Amazon Introduces Video On Demand

September 16, 2008 by John Dilbeck · 6 Comments
Filed under: Affiliate Marketing, Amazon, Movies, TV 

In early September, Amazon announced the availability of Amazon Video On Demand.

Now, you can instantly watch movies and television shows commercial-free on Macs or PCs.

You can enjoy instant playback of hit Hollywood movies and the latest TV shows.

This new movie and TV streaming service offers a wide range of movies, TV seasons, and individual TV episodes.

Of course, to take full advantage of this service, you’ll need a broadband connection to the Internet.

To make it even easier for you to decide to rent or purchase a movie or TV show, the first two minutes of videos automatically play at no charge when you visit the detail page for that video. At any time during this 2-minute viewing period, you can choose to purchase or rent the video to watch it in its entirety.

If you are an Amazon.com affiliate, you can earn up to 10% referral fees on movie and television show purchases. Amazon makes it easy to link to the Video On Demand section of their massive store and you can link to individual videos using standard product links or the versatile movie and TV show preview widget.

NetFlix – an alternative to Amazon

I live in an area where high-speed broadband access to the Internet is not available. So, video on demand, no matter how reasonably priced and convenient, is simply not an option.

I have been a very satisfied NetFlix customer for several years and enjoy watching movies and TV shows by selecting them on the NetFlix website and then receiving the DVDs in the mail. After I’m done watching the video, and re-watching the best, it’s a simple matter of inserting the DVD in the postage-paid envelope and dropping it into the mailbox. A few days later, the next video in the list of shows I have selected is automatically sent to me. There are no late fees and you can keep a DVD until you have the time to watch it and are ready to return it.

Lately, I’ve been watching entire TV shows in order, episode by episode, year by year.

Currently, I’m on season 3 of Star Trek Enterprise, and last month I watched season 3 of Stargate Atlantis and the Stargate Continuum movie.

I’m getting a chance to watch shows I never had time to watch, before.

Netflix lets you rent, watch and return DVDs from home – Try free for 2 weeks

In addition to renting videos on DVD, some are available for instant viewing, so NetFlix may be a convenient alternative to Amazon.

One advantage that NetFlix has is a fixed price. I subscribe to the plan where I can have up to 3 DVDs out at any one time and pay less than $20 per month. Most months, I can watch about 15 DVDs, and some have four to six TV episodes on them.

Today, for instance, I’m supposed to receive the next two DVDs of Star Trek Enterprise season 3, and that will include four episodes per disc, for a total of eight episodes.

I live on a strange schedule and work whenever I feel like it – an advantage of working at home – so I may watch a video during the day, evening, or even the middle of the night. It’s completely up to me. I can watch the good shows more than once, if I want.

Last month, when I rented Stargate Continuum from NetFlix, I watched it three times before returning it.

I mainly watch science fiction, but over the last few months, I rented the first three seasons of Little House on the Prairie, and Mom loved watching shows that she understood and enjoyed much better than the sci-fi flicks I love.

Currently, I have over 100 DVDs in my NetFlix queue, including the first two seasons of Boston Legal, and I’m considering watching the entire production of The West Wing.

It is convenient and cost-effective to watch videos in your own home. For the price of one or two movies at the theater, you can watch a dozen or more in your home. And, both Amazon and Netflix have many thousands of videos from which to choose.

Plus, for people like me – and possibly you – they both have an affiliate program and you can earn nice commissions for referring people to their services.

All work and no play…

I enjoy working, but there is also a lot to say for entertainment.

I am 100% satisfied with my multi-year experiences with Amazon and NetFlix. I am happy to recommend them to you.

Take a break. Watch a video today. Enjoy yourself.

Act on your dream!

JD

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An affiliate program I chose not to join

August 24, 2008 by John Dilbeck · Comments Off
Filed under: Affiliate Marketing, Musings, Opinions, TV 

In general, I like to maintain a positive outlook on life and I rarely write posts that contain negative comments about companies and people I don’t know and with whom I have no personal experience.

However, in this case, I’m going to make an exception.

Again, none of this is based on personal experience or knowledge, and I’m sure there are at least two sides to every story.

This morning, I wasn’t feeling very well and I was moving slowly. I watched Meet The Press (still miss Tim!) and then Face The Nation.

I’d printed out the latest Five Pillar Affiliate Report, more on that in a later post, and had left the TV on as background noise while I read.

Then something caught my attention and I started watching the TV show – an informercial about Russ Dalbey’s “Winning in the Cash Flow Business” training materials.

From somewhere, I don’t remember where, I already knew a little bit about cash flow notes and, from my experience long ago, knew that making money by brokering sales of these cash flow notes based on the time value of money isn’t as easy as the show made it out to be. For one thing, a lot of people who have a cash flow note (from lottery winnings, settlements, lawsuit judgements, and so forth) prefer to get a monthly or annual check and don’t care about getting a lump sum, especially when that lump sum is a lot less than the total value of the note.

Have you tried to explain amortization to someone? That’s a lot easier than explaining the time value of money, especially when they have absolutely no interest in talking to you.

I’m not saying that money can’t be made this way, but it surely isn’t as easy as the infomercial leads us to believe.

But, what it did really well was to build excitement about getting lots of money easily. Then, there was the deadline designed to make you reach for your credit card. I don’t remember the actual price of the course, but if you bought it before the show was over (18 more minutes, nine more minutes, one more minute) there were bonuses, free shipping, and a discounted price that was purported to be about a quarter of the regular price.

Now, I understand how this works. The course is obviously a loss-leader and is designed to get you on their list. I suspected that it would be followed up with back-end upgrades and additional offers, so – even though I was tempted – I didn’t reach for the phone or a card.

Later, after reading the 5 Pillar newsletter and taking a nap, I got online and Googled “Winning in the Cash Flow Business.”

I was shocked by what I read on a couple of sites where people had posted their reviews. They were overwhelmingly negative with only a very few positive reviews.

Now, that may not mean as much as it does if you take it only at face value.

If I’m satisfied with a purchase and I learn something that works for me, I’m not going to be looking for a place to review it, unless it is really spectacular.

On the other hand, if I am dissatisfied with something, I’ll express my opinion.

The stories I read about this business were scary. Buy a course for $20 or $40 (it varies) and then someone calls you on the phone and pressures you to spend thousands of dollars. That’s unconscionable, if the stories the reviewers related are true.

There are people out there who must feel as if it is morally wrong to leave a sucker with any money in their pocket or any credit on their credit cards. I’m not saying this company fits that characterization, I don’t know, but there are others who are expressing that sentiment.

(You may want to read what Ken Evoy wrote about Success Stories And Mooch Marketing. Before you reach for your credit card, stop, think, and and perform your due diligence. Learn from the mistakes of others and don’t get suckered in by the glitz, glamor, and promises of easy profits.)

One of the things that caught my attention was that several people related that they had been scammed again (my emphasis).

What does it take to learn?

How hard is it these days to do some research online before handing over your hard earned money or easily spent credit?

Now, I don’t know if most of the stories the people told are true and accurate representations of what they experienced with this company. I don’t know if any of them are true.

But, I don’t have to burn my hand when someone tells me the stove is hot.

When you do a general search for something and the majority of the results on the first page warn of scams, pressure pitches, mistreatment, and not following through with what is promised, why on earth would you send them your money or associate with them in any way.

So, that was my mindset when I found the company’s official website.

As is my habit, I scrolled to the bottom to see if they have an affiliate program, and they do. I clicked on the link and read about it.

It looked great. Super Easy. Fast Payment. Big Commissions. Why Is This The Best Affiliate Program Online?

Yes, it was tempting.

In fact, I’m sure I could make money promoting this.

But I’m not going to.

As I’ve said before, “if it’s not good enough for me, it’s not good enough for you.”

I won’t buy it, so I won’t promote it. It’s just that easy. I sleep easier at night knowing that I wasn’t a part of someone being bilked for thousands of dollars.

Now, I don’t think I’m your parent or guardian. You’re free to make up your own mind and buy the product or join the affiliate program and promote it. It’s totally up to you.

Again, I don’t know if the stories I read are true or not. I don’t know if the company is reliable or not. I don’t plan to do any more checking.

Two aphorisms come to mind in a situation like this…

  • If there’s smoke, there’s fire
  • If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is

Maybe this stove is hot and maybe it’s not, but I’m not going to put my hand on it to find out. There are too many other ways to make money online that I know are legitimate and ethical.

I know that I won’t promote it and that’s the end of my story.

Act on your dream!

JD

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High-speed internet, TV, and digital phone bundle – find the best rates in your area

May 5, 2008 by John Dilbeck · Comments Off
Filed under: Broadband, Cognigen Networks, Internet, River Offers, TV, Telephone 

High-speed internet, TV, and digital phone bundle, or the famous “Triple-play” is now offered by River Offers.

You can get the latest and the best rates available in your area from major service providers, right here, right now by using our state of the art real-time online lookup form!

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