A few months ago, I decided to create my own ebook and I used the services of Click2Sell to take charge of my commissions. I was surprised to find more benefits besides this. Probably just as you too, I am interested in taking every measure to ensure that my affiliate program is both reliable and secure, with good commission. It was for this reason that, prior to the official launch of my ebook, I sent a few emails to click2sell so as to get more reassurance. It was then that I met Egidijus. Now, here’s the special interview he allowed me to have with him…

Robert : Egidijus, most people get into Internet business by selling ebooks or some physical products in places like Ebay. But you started your Internet business as a company specializing on affiliate programs. Why? Didn’t it cost a lot of money to begin? When did you start? And any other stories behind it …?

Egidijus : Affiliate marketing was always an interesting niche for me… I started back in 2003 with various affiliate programs. However, during my affiliate marketing journey I have noticed that there are a lot of networks that just don’t offer the right tools for both affiliates and merchants to succeed online… For example, as I was using pay per click campaigns I needed to track all my keywords, but simply there were no tools at that time. So I began to think that it could be great to have an affiliate programs network adapted to my needs. Of course, building a custom made system only for myself would be too expensive to implement.

But this idea developed into a wider one – to get involved into affiliate marketing and create the best affiliate programs network which could be easy and simple to use, bring big value with various features for both merchants and affiliates. I began thinking of creating a real company that would grow over time, evolve into a beneficial system for all who do business online. So that was the main idea and beginning of Click2Sell.EU.

Robert : Before you launched click2sell, I’m sure you already knew who your competitors would be. Right? And if so, then you must have had some marketing strategies to win the competition. And I’ve seen that the strategies work since I often see an increase in the products listed in the marketplace. What did you do?

Egidijus : The answer is simple - we work very hard day by day and do our best to help our members to succeed online. I see that our efforts already give first fruits. We‘re very happy when we get „thank you“ letters or some critics (we understand that we‘re not perfect), but this shows us where we should improve, what could be done better. Having our customers (members) in mind, this gives impact on improving Click2Sell.EU performance, new features development. I think they see it and because of this recommend Click2Sell.EU services to their friends and relatives. I‘m sure that the more value we provide to our members, the more faster we grow and will be able to evolve.

Robert : Concerning your brand name, why did you settle on Click2Sell instead of, for example, ClickTOSell? And why .eu and not .com?

Egidijus : We are based in Lithuania, small European country, so we have chosen „.eu“ to show the world where we are from. And it‘s more… different! However, some people think that we do business only with European merchants and affiliates. That’s not correct. Click2Sell.EU is a global company and welcomes merchants and affiliates from all over the world.

Robert : In a bid to improve the loyalty from your clients, what kinds of improvements have you implemented? And what’s the future of Click2Sell…?

Egidijus : We aim to provide the best customer service possible. We do not use automated reply systems or generic answers to questions or inquiries, because our aim is to be in personal touch with everyone who‘s interested in our services. We try to help everyone, because each member is important for Click2Sell.EU. Since the launch of Click2Sell.EU back in the end of 2007, we have done a lot of improvements to overall system by listening to our members sugestions.

The latest updates expanded the possibilities of merchants and affiliates a lot. Recently Click2Sell.EU API has been implemented, so now all information about the transactions can be sent in a background. Many improvements were made on the merchant’s and affiliate’s side of the system such as i.e. affiliate link automation, additional features to drive visitors straight to checkout pages - now affiliates can easily create landing pages for promoted products and send all interested visitors straight to checkout pages.

Click2Sell.EU performance speed increased up to 70 times on some reports, we also did a lot of changes and fixes in the background that resulted in overall much better stability of the system. We have a huge ‘to-do’ list, so all our members will notice a lot of great new implementations and changes on Click2Sell.EU soon and be able to experience even greater services.

Robert : In one of my previous posts, I mentioned the change of the Internet to web 2.0. Do you see the potential of web 2.0 in improving your business? What will you do with it?

Robert : Egidijus, in closing this interview, we would like to know more about you personally… Are you an IT guy or something? Please tell us more about you and your Internet business before Click2Sell, if any …

Egidijus : I can’t personally describe myself as an IT or tech-guy. Even though I’ve been working online since 1997 and I have a computer since I was 10 years old.

However, the online business always fascinated me and I dreamed about having my own business where i could implement my ideas. Prior Click2Sell.EU I worked on software development projects, however, they were much simplier comparing to creation of Click2Sell.EU. This was a real challenge for me, so I can tell that this project is the most complex I’ve ever had. I’m not a developer… I could tell with humour that l‘m „ideas generator“ who wants those ideas to become true. I’m a project manager that has a great insight about how everything works and how it should work.

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Well, you’re not alone… As I was venturing into Internet marketing, I did feel just as you do at the moment. Yet I have been curious as to what makes some people earn very good money on the Internet by successfully selling affiliate products.

This means that the problem must be in the use of wrong processes…

This is what most marketers do in promoting affiliate products:

• They use their affiliate links to send people directly to their respective merchant sites and hope for someone to make a purchase. Of course they get luck - sometimes good and sometimes bad… who knows? This works to the advantage of the merchants since the affiliates provide them with free traffic.
• Another method that affiliates use is to create their own landing pages instead of sending customers directly to the merchants’ sites. They use the landing pages to capture the prospects’ names and email addresses by using autoresponders. They then promote the affiliate products by sending a series of 5-7 follow-up emails to try to ‘push’ the prospects into making a purchase.

Why are people doing this? I have one of the most common reasons - commissions. If a merchant gives you a 60% commission on a product valued at $49, it means you will be earning $29.4 per sale. All you have to do is simple … send traffic. If you send a lot of traffic and are fortunate enough to make 100 sales in a month, you will earn $2,940 from the merchant. And you won’t have created any product at all. How sweet…

Then why is it that very many people are struggling quite hard to earn just a few hundred bucks?

Let us follow this logical reasoning. If your sole motivation is getting commissions, there will be thousands of people all over the world with the same desire. Right? This in turn means that all of these people will be your competitors. Does this make any sense to you?

So, does this mean that affiliate marketing is doomed? No,not really … so long as you think and act differently.

Try to imagine of this scenario. You are sitting in a coffee shop. Someone approaches you, says ‘hello’, and talks nicely with you. Then after a few minutes of conversation, he takes a pen from his bag that he persuades you to buy.

Well, there are many different ways in which you may react. But, let’s suppose that you don’t ask him to leave your table …

Which question are you likely to shoot first? Will you ask about the price, features, and quality of the pen? Or will you trust the person wholeheartedly and buy the pen without any question?

Although I don’t know about you, nine out of ten people will say the price is the first important question. If the price is way too high, chances are that you will lose interest and ask the salesman to leave you alone. On the other hand, if it appears cheap, you may think that you will not really lose if you try the product. Let’s say it’s just $2.

When you go to your office and start using your $2 pen, you find it surprisingly comfortable. It grips well without slipping and the ink is of good quality. You feel that $2 is rather too cheap for the quality of the pen.

A few weeks later, you see the salesman in the same coffee shop and again he says ‘hello’ to you. What will you do? Ignore him? And if he offers to refill your pen, will you tell him to leave you alone?

Of course not. Since he didn’t sell you a poor-quality product, you will develop more trust in him.

This demonstrates the process of building trust and loyalty in your customers. It may take weeks, months, or even years to develop this trust.

By the way, that salesman is an affiliate too. He didn’t make that pen.

I hope this anecdote gives you some insight into becoming a better affiliate.

Good luck…!

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If you remember, few days ago, so many people submited their articles to EzineArticles until I have to wait 3-5 days longer than usual to get approval. I’m not sure whether this is one of the reasons why *suddenly* there are a lot of new articles in a short period of time or not.

Although my analysis proofed that the category I choose was less competitive category, I still have a bad luck from this situation. All my 16 articles has been knock-out from top 100 newest articles on that category. Which mean, there’s a small chance for me to get thousands of readers as my previous 9 articles.

Good night…

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• Research Update : 16 Articles Approved
• How Many Articles Do We Need?
• Article Marketing Breakthrough

Ok, what these 16 articles can do…. Currently, I got 3,221 people read my existing articles. We will find out in next 10 days, how many people will read my 16 brand new articles

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• I Shouldn’t Submit It All
• How Many Articles Do We Need?
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This time, I’m very happy to know one such professional writer who has helped me to write some of my projects. His name is Richard Lango and he lives in Kenya. Lucky for me to have a chance of interviewing him. Here’s what he said :

Robert : Richard, could you tell us a little bit about you…?
Richard : Well, you’ve already almost said all about me! I started writing while I was still in high school, although it was more of a way of passing time. It was my schoolmates who drew my attention to the quality of my writing as they would ask where I had copied what I had written from. I was a library official and used to read a lot. However, by then my interest was in electronics. In fact, I’m an electronic engineer although I also studied a bit of freelance writing from Writers Bureau by correspondence.

My freelance writing career started in 1993, when I became a correspondent of a press service that was published in Belgium, called African News Bulletin. I had not yet attended any college and greatly benefited from the help of a friend called Vivienne Simwa who works with the Kenya News Agency. I stayed with the publication until 2003 when it closed down. I then largely went back to electronics. But I seemed to have more and more passion for writing and about a year ago, I came back to full-time writing. I now focus on online writing, and that’s how we met.

Robert : As we know, I met you on the Internet. Since when have you been using the Internet to sell your services? Who gave you the idea to use the Internet as a medium to promote yourself? How’s the beginning?
Richard : When I returned to writing, I initially concentrated on finding relevant magazines to write for. I mainly did this over the Internet. It was in the process that I came to know of the power of the Internet. The beginning was tough and discouraging as I spent a lot of time without any success. Then my brother introduced me to GetAfreelancer.com. It was then that I changed my focus to bidding on online writing contracts. I’m currently a member of several such sites. And I find it more fulfilling to use the Internet rather than printed publications.

Robert : Richard, as I saw on Writerlance or Elance, being a ghostwriter is quite competitive. Especially when someone else bids on the project at a cheaper cost. Do you have any tips to make yourself different than the others? And what about your existing customers?
Richard : Well, it’s true that this is quite a competitive market. The trick is to show your strengths truthfully. If you bid too high you won’t get any project. And if you bid too low you won’t make a living. And you surely can’t charge too low and deliver high quality work. You will be sending a wrong message to the buyers. I usually develop a long-lasting working relationship with the buyers I deal with. This is possible because they see the quality of work produced. I also let them know when I’m not in a position to take a project. I don’t want to spread myself too thin.

Robert : When I knew that you live in Kenya, it really proved to me that anybody in this world can use the Internet to generate income. But, on the other hand, there are some restrictions for certain countries. Could you tell us, what are the difficulties of starting an online business in Kenya and how you can handle it?
Richard : Although the use of the Internet is quite widespread in Kenya, online businesses are still rare. For example in my case, people often wonder what such a ‘bright’ boy is doing at home instead of seeking ‘office work’ in towns. It creates conflict even with my former teachers who think I’m wasting myself at home. Even the government does not understand online business well. Another problem concerns communication infrastructure. Broadband Internet services are still rather expensive. I still rely on the GPRS service from the cellphone service providers. All these show that if I can manage it, then it’s really possible from anywhere.

Robert : You always charge your customers in US Dollars. Actually, what’s one US dollar in Kenya worth? So, I guess you really have serious income from the Internet, right?
Richard : Well, the potential is there. One US Dollar currently goes for about sixty two Kenyan shillings. It means that if I work without any hitches, I can earn relatively better than many salaried people here. It’s just that I’m still at the initial stages.

Robert : Ok, Richard. How can we contact you to have your services?
Richard : I check my email fairly frequently, even when I just have a cellphone. My email address is richardlango@gmail.com.

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“Current Article Review Status

We are experiencing an unusual high increase in article submissions and are currently 3-5 days behind. We apologize for the delay. Please know that your article submissions are important to us.”

Well, I guess there’s little I can do besides waiting for the approval. But, please hold on… There’s something that I would like to share with you. It relates to how customers behave in the present web 2.0 era… Sounds quite interesting, doesn’t it?

I had never put my head into considering what the term web 2.0 really meant - and still means. I assumed it was perhaps just a tag cloud widget, blogging, social bookmarking, social networking, and so on…

A friend of mine, Andrew, came to my house several weeks ago complaining of the difficulties he experienced in an attempt to sell his ebook so as to generate some money online. This sent me thinking about the reasons of the existence of web 2.0.

Basically, there’s nothing wrong with his sales-letter-site. In fact, I was quite impressed when I viewed it. He is a web designer and his writing communicates effectively. The way he ’speaks’ to his prospective clients, who are mostly mothers, is deeply touching. This is particularly so on his closing section. So why does he still complain about lack of sales?

You may think that he has not concentrated on driving traffic to his site, or that he has failed on other personal aspects. You may be right. However, I’m not going to focus on someone’s personality here. My concern is the model he uses in selling his ebook.

I personally don’t believe that driving prospects directly to the sales-letter-site is relevant in this web 2.0 era. I am not implying that the sales-letter-site model is defunct. However, in the present web 2.0 era, it is necessary to change your strategy in order to touch the hearts of potential customers and win their loyalty.

What Andrew did was spend his money on Adwords and other PPC campaigns, thereby ‘pushing’ his prospects into reading his sales letter. Some people opt in and ‘eat’ his ‘bait’. A few people buy his ebook. However, many people leave his site within a few seconds.

If you were a customer, would you buy something from a complete stranger? I believe that the harder the guy tries to convince you of his expertise, the faster you will leave his site. On the other hand, if you heard from friends, forums, or other communities that he is an expert, I am sure that you will be ready to read his sales letter without being prompted.

This is why the Internet has changed from web 1.0 to web 2.0. In the present era, you need to sell yourself instead of your product or brand. You should aim at being known by other people. When people know more about you, about how good you are, they will definitely know your product. Even more importantly, they will be confident that the product is worth what they will spend on it.

Just remember one thing - your customers are getting smarter with every passing day. If you let your competitors be smarter than you in exploiting the power of web 2.0, the customers will direct their money towards them instead.

Don’t use the same old model in an attempt to get different results. Stay focused, remain motivated, and keep updating your strategy.

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• How To Succeed As an Affiliate

In this article, I am going to share with you about the appropriate number of articles that is necessary in getting significant exposure. As I shared with you in my previous article, I managed to get the attention of 2,857 readers within 10 days from just nine articles I had submitted to EzineArticles.com. However, since that last post, the total number of readers has barely increased. What could have gone wrong?

The theory I had established is still true. The 2,857 readers accessed and read my articles from category in which I had posted them. They did not use the search engines or EzineArticles’ built-in search facility. This is because when I check my articles now, they are on the fourth page in that category.

This explains why the number of readers has dwindled within the past few days…

This has made me have another idea. If I can get 2,857 readers within 10 days from 9 articles, what if I write 25 articles and submit all of them simultaneously?

By the way, my status at EzineArticles.com is Basic Plus. This means that I can send only 25 articles and wait for their approval before I can submit others. However, do I have to send all the 25 articles at once?

So far, I have managed to get a lot of readers because my articles featured in a given category. That’s where we begin …

You will notice that EzineArticles displays just 30 new articles in each category you select. For example, if you click on Health and Fitness > Acne or Investing > Retirement Planning, you will be able to see 30 new articles in either category.

This means that if you submit 25 articles at once and they all get approved 25 out of the 30 new articles will be yours. Let me ask you this, if in one page you see 25 articles that are from the same author, how would you feel? Will you take the author as an expert or a spammer?

Well, since I am not gifted with reading people’s minds, I really don’t know the answer…

However, the question is, if you write and submit 25 articles simultaneously, will you be able to get 2 or 3 times better results than if you send 9 or 10 articles and wait for their approval before you send another similar batch?

You are soon going to find the answer given that I have submitted a batch of 19 articles waiting to be approved by EzineArticles. We are going to find out whether the 19 articles will double the result achieved by the previous 9.

I am also eagerly awaiting the results …

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This is true. But does this mean that the article will fetch the much-needed traffic in the long-term? Let me give my personal experience.

It was difficult for me to generate traffic from my articles at the beginning. I would submit just a few articles whose readership was very low. As other people submitted their articles, mine would be pushed back in the directories, further minimizing chances of readers ever finding them.

However, my whole perspective changed last week after discovering a breakthrough method. This breakthrough helped me to realize the great potential of article writing as far as traffic generation is concerned.

I changed a number of strategies, which start right before writing an article. We will get into this in a moment … but first, let us look at how readers can easily access your articles. There are three basic steps:

1. People search the article directories with particular reasons in mind. They then head to the relevant categories, such as Pets > Dogs. If your articles fall within the given categories, they will feature at the top of the page. But the bad news is… if newer articles have been submitted, yours will roll to the next page as already mentioned.
2. Some people do not use the various categories when they visit the directories. They will instead use the built-in search facility to find relevant articles. If your article matches the keywords they use, it will appear among the search results. This means that it is important to have relevant keywords in mind prior to writing an article.
3. There are also chances of your article being picked by search engines. In that case, your article will appear in the Search Engine Results Page (SERP), probably among the first two pages. Just imagine the kind of traffic you will be getting if your articles appear among the top ten in Google’s result pages! However, Google (and any other search engine like Yahoo and MSN) is involved in its own business. You should not entirely peg your hopes there.

When I discovered the rules-of-the-game, I realized the great importance of doing research before writing any article. One of the things I do is to analyze the various categories in the article directories. This helps me to determine those whose contributors are relatively few. This means less competition. Hence when my article is approved, it will feature at the front page for a longer duration, thereby getting more attention from readers.

I have been very successful with this strategy. Within just 10 days, 2,857 people read my (only) 9 articles that were approved.

I am not aware of the method the readers used, whether the search engines or going straight to the relevant categories.

What I am sure of is that the method works. I previously submitted articles to competitive categories and my articles were read only 39 times in a whole seven months!

For me, this is a breakthrough that I am sure to stick to for some time to come. I will also search for new strategies of increasing the CTR. So, keep checking back …

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• I Shouldn’t Submit It All
• Research Update : 16 Articles Approved
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Mr. smith has enough capital to start a new business. First of all, he will need to have a good business idea. Should he start a bookstore, a barber shop, a coffee shop, or a restaurant? What will play an important part in Mr. Smith’s decision is his background. For example, if he was previously a chef, it will be relatively easier for him to start a business where cooking is concerned. This, however, does not automatically mean that he will not be successful if he opts for a bookstore. But he will need to work harder than if he goes for a cooking-related business. He already has relevant skills to kickstart such a business.

After settling for a business idea on starting a restaurant, Mr. Smith will have to carry some research. He will have to find out the types of food that form a delicacy where he wants to open the business. So if the residents prefer such Italian specialties as pizza and spaghetti, it will be a costly miscalculation if he opens a chinese restaurant. Doing research is an important step that will save a lot of money.

After this, Mr. Smith will need to take action. Although he may have a brilliant business idea and analyzes the market accurately, he will go nowhere if he does not act upon his findings. If Mr. Smith will let the idea remain in his mind, he will possess a ‘million-dollar mind’ but not a million-dollar bank account.

This means that Mr. Smith will need to take appropriate actions such as renting a suitable place and purchasing necessary cooking implements. He will also need to prepare a special brand that will make people think of his restaurant when it’s time for lunch. Indeed, this is what will make his business successful.

Now, Mr. Smith will not make money automatically when people are not aware of his business. He will therefore need to set up resources and come up with a strategic advertising plan. The type of advertising taken will determine the impact made. For example, TV advertising will bring better results than adverts placed either on brochures or local radio stations. Of course, the costs will be different. In order for your business to survive, you will need to have a good advertising strategy whose expenses you can afford profitably.

Your advertisements will make potential customers recognize your business. In the case of Mr. Smith, people will start tasting and testing his dishes, find out about his special menu, and any discounts he offers. This is the crucial point that will either make or break his business. If the customers find the services offered unsatisfactory, the business will already be heading towards its death - and fast. With the prevalent use of the Internet, negative comments about you and your business will spread very quickly.

Of course, this will work to your advantage when you go out to satisfy the customers. You will have a booming business within a short time.

You should remember one important fact. While someone will tell his friend about your great service, he or she will tell ten people if your services are poor! You need to take time in order to establish your business.

If you take the five steps mentioned here, you will remain with just one more step to become a multi-millionaire. It is called duplication. If you have one business, you have just one source of income. However, if you have a number of businesses, you will have several sources of income.

You can apply the illustration above to an Internet business. Now, here is how it will be:

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