WishList makes membership sites easier to setup

WordPress is an amazing publishing platform but what if Google AdSense isn’t enough to pay for the operation? What if you need to setup a fully featured membership site?

All over the world, millions of bloggers are thinking up new ways to bank on their content (or products, or services). To sell these offerings, some of them might want to consider turning their “free blog” into a “membership blog” where some things are free and some others are only made available to paying visitors (or customers).

Since WordPress doesn’t ship with the capability to bills members to access different levels or sections, the only option is to turn to a plug-in such as WishList.

This plug-in is sold for either US$97 for a “single site” license or US$297 for a “multi-site” license, which makes it an affordable solution for paid membership sites.

A free option for the WishList plug-in would be nice but that doesn’t seem to be in the works, for now.

So, what do you get, with WishList?

How about easy integration, detailed support guides, training videos, one (1) year of unlimited updates and support as well as four bonus goodies that just sweeten an already fair deal.

Also, with WishList for WordPress, you get the following:

• Unlimited membership levels;
• Simple installation with either new or existing blogs;
• Flexible membership options (i.e.: free, trial or paid);
• Sequential content delivery (from “level 1″ to “lever 2″);
• Control over the viewed content;
• PayPal shopping cart integration;
• Easy member management;
• Multi-level access memberships;
• Total content protection;
• Secure RSS feeds;
• Subscription length control;
• Login redirection to the page of your choice;
• Sneak peak content display;
• Custom error pages; and
• Partial content display.

If you’re a blogger looking to install the WishList plug-in into your WordPress site, you should be able to do it within an hour. Most of the work, on your part, will be to figure out how you want to structure your sales to optimize successful conversions.

Regarding the plug-in itself, it works well and doesn’t seem to slow down the pages loading time, which is a definite plus.

Money shouldn’t be an issue for getting your hands on the WishList plug-in because as soon as you start operating a paid membership site —if your offering is any good— you’ll make your “initial plug-in investment” back very quickly.

So if you’re seriously looking to build a membership web site, WishList delivers.

Tags: wishlist, wishlist plug-in, plug-in, plugin, wordpress, member, members, membership, online membership, paid memberships, money, revenue, publisher model, adsense, google adsense, blog, bloggers, wordpress

The IE8 InPrivate mode doesn’t prevent Google AdSense ads from being displayed

Have you downloaded InternetExplorer 8, yet?

As Microsoft introduces Windows 7, that’ll be the default browser so if you don’t do it by yourself on your current XP or Vista setup now, it’ll be done for you, in the next OS release.

Microsoft’s new web browser is packed with features and one of them has been quite a cause for concern, for the online advertising industry which heavily relies on external JavaScript calls to display ads.

Publishers displaying Google AdSense ads have been quite vocal about the possibility for a new feature, among many others, called InPrivate [browsing] mode (also called the “porn mode“) where the browser doesn’t record anything, may it be history, cookies or cache that’ll be wiped out at the end of the session (so you don’t get slowed down during that session), because it was feared that the ads, originating from Google, would cease to be visible.

If that were to happen, as is the case with AdBlock Plus for Firefox, it would have the potential to destroy large parts of the online advertising industry because IE8 is promising to become the browser of choice, over time.

But although things might change, right now, it looks like the InPrivate mode won’t prevent Google AdSense ads from displaying.

Millions of AdSense publishers might let go a long sight of relief, when looking at the following proof that AdSense ads display normally, even when using the InPrivate mode…

By the way, it should be noted that we used IE8′s “express settings”…

…and we also had InPrivate filtering turned on in such a way that IE8 would block content for us (with its own “default” settings)…

…with these settings “enforced” (none that we determined, actually)…

So that was pretty much as far as the typical web user would go, when using such settings. Assuming a “typical user” would be using them, in the first place.

In all fairness, it might be a while before this type of “filtering” reaches mainstream.

The AdBlock Plus extension, however, has prevented publishers from collecting untold amounts of advertising revenue, since it’s been released to the Firefox user base so the idea of seeing IE8 come out with a similar feature, not activated by default but easily available to all, has made honest and hard working —ad supported— publishers very nervous.

Fortunately, it doesn’t look like Microsoft will wage war with Google on that front. Perhaps the Redmond giant has a slight idea of what kind of “blogger-storm” it would attract upon itself by doing so or maybe it’s just common sense (yes, that too can happen at Microsoft, according to certains rumors).

Whatever the reason, Microsoft’s IE8 InPrivate mode seems to play nice with Google AdSense ads on all publisher web sites that we checked (and we checked many of them, from all over the world, in several languages) so for now, it’s all good.

Let’s hope —and perhaps lobby— for things to stay this way.

And for AdBlock Plus to grow up and stop hurting honest web publishers.

Tags: ie8, internetexplorer 8, microsoft, adsense, google adsense, google, online advertising, online ads, web ads, ppc ads, pay-per-click, ad zones, display ads, hide ads, prevent ads from displaying, adblock plus, inprivate, filtering, web browser, internet users, advertising revenue, money, finance, common sense

Google’s own definition of AdSense

For online advertisers, AdSense is a huge network through which they can sell themlselves, their products and their services. For web publishers, it’s a revenue stream but what about Google, what’s their take on the service?

Over the years, a large number of AdSense publishers have wondered what words Google would use to properly define the “publisher side” of its all important pay-per-click advertising system (comprising other elements, namely AdWords where advertisers purchase the ads [that are later shown through AdSense]).

If you’ve been wondering about that too, here’s how Google defines AdSense, in its 2008 annual report, on page 56:

AdSense for content is our online service for distributing ads from our advertisers that are relevant to content on our Google Network members’ web sites. Under this program, we use automated technology to analyze the meaning of the content on the web page and serve relevant ads based on the meaning of such content. For example, a web page on an automotive blog that contains an entry about vintage cars might display ads for vintage car parts or vintage car shows. These ads are displayed in spaces that our AdSense for content partners have set aside on their web sites. AdSense for content allows a variety of ad types to be shown, including text ads, image ads, Google Video Ads, link units (which are sets of clickable links to topic pages related to page content), themed units (which are regular text ads with graphic treatments that change seasonally and by geography) and gadget ads (which are customized —mini-sites— that run as ads on AdSense publisher web sites).

For our online AdSense program, our advertisers pay us a fee each time a user clicks on one of our advertisers’ ads displayed on our Google Network members’ web sites or, for those advertisers who choose our cost-per-impression pricing, as their ads are displayed. To date, we have paid most of these advertiser fees to our Google Network members, and we expect to continue doing so for the foreseeable future. We recognize these advertiser fees as revenue and the portion of the advertiser fee we pay to our Google Network members as traffic acquisition costs under cost of revenues. In some cases, we guarantee our Google Network members minimum revenue share payments based on their achieving defined performance terms, such as number of search queries or advertisements displayed. Google Network members do not pay any fees associated with the use of our AdSense program on their web sites.

Our agreements with Google Network members consist largely of uniform online —click-wrap— agreements that members enter into by interacting with our registration web sites. The standard agreements have no stated term and are terminable at will. Agreements with our larger members are individually negotiated. Both the standard agreements and the negotiated agreements contain provisions requiring us to share with the Google Network member most of the advertiser fees generated by users clicking on ads on the Google Network member’s web site or, for advertisers who choose our cost-per-impression pricing, as the ads are displayed on the Google Network member’s web site.

Whoever wrote this, at Google, did a very good job at explaining AdSense… in just three paragraphs!

If similarly-sized businesses, like IBM, Cisco or Microsoft had attempted to define such an important business operation as this one is such a short linespan, chances are they would’ve failed, filling page after page to eventually “get to the point”.

This AdSense definition, published in the annual report and reprinted here, follows the exact same logic as Google’s search home page. “Easy does it” seems to be the general rule of thumb behind what AdSense is and seeks to be. In itself, this is wonderful news for all the smaller web publishers out there because it means Google doesn’t intend to overly formalize its ad network, like some competitors have.

Take APT, Yahoo!’s unified digital advertising platform.

It’s probably good but you likely need millions of visitors per day to get any level of attention from them to be —considered— for their ad program. Which is basically out of reach for over 99% of the web publishers out there. So all these fine web enthusiasts flock to Google’s AdSense where such insane “barriers to entry” simply don’t exist.

Talking about Yahoo!’s ad network, one has to wonder why they insist on being so elitist about who gets to show their ads. Is it because Yahoo! hate smaller publishers? Are they convinced only “they” know how to deliver content, and value? It’s anybody’s guess why Yahoo!’s “external publisher base” is so severely skimmed to keep only astronomically huge publishers while slamming the door in the face of all others.

Oh! Well, it’s their problem, not Google’s.

For those who like to read annual reports (even if the very idea of it might seem odd, at first), Google’s 2008 review of its activities, amidst the economic downturn that has started to be felt at the end of that year, proves that Larry and Sergei still steer this search giant with agility and grace.

Tens of thousands of people stand behind Google’s success but even though the valuation of the company has skyrocketed in the last decade, the people at the top have kept cool about it.

And it’s probably why any web publisher with sound content (i.e.: unique, useful and valuable) and a legitimate desire to generate revenue can apply to Google’s AdSense and reasonably expect to be accepted.

If you’re looking for a true sense of entrepreneurial spirit, online, look no further that Google AdSense… even in these hopefully episodic times of economic crisis.

Tags: google, adsense, adwords, definition of adsense, what is adsense, why adsense, how does adsense work, adsense publishers, ppc, pay-per-click, online ads, ad network, advertising, contextual ads, yahoo, apt, online publishers, money, revenue, online revenu, content monetization

Google Maps will help AdWords… and AdSense!

There’s been a lot of talk about the lower eCPM numbers affecting AdSense publishers since mid-February of 2009.

Some people believe the revenue shortfall is mainly due to the financial crisis, others think Google is keeping more for themselves. Since nothing filters from Google, it might be a bit of both, or not.

In all fairness and because so little relevant information is published by Google on this particular matter, it’s anyone’s guess why so many publishers’ revenues seem to be hitting record lows.

But…

In these harsh times, there might be a glimmer of light and it could be coming from an unexpected angle: Google Maps!

Yes, for those of you who have discover (or re-discovered) the planet using Google Earth, it’s no secret that businesses can now be easily located (and spotted) almost everywhere. The businesses that stand out the most are those who have registered with Google’s Local Busines Center (based in Mountain View, CA).

Business that register with Google must prove the authenticity of the information they post so that insures that visitors only see up to date information (which is very important, for any business directory).

So…

When businesses register to (eventually) show up in Google Maps (and Google Earth), they’re presented with a catchy little pitch regarding Google AdWords — now, that’s interesting.

Imagine, millions upon millions of smaller businesses being introduced to AdWords. It’s awesome because it’ll likely translate into a much more diverse advertiser base, more bids for a wide range of keywords and ultimately, higher and hopefully more stable revenues for publishers.

Here’s what Google writes:

Reach More Customers

If you have a website and want to reach more local customers, give Google AdWords a try. In just a few minutes, you can create ads that appear only to people in your target cities. (You can also have an AdWords specialist build your campaign for you) The best part? You chose the cost of your ads, and you only pay if these ads bring people to your website. Learn more at http://www.google.ca/local/promo

By the way, the link is for Canada because the author is based… in Canada.

Online advertising is still a fragile ecosystem but by helping millions of smaller businesses join the AdWords action, Google is helping itself, of course but it’s also helping its AdSense publishers who should, in turn, prep up their web destinations to be somewhat “local friendly” because that might just be the angle through which ad growth will occur.

If you know businesses looking for free visibility, invite them to list their contact data with Google Maps. It’s fast, free and surprisingly effective (yes, your phone will ring and you’ll get email messages with serious inquiries).

This is good news because amidst a sea of bad economic news, here’s living proof that Google is steaming ahead and building what could well be one of the upcoming paradigms in online visibility… and advertising.

Tags: online advertising, google maps, google earth, google adwords, google adsense, advertisers, publishers, local content, local listings, local businesses, small businesses, ppc, pay-per-click, lead generation, keywords, web publisher revenues, money, wealth

Is it still possible to profit from AdSense?

Building up a successful web destination is no small feat.

If you’ve achieved it in the past, it doesn’t mean you’ll pull it off as easily in the future. It just means that you know one successful way to “get there”, among many others — which is better than nothing.

But hordes of newbies, from all over the world, are taking the web by storm and firing up new forums, blogs, wikis and sites with diverse offerings which they deem worthy of carrying the wildly popular Google AdSense revenue-generating pay-per-click advertising service.

Some publishers expect very little revenue (while dreaming of a break in the big leagues, at one point or another) and others, usually more experienced publishers, are aiming at nothing less than being able to live solely off these Google-spun revenues.

Is it still possible to get to that point where you can basically quit your day job and blog on all sorts of themes that you care about (for real)? Perhaps it is… but don’t get your hopes too high.

You see, Google AdSense is merely an aggregator of ads which are bought (and paid for) by advertisers of all sizes.

As such, some fields like the insurances, debt reduction and medical care in the US might yield a lot more money than, say, poverty reduction in Mozambique. The later theme is a crucial one, there’s no question about it —but— are there any advertisers looking to pay big bucks to associate with that particular content? Your road to riches, using AdSense, has to start with a theme you happen to like (otherwise, it’ll just make you unhappy) but it should also be a magnet of sorts, for rich advertisers.

You need to choose the right theme and if it’s possible, aim the content at a rich geographic location meaning that blogging about skiing in Argentina will likely score less money in your pockets than if you focus on Aspen, CO.

But that’s not all…

If you’re to emerge as a credible source of information for your visitors —and— the mighty search engines, you’ll need to find a way to stay on top of your competition. One way to do this is to post unique content people are looking for and then, once you master that art of “answering all the right questions”, you need to do it as often (and as regularly) as possible.

You see, lots of marketers are selling the dream of “passive revenues” related to the Web 2.0 and 3.0 publishers but the truth of the matter is, to be successful for a long time, a publisher has to sweat. A lot, actually. Getting a web site right doesn’t usually happen the first time around. It takes a serious toll in time, effort and sometimes, money.

The good news is that lots of other publishers will turn their attention to other things, along the way so that’ll be that much less competition for you, assuming you go the distance.

But again with the main question, is it possible to profit from AdSense?

Depending on the type of content you publish and how it’s delivered to your visitors, AdSense could prove to be a solid (and surprisingly stable) source of recurring revenue but don’t expect —even for one moment— that it’ll be as easy as what the marketers would have you believe.

As a general rule of thumb, if you’re successful offline, you may also have what it takes to make it big online too but hey, you’ll have to give it a try to learn from experience how you fare in the face of infinite competition in an always-on world.

The AdSense revenue generation lifestyle isn’t for everybody and especially not for the faint at heart but if you really intend to work up your place as a “useful and popular web destination”, the payoff is very real if (and when) you get there.

Tags: adsense revenue, adsense lifestyle, making money with adsense, google adsense, adsense program, adsense for publishers, blogging for money, adsense blogs, adsense wikis, adsense forums, blogger revenues, money, adsense check, quit your day job, make money online, produce content

US-based companies’ IT work going global

The field of information technology (IT) has seen more than its fair share of jobs going offshore, mainly to save money on the tech-related payroll.

Companies that feel compelled to slash jobs locally while staffing up their offshore operations have received a lot of media coverage, usually good from the investors’ angle and usually bad from everyone else.

To this day, the whole offshoring trend isn’t well understood by the IT managers and even less by the general public so InformationWeek’s September 2008 Analytics Report, revealing IT strategies from the 500 (alleged) best and brightest companies, in North America may further help us put numbers on this globalized work phenomenon.

So the basic assumption is that United States companies are looking beyond their borders when it comes to their latest IT strategies.

The following numbers seem to be going in that direction…

• 67% (of the 500 companies that have been surveyed) use offshore IT services — If anybody still doubted the outsourcing trend was for real, this is the number that ends the debate;
• 46% have full-time IT employees outside the US — The offshore wages are so low compared to domestic ones that setting-up a foreign shop can be done relitively cheaply;
• 40% conduct business process outsourcing offshore — This is the proverbial cherry on the outsourcing sunday as whoever determines the BPOs has a lot of power over “how things get done”;
• 14% encourage US IT workers to work in offshore comapny offices — And most of the time, it’s a matter of setting things up “over there” so that unit can (eventually) become “worthy” of “local quality standards”.

So the numbers are pretty clear about the fact that offshoring has moved into “mainstrem IT” but qualitywise, many US-based companies are still seeing very serious problems stemming from their “cheap” offshore workforce that perhaps entertain a different relation with the whole “quality matters”.

US companies using offshore workers report countless problems ranging from poor communications, sloppy code, tech short-sightedness, critical lack of “vision” and scalability as well a general sense of having to reinvent the wheel every time a more challenging project comes up.

In other words, even though some American companies might be celebrating the spectacular cuts in employee wages, when they offshore their IT work, the end result isn’t necessarily going to be in-line with the standards they’ve been enjoying for several decades, domestically.

When the US-based companies fired hundreds of thousands of workers to send their work offshore, many of those IT-proficient workers decided to leave the “crazy 9-to-5 rat race cubicle experience” to go “independent”, usually as consultants. Their take on the situation is positive, overall. By being their own boss, they decide everything about their job, including their fees so, at anywhere between $75 and $175 per hour, it’s relatively easy to make as much (or more) money as their previous “full-time” job… and, as a bonus, they get to see their family a lot more.

Of course, there’s a huge lot of IT workers who have yet to find themselves another job (since they’ve been offshored so massively) and that’s very sad as these qualified workers are being replaced by foreigners who cost less but probably are worth less, also… and their managers only see the wage part, blissfully ignoring the quality part of the global equation.

US customers are also on the losing end of this offshoring proposition because they stand to receive sub-standard services while the price they pay isn’t likely to go down as the difference will generally be passed along to the shareholders, as generous dividends. And… since the rich shareholders often send off their money to offshore bank accounts, the domestic economy is likely to suffer a lot more (over the coming years) as offshoring gets even more prevalent and shareholders continue to use “fiscal havens” to legally evade their tax responsibilities, at home.

So offshoring is good for…

• the rich shareholders; and
• for the workers at these “exotic” locations.

…but bad for everybody else, such as…

• the fired workers who (previously) contributed so massively to the tax base and the social economy;
• the consumers who basically do business with an “American-front” while providing all their sensitive private information to an “offshore back-end” where no (credible) legal framework exists; and
• the US government which gets a lot less taxation money to carry out its social projets and responsibilities.

Some experts are saying that within a decade or so, foreigners from countries such as India, China, Vietnam and Romania will catch-up with the US IT workforce’s typical high-quality results.

Until then, the US IT workers will likely further their qualifications and make themselves “essential” all over again, namely by shifting the current computing paradigm, meaning that the basic “rules” of the IT game could change in the US’ favor, once again.

Whatever you think of all this, offshoring will continue to have a very real impact on how the domestic IT workforce evolves — fortunately, worthwhile opportunities still exist for “the locals” although it’s wise to assume that, from this point on, it might not be that way forever.

Tags: offshore, offshoring, offshored workers, foreign worker, it workers, exotic locations, us-based companies, us it work, domestic wages, foreign wages, high it wages, low it wages, india, china, vietnam, united states, politics, taxation, fiscal havens, fiscal evasion, shareholders, money, dividends

PrestaShop lets you open up your own web store

If you’re a merchant looking for a straightforward way to morph into an “e-merchant”, PrestaShop might make it on your shortlist.

For starters, it’s an open source (read: free) PHP and MySQL-based web script that, once installed, allows you to run your very own “electronic store”, with all the modern bells and whistles you’re used to seeing at the major e-tailers, including a comprehensive PayPal checkout.

The larger setups might swing towards the very impressive Magento Commerce web script, which is also open source and based on PHP and MySQL but for anything akin to a small to mid-sized store, PrestaShop feels like an awesome fit — even though it can technically handle a much larger store.

PrestaShop handle multiple languages, multiple currencies and multiple payment processing options brilliantly. It sports many “web 2.0″ features like a tag cloud, countless modules (extending the basic features) and a healthy dose of AJAX effects, namely when you add an item to your shopping basket.

From a customer’s standpoint, the web script looks very nice, is intuitive and performs flawlessly. All of which are essential for online sales to happen.

As an “e-store administrator”, you’ll be able to manage your catalog, customers, orders, payments and shipping to stay on top of what’s going on. The “admin interface” is easy to operate and the average semi-techie type will feel in control enough to enjoy working with this script (and that’s important if you’re going to use PrestaShop on a daily basis).

In a nutshell, here’s an overview of what PrestaShop offers, in its “front office”, which is basically the stuff your online customers will look for, see, use and appreciate:

• Special deals (price reductions, gift vouchers)
• Featured products on homepage
• Top sellers on homepage
• New items on homepage
• ‘Free shipping’ offers
• Cross-selling (Accessories)
• Product image zoom
• Order out-of-stock items
• Customer subscription & user accounts
• Unlimited payment methods
• Payment by bank wire
• Cash-On-Delivery (COD)
• Preconfigured for Paypal
• Multiple-recipient contact form
• Product tagging & tag cloud
• Search
• Merchandise return (RMAs) & credit slips
• Package tracking
• Offer gift-wrapping & recycled packaging
• PDF customer invoice
• Shopping Cart recall
• Sale of services & virtual goods
• Custom Favicon
• RSS feed
• Newsletter opt-in
• ‘Pick up in-store’ option

By all means, this is a highly credible (front-end) feature set which, coupled with your time, effort, creativity and marketing in setting up your online store can help you succeed in your e-tailing project.

Open source consulting firms might also adopt this script as it’s solid enough for serious deployments (now) but also set for a bright future with loads of upcoming features like 1-click purchases, affiliates management, per-item shipping cost and a loyal customer program.

It’s always reassuring to see an open source script being update regularly with such high-impact features that bring real value for both the e-merchant and the online customers.

Keep an eye on PrestaShop, this e-commerce web script is clearly going places.

Tags: prestashop, e-commerce, e-merchants, e-tailing, e-tailers, e-shops, online shops, e-shopping, web script, php, mysql, open source, paypal, bank wire, money, merchandise, package tracking, rmas, credit slips, free download, front office, online shoppers

The .me suffix is all about speculation

While domainers may be buying into the speculative hype about new domain name suffixes like “.me”, prospective buyers are looking for true (and trusted) value plus, whenever possible, natural revenue.

It’s going to be a long, long time before .me gets enough traction to command a price which is higher than the normal $20-or-so acquisition price, even for so-called “premium” domains.

The main problem comes from the very fact that ICANN is trigger happy nowadays and all sorts of “dot-anything” are scheduled to hit the market. With every new dot, lots of inexperienced (and sometimes experienced) domainers rush to land quality names… with a largely worthless suffix!

So the registrars are taking in insane profits in very short periods of time as a new wave of domainers try to secure the names they feel will become hot, over time. Just about every single generic word is a candidate for registration, under these circumstances but for a name to be worth anything, it has to bring some kind of added value to the end user, which is usually -not- the case with .me domain names since, as they stand, most of the registered names point to pay-per-click landing pages!

So thousands of domainers are stampeding for the .me names, okay. Good for them! For those who have been “in the game” for a while, sticking with the .com is the way to win big, even with seemingly silly made-up names because, at the end of the day, people type them… and remember them, easily.

Granted, names like “blog.me” or “for.me” will probably net 10 (or 100) times their acquisition cost but that’s still a far cry from their .com counterparts. And if the ICANN continues to spin out new “dots”, it might not even be 10 times because people will grow tired of the “dot madness” and intuitively fall back on the “dots with the most value”, and that’s .com, .net and some country-level suffixes, like .co.uk, .us and .ca.

So if you come across a domainer putting hard-earned money into .me names, wish him good luck but be kind enough to point them to this article, before they’re all out of cash.

One or two .me domain names —for fun— is cool but betting the whole farm on such new ICANN suffixes could either prove to be the smartest move ever or, which is more in line with reality, a (very) long shot that’ll break the bank before it turns out 1 penny of true, natural revenue.

Tags: .me, dot me, me domains, me domain names, buy .me, buy dot me, buy me names, my .me, my dot me, my .me name, finding my domain, finding domains, domainer, domainers, domain names, domain name portfolio, new icann domains, icann domain suffixes, buying domains, acquisition costs, money, revenue

Uninteresting affiliate programs

If you’re a web publisher, you’re already aware that several online services offer to match you with merchants who wish to commission you for every sale you generate, affiliate-style.

That’s a wonderful proposition since prospecting relevant merchants to advertise on your site can prove somewhat exhausting, especially if you have to keep you web destinations updated, in the meanwhile. So lots of web publishers have turned to Commission Junction (CJ), LinkShare, Performics, ClickBank, Advertising or even Google’s Affiliate Network to dip their toes into these revenue generating systems.

For a few, usually those who operate very niched web sites, the experience has been successful enough to continue using it but judging from the sheer volume of forum posts against these affiliate networks, the pay (if any) is just not worth the trouble.

It’s a well known fact that many affiliate networks have frustrating membership rules that go against the normal business flow of a web publisher like, for instance, the fact that every ad space is handled in a granular fashion instead of dynamic ad zones driven by keywords and other criterias.

Even if that adds a heavy advertising management load on the web publisher’s shoulders, it’s the money (or lack, thereof) that proverbially breaks the camel’s back. I won’t name the merchant but it exemplifies how it shows its level of appreciation for the web publisher’s work. That particular merchant sells monthly memberships ranging from $9,95 to $99,95 a month and the commission to the affiliated web publisher, in the event a sale occurs within 30 days, is a measly 15$… one shot! So there you have it, the merchant can make hundreds of dollars over the course of several months while the affiliate is left with very little to pay his (or her) rent with.

The merchant’s monthly memberships paying “one-time commissions” would probably be that much better if they actually got paid because over and above the fact that these amounts don’t equate the amount of work on the part of the web publisher to “convince” a new customer (to try the merchant’s services), it seems many web publishers never get paid… at all!

The roar in forum threads, for what it’s worth, clearly indicates there’s a very serious problem in the payment of owed commissions. Often times, the affiliate just vanishes without paying anything to anyone or it lacks peer reviews of its statistics engine and ends up not crediting the affiliated sale to the web publisher — and these situations are rampant.

Even industry leaders like Amazon has been reported to not even credit the book sales purchased by the affiliates themselves, using their properly setup affiliate links. Since so many web publishers have experienced this severe technical deficiency with Amazon (assuming it’s not outright bad faith), serious web publishers have completely exited the seemingly flawed program. In this example, Amazon gets paid 100% of the money of the referred sales and affiliates get nothing. And trying to talk with Amazon about it is nothing short of impossible so if web publishers want to know if they’re respected by the giant book selling outfit, well, they pretty much have their answer right there.

If you must absolutely find yourself a merchant to be an affiliate for (whatever the reason), look for fully independent ones, like SecureNetShop that handle everything in-house. By doing so, you cut the “network” intermediary and deal directly with the merchant which yields higher revenues while reducing the hassle.

The majority of web publishers are rapidly coming to the conclusion that the best way to monetize their advertising space is through either intelligently implemented pay-per-click programs, preferably Google’s AdSense or better yet, to sell the space directly to selected advertisers (more work but a much better pay).

The affiliate networks need to reinvent themselves, from a technological standpoint while arranging for the affiliate commissions to be more inline with the efforts needed to produce a flow of qualified customers or else, they risk being permanently labeled as uninteresting.

Tags: affiliates, affiliate networks, affiliated, revenues, money, ads, advertising, ppc, pay-per-click, cpa, cost-per-action, cpl, cost-per-lead, clicks, visitors, qualified customers, buyers, commissions, sales, pay, getting paid, ad codes

PHP code generators

If you know how to setup a MySQL database, the next logical step to publish all that data storage logic through a web interface is, among other choices, the PHP web scripting language.

Although tens of millions of coders worldwide use it, building an intranet, an extranet or a public web user interface (with a MySQL backend) might not be all too peachy, especially for the newbies.

Fear not, coding your “dynamic” pages in PHP might still be done with relative ease using any of the following “code generator” software (for the Windows platform, only):

• PHPRunner – It builds visually appealing web interfaces for any local or remote MySQL, MS Access, SQL Server and Oracle database setup.
• CodeCharge Studio – Used to visually create database-driven web applications with a minimal amount of coding. The support for virtually all databases, web servers and web technologies, makes this software quite unique.
• PHPMaker – As the name implies, it’s a powerful automation tool that can generate a full set of PHP pages from a MySQL database. Instantly create web sites that allow users to view, edit, search, add and delete records online.

While some other PHP code generation solutions exist, even in the open source realm, they all seem to cover only part of what’s needed to create a serious PHP coded online interface for a MySQL data backend.

As with any lucrative vertical market, new contenders such as Delphi for PHP are entering the market with interesting alternatives that newbies and experts alike might find engaging, especially considering the price (around 250$).

Whenever you create a PHP coded project, with any of these fine software offerings, expect to spend some time making everything look good. The semi-generic way in which the data is presented using these code generating software offerings might not look nice enough for immediate presentation to your intended audience.

Of course, once the rather heavy PHP coding part is done, especially for the newbies, the visual end of things may turn out to be easier to gracefully integrate.

Using code generators to quickly build sophisticated PHP web applications helps save both time and money.

Furthermore, for the newbies, it’s usually the only way to package a credible first version of their online offering so if you’re one of them, make sure to check the code generation software offerings out in order to benefit, like millions of other more advanced coders, from the awesome programming power of PHP, for your projects.

Tags: php, code generators, web programming