experiences with merchants and Networks, the venom is gone. I post what happens to me and let others form their own judgements.

If you are in affiliate marketing, you will have to work with merchants, OPMs, and Networks. I strongly suggest developing a relationship with your business partners. It can be as little as you each know each others names and the basics of what you do, to a deeper relationship where the merchant sends birthday cards to your family members.

There was a recent study showing how affiliates like to be contacted by merchants: mass emails, forums, private emails, telephone, Facebook, Skype, etc. While I prefer a combination of all of them, you should find what works best for you and each merchant.

Always keep the lines of communication open. If the merchant makes a post on a forum or on Facebook, LIKE it - or add a comment.

Attend industry events like Affiliate Summit, and introduce yourself around.

Keep your options open. Be available when opportunity knocks.

Two silly - but true - stories: While attending an affiliate conference, a merchant who had been asking me to swap out all of his competitor's links to themselves couldn't make the convention - but sent an associate with the company credit card to wine and dine me. I couldn't give them what they asked for - thie competitor paid me BIG commissions - I did promise to build them a new website with only their products.

An Outsourced Program Manager (OPM) who knew my niche and had a "perfect match" wanted to setup a 3-way conference call with his merchant. Long story short, I was in the frozen food aisle of the grocery store when I got the call - and inked the deal with increased commissions and cookies - while I was picking a frozen pizza

The bottom line is to KNOW your partners - and KNOW what you can do for each other. If there's a "match" - nurture it.

Treat your partners the way you want them to treat you. If done correctly, you end up with new friends - rather then just business partners. And friends tend to help each other.

One more quick story. One of my favorite merchants is Melissa from Crazy for Bargains. None of her products are personalized. But she's the kind of merchant I like to work with - honest, passionate, takes care of her affiliates. We went from partners to friends many years ago. She gave me a factory tour. She gives my son and I silly Family Guy slippers. She trusts me enough to work her booth at conventions while she takes a break. I promote her on my personalized gifts sites - even tho it's a stretch - but I send her sales. We've helped each other professionally - and became friends. Affiliate marketing doesn't get any better then that!

All My Best,
Billy Kay

[Billy Kay]

A Security Officer

Does IBM have a security department? Does Donald Trump have security guards? Security is critically important to your success - and so many affiliates overlook it.

Just think about the number of passwords you have. Are they GOOD strong passwords? Do you change them? Do you have them written down for the day your computer crashes?

If you have a shopping cart, is it on a secure server?

You web hosting company should provide you with BOTH a normal server and a secure server. Are you storing any personal information about your customers - even your email list - on the secure server?

What are you plans when you find out your website has been cloned?

Do you backup your hard disk regularly? If your computer was stolen right now, would you have to close shop?

Do you have a firewall? A GOOD anti-virus program?

Often overlooked is your children. If they have access to your computer, do they know what can safely be downloaded? Do they know what sites to avoid? Are they clicking on any and every link they get in an email?

*** an affiliate, you will have a lot of online partners. Have you at least glanced at their own security procedures?

There is a lot involved with security - all tedious and boring - but it's one of the most critical roles you will perform. On a daily basis! NEVER let down your guard.

All My Best,
Billy Kay

[Billy Kay]

A Mailroom Clerk

When I first started out, my feeling was "everything is explained on my site - no one will ever need to contact me." Boy was I wrong! Even without an online presence, we all get tons of email.

As an online marketer, how you receive mail, how fast you respond, and what you say in your response are all critical to your success. For example, as an affiliate I can "stall" on responding to a site visitor. As a merchant, if I take a few days off and don't respond to a customer immediately, the next email I get is a copy of their Better Business Bureau complain!

All online shoppers are different - and all have different favorite ways of contacting a website. To be successful, you have to accommodate them all.

You need a physical US Postal Service mailing address.

You need live chat like Skype, Yahoo IM, AOL Instant Messenger, Boldchat, etc. These should be separate from any personal accounts you may already have.

Some people prefer contacting you via Twitter or on your Facebook page.

Even if you consider yourself an affiliate who doesn't actually need a phone because you don't sell anything - you just put up links to merchants - you DO! For better or worse, people will post things like "Don't trust these guys! They don't even list a phone number on their site!"

You need a "Contact Us" form. You need to collect at a minimum the person's name and email address. You need a drop down list of your departments: is this question for shipping, marketing, returns, etc. When you set it up correctly, you will get emails from these forms with subject lines like "Question for the Shipping Department"... and then you can program your email client to put these questions in the right email folder.

On your Contact form, you can also add optional fields like "How did you find us?" (with a list of options), a checkbox to join your mailing list, etc.

And to stop bots, you WILL need a Captcha code. They're free!

For regular email, you have to set a catch-all. If my legitimate email address is sales-at-mailordershoppe-dot-com, people can't spell - and will type "sles" instead of sales. They may also just take a guess and try "Webmaster-at" (even if that's not one of your emails). It's important to receive any and all of your emails, and a catch-all allows anything-at-yourdomain.

I also suggest creating several key email addresses, and setting up separate files in your email program, and then creating filters so that each different email name gets delivered to its own category. For example, all my online orders go directly to my orders folder, merchant emails go into my merchant folder, etc.

You need many emails (for each domain you have). Some of mine are shipping-at, orders-at, questions-at, webmaster-at, president-at, affiliates-at, returns-at... and many more. They each serve a specific purpose.

Over the years I've learned that people basically ask the same questions all the time. So I have a stock of autoresponders I use that I tailor to the particular customer question. As you respond to people, start your own autoresponder file.

One of your most valuable possessions is your mailing list. There are basically three ways to get traffic to your site. You can be a big name company like Sears - but then you wouldn't be reading this - LOL

You can PAY to get traffic. I tried PPC several times, and failed miserably. It's not my specialty. BUT, I know many people who thrive at it. It is an option.

You can master SEO and live and die by Google's ever-changing algorithms. I do this. It works - when it works. When your sites drop in the rankings, it is a major frustration to find out why - and a lot of work to make necessary changes.

Which brings us to your goldmine - your mailing list! Anyone who has voluntarily given you their contact information - has already shown interest in you. The knocked on your door! Capitalize on it!

There are many ways to get this information. The obvious one - have a link that says "Join Our Mailing List". Anyone who conatcts you thru your website should also be added to your mailing list. Customer who actually make a purchase from my merchant sites are also added. You can add your Twitter followers and people who have "Like" you Facebook page.

I do something as an affiliate that most don't, but has reaped rewards over the years. Rather then an affiliate link to a merchant, I use a form. They have to supply ME with their name and email before they're sent on their merry way to the merchant's page.

A proper email list is a subject for its own book - which is beyond the cope of this tutorial. But it is definitely something you should learn, master and incorporate in your business model.

All My Best,
Billy Kay

[Billy Kay]

A Written Business Plan

I'm the first to admit I based my career on dumb luck and chance - and it worked!

But after I turned "pro" - and actually made business cards that said "Affiliate Marketing". I wrote it all down and made a formal business plan.

There are many free business templates online. And there are many local organizations in your community that will help you create a business plan.

If you ever want to take your business to the next level - and get a small business loan - one of the things they require is a written business plan.

A business plan consists of a goal (I want to earn $200,000 in the next year) and then list all the steps needed to achieve that goal. It is NOT written in stone. It can - and should - be modified over time.

If you've read the previous 12 chapters, you know there is a LOT that goes into creating a successful business. You have to do some soul searching and determine your own strengths and weaknesses. Can you really create your own Company Logo on your own - or is that something you should farm out? Are you good enough at email marketing to handle that chore on your own?

A business plan is in many ways like a personal growth checklist. If for example, "Mastering Website Design" is part of your business plan (and it should be!) - the time will come when you realize you're just as good as the people who charge money to build websites. It's a great feeling of accomplishment to check that off on your list.

And your profits increase - showing tangible results - for each item you check off.

It's fulfilling both personally - and financially.

All My Best,
Billy Kay

[Billy Kay]

A Maintenance Man and Janitor

Think about all the equipment you need to run an online business: your PC, your monitor, your speakers, your webcam, your printer and fax machines, your router, your Internet connection, your laptop, and all the software you use. What do they all have in common? They break and misbehave constantly!

Do you do podcasts? Do you really want to say "We're having technical difficulties"??

Do you know how to fix the things that break yourself? When Windows starts behaving erratically, do you know what to do?

If not, do you know who to call?

You need to have your model numbers and service repair numbers in an online file - and a printed copy offline.

I learned the offline part the hard way. When my computer wasn't working, the repair shop info was on my hard drive - which I couldn't access. And I couldn't remember the name of the shop. So now I have all this information on my computer, a backup copy on my laptop, and a printed copy at my desk.

All My Best,
Billy Kay

[Billy Kay]

A Human Relations Specialist

At some point, you will have to call support for your cable provider. Do you want to speak with someone who has the attitude "We're the local monopoly - you don't have any other choice but us." Do you want to speak with someone who is clearly in a foreign country who speaks English as a second language?

Even if you are an expert on every aspect of online marketing, there are only 24 hours in a day, and there is no way you can actually do everything yourself.

You will have to farm out work. To hire others. You will have to work with a Network. A hosting company. An email provider. OPM firms. Artists. Merchants.

If you have to contact a merchant, what qualities would you like on the other end of the phone? THOSE qualities is what YOU need to have also!

You need to be knowledgeable, helpful, timely, respectful, caring - and everything else you expect from your own partners.

I'm not always "up" - I'm human. I time my responses to my partners when I'm feeling "chipper", rather then "mad at the world".

An odd thing I do - that works for me - is to not send an email as "I" would write it. There are people I admire who have great Human Relations qualities. When I contact an associate, I try to form my responses as if one of those people I admire were writing the response on my behalf.

All My Best,
Billy Kay

[Billy Kay]

Advertising Department

You have the world's greatest website! Now you have to tell the world!

I treat my advertising like Darren Stevens from Bewitched - and also like Larry Tate. While polar opposites, they compliment each other well.

Half of advertising is gut instinct and testing, and half has already been set as effective.

Some examples:

Banners: What are the industry standard sizes - and which will you use?

Promotions: Will you use coupons? Holiday specials? Percent off? Free shipping? Or a combination of all of them.

Will you pay to advertize on search engines? On Facebook?

Will you pay for adsense?

Will you blog? Will you post on other people's blogs?

Will you do podcasts? Make videos?

Email marketing?

Will you set up a company Facebook and Twitter account? If so, what will you say?

How many Tweets or Facebook posts is too many? Not enough?

As with all the chapters, advertising is a specialty on it's own. And it's a lot of work.

For a beginner, I recommend watching what your competitors do. If you're following a favorite brand name merchant and they send newsletters every Friday, I assume they did the research and determined that a newsletter once a week - on Fridays - does the trick. I use this information as a starting point, and then do my own A/B testing to see what works for me.

I also suggest a simple and proven technique - ASK! If you're promoting a certain merchant, ask them which banner converts best! They have all the conversion data and would love to share it - if only someone would ask!

There are also many forums where online marketers share their experiences. Ask a question there. But... read the forum for a month or so and get to know the members. There are a lot of posers on forums. Decide who you feel knows what they're talking about before implementing any suggestions proffered on a forum.

All My Best,
Billy Kay