One day after getting through one of the worst MYSQL database failures of my life, my work computer hard drive crashes.

It was a tough week to say the least.

It’s funny, the last time my hard drive crashed, I lost everything. I was devastated because I had to start over on so many projects, had so many lost photos, memories, documents, etc.

It was then that I went backup crazy. I got dropbox, carbonite, 4 external hard drives, and made sure that everything was always backed up. I also got a very expensive 15k rpm “tough” hard drive that is supposed to last longer than those cheap $50 hard drives you can buy anywhere.

You can probably understand that I was not too worried when that hard drive crashed. I had all those backups right?

My Carbonite Vs. Dropbox Experience

After I went and got a nice new solid state 256gb drive (soo excited to have a solid state finally), I reinstalled windows 7 and went about trying to recover all my data.

First thing was dropbox. Click, click. Installed and recovering all my data. I love it. So stinkin easy.

Next is carbonite. I install their software, and being the recovery process…

Recovering files with carbonite is like pulling teeth

• Anytime a file was remotely big (300mb+) Carbonite would completely stall. The entire restore process would be haulted.
• Anytime a folder had a lot of files in it, carbonite would completely stall. My music folder is not even 25% downloaded and it has stalled like 15 times.
• Anytime carbonite stalls, you must cancel the entire transfer and restart the transfer.
• I tried downloading the bigger files using their web interface thinking that it might be a program issue. No luck, their web login sessions are so short that you get logged out before you can download a 100+ mb file.

All in all, the entire carbonite backup system is awesome… until you actually need to restore any files. Seeing as I was paying $50 per month for carbonite pro, you’d think it would be so much better but it wasn’t.

Leaving Carbonite For Dropbox

After having all those issues, I decided to completely switch from carbonite to dropbox pro. I get 100gigs of space for less than $20 bucks per month, over 50% less than I was paying.

The only tricky part will be putting the files I normally used carbonite to backup, into my dropbox. Completely worth it in my opinion though.

What do you use as a backup solution?

© JonathanVolk.com - A Blog about Making Money Online, 2011.

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That’s why I was so interested when Afftime approached me to do a review. They allow members to check the uptime of their links! Sounds simple, right? It is, but it can also save you valuable time and money.

Let’s say you are running a dating offer. Afftime will help you monitor your links to ensure they are always available, that they redirect to the correct page and that the cookie returned contains your affiliate ID. This means you’ll never waste time or lose money from bad links.

Here are the top three reasons I will continue to use Afftime!

1. 100% Coverage

When you use a monitoring system provided by your website host, you’re opening yourself up to disaster. The hosting could go down and many hosts do not regularly update link monitoring systems. If you want around the clock coverage, a third party monitoring system is the way to go! The cool thing about Afftime is that they refresh data every 15 minutes, so you know you have the latest information.

2. Affiliate Focus

Unlike a lot of link monitoring systems, Afftime is focused on the affiliate marketing demographic. With plenty of special features, an easy to navigate interface and our specific needs in mind, Afftime really delivers. They ensure that none of their work interferes with affiliate analytics and they literally support links from all major affiliate networks. For once, affiliate needs aren’t an afterthought… they’re a focus!

3. Awesome Price

You really cannot beat their price. If you are only concerned about one webpage, you can monitor its links for an unlimited time for free! Otherwise, you can monitor 50 webpages for 40 cents USD per webpage. If you’re looking to monitor 500 webpages, each one will only cost you 10 cents USD. Like I said, you can’t beat these prices.

What do you think of Afftime and other link monitoring services? How important are they to your campaigns?

© JonathanVolk.com - A Blog about Making Money Online, 2011.

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WeWOOD is an eco-friendly luxury watch manufacturer. The company emerged from Italy and is currently located in Los Angeles. They’re all about keeping the watches natural, simple and stylish. At the same time, they are working on a few ways to protect the environment.

Anyway, I received my watch in the mail a few weeks ago and I’ve been excited to write this post since. I love the watch, and it just looks super cool. Here, check it out:

Unique Design

Obviously, the design is crazy unique. Who would have thought that a watch made entirely of wood would become so popular? What’s great is that the watches come in so many different styles. You can get a watch that is solid black or you can get a watch that is multi-colored and patterned. 

Social Commitment

Another thing I love about WeWOOD watches is how committed they are to their product and social responsibility. They’ve actually partnered with American Forests so that they can pledge to plant one tree for every WeWOOD watch sold. I’m no hippy, but I think it’s pretty cool.

Affiliate Program

The good news is that they have an affiliate program. The great news is that they offer commissions starting at 21%.

They run their offer through Commission Junction right now. So, you should definitely check it out if you’re looking to promote a cool luxury product that is gaining popularity!

Have you seen a WeWOOD watch before now? What do you think of them?

© JonathanVolk.com - A Blog about Making Money Online, 2011.

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Deluxe is definitely a great network for affiliates looking for variety. In fact, they work with banner ads, search marketing, e-mail capture, social media, text ads and more. Along with offering so many diverse offer types, they offer great payouts (ok… but who DOESN’T say that!? ). Deluxe Ads recently boasted that they have the highest researched payout for Motime, True.com and IQ Quiz You so it’s worth checking out! Finally, they have a fair amount of exclusive offers and are willing to go the extra mile to get a specific offer for you.

So, that’s the basics. What did I notice immediately about Deluxe that set them apart for me?

1. Personalized Debit Card

One of the first things you will notice when you visit their website is that they offer personalized debit cards. A personalized debit card is a great option for affiliates who do not want to pay the expensive wire transfer fee or wait for a check to arrive in the mail. Since the network recently disabled PayPal as a payment method for security reasons, the debit card is a handy way to get same day access to your commissions.

2. Great Customer Service

The great thing about Deluxe Ads is that they offer 24-hour access to their dedicated account managers. It’s clear they make customer service and affiliate success a priority. Their motto is “when you are successful, we are successful.” They put this motto into practice by providing great affiliate support in terms of identifying offers, industry updates and network updates. You always hear about how important customer service and great affiliate managers are, and Deluxe Ads really shines in this area.

3. Awesome Contests

Right now, Deluxe Ads is having an awesome contest for affiliates who love prizes (that’s you)! If you are running offers through the network and earning the following commissions, you can win some great prizes. Here’s the breakdown:

1. $5,000 – Apple TV
2. $10,000 – iPod Touch or iPod Classic
3. $20,000 – iPad or Samsung 32” LED TV
4. $25,000 – Macbook or Macbook Air
5. $30,000 – Macbook Pro or iMac

If you aren’t already involved in the contest, now is the time to register and start earning commissions! The contest ends on April 15th, so be sure to hustle.

In summary, affiliates with an interest in promoting a number of different offer types will find Deluxe Ads the most useful. Anyone with a strong emphasis on affiliate manager support and customer service will also love the network. It’s definitely worth looking into if you haven’t already. At the very least, check it out and try to win some prizes!

Affiliate Paying Review of Deluxe Ads

I always like to check out reviews on affiliate paying first… and this is no exception. This is generally the first place that people are going to go to and notify others if the network is shady, not paying, etc.

Check out the review of DeluxeAds here.

© JonathanVolk.com - A Blog about Making Money Online, 2011.

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It can be difficult to manage international campaigns. Ensuring the accuracy of campaigns that are being viewed by people in a completely different country halfway across the world can be challenging to say the least. Keeping an eye on competition, the way your ad copy displays, and geo-targeting are each big tasks, even for the most experienced affiliates.

That’s why I was interested in taking a closer look when I heard about GeoSurf. GeoSurf claims to help affiliates, buyers, and campaign managers with the types of problems above. Do they deliver? Let’s find out.

About GeoSurf

GeoSurf is a tool that allows users to surf the Internet as a local from more than 70 global locations. The tool is designed to help online professionals view their geo-targeted ads and content to better monitor campaigns, evaluate competition, and generate profit. Since its launch in 2009, it has seen a number of upgrades. In fact, the tool seems to be updated quite frequently to include new locations and enhance user experience.

How it Works

When you’re working with GeoSurf, you have three tool options. The easiest and most convenient tool is the GeoSurf Toolbar, which works with both Internet Explorer and Firefox. It’s a little toolbar that appears at the top of your browser and allows you to choose between 59 countries and 19 U.S. cities. Once you’ve selected the location you want to work with, you can click “Apply” and instantly see content and ads in the same way as people living there.

In addition to the toolbar, there’s also the GeoSurf VPN and GeoSurf Direct Connect. GeoSurf VPN allows you to change your entire machine’s IP address to a gateway within GeoSurf’s network. This allows you to view geo-targeted ads in desktop applications like IM clients, etc. GeoSurf Direct Connect allows you to establish a direct connection to their gateways.

The Benefits

1. Time Saver – Doing the work that GeoSurf does for you manually would take hours. Based on the time it saves alone, this tool can seriously benefit you as an affiliate.

2. Privacy – GeoSurf owns all of the servers on its network. That means secure browsing and confidentiality.

3. Credibility – 888.com, eBuddy, Miniclip, and Metacafe are some of the many companies using this tool. GeoSurf has a global reputation.

4. Speed – Their Automatic Bandwidth Optimization technology gives you the fastest connection possible. The result? Browsing at the rate of your regular connection.

Conclusion

Managing international campaigns can be tough, but it’s necessary in the global affiliate marketing industry. GeoSurf makes managing international campaigns easier. There’s a 5 day free trial on all the packages, so you should definitely check it out now!

© JonathanVolk.com - A Blog about Making Money Online, 2011.

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There are thousands of affiliate programs available today! Once you choose between hundreds of networks, you must choose between thousands of programs. How do you know you are choosing the right network? How do you know you are choosing the right offer? What if there is another network offering a higher payout?

oDigger is an affiliate marketing tool that answers all of the questions above for thousands of affiliates each day. The team behind oDigger has developed a resource that allows you to compare networks, offers, payouts and more. Before tools like oDigger, the questions above took hours of manual tracking to answer.

Can oDigger really help you find the right offer with the right payout with the right network? Let’s take a closer look and find out.

About

The great thing about oDigger is that it is for affiliates, by affiliates. They realized they were missing out on serious profits because they had to spend hours manually comparing offers, networks and payouts. Eventually, they developed the tool for internal use. In 2007, they began releasing the tool publically. Today, they handle 3,000 searches a day from 30,000 affiliates. With over 41,000 offers from over 170 networks, oDigger could both save you time and increase your profits.

1. Best Offers

oDigger claims to have the best offers. How can they make such a bold claim? Well, simply because they have established relationships with over 170 networks. They are continuously growing their database of networks and offers. In comparison, they have a bigger database than any of their competitors. With so many options, it is difficult to argue with their claim.

2. Highest Payouts

With so many networks, oDigger can almost guarantee the highest payouts. The tool allows you to quickly search through thousands of offers on hundreds of networks for the best payouts. Right now, you could be promoting a successful product for $40 per sale. What if you were missing out on promoting the same offer for $43 per sale through a different network? That extra $3 per sale would add up and you would increase your profits.

3. Great Networks

What good is a tool like oDigger without great networks? If you cannot compare between the best networks, why bother? Fortunately, oDigger works with some great networks.

Here are some of the networks oDigger gives you access to:

• BLAM Ads
• Wolf Storm Media
• EWA Private Network
• ClickBank
• Clickbooth
• nDemandAffiliates
• etc…

Network Perspective

There is a reason these great affiliate networks are working with oDigger. 3,000 searches a day by 30,000 active affiliates? That is a real opportunity for any affiliate network. Exposure is one of the biggest benefits of working with oDigger. With over 70% of oDigger’s traffic rushing in from search engines, having your network listed on the website is a great way to gain exposure and new affiliates.

Check it out on my blog!

oDigger is a great tool for affiliates who do not have the time to manually search through thousands of possibilities for the biggest opportunities. You could definitely do what oDigger does yourself, but not as quickly or efficiently. If you have not already checked it out, you can do your first oDigger search right here at JonathanVolk.com with oDigger’s new API! You can add the new API to your website with this WordPress plugin.

Have you used oDigger? What did you think?

© JonathanVolk.com - A Blog about Making Money Online, 2011.

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What is iSpionage?

iSpionage allows you to easily find and keep track of keywords and competitors’ ads across not only Google, but Yahoo and MSN/Bing as well. It is a comprehensive tool that includes so many features to sky rocket your marketing campaigns through competitive research that it is crazy.

Let’s take a look…

iSpionage is constantly monitoring what your competition is doing in regards to what ads they’re running and what keywords they’re bidding on. You can find out at any given time what ads, what keywords, etc. Finding just one new adgroup idea can prove to skyrocket earnings.

What’s cool is when you start a project, you can either aggregate related keywords by site or by keyword.

From there you will see what advertisers are using your selected keywords and how many they’re using, as well as where they’re putting their ads (Google, Yahoo, Bing), what their ads look like, and get links to their landing pages. (Win!!!)

Now, the really cool part.

Not only can you research your competition, you can actively build a new campaign ready for importing using their system, right there on the website.

You can literally have this website generate entire campaigns based on competitive research and be going in no time at all.

One of the other great features is to setup alerts on whenever a particular advertiser starts bidding on new keywords or when new ads are made. So when your competitors start a new adgroup, you’ll know about it… You can always have the upper hand on what is profiting.

Special Offer For JonathanVolk.com Readers

In a special offer, I’ve teamed up with iSpionage to bring an exclusive deal in which you can sign up for the $129/month Professional version of the service at $40 off for $89/month. Check it out for yourself and you’ll quickly see how much this will help you with your PPC campaigns.

© JonathanVolk.com - A Blog about Making Money Online, 2009.

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What is Squeeze Theme?

Squeeze Theme is a wordpress plugin that can be used to generate some SERIOUS cash. This WordPress theme / plugin automates much of the process of making squeeze pages.

This squeeze page method can be used to generate some serious income… Let me explain below how.

What is a Squeeze Page?

A Squeeze page is page designed to have your visitors give you their email or similar in exchange to of viewing more content. This is a very common and highly successful marketing method used.

The idea behind this is that you offer valuable free content (usually in the form of an ebook or report) in exchange for the persons email. Then you use this email list to market / upsell your related product.

I personally have seen this method succeed. My dad has used this method to generate over $60,000 in a single month. Needless to say, it’s highly effective.

How does Squeeze Theme Help me?

SqueezeTheme is designed to work well at gathering email addresses and that’s exactly what it does. If you’re not sure if this is something you could use or you’re unfamiliar with building squeeze pages, you might as well check out their free 37-page Squeeze Pages 101 eBook. It’s packed with REALLY helpful information on squeeze pages.

Check out this video about Squeeze Theme:

My next project includes Squeeze Theme

When I heard squeeze theme was coming out, I was really excited. I actually have a project coming out soon that will need a squeeze theme! This product is ideal for me because I can spend way less time coding and designing and more time focusing on the quality content. I am really excited to see how it all works out.

You can grab your copy of Squeeze theme here.

© JonathanVolk.com - A Blog about Making Money Online, 2009.

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I Love Has Offers

I am a huge Fan of Has Offers. I really love the design of the interface, the features, etc. I am surprised it has not been more widely accepted.

One of the main reasons that many people did not move over to Has Offers right away was due to the servers being hosted at their data center. Just like with Direct Track and LinkTrust, the servers stay at the tracking server company and you modify the software theme to match your website. The main concern I had heard from others is that Has Offers was run by Tatto Media, which also runs an affiliate network. Some people felt like they could use the data to their own advantage, etc.

Self Managed Solution! Awesome

With their new dedicated solutions, HasOffers is one of the first affiliate tracking software solutions that has the options to have self managed, self hosted servers. This is especially great due to the fact that you can keep the server in your own server colocation center vs. them having to manage the server.

A single HasOffers Dedicated Solutions’ server is capable of running over a billion impressions per month, which is quite impressive. More than enough for MOST businesses.

Price

I tried to get the price for the self managed hosting solution but because it varies due to certain factors, they would not tell me. They did say however that it is less than competitors.

What does this mean? I know the other guys run around $1000 bucks a month, so perhaps the price is under that? Either way, well worth it!

© JonathanVolk.com - A Blog about Making Money Online, 2009.

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When Twilight came out, she read through that series amazingly fast because she could not put the book down. Predictably Irrational has been like that for me.

From page one, there are nuggets of information that seriously have redefined a lot of the way I look at marketing promotion.

I highly suggest that you take a second to just read the free couple pages on amazon now. It’s 4-5 pages that I bet will have you impressed.

In the first chapter of this book the author, Dan Ariely, talks about how we all make comparison to other products to come up with what is an acceptable price. For example, we don’t know how much a 4 cylinder car is worth, but we know it should cost less than a 6 cylinder.

Dan talks about an experiment in which he demonstrates this and uses points of reference and comparison to get someone to pick a more expensive item more times than not.

The experiment given was using a newspaper subscription. You could join the newspaper subscription as follows:

• Internet only subscription – $59
• Print Only – $125
• Print and Internet – $125

What do you think most people went for? Over 80% went for the Print and Internet – $125. Why? Because the Print only was a price comparison point that made it easy for them to decide to get the print and internet.

Now compare this to when he just had the Internet only Subscription and Print and Internet as options. Now over 70% of people selected internet only. This was because they had no point of reference to make the print and internet deal seem worth it.

Crazy good right?

Read the first pages at least, well worth it for any internet marketer.

© JonathanVolk.com - A Blog about Making Money Online, 2009.

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