Great Variety Of Niche Affiliates Under Two Roofs

I wanted to point you to two networks under two affiliate programs that have a wide variety of stores to market for. The first group is affiliated with Pepperjam and are run by the Hayneedle company. Hayneedle was formally called NetShops. Here is the list of Hayneedle run sites.

The second group of is affiliated with ShareASale and are run by CSN Stores. Here is the list CSN run stores.

As you can see this are just a small part of both Pepperjam and ShareASale, a very small part, but they offer a great variety of stores to sell for or do some niche research on.

Pepperjam Ending Ebay Program

Just got the email from Mandy Foley at Pepperjam that is announcing that Pepperjam will be pausing their eBay program due to the new QCP structure. I highly suggest converting your sites back over to EPN as soon as possible. Below is the email.

I wanted to let you know the eBay program on Pepperjam Network will be paused as of October 1, 2009. eBay has decided to move forward with Quality Click Pricing, a new payout structure designed to further reward the affiliates who drive incremental transactions on eBay and who send valued buyers to their sites. At this time, Pepperjam Network can not support the CPC model. Since you are a valued eBay affiliate through Pepperjam Network, eBay would like the opportunity to work with you directly through their in house affiliate program, EPN. If you are not an affiliate of the EPN program, click here. Please include in your description that you are an active affiliate promoting eBay through PJN. Also, to help expedite this process, please email me the email address you used to sign up. I will pass this on to eBay.

Pepperjam Ebay Text Ads Are Fantastic

Peppejam InText Ads are linked to a relevant keyword appearing in the online content which is matched to the advertiser's ad. In the case of Pepperjam InText Ads rolling over a "hot" hyperlinked keyword results in a product advertisement from eBay being shown. This lets surfers hover over a highlighted word and a small preview window shows ebay items.

There are a few ways to show ads:

White List - "White List" refers to keywords that you supply that you want converted to InText advertisements, as well as keywords from our "Auto Generate" default feature. For instance, if you have a cellular phone Web site, you may want to add keywords such as "phone," "accessory," and "Cingular" to your White List.

Black List - "Black List" refers to keywords that you definitely do not want converted to InText advertisements, while showing keywords from our "Auto Generate" default feature. For instance, you may want to add keywords like "buy," discount," and "search" to your Black List.

Auto Generate - "Auto Generate" happens automatically if you do not designate any White List or Black List keywords. Use this option if you'd like Pepperjam's system to automatically highlight keywords from our inventory of millions of e-commerce related keywords.

Exclusive White List - "Exclusive White List" refers to keywords you supply that you definitely want displayed WITHOUT keywords from our "Auto Generate" default feature.

I myself have been using the Exclusive White List feature thus far and love it and it converts great. You pick the text you want highlighted and your eBay ads are matched. This feature is in beta and should improve greatly over time. All you do is throw in the generated javascript code into the page content you want the ads on. Get to Pepperjam and check them out!!

Pepperjam Site Builder Contest Finalists Posted

In case you missed the email, Pepperjam has announced the finalist for the Store Builder Contest using the new Pepperjam Site Builder feature. Below are the links to the finalist and as you can see, several appear to have used the BANS software in addition to this. Some great work and kudos to all of the finalist. The winner receives $1000.00, just in time for Christmas.

A Taste Of Christmas
Our Grills Direct Store
Garden Accent Resources
LingerieXpert
Bulova Watches Online
Wireless Cell Accessories
Your Very Own Home

Pepperjam Store Builder Now Offers Dynamic & Flat File Formats

A few days ago , I posted about the new Pepperjam Store Builder release from Pepperjam. well now they have added the flat file CSV format to give a more flexible platform over the initial javasript release. Pepperjam Network now allows flat file affiliates to use Pepperjam Store Builder prior to downloading the product feeds. This now means an affiliate can mix and mash the product feeds, refine the feeds by keywords, and do a lot of the dirty work in the Store Builder before downloading the product feeds.

If you haven't already, you need to get signed up for Pepperjam now. It is free and easy and the products to choose from grow daily.

Pepperjam Store Builder Launched

Pepperjam announced today the official BETA launch of product feed technology in the form of a platform named Pepperjam Store Builder™, it is available exclusively through Pepperjam Network for FREE to all advertisers and affiliates.

Pepperjam Store Builder™ allows you to quickly compile Pepperjam Network product feeds to build product storefronts for your web site. You can link to specific products, create stores around dedicated product feeds, add to your existing site content or blog.

With Pepperjam Store Builder™ you have access to millions of products from hundreds of Pepperjam Network advertisers.

Update On The Pepperjam Netshops Partnership And Popshops

In my earlier post today I referenced the Pepperjam and Netshops partnership. I called both Melissa from Pepperjam and Sara from Netshops with a few questions.

The datafeeds for the Netshops stores are in the process of being converted over for Pepperjam users, also they are working on also partnering these feeds up with the Popshops program as well. This will enable the use of the Popshops Wordpress plugin which will be very beneficial to all.

My biggest suggestion would be to get signed up for Pepperjam now, so you are ready. Netshops is also in talks with adding several more stores as well. I will keep you updated on all this as it happens.

Pepperjam Announces Exclusive Partnership With Netshops

From the press release: This is a HUGE announcement in my honest opinion.

Pepperjam Network has announced the successful launch of well over 100 niche retail affiliate programs through an exclusive partnership with NetShops, an Internet Retailer Hot 100 company.

NetShops has leveraged the power of the Internet to create a unique group of specialty stores. The online retailer owns and operates more than 100 stores, each focusing on a specific niche. For example, Hammocks.com sells just hammocks, WorldGlobes.com sells globes and DayBeds.com sells daybeds.

In 2006, Inc. magazine named NetShops the 13th fastest-growing company in America. It's also No. 120 on Internet Retailer magazine's Top 500 list. To date, NetShops stores have served more than 1 million customers.

To generate links and pepperjamADS for any or all NetShops merchants, as well as hundreds of other top affiliate programs and lead generation offers please visit www.pepperjamnetwork.com

How To Convert EPN Build A Niche Stores Over To Pepperjam

I have gotten a few emails on asking how to update existing EPN BANS stores over to Pepperjam stores. It is a very easy process.

1. Make sure you are already a member of Pepperjam. If not you can sign up here.

2. Once approved you will be issued an affiliate ID number. You will need this number after converting over your stores.

3. Search for the eBay affiliate program once approved and click join. Follow the on screen instructions.

4. Visit the update section of the Build A Niche Store forum and enter in your ClickBank receipt number you got when you first purchased BANS.

5. Download the BANS v3.0 EPN to PJN Convertor Pack to your hardrive and unzip.

6. Back up any existing files on your server as a precaution should something go wrong. If you have modified the index.php or FrontControl.php files then updating your US v3.0 EPN store to work with Pepperjam will overwrite these files and you will lose the modifications you have made. Make note of any modifications you have made.

7. Open the Update Files folder. you should see 2 folders and 2 files listed. Upload all the listed folders to the appropriate section and location of your current BANS store location. Make sure to approve overwriting of files if asked.



8. After uploading the files is completed, you can log into your BANS admin panel and click the Setup tab.

9. Enter in the affiliate ID issued you by Pepperjam in the section number 4 called Affiliate ID and click save down at the bottom.

10. I do suggest that you do not use the cloaking feature in the Pepperjam version of BANS.

11. Wash, rinse and repeat for other existing stores.

How To Join Pepperjam's eBay Program

I think several that are joining Pepperjam are not applying for the eBay partner program. Signing up for Pepperjam is the initial part, but to represent and be an affiliate of eBay, you have to apply for that as well and be approved.

After being initially accepted into Pepperjam, log into your account and click the Find Partners button. You will then see the form below.



Next type ebay in the Keyword(s)section and hit the search button.

Ebay should show in the results. Click the check mark box to the left and click join on the far right. Follow the rest of the on screen instructions.

EPN Reinstating Some Terminated Affiliates

I have been getting a few good emails from readers who were terminated from the ebay Partner Network affiliate program and now are getting reinstated. The common thing these individuals are doing is sending an email politely asking to have your account reviewed. Let them know your ways of generating traffic to your stores. The email address those are using is:

eBayPartnerNetwork-Quality@ebay.com

While you are waiting, you might want to sign up for Pepperjam if you have not done so already. The waiting time for approval is about a week, so the quicker you sign up the better. The BANS Pepperjam version of the Build A Niche Store software works fantastic as well. I highly suggest using both methods as not to be married to just one program, plus Pepperjam offers a ton of other affiliate programs from major advertisers as well.

Pepperjam As An Alternative To Ebay Partner Network EPN

I had a lengthy phone conversation with Michelle from Pepperjam this morning concerning a few questions I had about the Pepperjam Network Ebay affiliate program. My main reason was to call to ask about future tracking of individual stores like the eBay partner network does with campaign ids. Michelle said they are currently working on technology to better help individual store tracking. She also said there is no time frame yet established for this to be implemented.

Secondly, I have been getting many emails and private messages from Build A Niche Store builders that have been terminated from the EPN program asking what they should do. While I have not experienced any problems with EPN myself, I highly suggest you get signed up and approved for the Pepperjam program as soon as possible and convert over those stores from the EPN BANS build. The conversion process is very easy and the update files are located in the Build A Niche Store update section of the website. While I do not have a explanation for the termination of so many users, I can only venture to speculate that EPN is clamping down some aspects of the quality of traffic or perhaps only wanting higher volume affiliates. Again that is only speculation. Michelle said that she has not heard any reasons as well. Rest assure Pepperjam has been very good to deal with thus far and the account reps are very prompt in returning calls and answering emails. I live by the motto of always being prepared and I suggest that even if you have not been terminated from the EPN program, that you at least get signed up with Pepperjam and approved for the eBay program.

What To Do If Your eBay EPN Account Is Terminated

I am getting a few emails and private messages asking me what people should do if their EPN account gets terminated. First of all I suggest you look to see if you have gotten any warnings from them. If so I would reply right away with the questions they ask you to reply with answers to. Second, get an email out to them pronto asking them to review your account. Third, any questionable practices of traffic generation on your part need to be addressed. A question you need to ask yourself is, would I mind explaining this source of traffic to EPN. Make sure you read and reread the affiliate agreement and code of conduct once again.

In the mean time I suggest you jump over to Pepperjam and get signed up and approved.

Pepperjam CEO Kris Jones SEO Book Review

I just picked up the new book by Kris Jones, CEO and President of Pepperjam. I could not wait to get my hands on it and Amazon had it to me in three days. Spent most of last night reading it and must say it is quite thorough. While I am no newbie to SEO, I am also not a guru and learned a few new things right off the bat. The book is very thorough with some great illustrations. The text is a little on the small side so I did have to break out my reading glasses. This book is jammed full of info and is friendly enough for newbies as well. This is probably the best money you can spend to invest back into your BANS store business. It is paperback and almost 300 pages. Pepperjam is now a major player in the affiliate marketing industry and Kris Jones is a well respected veteran. Do yourself and your Niche Store business a favor and buy this book.
Search Engine Optimization: Your visual blueprintfor effective Internet marketing (Visual Blueprint)

To Cloak Or Not To Cloak

Since the inception of Build a Niche Store 3.0, BANS store owners have been given the ability to cloak the url of product links. Since the ability to do so, a ton of changes have occurred outside of the BANS platform. First and foremost, eBay has taken over their own affiliate program from Commission Junction and Pepperjam has exploded on to the scene as an alternative to the Ebay Partner Network. There has never truly been one definitive answer to if cloaking is or isn't allowed. First let's take a look at what cloaking is. The word cloak means: something that covers or conceals. To cloak a link means to hide the true destination of the link. Now at least we can agree what is means. What exactly are you trying to conceal? Are you concerned that the rover url may cause concern to the surfer? Are you afraid the surfer may know it is an eBay ad? I have done a few split test in the early release of EPN and found that stores uncloaked, did slightly better than cloaked stores. Was this test scientific? No, not at all. A further deeper inquiry into both EPN and Pepperjam has led me to believe that cloaking the url can get you in trouble with either program. I have nothing written to back this up and neither source wanted to go on the record about this. Read the EPN Code of Conduct very thoroughly and you can interpret this in many ways. Just because Build A Niche Store gives you the ability to cloak, does not mean that it will not break either programs code of conduct. Since running my test and research, I now have every one of my stores uncloaked. My earnings have not suffered one month. My EPC ratio is still solid and I still convert the same amount of bids to winning bids, give or take a percent. I am in no way telling you that you will get banned from either program for cloaking, but I am telling you that I highly advise against it through my interpretations and conversations. Why would anyone want to jeopardize something so good, which such a fine line. I do not think the benefits justify the consequences. If you have any doubts yourself, you should contact either EPN or Pepperjam directly and make a clear definition and get a clear answer.

Pepperjam Giving New Affiliates 10 Bucks

If you have yet to join up with Pepperjam, now is this time. They are giving $10.00 to each new publisher for signing up. I have been using Pepperjam for a while and have been really happy with the support and the attention to detail. They continuously are adding more and more advertisers as well. Pepperjam Network is Now Offering a $10 Affiliate Sign On Bonus. Join Today.

Ads On Your Build A Niche Stores

This post will be agreed with by many and disagreed with by many as well. Let me start off with a real life personal story. My own father WILL NOT buy anything off of eBay. He just does not trust it from whatever circle of influence he might of formed that opinion on, I do not know. I have told him time and time again how and what to look for when shopping eBay with no avail. I have tracked his surfing for a week on his computer (with his knowledge of doing so) and noticed he does click on ads and has indeed purchased from other companies online via an affiliate ad. You have to face the facts that there are people out there like that. That is why on some of my BANS stores I try to place ads from other advertisers that sell the same niche items I am promoting. I want to try to produce some income from EVERY surfer that visits one of my stores. With the emergence of Pepperjam, it has opened up a bigger outlet of net advertisers. When you combine Pepperjam with Commission Junction, Linkshare, Google Adsense and a few other ad network sites, there is no reason you should not be able to find an affiliate program that sells products related to your niche. If you have built your store right, you have promised the surfer they will find what they are looking for by coming to your store so make sure to give them as many options as possible and funnel the surfer to where they want to go.

Build A Niche Store BANS Pepperjam Update Package

Since we spoke about Pepperjam Network (PJN) a couple of days ago
there have been quite a lot of questions about BANS, EPN and
Pepperjam many of which are based on misinterpretations of what
Pepperjam means to BANS and what its' purpose as an option is.

Please take the time to read this email carefully...

eBay's own affiliate platform (EPN) is now and will remain the
principal platform for ALL eBay affiliates and it is what BANS is
built to work with.

eBay, in an attempt to expand the reach of their affiliate program
(ie attract more affiliates) have partnered with Pepperjam to allow
Pepperjam publishers to promote eBay listed products through the
Pepperjam network rather than having to sign up directly with eBay
under the EPN platform.

Upon hearing of this partnership quite a few BANS users contacted
both us and Pepperjam explaining that they wanted Pepperjam as an
option and so we have created the following updates:

1. An update pack for converting existing V3.0 EPN US stores to PJN
called - BANS v3.0 EPN to PJN Convertor Pack

2. A fresh download of V3.0 for US stores called - BANS v3.0 PJN
Full Download

3. For any users that switch to PJN and then want to return to EPN
we have also created an update pack for converting V3.0 PJN US
stores back to EPN called - BANS v3.0 PJN to EPN Convertor Pack

If you DO NOT want to use Pepperjam and are happy using EPN then
these updates have no meaning for you. We, for example, will not
be converting any of our own niche stores from EPN to Pepperjam.

These updates are purely for those users that do want to switch
their current V3.0 US stores to Pepperjam or build new US V3.0
stores with Pepperjam.

These updates are also only being made available only through the
BANS "back-end" - ie to to existing BANS users and then any new
BANS users who go through the process we will describe below.

Consequently we are not adding a Pepperjam option for US store
building inside the main BANS package (ie when it is first
downloaded by new customers) or modifying the existing manuals to
include a reference to it. This may change when Pepperjam adds the
infrastructure to support all the eBay affiliate programs and not
just the US eBay affiliate program.

We have, however, added a new forum section called Pepperjam
Network which can be found here:

http://buildanichestore.com/members/viewforum.php?f=37

And all questions relating to Pepperjam should be posted inside
that section.

The only way a new user of BANS will be able to move from EPN to
Pepperjam is by following the instructions inside the sticky post
found in that section.

If you would like to download and use any of the Pepperjam updates
outlined above then please visit the appropriate download area
described below.

The update packs for converting stores to PJN or back to EPN
contain a READ ME file which you should read first before updating
any of your stores.

1. For all ClickBank purchasers (95% of BANS users) please enter
your ClickBank receipt number to access the download area (using
the "send receipt number to your email" if you do not have it) at
the following url:

http://buildanichestore.com/update/

2. For those special offer purchasers through either Jim Cockrum or
Lynn Terry please enter your PayPal email address to access the
download area at the following url:

http://buildanichestore.com/paypal/

PLEASE NOTE: If you have any problems accessing or downloading the
updated versions of BANS please submit a support ticket to our
download support center found here with your full name so that we
can answer your query:

http://buildanichestore.com/download/

Inside each of the download areas you will see this latest
Pepperjam update appropriately posted at the top.

We hope this has helped clarify what Pepperjam means for any BANS
users that still had questions about it and that those users who
wanted the option are happy with the update.

Kelvin and Adam

Pepperjam & Build A Niche Store Will Partner

As you will probably know eBay recently partnered with Pepperjam
which allows affiliates to market eBay listed products through the
Pepperjam network rather than the EPN platform.

From eBay's perspective the principal reason for doing this is to
extend their reach into the affiliate marketing community.
Pepperjam is a large network with "X" amount of affiliate marketers
and this partnership will bring a percentage of Pepperjam
publishers who were not previously eBay affiliates into the eBay
affiliate program(s)...the EPN platform itself is going nowhere.

From your perspective as a BANS user it opens the possibility of
running your BANS stores through the Pepperjam network rather than
EPN and a number of users have expressed an interest in having this
option.

Consequently, we have been in communication with Pepperjam over
this past week and a half discussing the different options for
linking BANS up with Pepperjam and a projected timescale for doing
this.

They have been working to bring the eBay RSS feed (which BANS
requires) into their platform this past week and have also been
discussing with eBay the option and timescale over which they can
extend their support of the eBay affiliate programs from just the
US (currently) to all the eBay affiliate programs so that they can
support all BANS countries and users.

There was a debate as to whether we would go ahead with BANS US to
start with and then add support for the additional countries once
Pepperjam had brought them inside their network or whether we would
wait until all the countries were supported and release a complete
version of BANS Pepperjam to compliment BANS EPN.

It has now been decided that BANS and Pepperjam will partner over
the following 2 stages.

1. A BANS V3.0 Pepperjam for US store builders will be released
along with an update pack for existing V3.0 US stores if you would
like to convert then from EPN to Pepperjam.

2. Once Pepperjam has extended their support from just the eBay.com
(US) affiliate program to include all of the eBay affiliate
programs we will release a complete (ie all countries) Pepperjam
version of BANS V3.0 to sit alongside BANS V3.0 EPN and it will be
up to you to decide which network you use.

We've spoken with Kris from Pepperjam this morning and stage 1
should happen sometime this week.

Once we know more we'll update you Smile

Best,

Kelvin and Adam

Pepperjam eBay Affiliate Program & Build A Niche Store

Got a few emails asking about the new Pepperjam affiliate program and its relationship with eBay. I talked to Mandy from Pepperjam and she indicated that they are in talks with Adam and Kelvin from Build A Niche Store. While there are a ton of things up in the air at the present time I can tell you this. This will not affect how you are currently working with EPN. The Pepperjam program will likely be along the lines of what Commission Junction was doing with eBay. My best suggestion is to go ahead and sign up with Pepperjam now and apply to the eBay program. That way you are ready whenever more on the Pepperjam/eBay relationship surfaces. I suggest you fill out the application honestly and as complete as possible as this could delay your approval. Also Pepperjam has a ton other companies they run affiliates for so you might find someone to promote as well.