New Years Specials Closing

This is a repeat of an email we just sent out.  If you missed it, here’s your second chance…

We’re bearing down on the close of 2008, which can mean many things - end of the year parties, New Years resolutions (you’re really going to do it this time), and a day off, among others.

New Years Eve also means one more thing this year - two of our best deals ever on StoreStacker are OVER.

For a few more hours, you can get 40% off (almost $100 off) your purchase of the StoreStacker package.  This includes StoreStacker and its 9 plugins - Amazon, Ebay, Youtube, RSS, Clickbank, Overstock, Regnow, Paydotcom, Hotelclub.

On Thursday, Jan. 1st at 12:01, it’s going back to its regular price of $247 - so if you’ve been waiting to get StoreStacker, hoping for a deal, this is it.  I assure you, we won’t be running another special like this for a long time.  Get it here:

http://storestacker.com/holiday.html

For those of you that already have StoreStacker, plugins are buy-one-get-one-free.  Depending on what you already have, this means you can:

- buy the RSS plugin (and import text and articles into your stores) and get Clickbank for free (total price $25, regularly $50)
- buy Overstock and Regnow and get Clickbank and Hotelclub for free (total price $50, regularly $100)
- buy 3 plugins and get the rest for free (total price $75, regularly $150)

More plugins allow you to feature more products, add more content, add more pages, and target your audience/traffic better.  And for a few more hours, you can get the ones you want free:

http://storestacker.com/holiday-plugins.html

Enjoy the rest of your holidays and if you have any questions, let us know.

All times (midnight, Dec 31st) are based on Pacific Standard Time.

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CommissionJunction plugin goes live

Our much anticipated CommissionJunction integration went live today, which means the products and merchants offered through CJ.com are now available to promote through your StoreStacker stores!

Easily one of our most powerful plugins, CommissionJunction adds a huge ~14 million promotable products to your quiver.  Virtually every niche and every market is covered, so no matter what market you’re serving, you’ll find solid offerings for your readers.

Because CJ has such a large number of products, we also created a tool to help you find the merchants that offer the products you want to promote.  This, of course, is included with the plugin.

You can see more informatin about the plugin here - http://storestacker.com/commissionjunction.html

This page also includes a new tutorial video that shows you how to use it (it’s nice and easy) - http://www.storestacker.com/tutorials/cj.html

To get the CJ plugin now, click here - http://halfagain.com/checkout/?g=SST

And to take advantage of StoreStacker for $1, click here - http://storestacker.com/order.html

Enough links for you?

Please note, because a significant amount of our server resources are needed to serve these datafeeds to our customers, the CJ plugin is charged on a recurring basis rather than a flat rate.  But don’t worry, the power easily justifies the payment.

Let us know if you have any questions.

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StoreStacker for $1

Anyone that wants can now use the complete StoreStacker system with ALL of its plugins, for only $1. Check it out here - StoreStacker.

Why $1?

We’ve had a couple of realizations over the past few months. First, we understand that that coughing up a chunk of change to purchase a tool that you’ve only heard about can be a little scary. It’s a big leap of faith on your part. Second, the StoreStacker system rocks - and no sales pitch can really do it justice. The bottom line is that seeing it in action will sell it better than any website ever could.

So, we decided to take out ALL of the risk and put the power directly in our users’ hands. You pay only $1 to use the complete system (including all of its plugins) and you get 2 weeks to run with it. If you love it, keep it and we’ll bill you the rest of the regular price. If you don’t, let us know and we’ll cancel the order with no questions asked - StoreStacker.

Here’s some background on StoreStacker:

While giving you access to promote over 10,000,000 products, StoreStacker allows you to build fast, search engine and buyer friendly affiliate websites, thousands of pages deep with targeted affiliate products, articles and videos.

StoreStacker is the ONLY tool you need for affiliate site building. No outside software needed, just plug StoreStacker into your domains (domains is plural, because you can use StoreStacker on an unlimited number of sites) and start pulling niche products on virtually any market you want, relevant articles from article directories or RSS feeds and youtube videos on your chosen topic. In a matter of minutes your domain or website can become a one-stop-shop-and-information-hub in any niche you want.

What makes StoreStacker different than other store builders?

- More integrations. StoreStacker gives you access to pull more affiliate products.
- More SEO friendly. Many other store builders don’t create a new page for each product posted. StoreStacker does. Which means more keywords, more content and more pages to get ranked. (We have a new SEO update going live this week)
- More powerful. Post videos and articles, in addition to products. Have full control over store templates.
- More local. Built in geo-targeting and and localization for ebay stores, amazon.co.uk also supported.
- More flexible. Add StoreStacker to any new domain or any existing website you want. Use it on unlimited domains.
- More user-friendly. Sell your own products and your affiliate links are automatically cloaked.

StoreStacker

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What’s my name, #$%&*?

Naming.  Doesn’t matter what you’re naming – your product, your business, your website or heck, even your child (which happens to be my current project), your choice is important.  Below you’ll find a flock of ideas, strategies, and tools to make your name discovery a little easier.

Through researching and writing this article, I tried to make name discovery a point-by-point affair.  I’ve also noticed that most, if not all of the articles and reports I’ve read over the years do the same.  Start here, end there, do this and don’t do that.  Lemme tell you though, it’s not nearly that cut and dry.  The process of naming is anything but linear. 

There is NO chronological set of events that promise to lead you to naming perfection.
There is NO set of naming principles you must adhere to.

Sure, there are certain guidelines and ideas it’s good to keep in mind, but I promise you, there’s an exception to every rule.  (Case in point: successfully branded, wildly popular and by all standards bad, names abound.)

The process of naming also has its idiosyncrasies.  Sometimes you’ll set out to name a new product and the perfect name will be hanging there,  right out in front of you, just waiting to be snatched out of thin air.  Other times, you’ll mull for days, agonizing over the details of your product, entering in hundreds or thousands of options to your registrar with nothing sounding “just” right. 

So, given the interesting and often inconsistent nature of naming, I’ve decided to divide this article into “considerations”.  That is, instead of giving you a chronological chart of action points from which you’ll undoubtedly stray, or assigning you a set of naming commandments that are anything but set in stone, I’ve outlined a collection of methods, ideas and strategies that you should simply consider.  (You’ll find the more basic ideas in the beginning with more meaty stuff following.)  So, let’s get the fast ones out of the way first…

Consider this: The basic stuff.

1.  Be easy to pronounce and spell.

2.  Make it memorable.

3.  Don’t pigeonhole yourself (Being to specific in the naming of your company or product (example: Dave’s 256k Flash Drives Inc. or Portland Flooring Inc.) can hinder growth later.)

4.  Go easy on the numbers.

5.  Don’t use names that could have a negative connotation in other languages (Baka Software Inc. sounds ok in the US, but won’t fly in Japan).

6.  Stay away from negative connotations. 

7.  Make sure your name doesn’t alienate any group (race, religion, etc)

8.  Search for existing trademarks on potential names.

9.  Make sure the domain is either available or purchasable in the aftermarket.  Use your favorite registrar OR use a bulk domain checker (I’ve outlined one below).

Consider this: Domain availability. 

Domain availability is possibly the biggest hang-up to ever happen to naming.  Sure, you can come up with great potential names, but can you come up with great potential domains that are available? 

I won’t spend much time on this because it’s pretty simple.  If you’re creating a name for a product or business that will require a .com, be patient, keep trying and you’ll start to get a feel for names that are more likely to be available than others.  I’ve also listed some tools below that will help immensely with this.

Consider this: Focused brainstorming.

Every book out there prescribes brainstorming.  However, instead of just sitting back and trying to come up with ANY words that describes your business, focus your brainstorming to answering a set of questions.  Answer each by making as long of a list or words and phrases as you possibly can.  Remember, the longer and more abstract your list, the better off you’ll be.  So go wild…

- What does your product do?
- What does your industry do, what’s its purpose?
- What is your product’s benefit to the consumer?
- What will happen for them?
- What will they get?
- What are the “ingredients” that go into your product or service?
- How are you different from the competition?
- What makes you unique?
- What’s the lingo in your industry?  What are the expressions that are unique to your offering and business?
…add your own as you see fit.

Consider this: Synonym search.

It’s pretty simple, really.  Take each and every one of the words you brainstormed above and plug them into a thesaurus like Thesaurus.com.  Run through each entry, keeping the words you like, trashing the ones you don’t.  Put these into a new list, paying attention to name possibilites.

Consider this: Word combining + a cool name combining tool.

After you’ve done some focused brainstorming and/or a synonym search, try word combining.  Pop ALL of your words into a word combiner like My Tool, tweak it’s settings to reflect what you want it to show and combine.  Depending on how many words you put into the system, you may get a massive list returned to you.  To weed through them quickly, you can then hit the button at the bottom and check each domain for availability.

Consider this: Name and word lists to get your juices flowing. 

Plenty of great product, company and website names have their roots in other, irrelevant names.  Look up “list of ______” in google and you’ll get more than you can handle. 

Geologic periods
Fruit or food names
Types of dynosaurs
Kinds of rocks
Latin or greek roots
Place names
Historical figure names
Zoological names
Botanical names
Math or Engineering terms
Astronomical terms
Animal, fish or bug names

Think about this abstractly also.  If your product is new and unique, what foods or plants have fresh connotations? Etc.

Consider this: Punning and plays on words.

I just tried a new beer recently specifically because of its name.  It was called Tricerahops, a double IPA made by Ninkasi Brewery.  Quite a beer, incidentally.  But check out how you can create a name like that.  Cruise your focused brainstorm and synonym lists for words that describe/define your product.  In this beer example, we might find hops – one of the main ingredients in beer.  Then, we can look through lists of animals, foods, places, etc and see if we get any good combinations, where the words fit seamlessly.  In this case, they chose a dinosaur name “Triceratops” and simply changed one letter.  Here’s an even easier way of doing it…

Consider this: Groovy word tool:

Use this tool More Words and search for any words that contain ____ .  You can search for anything – search for words that contain ‘top’, or words that have a double ‘e’.  Virtually any sound or letter combo you want to find in a word, this site will do it for you.

Consider this: Meaningful or not?
(example:  Daves Rocket Repair Inc. has meaning, Simble Inc. does not)

Some say creating a name with built-in meaning is a must - new companies or products need to seem familiar and safe.  Others say non-meaningful names are the best - the name is completely yours, free of meaning (which you can then define), plus, newly coined word names connote innovation.

The jury, as they say, is out.  Some things to keep in mind though:

Newly coined words CAN convey meaning.  The most championed of these may be Acura, which was formed from the morpheme “Acu” and finishing with suffix “ra”.  Acu as a root connotes accuracy or precision, which fits nicely for a luxury car line.

The creator of the Acura name (Ira Bachrach of NameLabs) is purported to have a list of thousands of combinable morphemes.  I, as or yet, have not found such a list.  If you happen to run across one, I’d love to see it :).

Consider this: A truly killer naming tool:

Word Lab and specifically this page - Word Lab Tools.
This website I consider to be one of the single most powerful naming tools out there. With an absolutely massive list of company names, a morpheme name creator, name builder, and so on, this site is the juggernaut of idea generators.  Every time I’m naming something new, I use this site.

Consider this Metaphorical naming [powerful stuff]

I call it metaphorical or lateral naming, but no matter what you call it, it’s a branch from the focused brainstorm and often, the coolest names come from this method.  It’ll take a more creative, abstract frame of mind, so whatever you need to do to break out of your linear comfort zone, do it.

So, after you’ve changed into your tie dye and stared at your Led Zeppelin poster for a while, grab your focused brainstorm.  Here we’re going to center on the question - “What does your product, business or industry DO”.  You’re going to sequentially take each of the words and phrases you came up with, and come up with OTHER things in life that do these things too.

Let me repeat (or rewrite, as it were) that.  You’re going to take what your business does, and come up with other things in life that do the same thing.  Make a list of everything you come up with.  Here are some examples:

I have a software company and our newest product’s function is to copy files (pretty high tech, I know).  So I ask, “What else in life copies things?” 
A copier – too logical.
A cell – might work, but a little ‘out there’.
A mime – A HA!
Why not call the new software product – Mime.

Here’s another:

My marketing company helps its clients voices get heard above the competition.  So, what else gets voices heard or makes things louder? 
A bullhorn.
A volume dial.
An Amplifier – A HA!
Why not call the company Amplify Interactive (happens to be a real company here in Portland).  Volume Media wouldn’t be bad either.

Consider this: Misspellings.

Misspellings of commonly used words can get you in familiarity’s proverbial backdoor.  Example – netflix.com.  It’s familiar, short and you instantly know what they do.  Though, if looking for an available domain, you’ll have to use some fancy combinations because common misspellings are already registered.

Consider this: Industry lingo.

Each industry has its lingo and you may have noticed that many taglines come from this, or more distinctly, those words and expressions that are used by your consumers. 

For example, I’ve just developed the perfect fish hook.  It never, and I mean NEVER lets a fish go.  A common expression in fishing when you feel a fish take your bait is “Fish on”.  This great expression combined with something else, might make a nice tagline for my fail-safe hook.  How about - Fish on … never off.

Consider this: Ask your friends, but…

Ask your friends’ opinions, but take them with a grain of salt.  First of all, your pool of test subjects is probably pretty small, leaving your results (ratio of yays to nays) with little accuracy.  Secondly, consider whether your friend is in your target market.  If they’re not, they may not ‘get’ a name which might be perfect for your market.  Finally, people in general side with what’s familiar.  Finding your website, seeing an advertisement or having a friend suggest your product can have the unique ability of making your product’s name sound good.  The name or names you ask your friends to grade won’t have the benefit of this.

Consider this: How is the competition named?  What are the trends?

I’ve made the mistake (like an idiot, I might add) of not checking my competition first and creating a name, only to find out my name is JUST like a competitor’s.  Time wasted.  Now, my general rule is to find out how my competitors are naming themselves and simply be different.  Stepping out of the box is always a bit of a gamble, so make sure you’re different in what will be seen as a positive way. 

Consider this: Name rhyming.

Rhymed names are memorable and can work, as long as they’re not too cute or overboard.  Rhyme Zone is fantastic for finding words that rhyme.  More Words can also be good for this.

rent a car bulgariaConsider this: Web 2.0 name generators

I’ll be honest, they’re generally crap.  I’ve used this one - Web 2.0 Name Generator, but found that, for the most part, they return relatively useless gibberish.  If you have a few extra minutes though, try popping some of your synonyms into the interface and seeing what it comes up with.  At the very least it might give you some ideas and get your wheels turning.

Consider this: Don’t put TOO much stock in your name.

They’re certainly important, but naming can also be over-emphasized.  There are plenty of highly successful businesses and products out there with bad names.  So, take your naming, like your friends’ opinions, with a grain of salt.  And, as with everything, the more you stress about obtaining perfection, the less likely you’ll come up with that killer name that seamlessly fits your offering.

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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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StoreStacker Upgraded: eBay support for 11 countries

StoreStacker has been upgraded and it just got even easier to serve specific localities and tighter niches with your stores!

Users can now pull and display eBay products specific to 11 countries, enabling them to better target their products to their audiences.  The newly upgraded eBay plugin supports US, UK, Canada, Australia, France, Germany, Spain, Netherlands, Switzerland, Belgium and India.

This upgrade is priced at the incredibly low price of F-R-E-E to all of our users.  If you’re already a customer, just download the latest installation archive from delivery area and update (overwrite) the /ebay/ folder in the /plugins/ directory on your server (don’t forget about binary upload).  When you create an eBay rule in “Grab N’ Push”, you’ll see the countries there.

If you’re not on board and want to take advantage of StoreStacker, it’s plugins and all our coming upgrades, Get StoreStacker Here.  Thanks and if you have any questions, email support@halfagain.com.  I hope to see you on the other side!

Scott

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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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Killer Email Copy [StoreStacker]

Below, I’ve posted 3 email templates for your affiliate enjoyment. The 1-Day-Before and Launch emails are relatively interchangeable - they’ll just need a few edits if you choose one over the other.

There are only 3 items you’ll need to insert into your emails: your affiliate link, their name and your name at the bottom. Affiliate links are available in your admin area of http://Titanpay.com.  Their name is probably insertable by your email service.  Your name is available on any mail that you’ve received recently :).  Here you go!

———————————–

1-Day-Before Launch

Hey [firstname], I have an important announcement for you today.

I’ve been around the web long enough that I’ve either seen or used pretty much everything out there. Every once in a while, though, something revolutionary comes along that really makes me sit up, take notice and get excited. And today, I’m excited.

StoreStacker, one of the web’s most powerful affiliate marketing tools, is re-opening.

AFFILIATE LINK HERE (get it from http://Titanpay.com)

You know buildanichestore, goldencan and all the other affiliate site builders out there? Forget them. StoreStacker is evolution at work.

First released a little more than 3 months ago, they closed their doors in well under a week after selling out of 1000 copies. StoreStacker is now re-opening to new customers.  This is your chance to get an affiliate powerhouse that actually does what it says it will – help you make more affiliate commissions.

And if you don’t believe it, check out some of the 20+ testimonials on their site. These stories are amazing. Revenue that has gone up by 5 times, top ten ranks in Google and more. These results have been demonstrated in only the last 3 months or so, just think what the next 6 months could hold.

AFFILIATE LINK HERE (get it from http://Titanpay.com)

If you’re already using an affiliate site/store builder, you need to check this out. If you’re not, you need to check this out. StoreStacker makes everything about affiliate marketing easier, faster and more profitable.

As they say though, time is money. They’re giving away free plugins to their first wave of customers. (Plugins are what allow you to pull products, articles and more from affiliate programs and the true power behind StoreStacker.) Getting in early is an easy way to save some cash.

It opens Thursday the 28th, at noon sharp (eastern standard time).

AFFILIATE LINK HERE (get it from http://Titanpay.com)

YOUR NAME

 ———————————–

Launch Email

Hi [firstname],

StoreStacker. The name seems to be on everyone’s lips lately. In the past 4 months, it’s gained a following that’s really quite remarkable – especially in such a short time. What is even more remarkable, is that sales were closed for most of this time. (They opened for less than a week back in April and sold out of 1000 copies).

Since customers of products usually say it best, here are a few reasons why it might be making such an impression…

1) “New traffic is coming in off new search engine listings, people are coming back to my sites and the most important part, my affiliate revenue, has increased by more than double.”

2) “My revenue is up, literally, at least 500% across the board.”

3) “Setup was a snap and the web interface is very intuitive…to tell you the truth I didn’t even read the instructions first.”

4) “There is a new kid on the block and it wipes the floor with BANS.”

5) “This is truly a set it and forget it goldmine!”

And my own thoughts on StoreStacker?

*** I’ve never seen ANY affiliate marketing tool as powerful and with as much potential as this – and I’ve seen them all.

Why is this so important today? Because StoreStacker is opening to new customers – Thursday, August 28th at noon sharp, eastern standard time.

AFFILIATE LINK HERE (get it from http://Titanpay.com)

StoreStacker allows anyone to build a complete affiliate store on any website or blog (new or old), pulling products from ebay, amazon, clickbank, overstock, regnow, and more, literally ’stacking’ them into one website. Pictures, descriptions, and prices are all imported, including your affiliate ID, automatically.

You can even pull targeted content using RSS feeds and relevant videos direct from Youtube.
So, you can easily create a full website with content/articles, videos and products, all targeted to any market you want. StoreStacker can be added to any existing website for additional monetization OR can be used to build a completely new site, from the ground up. It’s automatically SEOed and automatically updates with new products, articles and videos.

No other site builders do this.

NONE. ZILCH. NADA.

Every purchase comes with 12 free templates, video tutorials, user manuals and round-the-clock support.

AFFILIATE LINK HERE (get it from http://Titanpay.com)

StoreStacker is THE affiliate product of 2008. If it’s delivered for other users the way it has, think what it could for you.

YOUR NAME

 ———————————–

Follow Up Email

Hey there, I’m making sure you caught my email on Thursday about the StoreStacker’s re-opening. If you’ve already checked it out, you can ignore this email. But, if you haven’t, you shouldn’t dismiss this as yet another lame product launch. StoreStacker is the real deal.

AFFILIATE LINK HERE (get it from http://Titanpay.com)

If you have existing websites, StoreStacker is the perfect way to additionally (and easily) monetize them.

If you need to build new websites, StoreStacker will build you a beautifully SEOed, commission-pulling, content-packed, video-enabled, affiliate site in minutes.

If you do affiliate marketing, StoreStacker will help you do it better.

If you don’t, StoreStacker gives you a compelling reason to start.

If you want to target many niches and many markets, StoreStacker was designed for you – allowing you to build money-making websites targeting virtually any niche, any market.

StoreStacker users are making money NOW. It’s that simple. You owe it to your bank account to check it out.

AFFILIATE LINK HERE (get it from http://Titanpay.com)

YOUR NAME

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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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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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