MGECOM Blog

Missouri Considering Affiliate Nexus Tax Laws

It would appear that the Advertising Tax (Amazon Tax, Affiliate Tax) fight is about to begin in the state of Missouri.  Missouri affiliate and merchants, you need to begin speaking up NOW.  If you want to win the fight, you have to be very proactive and very aggressive.

A colleague of mine owns an online retail website based in North Carolina.  Just today, he received a letter in the mail from the State of Missouri questioning him specifically about his affiliate program as it pertains to Missouri residents.  He was kind enough to share this letter with me.  I have hosted the Missouri Tax Letter as a PDF file for you to view.  I did of course block out all of my colleague’s personally identifiable information.

In part, the letter states:

…In order for the Missouri Department of Revenue (Department) to make a determination on taxability to Missouri, additional information is required.
…representatives shall include employees, agents, independent contractors, brokers or others that reside in, or regularly and systematically enter into, this state on your behalf.  This would include any person or entity participating in your Affiliate Program.

In reading this letter, it seems that all signs are pointing to the Missouri Legislature entertaining the possibility of enacting Affiliate Nexus Tax Laws.  As we all know, as evidenced by New York, Rhode Island, and North Carolina, this would have a terrible effect on any affiliate who resides in Missouri.

Affiliates and Merchants in Missouri, now is the time for you to band together and start the fight.  Here are some tips you can use, taken from the experience we had in North Carolina.

  • Contact your local representatives in both the House and Senate.
  • Get the word out on Facebook and Twitter.  Create a new hash tag specifically for your state fight.  In North Carolina, we used #ncaffiliatetax.
  • Start an online petition against the tax.  There are many free resources to do this, such as PetitionSpot.com.
  • Attack this possible legislation from every conceivable angle until you discover what seems to resonate the most with Legislators.  Lost revenue, lost jobs, the negative impact on you personally, people moving or closing their businesses, misconceptions about expected new tax receipts, etc. are all good points to make.

Remember, this is a big issue that affects your livelihood.  Do not wait to start fighting and voicing your opposition.  Fight today, fight tomorrow, and keep fighting until the legislation is thrown out.

Please keep in mind that I am not a lawyer or accountant.  I only read the letter and am drawing my own conclusions, though I feel the letter only points in one possible direction.

GeneTree.com Affiliates: Learn more about DNA testing

Chances are that you’re traffic won’t completely understand the benefits and uses of the DNA testing kits at GeneTree.com, so make sure that you have the right content on your website to provide them with enough information to help them make the best purchase.  If you don’t have the time to write up some unique content, you can use some of the resources on GeneTree.com to learn more about DNA.  If you want to take things a step further, you can provide your traffic with some of the reviews and success stories when using these DNA-testing kits from GeneTree.com.   If you think your traffic is going to have more questions in mind, don’t forget that you can link to a direct chat with a GeneTree.com representative.

There is a ton of information about genealogy testing and the benefits of these DNA kits so be sure you get a good understanding before you write up too much content!

Not in the GeneTree.com Affiliate Program? Join on CJ or contact Nick Szeto for more details!

ISeeMe.com Affiliates: Increasing Conversions

It seems like I’m trying to beat it into everyone’s head that there are many different things to increase your conversions.  Aside from writing out the unique content or updating your promotions, there is one solution that stands out.  How are you linking your traffic to the ISeeMe.com website?  There are many different places you take them, whether it is an order form or even a page showing the great customer reviews written about these sensational products.  Try something different, but linking is always dependent on if you actually want to make a sale.  To clue everyone in, there is one particular place that I’ve put stress on before, and it’s noticeable through us on our end in research that we have the highest conversion rate through traffic landing on our virtual tour pages!  I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, link to the virtual tour pages! You’ll find a lot of successes in this as people are hooked on to what our products have to offer almost immediately.  More than 50% of traffic ends up making a purchase from these pages, so be sure you keep this linking option in mind.

Don’t forget that the sticker promotion we have is still running with all books order receiving personalized stickers.  This will end September 14, so be sure to update your website content.  If you have any questions or need help with your conversions, don’t hesitate to contact me! Have a great weekend!

Not in the ISeeMe.com Affiliate Program? Join on CJ or contact Nick Szeto for more details!

Scrubs & Beyond Affiliates: Free Shipping on ALL Orders!

Wonderful new promotion that everyone can use, there are no exclusions so be sure to get this promotion on your home pages to take advantage of this wonderful offer.  There is no code required, but its only going to stand for a limited of time, expring this Friday. If you were looking for a way to increase your conversions for the Xbox 360 contest this month, then this is a sure way to get you there.  Let me know if you have any questions about this promotion, or need any banners or graphics, I’ll be more than happy to fix something up for you. And be sure to check back here for more updates!

Not in the Scrubs & Beyond Affiliate Program? Join on CJ or contact Nick for more details!

Heels.com Coupon News For Affiliates

Heels.com New Coupon

Heels.com is running an exclusive coupon for the next couple of weeks. The coupon is for $20 off orders of $50 and up! By using the code HAPPY20 at check out, customers can enjoy the $20 off through 8/28/09. With over 80 women’s brands to choose from like Guess, Jessica Simpson, and L.A.M.B, anyone is sure to find the perfect fit. Be sure to get this code posted today because the clock is ticking!

If you’re not an affiliate yet, then get started now. Join the Heels.com Affiliate Program. As always, if there is anything that can be done to help please contact Jen Kiernan directly.

The Long Anticipated BareFoot Tess/ All Black Banded Flats Are Here

BareFoot Tess finally has the long anticipated All Black brand flats. There are tons of customers who have pre-ordered these shoes so be sure to get your custom links and PPC campaigns started ASAP and take advantage of the huge rush.

The featured shoes come in four fabulous colors: Green, Coffee, Black, and Cream and have been fit tested to ensure they fit feet ranging from 5.5 to 15! Take a classy, sleek flat, and add a striking band. BAM! You’ve attained shoe perfection, the All Black Flat!

Also, don’t forget that BareFoot Tess ships internationally!

If there is anything I can assist any of yoNot in the program? Join the BareFootTess affiliate program now and start earing your commission checks today! u with please don’t hesitate to contact Jen Kiernan directly.

The Best Selling Shoe on Heels.com

Jessica Simpson Acadia - Raspberry

Acadia – Raspberry



$79.99


Free 2nd Day Shipping!

Jessica Simpson Acadia D'orsay - Red

Acadia D’orsay – Red


$79.99


Free 2nd Day Shipping!

Jessica Simpson Acadia - Cognac Patent

Acadia – Cognac Patent



$79.99


Free 2nd Day Shipping!

Jessica Simpson Acadia - Black Patent

Acadia – Black Patent



$79.99


Free 2nd Day Shipping!

POPULAR BRANDS: Jessica Simpson, Guess, BCBG, LAMB

POPULAR STYLES: Gladiators, Sandals, Ankle Boots, Espadrilles, Pumps

Join the Heels.com Affiliate Program. Have questions, comments, concerns etc? Contact the Heels.com affiliate manager Jen Kiernan directly.

 

Heel That Pain Heel Pain Exercise

People suffering from heel pains turn to many methods in an effort to relieve pains. Other than the Heel That Pain heel seats, there are many exercises that can help relieve heel pain and discomfort. Heel pain exercises are typically helpful for some of the most common causes of heel pain such as plantar fasciitis and heel spurs. The experienced heel pain is often caused by tissue damage in the plantar fascia ligament. The Plantar Fascia ligament is the bowstring-like ligament that stretched across the bottom of the foot from the heel bone (calcaneous) towards the toes. Tears and inflammation then develop but, exercises can be used to relieve some of the discomfort of pain and to strengthen the fascia to help prevent additional damage.

One very simple exercise is taking a tennis ball, rolling pin, or other small rolling device and placing it under the foot.

Next, roll the foot over the ball or rolling pin, allowing the device to slide over the bottom on the foot.

Despite its simplicity, this exercise is useful for stretching the plantar fascia. By doing this, you are making it more flexible and can help relief not only tension for moderate amounts of pain. Regularly doing this exercise helps to keep the ligament flexible and strong.

Heel pain does not have to continue. HTP Heel Seats maintain an impressive 99.7% success rate and are highly recommended by doctors and podiatrists for treating heel pain as well as other symptoms and conditions. Best of all this product works without interfering in your lifestyle.

Not in the Heel that Pain affiliate program? Join today on CJ!

If there is anything I can assist any of you with please don’t hesitate to contact Jen Kiernan directly.

ISeeMe.com Affiliate Reminder

Don’t forget that the sticker promotion is running live for the next month or so and will be a definite great way to increase your conversions.  Your traffic needs to be able to see these great pictures, so maybe consider linking them to our sticker page, where they can see the personalized stickers that come with every book order.  Check out the sticker page HERE.

We will automatically include a sheet of 18 personalized animal stickers with each My Very Own Name book and My Very Own ABC’s book, and a sheet of 18 personalized fairy stickers with each My Very Own Fairy Tale book. We will include either a sheet of animal stickers (for a boy) or fairy stickers (for a girl) with each The World According to Me kit/book ordered during the promotion. Promotion goes through September 14.

Be sure to choose from a bunch of our wonderful banners on CJ or let me know if you need something more customized. Have a great weekend all!

Not in the ISeeMe.com Affiliate Program? Sign up on CJ or contact Nick for more details.

iContact: Easy Email Marketing

As affiliates this might be something that you are already aware of, but iContact is easy to use. This isn’t necessarily something that you would point out to your referrals, but it is something that they will definitely notice. One of the biggest drawbacks to email marketing (or any online marketing for that matter) is this fear that customers have of how difficult it will be to use. iContact is aware of that and for that reason has made their software the easiest to use.

It starts with sign up. The form to get started is short and simple. It doesn’t even require a credit card! and from there, large icons and simple descriptions make it a breeze to find next steps or to know how to upgrade.

Then it’s time to create. Creating a message is a snap. With a step by step creation process, easy to use templates, and a WYSIWYG editor you can have a well designed HTML newsletter in minutes.

Send it out. When adding contacts and sending the message can also be done in no time. There are many options for adding contacts, from copy/paste to importing a list. There are just as many options for sending. You can save drafts, send immediately, or schedule the time you want it to go out, and the system will take care of delivery for you.

Once you’ve sent it to your audience, it’s time to check the stats. iContact gives users a robust tracking system where they can view opens, delivery details, bounce rates, and more.

In addition to the easy of use, iContact gives plenty of help. There’s webinars, help articles, best practices and so much more to make the process of getting an email marketing campaign up and running even the easiest possible.

To start promoting this product, go here now to learn about the affiliate options. Or you can email me with any questions you may have.