Eye-tracking studies are hot in the web design world, but it can be hard to figure out how to translate the results of these studies into real design implementations. These are a few tips from eye-tracking studies that you can use to improve the design of your webpage.

1. Text attracts attention before graphics. Contrary to what you might think, the first thing users look at on a website isn’t the images. Most casual users will be coming to your site looking for information, not images, so make sure your website is designed so that the most important parts of your text are what is most prominent.
2. Initial eye movement focuses on the upper left corner of the page. It shouldn’t be surprising that users look at webpages in this way, as most computer applications are designed with the top left hand side as the main focus. You can do your website a favor by keeping this format in mind when creating a design. Remember, while you want to have a personal style, you have to keep the habits of your readers in mind if you want your site to be successful.
3. Users initially look at the top left and upper portion of the page before moving down and to the right. Users were found to generally scan webpages in the shape of an ‘F’. Make sure the important elements of your content are located in these key areas to keep readers engaged. Place headlines, subheadlines, bullet points, and highlighted text along these lines so readers will be enticed to read further.
4. Readers ignore banners. Ads may be the bread and butter of your site, but studies have shown that readers largely ignore banner ads, often focusing for only a fraction of a second. If you’re trying to make money from ads, you need to be creative in your ad placement or in the types of ads you have on your site.
5. Fancy formatting and fonts are ignored. Why? Because users assume they are ads and don’t have the information they need. In fact, studies showed that users had difficulty finding information in large colored letters formatted in this way because visual clues told them to ignore it. Keep your site streamlined and not so shiny that important elements will be glossed over.
6. Show numbers as numerals. Readers will find it much easier to find factual information on your site if you use numerals instead of writing out numbers. Remember, you’re writing for readers that are going to be primarily scanning your site, so make it easier for them to find what they need and keep them interested.
7. Type size influences viewing behavior. Want to change how people look at your page? Change the size of your font. Smaller fonts increase focused viewing behavior while larger fonts encourage scanning. Depending on your needs, you may want more of one than the other.
8. Users only look at a sub headline if it interests them. Don’t put in subheadlines just to stick to a particular format–make sure that they are relevant and interesting. You can also help yourself out by making sure they include keywords that will bring search engines to your site.
9. People generally scan lower portions of the page. You can use this to your advantage if you give readers something to latch onto when they’re scanning your page. Highlight certain sections or create bulleted lists so information is easy to find and read on your page.
10. Shorter paragraphs perform better than long ones. Information on your page should be designed for the short attention span of most Internet users. Keep paragraphs and sentences short unless context mandates otherwise, such as descriptions of products on an e-commerce sites.
11. One-column formats perform better in eye-fixation than multi-column formats. Don’t overwhelm visitors to your site with too much information. Simpler really is better in some cases. Multiple columns will more than likely by ignored by users, so eliminate clutter from the get-go.
12. Ads in the top and left portions of a page will receive the most eye fixation. If you’re going to place ads on your site, try integrating them into the top left portion of your page, as those will get the most visual attention. Of course, just because readers see them there doesn’t mean they’ll click on them, so don’t sacrifice design just to gain some extra visibility.
13. Ads placed next to the best content are seen more often. If you want to get your ads seen and hopefully clicked on, incorporate them into your design in a way that places them near the most interesting elements of your content. Users will still be able to find what they need, but you’ll gain an advantage in advertising.
14. Text ads were viewed mostly intently of all types tested. Like we said earlier, the average Internet user generally doesn’t waste much time looking at things that immediately appear to be ads. That’s why text ads perform so much better. They aren’t distracting and blend in with the rest of the content on the page, making them less visually irritating to the reader and ultimately more successful.
15. Bigger images get more attention. If you are going to use images on your page, bigger is better. People are more interested in an image where they can see details and information clearly. Just make sure that any image you are using is particularly relevant to your text, otherwise it will most likely be ignored. Most readers have high-speed connections these days so don’t be afraid to stick a few larger photos on site.
16. Clean, clear faces in images attract more eye fixation. While they might look good with your design, abstract and artsy photos aren’t going to garner much reader attention. If you’re using photos with people in them, make sure they are clear, easy to read shots. It should also be noted that photos with “real” people, not models, perform better.
17. Headings draw the eye. One of the first things readers have been found to look at on a webpage are headlines. Make sure yours are unobstructed by other items on the page and that they are engaging enough to draw the reader into looking further through your site.
18. Users spend a lot of time looking at buttons and menus. Because of this, you’ll want to put in some extra time making sure that yours are well-designed. After all, they not only draw a lot of eye fixation, they are one of the most important elements of your site.
19. Lists hold reader attention longer. One way you can break up the paragraphs in your content and keep users looking through your site is to make frequent use of a list format for your articles. Use numbers or bullet points to highlight important information within your content. It will make your site more scannable and easier for users to find the information that they’re looking for.
20. Large blocks of text are avoided. Studies have shown that that your average Web visitor isn’t going to take the time to study large blocks of text no matter how informative or well-written they might be. Because of this, you need to break up these larger blocks of text into smaller paragraphs. Highlighting specific areas and pulling out bullet points can also help to keep user attention.
21. Formatting can draw attention. To keep users from skipping over the main and most important points in your content use bold, capitalized, italicized, colored, and underlined text. Use these things judiciously however, as too much will make your page hard to read and send readers away.
22. White space is good. While it might be tempting to put something in every corner of your page, it’s actually better to leave some of your site free of any text. Sites with too much going on tend to overwhelm users and they ignored a large part of the content. So keep things simple and allow some visual open space for readers to rest their eyes.
23. Navigation tools work better when placed at the top of the page. Ideally, you don’t want readers to just look at the initial page they came to on your site, you want them to stick around and look at other interesting things as well. You can help send them in the right direction by making your navigation easy to find and use by placing it at the top of the page.

Consumers will spend 21% more online this holiday season than they did in 2006.

As more people rely on the Internet for holiday shopping, retailers have stepped up their game to compete. This year, promotions on Cyber Monday are extremely competitive as online retailers use an assortment of one-day specials to send shoppers online.

Not surprisingly, one of the main reasons consumers shop online is the convenience. According to a Nielsen Online survey of nearly 1,000 respondents, 81% said the convenience of shopping whenever they wanted was the main reason they chose to shop online over the holidays, while 77% said they shopped online because it saved time. About 46% of consumers said they shopped online for lower prices.

Experts offer these tips to online shoppers.

1. Sign up for e-mail newsletters and price alerts so you can get the best deals and sometimes exclusive discounts.
2. Log onto comparison shopping search engines.
3. Shop early at sites that post new deals at 6:30 a.m.
4. Do some research and shop only at trusted online retailers.

Trend

Better user reviews

New sites that gather reviews from all over the Web are making it a lot easier to get a good read on what other people think of a product, be it a camera or a pair of slippers.

Another development is how brutally honest user reviews have become–even on retailers’ own sites. Ouch. Why would retailers let customers diss their merchandise?

Research shows that consumers prefer sites that have customer reviews and ratings, and that reviews build a sense of community and enhance customer loyalty. All that ultimately translates into higher sales.

========================================
Welcome to

THE ONLINE NEWSLETTER FOR “MY AFFILIATE STORE”
The Internet’s #1 Affiliate eCommerce System
========================================

MAS Newsletter Vol 1, Issue 15

The physicist David Bohm, while researching the lives of Einstein, Heisenberg, and Bohr, noticed that their incredible breakthroughs took place through simple, open and honest conversation.

He observed, for instance, that Einstein and his colleagues spent years freely corresponding and brainstorming with each other.

During these interactions, they exchanged and dialogued about ideas which later became the foundations of modern physics. They exchanged ideas without trying to change the other’s mind and without bitter argument.

They always paid attention to each other’s views and established an extraordinary professional fellowship.

Other scientists of the time, in contrast, wasted their careers bickering over petty nuances of opinion and promoting their own ideas at the expense of others. They mistrusted their colleagues, covered up weaknesses, and were reluctant to openly share their work.

Why were Einstein and his associates able to collaborate so effectively? How were they able to avoid the mistrust, suspicion, and covering up that which often occurs when a group of people attempt to collaborate together? Why were they able to share their work openly and honestly with each other, while their contemporaries did not? What was their secret?

Einstein and his associates had discovered and used a set of ancient Greek principles of intragroup communication, which was developed by Socrates. Socrates and other Greek philosophers would sit around brainstorming and debating various issues. Their discussions, however, rarely got out of hand.

Although hot tempers emerged, the participants were bound by seven principles of discussion Socrates established to maintain a sense of collegiality. Socrates called these principles Koinonia which means “spirit of fellowship.”

Their basic principles were:
1) Establish dialogue.
2) Exchange ideas.
3) Don’t argue.
4) Don’t interrupt.
5) Listen carefully.
6) Clarify your thinking.
7) Be honest.

The following are guidelines for establishing Koinonia in your group:

HOLD PRACTICE SESSIONS.

Put together a small group to serve as a pilot test. Meet at the same time once every week. Tell people to talk about whatever they want to talk about. There is no set agenda. There may not be any noticeable results the first few sessions. And people may gripe that the sessions are a waste of time. Hold firm and tell the participants that the purpose of the sessions is to build teamwork.

ESTABLISH DIALOGUE.

In Greek, the word dialogue means a “talking through.” Socrates and other Greek philosophers used dialogue to establish and uncover hidden truths. Socrates believed that the key to establishing dialogue is to exchange ideas without trying to change the other person’s mind.

This is not the same as discussion which, from its Latin root, means to “dash to pieces.” (In many groups, even the polite ones, the purpose often is to “dash” the other person’s ideas in order to promote your own.)

The basic rules of dialogue established by Socrates and his friends are “Don’t argue,” “Don’t interrupt,” and “Listen carefully.” Participants should focus entirely upon whoever is speaking. This will be difficult at first. With practice, however, communication will become truly two-way.

CLARIFY YOUR THINKING.

To do this, you first must suspend all untested assumptions. You might think that certain people are not creative. When you think that, you’re not likely to give their ideas fair thought. Check your assumptions about everything and look at everything with an unbiased view.

BE HONEST.

Say what you think, even if your thoughts are controversial. Once people realize they know what you thinking, they will be comfortable and open around you.
Follow these steps diligently and Koinonia will follow, sooner or later.

Most people naturally like to interact. Koinonia can help remove barriers which prevent people from collaborating honestly. When a spirit of Koinonia prevails, people are less likely to withhold information. As a result, intragroup communications are enhanced and ideas flow more freely within a group.

MAS KOINONIA

Our forum is a perfect place to establish Koinonia with a like-minded group of people. Let’s try an experiment. I Created a new Forum Main Topic Section titled KOINONIA.

Let’s make this a place where people can set up Threads that can be used for weekly discussion groups where a group of people all log on at the same time each week and spend 1 hour in a creative mastermind dialogue.

• It can be moderated or not moderated, it is up to you.
• It can be topic oriented or free flowing. (I would like to see the topics not directly related specifically to MAS.)
• You should employ the basic principals of Koinona.
• You can require that people who want to participate sign up 24 hours in advance or keep it open to anyone who happens to drop in.

I am starting a Koinonia on the topic of CREATIVITY. The Koinonia will take place on Thursday, November 8, 2007 at 6:00pm Pacific, 7:00pm Mountain, 8:00pm Central, 9:00pm Eastern. To participate you need to sign up no later than Wednesday, November 7, 2007. Sign up by going to the Creativity Koinonia in the forum and post your interest by saying something like “I’m in”, or “I’ll be there”.

http://www.my-affiliate-store.com/forum/showthread.php?t=979

Can’t log in? Send a support ticket to
http://www.my-affiliate-store.com/esupport

If we have success, I will work on making a more interactive vehicle we can use for our Koinonias.

Enjoy your week and work smart.

Bruce

Several months ago I approached DoubleClick Performics (aka ConnectCommerce) and told them that their service was being under utilized by our members because the perception was it was more complicated than the other networks.

Over the last few months, I have been helping DoubleClick define what affiliates need to hear from them to make it easier to use their system.

DoubleClick is one of the premier Affiliate Networks. They provide superior support and powerful tools to affiliate marketers (that’s us). They have some of the best and biggest vendors.

It is a mistake not to use their Vendors and services. In addition, we have a great relationship with them and can get almost anything done for our members.

DoubleClick has put substantial resources into this bootcamp and has decided to make it available not only to our members but to their entire affiliate network. This will be an introductory bootcamp. You will be able to ask questions at the bootcamp.

Later on we will have more advanced follow-up webinars with them just for our members.

So Please Join Us and Them For:

ConnectCommerce Boot Camp

Webinar Date: Thursday, November 8, 2007
Webinar Time: 2:00 PM CENTRAL

ConnectCommerce Boot Camp Features:

* A basic overview of ConnectCommerce
* How to:
o Join Advertiser programs
o Get links
o Run reports
* And more!

Space is limited so please click on the Register link and Register Now.

Register

Sandy’s new Toyota Matrix XR.

========================================
Welcome to

THE ONLINE NEWSLETTER FOR “MY AFFILIATE STORE”
The Internet’s #1 Affiliate eCommerce System
========================================

MAS Newsletter Vol 1, Issue 14

The search is over!

I had to find myself a new car because I was involved in a
car accident a couple of months ago. (I was unhurt, the car
was not so lucky).

I decided on a 2005 Toyota Matrix XR. It is a bright white
color with tinted windows. (I feel like I’m driving an
iPod!) Not only is “Matrix” the name of a SciFi movie, I
was also delighted to learn that one of the definitions of
“Matrix” according to NetDictionary.com is “A superset of
the Internet that includes all networks and computers that
can exchange email.” A car that is techie, yet stylish.
How perfect for me!

Of course I turned to the internet for ideas on what was out
there as far as a new vehicle for me. I looked at car
photos, read articles, checked reliability ratings, and
found reviews from car owners. After that, I was able to
narrow down the few car models that I was considering, look
for a good price, and eventually purchase the vehicle and
drive it away.

It’s so great to have a tool like the internet to help me
make a decision on what to buy and then make it easy for me
to do so. Search engines have become the first place many
people turn when looking to purchase just about anything.

So speaking of search, let’s look at three different search
techniques I used to find information about my new car and
that you can use to get your affiliate site in front of as
many buyers as possible:

1. Paid Placement: This is where you buy your way on to the
search engine listings. You bid against others to get your
advertising at the top of the results page. Google AdWords
is the most popular of these. You can usually tell if
someone has paid to have their ad on that page because it
will say “sponsored listings” or something similar.

When I put “Toyota Matrix” in to Google, I see sponsored
ads from Toyota.com, some car review sites, and some local
car dealerships. (Google can tell my location from my
computer’s IP address and only show dealerships local to
me.)

2. Directory Listings: This is a category list that is
usually run by human editors who put your site in the
category they deem most relevant. The oldest and best known
is Yahoo! Directory but there are others such as Open
Directory Project at www.dmoz.org. This is where I found a
site for owners of the Toyota Matrix that actually have
get-togethers where people meet to have barbeque and talk
about their cars! Seriously! www.matrixowners.com. And yes,
of course I joined it…

3. Organic Search: This is where the search engine finds
(hopefully) the most relevant match for the searcher’s
query. Google is the best known organic search engine. As
marketers, we optimize our pages the best we can and then
wait for the search engines to notice them and include them
in their listings. The results are supposedly “organic” or natural.
The engines are getting pretty good at finding relevant results
but they are not perfect. I used several search engine “tricks”
to narrow down my search and find what I wanted like exact
phrase searches and using negative words.

http://www.google.com/help/basics.html

I ended up finding my car on a local directory site where a
used car dealership had a listing. They said to print out
the ad with the “Internet Special” price which was $3,199
less than the price on the windshield of the car. And, of
course I negotiated further from there, but again I was
quite happy to have the internet on my side.

The more useful information you have on your site, the happier
people will be to find you. And doesn’t that just feel good?

========================================
THE BEST OF THE MAS FORUM
========================================

I got to meet Paul Renner in London (Hi Paul!) and he
always has useful things to contribute to the user forum.
Here are some tools to help the search engines find our
sites relevant for the organic search results by minding the
keyword density (or what percentage of the time a certain
word appears on your site) and also similar words to your
main keyword.

Check out this forum thread:

http://www.my-affiliate-store.com/forum/showthread.php?t=533

Can’t log in? Send a support ticket to
http://www.my-affiliate-store.com/esupport

========================================
LESLIE ROHDE WEBINAR SATURDAY 10/20/2007
========================================

Hear from the man who knows all about search engines results
this Saturday! We are privileged to have Leslie Rohde as our
guest to give us his expert advice on getting our stores
ranked highly in the search engines.

Here are the details:

What: Join us for a one hour “webinar” (like a seminar,
only you watch from your home on the internet) on “How to
Maximize your My Affiliate Store Rankings”

When: Saturday, October 20th. 1:00PM Eastern time. (That’s
10:00AM Pacific time). We’re having it at that time so our
UK folks can join us too at 6:00PM.

Where: Right in front of your computer! Point your browser
to www.gotowebinar.com and select “join a webinar”.

The meeting ID is 952670451. To hear the audio, dial your
phone to (605) 772-3434, access code 619-186-905.

Two questions I have been getting asked are:

Q. Will this be recorded? A. Yes, if you cannot make the
time on Saturday, we will be recording it and archiving it
in the members area.

Q. Do I need to pre-register? A. No, simply log on to the
computer and dial in at the appointed time.

————————
Well I’m going to go sit in my car now with the user manual
and push buttons to see what everything does.

Anybody want a ride?

Talk soon, Sandy

“Success is where preparation and opportunity meet.”

UK MAS member Mike Tan having fun with Malcolm the Will Smith look-a-like!

Bruce enjoys a cruise on the Thames River with Tower Bridge in the background.

========================================
Welcome to

THE ONLINE NEWSLETTER FOR “MY AFFILIATE STORE”
The Internet’s #1 Affiliate eCommerce System
========================================

MAS Newsletter Vol 1, Issue 13

Hi folks,

I am back (and somewhat recovered) from my trip to London.
What an adventure!

It was so great finally putting faces to names for our
current members in the UK and meeting those who have just
joined us. As I mentioned in a recent email, our workshop
last Saturday had about 100 people and went on for about
four hours. (I’ve got to hand it to you guys, that’s a
long time to listen to Bruce and Len!) We even had one
person who traveled EIGHTY MILES just to attend!

I heard a lot of good comments about how it was exactly what
they wanted in a workshop so hopefully we will be able to do
more of those in the future.

The Internet Success Bootcamp the week before was also a
great experience and I took bunches of notes–lots of great
stuff for my newsletter!

Neil Stafford and Neil Travers (affectionately known as
“Neil & Neil”) talked about finding a passionate market
that is hungry for your information. They like to use
Clickbank.com and Amazon.com to see what is currently
selling well to find passionate markets. Also, they reminded
me of a resource that I had heard about but wasn’t really
using: Google Trends. This tool shows you recent searches in
Google and also the “Hot Trends” right now.

http://www.google.com/trends

Check out this example the Neils gave of a highly successful
niche website that I never would have guessed…

http://www.passatworld.com/

People apparently LOVE to read about and post pictures of
their Volkswagon Passat! They even have a “Passat of the
Month” photo section. Does that give you ideas for
something similar you could do on your site? It sure did for
me.

They said that while you don’t personally have to have a
passion for your topic, it does help you stay motivated
when you hit a snag. Also, they reminded all of us busy
entrepreneurs that if you just take an hour a day during the
workweek and then two hours per weekend day, that is NINE
hours per week to work on your business. Here are some ideas
to carve some of that time out of your life:

-Get up before work and spend some quiet time on your business.
-Use your lunchtime effectively
-Set one hour aside each evening
-Plan some weekend time
-Give up some TV. You can still watch your favorite show (don’t be a TV
martyr, you need some downtime) but do give some up.

========================================
FREE RESOURCE: NICHE INTERVIEWS FOR YOUR SITE
========================================

This is one of the coolest ideas I heard at a seminar for
getting unique content for your web site. (Thanks to Kirt
Christiensen for this one).

The most successful affiliate sites are “Authority Sites”
where people go to get information and reviews about the
products they want to buy. What better way to set yourself
up as an EXPERT in your niche than to have recorded guest
interviews on your site!

Be your own Oprah Show!

But how would you convince someone to do an interview with
you? And where the heck would you find someone who knows
something about your topic anyway?

To find out, go to the forum thread:

http://www.my-affiliate-store.com/forum/showthread.php?t=927

========================================
MONETIZING YOUR SITE: GOOGLE REFERRALS & VIDEO
========================================

Continuing with the series on other ways to montetize your
site, here is an introduction to two “Cousins” of the
Google Adsense program: Google AdSense Referrals and Google
Video Ads.

Google AdSense Referrals

Don’t confuse Google AdSense Referrals with the affiliate
program for getting people to sign up with Adsense. These
are similar to AdSense Ads with a couple of differences:

1. You get paid per action (like a sale or a lead), not per
click. If someone clicks through and buys or signs up for
something you get a percentage, just like regular affiliate
products.

2. You can choose which merchants’ ads are displayed rather
than having them pulled from the context of your site like
regular AdSense.

This program is in beta and has mixed reviews so far. The
good thing is that you have the potential to make more money
than just a few cents for each click but I’m told that it
is VERY important to make sure that you choose ads that are
extremely relevant to your site instead of just choosing
15-20 rotating ads and seeing what sticks. Read more here:

http://www.google.com/ads/adsense/referrals/index.html

Google Video Ads

This is a brand new program that was just announced.

http://adsense.blogspot.com/2006/05/introducing-video-ads.html

We already know that search engines love video and this is a
way to not only ad video content to your site, but get paid
as well! Every video has a URL at the bottom of it to the
advertiser’s site and when someone goes there–you get
paid.

Since this is a new program there probably aren’t a whole
lot of video ads to choose from, but it seems very promising
indeed, especially for sites like ours. Experiment a little
with your site–and let us all know how it goes!

========================================
Talk soon, Sandy

“Success is where preparation and opportunity meet.”

This is just before we took a break to go eat dinner at the Hard Rock Cafe in London.

MAS Newsletter Vol 1, Issue 12

Hi everyone,

Just a quickie this week because I’m still here in Europe
for a couple more days. I’m exhausted but this has really
been the experience of a lifetime for me. I’ve seen
pictures of London and Paris and thought “Yeah, they have
some nice looking buildings and interesting history”. But I
never understood what the big deal was about.

Well I just have to say….now I get it!

I’m completely overwhelmed at the beauty and grandeur
of it all. For example, today I toured London and saw the
River Thames glittering in the sunset as I crossed the
Tower Bridge. Everything has been incredible and I could
go on and on.

While I don’t want this to turn into “Sandy’s Travel
Blog” I do love to share these experiences with our
members. My hope is that they will be inspiring to those who
decided to start an online business so that they can be free
to travel and see the world. It is my mission to do
everything I can to help you make that dream come true.

With the seminar last week, the ensuing follow-up work
and prep for the workshop this weekend I haven’t had
the time to finish the research for this issue, but I wanted
to make sure and send you something this week so you know
I didn’t forget about you.

========================================
ATTENTION UK MEMBERS
========================================

Saturday October 6th will be our “Free My Affiliate Store
Workshop with Len & Bruce”. If you live in the UK you
should have gotten this information already but I wanted to
make sure I didn’t miss anyone. No need to RSVP or make
reservations, just show up at Thistle Hotel Victoria Station
at 5:00pm. It is located on the western side of Victoria
Station, facing Buckingham Palace Road – the address is 101
Buckingham Palace Rd.

More Hotel details are at http://tinyurl.com/32kd6l

It will be a chance to meet us in person and ask all of your
questions. We’ll stay as long as it takes or until they kick
us out of the hotel. I’ve already heard from quite a few of
you so hopefully we’ll have a good group and perhaps you
can get together for mastermind sessions later.
========================================

Next week I’ll go over some of my notes from the last
couple of seminars that I took with you all in mind. I think
I found some great resources and ideas that will be quite
useful. Also I’ll continue with other ways to monetize your
Affiliate Store.

That is, of course, after I get over the jet lag.

Sandy

========================================
Welcome to

THE ONLINE NEWSLETTER FOR “MY AFFILIATE STORE”
The Internet’s #1 Affiliate eCommerce System
========================================
MAS Newsletter Vol 1, Issue 11

CHEERS everyone!

I’m writing to you from London, England where I am
attending Frank Garon’s Internet Success Bootcamp. This is
especially fun for me because it is the first time I’ve
traveled overseas and the first stamp on my brand new
passport!

It is rather rainy here (big surprise!) I don’t mind though
because it just seems fitting to walk the streets in the
famous London rain. However, I was wishing I had brought my
“brolley” (umbrella) and worn my “wellies” (boots).

I’m learning a lot here at the seminar and taking notes to
share with you all. I VERY much enjoyed meeting some of our
wonderful UK members who were kind enough to introduce
themselves to me. I got to meet our moderator, Dr. Mark (he
looks just like his forum avatar!) We went to lunch with
him and a couple of our other members at Lloyds pub near the
Hammersmith tube (subway) station. I had “Bangers and
Mash” with garden peas.

Check out the picture in the “photos” section of the blog!

http://my-affiliate-store.com/blog/?cat=7

========================================
NEW GETTING STARTED PROGRAM
========================================

You wanted it and you got it–a new “quick start” program
for My Affiliate Store! Here is what you asked for:

-An easy way for the absolute beginner to get started
quickly

-A PDF manual that you can print out and read

-A more step-by-step format from choosing a niche to building a
store

-The ability to burn the training videos to CD
yourself (or purchase them ready-made from us.)

-File formats that will work on both the Mac and the PC

Well I’m happy to announce that they are now in the members
area where you can download them for free. I will be sure to
let you know whenever they are updated for new features or I
add some more advanced techniques.

http://www.my-affiliate-store.com/members/home.php?page=getting-started

If you don’t want to spend the time to download them on a
slow connection or would just prefer them already burned
onto CDs you can have them shipped to your door for $17
(covers our production cost and includes shipping). This
includes 3 CDs containing the training videos, the 40 page
printable PDF manual, and the recordings of the most recent
3-hour Q & A webinar.

AND, as a special treat, they all have a photo of Len and
Bruce on them.

This is merely the first batch of training materials and
I’d love it if you would please let me know your opinion
about them. What would you like to see in future updates?

P.S. We’ve also created a new customized package of these
physical CDs which includes the 3 CDs and also a copy of Len
& Bruce’s AutoWebLaw CD which still sells every day for
$197. This is a very popular piece of legal software that
you can use for any of your web sites or newsletters.

http://www.autoweblaw.com

And as a special consideration for our current members this
entire package of all four CDs can be purchased for only $67
(shipping included) which is $147.00 discount. I’ve put the
purchase links in the forum for both of these packages.

http://www.my-affiliate-store.com/forum/showthread.php?p=5215

========================================
COLORADO MAS RETREATS UPDATE
========================================

I was delighted to meet a couple of people here in London
who will be joining us in Colorado for the Mastermind
Retreat weekends at Len’s mountain home. This is going to
be a very fun and educational event indeed!

Here is an update on the dates:

November 23-24, 2007 is no longer available. December 1-2,
2007 has now been added.

I’ve had several people tell me what an amazing deal this
is…

-You get FIVE additional MAS sites as a bonus for attending.
The normal price for the additional sites is $25 per month.
That is a $1,500.00 per year value right there.

-You get most of your travel expenses covered including your
food, your lodging, your transportation to and from the
airport and even your airfare up to $500.

-Bruce just announced that he will be including a home study
course on how to use public domain information to drive
traffic to our sites that he did with David Garfinkel. It
was sold to a limited number of clients and is no longer for
sale. This is a $2,500 value!

All this in addition to getting extra special attention for
your business and a fun vacation to beautiful Colorado. If
you are even part way considering this for yourself, I
strongly encourage you to grab your spot right away because
it will be an unforgettable experience.

http://www.my-affiliate-store.com/eldora/Colorado-Mastermind.html

—————-
Well I can’t wait to explore more of London than the hotel
conference room and Frank Garon’s favorite Italian
restaurant. (Incidentally, it is “Sopranos” in Kensington
Heights.)

The pizza was pretty darned good there. I ate a
whole medium pizza by myself but only because Frank dared me
to. (Well actually Len ate the last piece when Frank wasn’t
looking. Shh. Don’t tell him).

Ta for now,
Sandy

“Success is where preparation and opportunity meet.”

This was actually a lot better tasting than it looks. Sausages and gravy with mashed potatoes and garden peas. (Not “mushy peas”. We’re going to try those later.)

Some of you may know that Len lives on an 80 acre ranch in
the mountains of Golden Colorado where he was able to buy
his dream home. I remember when he bought it about a year
ago.

Now when Len and I have our phone meetings he usually makes
it a point to say that he is calling from his hot tub or
looking out his office window at the beautiful mountain
scenery.

We’ve been talking recently about how cool it would be to
actually have business “retreats” there. Let people come
over to learn in a gorgeous mountain setting, with a relaxed
atmosphere having all expenses covered. It could even double
as a ski vacation. (There are several ski resorts nearby.
Len’s daughter is on a ski team for her school.)

Well we’re finally making that a reality and announcing the
Golden Colorado Mastermind Retreats. This is for people of
all levels whether you can’t seem to get your store going
or if you want to crank it up to the next level and beyond.
You will have a whole weekend to have Len, Bruce and myself
at your service to teach you and hold your hand through the
whole process. You can’t ask for more personal attention
than this. We might even find out if Len makes chili as good
as he brags.

There will be one fee that will cover the retreat weekend,
the lodging, the airfare, the food, and transportation from
the Denver airport.

Take a look at the photos of Len’s place–some of them are
truly breathtaking.

http://www.my-affiliate-store.com/eldora/Colorado-Mastermind.html

Since this is in a private home Len has to keep the group
very small. (About 10 people). Bruce sent out an
announcement about this earlier and I’ve been calling
people taking reservations and credit cards. We are offering
a few dates to choose from in November and December.

Right now we are at a seminar in Irvine, CA where Len & Bruce will be
speaking to the group tomorrow. I wanted to make sure our current
members all had a chance to sign up and pick your desired dates
before it fills up.

http://www.my-affiliate-store.com/eldora/Colorado-Mastermind.html

Hope to meet several of you in person!

Sandy

P.S. If you are not already a member of My Affiliate Store
and you would like to attend, just let us know and we’ll
get you set up with an account as part of the package and
waive the $497 setup fee.

Len tried to meet the president, but it looks like he liked me better.

I did some high powered networking at the World Internet Main Event in San Francisco. (Sept 2007)

========================================
Welcome to

THE ONLINE NEWSLETTER FOR “MY AFFILIATE STORE”
The Internet’s #1 Affiliate eCommerce System
========================================

MAS Newsletter Vol 1, Issue 10

“Monetize”.

The first time I used that word around my family they
laughed. It was around Christmas time and I was at a family
dinner. Of course some family members I hadn’t seen for
awhile wanted to know what I had been up to. When I said
“Internet Marketing” I got blank stares.

I explained further that one of the things I did was to
build informational content websites on various niche topics
and get people to find them by using search engines and
other methods. Of course this made them ask “So how does
doing that make you money?” and I replied “Well, after
they get some traffic, I find ways to monetize them”.

I got no end of grief about it for the rest of the evening.
“Hey Scotty, this is Captain Kirk. MONETIZE!” My brother
asked if I was also going “Gas-e-tize” my car or
“Sock-e-tize” my feet. They all got a good laugh out of it
and I was reminded why it’s nice to go to seminars
sometimes to be with people who understand the funny
internet words that I use.

Actually it is not just an internet word. “Monetize” means
“to turn something into money”. Of course the primary way
that we montetize an affiliate store is…with affiliate
products! But there are other ways to monetize your
affiliate store. I will be exploring all the different ways
to maximize the money making potential of your store in
future issues. The most popular one is Google’s own
affiliate program called “Google AdSense”. They actually
have some really great tutorials and information on their
site for how to get the code and paste it on your site. I
recommend you take a look here and see what’s new even if
you have used AdSense before.

http://www.google.com/adsense/

Two things to remember when putting AdSense ads on a MAS
site:

1. Make sure that you don’t have AdSense Ads distracting
your visitor from doing something more important on your
page such as purchasing a product or joining your email
list. You might consider just putting them on the bottom of
those pages or not at all.

2. Don’t put on any Adsense code until you see that your
pages have already been indexed into Google. (To find out,
type in the Google search box “site:www.yourdomain.com”
(without the quotes and replacing “yourdomain.com” with
your own domain.)

Stay tuned for more tips and techniques for how to have
multiple streams of income from your web site.
========================================
THE BEST OF THE MAS FORUM
========================================

In this post, Len shares with us a template to use to get an
article to wrap around an block of AdSense text ads. Just
replace the placeholders with your information, cut and
paste into your article page. Easy!

http://www.my-affiliate-store.com/forum/showthread.php?t=246

========================================
IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENTS
========================================

Ash just announced in the forum the beta release of AAFeeds.
See the announcement and some examples of how to use it
here:

http://www.my-affiliate-store.com/forum/showthread.php?t=821

Here is a message from Len about what it can do:

AAFeeds is a Press Release system that’s tied into 40 PR
sites hosted on separate C-Class IP addresses across
several severs, and accompanied by a unique proprietary EXE
software Application that allows you to compose and submit
your Press releases to each of these Sites independently,
quickly and easily.

Each of these unique sites is automatically populated by
hundreds of different RSS news feeds arranged by category.
These stories will be intermingled with your Press Releases
so the search engines see an ever changing array of new and
unique material, giving you a readily available source of
targeted inbound links to your sites.

Links the SEs will gladly follow!

Since this is a NEW program, the beneficial effects of these
links will build slowly over time, as more and more people
use it. This is the nature of ANY site, and these are no
different.

But the potential for powerful one way linking to our MAS
sites is priceless!

AAFeeds has been a long time in the making, and has been
discussed at length with many of the top SEO experts in the
field today. These sites have been optimized to help them
get ranked quickly and make your inbound links all the more
potent.

So what are you waiting for? The more you use it, the more
powerful it will become.

So be sure to add it to your list of Promotional tools, and
use it regularly!

Just another perk for being a MAS member.

Use it with my blessings

Len

PS … This is a gift to MAS members only. PLEASE do not
give this out to anyone outside of the MAS membership.

I developed this at great expense to myself, and fully
intend to sell it to the rest of the world. So please
don’t undermine me by giving it out to others for free.
——–

That’s it for this week folks. The next time you read this newsletter
I will be in Europe for my first time helping out at a workshop in the UK.

Talk Soon,
Sandy

“Success is where preparation and opportunity meet.”

========================================
Welcome to

THE ONLINE NEWSLETTER FOR “MY AFFILIATE STORE”
The Internet’s #1 Affiliate eCommerce System
========================================

MAS Newsletter Vol 1, Issue 9

Hi everyone,

Len and I are here in San Francisco for the World Internet
Marketing Main Event. I lived here in the SF Bay Area for
about 10 years so it will be fun to see the city again. I’m
not sure what we’re going to see, but if I have my way
there WILL be some Ghirardelli chocolate involved…

========================================
IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENTS
========================================

Have you noticed how popular review sites are lately? When
you are considering buying something it is helpful to read a
review by someone who has used the product or service
before. You can find a review site for just about
everything: books, movies, restaurants, dentists,
contractors and even college professors.

For example, when I want to book a hotel in a new city, I
always check tripadvisor.com for reviews from previous
guests of the hotel. The photos on the hotel’s web site may
look gorgeous, but only an unbiased reviewer will tell you
about the cramped bathrooms and the saggy mattresses.

Reviews help the internet shopper make a buying decision
when they can’t actually see and touch the product. They
are also a great source of free content for the owner of the
web site. That’s why we are happy to announce this great
new feature: your own ratings and review system for your
store!

Your visitor can rate each product in your store with 1-5
stars–you can even pick the color of the stars! Neato!

Then they can leave a comment about the product that you can
approve or disapprove in the admin control panel of your
store. (When you are in your “store” tab, you will see a
red alert message that you have new comments to approve).

Another nice feature is that there is a requirement to type
in a special code that computers can’t read in order to
post a review. This prevents automated spambots from posting
junk comments.

To see the instructions for how to install this cool new
feature, visit this forum thread:

http://www.my-affiliate-store.com/forum/showthread.php?t=792

P.S. If you have any trouble or don’t feel comfortable
changing permissions in your cpanel, just send a ticket in
to esupport and Ash will help you out.

http://www.my-affiliate-store.com/esupport

========================================
THE BEST OF THE MAS FORUM
========================================

Are you having an identity crisis?

We get a lot of questions about the correct ID numbers to
use for the different affiliate networks. Putting the
incorrect ID in the “Edit Network ID” tab of your admin
area could mean that your sales will not get tracked and the
vendors cannot pay you because they won’t know who referred
the sale–not good!

Fortunately, it is easy to find the correct ID when you know
how. Every network is slightly different and you can read about
them when you are in the “Edit Network ID” tab by clicking the yellow
“More Information” button.

Some vendors use the same ID for every web site you own,
others use one number for everything. For Netshops,
once you get your account ID, you are set. Just type that ID
in the “Edit Network ID” tab next to the Netshops label.
Easy!

With Commission Junction, there is another step. You are
given an Account ID when you first sign up, but they also
assign a separate ID for each web site you use. That is
called the PID. Here’s what you do…

* Log into your CJ Account.
* Click on the Account link.
* Click on the Website Settings Link.
* Your PID is listed with the information about your website.

Put this PID number in the “Edit Network ID” tab and you
are ready to make money with Commission Junction.

If you have already put the wrong ID number in for
Commission Junction, Ash has come up with a special command
code you can run to replace all of them in your store’s
“Buy URL”s. (You put this code in the “Special Commands”
tab under “Design Store”)

Read more about this and see a screenshot of where the PID
is located in this forum thread:

http://www.my-affiliate-store.com/forum/showthread.php?t=743

————–

Well I guess I’ve got to get going. Len keeps asking me
“Aren’t you done with that newsletter YET?” Guess he is
excited to go eat some clam chowder and a chocolate sundae
at Fisherman’s Wharf. I’ll be sure to send you all some pictures.

Until next week,
Sandy

“Success is where preparation and opportunity meet.”

========================================
Welcome to

THE ONLINE NEWSLETTER FOR “MY AFFILIATE STORE”
The Internet’s #1 Affiliate eCommerce System
========================================

MAS Newsletter Vol 1, Issue 8

Hi fellow MASers,

I think it’s is really cool that with several hundred
members building web stores there are no two that are
exactly alike. (And I’ve seen a whole bunch of ‘em). Even
if they are in the same niche, they have different products,
colors, designs, photos and content so that every store is
unique.

As you all know, a MAS site is much more than just a pretty
face, and the most important tasks to focus on are:

1. Making sure your stores continue to be well stocked with
affiliate products.

2. Getting lots of traffic to your stores via linking and
other methods.

While an attractively designed site does help inspire
confidence in your buyer it’s easy to get distracted by
agonizing over things that don’t really have that much
effect on how much money you can make.

For example, when looking for a pair of designer shoes, will
anybody seriously care if your background color is “piglet
snout #ECC3BF”, “dog tongue #F6A4D5″ or “turnip
#A74CAB”? (Those are real internet HEX code colors by the
way! http://www.december.com/html/spec/colorhex.html )

However, there are a couple of things you can do to make
your store reflect your personality even more than the 80 or
so themes that are provided. Of course you can hire a
designer, or if you are handy with HTML and CSS (Cascading
Style Sheets) you can go into the Design Store section in
your admin area, choose “edit templates” and have at it.
Just remember that if you are playing around in there and
you mess up, press the “load default” button to restore
the original code and all is forgiven.

========================================
RESOURCE: BANNER DESIGNER
========================================

The fastest and easiest way to give your site a fresh new
look is to design a custom header graphic (that’s the
banner up at the top of most of the templates).

You can have your banner designed by any graphic artist or
do it yourself if you have the time and the inclination. We
do have an excellent recommendation to offer because our
tech support person’s wife, Diana, just happens to be a
graphic designer who has done some terrific work for our
members.

The best way to reach her for now is to email
graphics@my-affiliate-store.com and tell her what you would
like. Ash can even install it for you so there is no techie
skill required!

See some examples of her work and read more about installing
your own custom header graphic in the forum:

http://www.my-affiliate-store.com/forum/showthread.php?t=749

(Can’t log in? Send a ticket to
http://www.my-affiliate-store.com/esupport)

========================================
THE BEST OF THE MAS FORUM
========================================

Want to REALLY go crazy with customizing? Now you have
the ability to make completely custom pages on your site.
Custom pages can be used for:

* special pages on your site
* important landing pages
* links pages
* information pages
* about us pages
* contact us pages
* thank-you pages
* highly optimized pages for search engines
* video pages
* audio pages

Ah the possibilities! And to make things even better, our
Moderator and resident smart guy, Dr. Mark has made a
video on exactly how to do it.

http://www.my-affiliate-store.com/forum/showthread.php?t=707
========================================

Well, I’m off to do some customizing of my site.

What do y’all think? Should I go with piglet snout,
dog tongue or turnip for my color???

Talk soon, Sandy

“Success is where preparation and opportunity meet.”