Archive for May, 2010
You’ve just signed up with Clickbank, you’ve just created an AdWords account, you’re eager to start earning some money but you’ve no experience of Clickbank and even less of AdWords. Where do you begin?
Let’s start with some important pieces of information that do not seem to be obvious to many people in this situation.
- AdWords was not created for the sole benefit of people wanting to make money through Clickbank.
- AdWords is completely and utterly separate from Clickbank
- There are many other advertisers (i.e. non-clickbank users) using AdWords
- There are many Clickbank advertisers and those from other affiliate programs
- AdWords will only allow one advertiser per destination URL to be displayed at any one time
- AdWords is currently actively trying to reduce the number of affiliate advertisers being displayed on any single results page
Introduction to Clickbank
From the perspective of this article, Clickbank.com is, essentially, a directory of affiliate programs . . . a list of products & services that you can sell on behalf of someone else in order to earn commission. When someone clicks on a Clickbank hyperlink, known as a “hoplink,” a cookie is placed on that user’s computer that tells Clickbank whose link (or ad) the user clicked on in order to get to that product’s Clickbank page. If that user then makes a purchase, the affiliate whose Clickbank ID is stored in the relevant cookie gets his/her Clickbank account credited with a certain amount of commission. The amount of commission depends on the particular affiliate program in question.
What is a Hoplink?
A hoplink is simply a particular URL in a regular hyperlink that indicates 2 important things:
- The Clickbank ID of the affiliate (i.e. the person trying to earn money by promoting the product)
- Another Clickbank code for the product being promoted
For example, if my clickbank ID was “abc” and the code for the product I was promoting was “zyx,” the hoplink URL would look something like:
http://abc.zyx.hop.clickbank.net
This tells Clickbank that any commission resulting from this action needs to be placed in user abc’s account and that the product being advertised is product code zyx. Furthermore, the product code also tells Clickbank which page to direct the user’s web browser too. For example, a hoplink promoting SEO Elite software takes the user’s web browser to http://www.seoelite.com/index2.htm. This is the page that is, in a sense, trying to sell/promote the product to the user.
Where AdWords Fits In
Many people that are new to Clickbank do not seem to realize that AdWords is in no way directly related to Clickbank and that the stats they provide are completely unconnected. AdWords is merely one way of getting people to click on your hoplink in the hope the person clicking will go on to buy whatever product is being advertised. AdWords can tell you how many times your ads have been shown and how many times they have been clicked on but, at the moment, it cannot tell you how many Clickbank sales you have made or how much you have earned from those sales. [Note: AdWords can provide that information for people that can add tracking code into their own web pages.] In order to find out your sales figures you need to log in to Clickbank, NOT AdWords.
Introduction to AdWords
AdWords has two available “editions:” Starter Edition and Standard Edition. Anyone serious about advertising with AdWords should immediately register for the Standard Edition.
A detailed overview of how AdWords works is beyond the scope of this article so I will just quickly run through the process of creating ads in a very brief manner.
AdWords has a hierarchical structure as follows. An AdWords account is comprised of one or more campaigns. A campaign is comprised of one or more ad groups. An ad group contains one or more ads and one set of keywords. For more information on this structure, visit the AdWords Learning Center topic, which has both a text lesson and a multimedia lesson.
If you are advertising multiple Clickbank products, each product should have its own ad group that contains a set of keywords specific to that product. In addition, every ad group should contain at least 2 ads for the product so that you can test which ad performs best. This process is known as split-testing. It is also important that you concentrate on writing effective ads, which is an art in and of itself.
Specific Tips for Clickbank Users
As mentioned earlier, AdWords does not seem to be very keen on affiliate advertisers at the moment and, as a result, if your ad contains your hoplink as the “destination URL” (that is, the URL the person clicking on the ad will be taken to), you may well find that you have a $5 or more minimum bid requirement for your keywords to be “active for search.” There are two main ways round this.
First, if you have any free (or paid for!) web space, you can create an intermediate page between your AdWords ad that contains a hyperlink that incorporates your Clickbank hoplink. In that way, the ad’s destination URL will then be to your own page and NOT your direct hoplink. Note, you cannot use an interim page that automatically redirects the user to the target hoplink page because that is against AdWords policies. Of course, if you use this method, the user will still have to click on your hyperlink, so the page needs to be well-written in order to entice the user to do just that!
To illustrate:
My Ad —> myWebPage —> (hyperlinked hoplink to) –> Clickbank product page
Second (and preferred solution), if you are promoting a range of related products, you can create your own web site based around the theme of those products and that contains hoplinks to the products that you are promoting. Using this method, you simply use your ads as a means of getting traffic to your site. In essence, this is the approach to affiliate marketing that Rosalind Gardner, author of “The Super Affiliate Handbook” has taken (though I don’t know if she uses AdWords at all). An additional benefit of this approach is that you don’t even need to use AdWords at all, you can simply use other search engine optimization and web site promotion methods to get visitors to your site. Of course, you can also use AdWords to complement your other marketing efforts.
Ian Feavearyear, J.D. has over 20 years’ experience in I.T., having worked as an I.T. consultant both in California and the United Kingdom. He currently manages several AdWords advertising campaigns and is also the webmaster of AdWords-for-Profit.com, a site devoted to “making money from Google AdWords and AdSense.” Ian is also the editor of the ezine newsletter, “The AdWords Prophet.” As well as holding a B.A. from the U.K., Ian also graduated from Concord Law School, Los Angeles, in July 2005, where he was class valedictorian.
Author: Ian Feavearyear
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
Sponsored by: Make Money With Clickbank
An essential factor for success in affiliate marketing is the ability to track and test your results with a service that ClickBank tracking successfully supplies. If you can identify through ClickBank tracking which ads are producing the most sales, as well as who is clicking on them, you can make the most of your affiliate program.
As an Internet entrepreneur, you want to make as much in profits as possible. ClickBank publishers enjoy access to over 100,000 affiliates. Most importantly, ClickBank tracking affords you the ability to monitor your affiliate program and assure that the proper commissions are meted out.
In this age of information and technology, web users prefer to browse the Internet anonymously. This means that affiliate programs have more difficulty tracking the associations between their members and the general public. ClickBank tracking uses a form of cookies to distribute a database of user information throughout the web.
ClickBank tracking is also called the hoplink system. ClickBank tracking records cookies on a consumer’s computer. One cookie can hold several records of affiliate referral relationships. Each time a consumer is referred to a new affiliate, the existing cookie is updated by ClickBank tracking.
ClickBank tracking works automatically. Each time a consumer goes to a new merchant, ClickBank tracking goes into effect. The ClickBank tracking server sends the consumer a referral cookie and redirects the consumer to the affiliate site. This new destination is called the merchant’s landing page. The location of the landing page, which accepts inbound affiliate referrals, can be set up through the ClickBank tracking settings.
ClickBank tracking works the way it does because of two parallel architectures. The first, or original, architecture is the regular ClickBank tracking/hoplink system. ClickBank tracking has received some criticism for this original architecture’s penetrability and inflexibility. Consequently, an enhanced ClickBank tracking/hoplink system came out that works in parallel with the original ClickBank tracking system. ClickBank tracking has hence been improved thanks to the range of new features that elevate security and the effectiveness of the affiliate program.
ClickBank tracking is supposed to encapsulate even more data that will allow for detailed reports of real-time affiliate referral stats and even merchant conversion rates. ClickBank tracking also supports referral links to several landing pages at the merchant’s site. Best of all, ClickBank tracking features complete customer service. ClickBank tracking manages sales and commissions automatically and you don’t need to have any special equipment or programming knowledge to benefit from ClickBank tracking.
All you need to do to get underway with ClickBank tracking is set up an account. Like any other affiliate program, ClickBank has certain regulations. The next step is to set up a âpitch pageâ and a âthank you page.â To participate in ClickBank tracking, you need to test all of your links to ensure they are working properly. As soon as you are approved and pay the activation charge, you are on your way to checking your ClickBank tracking results. From here, all you do is set up your affiliate network and see where ClickBank tracking takes you.
By now, you should feel comfortable with ClickBank tracking and how it works. If you feel ready to increase your profit shares, get started with ClickBank tracking. Should any questions remain about the success or viability of ClickBank tracking, research ClickBank tracking further online. Get ready to make the most of your affiliate network with ClickBank tracking!
Robert is a full-time Internet marketer, author and publisher and contributes to www.CashConfidentials.com on a regular basis. Robert provides new and unique ways to make money online – check it out!
Author: Robert Thatcher
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
Sponsored by: WordPress Tutorials
You’ve probably heard about a company called ClickBank and wondered, is it really that easy to make money online? I guess I would have to ask you what you consider easy. I could offer an answer of yes and no, but that wouldn’t really help you would it? Before we address the issue of making money with ClickBank, first let’s learn who and what ClickBank is. ClickBank was founded in 1998 as an online retailer of 10,000 digital products. By digital I mean, e-books (electronic books) and/or software products that are delivered immediately upon purchase, and are downloaded onto your computer. Some sales are final upon completion or purchase, but there are also products that one could purchase that incurs a monthly fee. Which means, the affiliate Sales are made utilizing ClickBank’s services every three seconds. ClickBank serves over 200 countries and is consistently ranked as one of the most highly trafficked sites on the web. With that being said, do you believe that you could earn money as an affiliate of ClickBank? Let’s find out!
Promoting ClickBank products is an easy way to convert your online skills into cash. To become an affiliate, simply sign up and provide all necessary information, such as your mailing address, banking information, and social security number. You then search the ClickBank marketplace for products to promote, input your hoplink (product link containing your affiliate number) into your marketing campaign and that’s it. Sounds real simple huh? It is, but lets look a little deeper. There’s always more information lurking behind the scenes.
First let’s address the issue of giving out your social security number to ClickBank. You might be wondering why this is necessary. I believe he’s called Uncle Sam. He needs to know every move you make, but more importantly, how much money you make. You are required to report your earnings to the IRS. So understand, it’s not that ClickBank wants this information, they are required by the IRS to have it.
Now, let’s briefly touch on the following subjects regarding ClickBank:
- How to find a CB product to promote
- CDR
- Payment Threshold
- Dormant accts
- Fees
How to find a CB product to promote: What’s hot? If you’re someone who’s always in the know, you shouldn’t have a problem finding out what the latest hot item is. ClickBank has thousands of products, so it will be somewhat of a challenge to figure out which product to promote. As any good marketer of CB will tell you, make sure it’s a product that you would use or that you have purchased. That doesn’t mean that you have to buy every product that you promote, but if you are closer to the information, then you’re better able to promote it. For instance, if you’re an avid gardener, you’re better off promoting a product on gardening versus a product on how to end debt. You may want to seek out resources that will help you locate a niche product. This resource should also provide you with tools that help you market more efficiently.
CDR (Customer Distribution Requirement): Let’s say you earn $100 in commissions and of course you’re sitting and waiting for your check to arrive. Well, before you get too happy, you should know that ClickBank will withhold payments for the following reasons: You must have acquired sales that were made with 5 or more different credit card numbers. You must also have sales made with two different payment methods (either Visa, MasterCard, or PayPal). PayPal purchases do not count toward the minimum 5 different credit card numbers. Once you have met the Customer Distribution Requirement, your account will begin issuing payments.
Payment Threshold: The “Payment Threshold” is a predetermined amount of money that you must have in your account before CB will send you a check. You may select an amount from $10 to $100,000 as your Payment Threshold. The default setting is $100. CB holds your payment until your payable balance reaches your specified amount. Your payment threshold can be changed at any time.
Dormant Accounts: Accounts with a positive balance but no earnings is considered dormant. If your account is dormant for an extended period of time it becomes subject to dormant account charges. The charges are as follows: $1 per pay period after 90 days of no earnings, $5 per pay period after 180 days of no earnings, and $15 per pay period after 365 days of no earnings.
Fees: Until you read the fine print, you may not think that ClickBank has any fees. Well, think again. They’re not huge fees, but they can still impact your commissions. Let’s take a look at them. One fee is called a Return Allowance. This fee is withheld from each payment. It is a fraction of each payment that is made to you. The standard return allowance is 10%, but can be adjusted by ClickBank at any time. These funds are used to manage quailty issues such as when a product you promote results in delayed funds or revoked sales. This fee is credited back to your account after 12 weeks.
Another fee is called a processing charge. The processing charge is $2.50. This charge is deducted from each check payment that ClickBank issues per pay period. Keep in mind if you’re set up to receive checks, that there are two pay periods per month. However, you can choose to receive payments weekly or bi-weekly. Direct Deposits of your commissions are done on a weekly or bi-weekly basis at no charge. And let’s not forget your payment threshold, If it’s set to $10, you’ll have $2.50 deducted from each check. If you’re anticipating a large sale volume, you’ll be having checks cut at a frequent rate. You may want to set your threshold to $50 and above. If you’re going to be making a lot of sales, your best bet is to set your threhold higher and to receive payments via direct deposit. There are other fees associated with ClickBank. Please see the Accounting Policy for more information. As you have read, there is a lot to be learned about ClickBank. Sometimes we’re so eager to get started in earning money, that we don’t read the fine print. Before joining any program in efforts to make money, be sure to read the terms and conditions. ClickBank is an awesome tool in which to earn a secondary if not primary income. Discover ClickBank today!
Thank you for taking the time to read my article. I hope that you’ve found ClickBank to be an avenue you’d like to explore. Honestly, you can earn good money just by promoting other people’s products. If you’d like to learn how to be an effective marketer with ClickBank visit [http://www.Learn-Affiliate-Marketing.com] for more information including hints, tips, video tutorials, and guides to help you get started.
Here’s to Life Enrichment!
Cynthia L. Dixon
Author: Cynthia Dixon
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
Sponsored by: Make Money With Clickbank
Viral Clickbank Footprints – A Free Ebook
Finding a free Clickbank ebook is not as easy as you might think and yet there would seem to be some demand for material dealing with things like Clickbank for beginners, making money with Clickbank and free Clickbank tools.
The recent release of the free report entitled Viral Clickbank Footprints has been a small step forward for those seeking cost effective ways to promote Clickbank products and services as an affiliate.
Viral Clickbank Footprints is a short and to the point report detailing various free Clickbank resources that affiliates can use to help them gain exposure on the web. It is not another PPC manual, rather a collection of services and programs that have been designed to help Clickbank affiliates reach a wider audience. Several of these services have a viral component and the report itself is a viral vehicle due to the free rebranding rights that come with it.
The report contains a variety of third party Clickbank services that are all easy for beginners to use and yet may still be of interest to the more experienced affiliate.
If you have never used things like error pages, one time offers, contextual advertising, Clickbank storefronts and malls, Clickbank search boxes and portals, or Clickbank search engines then the report can teach you something new. The tools and tactics contained in the report are tried and tested by the author and can bring considerable improvements in affiliate commissions if used correctly.
The report deals with low cost and free options for affiliates and steers clear of PPC advertising which is acknowledged to be probably the most effective promotion strategy for Clickbank products. The problem with PPC, for the inexperienced affiliate, is that it is easy to burn a lot of advertising capital very quickly and see little in the way of results. It is recommended that anyone thinking of starting an Adwords campaign for a clickbank product do so only after reading some of the excellent manuals and ebooks on the subject. You will find links to a number of these in the resources at the foot of this article.
Viral Clickbank Footprints concentrates on far less risky strategies that are simple to implement and will cost anything from nothing to just a few dollars. Affiliates can read the report, rebrand it with their own links and give it away themselves, either to their blog readers, site visitors, list subscribers or social and business networking contacts. The more you promote the report, the more benefits it will bring.
Rebranding is a very simple process and will only take a few minutes, after which the reader will have a new viral vehicle for growing their Clickbank footprint on the web which should then bring about an improvement in their sales performance. Viral tactics like this have a lot of potential, although I would never claim that it will be as effective as a well run PPC advertising effort. It is however a lot easier to implement and carries virtually zero risk. This is appealing for anyone on a limited budget.
The report has already been picked up by one leading Clickbank authority and looks set to become a popular addition to the promotional tools of a good number of Clickbank affiliates. The fact that both the ebook and the rebranding rights are free is making it a popular download.
Although the report is short, it is to the point and doesn’t waste the readers time with loads of “filler” and unneccessary copy. It outlines the programs and explains concisely what they can do. There us no hype or exaggerated claims of potential earnings, just step by step explanations of the services and tools, leaving readers with the freedom to use all of them, or only those that fit their own promotional strategies or business models. To get the full benefit of the viral effect of the report however, it is obviously better to join all of the programs used to ensure that you are not giving up potential exposure to others who have rebranded the report before you.
The report can help both those who have their own website(s) and those who don’t, so it really is aimed at a whole cross section of Clickbank users and varying levels of experience. Even if you’ve never made money with Clickbank before, the report will help you to earn that first elusive commission, and, if you promote it effectively, could earn you a good number more in the future.
Viral Clickbank Footprints is, in summary, a useful and helpful read that should enable people to accelerate their learning, save a lot of searching time and set them on a path to potentially unlimited viral growth of their Clickbank presence online. If you would like a free copy of the report, you will find a link to it in the resource box at the foot of this article. You will not need to opt-in to a list to get your copy as it is a direct download.
The author writes regularly on marketing issues at his internet marketing blog and the free Viral Clickbank Footprints report can be downloaded directly from his website.
Author: Maurice Snell
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
Sponsored by: SEO Guru Blog
ClickBank is a marketplace for digital products such as software and e-books. It is also a collection of information products that you can promote as an affiliate. But if you want to be a successful affiliate marketer and actually make money, then, Clickbank is an ideal place to start.
ClickBank is a third-party online payment processor that handles all of your financial processes. Clickbank is geared towards digital products, which makes it very popular.
IMPORTANT POINT: The reason people will promote another product as an affiliate through Clickbank is because they know they are going to get paid on time. Clickbank is a program that I know quite a few bloggers use. Using ClickBank is a guarantee that everyone’s affiliates always get paid.
ClickBank is a very easy and cost effective way to start selling internet products. Clickbank is a very powerful tool for you as an affiliate manager. Clickbank is one of my favorite networks because it is very easy to use and provides an excellent way for me to earn money as an affiliate.
ClickBank is the Internet’s largest digital marketplace, where thousands of the web’s most popular products are sold every day. That’s why you need to be a part of it.
If you’re a “newbie” or newcomer to internet marketing, you may not have heard about Clickbank, so in this article I will Endeavour to explain some of the more important aspects of it.
It is this combination of features that makes Clickbank a formidable competitor to other online marketing structures. Check out Clickbank now, and have a look around for yourself.
The benefits of affiliate marketing through Clickbank far outweigh any potential negative experiences that may arise due to an unscrupulous few. It is one of the best places to start in affiliate marketing. Affiliate Marketing is the easiest way to build a business on the Internet, you don’t need a website, domain name, (You can if you want to but it’s not necessary) and everything is done for you.
Every internet marketer should have Clickbank in their arsenal of marketing tools. There are other “affiliate marketing” websites, but Clickbank is one of the most popular. Click Bank is arguably one of the largest online marketing networks.
Over 100000 affiliates rely on ClickBank for accurate tracking and timely payments plus a load of other valuable resources. Your affiliates can enter their ClickBank nickname, and with a click of their mouse, have their own secure, encrypted affiliate link.
Although, for those that like a bit of control in managing their affiliates ClickBank gives you little control, however it is still an excellent option . All sales that come in are stamped with their affiliates ClickBank nickname, so the program knows who to pay. Your affiliates can now feel more confident in promoting your products knowing that their info is protected all the way to Clickbank’s order page.
And you can tap into the 100000+ affiliates on ClickBank and have them promote your product. Stop waiting for commission checks–” Affiliates are paid by Clickbank twice per month instead of quarterly. If they have not done so already, all affiliates must sign up on the Clickbank website.
Among the top selling products on the net, over 75% of sales are generated by affiliates. Overall affiliates generate over 50% of all ClickBank sales. To make sure you get your commissions on time, most affiliates join through CLICKBANK. Affiliates Earn anywhere between, 20%-75% or every sale. Many thousands of affiliates sell ClickBank products, making it an easy and excellent choice for anyone selling a digital product.
Subscription to the affiliate programs is absolutely FREE, and you can get started instantly upon signing up with ClickBank.
The first step in getting set up in the affiliate program is to get your own personal Clickbank “nickname”, as they call it.
Over the years many people have made incredible incomes as a Clickbank affiliate.
Using ClickBank is a guarantee that our affiliates always get paid, they have a very good reputation for paying on time every time.
Clickbank is such an attractive proposition for affiliates to use, because it’s so easy to use. That’s why so many affiliates make Clickbank their first stop when looking to promote something.
Clickbank is an excellent place to get a start in product sales on the Internet; if you’ve got your own product then this is the best way to sell it. You’ll find thousands of affiliates ready to start making you loads of cash.
Len Cecchetto writes articles to help people on varied subjects. Clickbank is one of them, he knows the power of this program. To find out more on how to make a constant and good income using Clicbank, check out this site now. [http://www.ozmarketing.info/domcb/]
Author: Len Cecchetto
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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