Web Services Providers Should Support This Product

Posted by Marty Dickinson on Apr 1, 2015

Sure, CloudNet360 is complex because it’s like a dozen different software pieces all integrated together. But, it’s not “complicated” to setup or use on a day-to-day basis like all of its competitors. If you provide web services, you should add this to your services offering.

Why Do I Have Insomnia?

Posted by Marty Dickinson on Jan 21, 2014

If you were up half the night last night, tossing and turning in bed, finally exiling yourself to your Siberia living room to watch endless hours of worthless early morning t.v., here’s a website you will want to know about. Checkout this independent study about 5 causes of insomnia among its participants. A link to the entire sleep study is available on the page too.

Why am I featuring this website on Website Waves? For three main reasons:

• Sleep is hot news – Seems like there is a news report every day about sleep. A lot of people must be having a hard time sleeping these days.
   

• SleepEasily.com is a website to watch – A boatload of time is being put into getting presence of this site onto social media and Google serps.
   

• It’s in our network of websites – We are personally evangelizing this product and doing whatever we can to get it into the hands of every adult in the world!

Plus, we engineered the affiliate program and the payouts are very generous! Keep tabs on this one. It’s starting out from ground zero but in the next six weeks or so it will have national attention.

My New Year’s Resolution for My Business

Posted by Marty Dickinson on Jan 1, 2013

It’s one thing to claim your New Year’s resolution is to “not be so busy” or “spend more time with the kids,” but to make a New Year’s resolution for your business is a whole different animal. It means more to more people when your business is involved. One decision could have ripple effects in many different areas involving many people.

Plus, I think with a business New Year’s resolution, a person is more probably to talk about it with others. You tell your spouse, your clients, your staff, your social networks. You are more bound to accomplish the goal you set when it’s involving your business.

My business resolution is going to be to involve video a whole lot more. I resolve to have a video introduction for every product I sell. We’ll see if it sticks.

Have you chosen something to aim for or change in your business in 2013? Maybe you’re New Year’s resolution for your business needs to be larger than just a resolution that could fizzle out in a few weeks. Maybe what you need is more of a New Year’s Evolution. If you follow that link, you’ll see a guest post I made about making a New Year’s “evolution” for a more major life change.

Happy New Year 2013 and we’re looking forward to an amazing year! Join us!

Websites Crashed after Obama’s Speech Last Night

Posted by Marty Dickinson on Jul 26, 2011

Did you hear the speech by President Obama last night where he suggested we the people should contact our congressman? Well, people did what they were told to do. Phone calls packed the lines and websites crashed.

41 Money Management Tips I’ve Learned

Posted by Marty Dickinson on Mar 15, 2011

When I started helping people with their websites and Internet marketing strategy back in 1996, I immediately started getting occasional emails from designers and programmers wanting to know how I could possibly charge more than $10/hour for my services.

A few years later when I formed the official company, HereNextYear, Inc., I’d get a few emails a month asking, “How can you possibly be in business doing this Internet stuff as long as you have been?”

I still get those questions occasionally, but it’s interesting that more and more people are emailing me now with money management and investing related questions these days.

“Marty, do you suggest I get a ROTH IRA?”
“Marty, did you start your business with a bank loan? If so, how did you get one?”
“Marty, should I get one credit card for my business and keep increasing my limit or get more cards?”

ACK!!!! I am no certified financial planner!

Want to know a secret? I’m much better at answering questions about “selling” than I am about money.

I love to make money online, and love to share what I’ve learned with people about Internet marketing (Checkout my Web Marketing Book discussion page on facebook and click the “Like” button and then post any Internet marketing question on my wall and I will reply) but admittedly, I can’t say I’m the best money manager after I get it.

As my business has grown over the past 15 years, half of me has become more interested in becoming a better money manager and the other half has been forced into improving my money management skills.

Managing money and investing it are two things I rely on other people to help me make the right decisions. And, as you’ll see in one of the points below, is that “wealthy families ALWAYS have someone they trust to help them make financial decisions.”

So, I have three objectives for this blog post where I will:

1. Give you a slew of one-liners that I’ve learned about credit, getting business funding, and even investing in my kid’s and grandkid’s futures.

2. Introduce you to three people I completely and whole-heartedly trust with giving me suggestions about money and what to do with it.

3. Provide you with resources for you to consider that are offered by each of the three guys I’m introducing to you.

Please don’t take these points as some kind of promise that you’re going to make a million bucks next year because of it. This post isn’t about that. I’m no certified financial planner. I’m not offering you any advice that is so specific that you can go “do it” and make or lose money as a result.

I’m not trying to lure you into my financial practice either…because, haa, I don’t have one! Have I said it enough yet that I’m noooo financial planner???

Each of the people I’m introducing to you…well, yes, they each offer specific resources for you to consider and I’m going to give you links to those resources. But, I’m giving you those resources because you need to include them in your business and life plan. Simple as that.

One of those things where you should just “do it” and thank me later….

Let’s get started…

I’d like to introduce you to Darrell Hornbacher.

He started a company called Midas Financial more than 5 years ago and he’s known by literally everyone in my circle as the go-to guy for advice on credit and business funding.

He asked me a few years ago to be on his team to create a national conference to educate people about business funding + marketing.

It was so successful, we did two that year!

When the subject of credit or business loans comes up when I’m talking with a client, I practically demand they call Darrell immediately if they don’t already know about him.

A Few Money Management Tips I’ve Learned from Darrell Over the Years

Money Management Topic I: CREDIT

1. High credit card balances negatively affect credit scores more than anything. I’ve even heard of people taking on part-time jobs just to pay off their credit cards because they know how important it is to get those babies paid off!

2. Be careful of home equity lines of credit as they can destroy your credit score.

3. Paying off old “delinquent” debt actually hurts your credit score.

4. Having too much revolving debt is bad for your credit even if you pay all your bills on time.

5. Pulling your own credit report does NOT hurt your score.

6. If you have bad credit, you simply have to get someone to help you re-build your credit and improve your credit with absolute strategy and timing. Feel free to call Darrell and ask him about the credit re-building process and tell him Marty sent you. Or, you can go right to the tool that Darrell sends all his clients to Credit Builders

This resource, by the way, has helped 25,000 clients repair their credit. They have NEVER (and never is a big word) had a Better Business Bureau complaint. It’s also the ONLY credit repair company to have an A rating with the BBB! There’s even a “no-risk” promise.

So, sure, if you give their program a whirl, I’m going to get a little commission from it. But don’t let that deter your action. I’m simply referring a tool to you that was referred to me. And, that’s just smart networking.

7. Closing old unused accounts will hurt your credit score because it takes away from your history. In fact, you could get 5 points knocked off your score because your history is gone.

8. Making only minimum payments can hurt your score.

9. Delayed payments could impact your ability to get more credit, not because you’re a delinquent payer, but because you have a reputation for waiting until the last minute to pay.

10. Every time someone pulls your credit report (like a dealership if you’re buying a car), your credit score reduces by 3 points. But, if you have multiple credit inquiries within a 10-business-day period, you’ll only lose 3-5 points ONCE to cover all the reports made during that time frame. So, if you’re going to shop around for a car, be sure to do it with a 10-day period!

What should you do now that you know what Darrell has taught me about credit? I suggest you start improving your own credit with the credit building system he recommends to his own clients.

Note that if you do sign-up for this particular credit building program, I’m going to get a little cut from it. Let me know if you do sign-up and I’ll buy you a cup of coffee and a muffin! But, it’s something I have to let you know about…but there’s more!

Once you have improved credit, then and only then can you start thinking about business funding. So, here are…

Ten More Crucial Money Management Tips for Getting Business Funding

Money Management Topic II: CREDIT

11. Applying for numerous credit cards over an extended period of time is a big no no to your credit score. You can get multiple credit cards…there’s just a method to it so that your credit doesn’t suffer in the process. This is the ONLY website we trust where Darrell and I send our clients to get business credit cards.

12. The loan business IS coming back. Loan makers ARE opening up. All politics aside, the stimulus bill is actually working, so this IS a good time to get a loan.

13. “Well prepared” consumers are going to get more money in their loan attempts, not just the well qualified business owners.

14. Unsecured lines of credit have come back in the past two months, but they’re not giving as much money as they did before. And, they’re now checking business credit scores where this was not nearly as common practice as before.

15. Business credit, in the near future, will be as important as your personal credit. So, be careful what you use those company credit cards for and how fast you pay them off.

16. People are being denied business loans because they don’t even have a “business credit score” because they’re running their business using personal credit credit cards.

Just a side note here: You can get a $150K loan without producing a business plan, without using your social security number, all under your EIN number. This process was invented by Donald Trump and is why his credit has stayed stellar through all the bankruptcies…because of his business credit. This is the same method I used to get $105K available for my business in about 3 weeks.

17. Choose your business wisely and think ahead to the days when you will be seeking credit and loans. Many lenders have a diverse reaction to different types of businesses.

18. Business money is available to all types of business in many different fashions beyond the traditional “bank loan” you’ve always heard about. You just have to be introduced to the right person that can help you identify which funding type is right for you.

19. The worst way to attempt to get a loan is to go into a bank by yourself without a professional at your side to represent your interests and talk the talk of the lender.

So, Darrell’s thing, obviously, is to help you get the money you need for your business so that you can have the proper resources to grow your business.

What happens when you have the money from your business growth?

I have to admit that I’ve never been much of a fan of IRA’s or the 401(k) plan. After watching so many horror stories over the past two years of people having to cash-in, or their planned retirement values have reduced by 75% or even more on some CNN reports, I’m even more skeptical.

But, let’s get beyond the discussion of what you would expect to hear from a financial planner…because, remember? I’m NOT a certified financial planner! So, I’m not going to give you any financial strategy advice here. I’n not going to tell you what stocks to pick or what company to invest in.

But, I am going to introduce you to Jim Lorigo.

Jim Lorigo is the only person I’ve ever met that is certified in every state of the U.S. to sell annuities.

That means a couple of things. He didn’t start in this business just yesterday. And, he has one serious devotion to the industry if he went through the brain damage to get certified in every state!

Anyway, Jim has two main missions in life. One is to help me keep more of my money instead of paying it all in taxes. The second is to help me pass on what I don’t spend to my family…and that should be tax free too.

So, for the next few moments, clear your mind of everything you might have heard about long-term money.

Money Management Tips I’ve Learned from Jim

Money Management Topic III: INVESTING

20. There’s a myth behind annuities where most people think they are risky and can lose money. Since annuities are a contract between you and some insurance company out there, well, I guess there could be risk if you go with an insurance company that has a low or bad rating. But if you know the right people (like Jim) who know the right annuities that are with the right insurance companies, it’s the RISK that goes out the window and not your cash.

21. There are several different types of annuities to consider and it makes a big difference whether you pick the right one or not.

22. I knew annuities are tax deferred but what I didn’t realize until recently is that there are ways to pass that money onto your family…tax free!

23. IRA’s are taxable but, like annuities, there are strategies that allow tax free money to be passed on to your family.

24. I’ve always known about the ROTH IRA but what I didn’t realize until I dug deeper was that ALL gains are tax free with the ROTH.

25. CD’s are still a viable option afterall, but only in situations where you are satisfied with low returns.

26. It’s actually pretty easy to find the highest CD rate. All you have to do is go to BankRate.com

27. You must learn how to protect your assets because we live in a country that is SUE Happy!

28. The average person needs $70,000 each YEAR to handle their long term care costs. Again, that’s AVERAGE. Do you have a spare $100,000 or 2 lying around in case something happens? I think we all need to be thinking bigger as to how much money we really need to make today and over the next few years.

29. Whatever age we are now, we should all be planning for a “lifetime income.” Annuities are the only product that can guarantee a lifetime income.

30. Building a completely “tax free” wealth is not only possible, but lots of people are doing it right now by learning how the wealthy pass on money to their families…tax free.

31. The most important tip of wealthy families I’ve learned is that they all have professionals to guide them in financial planning.

32. I shouldn’t just be thinking of leaving money for my kids but leaving money specifically for my grand children’s education by setting aside assets that I do NOT need for income.

33. Probate is best described as a legal process that takes place after someone dies.This court supervised legal process includes determining the validity of your will, gathering of your assets, paying your debts and taxes. From what I hear, probate is a long and time sucking process. Apparently there are steps you can take to reduce or even totally eliminate probate…depending on your specific situation of course. Now, I don’t need to know what those steps are today, but I know the person to go to when I do need them. Do you have that someone in your hip pocket?

34. A living trust is a legal entity that is able to own property and other assets. The trust is a legal agreement defining how assets are going to be managed and distributed. Spend the time now to get living trusts for your parents and you and your significant others because things get a lot more difficult after a person dies.

35. I’m a ways away from being 62, but I thought once someone turns that age, they immediately sign-up to get Social Security checks. I’ve learned there are a whole slew of conditions for when to start getting your Social Security. Again, know the right person to go to when it’s time to ask the questions.

Jim Lorigo is the guy to ask.

I suggest you go to LeaveMoreLegacy.com where you can sign-up to get a free mini-book that gives a better overview of his methods. And, in the event that you pick up the phone to call him for a consult, know in advance that by law I cannot receive any commission from any services sales he makes.

And, that brings me to my third introduction. The man’s name is Ned Snead. He’s 82 and lives in Texas. He told me last week that he was once considered one of the best computer programmers in the region…and that was before we all had computers on our desks!

Ned is a fascinating person. He’s currently a partner of a $40MM/year business. He sits on the board of a major railroad. He’s an inventor, a father, a grandfather, a writer, occasional speaker, and even started a Foundation. He’s just one of those guys we can all aspire to be like and live like.

You just really need to know Ned.

I asked Ned to give me…

…A Few Choice Money Management Tips from his e-book called
Prosperity-21, currently selling through Amazon’s Kindle Store on Amazon for Kindle.

Money Management Topic IV: MONEY FOR LIFE

Here were his responses:

36. If you start with a hundred of Uncle Sam’s dollars, you could lose $99.75 in four
hours at a slot machine; lose $89.50 in a month on the lottery; lose $50.00 in 12 years just to inflation.

Meaning: By not planning and allowing inflation to take its toll, you are gambling just the same as you would be in Vegas.

37. Spend less each month than you collect. Then, invest your savings where you can get it back any time you ask, where it pays more interest than inflation, where it is not affected by government’s silly policies.

Meaning: Don’t let your investment strategy be at the mercy of things you can’t control.

38. Many of the things we own actually end up owning us.

Meaning: If you overspend, you are always at the mercy of the man who is collecting on the bills.

39. You can buy a car just by signing your name, but to fill it with gas you need a working credit card, or as a last resort, some of Uncle Sam’s printed money.

Meaning: A fancy sports car is of little value to you if you don’t have the cash flow to keep it
running. Well, I guess car collectors might take issue with that statement. But, you get the idea.

40. Learn to do two things that pay well and cannot be done better or cheaper overseas.

Meaning: You will always be in high demand if you have unique skills. Continue to educate yourself.

41. A new baby can cost $200,000 in twenty years.

Meaning: Maybe we should sell our kids! Naa, just kidding. Maybe just think it through before deciding on that “new addition.”

For more great insights from someone who has truly seen it all, and lives the lifestyle we hope to have when we’re in our 80′s and beyond, checkout Ned’s book on Amazon’s Kindle Store called Prosperity-21.

Note, I do not get a commission from Amazon by recommending this book…since they stopped paying their Colorado Associates in mid-2010 (Still carrying a grudge over that one).

Money Management Tips Summary….

I’ve just introduced you to three of the most influential money masters in my circle of business. To re-cap,

If your credit needs some work, go to Credit Builders.

If you need business credit cards, go to Biz Credit Card Store.

If you want to pass on the money you have to family after you’re gone, go here:
LeaveMoreLegacy.com

And, for just $5, go checkout Prosperity-21.

What one liner money tips and facts can you add to this discussion?

Problems Sending Email?

Posted by Marty Dickinson on Mar 8, 2011

I’m pretty sure the most complex function on the Internet is the process of sending email. It seems like such a simple thing. But, if you’re experiencing problems sending email, you know first-hand how all of a sudden this seemingly easy function can become extremely difficult to handle. I’m no email expert, but I’ve certainly had my share of problems sending email. And, that’s where the problem always seems to be…in the “sending” of the email rather than the receiving side of things.

If you’ve proven emails you send are not getting to their recipient, try these 3 steps to make sure your bases are covered.

1. Setup reverse DNS on the IP your domain name runs off of. Don’t worry, I don’t have much of a clue what this means either. Just call your hosting company and have them check on if this has been done.

2. Set the SPF record. On my server, I would login to my WHM account to change the setting.

3. Make sure you’re not on any blacklists by performing a quick (and free) blacklist search.

How to Calculate Return on Investment (ROI) Increase

Posted by Marty Dickinson on Nov 9, 2010

Just making a post on my site for myself to use this formula next time I forget. I made an investment in July 2010 and received an email notice today, November 2010, that I’ll be getting a check any day now for my first return. So, I thought, how do I calculate my return on investment again? Well, it came out to 150% of a return. And, here’s how I got that number; I had to look it up to make sure I had it right, haa, because that’s a pretty bad-ass return dude. Here it is:

Percentage Change = (Ending Value – Beginning Value)/Beginning Value X 100

So, Say I put $10,000 into an investment.

And, six months later, I get $15,000 in return over a 5 year period. That example…even over 5 years…isn’t typical, but just using this as an example.

The formula would look like this:

Percentage Change = ($15,000 – $10,000)/$10,000 X 100

Calculating the value in parenthesis first, that would be: a 50% ROI.

I’m willing to tell you what my investment was (and it was no where close to $10,000!!), let me know. Just friend-up with me on facebook so that we can talk to each other.

This Domain Name Scam Never Quits

Posted by Marty Dickinson on Oct 11, 2010

Just a quick note that this domain name scam continues to propogate. First time I saw it was last year but there are postings all over the Internet about this domain name scam. Here’s the question that came in from one of my clients:

“I need some advice from someone who knows more than I do about these things. As you can see below a company, which we cannot find out anything about, is about to use my domain all over Asia. At the moment and in the near future I do not plan to go to Asia with my work, however I am thinking that to say nothing could be a problem for me. Do you have any thoughts?”

And, here was the email she received. For her privacy, I kept the domain name out, but the message is important to identify with in case you get one too:

Dear President,

We are the department of Asian Domain registration service in china. we have something need to confirm with you. we formally received an application on October 7, 2010. one company which called “Sitar Holding Inc.” are applying to register “herdomainname” as Brand name and the following Domain Names:
herdomainname.asia
herdomainname.cn
herdomainname.com.cn
herdomainname.com.hk
herdomainname.com.tw
herdomainname.hk
herdomainname.in
herdomainname.tw

After our initial examination, we found that the Domain Names applied for registration are as same as your company’s name and trademark. these days we are dealing with it, hope to get the affirmation from your company. if your company has not authorized the aforesaid company to register these, please contact us as soon as possible.
In addition, we hereby affirm that our time limit is 7 workdays. if your company files no reply within the time limit, we will unconditionally approve the application submitted by “I’ve removed the company name so as not to give them any more publicity!”.

I found a very interesting blog post about this issue that was posted back in 2008. Amazing that it’s still relevant today.

So, there you go. If you get an email like this, don’t worry about it. It’s a scam. And, I support the blog post’s mentioning that the most important domain names you need to own are still your .com, .org, .net, .us, and maybe squeeze in a .co if you have some cents still in your budget. Beyond those, you really don’t need to worry about registering multiple out-of-country domains unless of course you are in another country than the U.S.

Join Me at the BlogWorld Conference 2010

Posted by Marty Dickinson on Jun 10, 2010

The BlogWorld and New Media Expo and Conference 2010 is going to be the most important and opportunity-generating show it’s ever had. If you think my 3-hour workshops are “educational,” or you enjoyed watching Joel Comm speaking at AffCon 2010 in Denver, well, multiply that by about 100. The networking, the learning, the ability to talk with Internet pioneers is enough to keep you full of cutting edge tactics to try for the next six months!

Register Now through my affiliate link and use the discount coupon EBIRD. The reason you want to use the discount coupon (good only through July 15) is to get the best deal of course. The reason you want to sign-up through my affiliate link is because you will have the best experience at the conference! Here’s what will happen.

The show is on for 3 days, October 14, 15, 16. After each day worth of sessions, I will hold a one-hour group meeting with those who have signed-up through my affiliate link. Together, we will go over highlights from the sessions we attended and share contacts of interesting people we met.

It’s impossible for one person to absorb everything at a multi-day conference. And, I’m lucky if I meet more than about 20 people at an event like this because I get in such lengthy deep conversations with people that I forget to move onto the next contact! By sharing networking connections together, we will multiply our connections and network exponentially!

So, checkout the details, and
just sign-up. You’ll thank me later. Take advantage of the earlybird special discount and make sure to sign-up through my affiliate link. Then send an email to me that you have done so and I’ll add you to my list.

[Note: Yep, as an affiliate I'll be getting some commission for this sale, but I'll be putting that money to use...for you! More details later.]

See you in October at the BlogWorld Conference 2010.

Best Domain Name Affiliate Program

Posted by Marty Dickinson on May 26, 2010

I participate on a lot of industry forums where web designers, seo guys, AdWords campaign managers and other Internet service providers hang out and talk about a variety of topics. Year after year I see the same question come up where someone just getting started with one of these businesses is looking for a domain name affiliate program.

In case you’re not sure what an affiliate program is, it’s a way for you to become a virtual salesperson for someone else’s product or service. Meaning, you get paid sales commission whenever you make a sale but you don’t have to ship any product or do any support on the back-end.

If you have clients of any kind, you should be recommending a way to them register domain names. Many people use GoDaddy or Network Solutions or one of thousands of other domain name registrars, for example. Not all domain registrars have affiliate programs. Some do, but they have heft up-front charges or pay next to nothing commissions or are just plain shady somehow.

About every six months I poke around the web to find the latest and greatest domain registration affiliate program that might meet or exceed my stringent criteria of endorsement. And, every year, I come back to the same system I’ve used since 2003 and have recommended to who knows how many thousands of business owners, authors and speakers.

Here are my qualifiers of what I look for in an affiliate program for domain names:

Proof of Residual Payment – If I’m going to put my effort into promoting anything online, I want to be assured I’ll be paid for my efforts and I want my commissions to be automatically deposited into my bank account. And, I want those payments to be recurring by the month and year.

The one I use: Pays every month right into my bank account and every time a customer renews a domain name, I get another commission payment. These add up over time and every year those renewals just double! Never has a payment been missed; it’s always automatic and I can cross reference my payment with online reports down to the day of the transaction.

Proof of Domain Name Rights – I remember a client that had some hosting company in Australia that gave them a free domain name with their website hosting. After repeated downtimes, the client decided to change their hosting. Their Australian hosting company told them to go fly a kite! Any system I recommend to others has got to give the client rights to their own domain name.

The one I use: It is your domain name, registered in your name, controlled by you when you login to your own account.

Proof of Process – The system has to “work” and be easy to use by even my most non-technical clients. After all, the domain names will be registered in their names by them.

The one I use: Yeah, well, it has a bit much on the upselling attempt which might get a little in the way of usability for the customer, but even when the company upsells one of my referrals, I get even more commission for the sale.

Proof of 24/7 Support - Nothing is more irritating than having a domain name registrar company that only supports your domain names by email. There are just some times when you have to pick up the phone and call someone, y’know?

The one I use: When the support department answers the phone, the person on the other end is always English speaking and answers in the voice of the name I gave my domain name registration website, which is “U Own it Domains.”

Proof of Involvement – I want the affiliate system to allow me to be involved. If I recommend the domain name system for someone to register domains and then they do so, I might get a call someday with a question on the operation of the system. Say for example, the customer cannot get logged in and for whatever reason they don’t see the support phone number on the registrar’s website. They’re probably going to track me down and contact me as the recommender (yes, this has happened before). I need an administrative area where I can login as the affiliate and find that customer and at least get access to their customer number so I can help them get support. This demonstrates to the customer that I am involved in the process and the product. And, I will have a devoted domain registration customer for life as a result.

The one I use: I have a simple and secure login admin console to login to that gives me all kinds of reporting capability to help my customer when I need to.

Proof of Longevity – A new domain name company that just started up yesterday is not one I’m going to put my trust in being around next year. Most of my domain names I register for 5 years or more. I can’t afford to have some bigger company buyout some little registrar company I’ve signed up with only to have their entire process, back-end management area, support methods and pricing change on me mid-stream. It’s just not one of those things I want to worry about.

The one I use: GoDaddy uses the same technical backbone. Think of GoDaddy as a big giant affiliate for this company where the actual machinery is stored to make the domains happen. That’s some pretty big longevity factor there!

Proof of Protection – If someone is trying to steal my domain name, I want to know about it and I want to know that my registrar has protocols in place to identify when domain thieves are at work.

The one I use: You can hide your domain name identity from public view with some slightly higher paying costs for each domain and if anyone tries to steal your domain by transferring it, you will get email notices which you can de-authorize and keep the rights to the domain name.

Proof of Competitive Pricing – If I’m promoting someone’s domain registration system, I should get a discount on domains I want to buy for myself. Plus, people I refer to the system should see that my pricing is competitive too. Which brings me to my next point…

The one I use: Sure, there are systems promoting $3 domains now….but you have to get a hosting account with them or buy other services for a certain amount. Prices with my system are low enough to be competitive and stand on their own.

Proof of Partnership – As an affiliate, I need to be able to prove to my clients and people I recommend the system to that I am in affiliation with the domain registration company. The way that happens is by the affiliate company supplying a website and purchase process that has my name on it; a way for me to integrate my name and my message on their website. Think of it as “co-branding” where both the registrar and I share ownership in a website.

The one I use: Allows me to have a custom header image. So, I can add anything I want. My logo, my name, the affiliate company, whatever.

Proof of Customization – Finally, I need to be able to get into that website offered by the domain name affiliate host so that I can customize my message to people I’ve referred.

The one I use: Can customize many areas of the website and all of the pricing. Plenty of customization to allow me to make it my own for sure.

Proof of 2-Tier Affiliate Tracking – This seems to be a serious limitation of other registrar affiliate systems. Once I find an domain name affiliate system that accomplishes all of the proofs I need as listed above, I need to be able to recommend it to other service providers who might become affiliates too and get a commission from sales THEY generate. This is called “tier 2.”

The one I use: Gives me a completely separate website that I can customize to promote as an affiliate program. After I signed-up for the 2-tier affiliate level, called a Super Reseller, I was able to login to one area and get access to the control panels of both my main affiliate account and also my Super account.

“So, okay Marty, let the cat out of the bag already! What is the golden egg system you recommend?”

Well, first of all, let’s put it this way…

#1) If you’re looking for a great place to register domain names, I suggest BestDomainPlace.com.

This website is my affiliate website. So, when you buy domain names through it, yep, I’m going to get a commission from the sale. There are several reasons why I recommend this website to my clients for their domain name registration, but two additional important reasons are cost savings and control.

But, look at the “partnership” between the two companies, affiliate and affiliate system provider. It’s obvious that I’m promoting it and it’s obvious that there’s some other system that I personally endorse.

#2) If you’re looking for a domain name affiliate program to recommend to your own clients, go to BestResellerProgram.com and you will see the two options. Pick the one that is only $97 setup fee. I think they charge this amount just to weed-out those who are not really serious about promoting the system. To someone that has two or three small clients to recommend to will be totally turned off by a $97 affiliate price. But, heck, I make that back every year just by the “discounts” I get on the domain names I purchase for myself! Then, tack on the year after year residual income I get from my domain customers renewing their payments. It all adds up, I can tell you that for sure.

#3) Once that $179 pays for itself, you will want to tell other service providers (like I’m doing here) that an affiliate program for domain registrations exists. If you have contacts in the Internet marketing or business area (and who doesn’t these days??) consider signing-up for the higher level 2-tier affiliate recommender level for the $197 also found on the same page at BestResellerProgram.com.

And, once you do either of the 3, (sign-up to buy domains, sign-up as an affiliate, sign-up as a Super Reseller), be SURE to send an email to me at Marty@HereNextYear.com so that I can send you my personal checklist for a whole slew of tips for using these three tools.

So, there you go. My recommended process for evaluating domain name affiliate programs and my official recommendation for the system I use. Now go get signed-up and start referring this system to your clients! It just works.