Archive for Building my websites
25 Things You Don’t Know About Paul Teague!
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1) I was born in Hamstreet, Kent but have spent all my life since the age of 5 in the North of England.
2) I have moved house 24 times, 21 of those moves after leaving home at the age of 18 … and most of them connected with chasing my career in radio.
3) In was pretty entrepreneurial as a teenager – I set up and ran my own disco business with a friend, I worked several gardening jobs at a time, had a paper round and fixed broken calculators from the local electrical store to sell on for profit.
4) I took the academic ‘conveyor belt’ route in life, gaining 9 x ‘O’ levels, 1 x ‘O/A’ level, 3 x ‘A’ levels, 1 x 2:1 degree and 1 x postgraduate diploma. The funny thing is, although all that studying gave me a teaching career for 4 years, it was the things that I did on my own – radio and web work – that resulted in the best career moves and the most pleasure in life.
5) I did my first ever radio broadcast on Scunthorpe Hospital radio aged 18 in 1983 and was ‘bitten by the bug’. It took me another 9 years of work and persistance to finally get my first job at the BBC where I worked for 20 years … as a journalist, broadcaster and website manager.
6) I met my wife on my first day in college in 1983 delivering a telephone message as a favour to the porter. It was a case of ‘love at first sight’ (for me anyway!) and we’re still together all these years afterwards … with 3 lovely children to add to the mix.
7) My middle son has Aspergers Syndrome, which means that he’s on the Autistic Spectrum. In my mind this just gives him ‘special powers’ – he has an amazing memory, can learn stuff really quickly and never frets about many things that we’d all worry about – like performing.
I didn’t fly in a plane until the age of 27 – my parents could never afford it and neither could I until that age. These days I can’t stop … I love to travel abroad, and one day hope to spend time living elsewhere in Europe or America. I flew in a hot air balloon before I flew in plane.
9) I didn’t own a computer until 2002 – even though I’ve been working with them since my days as a teacher.
10) I once abseiled off the Humber Bridge whilst doing live commentary on the radio. We’d set it up so I really wasn’t sure if I’d do it until actually got there. I did and I loved it!
11) I love eating out in restaurants with good company – it’s my ideal night out.
12) I love the cinema … and now fortunately we’ve passed on that love to the kids.
13) I worked in a restaurant as a waiter between the ages of 13 and 18 (this was in addition to all my other jobs) and also did a summer season at Pontin’s in Lancashire waiting on tables whilst on vacation. It was always work I enjoyed.
14) I have interviewed a number of politicians such as John Prescott, Anne Widdicombe, Ken Livingston, Jeffery Archer and Michael Howard – who told me off for being ‘negative’ about his latest political announcement!
15) I love the Scottish group Runrig (my wife is Scottish) and have seen them perform many times – at Loch Lomond, in York, twice in Carlisle, at Edinburgh castle and at Stirling Castle. I have also interviewed band members several times for radio items.
16) I’ve also had a long standing love of the rock group Queen – the first single (remember those?) I ever bought was ‘Don’t Stop Me Now’ and I got to see them with Freddie as frontman at Elland Road in Leeds in the 1980s, on the ‘Hot Space’ tour.
17) While we’re talking about music, I was once embarrasssed at a Motorhead concert. They were once known as the ‘loudest live band’ so I’d bought along a roll of cotton wool so could put some in my ears if it was too loud. When I was frisked at the entrance I had to explain it’s purpose surrounded by hundreds of seasoned heavy metallers.
18) When I was a child (ie below the age of 11) I used to write books. I’ve got a rejection letter from Penguin in my scrap book. I’ve had several skirmishes with writing over the years – with short stories and plays mainly – but never with any level of accomplishment or success.
19) I would love to play a musical instrument, but I can’t yet. The best I did was recorder at school. I need to take lessons one day … I love music, and I know I’d get massive pleasure from it … I just need to do it! I’d also love to know if I can be taught to sing.
20) I love live radio broadcasting and would love to do it again. My career took me away from the practical stuff when I moved into management, but I did a live, all speech talkshow for 6 months of my career and although it was raw, uncut and dangerous, I’d love to do it again some day.
21) I love American TV … Battleship Galactica, Jericho, Big Love, 24, Game Of Thrones, The Sopranos, 6 Foot Under, Dexter, The American Office, Damages … the list goes on and I love ‘em all. Fortunately, my wife does too!
22) My dad used to play in a band with Cliff Richard before he was famous. Cliff was in my dad’s group ‘The Dick Teague Skiffle group’ but wanted to play rock ‘n’ roll which was the ‘next big thing’ in those days. If you don’t belive me, Google it!
23) My wife and I would like to take a driving holiday across the USA when we’re 50. We’ll both be 50 in the same year and it’ll be our 25th year of marriage then – my daughter will be an adult by that time, so she’s baby-sitting and we’re off on a jaunt 
My wife loves American wooden porches and I’d like her to sit on one at some point in her life (too many cowboy films when she was a child!)
24) At the age of 18 I cycled around Lake Geneva in 1 day (see note 8 – we travelled by coach) stopping off at Castle Chillon for a swim to cool off.
25) Although I haven’t done it for years now, I used to be into drama and acting in a big way. My biggest roles was as the Reverend Samuel Parris in ‘The Crucible’ whilst studying Theatre Studies for a year at college, but lesser parts included playing Lady Begonia, a ghost in ‘A Christmas Carol’ and one of King Herod’s ‘disco courtiers’!
Looking forward to your comments...
Business building: What’s your plan?
Posted by: | CommentsI’ve been very busy in the consolidation phase of my online business recently, and I wanted to write a post showing what I’ve been doing and how I’ve been doing it.
Lots of marketers will talk you through the launch phase of a product – but how do you build on that to turn it into a business that will generate an ongoing income which, let’s face it, is what we all really need?
Auto Cash Funnel Clickbank Earnings
The launch bit
It doesn’t seem that long ago that I launched Auto Cash Funnel with Chris Freville, my first big Clickbank launch with full JV support (see My product launch exposed!)
It was December 2010 in fact … and that product has now grossed over $350k to date and continues to make sales.
Now a lot of people I speak to are surprised to hear that.
They think that after a launch, a product stops selling, dead in its tracks.
Well, that’s not the case and it’s why I 100% advocate aspiring to be a product creator in your business.
You might not be ready for it yet .. but if you keep working at it steadily, you will be.
Auto Cash Funnel has continued to generate a daily income since after the launch … the numbers have clearly reduced since the initial frenzy of December 2010/January 2011, but only this week we had just short of a $600 day just from sales of that product.
So, Useful Tip 1 is: Create products, they give you solid equity in your business and mean that you can instantly start to earn not only a launch-based income, but also a residual income.
All that work becomes an asset for you.
I have hundreds of affiliate marketers sending traffic to Auto Cash Funnel … they have done the SEO work for me.
Don’t get me wrong, affiliate marketing is an essential part of any Internet Marketer’s toolkit – I use it every day.
But aspire to be the product creator, that’s where the long term, solid income is.
Which way next?
The post-launch bit
Okay, so here’s the problem with the product launch model.
It takes a massive amount of time, commitment and energy.
It’s very stressful, you rely entirely on the support of JV partners, and although you make a lot of money in a short time, it doesn’t build you a business.
So Useful Tip 2 is: Just because you earned some money, it doesn’t mean that you have a business.
I know a lot of people will say ‘What? $600 in a day 8 months after a launch?’ … and believe me, I struggled to make that in a month not so long ago.
But that figure is an exception, rather than the rule, and I ain’t going to be retiring on that!
So, after Auto Cash Funnel I was determined to put some business ‘eggs’ into a solid proposition for a long term business … something which didn’t rely on the ‘boom and bust’ of a Clickbank launch.
A different approach
That’s when I started work on Fast Fan Pages, my new software aimed at the growing and lucrative Facebook market.
I decided that I wanted to create a product that was as well regarded in the marketplace as Easy Video Player, OptimizePress and Chris Farell’s Membership site … you only ever read good things about those services, never any moans, groans, cries of ‘scam’ … and definitely no high refunds.
That’s the place I want to be … and with Fast Fan Pages I have been adamant that it will not be sold as a conventional IM product … no promises of fast riches, effortless income or automated millions!
Check out the marketing, you won’t see an income shot or earnings promise anywhere.
And frankly, if I had marketed it as a conventional IM product, I’d have made a pile of money from it – and a corresponding pile of refunds no doubt
But this is my long distance product, the one I’m going to build slowly, based on reputation and service.
Frankly, I don’t want you to use it if you don’t need it or don’t understand it – you’ll only refund anyway and damage my standing with Clickbank.
So I give a massive amount away for free – there’s no way you should be paying for that product then refunding with the free access I’ve given … the aim is to ensure that buyers make a fully informed purchase decision, the opposite of a blind sale or hard sell.
Around my Fast Fan Pages project I can build a community focus, use it to deliver the coaching that I love doing and move into offline and small business marketing as well … put my eggs into some different baskets.
I’m also doing lots of work with my local newspaper to deliver coaching and information to local offline businesses now.
Oh, and based on what we learned from the soft launch of Fast Fan Pages, we created an entirely new software called Instant iFrames which aims to generate massive, organic traffic from Facebook.
That’s me building in less dependence on JV support which although invaluable, and always appreciated, can be variable and is always dependent on reciprocity … and that it turn can damage your list, because you’re not free to send the emails you want to and may ‘force’ you to send emails that you’d rather not send.
So here’s Useful Tip 3: Aim to build an excellent reputation and a long lasting, sustainable business model.
Don’t just think short term ,though it’s hard not to do that when you’re just trying to get those crucial first dollars in.
As soon as you can, build in and deliver long term strategies.
And by long term I mean a couple of years, not months – my projections around Fast Fan Pages are built around the likely lifespan of Facebook and anticipated growth curve … I expect it to peak (for business) then begin to decline.
If it peaks for longer, then all the better
Get yourself some help!
Get help!
I’ve spent a lot of time working with Patrick, who codes Fast Fan Pages – since New Year 2011 in fact – and we built, developed, tested and tweaked it up to the soft launch in May 2011.
Every time I use this product I feel personally proud of what we have achieved … and you should see my list of new plans and features for the future!
Incidentally, I hooked up with Patrick via Elance – I got lucky, found a great guy and we enjoy working together.
But Useful Tip 4 is: You don’t have to do this all yourself!
I can’t code software, wouldn’t know where to start.
So I found someone who could – and he turns my crazy ideas into something workable, plus adds some great ideas of his own.
Get help to assist you in your areas of weakness … it will move you forward, faster.
Now Fast Fan Pages is up-and-running and I can devote a couple of days each week to growing it and supporting it.
It’s not like Auto Cash Funnel, we had a small launch to get it started, get some paying customers in there and allow us to work through the teething problems.
But this keeps adding customers, not losing them … this will not go crazy then tail off, this one will grow and develop.
And I’m very happy I got that in place early, even though the temptation was to rush at a second money-spinning launch.
More of the same
So now I’m back to doing the things I love doing, and growing my business in the directions that I want it to go.
I held a Giveaway – my first in over a year – because my friend David Walker and I had talked about teaming up for one ages ago and I was really keen to make it happen.
We added over 1300 subscribers to our lists in 1-2 weeks … these events work ladies and gentlemen, please do not disregard them!
I enjoyed it so much and, depending on my commitments, I’ll be back!
So Useful Tip 5 is: Do what you know works for you, what you’re good at and what you enjoy.
I’m also working on a live coaching program with my one-time mentor, now I guess part time business partner, Chris Freville.
I’ve done a lot of work with Chris over the past year, starting with his Internet Marketing Empire launch, moving on to Stealth Profit Machines, creating content for Passive Portals and now we decided to team up once again.
Great JV Giveaways
I’ve wanted to do a live coaching program for ages, so this is a great opportunity to get that going.
Will I be doing product launch again?
Yes … but later!
This little lot will keep me busy until end November 2011, then I’m going to enjoy the fruits of my labours and take the family to Spain again for a month over Christmas – there have to be some advantages to spending so many hours locked in my office working
Which brings me to Useful Tip 6: Don’t ever be foolish enough to believe that this can be done without hard work – it can’t!
But it’s a wonderful way to make money and the freedom it gives you is priceless … so long as you have your laptop and a connection, you can work wherever you are in the world.
By the way, my final Useful Tip 7? Get a mentor!
Work with somebody who’s got a proven record of success at at least the level above you you and learn from them how they do it.
My mentors to date have been Chris Freville and now, Daniel Wagner and James Watson.
I’m part of Daniel and James’ Mastermind Group – as I was with Chris’s before that – but with Daniel and James I specifically wanted to focus on long term, business building … from Chris I learned everything I know about successful product launches.
So grab yourself a mentor … it doesn’t really matter who you pick, but make sure you trust them, respect them and like them first and make sure they’re the right person to take you where you want to be next.
How about you, what do you think?
My Biggest Internet Marketing Mistake (And Why I Nearly Quit)
Posted by: | CommentsHappy New Year!
I really hope that this is the year you experience your own online breakthrough and that I can help you to achieve your goals.
There are no sales in this post, just a confession which I hope will help you in your own online business.
Exactly one year ago I made the biggest mistake in my own online career.
I had worked hard to build my subscriber list to over 1000 in Giveaways.
And I had a special offer planned to send to my subscribers which I thought was going to be my big breakthrough.
But I messed up BIG TIME!
I had decided to send out 4 versions of my killer email as a split test.
But I got it wrong and sent 4 different emails about the same product to each and every one of my subscribers.
I didn’t even realise until I had gone to bed that night … and it suddenly dawned on me what I had done.
Not only had I messed up my big opportunity, I had spammed all those hard won subscribers and probably messed up my entire online career.
Or that’s what I thought at the time!
I didn’t know how to deal with the mess, but I leapt out of bed and decided that total honesty is always the best policy.
I wrote to my subscribers apologizing for sending them 4 emails and reassuring them that it was an accident on my part
I contacted AWeber and told them that I might be getting some spam complaints on my account, but that it was the result of an accident.
I contacted the provider of the product I was promoting, apologizing if I had brought their product into disrepute and warning them of possible spam complaints.
And I went back to bed feeling terrible.
I thought my Internet marketing career was over!
I woke up the next day almost too nervous to open my emails.
But what I got was an amazing surprise.
I had received the most ‘reply’ emails from subscribers that I have ever had before or since.
Each one congratulated me on my email of apology, saying how refreshing it was to have someone take the time and trouble to do that.
AWeber thanked me for letting them know what was going on and reassured me that it was fine as I had explained what had happened.
The service that I was promoting had got back to me to thanked me for getting in contact and to say it was fine and they’d monitor any complaints.
And you know what?
I’d made what I thought was the biggest mistake of my online career, but it had only served to improve my reputation because of the way I had dealt with it.
I learned a lot from that incident, and I want to pass it on to you as we begin a new year of Internet Marketing in 2011:
1) It doesn’t matter if you make mistakes, it only matters how you deal with them
2) Honesty and openess is always the best course of action
3) You can always retrieve something that has gone wrong, and you will always learn something postive from things that didn’t work out
So, as we enter a brand new year, please go forward with enthusiasm and ambition, but don’t beat yourself up if you get things wrong, or make mistakes.
Dust yourself down, do what you can to put things right, and carry on as you were, equipped with new knowledge.
I honestly nearly threw in the towel exactly a year ago today.
I felt terrible, like I’d wasted everything I had worked for up to that point.
But it worked out fine.
And in the past month I exceeded my wildest expectations and launched a 6-figure, Clickbank Top 5 product.
I’m so pleased now that I didn’t ‘call it a day’ this time last year.
And you will feel exactly the same way if you keep working through the obstacles that you will inevitably encounter in 2011 … along with just as many ‘highs’ of course, as your subscriber list builds, you begin to drive more traffic, forge excellent JV partnerships and generate a better online income.
Keep going – it’s really worth it!
What are your thoughts on the subject?
My product launch exposed!
Posted by: | CommentsPhew!
I just closed the doors on my joint product launch with Chris Freville begin_of_the_skype_highlighting end_of_the_skype_highlighting after 2 weeks of frenetic activity.
And what a launch it was!
We reached position 5 in Clickbank’s E-business & E-marketing (that’s what counts for Internet Marketers) and we went to 6 figures within the first week … and it’s still rising! (Yes, you still make sales even when you’re closed)
Here are 5 things I want to share with you about the product launch, because they will help you massively in your own internet marketing.
They will give you insights and information that you could only get once you’ve done this for yourself.
I’ve included tips and techniques that will be useful to you whatever size of launch you’re aiming for.
Remember, although it’s very nice, not every launch has to gross 6 figures … the most important think is that you just get started, because everything else flows from there
Product Launch Tip 1: Upsells Exposed
Many customers hate upsells … with a passion!
We received many helpdesk rants from customers saying how much they detest upsells and exit splashes.
Yet these complaints are from the same people who are trying to make money online.
And my blunt advice to people who hate upsells and exit splash pages?
Get used to it, or prepare to leave massive sums of money of the table.
I’m not going to give precise figures for the Auto Cash Funnel launch, only JV partners and coaching clients get that information but let me break it down by percentages for you:
Front end = 49% of total income
Upsell 1 = 29% of total income
Upsell 2 = 18% of total income
Coaching option = 4% of total income (but monthly, recurring remember)
So upsells – however unpopular – account for over 50% of total sales.
If you’re really serious about making money online, I wonder how you feel about upsells now you’ve seen that breakdown of figures
Product Launch Tip 2: Helpdesk Issues Exposed
I’m really lucky, I teamed up with my coaching mentor Chris Freville for the launch of Auto Cash Funnel and as a veteran of many Clickbank launches, he has a support desk team in place.
I have my own support desk which I have been able to handle on my own until now, but am I glad we had Chris’s team available for this launch!
I’d had an insight into what a really busy helpdesk is like because I helped Chris out during his Stealth Profit Machines launch earlier in the year.
The volume of interactions on the helpdesk is very high during a launch and is made up of all sorts of queries … complaints, compliments, refund requests, lost download page links … you name it, you’ll have a helpdesk support ticket about it.
I very quickly modified many elements of our sales process based on feedback during pre-launch … so where I hadn’t been clear enough about something or if an instruction was not as clear as I thought, I fixed as many of those as possible before the main launch.
But there’s nothing quite like having hundreds of people moving through your coaching product, and if you missed a vital instruction, you’ll soon find out about it
Chris was absolutely right before we launched … I thought I’d just be able to help out on the helpdesk, but in actual fact, my efforts were best placed elsewhere, on fixing ‘big picture’ problems and refining the process as any problems became evident.
In fact I’ve only just surfaced now – a week after closing the doors – it’s that busy!
Another thing I wasn’t aware of was just how unpleasant some people can be.
You get the rudest emails from people … and this is before they’ve even given you the opportunity to help them.
I guess it just shows how much distrust there is around online purchases – many people think it’s all a scam.
If you’re one of those people who writes rude or offensive emails, a tip for you … it never, ever gives you any advantage in an email exchange, and frankly just slows down the resolution of your problem.
The best thing you can do if you have any kind of problem is:
a) raise a ticket with the support desk … that link is always clear in Clickbank launches
b) explain clearly and politely what the problem is, give as much detail as possible, including links and screen grabs if you know how do it
c) always include your receipt details for all products purchased
d) be assured that if it’s a Clickbank product, your money is safe and you will get a refund if that’s what you want. In Clickbank launches, Clickbank handles the money, the marketers get none of it for several days and a large amount is always held back for refunds.
So, in summary, my helpdesk advice is … get one and ship in staff or friends to run it for you, be prepared to be busy … and develop a thick skin!
Product Launch Tip 3: JVs Are Your Number 1 Asset
When I first started running my own Giveaway events, the thing that surprised me most was the power of having JV partners.
I started running my own events to make money, drive huge traffic and build my list fast … and it did all of those things.
But the big surprise for me was the wonderful relationships that it helped me to forge with other marketers – some bigger than me, some smaller – but all wonderful, productive and mutually beneficial partnerships which continue to flourish today.
It’s those partners who support you in a launch and help to drive massive traffic to your offers.
It’s why I recommend politeness and courtesy in all your online dealings … the person you’re ranting at today, might be the person you want to do business with tomorrow. Be nice!
I’ll let you into a secret … one of my most beneficial online partnerships began with me seeking a refund for a product I’d purchased and was unhappy with.
I won’t tell you the name of the marketer … but let me assure you, I’m so pleased I followed my own advice now
Chris and I rewarded our JVs with 60% commissions and some massive prizes and reciprocal mailings and we’re already planning our mailing schedule to make sure that we swiftly honour our commitments.
Our JVs rewarded us with massive support, and without them there would have been no 6-figure, Clickbank number 5 launch.
One of the biggest thrills for me was seeing massive marketers whom I admire immensely, supporting my launch … Ewen Chia, Dave Guindon, Lee McIntyre among many, many others.
These are all people whose products I have bought and rated, and it has been a great honour having them support my own launch with Chris.
So nurture, support and value your JV partners … and never forget how important they are to your own success in your scramble to make money online.
Product Launch Tip 4: It’s Hard Work!
It’s absolutely true that when you have your breakthrough online you will make money ‘on autopilot’ and if you’ve ever held down a day job, or lived on a salary, there’s nothing quite like the thrill of finally being able to make money on the internet.
But let me be very clear, it takes a lot of hard work and if you don’t have the stomach for that, best call it a day now.
Is it worth it?
You bet it is!
It’s an amazing feeling for me to be able to be writing this blog post in Spain, on Christmas Day, with my kids laughing their heads off as they play with their new Wii, and with sunshine and beautiful blue skies outside.
I am maintaining my online business using a laptop and 3G dongle whilst having the adventure of a lifetime with my family … and that’s what internet marketing is all about for me …freedom and choice.
But don’t for one minute assume that this just dropped in my lap … my personal online journey began 8 years or so ago, and in that time I have taken massive financial risks and sacrificed a lot of family time.
That’s why I’m in Spain with my family at the moment … it’s a ‘thank you’ for their support and patience.
It’s the same with my mentor Chris too … wow, he works hard, and he’s made hundreds of thousands of pounds online in the past few years.
And he worked hard to get where he is today too … but it gives him and his family a wonderful freedom that you can’t get in a day job.
So, if you’re still struggling online, keep at it, understand that it takes hard work for everybody … but that you’re not wasting your time, that everybody has to do it, that is really is worth it and that persistence is the best attribute you could have.
And yes, Auto Cash Funnel really is the best way to do it in my opinion … it’s how I did it and it really does work … just remember that essential ingredient – persistence.
Product Launch Tip 5: Don’t Forget Your Download Pages!
Something that became very apparent to me whilst active in Giveaways was the value of putting free offers on your download pages.
It drives massive traffic for you and the trick for you is to place high converting ‘free’ offers in the path of that traffic.
But my jaw dropped when I saw the the level of sales generated by the JV offers on our Auto Cash Funnel download pages, especially the offer that was positioned right at the top of the page.
That downloads page is a piece of premium real estate, reserve it only for your most valued JVs … and whatever you do, never leave it empty of additional offers.
And as a headstart for a top converting affiliate progam, make sure that you sign up here and get some of Lee McIntyre’s offers in your sales funnel, you will not regret it
Product launches – what’s in it for me?
There are many product launches going on every week and the marketplace is now very crowded with them.
I’ve heard of many marketers who actually lost money on product launches in 2010 and there’s a lesson in that for all of us.
My personal feeling is that the membership model is more sustainable long term, and that a strategy of perpetual mini-launches which lead to continuity are the best option … you get all of the benefits, over a longer period, with less personal risk.
And those benefits can be considerable … you can build a massive, active list very fast (5 figures for Auto Cash Funnel alone in just 2 weeks!), generate equity in your own product and a residual online income, build amazing JV partnerships (a year ago I received Ewen Chia’s book for Christmas, this year he was my top leaderboard JV partner), make money (of course!) and learn … a lot … as I have just done.
And the learning never stops remember … I’m about to move my own business onto the next phase with a much quieter product launch later in the year and a move to small group coaching and membership sites.
At each stage I will need to learn new things along the way, forge new partnerships, take advice from people who are further along the line than me, but the learning never stops.
Wherever you are in your own internet marketing career, I hope that you will gain some useful tips from this post and I’d welcome your comments and input below.
What's your opinion on this?
My new 100% instant commissions affiliate program
Posted by: | CommentsMy instant commissions affiliate program
At last, I’ve finally got my 100% instant affiliate commissions program up-and-running.
I originally got this idea from Ben Brooks (I have no shame about copying great ideas!) who introduced me to his own program when we recorded a webinar together earlier in the year.
Ben uses SureFireProfitSystem which I actually really like and it allows you to sell products for 100% commissions and the affiliate gets paid instantly.
It has a monthly subscription cost of $47 per month.
Now I’m always a bit cautious about committing to subscription services and long term I intend to put all my business through Nanacast.com which I love – and which will allow me to run my 100% commissions scheme.
So, to get me started, I wanted something simple, without recurring costs.
I tried iDevaffiliate originally, a piece of software I bought ages ago, and whilst I really like it, it makes me nervous for two reasons.
It’s not automated, so I have to manage the Paypal mass payments and pay fees myself, and secondly it won’t give me an instant payment option, which I really want to encourage newbie affiliates.
So iDevaffiliate remains on my server, for possible use at a later date and I do recommend that you check it out if you’re planning to run an affiliate program which has delayed affiliate payouts, it’s excellent for that use.
I discounted PayDotCom for a similar reason, but once again, although I use it, the fees structure is not what I want for a 100% instant commissions program … basically, if I’m giving away all commissions, I don’t want any high burden of costs!
My affiliate program
PaySpree.com for affiliate program solutions
Then along comes PaySpree.com and I first noticed it when one of my IM friends Phillip P. Brewer sent me a subscriber email showing it in action.
Here’s his own affiliate products site, and this was what made me send Phillip an email and ask for the lowdown on the service.
PaySpree.com allows me to automate a 100% instant commissions affiliate program without me having to foot the bill for the fees … and it’s important to contain those costs if you’re not retaining any of the commissions from each sale.
It’s automated too and I don’t get any hassles with Helpdesk inquiries as the seller is responsible for refunds under the terms and conditions.
How to create an affiliate program
To create my affiliate program I have self-coded the pages on my paulteague.com domain.
I have a basic entry page at paulteague.com/affiliates and then a video coaching section, a resources area and of course the promo pages themselves.
Although these can all be hosted within PaySpree.com and its integrated marketplace, I have decided to create a branded area too, as I have a little more control over it.
The products are sourced from PlatinumResellRights.com which provides two full-blown products with sales pages every month, and in the longer term I’ll also be using ResellRightsWeekly.com as a source of high quality items for resale.
I discovered by ‘reverse engineering’ Phillip’s pages that he was using Affiliate Buzz to create the rather nice affiliate pages and I particularly like the way that you can insert your affiliate ID once, click on ‘Submit’ and it automatically add that ID to each of the affiliate links … very nice that
By the way, I used the free version of Affiliate Buzz, get it here and scroll down to the bottom of the page where you’ll see the Free Download link.
Finally, I obtained my ready-made affiliate resources from another of my favorite resources sites, Jeff Dedrick’s ViralEbookExplosion.com.
What’s the purpose of a 100% instant commissions affiliate program?
I remember asking Ben Brooks that same question, and the answer is of course simple.
100% instant commissions, with all the techie bits done for you, are very attractive to people, especially if you let them promote high quality offers like the ones you get at PlatinumResellRights.com!
As affiliates sign up, they begin to drive traffic for me … to the additional offers on the downloads pages, to the ExitSplash offers I have set up when they leave the download pages … oh, and did I mention, PaySpree.com allows me to harvest email details from buyers automatically, so they’re all added to my list as each sale is made.
It also allows me to develop a closer relationship with my own subscribers, by providing something of massive value for them, and taking all the strain at my end.
Finally, I have integrated this affiliate program through Facebook, as I am intending to drive more traffic from that site in future months.
As you can see, this is a tremendous resource to use and it’s part of my ongoing attempts to offer a better value service to my subscribers.
Got thoughts on better ways to run an affiliate program? Please feel free to add your comment below.
