Want Extra Sales? 10 Daily Deals Sites for Affiliate Marketers

Black Friday and Cyber Monday are fast approaching, and this reality may be causing you to panic as you search in vain for some online deal to display on your affiliate marketing websites. Luckily, there is no shortage of great online deals for affiliate marketers- if you know where to look. The answer to your troubles lies in daily deals sites. Such sites not only offer great deals and deeply discounted items, but they often also work with affiliates.

What are daily deals sites? They are sites that scour the Internet on a daily basis for the best online deals and discounted merchandise and then post these deals on a website and/or app. One example is DealTrunk, which offers heavily discounted brand name merchandise on a daily basis.

So, if you are still looking for that great online deal, here are 10 daily deal sites that will work with you- and give you a nice commission too:

1SaleADay

Each day, this site lists one product that is discounted by up to 90% off at midnight. The items can include electronics, perfume, jewelry, etc. There are also deals for hotel stays and vacation packages. Affiliates earn 3%-7% and get a 14-day referral period.

1saleaday

Gilt

Affiliates of Gilt are paid a 4% commission on every sale. While this may not seem like much, consider that the designer clothing sold through this site can easily cost $1,000 or more. We’re not talking about a $25 pair of shoes here.

Gilt group

Groupon

Through the Groupon Partner Network, you can become an affiliate and make 10% on Groupon and Ideel purchases. Because Groupon offers many different items, you can pick and choose which deals best integrate with your affiliate sites in terms of product theme.

groupon partner network

Living Social

This site offers a hefty 30% affiliate commission on purchases made by new and existing customers, plus $2.50 for every new email subscriber. Affiliates sign up through Commission Junction.

living social

 

nCrowd

If you’re not familiar with nCrowd, it’s a daily deals site that includes U.S.-based Dealfind and Tippr and the Canadian site TeamBuy.ca. Through this company’s affiliate program, you can earn up to 15% from consumer purchases. There are also tiered incentives for volume purchases. Affiliates obtain a 30-day referral period.

nCrowd

 

RetailMeNot

This site offers daily deals typically in the form of coupon codes to all kinds of online retailers. Users of the site can also get rewarded for submitting coupon codes they locate online (and elsewhere). Affiliates receive 50% of net revenue.

retailmenot

 

Teefury

This site posts one new T-shirt every 24 hours for $11. T shirt designs are often one-of-a-kind and may not be resold by the site ever again- although the designer could go to another website and sell the design elsewhere. Affiliates of Teefury sign up through Commission Junction. Although referral information is not listed on the site itself, affiliate forums report that affiliates earn $1 per each T-shirt sold.

teefury

Wayfair

This daily deals site features all kinds of home furnishing deals that are delivered to subscribers once each day by email newsletter. Affiliates with Wayfair can earn 5% commissions and get a generous 45-day referral period. You sign up to the program through ShareASale.

wayfair

 

Woot

Woot was one of the first daily deals sites to hit the Internet, and even today it is still going strong and has offshoots like Kids.Woot, Wine.Woot, Shirt.Woot and Deals.Woot. Affiliates- or minions, as Woot likes to call them- earn 2% on computers and electronics sales, and 4% on everything else (except wine).

woot

Zulily

This site offers upscale childrens’ clothing and accessories at discounted prices. Affiliates earn up to a 10% commission on all sales and receive a 7-day referral period. Sign-up to the program occurs through the ShareASale platform.

Zulily

Are daily deals sites good for affiliate marketers?

Some of the criticism surrounding daily deals ads and text links being posted on affiliate websites is that they distract visitors and redirect them to third party sites. Also, most customers will typically only go through the affiliate link once. After they have signed up with the daily deals site, they will go to that site directly, eschewing the affiliate site and depriving it of any further profits.

Another criticism about daily deals ads is that their profit margin is too low for the amount of disruption they cause to an affiliate site. In the case of Groupon, for example, the site’s profits are divided up between Groupon and the actual retailer providing the deal. So, the affiliate doesn’t really receive the full percentage of the deal.

However, there are some good reasons to include daily deals ads, at least for a limited time. If you coordinate the theme of the daily deal site to match items you are already selling on your site, the additional traffic to the deal could spill over to your own products. Also, because you must typically add in media and text that describes your daily deal ad, you could end up improving your site’s SEO for a particular product.

How to Start Rewards and Loyalty Programs on Your Website

According to BusinessWeek, nearly 90% of Americans participate in some kind of rewards program. The average household belongs to 22 loyalty programs- even if participation in all these programs is not always active (Colloquy). Furthermore, in a survey conducted by Maritz, 57% of respondents stated that they modify when and where they buy their items in order to maximize the points received from purchases; 46% stated that they modify which brands they purchase in order to maximize points.

Clearly, rewards and loyalty programs work. Indeed, customers who belong to a loyalty program are twice as likely to visit the same merchant and end up spending four times as much money as non-loyalty program customers.

With data such as these, you cannot ignore the potential that loyalty and rewards programs have in terms of growing your business and its revenues. However, if you own just an affiliate or other marketing site, how can you implement loyalty marketing into your online sales?

Install an E-commerce Plugin

To sell online, you will first need to download and install an e-commerce platform plugin to your website or blog. Luckily, there are many e-commerce plugins out there that are not only easy to install but are free.  Four plugins in this category include WooCommerce, WP e-Commerce, iThemes Exchange, MarketPress, Jigoshop and Cart66 Lite.

An e-commerce plugin such as WP e-Commerce enables your site to accomplish several merchandising functions, including using Paypal Payments (standard, Pro or Express) and integrating various payment gateways such as Google Wallet, BluePay, Sagepay, Paystation, and Authorize.net. You also gain access to selling options such as coupons, quantity discounts, catalogs and drag-and-drop shopping.

Integration with Google Analytics and Sitemaps, as well as SSL certificates for shopping security, are other advantages of most e-commerce plugins.

Install a rewards plugin

There are many rewards plugins out there that award points, purchase percentages or other incentives to site visitors who subscribe to the rewards program, like your FB page, follow you on Twitter, refer you to a friend or make a purchase. Here is a list of some of the most popular:

Beans

Although technically in its beta stage, the rather popular Beans plugin works with WooCommerce and enables shoppers to get rewarded for subscribing to the rewards program, taking social actions (e.g., liking your Facebook page), referring fellow shoppers, or making a purchase.

beans

One of the nice features about Beans is that your rewards program can be promoted on the Beans Platform, which means it gets indexed by search engines.

Loyalty Rewards

This plugin costs $89 for one site and operates through WooCommerce. It enables your customers to earn points through purchases and redeem the points later on for coupons or credit. You can set the amount of awarded points per product or purchase total. You can also create reward tiers and manually edit rewards points for any of your customers. The Loyalty Rewards plugin also integrates with Gift Certifictes Pro, so your customers can either be rewarded with gift certificates or buy them for others.

Finally, existing customers can have their past purchases grandfathered into their rewards accounts so that they are not left out of your loyalty marketing plan.

Shopper Rewards

This plugin works with WP e-Commerce and is free to install; the basic version of the plugin, which offers additional features, costs $20.

Shopper Rewards enables customers to take charge of their rewards program and earn points based on the amount purchased, to convert points to coupons, discounts, free products or percentages off, and to view points history. The plugin also integrates with the WP e-Commerce Coupon System.

You can reward current customers by importing their past purchases and assigning them rewards based on those purchases.

The Shopper Rewards Premium plugin, which is on the horizon (though with some delays) is expected to enable shoppers to earn points by completing social actions such as liking your Facebook page or following you on Twitter.

Rewarding Your Affiliates

You can create loyalty programs for your affiliates too- or nudge customers to become your affiliates. The Ambassador plugin, for example, not only tracks shoppers who come to your website via an affiliate’s link, but it also enables those customers to socially share their purchase information with their social network. This optional sharing feature advertises your online store to other potential shoppers.

Ambassador operates through WooCommerce and is available for $49 (for one site).

Affiliate WP is another $49 WooCommerce-based plugin that enables you to track your affiliates and their activities. Furthermore, you can integrate Affiliate WP with other loyalty rewards plugins and provide your affiliates with coupons or discount codes. Such leveraging enables you to increase not only your own sales, but the sales and referrals of your affiliates. 

affiliate wp

Creating Your Own Rewards and Loyalty Programs

You may also consider creating your own loyalty program and tracking subscribers individually. This can be completed by segmenting your email newsletter subscribers into those that have purchased from you and those that have not. From there, you might consider sending unique emails to your current customers with a bonus or bulk purchase offer and inserting specially discounted products into your email. For audience members who are not yet customers, you might consider offering them a freebie or discount if they make a purchase by a given deadline.

While it is more time intensive, email segmentation offers a greater possibility of rewards customization. Doing so also gives your loyalty program less of a cookie-cutter feel to it and directly tunes into shopper sentiment and needs.

How to Start a Doggy Day Care Business from Home

This is the year to monetize your love for your furry friends – here’s a comprehensive guide on how to start a doggy day care business.

People clearly love their pets and are willing to spend on them. Pet owners spent over $365 billion in 2022, and they are projected to spend an additional $10 billion every year on their beloved pets.

Owning a dog requires unconditional love; however, it also means having added responsibility. F

or starters, what do you do with your pooch when you need to go to work, on vacation, or to an event?

Enter doggy daycare, which promises to look after your furry friend until your inevitable return.

Many dog owners regularly take advantage of doggy daycare services for various reasons. Maybe their dogs make too much noise due to separation anxiety, or they have no backyard, and thus there’s no room for their dogs to run around, or simply because they feel bad for leaving a living being alone for 10+ hours per day with nothing to do and no one to watch them.

The good news for you is that you might be able to easily turn this need into a home-based business, especially if you already own a dog.

Today, we’re going to run down the steps of starting a doggy daycare business from home so you can find out for yourself if you have what it takes to run a profitable business.

How To Start A Doggy Day Care Business From Home

Although the steps you’re going to take are detailed here, I highly recommend reading this blueprint on how to start a dog day care business for a more thorough step-by-step guide.

1. Make sure you have what it takes.

To be able to run a business, it’s certainly a given that you need to have at least a high school degree or a GED, business management skills, communication and customer service skills, and time management skills.

But what specific skills do you need to be able to operate a doggy day care?

What Does It Take To Run A Doggy Day Care?

  • Pleasant, friendly demeanor — Both dogs and humans need to be able to connect with you and build trust.
  • Physical stamina — Dogs aren’t statues. You’ll be feeding them, running after them, playing with them, cleaning up after them; it can be physically exhausting. Make sure you’re fit to do all of these.
  • Medical training — Accidents and emergencies can happen; you’ll need to know how to deal with them. Get training in dog CPR and first aid, and set up contacts with a few local vets in your area for more serious emergencies.
  • Basic dog handling skills — Positive reinforcement, basic obedience, voice commands: if you have no idea what they are, I suggest getting familiar with these, as you’ll need to know how to handle different types of dogs through these basic handling techniques.
  • Doggy sixth sense — You don’t need to be Cesar Millan, but knowing how to observe and read dog behavior and body language is a definite must.
  • Certifications or at least willingness to be certified — In theory, you can start a doggy day care business without certifications, but getting these instills confidence in your clients and gives you an edge over the competition.

If you have a degree in an animal-related course, such as animal science, veterinary technology, and the like, you’re already at an advantage.

If not, then try and find a gig as a pet sitter or dog walker, or volunteer at an animal shelter, animal rescue group, or veterinary clinic.

2. Check your local ordinances.

Before you start your doggy day care, or caring for any dog for that matter, check your city, town, or county ordinances for limitations on home-based businesses.

Due to residential/commercial zoning laws, some residences are restricted from conducting any commercial activity on the premises. Other cities and towns restrict how many pets you can house under your roof.

The best way to know exactly what you can and can’t do is to contact your local government.

Even if your city, town, or county has no specific ordinances pertaining to a dog care business, your homeowners’ association may not allow you to operate such a business due to concerns about noise, smell, pet waste, bites, street traffic, etc.

In short, don’t spend any money or too much time on your dog day care business until you find out if having such a business is even possible.

3. Create a business plan.

Doing your homework and your research before you start will be what makes or breaks your business.

Creating your business plan and determining the scope of your business will inform the rest of your decisions when figuring out how to start a doggy day care.

Here are the important aspects of your business that need to be included in your business plan.

Facilities

  • Air conditioning
  • Separate areas for small dogs and large dogs
  • Feeding area
  • Play area
  • Rest area
  • Outdoor area
  • Kennel (for when a dog needs to stay overnight unexpectedly)
  • Livestreaming (optional, but a huge advantage over your competition)

Services

  • Define your operating hours (most operate 7am to 7pm on weekdays)
  • Playtime
  • Outdoor time
  • Meals
  • Naptime

Costs of starting a doggy day care

  • Insurance (business, property)
  • Facilities
  • Supplies
  • Licenses and permits
  • Advertising and marketing
  • Website

Factors to consider when pricing

Generally, doggy day cares charge between $15 and $40 per dog per day. However, you’ll want to do more research before you come up with a figure. Consider the following:

  • The competition (what other doggy day care centers charge in your area)
  • The demand (how many dog owners are in your area)
  • What your local pet owners can afford
  • How many dogs you can accommodate
  • What services you can offer
  • How much you’d need to collect each month to be profitable

Consider offering different rates for half-day, daily, weekly, and monthly membership plans, offering discounts when dogs stay longer.

You can also consider offering a family rate for those who have more than one dog.

4. Obtain a business license and insurance.

While there is currently no federal licensing requirement to open a doggy day care, states and counties may require that you purchase a dog care license.

The license itself cannot be purchased until your dog care facility (i.e., your house/apartment) passes an on-site health inspection.

Such an inspection determines if your facility is free of physical dangers and toxic chemicals that may harm the dogs in your care.

It also determines if you are able to follow proper sanitation procedures to prevent disease transmission among the dogs in your care.

You should also purchase business liability insurance, which protects you from suffering large monetary losses should a dog be injured or die while in your care.

Finally, to protect your home and personal belongings from dog-induced monetary damage, you should consider getting additional coverage from your homeowner’s insurance.

5. Purchase your supplies.

Now, you’ll need to get everything you need to provide the best care to your dog clients.

doggy day care treats

Doggy day care supplies you need

  • Food and treats
  • Bowls for food and water
  • Kennels
  • Beds
  • Leashes
  • Toys
  • Blankets and mats
  • Indoor and outdoor fences
  • Cleaning and disinfecting supplies
  • First aid kit

Know where you can scrimp and where you need to splurge to get higher quality.

For instance, blankets, mats, and toys that are disinfected, you can get from dollar stores. Area dog shelters and humane societies often have stockpiles of such items, which for whatever reason they cannot use.

However, you’ll want to spend on high-quality food, sturdy fences, effective cleaning and disinfecting supplies, and a complete first-aid kit.

You should also assess and address any potential dangers in your backyard like poisonous plants and jagged fences, as well as the chemicals and tools you store in your garage.

6. Create a Safe Environment

Yes, you’ve bought all the supplies and equipment to serve customers. But is your space safe for dogs to stay in?

Do you have poisonous plants as décor? Examples of plants that are dangerous for dogs include tulips, daffodil, ivy, Pothos, Amaryllis, Chrysanthemum, Yews, Sago palm, Azaleas, Oleanders, Castor Bean Plant, Hydrangeas, and Foxgloves, among others.

Think about separating dogs by size or temperament. Strong fencing or planning designated areas should help with this dilemma.

7. Advertise your dog care business.

The next thing to consider is getting the word out to your potential customers about your business.

Here are some ideas to advertise your doggy day care.

Build a website.

The main thing to do is to create a website that will serve as your business’s home on the internet. It should showcase your doggy day care business, including the services you offer, rates, and special deals and promos.

You can include a page where clients can schedule and book their pets for your day care.

Go on social media.

Advertising on social media is another way to spread the word about your business. You can pay for targeted Facebook ads to local pet parents in your vicinity.

Your social media can then link back to your website, especially the page where they can book your services.

Start a mailing list.

Sending out monthly newsletters can help with sales, engagement, and brand loyalty. Social media is important, but your mailing list is completely yours.

Create offers for first-time clients.

Consider how you might attract hesitant dog owners. Maybe you can offer certain activities like a bonus long walk a day, a visit to the local dog park, or several hours of playtime.

Reward loyal customers.

You don’t want to leave out your existing customers, either. You may want to start a rewards program where they earn points for every booked date, which they can exchange for certain services.

Consider having some merchandise made.

Have t-shirts, mugs, leashes, and dishes made with your doggy day care logo and information, and use them all around your doggy day care and when you’re out.

You can also have pens, keychains, and other small little items to give away to clients.

Host Giveaways and Contests

You won’t run out of contests. From dog Halloween costumes at the end of October, to Christmas costumes in December, and everything else in between, you can encourage your customers to participate and keep your relationship going.

Giveaways and contests work both for existing and would-be clients, which is win-win for any business.

I recommend hosting an event like this once every two months.

8. Vet your customers.

Nothing will shut down your fledgling business faster than dogs coming home from your doggy day care with an infectious disease or injuries from a dog fight.

When accepting a new dog client, have the pet owner fill out a contact information sheet, with the owner’s name, pet name, address, phone number, email address, emergency contact numbers, as well as these same details for their veterinarian.

This information sheet should also include health information for the dog: breed, color, height and weight date of birth, allergies and sensitivities, previous injuries, whether or not they’ve had complete vaccinations for their age, whether or not they’ve been spayed or neutered, and whether or not they’re able to socialize with other dogs.

Aside from these information sheets, it’s advisable to conduct an interview with both the pet owner and the dog present so you can actually assess the dog’s temperament with both humans and other dogs.

You might even consider a trial run wherein the dog receives some extra supervision and one-on-one time with you.

Once you have that dog at your facility, introduce him to a test dog in your care that is known to be non-aggressive.

See how the two dogs interact and if the visiting dog tries to dominate the other dog or even bite it. Doing these tests ahead of time will save you the headache of having an unexpected dog fight break out.

It’s also a good idea to have clear, explicit contracts in place to protect both you, your dog clients, and their pet parents. Outline the exact services you provide, what you don’t provide, what you’re not liable for, and what is expected of pet owners.

Include the terms of payment, cancellation policies, authorization for you to get emergency medical care for the dog if necessary, pet owner’s liability for property damage and/or physical injuries to dogs or humans done by their dog, and authorization for you to provide special requirements, diet, or medication that the dog requires during their stay in your day care.

Having these interviews, trial runs, and contracts in place will help protect your business and ensures that your customers, both humans and dogs, have nothing but positive experiences in your doggy day care.

9. Evaluate Your Progress and Adapt

Any business requires monitoring all aspects, from customer service to products.

After a few months of launch, make sure you’ve been gathering customer feedback, handling your finances (income and expenses) properly, and evaluating your business from top to bottom.

I promise you, the more you listen to your customers and improve your business based on past mistakes, the better business you’ll end up having.

10. (Gradually) expand your services.

If you find that running a doggy day care is both profitable and rewarding, you may want to offer additional services.

Not only does this add value to your business but you can also add to your profits.

For every new service you offer, always draw up a business plan and figure out if the added expense of employees, facilities, supplies, and other costs is worth the income to be earned.

Also, consider the new permits and licenses that you may have to get.

Here are some ideas:

Grooming — Dropping off your dog at day care and getting them back clean, trimmed, and smelling nice is a great experience for owners.

golden retriever being bathed

Obedience training — Pet owners that may be having difficulty teaching new skills or address certain behaviors. They’re likely willing to pay extra for this training, so it might be worth hiring certified trainers or getting certified yourself.

Overnight stays — I know you signed up for a doggy day care business, but owners may need to leave their pets with you overnight, for a weekend, or maybe even over multiple days. You can start to offer this on a limited-slot basis and then expand when you can hire enough people to cover overnight shifts.

Walking — You may already be offering outdoor time for your clients’ beloved pets, but having them actually leave your facility and walking them down the street or in a park involves a whole different set of responsibilities (and accordingly, cost).

Pet products — Selling products isn’t technically a service, but if your customer needs them, then you both benefit. Your more regular dog clients may start favoring the food, treats, toys, accessories, and other items that they get from your doggy day care, and their owners may want to get some for them to take home.

Start your doggy day care business today!

A home-based business makes sense in light of the new normal.

Hopefully, this step-by-step guide has been helpful if you’re figuring out how to start your doggy day care business.

How to Get Your Food Product into Grocery Stores and Markets

In this past Monday’s post, we talked about how to start a work at home catering business. That’s great you if you like to cook and cater events. However, what if you just prefer to cook or bake? In that case, making a food product, and then selling it to area markets and grocery stores, is a better bet. How do you get started?

1. Check your neighborhood zoning laws.

As noted in Monday’s post, many towns and cities are very specific about where commercial activity will be conducted- or not. If you find out that your house or apartment cannot be the site of any commercial activity, don’t fret. You may have a friend or family member who lives in a more permissive neighborhood and can help you out with the cooking or baking of your food product.

Alternately, you may need to rent out a commercial kitchen for your food manufacturing activities. While doing so adds to your start-up costs, keep in mind that using a commercial kitchen is an inevitability for you, at least if you become successful in this line of work.

2. Obtain a food vendor’s license and insurance.

You should get a food vendor’s license from your local or state health authority; doing so enables you to sell your food product at fairs, farmers’ markets and food trucks. Doing so allows you to proceed directly to step #2 without having to worry about renting space in a commercial kitchen or obtaining a food processor license.

You should also enroll in what’s popularly known as a food liability insurance program, or FLIP. This protects you from the financial repercussions of lawsuits should a consumer get sick or otherwise injure himself while eating or dealing with your food product.

3. Test your product on the small market scale.

State-specific cottage food laws allow food product manufacturers to sell certain goods at small market venues like farmers markets without having to go through expensive and time-consuming licensing and kitchen inspections.

This is great news for you because it enables you to test out different food recipes, pricing options, packing colors and sizes, etc., without having to shell out a lot of investment money. You also get to hone your selling skills for the bigger markets down the road.

4. Rent out space in a commercial kitchen.

Once you’ve determined that customers like your food product(s) and that there is enough of a profit to be made from food manufacturing, it’s time to step up your game plan and rent out space in a commercial kitchen. There are probably several commercial kitchens in your area, even if you live in a small town. Consider that churches and community centers often make and serve refreshments or hold food festivals. To do so, they must have commercial kitchens.

Restaurants and bars naturally have commercial kitchens- but these establishments are not always open and thus serving food. You may wish to contact such places to find out if they would rent their kitchens to you.

5. Obtain a food processor license.

A food processor license enables you to sell your food product(s) at grocery stores and large commercial marketplace chains (e.g., Wal-Mart). You can usually obtain such a license from your state agriculture or health department.

To obtain a food processor license, you will need to show that you are generating a food product in a safe and clean manner- thus the reason for first renting out space in a commercial kitchen.

6. Label your product in a USDA/FDA-friendly manner.

You will need to procure packaging for your food product that is functional as well as tamper-proof. Your food will also need to include a label containing a complete list of food ingredients and (optional) nutritional information. Otherwise, no grocery store will be able to accept and sell it. Finally, if you plan to sell any food products that contain meat or dairy, you will also need to follow certain FDA regulations.

You may be able to short circuit your search for appropriate packaging by buying leftover boxes, bags and wrapping directly from restaurant suppliers.

7. File for an LLC and obtain business insurance.

Operating your food manufacturing business as a DBA or sole proprietorship exposes you to a lot of personal financial risk in case there is a food issue that results in a recall or lawsuit. You should highly consider incorporating your business as an LLC, which limits your liability to just your business (as opposed to your total net worth). Alternately, if you have many partners or shareholders, you may consider filing as an S- or C-corporation.

8. Don’t forget about sales tax.

Apply for and obtain a sales tax license from your state department of revenue. You will need to charge a given percentage above the price of your product, then return that money to the state, on a quarterly basis.

9. Study the bigger markets- and then market to them.

Analyze which stores in your neighborhood might have the space and be inclined to sell your food product. Some stores focus heavily on supporting local food vendors, Other stores, like Whole Foods, even help food vendors by offering loans (up to $100,000).

You can approach store managers directly, if the grocer is small enough, but for bigger grocery stores or chains, you will need to locate the corporate buyer. To this end, it’s best if you contract out and work with a food broker who can help you with finding the right contacts and knowing the issues that consumer marketplaces face.

Also, stores will be more likely to try out your product if you offer a marketing deal with them; Whole Foods is well-known for working with vendors who offer coupons or samples to customers. It also doesn’t hurt to create and hand out a food product sell sheet to entice your area store owner.

Should you make and sell your own food product(s)?

Making and selling your own food product through area farmers markets and grocers is a great work-at-home business opportunity. As with all food-related ventures, it is best if you start small and test your product on a small audience before investing a lot of capital and labor. By starting small and working your way into larger and more lucrative markets, you are more likely to be successful.

I Am Biased for Good Reason. I Have Tried 100s of “Opportunities” Online and I Haven’t Found Anything Remotely Close to What YOU Will Get at WealthyAffiliate.com

A Comprehensive Wealthy Affiliate Review

Company Name: Wealthy Affiliate
Website URL: www.WealthyAffiliate.com
Founders: Kyle & Carson
Support Rank: 100/100
Community Rank: 98/100
Training Rank: 100/100
Tools Rank: 98/100
Website & Hosting Rank: 98/100
Value Rank: 100/100
Overall Rank: 98/100

An Introduction to Wealthy Affiliate

Wealthy Affiliate is my home for online business. But before I get into my personal views on the program and tell you why it is my #1 (by a considerable amount), let me give you my story.

I have been there, done that…with FAR too many products. If you are like me, you have sifted through more reviews of so-called “opportunities” than you would like others to know…and fallen victim to some of them. We all want to create something meaningful and create a business doing so…but the last thing we want to do is get “scammed” by another scumbag company on the Internet.

I totally get that.

This is why I am personally introducing you to Wealthy Affiliate (WA). Out of all the programs I have reviewed to date, this remains my highest ranked product. In fact, there isn’t a product or service that I have come across that continues to improve their service at the speed that Wealthy Affiliate does… always keeping their members (like myself) in mind.

Wealthy Affiliate was started back in 2005 by two guys by the names of Kyle & Carson. They were both affiliate marketers who had their own successful businesses online before starting WA. They felt they could give back and they were off and running with WA.

Since then (9.5 years later), it has evolved into the highest reviewed and acclaimed platform for creating and growing a business online. I can honestly say that I owe a good deal of my success to the Wealthy Affiliate community and I have been a part of this amazingly helpful and supportive community for close to 6 years now.

That is why I am biased. When I see something that is working for 1,000’s of others and is working for me, I tend to recommend it. In fact, I recommend it to my friends and family members who are looking to create a business online and my wife just left the rat race to start her very own venture online too.

I am very critical of any product or service online so you can best bet, every corner or WA has been explored in my 6 years. If there is a fault I will be sure to tell you. There isn’t….other than the fact that this Internet business stuff is highly addictive and so is the helpful, state of the art community at Wealthy Affiliate.

First, What Can Wealthy Affiliate do for YOU?

I get this question all the time.

“What exactly can Wealthy Affiliate do for me that other programs cannot?”

To be honest, that is a fair question and one I want to really dig into and explain here. Like you, I do my due diligence before investing any time or energy into something (in all aspects of life) and if it is not worth it, I want to know before hand!!!

There is an endless amount of crap out there in the opportunity world, a myriad of scams, and if you are like me, you have likely been slapped in the face by a scam or two (or ten) over the years.

That is one of the main reasons I created this site. To help folks avoid scams and to really show people the door to real opportunity and programs that can help. That happens to be Wealthy Affiliate.

Here are the main differentiating factors that make WA truly different than the REST of the stuff out there.

  1. All inclusive. Everything you need is all in one place…finally. No upsells, no buying crappy ebooks and PDF’s. This is an education platform with all the tools you need to run your business, all the websites/hosting, all the support/mentoring, the training, and community you need to create and grow a business. No more buying “part” of the puzzle.
  2. They care about YOUR success. These dudes care, but not just that, this is probably the most helpful “pay it forward” community I have ever been apart of. It is evident that this sort of passion for helping others starts at the “top” and it will be evident the second you step foot into WA.
  3. They have been in business longer than any of the “other” guys. Something that says a lot about a company is how long they have been in business. WA has been in business since 2005 and continues to grow. I have seen almost every other company in this industry fail with their “churn and burn” products while Wealthy Affiliate continues to not just stay in business, but get better every day.
  4. The community is second to none. You ask for help, you can expect it. There are MANY different ways that you can get help within WA, from the instant live chat, to the question and answer platform, to leaving your questions right within the training lessons. Expert help is there when you need it.
  5. They continually improve their service, for no extra charge and ZERO upsells. Wealthy Affiliate is getting better with each update they make (there have been many major updates this year). I know they have big plans in the year ahead, they are constantly letting the community know about upcoming innovations and improvements that help folks like myself (and you) improve business.
  6. It is very ACTIVE. In fact, on any given day there are thousands of people in the community that are getting help, offering help, and connecting within the members area. This energy is nice to see and makes every day an exciting one!
  7. They make things S-I-M-P-L-E. As soon as you join WA, you are put through their world class training. They have spent years refining their training so that it is easy to understand, even for a newbie…but it covers concepts that are complex in a way that absolutely anyone can accomplish them. That is why ANYONE can create a business online, with the simple and easy to understand training.

    Here’s an example of the easy to follow, actionable steps. Complete these and you’re well on your way to building your business.

  8. They understand technology. Wealthy Affiliate is not just a “website”, it is one of the most sophisticated platforms in the industry. This sophistication is something that I feel makes it much more trustworthy. It is secure and they really do push the envelope with what can be done with technology, making your life easier. In other words, they do the hard stuff and make things that are typically difficult, a breeze. Take building a website as an example!
  9. The Website platform is brilliantly simple, yet very powerful. When I built my very first website, it was an absolute nightmare…but that was before Wealthy Affiliate’s SiteRubix website platform. It is easy peasy to get a professional looking website up and running in minutes, not hours or days. Fully hosted as well which is a huge plus.

And you get to TRY before you BUY. You don’t have to part ways with a single penny to get access to this program. Wealthy Affiliate believes in their product/service so much that they are willing to give you access to a significant amount of it for NOTHING.

The Price of YOUR Success

Wealthy Affiliate is completely FREE to get a Starter account with (you can join here). I am not talking some lame, unsubstantial and useless free account. I am talking REAL training, REAL community access, REAL support directly from uber successful marketers, REAL websites, REAL hosting…you name it. You will actually be building your online business with no strings attached – NO OTHER company in the industry offers this.

Think you can’t build a website? Think again. It’s as easy as filling out this form…

Wealthy Affiliate has a Starter membership which I like to refer to as the “foundation” building membership. It will get you up and running in any niche of your choice (take any passion or interest you want) and set you up for a long and very fruitful career in the online world.

No experience necessary, but if you have experience that is perfectly fine as well. You are going to learn how to build your business in a way that leads to long term success. This is what I like to refer as the PROPER way, and the way I have followed since I became a member back in 2007. Building my business with long term success in mind has helped me create my full time online business (and it is growing with every year).

I don’t want to discredit my degree that I spent $40,000 to get at Penn State University (go Lions!), but I invested 4 years of my life into a degree that to this day I have never used.

My full time income and my livelihood are generated 100% from online income. My house, my vacations, my lifestyle are also generated 100% from my online income.

When I say that you can get access to the community and training platform…along with all of the tools you need to create and grow a business online for FREE, I am not kidding. No catches, no obligations.

What I do want to be clear about are the two levels of membership at Wealthy Affiliate and I just want to explain them both to give you a bit of clarity.

Starter Membership – $0. Zilch, Nadda, Completely FREE.

I always recommend people try before they buy…anything (if you can). You go to the store to try stuff before you buy it all the time, why shouldn’t you be able to do the exact same thing online? You can and that is why the Starter membership is so great.

You can be inside the community a few seconds from now, starting to build your business, hanging out with myself (and even the owners Kyle & Carson) and have access to a ton of goodies without even pulling out your credit card.

These include:

  • Access to Live Chat (instant help)
  • Interactive Getting Started Training
  • Ability to Network with over 230,000 members
  • Over 500 training resources
  • Two WordPress Websites w/ State of the Art Hosting
  • Ability to Ask Questions 24/7/365
  • Personal Access to the Owners
  • You Get to Hang Out With Me (how cool is that lol)

In fact, the free Starter membership alone is better than any other paid program in the industry that I have reviewed (even the ones that cost $1,000’s). I stand behind that and I stand behind the fact that you will fall in love with the community upon getting yourself a free account.

Get Your Free Starter Account Here!

Premium Membership – $47/mth or $359/year

There is a Premium membership as well, but unlike almost every other product in the industry there are ZERO upsells. You are either Starter or Premium, there is no in between and the Premium package includes absolutely everything you need….the “key” to the ENTIRE community.

I literally run several successful businesses from Wealthy Affiliate Premium. So are many, MANY others.

I would compare it to being my virtual office. I get my education there. I get live weekly video classes there. I get my keyword and other business tools there. I get my websites and top of the line hosting there. I get support and mentoring there. I get to network there.

One price. I spend more going to the coffee shop every month than I pay for my annual membership fee at Wealthy Affiliate. The yearly membership works out to be $29 per month…which almost makes me cry when I realize I could have had a 112 year membership at Wealthy Affiliate instead of going to College!

If you want to see the difference between the two memberships in a nice little chart, you can check it out here.

It is totally optional to upgrade and your Starter membership is a “lifetime” membership, it is not a trial. You can upgrade at your own pace and when you are ready to take your business to the next level you may want to consider Premium.

There is a Defined “Recipe” to Creating Success Online…

There truly is a RIGHT way to build a business online and a WRONG way.

I would recommend the right way obviously and that is why I want to recommend that you consider the proven way I have have built a business online as your approach. This recipe is the way 10,000’s of others (if not more) have built inspiring business in the online world and continue to build businesses.

That PROCESS is what you will learn within Wealthy Affiliate and I am going to give you a brief overview of what is really going to be involved in YOU creating a business online. There are really only 4 steps.

The part I like about Wealthy Affiliate that most other companies really miss the mark is that they have simplified this process down to a science. They have a “Getting Started” training course that walks you through the exact steps and gets you taking action on them.

Here is a quick look at the process.

The reality of it is…if you can follow directions, you can build a successful business with any Interest/Passion you may have.

No different that cooking a recipe online, you take the ingredients and you put them together in a specific way and you create yourself a beautiful meal.

Well, Wealthy Affiliate does the exact same thing but with online business. You get the recipe to success, and they provide you with all the utensils and ingredients you need to build a business… not to mention you have access to some of the most successful folks within the online world within the community (that you can ask directly for help). Myself included!

You can take absolutely ANY interest that you may have and turn that into a business.

Perhaps you may not have an interest or a passion, that is OK. You are going to be given help on how to come up with your business idea within Wealthy Affiliate.

So, today, I want to give YOU a personal recipe to success:

  1. Join & Get Your Free Starter Account (again, it’s FREE)
  2. Click the Get Started Here training button. This walks you through everything you need to know.
  3. Set-up Your Account Profile (image/description). This naturally leads to 4x more help with the community.
  4. Take action on the tasks.
  5. Ask ME for help if you EVER feel stuck.

That’s it.

Do these 5 tasks and right before your eyes you are going to be building a business. It’s exciting, it’s fun, and you can build a business to any level of success that you are willing to “work” for. Yes it will take work. Tt took me work, but I have no doubts that within just the first few days at Wealthy Affiliate you will achieve more than you ever thought your were capable of in the online world.

I Am Committed to YOUR Success

The last thing I want you to feel is that you are in on this whole “internet thing” alone. It couldn’t be further from the truth and I am personally committed to helping you achieve success online and to help you if you ever get stuck.

Not a day goes by where I am not interacting within Wealthy Affiliate (including Starter members), giving them suggestions on their websites, networking and building relationships with them, and helping them with the problem areas that we all run into in our journey to success.

So let’s make a friendly little deal right now. I promise to help you and commit to your success if you take action on the tasks that WA gives you and the suggestions that I give you along the way. It is a win/win. I get the opportunity to help folks (which I love to do) and you get to build a successful business online.

To get rolling is SIMPLE. Head over to Wealthy Affiliate and get your account set-up. It literally will take you a minute.

I can’t wait to work with you! And before we meet within WA, one last thing…

My Final Opinion & Recommendations (Rating: 98/100)

I never push people to do something they don’t want to do and I sure as heck am not going to suggest paying money before you try something out first. It goes against my ethics.

That is why I want you to join the completely free Starter membership, it’s $0. You don’t even have to give any credit card details, just fill out your name, email, and username. Then presto, you have access to the most “elite” platform of affiliate marketers and internet marketers in the world. You will sense the unbelievable value and the helpful nature of Wealthy Affiliate as soon as you enter the community.

Upon joining, I will be in touch with you to welcome you to the community within the first hour of you joining and if you EVER have any issues with anything or are ever stuck, I want you to promise me you will get in touch with me.

Join Wealthy Affiliate, it’s $0 (Free)!

A Special Bonus if You Do Go Premium

I just wanted to throw this out there, if within the first 7 days you do decide to go Premium I am going to be offering you a bonus. I will tell you all about it when you get inside the community within my first message I send to you upon creating your free Starter account so keep a look out for that.

You will never know what you have been missing all of these years until you step foot inside of Wealthy Affiliate.

Wealthy Affiliate: The Final Score

Company Name: Wealthy Affiliate
Website URL: www.WealthyAffiliate.com
Founders: Kyle & Carson

Lastly, I want you to drop me ANY questions or feedback that you may have. Also, if you have any personal experiences with Wealthy Affiliate and you want to share them, I would love to hear them below. Simply drop me a comment and I will be sure to get back to you.

Thanks again and I hope to see you on the inside!

-Steve
IveTriedThat.com Founder

Can Instant Traffic Mastery Really Turn You Into a Master?

Last week I was talking about a product for generating traffic that turned out to be less than ideal for generating traffic.

This week’s product is also about how to get more visitors to your site, and I’m hoping it stays on topic and is at least vaguely useful. The product in question is called Instant Traffic Mastery by  Jonathan Teng & Venkata Ramana.

The Pitch

The sales page heavily focuses on both scarcity and how much of a bargain this product allegedly is. I understand why saying the product has a larger value and is being discounted helps improve sales, but why do marketers insist on using ridiculous figures? Apparently this product is worth over $997 dollars but he is only going to charge me $9.95? Who falls for this rubbish?

The scarcity tactic of saying it is only available for 7 days is combined with a potential price rise to squeeze you into a panic purchase.

As well as that are the usual heavy handed highlighting and bolded text, and proof of sales that may or may not be related to the effectiveness of the product (usually it’s a not).

Purchasing Instant Traffic Mastery

As mentioned, the product is only $9.95 but this is the edge of a sales funnel with plenty of upsells being sent your way once you head down the rabbit hole.

Instant Traffic Mastery Sales Funnel

The first upsell is on a dime sale (it increases in price after every sale) and was $18 bucks when I saw it. The upsell is for a “done for you” traffic pack, which is basically a ready-made sales funnel.

The second upsell has a longer sales page, probably because it costs $67 dollars and is for a package of PLR content (articles, graphics, etc). PLR is something I always suggest avoiding if possible. While the graphics might be useful the content supplied will all need to be re-written anyway.

Next up is a “lite” version of the above PLR package at a mere $37.

The last upsell is something I haven’t seen in a while, and that is access to a membership site. The cost is OK in comparison to other membership sites, ($17 per month) but the problem with this is that it doesn’t teach you anything it instead provides PLR content twice a month… I wouldn’t touch this with a barge pole personally.

The Product

After navigating the swirling mess of sales funnel I finally arrived at the product membership page and I was slightly surprised.

Looking at the content list of the product it seems like they have packed a lot of information in here, with 50 separate items ranging from setting up a blog, through social media, building relationships, video marketing and more.

Quantity does not necessarily mean quality though.

Each item in the content list is a video, and each one is roughly 5 minutes long on average.

The videos all seem to be PLR themselves (I can’t be 100% sure but it’s my gut feeling and fits well with all the upsells) as they are labelled “50 targeted traffic methods for online business” rather than Instant Traffic Mastery.

Instant Traffic Mastery Video Example

PLR aside, the training is quite reasonable though it is obviously brief in its content.

The training covers a wide variety of traffic generation methods, some of them quite old school such as using forums, but the narrator is to the point about how effective/speedy they are; he isn’t trying to spin anything.

The traffic methods may not be suitable for pure internet marketers, as some methods such as press releases and getting into the local press just won’t work when your site promotes vacuum cleaners on Amazon.

As mentioned the content is quite brief. If we take the Pinterest and Others video, it’s 2 and a half minutes long and basically tells you that Pinterest uses images and videos and that you can add links, and that Instagram and Vine are options too.

On that note, the videos are at least a year or two old as they suggest Vine is really new and you can become an early adopter in your niche.

The Bottom Line

Instant Traffic Mastery is not a scam as such, but it’s not something I would generally recommend.

The content you get is quite wide and possibly informative, but it is brief.

If you are an experienced marketer you probably won’t get much out of this, though if you are new to online marketing, then there is probably something you can pick up from this.

Really though the information is quite basic: you are paying for an overview and for it to be collected in one spot rather than spending time trawling Google for information.

Can Instant Cash Generator Energize Your Bank Account?

The first thing that struck me about The Instant Cash Generator was a lie.

It said that the price will jump to $47 in 0 seconds, yet I still purchased it for under $10 bucks.

While some people may think that I lucked out with it, to me it screams liar, and that is never a good first impression!

This product states that it will teach you how to make money online in less than one hour, with no skills needed, so let’s see if the lies continue or if it is in fact worthy of your time and money.

the instant cash generator lies

Well that was a fail…

The Pitch

The mistrust aside, the sales pitch is classic internet marketing: lots of bold statements in bright text with highlights, unprovable proof of earnings and some testimonials which may actually be partly real or might just be his buddies.

Purchasing The Instant Cash Generator

As mentioned above, what should have been a  $47 product was still purchasable at $9.95. The affiliate page states that this is on a 100% commission (so a loss leader) and that there are two upsells.

I never saw an upsell though.

the instant cash generator funnel

What upsells?

The Product

The members’ area is a one page affair with a link to download the product. Be wary if you are on a mobile device or a limited data plan as the download is half a gigabyte (565mb)!

I liked the fact that I get to download the videos instead of being tied to going back to a site again and again, but it is an unexpectedly hefty download.

The product also seems to be a re-launch, so it might be an older method than you would think (the zipped files kindly told me this!).

the instant cash generator relaunch

Inside the zip file you get the following:

  • Bonuses: 4 e-books and a Swiftly task. According to the sales page I shouldn’t have got these either.
  • A resource list: a one page Word document with basic websites like Fiverr.com
  • 9 videos: comprising of the training

The training videos are all quite short and bite sized, ranging between 1 and 5 minutes long.

The basic premise of the product is to sell services; the author calls this Service Brokering.

The idea is that you contact likely leads such as businesses and sell them a service such as logo design. You sell then turn around to another service such as Fiverr.com and get them to make the logo for a much cheaper price than you sell it for.

the instant cash generator service brokering

Video 1

This is a polished, short video that introduces the concept of brokering.

Video 2

The second video showcases websites where you can outsource people to make the final product that you are selling (logo, website, SEO service, writing, etc).

In fact this video only covers finding outsourcers on Craiglist

Video 3

This section covers finding people to do work for you on Elance.

Video 4

This section covers finding people to do work for you on 99designs.

Video 5

This section covers finding people to do work for you on Fiverr.

Video 6

Video 6 covers how to find buyers or customers via Craigslist. While this in itself seems simplistic, the narrator does let you know about a nice little website that will search Craigslist for you, as Craigslist’s own search system is infuriating.

Video 7

Another simplistic video, this time on how to find buyers on Reddit. I have to say using Reddit is a nice touch I wouldn’t have though to f that, but otherwise the video was basic.

Video 8

The penultimate video also made my eyebrows rise. It covers finding potential buyers on Skype, which is another place I would never have looked for customers.

Video 9

Here you will earn how to make a website! Well, no. You will earn how to buy hosting and a domain. Then you will get told to go buy a Themeforest theme. Overall this was a really poor training video, and will leave many newbies floundering with a domain and hosting but no idea how to even set up a basic website.

The videos are most definitely lifted from previous trainings, for example video 9 in this series is referred to as video 4 by the narrator.

That aside, the videos are quite high quality, both audio and visual. The narrator however is doing the training on the fly it seems, so often stumbles over topics and has to redo things.

Because of that the actual training quality is diminished.

The Bottom Line

Is The Instant Cash Generator a scam? No, but it isn’t great either. While the quality of the videos is high, the quality of the training is poor.

He could have combined several videos and reduced their content (limited as it is) dramatically and added in more information about how to create a website, or how best to word an email to a potential client.

The idea of the product is certainly nothing new, but I did like his choice of sites to find potential customers.

My main concern with this type of marketing is quality. If you sell a $200 dollar logo but you pay $25 bucks for it, it will be crap. As the middleman you will take the flak for that.

It will take time, and money, to find reliable and quality outsourcers so it is likely that a bunch of the first sales you make will be at cost or even a loss.

After finding some decent people, then yes this could work. Just expect to have to invest in other training or purchases (website design, copy writing and email writing, testing outsourcers, etc), especially if you are new to online marketing.

How to Create a Sell Sheet that Sells Your Invention

Last Monday’s post described how you can generate a passive income by licensing your invention ideas to companies and other licensees. The key to getting potential licensees interested in your invention idea is to create a spectacular sell sheet. What is a sell sheet and how do you create one? Read on.

Sell sheet anatomy and physiology

If you have an invention or just an invention idea, you need a sell sheet to market that invention to potential developers and manufacturers. The sell sheet is a marketing piece that promotes your invention in a one page ad format by describing the product, its features and benefits, and whom the product can be purchased from. A sell sheet is supposed to take no more than a minute to look over and understand, so it needs to be brief and to the point.

There are sell sheets for companies, hospitals, books, kitchen gadgets, and software programs. What does a typical sell sheet look like?

Presentation1

At its basic level, the sell sheet contains four areas, which are the product description, photo(s)/diagram(s), features/benefits, and the inventor contact information. These areas are shown in the above generic sell sheet, but their exact locations are not static and can be strewn about almost anywhere.

While there is a section for all the features/benefits of an invention idea, there should also be a separate and overarching benefits statement. This statement should be no longer than a single line and should succinctly pitch your idea to your prospects.

Finally, the sell sheet should also contain either a “Patent Pending” statement or patent number.

For example, the Flipside Rulers product shown below essentially flips the product photo/diagram with its features/benefits, and places the description below everything else. This sell sheet also provides the single line benefits statement, “The Most Accurate Reversible Ruler on the Market!”

ruler

 

Why do you need a sell sheet?

You might be thinking to yourself, I already have a great invention. Why do I need to create a sell sheet?

Because, in brief, a sell sheet is much cheaper and easier to create than a physical prototype of your invention idea. The sell sheet effectively combines words and images into a kind of virtual prototype of your product, enabling you to submit that idea quickly and easily to potential licensees.

Even better, whereas in the past you’d be sending out numerous glossy (i.e., expensive) photocopies of your sell sheet, nowadays you can just email your prospects with the sell sheet in an enclosed attachment. You can even set up a website that describes your invention idea, dedicating one page of that website to your sell sheet. Then, all you need to do is provide your prospects with that web page address.

The sell sheet gives prospects a good enough idea about your invention…but that’s as far as it should go. Your sell sheet should provide only enough information to pique reader interest, not include specifics on every individual nut and bolt. The reason for this vagueness is pretty simple- the more a prospect knows about the invention, the more likely it is that he’ll find something to dislike and/or find confusing. If this happens while your invention idea is still being considered, there is a high likelihood that it will be rejected.

However, by sticking to the basics and emphasizing your single line benefits statement (mentioned in Monday’s post), you allow your potential licensee to fit your invention idea into the scope of her existing product line and manufacturing processes.

How to create a killer sell sheet

If you have a software program such as Corel Paintshop or Adobe Photoshop/InDesign, you won’t have much trouble creating a winning sell sheet. However, these programs don’t come cheap, so a better alternative might be to outsource your sell sheet to a freelancer/contractor. Where can you find one?

Sites like eLance, Freelancer.com, Guru.com and oDesk are filled with reasonably priced freelancers who can make several different iterations of your invention idea and save you the headache and expense of learning a program like InDesign or SolidWorks (a CAD program).

You might also consider working with a local community college or a design/trade school to produce more complex drawings or scale models of your invention idea. In such cases, tapping the instructor and asking if some of her students would be able to help realize your invention idea can make for a great classroom exercise, plus a little bit of money for the student.

Just make sure that you have your freelancer or student sign a non-disclosure agreement first before you send him any work. Also, because your freelancer or student may make some changes to your prototype while “fleshing it out,” it’s a good idea to have him sign a work-for-hire agreement that includes language about you being the sole owner of your invention idea. This excludes the freelancer or student from later claiming coinventor status.

What’s next?

After you have the sell sheet generated, it’s time to start soliciting companies and individuals with whom you could see working and actually building your invention. If you spark their interest, you can offer to send them your sell sheet, plus your business card and a cover letter. Within that cover letter, you introduce yourself and your invention, remind your prospect of how and when the two of you met or contacted each other, and note your invention’s major benefit.

It goes (almost) without saying that you should never send unsolicited materials to a prospect, even if you deem that her a perfect match for your idea. Without a proper introduction and invitation, your unsolicited materials will simply get tossed in the trash.

If you get a “no thanks” after sending out your materials, try to find out why your idea was rejected. It will be immensely useful for you as you hone your idea and decide whether to take it to a different company or market segment.

Most importantly, do not become discouraged if your first few attempts at contacting and finding potential licensees doesn’t work out or produces only rejections. It takes time and continued effort to place an invention idea with an appropriate company or manufacturer. But once you get the green light, you will find the process infinitely easier to repeat, leading to a series of licensed invention ideas that generate a steady passive income for you.

How to Make Money by Licensing Your Invention Ideas

Do you have an invention idea, or even several invention ideas, that have just been sitting on the proverbial back burner? Are you worried about the cost involved with bringing your invention ideas to marketable reality?

Well, fear no more: You don’t need an expensive patent or a manufacturing plant to make money from your invention idea(s). You don’t even need a prototype. In fact, all you need is a good idea- and someone else to do the work for you.

How can you get someone else to do your work?

It’s all about licensing your invention idea. When you license your idea, someone else takes your idea and undergoes the risks of developing, manufacturing, pricing, storing and marketing the product. You, as the inventor of the product, simply collect a royalty from every sale. Typically, product royalty is 3-5%. This may not sound like much, but if you start collecting royalties from several products, the money can quickly add up. With a little bit of time, your royalties can even outpace your regular paycheck.

How to start licensing your invention

Start with a problem.

Inventions all start with a problem. If that problem is commonplace enough, the invention will experience a high enough demand to be profitable. In many cases, the problem need not be a major one- for example, consider the late night TV infomercial item, The Windshield Wonder(tm), which cleans windshields from the inside of the car. Most car owners complain about not being able to effectively clean the inside of their windshields- this item solves the issue.

Find out if similar products exist.

If your invention is good enough, there will already be similar products on the market. That’s right, your invention item should not be so unique that it can’t be located anywhere else. If it is all alone in its market niche, that brings up the possibility that your invention is solving a very rare problem. Without mass appeal, your invention won’t sell, or at least not often enough to make you a profit.

Should you find similarly-themed products on the store shelf, take stock of how they are displayed and marketed. How much do the items cost? Also, be sure to write down the names of the companies that are selling these items; these are the companies you will be contacting later.

Search the USPTO.

It’s possible that your invention idea may already have been invented, manufactured and even marketed. To find out if this is the case, scour the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office before you go any further.

It’s quite possible that a patent for the exact same item that you invented is already in existence. Before you get discouraged, find out what exactly the patent covers. It might be that what you’re looking at is a design patent, where the inventor changed the decorative appearance or configuration of the item rather than its functionality.  Otherwise, you might have a utility patent, wherein a manufacturing process or coding program is described but not the look, shape or configuration of the finished product.

In brief, find out if your exact idea has been filed with the USPTO. If it hasn’t, then you are ready to go on to the next step.

File a provisional patent application (PPA).

Protect your invention idea by filing a provisional patent application (PPA) with the USPTO. The PPA is quick to fill out, does not require the help of an attorney, and it costs only $110 to file. You don’t even need formal documentation; a few simple drawings or photographs of the expected prototype or mock-up will do.

A PPA enables you to state that your invention is “Patent Pending,” which goes a long way towards keeping competitors at bay. Furthermore, the PPA provides the same legal protections as a regular ol’ patent- and for significantly less money and waiting time.

Find out how to manufacture your idea.

Once you’ve filed the PPA, it’s time to find out just how much money it will cost, and what methods must be used, to manufacture your idea. You’ll also need to understand your idea’s technical hurdles and how to overcome them. To this end, you should contact different contract manufacturers that produce items similar in scope to your own product idea and ask them how feasible it would be to realize your particular invention.

You can find contract manufacturers through trade associations. These associations exist solely to put customers like you in touch with vendors and other businesses, so don’t be shy about asking for help and obtaining contact information for at least four or five vendors.

How do you get contract manufacturers to do the grunt work of estimating your manufacturing costs? You can ask to speak to one of their sales reps, then ask her how much it will cost to produce 1,000, 10,000 or even 100,000 units of your invention idea. By creating a sales inquiry and not just a random request for information, you get the sales rep thinking that this could be a huge sale (i.e., commission) for her. This makes that salesperson much more inclined to help you out.

Generate a Nondisclosure Agreement (NDA).

Before you call your contract manufacturers, you should create a nondisclosure agreement (NDA) and have it ready to go when the person on the other end of the line asks for a drawing of or additional details pertaining to your invention idea. NDAs are easy to generate and can be found on a site like Docracy. The basic NDA contains legal language that protects your invention idea from being disclosed to third parties. The document also allows you to take legal action if there is an information leak.

A decent NDA will contain the following four provisions:

  1. All parties agree not to disclose each other’s confidential information.
  2. All parties agree not to use each other’s confidential information without providing compensation.
  3. All parties agree to return all documents, prototypes and information in case no agreement is reached regarding the invention idea.
  4. All parties agree that any information already known to and used by the receiving party is not deemed confidential.

Your NDA should first be agreed to and signed before you disclose any details pertaining to your invention idea. If anyone refuses to sign the NDA, do not disclose your idea to that entity!*

Generate your sell sheet.

Now that you have your PPA and manufacturing information in hand, it’s time to organize all your invention information into a sell sheet. The sell sheet is a one page ad that describes the main benefits of your invention, some diagrams or drawings of that invention, and your contact information. Don’t forget to note that you have a “Patent Pending” on your invention.

You needn’t be a marketer or graphic designer to create a winning sell sheet. Sites like eLance, Guru.com and Freelancer.com provide you with reasonably priced professionals who can take your invention idea and transform it into a detailed illustration. Just remember to have your hired freelancer sign the NDA before you relay any invention information to him.

More information on how you can generate a killer sell sheet will be provided in my upcoming post this Thursday.

Make some inquiries.

Now it’s time to peddle your invention idea to those companies that you first looked up when first assessing the feasibility of your invention idea. When making these sales calls, you can make a cold call, if you’re comfortable with that approach. However, if you don’t like cold calls, there’s no rule about cold calls being the only way to conduct business.

To this end, you can contact candidate companies through LinkedIn, for example. Using LinkedIn, you can find the exact person within the organization that would be your best advocate for licensing your invention. Other online sites include Hoovers, InfoUSA and Zoom Info. In most cases, that ideal person is the product manager. If such a person cannot be located, your other bet is the marketing manager or salesperson.

What should you say or write once you reach your person of interest? Rather than introducing yourself as an inventor, which often conjures up images of wacky and impractical dreamers, state that you are a product developer looking to submit a product idea to that particular company. Then, assuming you aren’t interrupted, use a single sentence to state the exact benefit of your product.

What is a good single sentence statement about your invention? Here are some examples:

For a household products company: “I have a new product that safely whitens laundry without damaging it.”

For an office supply company: “My chairs are ergonomic and cost 90% less to produce than most standard office chairs.”

For a tools manufacturer: “My table saw has a safety shut-off device activated by human tissue .”

Offer more product information.

Close your call or letter by asking if you can send additional product information. In most cases, managers and salespeople won’t object to obtaining a simple email or letter containing your sell sheet; in the worst case scenario, your literature can be easily deleted or thrown out. However, should your sell sheet spark someone’s interest, you might just have yourself a licensee.

Any potential licensing company worth its salt will probably ask that you show up in person to provide a technical presentation of your product and its benefits. Thus, you will need to prepare some slides outlining your invention and all of its benefits. You might even need to throw in a few technical details in the form of charts and graphs.

If you have a friend or family member who is a good orator, don’t hesitate to ask her about coming with you and helping to explain the product and its purpose. Sometimes, it helps to have a “product team” with you during your technical presentation as a show of group collaboration and support- and it doesn’t matter if this team only consists of your Mom, spouse or high school buddy.

Seal the deal- with an attorney.

You might be offered a licensing deal right on the spot following your presentation. However, before you sign the dotted line, get yourself a licensing attorney who knows the fine details of this business process. Let her negotiate the terms for you, especially if you’ve never before negotiated with a company regarding licensing.

Don’t be shy with your licensing company. Ask your contact for sales projections for your invention and the wholesale item price that the company intends to charge. Also, find out if this company wants an exclusive or non-exclusive license on your invention. With an exclusive license, you won’t be able to license your invention idea out to anyone else for a specified amount of time; however, with a non-exclusive license, you’ll be able to query other companies and make licensing deals with them too.

The caveats to each of these license types are that exclusive licenses pay you a higher royalty, while the non-exclusive licenses offer a lower payout.

Get paid!

Once a company has become your licensee, start expecting  your royalty checks to arrive…in the near future. It could still take some time (think months to years) before your product has been developed, manufactured and sold to finally generate that passive income for you. However, if you can licence a few invention ideas each year and make 3-5% in royalties from them, you’ll be well on your way to earning a passive income.

*Your NDA may not be signed automatically if your potential licensee objects to some of the document’s clauses and wishes to modify them so the manufacturing company has better flexibility to create and market your invention. In such cases, you should have your licensing attorney look over the company’s proposed changes before signing the modified NDA.

How to Earn Extra Money as a Voice Over Artist

Did you engage in theater productions or take acting lessons in high school or college? Do you like to make announcements, toasts or give entire speeches? If yes, then you might be perfectly suited to making extra money as a voice over artist (or voice over actor).

What is a voice over artist?

If you’ve ever listened to a book on tape, a late night product commercial, or a business radio announcement, you’ve probably heard voice over actors speaking and not the respective authors, manufacturers or business owners. Voice over actors are routinely hired by both online and off-line clients because most individuals, truth be told, do not orate well.

There are many broadcast media that hire voice over artists, including TV and radio, for production numbers such as commercials, public announcements, cartoons and animations, documentaries and movie trailers. Non broadcast entities such as corporations, small businesses, religious organizations, webmasters and schools also hire voice over actors for help with creating podcasts, rich media presentations, educational, training and product videos, and even those pesky phone recordings you hear while on hold.

With apps and online games taking off, voice over actors often work with programmers and gamers to generate different character voices and sayings.

In short, there is a wide range of work available for those folks who want to be the voice behind the scene.

What equipment do you need?

At the very least, you will need a quiet, soundproof room as well as a decent microphone. You should also consider installing the free audio recording and editing software Audacity onto your computer.

Of course, as you build your voice over business, you could eventually outfit your recording studio like Todd Schick.

How much money can you make as a voice over artist?

The following voice work rate card from Voices provides you with a good idea of what to charge for your voice work. Of course, as a beginner voice over artist, you may wish to start your rates a bit lower and work your way up while accumulating referrals and samples of your work.

Still, it’s not unusual to earn $200-$300 for a 5 minute voice over even as a beginner, especially if the work is in a highly specialized field that requires fluency with multi-syllabic words and phrases. Thus, if  you have any technical or educational expertise, take advantage of your background and advertise your proficiencies up-front.

So, how can you get started in this business? The easiest way is to check out these online sites, which help you advertise your services, negotiate your rates, and scope out voice over jobs.

Voicebunny

This site, which was launched by two Voice123 co-founders, Voicebunny is a kind of “fast food” version of voice over service sites, offering clients fast and cheap turnarounds on jobs that are mostly in some kind of technical market. As such, you will see lots of requests for audio podcasts, webinars, reports and news articles listed here. You set your own rates and can also post sample voice overs (i.e., demos) for clients to listen to.

voicebunny

Once a client creates a work request, time is of the essence in terms of you accepting that request and creating a voice audition. In fact, you are actually set up with a timer once you take on a work gig. If that timer runs out, the work request returns to the pool.

Your completed audition is first checked by Voicebunny staff for correctness and legitimacy (e.g., not being spam), after which it is sent to the client. The client then either accepts or rejects your audition. If your audition is accepted, Voicebunny pays you your personally set rate. Rejected auditions are not paid for and there are no retakes.

Some criticisms of Voicebunny include excessive audition rejection by Voicebunny staff, lower than average pay, and no extra pay for what is essentially rush work. As such, Voicebunny is a kind of beginner’s site that most beginners leave once they rack up enough work and client referrals.

Voice123

This site is not for beginners and voice over artists deal with clients directly in terms of setting up auditions, negotiating rates and getting paid. The site deals with some big-name clients including Zynga, Universal Studios and MTV.

voice123

While Voice123 charges no commission or fees on jobs, it does “strongly encourage” its members to sign up for its premium membership at $395/year. Members who are signed up under the free or standard membership are still listed in the voice actors directory and can obtain work through direct invitation, but obtaining steady gigs is slim given that standard member profiles are listed below those of the premium members via the site’s search feature. Also, premium members receive audition invitations through the site, while standard members are not notified of such opportunities.

Voice123 uses a voice casting software called SmartCast to match voice talent with appropriate clients based on prior audition behavior and thus cut down on low quality auditions and bidding wars. Thus, if you habitually audition for a type of voice over such as a webinar presentation, you will get invited to more webinar casting calls. On the flip side, if you habitually audition for low-paying gigs, you will be invited to more low-paying gigs.

Voices

This site is the crème-de-la-crème of voice over sites and offers its talent the opportunity to work with clients including national TV stations, movie studios and major corporations. Also, the minimum casting call payout is $100, with a good number of calls paying between $100-$250.

voices

Voices, much like Voice123, offers free and paid memberships, with the free (i.e., guest) members only receiving direct invitation gigs and not appearing at the top of the search results. Also, free members do not see publicly posted jobs.

Paying members also take advantage of VoiceMatch, a software program that, much like SmartCast, matches the most appropriate voice talent to posted gigs and then adjusts its matches based on voice over artist behavior. The site also offers SurePay Escrow protection to prevent clients from ripping off voice over actors; the downside to this protection is that it takes a 10% cut for its services.

Other voice over sites

Snap Recordings

This site occasionally lists available gigs on its site. Interested voice over actors can also peruse career sites like Indeed or Monster for job openings via Snap Recordings.

snap recordings

Voicesnow

This site doesn’t offer a ready-made area for voice talent to instantly create their profiles; however, under the Contact Us tab, artists can apply directly to Voicesnow for consideration.

voicesnow

Voice talent

Voice over artists can also get contracted by Voice talent; the site occasionally posts openings online or through career sites like Indeed, Glassdoor and Monster.

voice talent

Still not sure where to start?

The voice over community is fairly huge and offers many online networking opportunities where you can hone your craft, find out pay rate specifics, and find voice over gigs on your own. Here are some online sites you should consider checking out:

All Star Voices– This social networks posts jobs, lists voice coaches, hosts a resource center, and much more.

Voice-Over Friends– This Facebook group posts regular notices about the industry as well as job opportunities.

Voice Over Universe– This forum posts reviews of voice over sites, educational materials and events.

Are you a voice over artist? Please describe your experiences in the comments below.

How to Make Money as a Food Tester or Food Taster

Do you love to try new foods or are you a foodie with some amazing taste buds? You can put your taste buds to work and earn extra money by becoming a food tester (i.e., sensory panelist). Lots of food manufacturers and research companies need consumers to try out their products before they are stocked on store shelves.

Sometimes, the work requires that you show up on-site and be a part of a focus group or consumer panel. In many cases, however, you might complete your work online as part of a consumer survey or online forum. Thus, even if you can’t always be physically present at a test facility, you can still make money from home as a food taster.

Food testing companies and laboratories

There are many companies that perform food testing and research for big-name clients like Dole, PepsiCo, Tyson, Nestle, Kraft Foods, etc. These companies often hire food testers for consumer panels and studies that take place throughout the year. Here is a list of some companies you can periodically check in with about food testing opportunities:

Contract Testing, Inc.

This company has offices in Ontario and Georgia and is always recruiting food tasters on its website’s database. Eligible participants are most often called in to work at one of the company’s field sites; however, some products can be taken and tried out at home. Surveys are conducted by computer.

Alberta Agriculture and Rural Development

The Consumer Product Testing Centre, located in Alberta, Canada, periodically recruits food testers through the following web page. Participants can try a variety of food products including pasta, yogurt, chocolate and cookies. An honorarium of $15 is paid for every completed study.

Food Perspectives

This Minneapolis/St. Paul-based company recruits both adults and children to its consumer database.

Franklin Foods

This company strives to “re-invent cream cheese” by researching novel dips, spreads, sauces, etc. Those interested in joining the company’s consumer panel can sign up online.

Herron Research

This market research firm periodically recruits food testers in the Indianapolis, IN and Tampa, FL areas. Interested participants should leave their name and contact information in Herron’s database. Herron will then contact those participants whose specifications match study criteria to join its on-site consumer panels.

Leatherhead Food Research

Leatherhead not only conducts food tasting studies, but also performs consumer analysis and food nutrition studies. This means that panelists who sign up with the site might be asked to undergo fasting, for example, during a study on appetite and certain foods.

Participants in these consumer groups must reside in the U.K.; however, Leatherhead is also looking for home product testers based in the U.K., France and U.S. through its SenseReach program.

MMR Research

This international company, with locations in the U.S., China and the U.K., performs a wide range of analyses for companies like Kellogg’s, Unilever and ConAgra. Occasionally, sensory panelist and consumer focus group opportunities are listed on the MMR Careers page.

National Food Laboratory

This California-based company performs research studies on everything from food safety to packaging to visual appeal. Sensory panelist positions are occasionally offered on the NFL’s careers web page.

Northland Laboratories

This company is based out of Illinois and recruits participants for its food and beverage studies through its online sign-up form.

Food manufacturers

Individual food manufacturers and restaurants will also recruit food tasters and compensate their efforts with not only money but cool schwag like T-shirts, food items and gift cards.

McCormick Corporation

This company recruits consumer panelists to its Maryland office for periodic taste tests. Individuals can participate in McCormick product tastings once every three months.

Schwan Food Company

Schwan is based in Minnesota and, via its Sensory Tasting Laboratory, offers opportunities for taste testers to sample its foods, provide feedback, and be compensated for their time. Potential food testers can learn more about the program through the following web page. The company pays $15 for each completed study. 

Solae

This company, based in St. Louis, develops soy-based products and recruits participants for its food tasting studies on the following web page.

Additional places that list food taster opportunities

Some food testing companies and manufacturers do not list food taster opportunities on their websites but rather on sites like SimplyHired, Monster, LinkedIn, Indeed and CareerBuilder. To find these opportunities, use search terms like “food tester,” “food taster,” “sensory panelist,” or “taste tester.”

You can also try inputting the same search terms into Google or Bing and seeing what pops up. If you’re hoping to work with a specific brand, use Boolean search and input that brand’s name into your search- for example, you could input “food tester AND Kraft” to find out if Kraft is recruiting food testers.

How much money do food taster studies pay?

Food testing focus groups often pay $60-$75/hour for participants who show up and successfully complete the study. Companies that offer online surveys pay between $1/question or $15/survey. Occasionally, companies will offer combined compensation in the form of money and gift cards or free product coupons.

Click Clone Cash Review – Click “Exit” Instead

Josh Owens is really living his dreams. He’s got the waterfront property, the Jaguar, the boat, oh, and the money. He’s also got plenty of time to show it all to us over and over again.

This Click Clone Cash review is going to take a look at his “zero click” product that he claims will make you millions by finding and cloning successful online businesses. All you’ll have to do is tell the system where to send the checks.

Ok then. Sounds legit.

Normally when reviewing products I’d go into details of what the product is, then tell you whether or not it really is that. Unfortunately, Josh made me sit through his BS for so long to find out what he’s actually offering, that I’ve just decided to skip to the point.

It’s not going to make you any money.

So What Is Click Clone Cash Supposed To Be?

As I said, Josh has supposedly set up a program that will install software on your computer, then search the Internet for successful online businesses, and clone them for you. You’ll be able to sit back and make millions with this system.

Well, no you won’t.

Let’s take a closer look at the reasons why this is all fabricated.

The Video Shows It All

I’ve seen some pretty outrageous videos in the past with terrible paid actors walking around empty mansions and driving fancy cars, claiming to be millionaires. This one really does go a little far. You don’t need to set the whole thing on a yacht on a river while wearing your Harvard Law School T-shirt unless you are just trying to hype everybody up.

Real products have substance and will focus on the product and what it does. “Questionable” products just show you cars and boats, cars and boats.

Claiming that you’re not doing that doesn’t help. In fact, the homepage even shows that these people are actors:

click-clone-cash-barf

There are so many holes that I spotted in the video to know that it’s fake. I’m going to show you a few here.

1. When Josh returns home, his kids and wife are surprised to see that he’s got home already and rush to say hi. Well that’s fine, but how did the cameraman get inside without you figuring out your dad was home?

2. When Josh gets suddenly called up on Face-Time by one of his partners, how come she didn’t know already that she was being filmed? There’s a camera right in front of her face!

3. Isn’t it convenient that there happened to be a camera in his old law office (and he looks no younger), 5 years ago when “Aaron” walked in, so he could film the whole conversation? From four different angles?

4. Josh said that if you leave the video, you’ll not be able to return. Well that’s a lie. I’ve left and returned loads of times (I’m addicted to that “OMG girl” at the beginning).

Seriously? Still thinking this is a legitimate video?

The Actual Product

OK, so maybe they staged the video but the product still works right? That’s a stretch based on all the other dodgy products out there doing the exact same thing, but I’ll humor you.

If you manage to get to the end of the video, you’ll see “Josh” telling you that you need to pay for some hosting to set it all up. This is where he gets his money out of you.

click-clone-cash-review

In fact, I’ve reviewed another product that does the exact same thing. It’s all designed to convince you to spend money on hosting.

You don’t really think that there’s magic software out there that can just clone successful businesses do you? Successful businesses have security features, and don’t just work on autopilot anyway..without any expenses, or set up.

Take the advice of one of Josh’s supposed partners:

“Folks, don’t be stupid”.