Posts Tagged ‘clickbank’

Earlier this week, we updated our Client Contract with a number of changes, so in this post we’ll summarize what these changes were.

Almost all of the changes we made to the contract were merely changes to legal language, and didn’t change the existing meaning of the policies we had in place. For example, we added several of our existing policies to the Client Contract, as opposed to having them in separate places on our website. We also added a new policy which did not exist before, which is the Return and Cancellation Policy. The items in this policy, such as ClickBank’s 60-day return policy, were stated elsewhere, but were not previously included in the Client Contract.

We strengthened the legal language of certain parts of the contract, including Intellectual Property (IP) rights, the DMCA Policy, and confidentiality rights to protect ClickBank, our clients, and IP owners. We also updated wording about spamming and sending unsolicited messages to be consistent with current laws.

In addition to the legal language changes, we made a few policy changes you should be aware of.

1. ClickBank now no longer allows the sale of any product that, in ClickBank’s sole judgment, encourages the unlawful transfer of copyrighted media, such as music, movies, video, and games.
2. We now allow the sale and promotion of website templates, which were previously prohibited.
3. In the past, we required a $50 fee to transfer an account to a new owner. This fee is no longer required, so you can transfer an account to a new owner at no charge. The new owner will need to accept the Client Contract in order to use the account.

Due to changes in legal language, we have received questions about offering non-cash bonuses, such as ebooks, as incentives for customers to purchase a product. ClickBank’s policy regarding affiliates giving “bonuses” to customers for purchasing a product has not changed with the new contract. Affiliates and vendors cannot offer cash or cash equivalents (e.g., “Buy now and receive a $15 rebate to your Paypal account”), but it is acceptable to offer bonuses such as ebooks or audio programs as an incentive to buy.

Additionally, some clients believed that they could no longer transfer their account to another person. However, this practice is still allowed, and in fact has been made easier, since it no longer requires a $50 transfer fee, as it did previously.

If you have any questions about specific changes to the Client Contract, please leave a comment below and we’ll answer as quickly as possible.

Please be aware that ClickBank introduced a new Client Contract yesterday, updating some of our policies and terms. By creating a new account or logging in to your existing account, you agree to the new contract, so please take a few minutes to read over it and familiarize yourself with it.

ClickBank Client Contract

In spite of all the great tools that have been developed in recent years to help Internet-based entrepreneurs connect with each other and increase their productivity, there is still a lot of value in old-fashioned, face-to-face meetings. In-person discussions with other entrepreneurs can help you get your questions answered, find new partners for joint ventures, or teach you powerful new techniques for growing your business. Many successful ClickBank publishers and affiliates have already discovered the value that comes from starting or joining these kinds of groups.

One of the best ways to meet and interact with other like-minded entrepreneurs is through the Web site Meetup.com. No matter where you are in the world, you can create or join a group in your city and start meeting and working with other ClickBank publishers and affiliates. Starting your own Meetup group costs as little as $12/month, which could pay for itself if you make just one extra sale a month through ClickBank. Joining an existing group is free!

Some of the ways a ClickBank Meetup group could benefit you include:

• Finding new products or niches to promote as an affiliate
• Getting feedback on your ClickBank product prior to release, or getting advice on improving an existing product
• Brainstorming ideas for new products
• Meeting people who can teach you new skills or assist you in areas that aren’t your strength (for example, if you’re a great copywriter but don’t know anything about Web design, you might meet someone with the opposite skill set who would love to work with you on a new product)
• Discussing the latest and greatest techniques for promoting products inexpensively

These are just some of the many ways that working directly with other people can help you grow or strengthen your online business. If you’re interested in starting an affiliate marketing Meetup group in your area, click here to get started. Since you have to choose from a list of pre-defined topics for your group, we suggest “Entrepreneur,” “Network Marketing,” or “Internet Professionals.”

If you organize or are a member of a Meetup group that discusses ClickBank, fill out the form below and give us a link to your group on Meetup. We’ll list existing groups so that other people in your area can join up and grow the network of ClickBank publishers and affiliates helping each other succeed!

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Here at ClickBank, we’re always trying to recruit great new publishers and affiliates, since having more products and people to promote them benefits everyone. And there’s no better way to show prospective ClickBank members how successful they can be than for them to hear about the experiences of our existing clients. If you’ve been successful using ClickBank, whether that means making millions, getting your product in front of a wider audience, or just having a little extra money each month, we’d love to hear from you!

Just fill out the form below and share your thoughts about working with ClickBank, along with your name, location and company name (if you have one). Please note that by leaving a testimonial, you give us your permission to use your name and your testimonial in our marketing materials. If you prefer, we can use your first name and last initial only.

Thank you for working with ClickBank!

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Gideon Shalwick of Become a Blogger has created a very useful video showing beginning ClickBank affiliates how Hoplinks work, and how to add them to posts or pages using the popular blogging platform Wordpress. If you’re looking for a new way to promote ClickBank products, this video can help you start using a blog to expand your promotional efforts.

If you’ve wanted to create your own blog but weren’t sure how to get started, Become a Blogger’s tutorial videos will walk you through every step of the blog creation process. Be sure to check them out!

Posted by: Jennifer Johannsen, VP of Operations

With the start of every new year, of course, comes New Year’s Resolutions… Well, this year, one of my New Year’s Resolutions (which I challenge you all to take on, as well) is to spread the word about ClickBank to friends and other acquaintances.

During these challenging economic times, ClickBank offers a unique opportunity for anyone to make a little extra money, either as an affiliate or as a publisher. I realized that while I see all of the benefits ClickBank has to offer day in and day out, I rarely tell people that I run into outside of work why it would benefit them to join and how they can get started.

As Greg and Jeff mentioned in their blog posts (”DIY with ClickBank” and “Put Me in Coach…“), first you need to think about your unique knowledge and about your niche. Then you can take that to the next level, and think about what kinds of problems and questions your friends have the answers to that most people don’t, and explain to them the benefits of writing that up in an e-book and selling that through ClickBank.

For those of you that spread the word online, there is something in it for you too…  ClickBank’s publisher referral program is a great way for you to promote ClickBank and earn extra commissions for doing so. You will earn 20% of the $49.95 activation charge when your referred publisher activates their account. You will also earn 5% of ClickBank’s typical markup of each sale that your recruited publisher makes for one calendar year. For more information, please visit the Referral Program and the Referral Program FAQ page on the ClickBank Web site.

I wish you and all of your referrals the VERY best in 2009!!!

Posted by: Michael Poston, Product Manager

As a rule of thumb, you should gather competitive intelligence (CI) for your business. Doing so will allow you to better understand current and potential competitors, industry trends, and possible threats. As a result, you will be empowered to make more informed decisions about your product and strategic initiatives.

To do this effectively, you should implement a process designed to filter large volumes of data into clear and actionable insight. For instance, using a RSS parser such as Jawfish to receive, organize, and redistribute feed content can automate CI data mining and distribution. Simply take the repurposed RSS feed content and display it on an intranet or wiki page, and voila, you have a CI portal.

Similarly, you can use Web page monitoring tools to ensure you are “in the know” regarding your competitors’ activities. For example, you can use a tool like TrackEngine, InfoMinder, or WatchThatPage to notify you every time your competitors’ news or press release pages are updated. Review the content as you are notified, identify if it is significant, and redistribute within your company as necessary.

Lastly, use tools like Twitturly or Twitterfox to easily monitor popular links being tweeted for subjects related to your competitors, your industry, or possible threats to your business. Doing so will give you nearly real-time visibility into their activities and the community’s response to it. You can also use the tool Tweet Scan to get emailed updates on tweets for particular keywords. It delivers information less frequently than the other tools, but can be good for receiving summaries if you don’t have a lot of time to monitor the other tools.

In conclusion, the Internet has changed the meaning of “readily available information.” If you haven’t already, you need to leverage tools like these to help you capture this information and organize it in a fashion that makes sense for your business. Taking the time to do so will lead to greater success.

Happy selling, friends!

Please note that all applications mentioned in this post are not affiliated with ClickBank and should be used at your own risk.

Posted by: Terra Goeres, Manager- Client Account Management

Today is my first day back in the office after attending the Affiliate Summit in Las Vegas on January 11-13, and I’m excited! The conference was extremely productive and was a lot of fun, too!

We spent most of Sunday at our table at the Affiliate Meet Market. We had the opportunity to meet and speak with a myriad of people, whose knowledge of ClickBank ranged from “I’ve never heard of ClickBank. What do you do?” to “ClickBank!  I’ve been waiting for years to see you at one of these conferences!” We also thoroughly enjoyed meeting many of our current clients, several of whom we had corresponded with via email and phone calls but had never met face-to-face. How wonderful it is to finally be able to put a face with those names!

Monday was spent walking the show floor, talking with potential partners, and learning about other networks. We were blown away by how much the Affiliate Summit had grown since our first trip there last winter.

On Monday night, we hosted a VIP party at The House of Blues Foundation Room, an exclusive club at the top of the Mandalay Bay hotel with a fabulous view of the Las Vegas Strip. About 25 people attended and we had a wonderful time getting to know our clients on a social level, while listening to their ideas on what they like best about ClickBank and how we can improve our business. Thank you to all who attended-we had a great time with you!

We wrapped up the trip on Tuesday with a couple of meetings and another walk of the show floor, and then headed off to the airport for the return trip.

We would like to thank everyone who took the opportunity to introduce themselves to us at the Meet Market or while we were walking the show floor. We left with great memories and a boost of enthusiasm for the year ahead!

Over the past few months, ClickBank has been developing an innovative advertising platform that will help ClickBank affiliates make more money from their Web site or blog traffic, while at the same time generating more exposure and sales for ClickBank publishers.

Here’s why you should participate:

• Because of generous commissions, placing ClickBank ads on your site means you can receive much larger payouts than from traditional pay-per-click or display ads
• Quick and easy ad creation and insertion process
• Ad filtering lets you only display ads that are relevant and appropriate to your Web site’s audience
• Highly customizable ad layouts and formats can be easily integrated into all kinds of sites, including blogs, forums and more

Update: The ClickBank HopAd Builder is now available to everyone! To learn how to use it, see our Help Center article: http://www.clickbank.com/help/affiliate-help/affiliate-tools/hopad-builder/

BROOMFIELD, Colo. – Jan. 6, 2009 – ClickBank, a world leader in online retail of high-converting, digitally downloadable products, is attending the Affiliate Summit West. The conference will take place Jan. 11-13^th, at the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, Nev.

Come meet with ClickBank executives at Table 47 at the Meet Market on Sunday, Jan. 11 from 12 p.m. to 6 p.m.

The Affiliate Summit West, the premier affiliate marketing conference of the year, provides an opportunity for affiliates, merchants and networks to attend educational sessions on the latest industry issues. The Affiliate Summit West presents an opportunity for ClickBank to meet its affiliates in person, receive feedback about its services and keep its affiliates up to date on enhancements coming in 2009.

“The Affiliate Summit West is an excellent opportunity for ClickBank to meet its affiliates in person and discuss the latest trends in affiliate marketing,” said Brad Wiskirchen, ClickBank’s chief executive officer. “We have a number of dynamic additions planned for our services in 2009.”