Welcome to Acme People Search Home Based Online Money Making Affiliate Program

[Not an APS Lifetime Member?  See the note at the bottom of this post!]

Lifetime APS members: I know it took longer to start the ad co-op than initially planned (June 2010).  As many of you know however, that's because I decided to shift strategies mid-stream, in the best interests of co-op members.  Back in March, I vowed not to let this ad co-op become yet another co-op where none of the members benefit, and I've wanted to stay true to that promise.

Initially the ad co-op was going to promote the APS business opportunity, i.e. "make money online".  Since that strategy was conceived, there have been significant changes in the affiliate marketing landscape.  Advertising in the "make money online" space has become more challenging and less rewarding than ever before, while local lead generation (i.e. generating phone leads for local businesses) has exploded onto the affiliate scene.  With the local pay-per-call model (PPCall), entry-costs are much lower (since you can run inexpensive, offline advertising), average conversion rates are 25% - 45% higher, and there's no competition from other affiliates!  In other words, local lead generation is much more profitable.

With these facts in mind (and considering that APS now offers a PPCall income stream!) it would be foolish not to steer the ad co-op where the money is.  Unfortunately though, this meant scratching all the ad campaigns that had already been developed for the "make money online" niche, and creating new ad campaigns for local lead generation.  In particular, creating campaigns that generate home buyer leads for real estate services.  As we know, creating ads is much easier than split-testing them for optimal performance, and this process of testing and optimization took time.  Thus the delay in getting started.  While I know some of you have grown impatient (understandably), I've resisted the temptation to act hastily.  I'd rather disappoint folks now than later.

So, after experimenting over the past two months to find the best ad strategies, here's what's going to happen:

The ad co-op will officially start on Monday, August 30.  Traffic will be generated primarily through highly localized, laser-targeted online advertising (PPC on Google, Yahoo, Bing, CPM on Facebook, some LeadImpact PPV, and CPA - rolled my own ;-)).  Some traffic will also be generated from offline sources (newspaper classifieds, other local publications) but no traffic will come from radio or TV ads (most folks don't remember the zip code after hearing or watching the ad).  In all cases, traffic will be directed to Web sites with a rotator that cycles through lifetime members' PPCall phone numbers - very similar to zip20155.com.  In fact, if you repeatedly reload that Web site, you'll notice the toll-free numbers rotating through lifetime members' PPCall numbers.  (I'm not going to reveal the actual sites that are being promoted to avoid any duplicate content issues, but they are very similar to zip20155.com.)

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By the way, on that test site (zip20155.com), take note of some features that have converted well for me in testing:

1) A short, memorable, SEM-friendly domain name which includes the zip code.  A short domain name is also ideal for print advertising (i.e. classifieds) and mobile marketing (i.e. AdMob) due to their character limitations when creating ads.  With AdMob for example, rather than trying to include your PPCall number and zip code, consider just a short link to your site.  That will open the phone's browser, and once they're at your site, one click (or two) will dial your PPCall number.  Just something to keep in mind.  (I'm not using AdMob to generate traffic for the co-op.)

2) The zip code is featured prominently and frequently (no less than five mentions) and appears wherever the phone number appears.  I've seen some members' sites promoting their PPCall numbers - with the zip code buried elsewhere on the page (if at all!).  You absolutely positively must feature your targeted zip code(s) wherever you feature your PPCall number!  And it must be prominently featured, right next to the number.  I don't recommend using banners or other graphics to display your PPCall number.  Use plain text, so the numbers are one-click-to-call on smartphones.

3) A landing page with strong calls-to-action, and no distractions: Visitors can call the phone number, search by zip code, or enter their email address.  That's it. All three of these actions are monetized: PPCall, RealtyTrac's affiliate program, building my list, respectively.  There are no banner ads, links or other copy to distract them.  (For whatever reasons the Evil Empire deems appropriate, this type of page has achieved "great" quality scores in AdWords.  It's quite possible that my AdWords account history is a factor in its Quality Score.  I'm also advertising on Google's content network.)

4) Photos of homes for sale are available through my RealtyTrac affiliate link.  I know some members have expressed concerns about not being able to display photos of homes on their Web sites and blogs, but based on my testing, I no longer see this as an obstacle.  When it comes to print ads like classifieds, readers don't expect to see any photos.  If they're browsing for homes online - why not monetize those photos through an affiliate program like RealtyTrac?  For those home buyers who want to see photos, RealtyTrac's Web site does a great job of converting them, since registration is free.  Also, though I don't have any hard data to support this, I suspect that home buyers are more likely to pick up the phone and call when there aren't any photos, so they can get more information.

5) Opt-in form to build my list of potential home buyers in Gainesville, VA (one list per locale).  As always, building your list is critical.  Most of my PPCall conversions have come from follow-up messages.  These messages contain genuinely useful and free information, i.e. when new properties are listed for sale in the area, and when open houses are announced.  No sales pitches.  Feel free to opt into the test list at zip20155.com to see what I mean.  There's no autoresponder sequence.  Instead, I send broadcasts whenever new properties are listed and open houses are announced (usually weekly).  At least in this vertical, that information is much more timely and valuable to prospects than canned messages.  (Remember, this isn't the "make money online" niche!)

6) Not only does RealtyTrac's affiliate program help to cover some of my advertising costs, but so does ZipRealty's.  When you opt-in, you'll notice that you're redirected to my ZipRealty affiliate link after you confirm your subscription.  To maintain continuity and relevance, I chose the ZipRealty affiliate link that displays homes for sale in the Washington, DC area (which includes Gainesville in Prince William County, VA).  Between RealtyTrac and ZipRealty commissions, the majority of my ad budget is covered.  But as I mentioned above, I'm using extremely tight targeting.  Which means less traffic volume, but it also means reduced costs per conversion and greater profitability.

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Okay, back to the ad co-op.  (I got a bit carried away there, but I wanted to share with folks some of the strategies I have used successfully with PPCall, after a lot of testing and tweaking.)

As I mentioned, the ad co-op will officially start on Monday, August 30.  Rather than randomly rotating through lifetime members PPCall numbers, the rotator on the live sites will rotate through lifetime members in this order (determined first by votes, and then by Step 3 completion date). The rotator will not move to the next member until the previous member has earned PPCall commissions.  My goal here is to ensure that every member benefits from this co-op (unlike 99.9% of ad co-ops out there).

Based on my current campaigns and conversion rates, I estimate the co-op can generate reasonable PPCall commissions for an average of two lifetime APS members per day.  That would mean the end of December before all members of the co-op have received their advertising - which is on schedule, since the co-op was scheduled to run through December 2010.

Before anyone asks how much they can expect to earn from the co-op: Obviously I can't guarantee commissions, but I guarantee this: If you don't earn any PPCall commissions over the next four months as a result of the co-op, I will refund the cost of four months at Step 3 ($119.80).  That should give you some idea of how confident I am that you will earn PPCall commissions from the co-op.

In the interest of full transparency, I invite all lifetime APS members to update this thread whenever they earn PPCall commissions as a result of the ad co-op.  (Please keep in mind the rotation schedule I mentioned above, of two members per day, in this order.)  Commissions earned from the co-op will appear as "CO-OP" in your call logs (under the "Zip Code" column).  In the case of those lifetime members who may not be active at the forum, I will update this thread by posting all PPCall commissions earned by them as a result of the co-op.

Updating this thread whenever PPCall commissions are earned, and keeping it on-topic will make for valuable custom referral links, from which everyone will benefit.  (Remember that you earn 20% commissions on PPCall lead commissions generated by your referrals!)

So that's it for now, folks.  Thanks for your patience while I redesigned the ad co-op for everyone's benefit.  With the "new" co-op, there's no doubt in my mind that APS Lifetime Members stand to earn more in commissions than with the "old" co-op.  Who wouldn't want that?

NOTE: Not an APS Lifetime Member?

What you're witnessing here is the future of affiliate marketing: Pay-per-call (PPCall) as the backbone of local lead generation and mobile advertising!  Even if you're not a lifetime member, you can still take full advantage of the PPCall income stream built into APS by clicking on the "PPCall is Here!" link when you log into your APS back office.

Tissa