Alright, it's time to start posting my class notes from Affiliate Summit and I'll start with this class.  I apologize for the delay, but I hope it is worth the wait (I'm still doing research ).  One thing I want to start doing this year at the forum is to focus more on what I'll call "actionable intelligence".  My goal is to give members ideas with examples that they can apply immediately.  I don't think people realize just how simple it is to get started with affiliate marketing, and in this lesson I'll share a perfect example.

This was one of my favorite classes at Affiliate Summit.   The class presenter was Jason Spievak from Ring Revenue based in Santa Barbara, CA.  His company provides a pay-per-call platform to merchants and affiliate networks to track and manage phone leads and sales from their affiliates.

What is Pay-Per-Call?

Pay-per-call (PPCall) is exactly what the name implies.  It's a performance based advertising method where advertisers pays publishers for generated phone leads and/or sales.  As affiliate marketers we tend to think in terms of getting clicks to our websites and landing pages to generate leads and sales.  With the PPCall method the goal is to generate phone calls.

What Problem Does Pay-Per-Call Solve?

Today there is an affiliate program for just about every product and service under the sun.  Companies large and small have realized the potential to increase sales by teaming up with affiliate marketers.  The Internet has typically served as the medium for affiliate marketers to attract potential customers, present products and services, and complete transactions.  However, not every product or service is best suited for sale on the Internet.  It's one thing to buy a book or CD from Amazon.com, but what if someone is looking to buy a product such as insurance, a financial product (mortgages, CDs, student loans, bonds, etc.), real estate, automobiles, medical services, education courses, credit repair or any large ticket item ranging from high-end audio equipment to wedding rings?

These are not products and services that consumers typically buy through the Internet because consumers have a lot of unanswered questions about these products and they want to talk to someone personally before completely a large transaction.  Consumers will conduct their initial research online, but they won't make a purchase online.  For affiliate marketers, it's been difficult to profit in these niches in the past - until now.

The Technology is Finally Here!

Pay-Per-Call has been around for quite some time, but the technology has been lacking.  Affiliate marketers can track conversions online easily enough, but how can they track phone calls from their various advertisements?  This is where a company like RingRevenue.com comes in.  They provide affiliate networks like Commission Junction the platform to track and manage calls for their merchants and affiliates.  Jason didn't go into all the technical aspects, but as you can imagine the technology is quite sophisticated.  They give out multiple phone numbers so affiliates can track individual campaigns and then they recycle old numbers after a period of time.  This is where I need to do more research because I'm guessing Commission Junction won't allow just anyone to sign up for their new CJPay Per Call program.  [Note: The affiliate networks are going to become increasingly selective that's why it's very important to brand yourself, network with other marketers, get on the phone with affiliate managers, and learn about this industry!]

3 Benefits of Pay-Per-Call!

There are obviously more benefits to the pay-per-call model, but I want to highlight the three that really impressed me.

1)  High commissions!  As you can imagine, the amount of money that advertisers are willing to pay for phone leads and sales from high-ticket and consultative products and services is very high.

2)  Pay-per-call opens up a lot of new promotional methods - both online and offline.  You can literally take your advertising campaign to the streets!  I'll give you an example in a minute.

3)  You can save money on your pay-per-click campaigns because you can place the toll-free numbers for your campaigns in your ads and possibly avoid a click.

Get Ahead of the Curve

You'll start to hear a lot more about pay-per-call so get ahead of the curve now.  The three hot topics that I left Affiliate Summit with were pay-per-call, local Internet marketing and PPV.  Pay-per-call and local Internet marketing is a perfect marriage.  This is why a guy like Shoemoney makes a killing - he's always ahead of the curve! 

Finally, The Actionable Intelligence I Promised!

Here's how easy this is to get started.  HostGator isn't the only company that pays $125 per referral.  DishNetwork pays the same.  Here are six affiliate programs that you can sign up for to promote DishNetwork.  You will be given your own toll-free number with an extension and .PDF files of professional designed fliers.  Head on over to Kinko's and then hit the streets.  Go bang on your neighbors' doors.  Place your number in classifieds.  Let your imagination run wild.  You don't even need a website to become an affiliate marketer these days with pay-per-call!

- VMC Satellite

- Savelogy

- US Dish

- A Free Dish

- Dish Pronto

- Satellite Sales

-Chris

Last edited by closenno (2010-02-21 11:37:01)

Milton,

I think it's just a matter of time before we see some kind of pay-per-call model added to ACME People Search.  Tissa has already mentioned that he wants to add more one-on-one mentoring.  Obviously APS members would have to be compensated for their time.  And as you mentioned with the upcoming television ads, having a phone number people could call would help boost conversions.   

-Chris

Excellent, i have sucessfully subscribed to step 3 (unlocking all income streams) for a whole year!
It now includes Offline Advertising if you signup before the end of March 2010 - by March 31st 2010.

I'll be able to gather Leads - integrated GVO autoresponder - hopefully using an pre-written campaign code configuration,

Direct Signups from Offline Advertising (radio, tv, print media), community papers and community radio may be an idea too!

PPC income - As explained by Tissa in the PayPerCall Sub Menu of Step 3 Income streams - Offline Advertising PPC

Just wondering if we await our normal monthly subscriptions to be cancelled,

Remember, not to cancel it ourselves before the yearly Step 3 subscription is manually processed, this could trigger an accidental temporary downgrade of step 3 (and reset the 45 days at Step 3 requirement for APS referral income payments)

Most Likely this will by done by Tissa & Support (Gary & Trish, etc) after they verifiy the yearly subscription payment validity,

We may receive emails "Dear APS member ____ Your 12 Month APS Step 3 subscription has been fully processed and is now active, your monthly subscription is being cancelled by our admin team & you will be emailed confirmation by paypal)

Soon after - From Paypal "Your Step 3 monthly Subscription to Affiliatize Step 3 is cancelled" by APS administration

Excellent, im wrapped! Over the moon

Plus, my added Bonus is having Step 3 for 12 months (long term) which makes it so much easier than having to budget and balance a visa / mastercard debit card balance to ensure there is always enough to pay for and keep step 3 active every month, as these (no overdraw or credit line- debit cards) only work on positive actual cash balances.

Thank you Immensley Tissa, APS Support Team, APS Forum Super Sponsors and of course, Hard working APS programmers

From Alf Penny in Australia

Starchaser

Last edited by Starchaser (2010-03-07 21:01:56)

I would like to add an additional link for dish network affiliate programs. That also offers tens of thousands additional products with a totally free affiliate program. That has been in business since 1995.

Last edited by searcher (2010-03-25 21:28:51)

Thank you Chris Got my attention too and I will join the co-op on March 31st

Oak -

Gary..Thats evil   

Hi closenno:

Nice write-up!!

Thanks for the effort, and the information. I'm putting this on my list of things-to-do!

Looking forward to when APS PPC goes into action!!

Peace amid the storm,

Rick

LIFETIMERS will get it sometime in June. It it yet to be determined when it will be rolled out for everyone.