I was talking with my mom this weekend and she was absolutely bursting out with excitement because WisconsinMade.com tweeted her on Follow Friday.

See?

Mom is now a totally loyal affiliate of theirs for life. (Also referred to as a Raving Fan.)

How did this all happen?

1. Mom applied to become an affiliate and started promoting Wisconsin Made – which you can see on her blog sidebar here:

See it live here: RemarkableWrinklies.com

2. She then blogged about their “Fight Breast Cancer” promo this month:

You can see that one here:
Raising Money through Food Gifts

So why 3 Cheers for WisconsinMade.com?

1. At some point in this process, the PR and Social Media Specialist for Wisconsinmade.com, Amanda Maurer, reached out to mom about doing cross blogging between RemarkableWrinklies.com and Edible Antics. (Bravo #1!)
2. Also, during this process,  Tiffany Strey Kloss, their Affiliate Manager, personally communicated with mom to see if there was anything mom needed help with. (Bravo #2). As a former affiliate manager for 4 years, I can tell you this makes a HUGE difference in loyalty.
3. Then, on Friday, mom saw the Tweet that I posted above. I'm not sure who posted it, but whoever did – that's Bravo #3.

And, of course the Packers won yesterday so… lol. oops. Got distracted there for a minute.

So, what can we learn from today's Marketing Monday?

1. Mass communication is important, but it's the personal communication that can impact on an individual level.

2. It doesn't take much to make people feel special. When's the last time you've retweeted something nice that someone has said about you? Are you socially bookmarking blog posts that people write about you? (Do you have Google Alerts set in order to KNOW when people are talking about you?)

3. Offering something unique makes you the only game in town. WisconsinMade.com speaks to loyalty amongst cheeseheads like us – and makes me want to do some Christmas shopping!

I hope you've enjoyed this!

Warmly,
Nicole Dean

PS. If you want to know how NOT to motivate affiliates… see below. UG.

• How NOT to Motivate Affiliates, Pt. 1
• How NOT to Motivate Affiliates, Pt. 2
• How NOT to Motivate Affiliates, Pt. 3

Kudos again for WisconsinMade.com for showing us how TO do it the right way!

I got this email awhile back and copied it into drafts. At the time, I was too steamin' mad to write anything about it, so I filed it away for later. I just found it in my blog drafts while I was going through them today. It still makes my blood boil.

The email said… (yes, I replaced the URL to protect the clueless)

If a sale is generated by an article, radio show, TV segment, or advertisement we directly place, no commission is due and may be reversed.

If COMPANY.com issues a coupon or discount to a customer during a promotion and it is redeemed, that will be considered a sale by COMPANY.com and no commission will be due any affiliate for that sale.

So to translate, I'm reading this.

You, as our affiliate, are in direct competition with us, the company. If we do anything to assist the transaction, you're not getting any of the money.

And, oh by the way, we don't appreciate you in the least. You might want to go look for someone else to promote. You're a nuisance and we'd rather you go away.

BOO, I say. BOO!

This reminds me of these two blog posts:

• How NOT to Motivate Affiliates, Pt. 1
• How NOT to Motivate Affiliates, Pt. 2

Warmly,
Nicole Dean

PS. If you want to know how to have an affiliate program that KICKS butt, excites your affiliates, and generates loyalty – you might want to make sure you're a member of IncomeCPR.com. Just sayin'.

Here's how I spent my day on Tuesday of this week.

Posted recorded podcast interview with Susanne Myers on this blog.

Posted one other blog post: How to Motivate Affiliates

Sent a note to EasyPLR list and customers about new PLR.

Emailed my affiliates about an EasyPLR.com affiliate contest to get them promoting.

Posted on a private forum that I visit – and my links are in my signature file there.

Asked for feedback on same private forum regarding a blog post of mine.

Hopped on Twitter for about 10 minutes of interaction, twice today.

Wrote an article for David Perdew to include in a project that he's working on – more exposure.

Swung by my Facebook Fan Page to check things out and post updates.

Answered a few questions in a written interview and sent it to an affiliate to post on his blog.

Started my next post for a Cross-Blog Conversation that I'm doing.

Did you notice something? Only the first two items are activities that were done on my own web property. The rest are getting exposure outside my websites. It's called marketing and it's where the money's at.

You'll notice that most of what I focused on involved writing today. I focus on what I do best and on what I actually WILL get done.

Some things you'll probably not see on my to do list.

• Adwords. If you want to make money with Adwords, you're following the wrong lady. At least at this point in time.
• Writing software. No interest at all.
• Listing items on eBay. Not my specialty.
• Scheduling Interviews for my Podcast. I leave that up to my highly capable Personal Assistant, Tracy Roberts.
• Installing Scripts. I outsource that to save my sanity.
• Designing Graphics. I outsource that because I can't design my way out of a paper bag.
• Recording a webTV show, like iCarly. Uh… no.

Why do I tell you this?

Because there are a million ways to make money online and to market your online business. You do not have to do everything. Choose what you're good at and work to those strengths rather than beating yourself up about all of the things that you are NOT good at.

You won't find me crying in my beer because I'm not a talented graphic artist. You'll see me thanking my lucky stars that I've got talented people in my circles who can keep me looking good.

Have a fabulous day!

Warmly,
Nicole

PS. I also attended a special Thanksgiving breakfast at my daughter's school, took my son to karate, played with my puppies, cleaned the kitchen, and am about to do my exercises – all before 5pm. You've got to make time to play, too!

What do you think? I'd love feedback. Does this motivate you? What else can I do to get them making lots of sales?

I know that you're probably like most people right now – a
little short on spending money for the holidays. So, I've
got three things I'm going to do for EasyPLR affiliates.

1. I will pay affiliates *weekly* from now until Christmas. You
will not have to wait until January for sales that you make during
the beginning of December. You'll be paid every Tuesday
until the 22nd of December, and then again the beginning of
January, as usual. Payment schedule will be Dec. 1, 8, 15, 22.

2. I'm awarding cash prizes for affiliates who make the most
sales between now and December 22nd. No cheesy gifts to wait for
in the mail. You'll receive cash that you can spend on the
holidays. (Details on that soon, but the top 5 affiliates will
earn cash, plus a few random cash prizes, as well.)

3. I will feature clever affiliates & top affiliates on my blog
and in emails here. So, if you've put together a great promo,
let me know. (On my blog, on Twitter @nicoledean, on facebook, etc)

So, what are you waiting for? Get promoting!

Need your link? Grab it here:
Quick Reference EasyPLR Affiliate Login Info
http://www.easyplr.com/go.php?cmd=login

If you're struggling to earn cash with Affiliate Marketing,
here is a beginner resource for you:

Interview with Lynn Terry, Super Affiliate

Of course, I highly recommend one-on-one or group coaching, where you can ask questions and get them answered, rather than trying to figure things out by yourself. Here's where I hang: Lynn Terry's Private Forum

Please comment on my blog with questions so I know how best to help.

Have a fantastic week. I'm thankful for you!

Warmly,
Nicole Dean
http://www.EasyPLR.com

After my series on How NOT to Motivate Affiliates and the followup How NOT to Motivate Affiliates, pt 2, I thought this would be fun.

Let me have it. How can I make this more irresistible? What would make YOU run right out and start promoting?

And, yes, I do plan to send some tools tomorrow to help them. I know how great it is to have copy/paste ready promos.

Thanks!
Nicole