Finding AN Alternative to ePN!
As many of you will notice I have been quite quiet lately on the blog front, there are several reasons for that. The main one is that I've been spending quite a lot of time working on my own sites and re-developing the phpOStock sales page as well as moving the member database to my new members area to accommodate for the move of phpOStock over to the Clickbank marketplace. But now all of that is complete I will be able to post here more often, that is when I come back from my well earned week away next week :). Kate and I are heading off to Spain for a week away from everything, it'll be a nice break and I'll be able to return home refreshed before starting my new job online full time from the 5th of October. In that time my support desk will be fully monitored so questions won't go unanswered.
So, now onto the title of the post! I have received many emails over the last few weeks from people expressing their concern over the new commission structure from ePN which is due to come into force in less than a week. The main trend I have found from the emails is that people are wondering what to do IF their sites are not earning well under the new ePN structure, do they just scrap them? Sell them? What? Before going any further I just want to emphasise the importance of not 'jumping ship too soon!', I raised many important points which you need to consider before deciding to completely switch a site over to an alternative affiliate program.
If after thorough consideration you decide to switch a site over there are several options you have and these are options I will also be keeping in mind should some of my sites begin to fail under the new structure. What a lot of people forget is that many of our sites are built using the WordPress platform which makes switching monetization so much easier, so if your earnings do start to fall under the new system then don't panic. Of course there are many of us who also possess BANS sites within our portfolio, these won't be as easy to switch but won't be impossible either.
Below I have given a list of affiliate programs which I will be considering should any of my sites begin to fail under ePN's new QCP structure. It's important just to highlight that the following programs are not in order of importance, I would choose to switch to a new affiliate program purely on the individual basis of the site I was switching over.
The following list is just a short selection of the affiliate networks/programs available to you but what I have tried to do is highlight those which also have tools associated with them which you can used with your live WordPress sites, should you need to switch them over:
Option 1: Amazon Associates
Amazon has and still continues to lie as an untapped resource amongst many affiliate marketers, including myself, this is something I plan to change in the very near future. Even though marketers tend to choose other programs over the Amazon affiliate program due to the short 24 hour cookie life, their program can still be very lucrative IF promoted in the right way and in the right market. I have one site which does far far better with Amazon than it ever did with eBay.
WordPress Tools: phpZon, ReviewAZON
BANS Tool: AmaBANS
Option 2: Overstock
Overstock, again similar to Amazon, is still underestimated by many marketers but with Overstock now shipping to more countries including the UK, they are becoming more and more popular amongst shoppers. They provide affiliates with a good 14 day cookie life along with high commissions of up to 7% on non-media items.
Worpdress Tools: phpOStock Pro, phpOStock Lite
Option 3: Commission Junction
Commission junction has a huge amount of retailers in their database with huge product inventories that you are likely to find products to meet pretty much any niche area.
WordPress Tools: CJ Friend, popShops
Option 4: DataFeedR
DataFeedR isn't a network, it's actually a powerful WordPress plugin which allows you to promote pretty much all of the large affiliate networks and the products within them, including CJ.com, Linkshare.com, ShareASale.com, AffiliateFuture.com, Google Affiliate Network and many more. It's simple and easy to use and will enable you to promote multiple affiliate programs at once. The only downside is that it's available as a monthly subscription and not a one off fee.
WordPress Tools: DataFeedR
Option 5: Pepperjam Network
The PJ Network are just another large and very popular affiliate network with hundreds of affiliate programs to choose from, they have a great store builder and a WordPress plugin which you can use to promote products.
WordPress Tools: PepperJam Store Builder, PepperJam For WordPress
Option 6: Google Adsense
This is an option which many people forget about, Adsense is far from dead and I can still earn a decent chunk of cash off of Adsense ads with very little promotion. In most cases I find that Adsense works best if it's the primary monetization method of the site.
WordPress Tools: All in One Adsense and YPN Plugin
Hopefully these will give you a few options. Personally, I have not used all of the tools mentioned above which is why not all of the links are affiliate links, I have used a good majority of them though with good results.
Are there any others which you've used and would recommend but I haven't mentioned?
thanks for a very comprehensive list and also for stopping the deserters in their tracks and giving them /me another option. Unfortunately I cannot locate the AMAbans on megatao?
One thing I have found on the PHPbay forum is a great mod for seeing exactly which keyword led to the money, in conjunction with GA. don’t know if you visit it much but might be worth a look.
@ Cherie
No problem, these are alternatives which can easily be implemented into current WordPress websites without a huge amount of work, that’s the important thing I think.
AMABANS is a new addon from one of the BANS forum members, Tao, he has a thread about it in the ‘I’m offering’ section I think.
I haven’t seen that plugin, that isn’t the piggybank plugin is it? I do frequent the phpBay forum on a daily basis but just don’t post that often.
Ben
It’s not a plugin, it’s a mod on the forms.results.php files. Just go to the latest posts on phpBay pro 3x, look at the sticky
don’t suppose you know how to implement the Google Analytics "goal" thingy do you?
Cherie
hey Ben
Thanks for the download.
Do you ever find yourself in Lichfield?
Regards
Mike
@Cherie
Oh I know what you mean, I’ve come across that in the past and used it myself. The Google analytics I’m not sure about though I would have to take a closer look to see what you mean.
@Mike
No problem, Mike.
I do yes, I was in Lichfield last week with my niece and nephew for a day out. I also pop into there quite often for weekend nights out, are you from Lichfield yourself?
Hi Ben
Yup
If you fancy a beer/coffee one lunchtime, by all means drop me an e mail. It would be good to make some contacts locally-one MMC student to another so to speak!
Cheers
Mike
http://mike-mott.com
Really great list, Ben. I agree on using Adsense if it’s the primary monetization method of the site. That works for me anyway.
CJ is great, so many possibillities under 1 “roof”. Same goes for Linkshare and ShareaSale.
Any possibility the PHPOstock plugin will ever make it to a Joomla version?
Hi Ben,
I am a fellow John Thornhill Masterclass student and this is the second time I have visited your blog and all I can say is WOW!
You have such a wealth of information about affiliate marketing, ebay and so much more. I have heard about the Build A Niche Store idea but have not ventured that far as of yet.
Thank you for the wealth of info and when I am ready I will be back to learn from you! :D
Good Luck with everything.
Kind Regards
Jacinta :)
@ Mike –
Will do, would be good to catch up. I’m currently out of the country but will arrange something when I get back.
Ben
I like your list. After the announcement of QCP, I started focusing on the Amazon affiliate program. I personally HATE their 1 day cookie, but needed to diversify further. Currently, I’m promoting CJ, EPN and Amazon and I’m trying to get them closer together in earnings… things are improving.
So far the EPN QCP hasn’t hurt me, but regardless, I’m focusing on diversifying.
Great blog!
hanji
@ Daisy – I love CJ, doing quite well with them recently and they have a lot of product to fit most niches don’t they? Which is great!
It’s not something I had considered it until you mentioned it, it could be done. I want to complete the API version which will work with php based websites but overall it’s not too difficult to do. It’s not something which would happen quickly though.
@ Jacinta – Thank you for stopping by, it’s always great to have new readers to the blog. I hope all is going well with your product.
The whole niche store concept is a very good one to get into, you should give it a whirl:)
@ Hanji – Thanks for that. I agree, it’s extremely important to diversify, which is why when researching a niche it’s good to come up with a product range with various affiliate programs available. A monetization switch isn’t too hard then should it be required.
Amazon are great it the right niche but they have the one day cookie does mean you do have to have your visitor ‘ready to buy’ by the time they click through.
Good luck with the other affiliate programs
Ben
Hi Ben,
I was hoping you would consider it! To my knowledge, at the moment, there is no Overstock extension for Joomla.
Joomla is one of the best and most used Open Source CMS next to Drupal and WordPress (although the latter is still considered a blogging platform) and things are looking promising for the Joomla! 1.6 version.
A demo of AmaBANS is available here: http://www.megatao.com/amabans
Also, GeoBANS too: http://www.megatao.com/geobans
@Tao – Thanks Tao, I personally use amaBANS on some of my old BANS sites which weren’t doing too well with ePN and it works great.
Leave your response!
Most Popular Posts
Categories
Further Reading
Archives
Recommended
Copyright 2012 Affiliate Wizard Ltd. All rights reserved. | Design By Ben Johnson