Struggling with Web Design

A common challenge for affiliates is building a site that rises above the affiliate noise.  The first sites that I built for University of Phoenix were mediocre at best.  I recently received an e-mail from Jeremy Palmer where he talks about a shift in strategy and launching a new site.  As I looked at his e-mail and checked out the new design I found it was done by a SitePoint Design Contest.  As I dug deeper I was blown away.  Here is how it works:

You create a site creative brief.  You provide all the specs for your project.  You can choose from logo design, web page design (coded), banner ad design, stationary design, print design, etc.  After you’ve created what you are looking for you set a price you are willing to pay for the winning design.  Folks these prices are reasonable.  Jeremy paid $1,000 for his and had 53 submissions.  There were many that were very good.  I’ve paid Logoworks to design several logos and have been less than impressed with the quality that I’ve seen.

So if you are looking for an edge in getting that sweetheart deal, start by getting a quality site, with a quality design.  Rise above the noise!

Six Simple Principles of Viral Marketing from Ralph F. Wilson

Just stumbled across this interesting viral marketing article. It begins with a simple but quality definition of viral marketing:

 Viral marketing describes any strategy that encourages individuals to pass on a marketing message to others, creating the potential for exponential growth in the message’s exposure and influence.

The article then proceeds to outline 6 key principles (using the classic Hotmail.com example)

1. Gives away products or services
2. Provides for effortless transfer to others
3. Scales easily from small to very large
4. Exploits common motivations and behaviors
5. Utilizes existing communication networks
6. Takes advantage of others’ resources

Spirit Airlines - the power of “specials”

For those not yet familiar with Spirit Airlines they have major hubs in LA, Ft. Lauderdale and Las Vegas and offer a good number of flights throughout Latin America and the Caribbean. They have no affiliate marketing program but they have done a remarkable job of viral marketing via fares that are just too good to be true. The only catch is that the fares are true - I have flown multiple times internationally with them this year often paying less than $20 for the fare (and about $80 in international tax). I have no idea how deep their pockets are and/or if they are taking a loss on these fares but I’m guessing they do it in place of having a huge marketing budget and it appears to work. Atleast once or twice a week they send out an email alert of discounted fares that will only be available for 24 hours and I find myself visiting their site nearly every time - because I don’t want to miss out on a fare that is too good to be true! Today for example they have a $16 each way fare for select destinations. I checked it out and found I could go from Los Angeles to Guatemala City on Christmas eve for $16 plus tax - usually that would cost more than $300. This is the type of special price that causes me to forward it to friends and try to think of who may be interested in this fare. Now that is great marketing.

TV Ads made easy - Spot Runner!

Ok, I stumbled across this company and am racking my brain thinking of all the tests I’d like to try with them. Talk about a fun, easy and cheap way to dip your toes into tv advertising. Basically you get a 30-second TV ad (they have ads to choose from that you can tweak and/or customize) and can filter channels and geographic markets where you want to display the ads. You are apparently provided some tracking stats after running your spots as well. I put in a little test to target a very specific city here in the state of utah and found I could run spots repeatedly for 4 to 8 weeks on channels of my choosing for a very reasonable 3 to 5k. This is one site i’m afraid I will spend quite a bit of money on testing variuos ideas I have floating around - updates to come. Congrats to the guys at Spot Runner on a great concept!

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