Author Archives: Andrew Wee

About Andrew Wee

My name is Andrew Wee. I'm 32 years old, live in Singapore and am happily married with a 2 month old daughter. I've gone through a list of various occupations including: * journalist (for a business newspaper) * Internet content developer (for one of Asia's largest media group's Singapore Press Holdings) * trainer in entrepreneurship, business building, life skills * photographer/photojournalist * real estate agent * consultant * entrepreneur (I think that's enough for now...more later!) This is a personal space to express my goals, dreams and aspirations.

Ruck Brings Affiliate Network Fraud Exposure To A New Level

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Convert2Media co-founder Ralph Ruckman AKA Ruck has stepped up his efforts to expose fraudulent affiliate applications, following our discussion about the issue on a recent Friday Podcast.

Along with showing a couple of “tasks” posted on outsource boards with payout ranging from $5 to $100 per successful application (and part 2). What’s surprising/alarming is the number of “big name” affiliate networks on the list.

Ruck also opens up his affiliate application records showing a number of such seedy operations originating from less developed countries such as China (and part 2), Ruck has made it a personal mandate to expose fradulent affiliate applications, which ultimately hurt the networks, merchants and affiliates in their pocket.

What has impressed me about Ruck’s approach to business is that he pulls no punches and goes for the jugular every time.

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On other news, Convert2Media has gone off the DirectTrack platform to its own proprietory platform, which should increase earnings for affiliates.

Also the coaching programs which they were to have launched earlier (mentioned in the podcast) have been rolled back a couple of weeks till after Ad:Tech SF.

Stay tuned.

Links:

Friday Podcast: Optimizing Your Web Business For Success

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msdanielleDanielle Nagami is a California-based internet marketing consultant and blogs at MsDanielle.com covering SEO, PPC and provides marketing campaign optimization services for clients, primarily large brick-and-mortar businesses.

Having worked with large campaigns, I had a chance to ask her about setting up and launching new websites, especially for internet marketers with smaller operations.

During our discussion, we talked about:

  • How Danielle got involved in internet marketing
  • The elements to create a long term and sustainable web business
  • How to organize your site structure for user accessibility and search engine crawlability
  • Conducting competitive research and using that data in your campaign
  • How to optimize your site, including specific techniques
  • A case study of a successful website which is tweaked regularly
  • How to incorporate specific techniques to increase repeat visitors and customer retention

Check out the podcast below:

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Will Twitter Kill Social Media?

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Twitter could possibly be on the verge of mass acceptance…or bring about the downfall of social media, according to the signs we’ve been seeing.

  • Promotion by mass media: So suddenly, mainstream media like newspapers, TV news and talk shows are jumping on the twitter bandwagon, making it sound like the best thing since sliced bread. Just like they did with the internet back in the mid 1990s.
  • Overemphasis on the technology: So there’s been an overemphasis about the tech aspects of twitter, how you can build a following of 100,000 in a few days/weeks, how you’re able to mass msg them updates.
  • Celebrity buzz factor: Now everyone knows that the_real_shaq is well, the real shaq. And that other celebrities have their publicist, manager scraping old interviews and sending tweets out on their behalf, saying that the content is sent in the “spirit” of the celebrity. Authenticity/credibility fail.

But the bigger danger of social media, especially the new wave of twitter’s brand of new social media is that it could potentially be tethering you to your computer instead of freeing you.

Remember the crackberry, er, blackberry?

When blackberry addicts had it with them 24-7 and felt compelled to answer an email the moment it was received? Till now, I know of a number of affiliate managers who keep their blackberry at their bedside and wake up to answer emails the moment they come in.

Me, I’m in the process of cancelling my cellphone to be less accessible.

But here’s why I think twitter might be self-destructive – the design of the system is such that it’s like a 24-hour chatroom, with topics being constantly discussed and possibly buried in a matter of hours.

That means if you want to:

  • tap the buzz
  • be part of the flow
  • be part of the conversation

It means you need to tether yourself to the medium, you need to essentially be watching the channel during the 8-12 hours that the service is at its peak.

twitter kill social media

So it’s like watching TV, except Continue reading →

Friday Podcast: Traffic And Conversion Strategies With Rachit Dayal

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rachit dayalRachit Dayal is a Singapore-based internet marketing consultant who focuses on traffic generation, sales conversion and business growth strategies for entrepreneurs and businesses.

He’s also a Google AdWords Certified Professional and has managed a number of marketing campaigns for businesses going the online route. I invited him on the Friday Podcast and he mentioned a recently client for whom he increased monthly revenue from $2,000 to more than $40,000 mainly through the use of AdWords and Google’s suite of webmaster tools and other resources.

In many cases, Rachit often goes to free resources, even though he subscribes or has bought paid ones.

This’ll be an interesting interview for new and intermediate level marketers, as you’ll discover:

  • How Rachit got started with internet marketing
  • AdWords campaign set up and optimization tips
  • Keyword tools to enhance your PPC campaigns
  • How you can use analytics tools to enhance your profits
  • Rachit’s conversion system including techniques you can use now
  • Alternative uses for Google AdWords for your marketing efforts

Check out the podcast below:

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Other resources:

Friday Podcast: Affiliate Strategies With Ruck

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Veteran affiliate marketer Ralph Ruckman, better known as “Ruck” has gone full circle, from operating as an affiliate using blackhat/grayhat/whitehat techniques to founding his own CPA/affiliate network, Convert2Media with 3 other co-founders.

ruckA presence on multiple internet marketing and affiliate marketing forums, Ruck is a warehouse of knowledge, having been in the affiliate marketing trenches and having seen the good and bad parts of the industry.

Ruck’s known for his brutally frank, no-BS approach to speaking his mind. You either love his honesty, or in the same breath, hate him for showing the ugly side of things.

I’d been looking forward to talking to Ruck for some time and got him to share his thoughts during our call.

We talked about:

  • How he got started in internet marketing
  • His role in participating in forums and starting the CashTactics blog (now operated by Kris Trujillo)
  • His views on the affiliate industry, especially on the recent FTC press conference
  • How to look for hot niches to promote in affiliate marketing
  • How to build your affiliate business
  • Convert2Media’s recent adjustment in sub-affiliate recruitment incentives
  • Important facts every affiliate needs to know about scrubbing and shaving
  • Convert2Media’s upcoming coaching programs for affiliates
  • C2M’s next evolution as a full service internet marketing agency

Check out the podcast below:

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How To Develop A Niche Website From Scratch

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I’m in the process of developing websites in a couple of different niches and going through the process of building sites from scratch has been instructional, especially since the process has changed with the availability of new technologies, here’re a couple of steps to help accelerate your site development.

Choice of niche:

Obviously an important choice which will affect your daily/weekly routine for at least the next couple of months. It’s never a good idea to go into a vertical/industry solely by the perceived high payouts or bonuses you’re being offered.

Choosing a niche based on your affinity and interest seems to work for me, and I don’t feel that passing up on a number of “lucrative” niches has hurt me.

Working the Grind

Any vertical will have a period of “grinding” or what gamers refer to a period where you have to go through some repetitive, potentially painful effort. Any site will require more than Continue reading →