Archive for December, 2006

Last Week’s Payouts

Saturday, December 30th, 2006

I am a little late in posting this due to the vacation, but here are last week’s payout notices…

Obviously things we a little slow as we led up to Christmas and this week will be equally as slow, but then we hit the big time in January!

Congratulations to our First Lead Club Affiliates (affiliates who sent their first lead this past week)

Hajith M.

Ray L.

Ryan M.

We had 2 affiliates fall just short of joining the $1,000 Club…you will get there soon!

This week’s top payouts were:

$15,329.00

$9,613.50

$8,457.50

$8,203.50

$7,746.55

Our New Office!

Friday, December 29th, 2006

I am back in the office today…the NEW office of HometownQuotes.

Below are some pictures of the new digs. It is still quite messy but here you go:

Our entrance

The affiliate department office

A random hallway 

My Office and Desk 

Paul at his Desk…Say Cheese 

Cubicles..yeah we hate them too, but need them to reduce noise. 

Another pic of the office 

Greetings from North Carolina

Tuesday, December 26th, 2006

I hope that everyone had a great Holiday!

I have enjoyed some time off so far with family and friends but I do look forward to getting back before the New Year to get ready for a great 2007.

Blessings for a great week to all of you!

Affiliate Tool of the Week - Instant Domain Search

Sunday, December 24th, 2006

This is a pretty cool tool. It is by FAR the best domain search tool.

So get out there and find that perfect domain for you! ;-)

Instant Domain Search

Matt: Out of the Office December 23 - ?

Friday, December 22nd, 2006

I just wanted to let everyone know that I will be out of the office from Saturday December 23 until an unknown date around January 4th.

Tomorrow I will be making the 9 hour drive to my hometown in Pinehurst, NC.  I have the Google Story, Mavericks at Work, Good to Great, and another book on tape that I am yet to buy.

I will be there for 8 days with family and friends to relax and get ready for a great 2007!

I am yet to decide on my remaining plans for this vacation but they may include flying to Miami to watch my beloved Demon Deacons of Wake Forest in the Orange Bowl…a truly once in a lifetime opportunity.

Needless to say I will be available via email and sometimes IM, although for a short period of time each day.  I will reply to ALL emails within 48 hours so if it is not urgent feel free to email me.

You can also contact Paul Cuiffo, my assistant Affiliate Manager at paul -at- hometownquotes.com if it is more urgent.

His direct line is 615-599-5506 ext 106 and his IM is paulhtq (AIM and YM).

If it is very urgent and you cannot reach Paul my cell phone number is 615-429-4548.

Have a GREAT Christmas and a great New Year!

2007 is looking like one amazing year for HometownQuotes and all of our affiliates!

Almost a Record Week!

Wednesday, December 20th, 2006

So the Holiday slowdown finally hit us, but we still had a great week last week.

Congratulations to our First Lead Club Affiliates (affiliates who sent their first lead this past week)

Anik S.

Kenneth M.

Ken S.

Matt W.

Goodluck O.

Johan V.

Shaun Y.

Joseph D.

This is a new record for First Lead Club Members in one week!

Three affiliates had record weeks this week, including one who broke the $5,000 barrier for the first time!

Todd C.

Ketan P.

Our top payouts this week were:

$18,345.75

$14,775.50

$12,905.00

$10,818.00

$9,483.55

Congrats to all for another great week. Although the next 2 weeks will be slow, it is a great time to get ready for an awesome 2007!

Affiliate Tool of the Week - SEO Elite

Tuesday, December 19th, 2006

SEO Elite is by far the best SEO resource around.

Keep track of links, keywords, and more.

Also, Brad Callen’s Free SEO course is better than many of the $1,000+ courses we have taken.

So check it out at - http://www.seoelite.com/

Our Own Google Doodles

Monday, December 18th, 2006

It has been a while since I had the chance to really do any graphics work, but I did have a few minutes this weekend and alas spent it designing a holiday theme for our blog and affiliate section.

Hope you like it.

Who knows…I may just do it every holiday just for kicks!

Lead Reports Now Available via Email

Monday, December 18th, 2006

If you have not already noticed, you can now receive lead reports via email.

You can receive the reports daily, weekly, and monthly and they contain all of the good stuff you will find if you logged in.

Let us know what you think of them and how we can improve on this service!

To set them up just LOGIN to your account and go to Account Profile.

Free MSN AdCenter Webinar

Saturday, December 16th, 2006

For those of your not familiar with Jeremy Palmer, you need to know about him.

Jeremy is a top affiliate and is very helpful and open with other affiliates.

I got an email from him recently about some upcoming training sessions for MSN’s AdCenter

If you can, you should definitely sign up and learn from Jeremy!

Message from Jeremy:

I’m putting on a private webinar entitled “Mastering MSN AdCenter”. I’m holding four sessions over the next few weeks. This training is live, and will not be recorded.

As an added bonus I’ve secured a limited number of $100 credits for MSN AdCenter. Fore more details on this offer visit:

http://www.quityourdayjob.com/msn/

I only have a limited number of seats for this training, so make sure you sign-up right away.

To see an agenda and available dates please visit:

http://www.quityourdayjob.com/msn/

Recommended Program - DentalPlans.Com

Friday, December 15th, 2006

I know the guys and gals at DentalPlans.Com and when they asked if I would mind recommending their program to our affiliates, I did not hesitate. Ken, Evan, and Noelle are great people who offer a great product.

Start earning your monthly commission check by simply promoting our popular product line of more than 30 national and regional discount dental plans
DentalPlans.com Affiliates enjoy our lucrative commission structure, high conversion rates, superior service, proven marketing materials and excellent management tools.

DentalPlans.com Affiliate Program Highlights

  • $50.00 Payout Per Discount Dental Plan Sale Paid Monthly
  • No Sign Up Fees or Obligations
  • FREE Web Site Templates, Banners & Text Links
  • FREE List of 900,000+ Dental Related Keywords Combinations
  • FREE Pay-Per-Click and SEO Tutorials
  • Customizable Print Materials Available
  • Live Support from Experienced Affiliate Managers
  • Cutting-Edge Commission and Traffic Tracking Tools
  • Network and Share Tips in the DentalPlans.com Affiliate Forum (We have a forum on there as well)

Here’s what a few Affiliate Marketing industry leaders have to say about our well-respected program:

“You can earn a great commission with these guys on a high converting product which is why it is a TOP AFFILIATE recommended program. Truly professional affiliate marketing background from a top-notch company.”
- Stephen Ralph, Top-Affiliate.com

“DentalPlans.com has one of the best affiliate programs out there. With quick response time, great commission, and a reliable stats/tracking system, deciding to promote DentalPlans.com is a no-brainer. DentalPlans.com receives our Highly Recommended Status!” - AffiliateBus.com

Discover for yourself how we keep thousands of valued affiliates smiling! Joining is FREE and EASY! You have absolutely nothing to lose!

Click here to join now!

Blogging to Peak in 2007?

Thursday, December 14th, 2006

According to the “experts” at Gartner Inc. blogging will reach it’s peak in 2007., the AP reports.

What do you think? We just started blogging ourselves and don’t plan to slow down anytime soon!

Read more here

Yahoo Opens Panama to the Public

Wednesday, December 13th, 2006

For those of you who have not seen it yet, this is an interesting article

The verdict is still out on Panama so far. Our in-house marketing team is undecided and our affiliate either love it or hate it…or think it is OK.

Let us know what YOU think!

Another Record Week!

Tuesday, December 12th, 2006

Honestly at this time of year I thought it would be hard to beat last week, but we barely did!

Congrats to our First Lead Club Affiliates (affiliates who sent their first lead this past week)

Aaron C.

Ariel O.

Ted H.

Jill K.

Steve C.

We had 4 affiliates have record weeks, including 2 break the $1,000 mark for the first time!

Congrats to the new $1,000 Club Members:

Greg H.

James K.

Our top payouts this week were:

$18,903.90

$16,957.75

$14,922.25

$12,022.50

$8,323.25

Thanks for all of you and congratulations on some great weeks and continued growth!

Affiliate Tool of the Week - Keyword Density Checker

Monday, December 11th, 2006

This is a nice tool for checking the keyword density of your pages (what is keyword density? click here for the answer)

The Keyword Density Checker

After you use this tool be sure to check out the article on “How to Avoid SEO over-optimization” to put your new found knowledge to best use!