The BIG Guide to Partnerships: Choose, but choose wisely.

This is the first installment in the ‘What We’ve Done’ series.  In other words, how 3 guys built a successful web-based business.  The idea of this series is to quantify exactly what we’ve done that’s been successful (and what we’ve done that hasn’t) so you can replicate the good and avoid the bad. 

This week’s installment:  Partnerships.

Everything started with a partnership.  I knew Omar (partner #1) from a previous position I had held as an affiliate manager (Omar was an affiliate) and Omar met Kirill (partner #2) one day in a forum.  He struck up a conversation, one thing led to another and after a few weeks, they started talking about doing a project together.  Omar brought us together, we discussed the potential, some of our reservations, logistics were worked out over the following couple of weeks (the setting up of the business entity, banking, etc) and we were on our way.

Now, I realize it sounds like I’m cutting out pieces of the story and I suppose I am to a certain extent, but none of them pertain to the actual formation of the partnership.  What I’ve said is a pretty accurate look at how we started.  Sounds easy right?  Read my disclaimer…

Personal Disclaimer:  I believe in being completely transparent with our practices and business, especially when doling out recommendations.  So, given this, please note that in forming our Halfagain LLC partnership, we did NOT use all of the tools and strategies I talk about below.  In short, we got lucky.  It doesn’t mean anyone will, and in fact, many haven’t.  So, use the strategies below – they will GREATLY enhance the likelihood of your partnership’s success. 

Issues are inevitable.

Our partnership, like most, isn’t perfect.  Sometimes one person feels like they’re doing all the work.  Other times, a partner may feel that more should be done in a certain area that is handled by the other.  And sometimes, we have regular old disagreements about how to handle certain matters.

The issue though is not the problem, it’s how the problem is solved.  It’s important to consider that partnerships aren’t dissolved because of problems, they’re dissolved due to a lack of solutions.

So, as cliché as it sounds, good communication and open-mindedness are the first rules to live by.  Think about it – if you’re not willing to candidly communicate AND remain open to the fact that your idea may not be the best option, what’s the point of having a partner? 

Fun fact:  I still have not met Kirill in person and only met Omar once.  All communication has been done over ICQ and skype. 

Why a partner?

Why are partners such a powerful option for the entrepreneur?  Here’s the short list.  Partners…

- Provide expertise where you have none.
- Temper your crazy, destined-for-failure ideas.
- Urge you to execute your better ones.
- Are another brain to bounce ideas off.
- Push you when you’d rather be on the couch watching a Lost marathon.
- Are simply more resources to throw at a project (Two heads and all that.)

What to look for?

Since I’m a fan of lists, I’ll give you another one.  Here are what I’ve found to be the most important attributes in a partner.  Your partner must …

- be good at what you’re not.
- be trustworthy.
- be a compatible personality.
- have similar business philosophies.
- be passionate about the business.
- have good track record in their area of expertise.

I won’t take the time to explain each one of these, as I believe most of them to be self-evident.  Just think of finding a partner in the same way you’d think of finding an employee.  If you wouldn’t hire them for the job, then they’re not the right choice.

Pitfalls to watch for.

Family.  Many will say this, but I don’t necessarily agree.  The pitfall to avoid on this one is to make sure you’re partnering with them because of their assets, NOT because they’re family.  Partner with someone for the wrong reasons and you’re sunk.

Trust.  Bottom line, partnering with someone who you don’t fully trust is a very BAD idea.  It doesn’t matter what they offer, how excited they are or how successful you think the business will be with them.  If you don’t trust ‘em, ditch ‘em.

Motivation.  I’ve found that more often than not, if two partners have different motivations, they’re headed for troubled waters.  For example, partner #1 is motivated by creating a value-based business and partner #2 is primarily motivated by making money.  The first partner is likely to want to spend time and money injecting their business with greater value for the customer, while the second is more likely to cut corners on costs and uncomfortably squeeze customers for more revenue.  Neither of these practices will sit well with Partner #1.  Be sure that your partner has the same motivations as you.

How to find a partner.

There are many, many ways to find a suitable partner.  However, it always starts with who you know.  So, in most cases, the prerequisite to finding a partner is getting your name out there, networking and building relationships in the field in which you wish to build a business.  You’ll often find that partnerships spawn naturally from the relationships you create, so use the web’s many mediums (email, forums, IM, social media sites and other communities) to start saying hi and striking up conversations with people.

Once you find some suitable candidates, work with them on small projects to get a feel for how they work and their business philosophy.  Are things looking good?  Discuss the possibility of working with them on some bigger projects. 

Get expectations on the table – put them in writing.

Write it down baby!  Put all expectations of the partnership in writing.  You’re skipping any he-said she-said stuff, covering yourself legally and making sure that, going into the venture, each party is fully aware of the expectations of the other.  Some ideas you might want to play with…

Who’s going to have control?
If there’s an impasse, how will you handle it?
Who’s investing and how does this affect control?
Who’s handling hiring and firing?
How much time is each party ready to commit to the project?
Etc.

Have built in exit strategies.

Think of it like signing prenuptials before getting married.  If a partner wants out, how will you handle it?

Reservations:  Now’s the time to be honest.

If there’s any a time to be honest, it’s before entering into a partnership.  I believe it’s important to have a “Concerns Session”, where both potential partners sit down and hash out any (and I do mean ANY) concerns they have about the partnership, the business or any other matter they think may come up later.  If you have a reservation, get it out BEFORE getting in.

—

If you have any experiences or thoughts regarding partnerships, shoot me an email.  I’d love to hear and work them into future articles.

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Blondes ARE the most popular…

I’ll be honest, we’re an odd species.  People, that is.  Though anyone can easily determine this through 15 minutes of people watching at your local mall, it’s much more obvious (and entertaining) when faced with the ‘evidence’.  But I digress…

I like to waste time.  But really, “waste” is relative.  Others might say I’m wasting time, I say I’m doing research.  One of my newest ways to do … research, is by making use of my keyword tool.

Wordtracker, if you don’t already know what it is, is a keyword script that allows you to see how often different keywords are searched in the search engines.  As with any keyword tool, it has its limitations.  For the most part though, it gets the job done. 

Keyword searches and why they’re damn cool.

In a nutshell, Wordtracker lets you see how ‘popular’ a keyword or phrase is (how often it’s searched) and how much competition (webpages) are fighting for the top search engine spots for that term.  If you’re researching a new market, etc, it’s pretty handy.  However, it also holds some unique entertainment value. 

At first glance, you might think – Great, it lets you see what people are searching for – good for marketing and that’s about it. Au contraire, this little $300/year tool has the potential to give you hours of entertainment.  With the right touch, it can provide insight into our values, our culture, what we like, what we dislike and the ‘human condition’ as a whole.  Sound like a mouthful?  Let me explain…

It’s 3 AM, I’m in my underwear and I’m searching for…

 We can essentially look at Wordtracker as a social experiment that gives insight into what people are ACTUALLY like. Why?  For the most part, people are not impeded by what they search for.  It’s social pressure that causes us to conform.  No people around, less pressure, more freedom.  Alone, late at night and with nothing but our imagination to stop us, our interests, oddities and quirks can run wild.  Using a tool like Wordtracker allows us to see a few things that we ordinarily wouldn’t be granted access to – what people really want.  Plus, it can answer some very profound questions.  Like what sport is REALLY the most popular.

According to what we search for online, we’re most interested in the least consequential stuff.  The world is at our fingertips and what do we grasp for?  Most often, a Kleenex.  However, our vices aside, this tool can be good at determining what people actually care about.

 Is this full-proof?

Of course not.  But it can still be quite interesting.  Here are some questions and the answers that 15 minutes of keyword lookups can get you …

Is porn really THAT popular?
Everyone knows that the internet is big for porn.  But did you know that porn related searches comprise 11 out of the top 20 searches?  That means sex comprises 55% of our most popular searches.  Hell, even “youporn” is searched more than “youtube”.  No wonder we’re at 6 billion and growing.

What’s the most popular sport?  The official list (plus number of searches)
football – 15,724
soccer – 11,495
basketball – 10,222
baseball – 6,854
tennis – 3,476
gymnastics - 2,557
cricket (can also include searches for the bug) – 2,542
hockey – 2,521
rugby – 2,359
boxing – 2,119

What’s the most popular hair color?
blonde – 12,559
redhead – 8,723
brunette – 6,804

What religion is generating the most interest?
islam – 3,524
buddhism – 2,877
hinduism – 2,314
christianity – 2,133

Karl Marx was wrong.  It’s TV, not religion.
“Dancing with the Stars” is searched more than “art”, “science”, “history” and “religion”… combined.

Favorite news sources.
“Naked news” is the most searched news source, followed by fox, the bbc and cnn.

Boy or girl?
“Baby boy names” and related keywords are searched over 10 times more often than “baby girl names”.

Who’s the most popularly searched celebrity? (currently) …
Vanessa Hudgens

Eh…
“Google” is the 4th most searched term, worldwide. 
(Admittedly, this may be due to the placement of toolbar search boxes.)

Given all the possibilities in the world, what do people want to learn how to do?
how to save a life – 4,088 (related to the song, I’m sure)
how to have sex – 2,767
how to masturbate – 1,955 (destined for greatness, we are)

Who’s the most popular designer?
gucci 1,109
ralph lauren 907
versace 518
christian dior 304
giorgio armani 131

Sure, they’re cute but…
“Pictures of cats” is the most popularly searched image related term.  By a LOT.

Let the numbers speak for themselves.
“Hentai” (otherwise known as cartoon porn) is the 9th most searched keyword worldwide. 

“Preteen” and related keywords make up 7 of the top 1000 searched keywords, “preteen” itself currently appearing as the 54th most searched word worldwide.

Does Wordtracker have predictive power?

The jury’s out on this one.  But, just for fun lets compare the democratic and republican candidates and their respective searches…

Democratic candidates:
hillary clinton – 3,718
barack obama – 2,332
john edwards – 1,629
dennis kucinich – 707
bill richardson – 446
joe biden – 341
mike gravel – 269
christopher dodd – 84

Republican candidates:
ron paul 6,982
fred thompson 3,703
mike huckabee 1,383
mitt romney 1,272
john mccain 770
rudy giuliani 768
duncan hunter 550
tom tancredo 270

We, of course, need to take into account the idea that the more outlandish and outspoken a candidate is, the more press and searches they’ll get.  This can confound predictions.  However, I wouldn’t count this method out as a loose predictor of who may win an election.

Investment potential?

Who knows, maybe it exists somewhere and I just haven’t run across it yet.  But I believe that if used and tracked correctly, the terms people search for can tell us where trends are emerging (before the ‘masses’ realize it), what companies to invest in and what markets are gaining popularity.

A tool, like wordtracker, that not only tracks ALL searched terms, but alerts the user to new searches and terms that are seeing a rise in searches could be very powerful.  Searched terms could be tracked like stocks, but instead of prices, we’d focus on the number of searches.  The business and investment potential here may be worth exploring.  

One more example for you.  Box office earnings.  I’d be willing to bet there’s a strong correlation between opening weekend box office earnings and the number of searches a movie receives in the week prior.  Track weekend earnings for different earnings and compare to number of searches.  Figure out the correlation and this can be another way for production companies to predict earnings. 

These are only a couple of the possible applications of tracking and using keyword searches.  Am I 100% convinced that either would work?  Not completely.  But hey, they might.  

 Statistical pitfalls to take into account (yeah, it’s a disclaimer).

Now obviously, the number of searches for anything will be influenced by the media or current social climate, so these need to be taken into account.  If a politician is say, caught in a public restroom soliciting sex, this will of course influence the number of people searching their name.  It will not be an idicator of their popularity.  So we need to take this into account.

 We also need to consider the audience that’s searching.  Internet users, though part of the greater population, by no means are a perfect representation of the whole.

This concludes my disclaimer.  Complaints?  Email me.

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How even the village idiot can make money with VideoStacker…

VideoStacker (http://VideoStacker.com) is officially live, totally free and promotable with your affiliate link.  If you haven’t seen it yet, check it out – it’s one of the coolest freebies that’s been given in the lead-up to a launch. Ever. Eeeeeverrrrr.

Anybody that clicks through your link (even if they don’t download VideoStacker) will be branded with your affiliate ID.  When any of your referrals order StoreStacker (which opens Thursday August 28th), you’ll get a commission on the $97-$225 sale.

You can grab your link from the linking codes page of your http://Titanpay.com admin area. New affiliates wanting to promote StoreStacker sign up here also.

“What do I do with free software …
and how the hell do I make money with it?”

Good question.  You’re not alone.

I was talking to one of my buddies (Chris: works at a bank, hates it) who’s new to the affiliate marketing game, and, along with griping about his recent and now ex-girlfriend, his ensuing identity crisis and what I was going to have for dinner (BBQ), I mentioned the free software, promo video, articles and other goodies that we’re releasing to our affiliates to help them market StoreStacker.  As an interested party, he asked (and not without a hint of sarcasm) – ‘Great. What the hell am I going to do with those?’

So, I gave my usual response to work-related questions – ‘buy me a beer and I’ll tell you.’

After our subsequent conversation in which I explained the basics of marketing with videos, articles and free software, it occured to me that instead of just releasing this stuff with the parting words, “go and do likewise”, that we’ll (both you and us) make many more sales and commissions if I accompanied our promo materials with a quasi-plan to help you get the most commissions out of them.

These tools can be INCREDIBLY effective at getting eyeballs, clicks and affiliate commissions, if employed well.  So, what follows is a summarization of our conversation.

If you already know these resources and tactics, no worries – you’re a stud and need no direction.  However, if you don’t, give them a whirl – they work (in fact, I’d bet there’s a pricey ebook out there with the same basic information). 

Today’s installment will concentrate on the distribution of VideoStacker. 

First of all, this is an awesome script.  Even more awesome, considering it’s free.  And by distributing it, you’re not selling or pitching anything.  That’s the diabolical beauty of it.

So, now we have the task of getting people to click through your link to download it.  Below, I outline the how-to of this…

These are the basic ways to do it:

1) Download and check it out yourself so you know what you’re talking about (or, if you’re lazy, just watch the video on the website) http://Videostacker.com

2) Email your list (if you have one) with your affiliate link (obtained from http://Titanpay.com).
Do something simple, quick and non-salesy, like: 

“Hey gang, I was just turned on to a killer piece of software that both just came out today AND happens to be totally free.  I checked it out and it’s the real deal.  Here’s a hint – it increases the value of your website, makes displaying relevant videos on your site stupidly simple and is very, very easy to use.  Check it out here [your affiliate link from http://Titanpay.com here]. “

3) Post a link to it on your (relevant) website or blog. 
If you want more response and more clicks, write up a quick review of it.

4) Create free pages.
Free page sites (there’s a better name for them but it’s eluding me) are fantastic for free traffic.  For example, squidoo (http://squidoo.com).

The basic idea is this: 
Make an account and create a free page about whatever you want – in this case, VideoStacker.  This page can pick up both search engine traffic AND traffic from the site itself.

Pages can be evaluated based on criteria like votes, friends, updates (number/frequency) and traffic.  The higher your evaluation, the better your rank in the system.  The better your rank, the more traffic you’ll get.  So, if you already have an account, friends and a following, you’re in a great position for getting traffic.  If you don’t however, you’re still in a good position.  I’ve seen many-a-newbie get plenty of traffic.  Sign up, create your page, make some friends, vote up their submissions and they’ll likely do the same for you.  Here’s a list of some possible targets for you:

http://Propeller.com
http://Bumpzee.com
http://hubpages.com
http://squidoo.com
http://mixx.com
http://ppnow.com
http://spongefish.com
http://gather.com
http://Twitter.com
http://reddit.com
http://vsocial.com
http://wink.com
http://mybloglog.com
http://digg.com
http://ma.gnolia.com/
http://weebly.com/
http://www.mefeedia.com
http://www.scribd.com
http://www.amazines.com
http://www.kaboodle.com
http://feedmelinks.com
http://www.slideshare.net

Next, we talk traffic.

5) Bookmark and ye shall find.
Social bookmarking sites are also a fantastic source of traffic, especially for free stuff like VideoStacker.  You can use them to send traffic:
- directly
- to your free pages (created above)
or 
- to your website or blog. 

Here’s the jist:
You submit a link.  The link is voted up or down.  Traffic from the bookmarking site clicks through.  Useful free stuff (esp. website/tech related) does quite well in these communities.  We’re all nerds, afterall.

Here again, it helps to have friends.  Everyone helps vote eachother’s submissions up.  The more friends you have, the more likely you are to get traffic.  But again, I’ve had submissions voted up (and quite a bit of traffic as a result) with no friends to speak of.  There are exceptions to every rule.

Here’s a list of some social bookmarking sites.  I had this compiled a while ago, so it may not be perfectly accurate.  Any site worth it’s bookmarks though, should be here (there’s also some social networking, and other social sites mixed in … yes, and some repeats.  No comments please, it’s a long list :

http://digg.com
http://buzz.yahoo.com
http://technorati.com
http://del.icio.us
http://propeller.com
http://stumbleupon.com
http://reddit.com
http://mixx.com
http://fark.com
http://mybloglog.com
http://slashdot.com
http://kaboodle.com
http://bloglines.com
http://newsvine.com
http://blinklist.com
http://netvouz.com
http://clipmarks.com
http://furl.net
http://mister-wong.com
http://dzone.com
http://ma.gnolia.com
http://tailrank.com
http://shoutwire.com
http://simpy.com
http://blogmarks.net
http://bluedot.us
http://spurl.net
http://linkswarm.com
http://spotback.com
http://mybookmarks.com
http://www.gravee.com/
http://www.backflip.com/
http://www.jot.com/
http://www.orkut.com/
http://www.blogmemes.net/
http://de.lirio.us/
http://www.diigo.com/
http://www.looklater.com
http://www.markaboo.com
http://www.queesh.com
http://www.rawsugar.com/index.faces
http://www.shadows.com/
http://www.igooi.com
http://www.hanzoweb.com
http://www.tagtooga.com/db.tag
http://wink.com/
http://www.ekudos.nl/
http://www.complore.com/
http://www.tallstreet.com/
http://indiagram.com/index.php
http://www.goesby.com/
http://www.portachi.com/
http://www.a1-webmarks.com/
http://www.tektag.com/
http://www.wirefan.com/
http://www.linkatopia.com/
http://www.optimiz.us/
http://www.linklog.nl
http://www.wykop.pl/
http://www.blogmarks.net/
http://www.connotea.org
http://www.listible.com/
http://www.wists.com/
http://otavo.com/
http://clipclip.org/
http://www.citeulike.org/
http://www.i89.us/
http://www.smarking.com/
http://www.indiamarks.com/
http://www.meme-stream.com/
http://www.tabmarks.com/
http://www.zurpy.com/
http://clipmarks.com/
http://www.linkagogo.com/
http://www.bookkit.com/
http://www.lilisto.com/
http://www.feedmarker.com/
http://feedmelinks.com/portal
http://www.bmaccess.net/
http://www.linkologia.pl/
http://segnalo.alice.it/?
http://www.lookmarks.com/
http://www.30daytags.com/fresh
http://imp.etuo.us/
http://www.librarything.com/
http://www.linkblog.com.br
http://www.oyax.com/
http://www.urlex.info/
http://www.web-feeds.com
http://www.bloghop.com/
http://www.browsr.com/
http://www.bookmarktracker.com/
http://buddymarks.com/
http://www.butterflyproject.nl/
https://www.chipmark.com/Main
http://www.connectedy.com/
http://ez4u.net/
http://freelink.org/
http://www.fungow.com
http://ww2.ikeepbookmarks.com/
http://www.mobleo.net/
http://www2.myhq.com/
http://www.mylinkvault.com/
http://www.mypip.com/home/
http://www.myvmarks.com
http://www.pixelmo.com/
http://www.searchles.com/
http://www.shoppersbase.com/
http://www.sitejot.com/
http://www.syncone.net/
http://www.startaid.com
http://www.zoogim.com/
http://bwsmith.com
http://aboogy.com
http://socialbookmarkingsite.com/
http://www.putvote.com
http://www.tagcloud9.com/
http://kinja.com
http://www.ambedo.com/
http://www.icio.de/
http://www.favoriting.com
http://www.corank.com/
http://www.icio.de
http://www.igooi.com
http://www.ikeepbookmarks.com
http://www.imp.etuo.us
http://www.indiagram.com
http://www.indiza.com
http://www.inspiredrepublic.com
http://www.jeteye.com
http://www.kbcafe.com
http://www.kmfavorites.com
http://www.kopikol.net
http://www.kuro5hin.org
http://www.leze.de
http://www.librarything.com
http://www.lifelogger.com
http://www.lifeslot.com
http://www.lilisto.com
http://www.linkagogo.com
http://www.linkarena.com
http://www.linkatopia.com
http://www.linkblog.com.br
http://www.linkfilter.net
http://www.linklog.com
http://www.linklog.nl
http://www.linkologia.pl
http://www.linkroll.com
http://www.listible.com
http://www.listmixer.com
http://www.looklater.com
http://www.lookmarks.com
http://www.lookthisup.com
http://www.loom.delymyth.net
http://www.maple.nu
http://www.markbo.com
http://www.memeorandum.com
http://www.meme-stream.com
http://www.memestreams.net
http://www.meneame.net
http://www.mesfavs.com
http://www.millionsofgames.com
http://www.motorken.com
http://www.mybookmark.gokodo.com
http://www.myhq.com
http://www.mylinkvault.com
http://www.myprogs.net
http://www.mystickies.com
http://www.myvmarks.com
http://www.networkmenus.co.uk
http://www.newhots.com
http://www.newnooze.com
http://www.newsvine.com
http://www.newzingo.com
http://www.nextaris.com
http://www.nowpublic.com
http://www.onlinefavorites.com
http://www.onlywire.com
http://www.openbm.de
http://www.opencontent.org
http://www.oyax.com
http://www.peoplefeeds.com
http://www.philoi.com
http://www.pixat.com
http://www.popdex.com
http://www.popurls.com
http://www.portachi.com
http://www.queesh.com
http://www.quimble.com
http://www.rawsugar.com
http://www.reader2.com
http://www.recommendit.dehsoftware.com
http://www.riffs.com
http://www.rocketnews.com
http://www.rojo.com
http://www.rollyo.com
http://www.rrove.com
http://www.sandbox.sourcelabs.com
http://www.scoopt.com
http://www.scuttle.org
http://www.searchfox.com
http://www.segnalo.com
http://www.shadows.com
http://www.shurl.us
http://www.sitetagger.com
http://www.smarking.com
http://www.socialbookmarking.org
http://www.socialporn.com
http://www.sphere.com
http://www.sync2it.com
http://www.tabmarks.com
http://www.tag.zurpy.com
http://www.taggle.de
http://www.tagground.com
http://www.taghop.com
http://www.tagsy.com
http://www.tagtooga.com
http://www.tailrank.com
http://www.tallstreet.com
http://www.targetyournews.com
http://www.textnotes.de
http://www.thethingsiwant.com
http://www.threadwatch.org
http://www.thumblicio.us
http://www.ticklr.net
http://www.toread.cc
http://www.tutorialism.com
http://www.ulinkx.com
http://www.unalog.com
http://www.urlex.info
http://www.watvindenwijover.nl
http://www.wazima.com
http://www.web-feeds.com
http://www.webride.org
http://www.wink.com
http://www.wists.com
http://www.wurldbook.com
http://www.yoono.com
http://www.yummy.printfu.org
http://www.zaadz.com
http://smarking.com/
http://segnalo.com/
http://www.shadows.com/
http://www.gifttagging.com/
http://www.wists.com/
http://www.feedmarker.com/
http://lilisto.com/
http://www.hyperlinkomatic.com/
http://www.linkagogo.com/
http://unalog.com/
http://consumating.com/
http://www.blogcatalog.com
http://www.linkedin.com/
http://standpoint.com/
http://www.efamilyties.com/
http://www.9rules.com/
http://www.broadcaster.com/
http://www.dailymotion.com/
http://vsocial.com
http://www.springdoo.com/
http://alexadex.com/ad/
http://www.spinspy.com/
http://www.meebo.com/
http://www.slawsome.com
http://rollyo.com/
http://quimble.com/
http://tailrank.com/
http://swicki.eurekster.com/
http://www.wetpaint.com/
http://pbwiki.com/
http://hipcal.com/
http://www.backflip.com/
http://www.connotea.org/
http://www.citeulike.org/
http://www.tagtooga.com/db.tag
http://tagalag.com/
http://flickr.com/
http://www.slide.com/

6) Forums

With forums, you have to be careful.  They’re full of possibility, but if you don’t respect them, they’ll kick you in the ass.  Not unlike a beehive of quibbling, whining bees.

The key here is to refrain from spamming your links.  Here are some strategies:

a) simply place your link in your signature. (safe, but only slightly effective)

b) respond in other threads that are already on the topic of free software, other like tools or videos in general (just use the forum’s search feature to find posts with keywords like youtube, video, widgets, adding video, free scripts, free software, etc), with the link to Videostacker.  This way, you’re on topic and helpful.  (fairly safe and more effetive)

c) take your chances and make a thread about it.  Be up front about it being an affiliate link, but let them know it’s worth it.  If you’re honest, they’ll respect the offer. (risky, but as with everything, more risk leads to big possible payoffs)d) in all cases, you can use a redirect so the affiliate link isn’t so in-your-face.  This can help ease the tension and keep the bloodhounds at bay.

Here’s a list of possible forums (again, these were compiled a while ago, so pardon any mistakes):

http://www.warriorforum.com/forum/default.asp
http://forums.digitalpoint.com/
http://www.v7n.com/forums/
http://www.webmaster-talk.com/
http://www.sitepoint.com/forums/
http://www.submitexpress.com/bbs/
http://www.startups.co.uk/
http://forums.comicbookresources.com/
http://bzimage.org/
http://www.clicks.ws/
http://www.earnersforum.com/forumsindex.php
http://www.acorndomains.co.uk/
http://www.davidcastle.org/BB/
http://6pins.com/blog/
http://iq69.com/forums/
http://forum.hot4s.com.au/
http://softwarecommunity.intel.com/i…/en-us/Forums/
http://forums.cnet.com/
http://forums.oracle.com/forums/cate…?categoryID=84
http://www.dnforum.com/
http://forums.webcosmo.com
http://atdinner.com/excellent-forums/
http://forum.hittail.com/phpbb2/index.php
http://www.affiliateseeking.com/forums
http://siteownersforums.com/index.php
http://www.webmaster-forums.net/
www.geekpoint.net
http://www.smallbusinessforums.org/
http://opensourcephoto.net/forum/
http://www.businesss-forum.com
www.9mb.com
https://www.computerbb.org/
http://forums.ukwebmasterworld.com/
http://www.webtalkforums.com/
http://www.bloggapedia.com/forum/
www.directoryjunction.com/forums
http://forums.seroundtable.com/
http://www.submitexpress.com/bbs/
http://www.startups.co.uk/

7) Blog commenting

Some blogs allow links, others do not.  The ones that do (if they’re trafficked) can give you some very nice residual traffic to wherever you want.  Many have no-follow tags, but we’re not really worried about these, because you want traffic, not links.

The key here is to be on topic.  Search in google, yahoo, et al., for blogs that discuss “widgets”, “free scripts”, “youtube tools”, “how to put video on websites”, etc.  Any keywords that relate to what Videostacker does.  Then, make a comment on the post highlighting how cool VideoStacker is.  Include your link, redirect or website that links to us.  Done and done.

Disclaimer and fine print:  Forums (and all of the sites listed above for that matter) can be one of the most powerful marketing tools in your proverbial quiver.  They’re perfect for word of mouth and can give very targeted traffic.  But, just in case you come off as spamming and your account is banned, Halfagain LLC takes no responsibility for your actions.  You’re on your own baby!

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How to Get Tasty: the 2 things you NEED to get HOT on Del.icio.us

Last week our blog made it on to the del.icio.us Hotlist with its third post.  We saw subscribers double, 325 people bookmarked us and traffic jumped by about 5,000 hits or so.  Not an insane amount of traffic but, all-in-all, it was a nice little bump. So, how’d I do it? 

You’ll find you have more control over social media sites than you might think… 

Image courtesy of VintageIP.

The article that made it.

The post that’s responsible is What’s My Name #$%&*?. In a nutshell, it details the naming process (of products, businesses, etc) and some unique naming strategies / tools.

How long did it take to write?

I’m neither an author nor a genius, so I’m a slow writer.  Though I didn’t time myself, my guess would be that What’s My Name #$%&*? took me about 8 hours to write. 

The 2 (and ONLY 2) rules I followed…

Rule #1 – Create value (or try).

This one is talked about a lot in marketing circles.  The proverbial ‘build it and they will come’ approach.  It’s both the most obvious and the easiest to overlook piece of creation.  Why?  Because creating something of value can be a pain in the ass.  Especially, if you’re not getting directly paid for it.  However, this is THE deal with social media sites.  You MUST create something of value to get noticed.  And it must be free.

What is value?  Big question.  For our purposes here though, we’ll define value as anything that your readers want or can use.  Your article/post/site can have:

- informational value
- emotional value
- entertainment value
etc

You’ll actually find that most of what people value will fall into a fairly small set of easily targeted categories.  Bottom line, create something that has value to your reader and your message will get fully ingested, bookmarked and passed around.

Rule #2 – Let people know.

As with any marketing campaign, it’s all about who sees your message.  The new blogger can write post after post of golden information and if no one sees it, they’re sunk. 

So, lets say you’re a new blogger and you don’t have an email list to alert or an existing traffic source to help “get the word out” about your new blog.  (This is where just about everyone starts.)  What should you do?

You have one, very powerful tool at your disposal.  Email.  Caroline Middlebrook made mention of this idea over on her blog also.  Email may be your only way of communicating with people about what you have to offer, so USE IT. 

The process is comprised of three steps. 

A) Figure out what kind of readers and what kind of websites would be interested in your blog and your specific post. 

If your blog covers do-it-yourself home improvement and the post you’re promoting is about flooring, your ‘target market’ is going to be people interested in DIY and flooring in particular.  See our article about segmentation and targeting for some good strategies on this.

B) Make a list of the influential names and websites in this niche and collect their contact info.

Using the DIY example above, look up keywords/phrases in Google such as “how to install floors”, “do it yourself flooring”, etc and make a list of other blogs and websites that both cover your topic AND have sizeable readerships.  You want to target ‘influential’ individuals here, who, if they mention your article on their site, will send some traffic.

C) Email them and say hi.  Introduce yourself, tell them about your article and why they should be interested.

Be personal.  No form emails.  Craft a specific email for each and every person you’re contacting.  It’s more than a promo email you’re writing, it’s the beginning of a relationship.

The Outcome.

Not every article you write or piece of info/entertainment you offer is going to be a slam dunk.  Some you think are destined for greatness will bomb.  Others you don’t give a second thought to may run to the top of digg, del.icio.us, etc.  It’s a numbers game.  But if played right, the numbers can be turned very much in your favor.

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How to get FREE traffic with the new StoreStacker video

The new StoreStacker video is up, out, live, available, free and promotable by our affiliates. You can scroll down to the bottom of this post to check it out.

Below, I’ve given you a short gameplan on how to use this video to your advantage – to get free traffic delivered right to your doorstep and to give your audience an exclusive peak at what’s coming on Thursday. 

1.  The fastest way to use this video is to simply post it on your website or blog, giving your audience a sneak peak at StoreStacker’s features.  We’re not posting the video on StoreStacker.com until Thursday, so until then, it’s yours to offer exclusively to your readers.

Just use the following code to put it anywhere you want (we have the video posted on an outside server, so you can throw it on your site without it eating any of your bandwidth) -

<script type=”text/javascript” src=”http://http.cdnlayer.com/nichevideos/storestacker/swfobject.js”></script>
<div id=”flashcontentab1806″> You probably do not have the Flash Player installed for your browser
or the video files are misplaced on your server!</div>
<script type=”text/javascript” src=”http://http.cdnlayer.com/nichevideos/storestacker/code.js”></script>

2. Video sites like youtube, revver, etc are an excellent (and easy) way to get free traffic to your own website or directly through your affiliate links.  There are a couple reasons for this:

a) Videos posted on community video sites make their way up the serps quickly.  So, buyers searching for keywords like “Store Stacker” or “Affiliate site builder” (or any other keywords you post with the video) have a good chance of finding your video.

b) Along with posting the video, you’re often able to make comments and post links to your own website (or for that matter, you can simply post your affiliate link that goes right to our site).  Viewers will then watch the video and hit your link.  Sometimes, these links won’t be live, but with the right comments/offer, they’ll still pull traffic. It only takes a couple minutes (even less if you already have an account at some of these sites) and the traffic you’ll get will make those couple minutes well worth the effort.

Download the video from here:

StoreStacker video download

The following are sites where you can place this video to get free traffic:

http://Youtube.com
http://Revver
http://clipmarks.com
http://bumpzee.com
http://searchles.com
http://livevideo.com
http://odeo.com
http://jumpcut.com
http://humsurfer.com/
http://truveo.com
http://clipclip.org
http://metacafe.com
http://feedbite.com/
http://video.aol.com
http://livevideo.com
http://Video.msn.com
http://Video.yahoo.com
http://Video.google.com
http://Vids.myspace.com
http://mefeedia.com
http://livevideo.com
http://purevideo.com
http://clipta.com
http://viddler.com
http://veoh.com

And without further ado, here’s the new video:

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More free StoreStacker traffic [article marketing]

Article marketing has been around for a few years.  Is it still worth it?  Hell yes.  Especially when you don’t even have to write them yourself.  Which you don’t.  Because I’m giving them to you.  In this zip…

http://storestacker.com/storestacker-articles.rar

… you’ll find 5 articles about StoreStacker.  You can use them any way you want. 

- post them on your own site
- create pages at the free page sites like:
http://Propeller.com
http://Bumpzee.com
http://hubpages.com
http://squidoo.com
- add these articles to free article sites like:
http://articledashboard.com
http://Ezinearticles.com
http://Goarticles.com
http://searchwarp.com
http://easyarticles.com
http://goarticles.com
http://selfgrowth.com
http://ideamarketers.com
http://articles.webraydian.com
http://articlesfactory.com
http://articlealley.com

Each of these methods is guaranteed to get you free traffic to your own site, or through your affiliate link.  All you have to do is take the few minutes to post them.  (It is advised that you edit them a little – article directories are more likely to take your submission this way, in case another affiliate has already submitted the originals.)

 

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Affiliate program specials

Dear affiliates,

For the last few months we did not contact you very often with any updates to our affiliate program and haven’t launched any new products for you to promote – this was the dead season in TitanPay, and now we are going to fix that.

Starting March the 1st we will announce the new site we will be launching for StoreStacker, our most recent product – we believe it will improve conversions and will allow you to use somewhat different approach when promoting the StoreStacker. However, you will be able to use the current site as well. Along with this announcement we will raise our affiliate commissions for StoreStacker all the way up to 70% – which means you will get 70% of the check. This share level will be kept at least until April 15th, including the date StoreStacker was released few years ago, April the 1st – giving you the opportunity to use the date to improve your sales.

Along with those changes, we will be releasing another tools and newer tool versions, both under the Halfagain brand, and our new one – “two enough” (more about this later). Some of them include a tool built atop of the BlogSolution, our first product and popular blogging platform for internet marketers – we are adding more new features and preparing it to play long well with a very special tool which will make a significant change in a way you do affiliate marketing. We have some cool special deals and offers in mind for those two, so stay tuned – we will be contacting you before the launch to make sure you are prepared well.

Now, more about “two enough”, our newborn kid. Two enough is a company started by our team to approach another part of the affiliate marketing “market” and target WordPress plugins and blog monetization as a whole (you might see rebranded BlogProfitz there as well) – head there to learn more about products it offers.

And sure, “two enough” has it’s own Affiliate Program – two enough + you – check it out and tune in, we will be adding more cool products there as well!

On a sidenote, we would like to remind you that we are offering tier-2 commissions when you refer affiliates to TitanPay and you can be sure to get a very special deal if you run big mailing lists or can arrange a deal with well-known affiliates and marketing gurus.

Halfagain Team.
If you have any questions/proposals or would like to clarify something please don’t hesitate to shoot an email to Kyryl, k@halfagain.com

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Big day for affiliates – say 50% big.

Dear partners,

As we announced before we are launching a time-limited offer for our affiliates who promote StoreStacker, our latest and so far most popular software tool. Starting today we are offering you 50% of the check-out price on any StoreStacker package (from “stock” – $97 to “full” – $222).

We have also launched the new site to accompany the deal – http://2.storestacker.com. It’s clean and easy to understand for any visitor – even those with very little knowledge of the affiliate market in general. All traffic you will send to the StoreStacker affiliate links will land to the new site. StoreStacker itself was also changed to improve conversions.

Few more things:

- Starting with the StoreStacker we are now accepting requests for customized landing pages – with personal greeting or bonuses.
- We are planning to run few more re-launches and fresh launches of new and rebuilt products within the next few month – contact us if you would like to arrange any special deal *hint – this will relate to domain parking and affiliate marketing*

To start please log in (or sign up) with TitanPay.com and navigate to “Linking codes” – you will find the deal info there. Hurry up as the deal expires in April and we will put it back to the regular commission.

Don’t hesitate to contact me directly via email – k@halfagain.com – i will be happy to answer any questions regarding the sales process, StoreStacker functions and upcoming product releases.

Kyryl.

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Are You In a Relationship?

I recently went down to LA to help my grandparents move.  Long story short, the trip culminated in a 20 hour drive with my father in a moving truck.  Suffice it to say, we got some time to chat.

 He mentioned something that’s been whirling around in my head since, and as it applies to today’s post, I thought I’d mention it.  He had a good friend a few years ago, Dave, that died of Hodgkins Disease.  Before he died and realizing that a terminal condition gives it’s ‘victim’ a unique perspective on things, my dad asked Dave what he believed to be the most important thing in life.  “What’s the key to happiness?”

His answer was simple.  Relationships. 

It’s not money, success, knowledge or possessions, he said. It’s simply your relationships with those around you. Your friends, your family, your colleagues.

I happen to agree.  Ironically, I also happen to believe that money, success, knowledge and possessions can all spring forth from strong, positive relationships.  So, yes, you CAN have your cake and eat it too.

Business, by its defenition, is all about the almighty dollar.  But, here’s a little secret.  The question should not be:

“How can I make more money?”

Instead, it should be:

“How can I create deeper, more positive, more meaningful relationships?”

Here’s why.

In the end, these two ‘philosophies’ can achieve the same goal.  The differences, however, are colossal.  Going at business with a “how-can-I-make-more-money” philosophy is immensely short-sighted.  No one likes a money-hungry fool (yes, they can smell you coming) and even if your strategy happens to be successful, you’ll ONLY have money to show for it.  Nothing else. 

Working from a “how-can-I-create-a-meaningful-relationship” perspective, you not only create an environment in which people will want to work with you, but people will think of you for future projects, refer you to their friends and in many cases, bend over backwards to help you when you need it.  You will, in fact, increase the chances of your overall success, reaping the benefit of making money AND having fantastic relationships (which, to be honest, are a lot more rewarding anyway).

So, try changing your focus from figuring out how you’re going to make that buck, to figuring out how you’re going to make that friend.  It may sound campy, but the more you put into your relationships, the more they’ll put into you. 

Tomorrow, I’ll post a really simple tip you can start using NOW, that’s helped us create some fantastic relationships.

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StoreStacker open for website developers

As of Thursday Oct 8th, StoreStacker will be officially open to developers!

Website developers will now be able to purchase individual StoreStacker licenses (one at a time), build complete affiliate sites/stores and sell them to their own customers – making it super easy for affiliate marketers who want an instant, quality affiliate store, without having to build it themselves.

To make it easier to find developers who build ready-to-go StoreStacker stores, we’ll be listing ‘authorized’ dealers on our main sales site (http://StoreStacker.com).

Developers – email me (scott@halfagain.com) for details on how to get started and listed as a dealer on StoreStacker.com. Please note: StoreStacker sites can only be sold if produced with a ‘developer’s single-use license’.

Have a fantastic day!

Scott

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