Sen Ze’s Business In Your Pajamas! Blog

If you have the right software running your Internet Business, you can truly achieve awesome leverage that will enable you to make more money in a shorter period of time, with less effort.

Software for Internet Businesses help you do things better and faster like a Web Site Creator, which helps you create web sites quickly and without any HTML or programming knowledge.

Software also do the things you don’t want to do, like sending out a “welcome” e-mail for those who join your mailing list. You can do this manually, but a piece of software called “Autoresponder” can help you do this automatically and save you a lot of time and effort, so that you can better spend your time on marketing activities.

Software to run your Internet Business can be installed on your server where your web site is being hosted. This is typically a one-off purchase to own the software outright.

Or the software can be hosted by a third party on their server, and they charge you a fee to use it for your Internet Business. This fee can be based on time, like monthly or yearly. Or it can be based on access where they charge you every time you access it. Or it can be based on every transaction you make using the software.

So which option is better?

Install software on your own web server and pay a one-off fee or use a 3rd party’s and pay a fee for as long as you’re using their software?

I’ve done both - and you’ll soon see which one I prefer.

To do that, you need to understand the 3 main issues that are related to software:

1. Installation

2. Maintenance

3. Upgrades

Installation of software
================

Depending on the complexity of the software and how well the software creator has programmed it for easy installation, this can be done easily, or you may need someone to install it for you.

If you’re technically adept, you could install it on your own.

If you’re not, like most people, you’ll likely need to hire somebody to install it for you. This will add to your cost, but it’s a one-off fee.

Installation can take a few minutes or a few hours. Booking someone to install it for you can take a day or two or more, depending on when he’s free to do your job.

With hosted 3rd party programs, there’s no installation required on your part. The software is already installed, and you can get going in minutes.

Maintenance
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Software needs to be maintained to ensure that it’s working properly, or fixed when it’s not.

The more complex the software, the more maintenace it will likely need. If you’re not technically skilled (and most people are not), you’ll need to get someone who is to help you check on your software performance. This will add to your cost.

With hosted software on a 3rd party’s server where they charge you on a continuous basis, maintenance is already provided for whatever fee you’re paying.

And because the hosted 3rd party software is shared by other clients, the maintenance cost is also shared, so the total fee that includes the use of the software and maintenance is usually a very reasonable amount.

Upgrades
======

Software are constantly being improved on so that it can perform better, faster, more effectively, or simply to fix bugs that are almost certain to appear in more complex pieces of software.

Thus new versions of them are constantly being released - and it’s then up to you to decide whether you would like to upgrade to the newer version.

Frequently, however, you don’t have a choice because a critical bug has been discovered that will make your software not work well in certain circumstances.

If you’ve installed software on your server, and you decided to upgrade for better performance, or where you have no choice, you’ll need to either install the upgrade module, or re-install the latest version of the software.

Either way, this can be a pain, and will cost you some downtime, and more money. I’ve done this a few times and I can tell you that it can be a frustrating process.

Software running on a 3rd party’s server will automatically be upgraded without any need for you to do anything on your part, since the server isn’t yours, and the software provider would want to use the best software it can develop for it to have an edge over its competitors. The modest fee that they’re charging you usually includes all future upgrades at no additional cost.

You get the best software to use for your Internet Business, and you can rest easy knowing that all technical matters are taken care of.

The Verdict
========

If you’ve read this far, you’ll know that I’m a bigger fan of software hosted by reputable 3rd party companies instead of installing them on my own server.

While you may be paying more for hosted 3rd party software, it usually isn’t a lot more since the software provider can profit by having more clients all sharing the same software, maintenance and upgrade efforts.

So don’t discount software hosted by 3rd parties. In many cases, they’re what you SHOULD be using for your Internet Business.

Not only that, they can actually cost less than the software installed on your server, overall.

Sen Ze

P.S. You can link to this post with the following URL:

http://SenZe.com/business-blog/software/software-for-your-internet-business.htm

Technorati Tags: Software, Internet Business, Internet Business Software

An Affiliate Program created for the Internet must be tracked by a good piece of Affiliate Program software.

The availability of such a piece of software instantly enables Merchants from all over the world to duplicate their marketing efforts through their Affiliates’ efforts in return for a commission for a defined result (like a “sale”, for example).

And since there is no short supply of Affiliates who themselves come from all over the world, the Merchant with an Affiliate Program can get hundreds or thousands of Affiliates to market for him.

This is extremely powerful leverage and well worth the Merchant’s time and effort to create an Affiliate Program for his products.

Tracking for each Affiliate’s effort is done by a unique Affiliate Link for each Affiliate.

Using the Life Changing Party event as an example, Affiliate A’s Affiliate Link can look like the following:

http://www.LifeChangingParty.com?z=323ef5

Affiliate B’s Affiliate Link can look like the following:

http://www.LifeChangingParty.com?z=545wq32

The difference between the 2 links are in the alphanumeric characters after the “z=” characters. Affiliate A’s ID is “323ef5″, and Affiliate B’s ID is “545wq32″.

However both Affiliate Links will lead back to the page at http://www.LifeChangingParty.com no matter what the Affiliate ID is.

The Affiliate Program software takes note of any clicks on those different Affiliate Links and checks if a sale has resulted for any of them. If so, the commission as set by the Merchant will be credited to the Affiliate’s account.

That’s how an Affiliate Program software works, in a nutshell.

There are many Affiliate Program software out there that you can either buy off the shelf and install on your own host, or operate on a monthly access model where it’s hosted on a 3rd party’s server and you pay a monthly fee to use it.

Before we get into the merits of either approach, let’s discuss about what else needs to be present in an Affiliate Program software for both parties to get more value out of this simple but powerful marketing concept.

For the Merchant
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1. An Affiliate registration form for new Affiliates to join the Merchant’s Affiliate Program
This makes it easy for any Affiliate to join. Here’s how LifeChangingParty.com’s Affiliate Sign-Up Form looks like:

2. A function to automatically generate unique Affiliate Links for each new Affiliate who joins the Affiliate Program

As soon as the Affiliate has signed up, he gets his own unique Affiliate Link that he can use immediately to promote the Merchants’ web site selling his products, if he’s approved.

The Merchant can set the software to automatically approve each Affiliate who signs up, or he can choose to approve each one manually.

If he sets it to approve automatically, his Affiliates get their unique Affiliate Links immediately, so the Merchant can be lazing around in his Pajamas while his Affiliate force is building up every single day!

3. Affiliates’ Commissions
The Merchant should know at a glance how much commissions he needs to pay out at any time. He should be happy to see a big amount, because the more commissions he pays out, the more sales he’s making!

4. Affiliates’ Details
This is to for the Merchant to send commission checks to his Affiliates. He can also dispense with checks and pay his Affiliates through PayPal, and so he’ll need to know his Affiliates’ PayPal e-mails.

Here’s a menu that the Merchant sees in his Affiliate Program software:

5. Top Performing Affiliates
The Merchant should also know who are his best Affiliates so that he can give them even more incentives to market better for him.

6. Fraud Control
The Affiliate Program software should be able to distinguish between fraudulent sales and genuine sales, so that the Merchant is paying out the right amount of commissions to the right Affiliate.

7. Marketing Materials section
To make it easy for the Merchant’s Affiliates to market the Merchant’s products, the Merchant will need to upload marketing materials for his Affiliates to use “out of the box” so that little thinking is required on their part.

The marketing materials include classified ads, solo ads, e-mail ads, letters and banners. There should be a “Marketing Materials” section within the Affiliate Program software that the Affiliate can check out.

For the Affiliate
============

The Affiliate would be interested in the following:

1. Commissions Made
This is the first thing he would be looking at. He needs to know how much he has made from his efforts.

2. Clicks, Sales Figures
He would be interested in the number of sales he has made. If the system has been set to track clicks as well, he would have another number to look at. This can help him improve his marketing efforts.

Here’s an example:

3. Banners, Ads, E-Mails that he can use
These have been prepared by the Merchant for his use. They’ll make the Affiliates get going faster with his marketing efforts.

Here are 3 banners from the Life Changing Party event, that the Affiliate can use immediately:

In Summary
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The above are the essential features, and most basic Affiliate Program software would have them.

But there are a few extra important features that can be programmed into a piece of Affiliate Program software that can help the Merchant and the Affiliate better achieve their mutual goals.

Those extra features make the Affiliate stick their necks out to promote the Merchant’s products over his competitors’.

When this happens, the Affiliates make even more commissions, and yes, the Merchant makes even more sales, with a more loyal base of Affiliates marketing his products!

Stay tuned.

Sen Ze

P.S. You can link to this post with the following URL:

http://SenZe.com/business-blog/affiliate-program/affiliate-program-software-essentials.htm

Technorati Tags: Affiliate Program, Affiliate Program software, Affiliate Program software features

How much time can you have in a day?

24 hours, of course.

How much effort can you put in a day to market your web site?

This can be a lot, depending on your attitude and knowledge - but it’s usually not enough.

So how do you multiply your time and effort in a way that will make you more money?

Easy - you find others who are willing to put in the time and effort with you.

And why would they want to help you here?

They’ll do it usually for money or compensation of some kind.

But usually for money.

Which is good for you, since it’s usually very easy to send money to them.

So you’ll have to hire them to help you out without knowing if they’re as good or better than you are?

Well, you can pay them ONLY if they show some results, which is a measure of their performance.

What sort of results should they show you?

This is up to you, but my favorite type of results is for them to show me some SALES of my products as a result of their efforts.

Thus if I’m selling something on my web site as a Merchant, and they want to help me promote that product - then I want to see sales coming from their efforts before I pay them.

Fair enough?

Why would they want to put in all the time and effort to do something that only rewards them when a sale occurs?

Because:

1. If they do it right, the money they make from this arrangement can be a HUGE amount
This can be a whole lot more than being paid whether a sale happens or not, working for you as your employee. They would be paid for the same effort, but with more money as your Affiliate (if they do it right). The commission to them can range from 5% all the way up to 70% or more of the purchase price of the product, depending on what the product is. And prices for those products can range from $10 - $20 to thousands of dollars - so the compensation can be pretty substantial for some Affiliates who know what they’re doing.

2. They don’t have to be a Merchant with products to sell
They can simply represent those Merchants as their Affiliates. There’s no need for Affiliates to pack and deliver products to customers, or deal with customer support issues. That’s the Merchant’s job.

3. There are more “opportunities” for Affiliates
Since no special qualifications are required of the Affiliate other than a willingness to give it a shot following certain rules and policies set by the Merchant, Affiliates have more advantages over a “job”. Affiliates qualify themselves, and can choose from thousands of Merchants to represent.

Awesome Leverage Provided By Affiliate Programs
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The Merchant leverages on the time and effort of the Affiliates to reach out to more Prospects and only pays for performance. When a sale occurs, the Merchant has the money to pay the Affiliate off from the money collected from the Customer, so this is a risk-free arrangement for the Merchant in that he doesn’t have to gamble his money on a non-performing “employee” instead.

The Affiliates leverage off the time and effort of the Merchant in creating a product that others want to buy and in the Merchant dealing with support issues so that the Affiliates don’t have to. They simply focus on referring the Merchant’s products and services to interested Prospects, and they can get started right away.

Some Customers will only get to buy some really useful products and services when Affiliates are involved because the Merchant himself, even with a team of marketers on his payroll, cannot reach out to as many Prospects as compared to hundreds or thousands of Affiliates all doing their thing, being paid on performance. Customers will be thankful for products and services that add value to their lives in a way that they want which can be fulfilled by the Merchant - but they don’t necessarily know where to look for them without the Merchant’s Affiliates’ efforts.

This is a Win-Win-Win concept all the way, that involves the transfer of money from the Customer to the Merchant, and from the Merchant to the Affiliate.

Which is also the reason why many businesses use Affiliates to help market their products for them, and why there is no shortage of Affiliates willing to help out.

What’s Amazon’s role in Affiliate Programs?
=============================

Contrary to what you may think, Amazon.com didn’t invent the Affiliate Program.

Affiliate Programs have been in existence longer than you think.

That house you bought was probably sold to you by a Real Estate company, represented by its “Negotiator”. This company was an “Affiliate” for the previous houseowner as it was only rewarded for its efforts in selling the house to you. It will then pay its Negotiator from this commission earned, keeping the balance.

That stock you sold last week was executed by your stockbroker. The company that he works for, the stockbroking firm, is your “Affiliate”, earning a percentage of the stocks’ selling price, only when you sold it. A part of this commission goes to the stockbroker for helping the company execute its clients’ trades.

That insurance policy you have was sold to you by the insurance agent of an insurance company. This agent is the “Affiliate” of that company who pays him a percentage of the yearly premiums you pay to the insurance company to keep your insurance policy in force.

That car of yours was auctioned of by an auctioneer some time ago with the auctioneer’s company getting a percentage of the winning bid as its commission. The auctioneer’s company is your “Affiliate”, and pays the auctioneer from the commission earned for the work done, keeping the balance.

The damages won for you by your lawyer in court against the defendant who injured you in a Personal Injury case can be paid from a percentage of the damages due to you, on a “contigency fee” basis. He’s acting as your “Affiliate”, although you would still call him your “lawyer”.

There are many more examples, but you get the idea.

Affiliate Programs work for all parties very well - and what Amazon.com pioneered wasn’t an Affiliate Program, but an online tracking system for Affiliates who want to refer customers to them via the Internet for monetary reward.

Today, there are Affiliate Programs for all sorts of products and services, because of the leverage provided by an Affiliate Program software that tracks Affiliates’ efforts and sales that also doubles up as an “Affiliate Recruiting” software.

We’ll take a closer look at this powerful piece of software in my next post, that added tons of value to every party to a sales transaction.

You’ll discover how it can help the Affiliate and Merchant in ways you’ve never known - even if you currently run an Affiliate Program yourself.

As usual, I’ll serve up something surprising for you to devour.

Stay tuned.

Sen Ze

P.S. You can link to this post with the following URL:

http://SenZe.com/business-blog/affiliate-program/affiliate-program-for-merchants.htm

Technorati Tags: Affiliate Program, Leverage, Amazon, Amazon.com, Affiliate