Mark J. Welch - Affiliate Role
Dear Merchant:
As an affiliate (since 1996), I am constantly running "experiments" to identify profit opportunities. I usually don't discuss my successful affiliate sites (to deter copying); the sites listed at right are mostly "failures," so far.Most of the sites listed at right reflect my experiments with PopShops, a datafeed aggregator. I am currently experimenting with Datafeed Studio, a very nice but limited tool; I am now developing my own "in-house" datafeed aggregation and content management tool, so I can more effectively manage my affiliate activities.
My affiliate work includes two main activities:
- I create "niche" web sites to serve specific product categories and communities. In the past, I've focused on "content" sites that provide rich information (with advertising and product information integrated where appropriate) and on "directory" sites that combine information from many sources, with relevant products integrated within the directory. I generally do not talk about my successful niche sites within the affiliate community (since I don't want to invite more competition in niches that work for me); as one example, LitPlans.com (my directory of lesson plan resources for English teachers) was earning about $1,200 per month when I sold it in July 2007.
- I also design and launch large pay-per-click bidding campaigns on Google AdWords (by "large" I mean "tens of thousands of ad groups"). Some of these campaigns direct traffic to my "niche" sites; I only do "direct-to-merchant PPC" if the merchant allows it, and I never bid on a merchant's company name or domain name, nor variations, nor on any prohibited trademarks or keywords.
Most of my work involves "datafeeds" (your product catalog). For some merchants who don't offer datafeeds, I sometimes request permission to "scrape" product information from the merchant's web site, to test product-specific links both on niche web sites and in PPC testing, if the merchant's product mix and pricing do not change frequently. For other non-datafeed merchants, I may simply include a traditional text link in one or more of my "niche" sites, as appropriate. ShareASale merchants, please note: You must grant me "ftp access" to your datafeed to be included; without this extra step (for which ShareASale absurdly charges a $1 fee), I cannot automate the downloading of your datafeed. (ShareASale can set up "auto-approval" of ftp access, if you insist.)
Affiliate Networks: I prefer ShareASale over other affiliate networks; I also work with other networks, including AvantLink, and effective in mid-July 2008, I have decided to re-join several other "less ideal" affiliate networks (including Commission Junction and the Google Affiliate Network [Performics/ConnectCommerce]) in order to expand the product selection available through my sites. (I will not work with LinkShare, Kowabunga/Kolimbo, nor PepperJam.)
Multi-Network Merchants: For merchants who offer affiliate programs through multiple networks: normally, I will use ShareASale links in preference over any other network -- but I will respect your preference (if stated) of which network I use for your links.
Community: I am active in many discussions at ABestWeb.com
Mark J. Welch
MarkWelch.com
MarkWelch -at- Markwelch.com
(925) 462-8483