A funny thing happened after Day 6 of the 30 Day Challenge: stuff started to click. Once I finally got hooked up by WordPress Direct (which is a company I’m still not totally convinced about), I successfully put a small affiliate ad on www.fundogcollars.com. No biggie - but using Market Samurai to create the ad was relatively painless. Not bad, even though the site still looks like…. well, let’s just say it looks pretty bad. More improvements on that as we get further into it.
Then on Day Seven, I was asked to get a 40 Day trial on a piece of software called Traffic Bug. After the 40 days, I’m supposed to dish out $19.95 if I think it’s worthwhile. Traffic Bug supposedly submits your site to directories, which creates back links (other sites linked to yours) that improves Search Engine Optimization (SEO). That whole process was relatively painless as well, and seemed cool - though the results are still out.
Here’s the cost breakdown of the 30 DC, for those keeping score at home:
- Market Samurai: $69.00 One Time Fee (Normal retail $149.00) - 30 day Free Trial
- Wordpress Direct: $14.95/mo - 30 Day Free Trial
- Gator Host Web Hosting: $8.95/mo
- Traffic Bug: $19.95 One Time Fee- 40 Day Free Trial
Man, this stuff can start to add up. But, if the results are there, then it’s a drop in the bucket. Time will tell.
My thought: I’m dubious of affiliate marketing in general. Doing the math, you have to move a lot of product to make any real dough (Amazon, for example, pays you 4% of price at the beginning, then ramps up over time). Plus, there’s a ton of shysters out there just dying for you to buy their ‘Internet Program’ to make $. These can be very expensive - but at the prices listed above, the 30 DC seems like a hell of a deal. Plus, as a marketer, its my job to find the spin that ultimately turns it into gold.
More to come. Any thoughts?
On to to Day 8.
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