Refer-it.com June 1999 Webmaster Update

[velocitynyc]

===================Refer-it.com Webmaster Update===================

What's new in affiliate programs and webmaster resources

Visit Refer-it.com at: http://www.refer-it.com/

===========================

CONTENTS

- Welcome to the Refer-it.com Webmaster Update
- Top Ten Affiliate Programs
- What's the story with AllAdvantage.com?
- Join the Refer-it.com Affiliate Program
- The Webmaster Lounge has launched
- Affiliate Solutions '99 - San Francisco
- Has eBay gotten fat & lazy?
- Affiliate Site of the Month
- Problem with Net Sales
- Free baseball cap from Fogdog
- Required Reading
- Comparison sites - a great customer service tool
- Moving on up

FEATURES

WELCOME TO THE REFER-IT.COM WEBMASTER UPDATE____________________

The Refer-it.com Webmaster Update is a monthly newsletter brought to you by Refer-it.com, the
Search Engine That Pays™. You are receiving this e-mail because you registered as a webmaster
with Refer-it.com. Each month, we will be bringing you news about affiliate programs, tips on
marketing and promotion and other useful tidbits of information.

If you have any questions about Refer-it.com or affiliate programs, feel free to e-mail Shawn Collins,
the Refer-it.com Affiliate Manager, at scollins@internet.com

TOP TEN AFFILIATE PROGRAMS__________________________________________
<http://www.refer-it.com/main.cfm?screen=info/topten>

Below are the Top Ten Affiliate Programs for May 1999 as rated by Refer-it.com. The affiliate
programs that make the Top Ten are often programs that have earned a three star rating (the best)
from Refer-it. But we also urge you to research other programs on Refer-it.com to find the affiliates
that best fit the needs of your website.

1. AutoFusion's CarPrices.com
2. Music Boulevard (now working together with CD NOW)
3. Amazon.com
4. One & Only Internet Personals
5. Lending Tree Branch Network
6. Reel.com
7. iSyndicate
8. Strange News Ticker
9. NextCard Internet VISA
10. All-Hotels.com

* Note: The Top Ten programs are calculated by the absolute number of click-throughs each
program received on Refer-it.com, exclusive of Adult sites.

WHAT'S THE STORY WITH ALLADVANTAGE.COM? _______________________
<http://www.alladvantage.com>

There's a big debate on the marketing discussion forums these days: Is AllAdvantage.com a
revolutionary idea or just another ****?

What is AllAdvantage.com exactly? They promise that you will 'Get Paid to Surf the Web' ($.50
cents per hour) while displaying their Viewbar(tm) (advertisement) at the bottom of your monitor.

And for every person you refer to AllAdvantage.com, they will pay you $.10 for every hour that
each of those people is online with the Viewbar(tm) active. In addition, they will pay you for
extended referrals at the rate of $.05 per hour.

That's basically it (for full details, be sure to read their terms and conditions), and the program has
been wildly successful, so far. According to Excite News on June 3, 1999, AllAdvantage.com ranked
in at number 40 out of the top 100 websites.

Recently, I brought up some of the complaints regarding AllAdvantage.com with Bill Brister, content
review specialist at AllAdvantage.com. Below are some of the issues brought up in the marketing
discussion forums:

1) There is a limit of hours that people can get paid by AllAdvantage.com - set at 40 per month and
can be lower at the discretion of All Advantage.com

RESPONSE: AllAdvantage.com is a start-up company and they have to set strict guidelines as they
prepare for the full launch. But they fully plan to expand the hours in the near future, as they sell
more ads and sponsorships.

2) AllAdvantage.com condones and encourages Spam to get word out about their program

RESPONSE: That couldn't be further from the truth. They maintain a zero-tolerance stance
towards Spammers. Currently, AllAdvantage.com receives approximately 800 complaints per week
regarding inappropriate mailings from their members and they issue a strong first warning. For repeat
offenders, AllAdvantage.com deals with them on a case by case basis and so far they have
cancelled 63 accounts.

Further, they encourage their members to join CAUCE (http://www.cauce.org), the Coalition
Against Unsolicited Commercial Email. It is an all volunteer organization created to advocate for a
legislative solution to the problem of Spam. With each new registered member, CAUCE becomes a
stronger voice on Capitol Hill. It costs nothing to join.

3) The company is going to fold and then sell off all of the information they have collected

RESPONSE: The product is in Beta testing right now and the 2nd phase will be starting in the
coming days. On July 1, AllAdvantage.com plans to release their Viewbar (tm).

As Oscar Wilde once said, 'A cynic is a man who knows the price of everything, and the value of
nothing.'

JOIN THE REFER-IT.COM AFFILIATE PROGRAM_____________________________
<http://www.refer-it.com/>

Join the new Refer-it.com Affiliate Program! Add a Refer-it.com banner to your site and we will
pay you: $20.00 for each new premium member you refer to us. E-mail refer-it@internet.com for
more details.

Sign in to your account here:

http://www.refer-it.com/main.cfm?screen=wl/weblogin

Follow the link to view Refer-it.com banners and copy the HTML code onto your site.

THE WEBMASTER LOUNGE HAS LAUNCHED______________________________
<http://www.refer-it.com/main.cfm?screen=info/webmaster>

The Refer-it.com Webmaster Lounge, an exclusive service for Refer-it.com Basic and Premium
Webmaster Account holders, has launched.

Visit http://www.refer-it.com/main.cfm?screen=info/webmaster for this robust resource center that's
filled with information and tools for marketing and promotions, webmaster resources, technology
tools, developer resources, a bulletin board, and of course information about affiliate programs.

AFFILIATE SOLUTIONS '99 - San Francisco_____________________________
<http://seminars.internet.com/as99/>

Affiliate Solutions '99 is back by popular demand!

Refer-it.com (http://www.refer-it.com) and BeFree Corporation (http://www.befree.com) are
pleased to host the second Affiliate Solutions '99 conference at the Marriott Hotel in San Francisco
on August 5th 1999 - a day of learning about Affiliate Networks.

Hear success stories from industry leaders, attend a workshop or network with successful online
marketers. Affiliate Marketing is hot! Don't miss out on the only conference dedicated solely to
online Affiliate Marketing strategies.

Tickets are available for $595/person if purchased on or before July 1st, and $695 after July 1st.
Please visit the conference website for registration details:

http://seminars.internet.com/as99/

HAS EBAY GOTTEN FAT AND LAZY?______________________________________

eBay claims an impressive 1.5 billion page views per month, so they're obviously doing something
right. But one thing they are not doing is offering an affiliate program to their members. When filling
out the registration form for eBay, the registrant is asked to enter a promotional priority code and/or
the e-mail address of a friend that referred you to eBay.

Yet according to eBay Customer Support, 'We do not give out incentives to our users for referring
people, however we ask during the registration for our knowledge-to have an idea how many users
get others involved with our service.'

But just because eBay doesn't have an auction affiliate program doesn't mean they do not exist.
Currently, there are a half dozen auction affiliates listed on Refer-it.com, including a program through
the One & Only Network.

<http://www.refer-it.com/main.cfm?screen=dynamcat&cat=68>

AFFILIATE SITE OF THE MONTH________________________________________
<http://www.velocitynyc.com/ballfour>

Ball Four is a good example of a site that sells books and videos for a niche market, while also
integrating several affiliate programs through banner advertising.

Would you like to suggest a site as the Affiliate Site of the Month? Spread the word about your
favorite site or let us know about your own website. E-mail refer-it@internet.com to suggest a site!

PROBLEM WITH NET SALES_____________________________________________
<http://cyberatlas.internet.com/market/retailing/complete.html>

The majority of online users may put merchandise in their virtual shopping carts, but they never make
it to the final check-out point, according to a recent study that points the finger at poor customer
service translating into lost sales.

The five-month survey of 25 top e-commerce sites by e-commerce software provider Net Effect
indicates the culprit as the sites' lack of real-time online customer service and support.

The sites surveyed include e-commerce powerhouses Amazon, Dell and eToys.

'The sites we interviewed are on top for good reason,' Schoenfeld said. 'They spent the last 24
months developing the infrastructure that has led us all into the exciting new world of e-commerce.'

FREE BASEBALL CAP FROM FOGDOG_____________________________________
<http://www.refer-it.com/countprograms.cfm?id=422&type=1>

Go to http://www.refer-it.com/countprograms.cfm?id=422&type=1 and sign up for My Fogdog and
you'll get a free baseball cap. You'll be automatically added to the e-mail list to receive occasional
e-mails with information on hot products and great deals at Fogdog Sports. (If you ever decide that
you no longer wish to receive e-mail from Fogdog, you can easily unsubscribe from any email that
they send to you.)

REQUIRED READING___________________________________________ _______
<http://www.marketingtips.com/t.cgi/3499>

Marketing tips, strategies, and secrets for internet marketing, online advertising and website
promotion that will skyrocket your small, medium or home based business profits through the roof.
Corey Rudl's Marketing Tips: http://www.marketingtips.com/t.cgi/3499

COMPARISON SITES - A GREAT CUSTOMER SERVICE TOOL__________________
<http://www.refer-it.com/countprograms.cfm?id=1160&type=1>

For many webmasters, one of the most popular affiliate program choices is the online book, CD, or
video store. But did you know that prices vary from company to company? Depending on the item,
the price could differ greatly and since you want to offer the best deal to your users, you must know
which program will give the best deal to your visitors.

There are two ways for you to give your visitors the best deal: you could research every affiliate
program in the universe, or you could consult Acses, the ultimate comparison shopping engine at
http://www.refer-it.com/countprograms.cfm?id=1160&type=1.

MOVING ON UP..._____________________________________________ _____

We've moved to the midtown office of internet.com.

Our new office is located at:

50 East 42nd Street
New York, NY 10017

Phone: 212-547-7917
Fax: 212-547-1850

Our e-mail addresses have also changed:

Cynthia Aylward: caylward@internet.com
Shawn Collins: scollins@internet.com
James Marciano: jmarciano@internet.com
General questions: refer-it@internet.com

UNSUBSCRIBE_______________________________________ _______________

You are registered as a Refer-it.com webmaster. Please contact scollins@internet.com to be
removed.

Copyright 1999 internet.com LLC All Rights Reserved.
Legal Notices: http://www.internet.com/corporate/legal.html

===================Refer-it.com Webmaster Update===================

[fairhousing]

Boy, that's a real short post for you. Why don't you just post your whole web site here, hehe, just kidding.

------------------
Isn't it time you started making some real money with your web site!
www.birminghamnet.com/cgi-bin/links/pages/WebmasterResources/MakingMoney

[velocitynyc]

Yeah - that issue was a little bloated - I'll tighten it up for the next time : )