October 6, 2008 — I’m angry today, because I’ve just wasted two trips to LensCrafters, and now must start over from scratch looking for new eyeglasses.
I wanted to buy new glasses. I knew what I wanted, and I had my prescription (written by the nice lady at the EyeExam office inside LensCrafters, for the bargain price of just $59.95). However, the salespeople I spoke with (and the general manager) kept trying to pitch me on “upgrades” — featherweight lenses, anti-reflective coating, and the “new thing” called AVP (for “Advanced View Progressive,” not “Alien Vs. Predator”). Read more »
This is a “work-in-progress” checklist that I created in December 2007, but never finished. It is essentially a list of “issues” to consider when evaluating a merchant’s web site. Read more »
In the movie Akeelah and the Bee, a quotation is displayed on a framed certificate in the home-office of a main character, and the words are incorrectly attributed to Nelson Mandela, as part of his 1994 Inauguration Speech as President of South Africa. Read more »
Most merchants find it useful to divide prospective and current affiliates into major categories, which usually have different performance characteristics and concerns. Read more »
Here is a typical outline of issues that a merchant (advertiser) should consider when explaining to prospective affiliates (publishers) why they should consider participating in the merchant’s “performance-based advertising” program (affiliate program). Read more »
This is a quick summary of the “program policies” that I frequently recommend that advertisers (merchants) consider when creating or updating their “affiliate program.” Read more »
In every niche, there are “opportunities” that seem open for exploitation, and usually the affiliate manager can identify several such opportunities. For example, she may say, “There should be a web site that compares pricing or service levels for [these products/services].” Or she may identify one or more “acquisition targets,” such as content sites which are “stale” and which are either available for purchase or due for expiration. Read more »
Once a new affiliate program is launched, these are the most common strategies for recruiting new affiliates; I assume this work will be done initially by a single full-time affiliate manager. Read more »
This is the most common set of recommendations I give to merchants who are planning to launch an “affiliate program,” based on the factors discussed in my other posts in this section. Read more »
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