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Yesterday I received another affiliate newsletter, this time from a spyware removal company called BluePenguin Software. I almost forgot about this one; BluePenguin is one of the many affiliate programs that I had signed up for a few months ago when I joined the Commission Junction network. They seem to have a pretty good program going so far — the commission rate is 40%, there is a 90 day cookie, and according to the description, BluePenguin is the only company that offers a guarantee of 100% spyware removal.

As always, if you would like to check out the product for yourself I have provided a nice big banner up there in the top left of this article for you to click through on so that you can reach the correct site. You can use the coupon code SPY10 to take 10% off your order. More details about the products and the affiliate program can be found in the newsletter below.

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With the prices of precious metals like gold and silver remaining at relatively high levels, jewelry sales represent a potentially lucrative market. Although it may seem like a contrarian strategy given the current economic downturn, even in recessions there are people with enough money to spend on luxury items. If you can manage to target the right niche, affiliate programs from companies such as MyJewelryBox.com offer the possibility of larger commission amounts for each transaction.

This particular program is offered through the Commission Junction network and provides an additional benefit that I have seen few other companies offer — they actually provide affiliate tracking on telephone orders so that it is still possible to earn commissions even if a customer does not finalize a purchase through the website. Standard commission is 10% on all orders, with the possibility of this increasing to 11% or 12% for total sales volumes of $1,500 and $3,000 respectively. Additional tips and details can be found in the latest news posting, which I have reprinted below.

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Early this morning I received an email from Amazon.com regarding an official policy change the company is making to its Associates program. Apparently Amazon is no longer allowing commissions to be paid on sales where the traffic comes directly from paid search:

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As I was doing some blog commenting on other sites earlier tonight, I ran across a new paid survey site called Survey Adventure. As an affiliate program, it is relatively new to the Commission Junction network and pays $4.50 per lead. In order for the lead to qualify, visitors must complete at least the third page of the registration form. According to the Detail page at CJ, there is a one-time bonus of $200 offered for “Number of Actions equal to or greater than 250″ and another bonus of $500 when you reach the 500 mark. It is not clear whether you must gather the required number of leads within one month (the standard pay period) in order to qualify for the bonuses or if they are looking at your overall total since the beginning.

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Last week I received another affiliate approval from a company and product that I recognize, namely Microsoft Office. In addition to well-known software such as Word and Excel, apparently they also have a service that is supposed to assist small businesses in establishing a presence online, complete with “large company technology” and various do-it-yourself tools. The affiliate program pays $1 per lead; while this seems like a small amount, a “lead” is defined as simply having a potential customer sign up by filling out the online registration form after clicking through on one of your links. You do not need to generate any sales. Here is the official approval email, which contains additional information about the details of the program.

Congratulations on joining the U.S. based Microsoft Office Live Small Business Affiliate Program! Please take this opportunity to read through this email and learn more about Microsoft, our award winning product Office Live Small Business, and our Affiliate Program.

Microsoft is the worldwide leader in software, services and solutions that help people and businesses realize their full potential. Office Live Small Business has helped over 1.5 million customers realize their potential by providing the solutions to get online, attract customers and manage their business.

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Undeterred by any economic recession, Amazon is now expanding their operations into the contractor supply business. This renowned e-commerce retailer has partnered with several of the major brands in this genre to offer bulk discounts and special promotions on professional contractor-grade equipment and supplies. All equipment can be delivered to your job site after purchase, and in some cases free shipping is available. You can visit the new contractor supply store here:

Within this section, you can shop by categories that are organized according to trade. Currently there are six major categories of products:

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Today I was approved for another affiliate program at LendingClub.com, a site that presents some interesting opportunities not only for earning commissions but also for investing or borrowing. LendingClub is a peer-to-peer lending network where people can acquire personal loans from other people who have money available to finance them. It is an alternative to both traditional banks and loan sharking, with perhaps the best benefit being that ordinary people can function as either borrowers or lenders depending on their financial situation.

As a lender, it is possible to achieve annual returns in the 7-19% range, something that is practically impossible with regular savings accounts or time deposits (CDs) because of the pitifully low interest rates set by the Federal Reserve and other influential financial organizations. It also avoids the types of risk associated with investing in the stock market either through individual stocks or mutual funds.

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Today I was accepted into the Best Buy affiliate program, bringing the total of advertiser approvals through Commission Junction to 105. Since this one happens to be a particularly well-known retailer, I figured that I might as well pass on the information contained in the welcome letter so that prospective affiliates can get an idea of what is possible with this program. As you can see, the commission rates are relatively low compared to Clickbank or other similar networks that specialize in digital products; however, the advantage is that companies like Best Buy have a higher degree of name recognition and trust from mainstream consumers, which means that with the right kind of targeting, it is possible to generate a much higher overall sales volume.

Welcome aboard the BestBuy.com Affiliate Program, and congratulations! We’re excited to have you in our network and look forward to building a strong, lucrative partnership. Below is a summary of Best Buy and our Affiliate Program, along with links for you to post on your site right away. Start earning commissions today!

The “Best” of Best Buy

1. The #1 consumer electronics retailer, we’re the most sought after and trusted brand.
2. BestBuy.com is the most trafficked website for consumer electronics and appliances.
3. In-store pickup accounts for more than 1/3 of our affiliate sales. Plus, we guarantee orders are ready in the store within five minutes, or customers receive $10 off.
4. The thousands of customer ratings and reviews on our site can lift conversion and increase average order values.
5. Many of your customers are Reward Zone members. Members earn 1 point for nearly every $1 spent at BestBuy.com. For every 250 points earned, members receive a $5 reward certificate.
6. Best Buy has high customer satisfaction.

With all the benefits Best Buy has to offer, your sales potential with us is limitless!

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Yesterday I managed to get approved for ThinkGeek.com, one of the many affiliate programs available under the Commission Junction network. Think Geek is an online store that sells a multitude of creative gadgets designed for technically oriented folks who are passionate about computer lore. From the randomly beeping “annoyatron” to binary clocks and blankets, this site has something that will appeal to almost everyone in this particular genre. They even have a “hacked and frayed” USB cable that is actually a fully functional flash drive, which happens to be the product displayed by the square banner in the upper left corner of this page. You can click on this banner to read the full description or check out the rest of the ThinkGeek.com site.

Meanwhile, here is the approval email that I received earlier:

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Over the past few weeks, I have noticed that many people from the search engines who were landing on my other LinkShare pages have been asking various questions about linking directly to product pages with this particular affiliate network. For those who have not already seen it, I may be able to provide somewhat of an answer for these folks by relaying a relevant excerpt from an email newsletter that the company sent out earlier this week.

In this newsletter, there is a section called “LinkBuilder Review” that mentions direct product linking as an upcoming feature for publishers and explains the method by which advertisers can do this currently. I have reprinted this section below; meanwhile, if you need to join LinkShare in order to gain access to the affiliate programs under its umbrella, you can do so after clicking through on the banner that appears after the end of this paragraph.

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Earlier this week, Amazon.com officially entered the realm of video game downloads with a new online store that offers over 600 casual game titles at prices ranging from $6.99 to $9.99. You can check out the selection by clicking on the banner below:

For the remainder of the first week after launch, Amazon is offering three of the titles as free downloads: “Build A Lot”, “The Scruffs”, and “Jewel Quest 2″. After the initial launch period, these titles and all other games can be played for up to 30 minutes as a kind of “try before you buy” free trial. After this time expires, you will need to purchase the full version to continue playing.

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