First, thanks to all of the affiliates that have join and helped get the Debt.com and DebtSettlement.com affiliate program off the ground so quickly! The quick takeoff has even exceeded what we had anticipated and we couldn’t be more excited, so thank you!

While we are happy to see things getting off to such a quick start, we have seen a few things that we feel will help you make higher quality referrals, thus reducing the number of leads that get returned. There are only a few things that a lead can be returned for: debt amount under $10K, invalid phone and/or email address, and obviously if it is a duplicate lead. So, to keep from having these types of submissions come through, just to get reversed (and your commissions along with it!) there are a few steps that you can take to pre-qualify your leads to ensure that you get all of the commissions you deserve.

1. Content: On your website, in email blasts, and even in paid search adds put some qualifying language. Let people who are clicking through know that these services are for those in debt excess of $10,000. Granted, this won’t stop some from still submitting forms that do not qualify, but it should go a long way in reducing your returnable leads.

2. Encourage/Build Confidence: Let those who might click through your links know that they need to fill in BOTH email and phone number with valid information or else they will not be contacted. The reason this is required is to validate the leads and ensures the quality of the lead. If they really want debt help, they need to put in both pieces of contact info. They will only be contacted for debt help services and their number and email address will not be traded or sold to any other solicitors.

3. Send them to us: Point your links directly to the Debt.com or DebtSettlement.com affiliate landing pages. We have designed these pages for optimal conversions and are continuing to tweak it to best suit affiliate generated traffic. If you have recommendations on how to improve these pages, be sure to email me and let me know. We rely heavily on affiliate feedback to improve this aspect of the program. Sending referrals directly to this page allows us to be sure that the lead is only coming to one of our sites. This protects the consumer filling out the lead from having the information spread about to multiple agencies, thus opening them up for SPAM and harassing sales calls.

These three things will go a long way to ensure that you are able to make more high quality referrals and be able to keep the commissions they generate. As I said before, we rely heavily on affiliate feedback, so I do encourage all affiliates to contact me regarding tools that you feel will best help you promote this program, and any suggested changes to creatives, text links, and landing pages. You have already worked to make this program a success from the start and your comments and suggestions will make it even better!

If you’re not an affiliate, sign up to be one today!

Below is some information on what Calcaneal Spurs also known as Heel Spurs is. People suffering from this foot disease now have hope with the Heel That Pain heel seats.

A calcaneal spur (or heel spur) is a radiological (X-ray) finding, and when it is located on the inferior aspect of the calcaneus, is often associated with plantar fasciitis. A posterior calcaneal spur may also develop on the back of the heel at the insertion of the Achilles tendon.

An inferior calcaneal spur consists of a spike of calcification, which lies superior to the plantar fascia at the insertion of the intrinsic foot musculature onto the calcaneus. Until recently, an inferior calcaneal bone spur was erroneuously thought to develop at the insertion of the plantar fascia. While heel spurs are commonly associated with plantar fascitis, they are not caused by plantar fascitis and many people who suffer from plantar fascitis do not have heel spurs. Often times, inferior heels spurs do not have to be removed as part of the treatment for plantar fascitis. However, posterior heel spurs are often large and palpable through the skin and may need to be removed as part of the treatment of insertional Achilles tendonitis.

Heal your Calcaneal Spurs today with Heel That Pain Heel Seats! If your not in the program then you should Join now! What are you waiting for? Have questions, comments, concerns etc? Contact the Heel That Pain affiliate manager Jen Kiernan and if you’ve got pain now,  Shop the site!

As with all affiliate programs, knowledge is ultimately the greatest tool in making referrals that turn into sales. For those of you using website content or even search campaigns to promote the DNA Testing Kits that GeneTree.com offers, you need to know what it is you’re selling. However, unless your a doctor, med student or research scientist, it can be hard to follow all of the language relating to DNA testing and charting. So, the more you learn, the more you can pass along to potential customers, thus being the informative bridge they need to make a purchase, which in turn puts money in your pocket.

Today, I decided to give a little lingo lesson on the word “Haplogroup.” If you click around the GeneTree site, it won’t take long before you come across this word and find that the tests that GeneTree offers can tell you what you haplogroup is! That’s awesome! Who wouldn’t want to know what haplogroup they belong to! Wait…what’s a haplogroup again? Well, I’m about to tell you…

Haplogroup:

In the study of molecular evolution, a haplogroup (from the Greek: ??????, haploûs, “onefold, single, simple”) is a group of similar haplotypes that share a common ancestor with a single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) mutation. (via Reference.com & Wikipedia)

Yeah…if you’re anything like me, that didn’t help you at all. So, I dug a little deeper, sorted through the technical jargon and came up with a less complicated explanation of what’s involved in determining a haplogroup and what it can really tell you.

There are two different types of Haplogroups. One is determined by “patrilineal” or Y-DNA (or DNA passed from father to son), and the other by “matrilineal” or mtDNA (or DNA passed from mother to daughter/son). So by finding out the haplogroup defined by either of these lines of DNA can give perspective on where you come from. However, one thing to consider is that if you are a woman, you can ONLY find your patrilineal haplogroup from a close male relative (brother, uncle, father) taking a Y-DNA test, as the Y-chromosome from which Y-DNA comes is not present in females.

So, now we know where the haplogroups are found, but what do they tell us? After studying, probably for many years and many strands of DNA, researchers have discovered a number of groups and each one is common to specific regions of the world. There are also variations of each to indicate even the country of origin for each haplogroup. The reason they are able to do this is (especially with Y-DNA groups) is that genetic mutation in these markers are rare and limited to chance due to the fact that there is no intermixture of parental genetic material.

Above: You can even see where your haplogroup has migrated over the generations!

While this can’t tell you the name of your long lost great-great-great-great-uncle, it can really tell you a lot about your personal history and heritage, and that of your paternal and maternal lines. In discovering this information, new worlds can be opened to you as you are given new direction in searching for members of your lineage, based on the regions and country of your origin.

I hope that this has given a little more clarity on this aspect of what DNA testing can offer to genealogists out there so you can promote the tests offered by GeneTree. You can check out the whole testing line that GeneTree carries by clicking here (and you will now have a slightly better understanding of the reasons for Male/Female vs. Male Only tests).

Also, if you’re not a GeneTree affiliate, there’s no better time to sign up than right now! Click here for more info!

…Geoff Snider hurts people. That is according to the awesome limited edition Warrior/Lacrosse.com t-shirt. For those who don’t know, Snider is a dominant face-off man who currently plays for MLL champions, the Toronto Nationals. He’s known for physical play and on field intensity, so it’s probably true. Geoff Snider probably does hurt people. Mainly on the field I assume…

Anyway, right now the only way to get this shirt is to spend $100 at Lacrosse.com, so affiliates, this is a great gift with purchase offer to promote. Here are the details…

Offer: Free T-Shirt with orders of $100 or more.

Dates: NOW through September 29, 2009

Code: None Needed

Restrictions: Free t-shirt offer expires at 11:59PM ET on Tuesday, September 29, 2009. Limit one t-shirt per order, while supplies last. T-shirt will ship with order. This offer cannot be combined with other promotional offers. Previous purchases are not eligible for this offer. Merchandise total must be $100 before customization fees, shipping, handling and taxes are added

In case you need a little more to get you excited about the offer, check out the infomercial below feature, who else, Geoff Snider.

Though this is slightly old news, I felt it was noteworthy for our affiliates to be able to promote some of the hottest gear out there at the moment. 2 weeks ago (Aug. 23rd to be exact) the MLL Championship game was played between the Denver Outlaws and the Toronto Nationals. Although Denver was the top ranked team coming into finals, fielding Goalie of the Year Jesse Schwartzman, the Nationals made club history winning their first ever MLL title!

Lacrosse fans and players everywhere will be celebrating with the Nationals in their victory and will be scrambling to get their hands on team gear and equipment used by the MLL champs. As affiliates, this is a great opportunity to promote products tied to the team. to make that easier, I’ve highlighted a few below, so be sure to click on the images and head over to Lacrosse.com to get full product details, then head off to CJ or PJN to create links for these products from our product feeds!

Pictured Above: Warrior Kryptolyte stick, Cascade Pro helmet, Brine Clutch X head

Not an affiliate? Become one! Find out more here…

Being a lead gen program on CJ, I was surprised to find the number of coupon and deal affiliates that were applying to the program. While I know that many of you that fit into this category make it a habit to join every program and sort it out later, I was still not expecting it. However, I am very glad you did (or will if you haven’t).

At first, I was scratching my head trying to come up with a way that you could promote either Debt.com or DebtSettlement.com or both for that matter. I mean, neither site sells anything and thus it’s kind of hard to have a coupon or a deal for that matter. So, while doing some routine maintenance on the account and checking all of our links, I came across a text link I had created:

DebtSettlement.com – FREE Consultation. Apply Online Today!

Of course! Something we offer for FREE! Something for nothing is always the best deal and we offer this for both Debt.com and DebtSettlement.com. So, if you have a “freebies” section or even a financial services section, this is where to include a link with text reflecting the Free Consultation that is available from both sites! All that is required of your site visitors is that they fill out a simple and short lead form and you sit back to collect the commissions!

While this is just one possible way to promote the program, I definitely feel that it is well suited to our coupon and deal sites and I encourage each of you that fit in that category to get it a try. As always, if you have any questions or need help with promoting, I’m here to help so don’t hesitate to email me, and if you’re not an affiliate but want to be then sign up today!

Before the weekend is over, I want to give everyone a heads up about some of the promotions that we are still currently offering at ISeeMe.com as well as some important reminders and notes:

-All book orders purchased will have free personalized stickers shipped with the, this offer will Expire on September 14, 2009.

-There will be a new shipping code available to all affiliates for next month, so please be sure to keep up to date with details in the next week.

-Q4 is rapidly approaching so please keep in mind that ISeeMe links and banners are a sure way to increase your earnings with our slow season’s conversion rate being approximately 11%!

-Linking to virtual tour pages is an excellent way to help increase conversions.

-There is always lots of big news and media exposure for ISeeMe.com, so be sure to check in on the site blog for those updates, it can really help you boost your campaign efforts.  More big news to come soon, so be sure to check back in!

Not in the ISeeMe.com Affiliate Program?  Join on Commission Junction or Contact Nick for more details!

Quick heads up for affiliates! The Back-to-Soccer Price Drop event is going on now! Start promoting now because this sale will only last through September 4th. During this sale, there will be a ton of great soccer gear on sale for the lowest prices of the season. The great news is that this is happening just in time for the kids to get back on the field. So, grab some new cleats, goalkeeping, and training gear. While you’re at it, pick up a back pack for them to carry their books. Alos, it’s a good time to think ahead to the colder parts of the fall season and grab some of the Under Armour ColdGear on sale (Mock Turtleneck is featured above).

Here are a few other hot deals for affiliates to promote as part of the Back to Soccer Price Drop:

Nike Mercurial Vapor V (Abyss)

$241.99 $163.99

Save $78!

Real Madrid 08/09 Home Jersey

$69.99 $39.99

Save $30!

Under Armour Side Pant

$54.99 $43.99

Save $11!