There was one product that kinda did make me have a second look.

To make a long story short, its landing page was a piece of junk. It was all over the place, with many links and distractions that I am certain that it’s a lousy converter just because of that lp!

Imagine a blog with a post as an lp. That’s close to what it was. Sidebar, top menu and ads… LOL

So, I went searching for a way to go directly to the checkout page. That way I could write my own killer sales copy and link to the payment… sweet right?

Yea, but it appears that though it can be done there are a few pitfalls and risks involved. READ ON…

Going Directly to Checkout

If you manage to get this link right, it will bring you to the checkout:

http://clickbank.net/sell.cgi?yourID_merchantID/ProductNumber/ProductName

yourID and merchantID are simple. Find those in your hoplink

ProductNumber, ProductName, on the other hand, are tricky little bastards. They’re available through the purchase link on the landing page, here’s an example:

http://1.coolproduct.pay.clickbank.net/

1 is the ProductNumber and coolproduct is the ProductName. BUT:

Pitfall Number 1:

Many merchants cloak their purchase link, usually with a simple php redirect. That fact alone will prevent you from knowing those two variables. Bummer. So far I don’t know where to get those two variable from other than the purchase link.

But that is only half of the problem, because:

Pitfall Number 2:

When you do this direct to checkout trick, ClickBank doesn’t place the cookie on the prospect’s machine and cannot track this click.

That means that if the prospect was referred to that offer before by another affiliate, this affiliate will be credited for the sale and not you.

So, basically, it’s either you ask people to clear cookies before going to checkout, which looks fishy, or hope that they’d never been to that offer before.

Aahhh, the risks you take to make a few extra bucks

Other than that, this whole technique is against ClickBank’s TOS, so if you get caught you get banned. The only way to stay inline with their TOS is to use a good old hoplink.

Sorry, I wish I had better news for you.. LoL.

- Alex

Happily posting useful content at Net-Entrepreneur.com
Current post was originally posted on:

Linking Directly to Checkout on ClickBank Offers

First, a definition:

“In computer networks, a proxy server is a server […] that services the requests of its clients by forwarding requests to other servers. A client connects to the proxy server, requesting some service, such as a file, connection, web page, or other resource, available from a different server. The proxy server provides the resource by connecting to the specified server and requesting the service on behalf of the client.” (Wikipedia)

Still sounds like gibberish? Read on…

Proxies in the service of an affiliate marketer

Instance 1:

There are affiliate offers that would only accept traffic from a certain region or country.

When you’re not from the country of the target traffic of the offer you sometimes would not be able to visit that offer’s page to check it out. The webpage would simply redirect you to another offer. That’s when a proxy from that country comes in handy.

When you use a proxy located in the UK, for example, you will be able to see those offers that restrict traffic to UK traffic only.

Instance 2:

When you’re doing market research on that offer that is limited to UK traffic, you’ll want to check out what the competition is doing.

Simply going to Google and searching for suitable keywords will come up with no competition. Great, you’d think, I will run this offer on Adwords and be the only one on the results with no competition in sight.

But, what is happening is that the the campaigns were set to show only to searchers coming from the UK. That’s why you get nothing showing up.

What do you do? Simple, run Google through a UK proxy. That way you’ll have all the campaigns showing up since you’re now a UK searcher.

So, what do we have in stock to tackle this?

1st alternative:

There’s the browser settings that would make it possible to set up browsing through a proxy. But this option is very limited and you don’t want to use it. You have to go to the tools menu every time you want to disable or enable the proxy, or change to another proxy in a different country.

2nd alternative:

There’s what I use most because of the simplicity and the user friendliness. WorldProxy202 will offer you what you want when you want it without installing anything or messing with IP’s and port addresses.

It has the 4 major countries often seen on affiliate offers restriction lists and you don’t have to know anything else but browsing the web. Seriously, no tech knowledge is required. Go to the url, enter the offer address and there you go. You see the page as if you were browsing from that country.

3rd alternative:

For the more advanced and tech savvy affiliates, there’s a cool free FireFox addon called Foxy Proxy. (btw, I don’t want to sound like a jerk, but if you’re among those 20% and not using FireFox yet, you should go to your local supply shop, buy a sledge hammer, come back home and take a few swings at your work station).
Anyway, this addon has many options and allows you to change different proxy servers with a click of a mouse button.

Feel free to ask questions… That’s what I’m here for.

- Alex

Happily posting useful content at Net-Entrepreneur.com
Current post was originally posted on:

Why Would You Use a Proxy Server?

Yesterday it dawned on me, again, that Adsense wouldn’t work on a blog that has traffic mainly coming from subscribers and referrals. This kind of traffic is mainly bloggers, or people that are reading blogs extensively, and as a result they have developed a syndrome that is known as Ad Blindness.

Ad Blindness is when advertisement on a website is ignored by the reader.

When was the last time you have clicked on an advertisement?

I’m amazed when I see a blog plastered with Adsense blocks. Do the $0.7US made with these worth loosing the look and feel of your blog as a quality blog?

I’ve already posted about it quite a while ago, but today I have another important tip for you.

I noticed that some of my posts are starting to receive organic traffic from search engine results pages (SERPS), which is traffic that entered relevant keywords to the search engine and was interested enough to click through to my blog.

These readers have yet to contract Ad Blindness, and even if they have already, it is ok. Because, given that they are searching for a keyword relevant to your post, and that the Adsense block placed on this post had enough time to be optimized for the post’s content, the chance of the reader clicking through is high. (whew, what a long sentence).

So, the tip is:

Don’t clutter your blog with Adsense, as it would do only harm, distracting your readers from reading your quality content. Making newcomers miss the overall good first impression and annoying established readership.

Do pick posts that are just starting to receive organic traffic and place your Adsense on those posts exclusively. Optimize these posts with additional, relevant keywords for it to receive more organic traffic.

That way you will have Adsense strategically placed in only a handful of posts. Those posts have probably been online for a while, hence not visible to your subscribers anymore, but only to those that are specifically searching for your content.

- Alex

Happily posting useful content at Net-Entrepreneur.com
Current post was originally posted on:

Another Tip for Google Adsense

I’m using WordPress to design a rather static web-site, and as a result I end up heavily customizing an existing WordPress theme.

For some time I searched for how to make it resemble a “regular” website as much as possible and was on a lookout for ways to make expandable / collapsible / drop-down’able elements.

These are the 6 plugins that I sifted out:

1. Collapsible Categories Widget

Download –update (30/10/09): it appears that the link doesn’t work anymore, sorry, it’s not up to me to keep those sites up.

This is the first plugin that I tried out. It makes your categories become collapsible, once you define hierarchies. This can serve as a great solution for all those blogs that have more than 10 categories for some reason. Just define some main categories as parents, make the others be the children, and you are all set.

Btw, this can easily become a Collapsible Pages Widget if you edit the plugin and replace the wp_list_categories tag with wp_list_pages. This can be used creatively on a static web-site.

2. Collapsible Archive Widget

Download

Basically this does the same thing as the Collapsible Categories Widget plugin but with your archives. Recommended to those bloggers that place the archives in their sidebars.

What I do recommend, as an alternative, is the plugin I use for Archives:

3. SRG Clean Archives

Download

This plugin can be used on a page or in a side bar. Check out my Archives to see it in action. Very cool.

4. Collapsible Elements

Download

This is a nice plugin that can make it really easy to do this:

>>Click here to expand!!<<

edit: sorry guys, had to take the script off. It opens hidden content on click.. very cool. you should get it.

So, I highly recommend this one.

5. Dynamic Tabs Plugin

Download

I didn’t try this one yet, but it seems a cool functionality to add to a blog that wants to use tabs. Check out how it works on their download site.

Not for the beginner, as it requires some tweaking, but with enough determination it can be done!

6. Admin Drop Down Menu

Download

This is a little bit off topic, but it is a must for any WordPress blogger. It makes the Admin menu collapsible.

Just hover the mouse over the menu and access the sub-menu without clicking anything. It will save you lots of clicks and eventually time.

Enjoy!

-Alex

Technorati Tags: collapsible, wordpress plugins, static sites

Happily posting useful content at Net-Entrepreneur.com
Current post was originally posted on:

6 Must-Have Collapsible Plugins for WordPress

This article is a part of the Blogging Guide.

You’ve got everything ready for the launch. The domain name has been purchased, the hosting is arranged for and WordPress is installed. You’ve even chosen the template that looked like it could do well with your content.

What might seem trivial to some is daunting for others. Beyond that default ‘Hello World’ post lays the abyss of the empty database and the nonexistent categories you would need to create.

I remember the thrill of tweaking my theme, installing plugins friends recommended and then the first few hours sitting in front of my desk, staring at the ‘blog’. This is when the realization hits you, if you haven’t stashed a few articles to go with the blog, now is the time to set everything aside and do some writing.

Introducing Yourself

The first thing you have to do after deleting the ‘Hello World’ post and the default comment, is to change the default About page.
The importance of the about page is high. Following the general feel and the atmosphere of your blog you’ve managed to create using the theme and your custom header, this is where people go when they are just before subscribing to your feed. Readers would like to know the person that is behind this blog.

The Important Parts of the About Page:

1. A short introduction of yourself and your subject matter, e.g.: my name is Alex, 28 years old, married, father to a baby girl. This blog is about Internet Marketing, blogging and making money online.
2. Why are you writing, and what can the reader expect to receive from this source of information, e.g.: I take great pleasure in creating useful information and educating the beginner blogger in the tricks of the trade. You will find how-to’s, opinions, and general information about who and what in the blogosphere on the theme of blogging, Internet Marketing and making money online.
3. Way to contact you. This could be an email address, a contact-me form (there’s a plugin for this) or a selection other ways of contact, i.e.: skype, messenger, subleupon, etc.

Your First Post

After changing the About page, you will not be able to escape writing the first post.

• The first post of your blog will have to provide roughly the same information as the About page. This will give you and your first readers a starting point.
• Make it something between 300 and 400 words, not too long, but not too short either to qualify for SEO purposes (250 words is the accepted minimum).
• Your first post will be have to assigned to your first category. If you choose it to be pure introduction, create a general category, that you will use for posts not directly related to your subject matter. I use “Otherwise Interesting”.

Congratulations, you have successfully launched you blog.

- Alex

Technorati Tags: beginners, blogging guide, blogging tutorial, launching your blog, writing the about page, delete the hello world, first post

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Launching That Blog of Yours

You must have been there at least once. Installing a new plugin or trying a new cool tweak on your theme, and when you save and anxiously go to view your site you find out that it’s become unreadable in some way.

It may take five minutes or it can take an hour to return your blog to its previous state, either way, if you have an established blog that’s getting traffic, quite a few readers will going to raise an eyebrow at your slip. If there were a newcomer at this time, he would probably just browse through without missing a beat.

The importance of locally testing your creativity

Locally testing your tweaks, plugins and new design ideas could save you from all that. It is quite simple to do but can be intimidating for the beginner.

It is simple, just follow me…

1. Install a web-server on your computer

• Download and install a web-server on your computer. A web-server will enable you to run web-sites hosted on your machine instead of the hosting provider.

• I’m using the free and user friendly WampServer that you can download here:
  http://www.wampserver.com/en/download.php

• Follow through the installation wizard without any customizations, which is enough for our purpose, and you should not run into any problems.

• Choose to run WampServer on completion of the installation.

2. Create a DataBase

• Left click on the WampServer tray icon

• Click on phpMyAdmin

• In the ‘Create new database’ field insert the name for your database (e.g.: myblog)

• Click Create

• Close the browser window without creating any tables

3. Open the WordPress package

• Download the latest WordPress package from here: http://wordpress.org/download/

• Open the contents of the wordpress folder in the archive to a directory of your choice (e.g.: myblog.com) that you will create in the \www directory of the WampServer installation. (c:\wamp\www\myblog.com)

4. Create the wp-config.php file

• inside your myblog.com directory there is a wp-config-sample.php

• rename it to wp-config.php

• open it in your text editor

• change the putyourdbnamehere in DB_NAME to your database name (myblog)

• change the usernamehere in DB_USER to your username (root)

• change the yourpasswordhere DB_PASSWORD to nothing (”)

• leave everything else as it is

• Save

5. Installing WordPress

• Open your web browser and go to: http://localhost/myblog.com/wp-admin/install.php

• Enter whatever you want in the blog title and e-mail

• Click Istall WordPress

• After the installation has competed note the username and password to login in to WordPress

If you try to go to http://localhost/myblog.com you’d hit your local version of your “naked” blog. But, continue to the next step to dress it in your theme and plugins.

6. Copy the themes and plugins

• Use your FTP client to copy the wp-content/plugins to your local location (c:\wamp\www\myblog.com\wp-content\plugins)

• Copy your theme from the /wp-content/themes/ to the the local \wp-content\themes the same way.

7. Activate the theme and plugins

• Go to http://localhost/myblog.com/wp-admin

• Enter your username and password and you’ll find yourself in the familiar backend of WordPress. Ahhh…

• Activate your plugins

• Switch to your theme

That’s it.

Now you have your local blog operational. The perfect testing grounds. Test your genius locally first, and then, when everything works, go live!

• To access your blog just go to http://localhost/myblog.com
• To access your admin panel, go to http://localhost/myblog.com/wp-admin

- Alex

Technorati Tags: tweaking, local machine, wamp, wordpress, theme

Happily posting useful content at Net-Entrepreneur.com
Current post was originally posted on:

Safely Tweaking Your WordPress Blog

Following several requests after the publishing Blog Improvement 101 – Adding Functionality to My Header and 3 Answers to Expect From a Good Header, I’m going to explain the way you could add a text container to your header, just like I did, showcasing my Featured Articles.

Disclaimer: Knowing only bits and pieces of html and css, this is going to be a Fools’ guide from a slightly more experienced Fool. I beg pardon of the savvy web developers for my crude adaptations.

It is written for WordPress bloggers, but with a little adaptation it could be used on any platform where you can access the HTML of your theme or template.

Identify the type of theme you have

If your theme is fluid width, when resizing the width of the browser window would change the width of your blog’s page, you’d want the container to move with the page. Go to Code for Fluid Width

If you theme is fixed width, where resizing the width of the browser window would not change the width of your blog’s page, you would want the container to be static as well and stay on the same location on the page. Mine is a fixed width theme, so try resizing the browser window to see what I mean. Go to Code for Fixed Width.

Code for fluid width

Step 1, adding the CSS

Just before the <body> tag of your header.php add the following code:

<style type=”text/css”>
body {
font-size: 12px;
color: #333;
}

.fixed_container1 {
position:relative;
top: 125px; /*Adjust this to position the container*/
left: 120px; /*Adjust this to position the container*/
width:350px; /*This is the width of my container, could be adjusted if needed*/
height:12px; /*This is the height of my container, could be adjusted if needed*/
}
</style>

If you plan to have more than one floating container like I do, copy .fixed_container1 just under it, rename and adjust the position according to your wishes.

Step 2, add the HTML

After the <body> tag of your header.php, add the following code:

<div class=”fixed_container1″>
<p>Here could be anything you want. /p>
</div>

If you plan to have more than one floating container like I do, add another div with appropriate class right after the closing </div> of the fixed_container1.

Code for fixed width

Step 1, adding the CSS

Just before the <body> tag of your header.php add the following code:

<style type=”text/css”>
body {
font-size: 12px;
color: #333;
}

#big_container { /*This is the transparent container where the text container(s) would be “floating”*/
position:absolute;
top: 0%; /*Adjust this if your header not on the top*/
left: 50%;
width:900px; /*This should be the width of your header*/
height:0px;
margin-top: 0px; /*Crucial: set to a negative number, half of your height*/
margin-left: -450px; /*Crucial: set to a negative number, half of your width*/
}

.floating_container1 { /*This is the text container for the Featured Articles*/
position:relative;
top: 125px; /*Adjust this to position the container*/
left: 120px; /*Adjust this to position the container*/
width:350px; /*This is the width of my container, could be adjusted if needed*/
height:12px; /*This is the height of my container, could be adjusted if needed*/
}

</style>

If you plan to have more than one floating container like I do, copy .floating_container1 just under it, rename and adjust the position according to your wishes.

Step 2, add the HTML

After the <body> tag of your header.php, add the following code:

<div id=”big_container”>
<div class=”floating_container1″>
<p>Here could be anything you want. /p>
</div>
</div>

If you plan to have more than one floating container like I do, add another div with appropriate class before the closing </div> of the big_container (the last one).

This is where I leave you to do your tweaking. Let me know if you need any more help with this.

- Alex

Technorati Tags: div, css, header functionality, header, fools’ guide, how-to, fluid width, fixed width, centered div

Happily posting useful content at Net-Entrepreneur.com
Current post was originally posted on:

How-To: Adding Functionality to Your Header

In my previous article, Affiliate Hide and Seek, I explained why it was important to hide your affiliate links, the main reason being loosing money, as apparently there are people who would change the user-id of the link to theirs or remove it altogether.

So, as promised, I’ve compiled a small how-to on hiding your affiliate links, along with an overview of the available options.

Edit (04/02/09): I’ve written a Double Meta Refresh white paper that is available for download here. Double Meta Refresh is a technique used to hide your Landing Page from the merchant.

Use an Online Service

Two services that I know being used by some affiliate marketeers:

1. TinyURL.com

2. URLFreeze.com

They work by replacing the long affiliate link with a short tinyurl.com/12345, or urlfreeze.com/12345 accordingly.

Whilst efficient at first glance, you have to keep in mind the following:

• By going to their website it is possible to trace the url and expose the affiliate link, hence defying the purpose of hiding. People who are aware of this are usually those who have been involved in Internet Marketing at some point.
• To the beginner, those links can be a potential deterrent, since it has nothing to do with the provided product. And of course, it doesn’t serve your branding goals.

So, when using this we are scaring off the beginner, and aren’t doing anything to protect against the savvy. Therefore I wouldn’t recommend using those.

Use a JavaScript to Change the Status Bar Text

It is possible to insert a piece of code into your page’s html, that will simply substitute the affiliate link that is presented in your status bar when the mouse is hovered on the link, with a text of your liking. It is useful when you want to display the affiliate’s direct url: (the green text is what’s presented in the status bar):

<a onMouseOver=’window.status=”http://www.affiliate.com/“;
return true’ onMouseOut=’window.status=”Done”;
return true’ href=”http://www.affiliate.com/?user_id=12345″ mce_href=”http://www.affiliate.com/?user_id=12345″>
http://www.affiliate.com/</a>

However, keep in mind the following:

• Many people disable JavaScript in their browsers. This is because many times before, JavaScript was used to exploit the security holes in web browsers and perform all sorts of shenanigans, such as disabling the back button, hiding affiliate links (ahem…), etc.
• The experienced user will be able to browse the source code and notice the JavaScript.

PHP Redirect

By using this simple technique you can effectively redirect from your site to another.

First, create a file, for example yourfile.php, and insert the following code:

<?php
header( ‘Location: http://www.affiliate.com/?user-id=12345 ) ;
?>

Upload this file to your server’s public_html directory, or to a directory within public_html you’ll create, such as yourdirectory.

Now, when the url is www.yoursite.com/yourdirectory/yourfile.php, the user is redirected to your affiliate url.

USEFUL TIP: If you name your file index.php and place it inside yourdirectory then the url will only have to be www.yoursite.com/yourdirectory to be redirected.

For WordPress Users: Use a Plugin

This is why I love WordPress so much. It has a great community and a plugin for every occasion.

This redirection plugin will redirect your urls, and do much more than that. Watch the video and read the description on their site to get a glimpse of what it can do.

This is what I currently use for my redirections, and enjoy every minute of it. It offers me an easy way to make redirection links, it has a log where I can keep track of all the activity, and a handy 404 errors’ log which already exposed some broken links on my blog.

This is only a fraction of its capabilities, it offers so much more. Oooooh, how exciting!…

So, now you know the what’s and how’s of affiliate link hiding.

The most important part of it is enjoy what you’re doing.

- Alex

Technorati Tags: hiding affiliate links, affiliate url, wordpress plugin, php redirect, javascript, tinyurl, urlfreeze

Happily posting useful content at Net-Entrepreneur.com
Current post was originally posted on:

How-To: Hiding Your Affiliate Links

The old header was only a temporary place-holder for the real stuff, but, now I’m working on a header that would serve as a real intro to my blog. Just as a cover on a book gives the reader clues and teasers as to what is inside, so is my idea to make the header the cover of my blog.

A few tips for a good header

Several things I would like to see in a good header, and hence change mine accordingly:

1. The title of the blog should be proudly placed in a visible uncluttered spot of the header.

2. Did I say uncluttered spot? A good header will have enough whitespace to allow the visitor to take in the whole of the header “in one shot”. I would attempt to make my header do just that, since I’m seeing a lot of volatile traffic from Entrecard and StumbleUpon (read more on my 2 Kinds of Bad Traffic article).

3. Besides the title, brand logo or other graphics, the header could contain sneak previews into the content of the blog. Things such as a list of the 5 most popular articles, upcoming interviews, featured reviews, etc.

4. The colors of the header should match the overall color scheme. A red and yellow vibrant color theme would not look appropriate for a pastel, soothing blog theme.

5. A very thin header wouldn’t allow for any information to be delivered to the reader. A header that is ridiculously high is not acceptable for a blog, as you have to leave space for above-the-fold items. So I believe a 200-250 pixel high header is ok, and will be big enough of a container for all your stuff.

In a nutshell…

Basically, besides the technical stuff (i.e. color scheme) your header must answer the following 3 questions:

1. What’s this blog’s name?

2. What’s this blog’s purpose?

3. What’s this blog’s content?

If you succeed to answer those within the restrains of your header, then before the next Entrecard chain-dropper leaves your blog in a cloud of dust, he will surely glance on the header. And when he does, and if he is interested in your niche (otherwise what’s the point of having him as a reader), the chances of him bookmarking or subscribing would be increased tenfold.

Most importantly, don’t forget to have fun writing.

- Alex

Technorati Tags: header design, blog, cover, teasers, whitespace, weblog

Happily posting useful content at Net-Entrepreneur.com
Current post was originally posted on:

3 Answers to Expect From a Good Header

Regularly Backing Up Your Database Will Save Your Sanity.

What is more important than regular backups? Nothing! That’s right. I cannot stress the importance of regularly backing up the database of your blog.

Not performing regular backups is like working on a text document for two days straight without saving. Just imagine what would happen if the power went out? Disaster! All those hours of work down the drain.

Now, think of a scenario where your blog database gets somehow damaged.
Some examples of when damage can occur:

1. Your indirect fault, i.e. installing a faulty plugin
2. Your host’s fault, i.e. resetting the server with obsolete backups
3. Your blog can become a target for hackers.

This means the loss of your number one Internet asset – your content, and as I see it, this is equivalent to a fire in your house. I just wish that insuring yourself in case of fire would be that easy as making sure you will not loose anything of your online property.

Use a plugin!

I use the WordPress Database Backup plugin that you also should download and install. The good thing is that after setting it up you can forget it is there, it will do anything by itself for as long as it is active in your plugins directory.

To set it up:

1. Go to ‘Manage’ and then click on ‘Backup’. This will get you to the Backup Setup menu.
2. Look for the Scheduled Backup in the middle of the page.
3. Check the backup frequency you would prefer. This depends on your posting frequency. No point in backing up every day if the blog stays the same, right?
4. Fill in the email for the backups to be sent to.
5. Press the Submit button.

That’s it! Your database is now in the safe hand of the simple, but useful plugin.

- Alex

Technorati Tags: backup, wordpress database, plugin, online property, internet asset

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1 Easy Step to Prevent the Loss of Your No.1 Asset