21st Century Affiliate Marketing

In this week’s SFI Marketing Group affiliate newsletter, the grand opening date for the much-anticipated SFI store has been announced:

OFFICIAL LAUNCH DATE FOR NEW SFI STORE ANNOUNCED!

An official launch date has now been finalized. The brand new SFI store will be unveiled at 11 AM CST on MONDAY, JANUARY 5TH.

Also launching on January 5th will be an array of major, new SFI system enhancements, including:

* Dramatic simplification for getting started, becoming an EA, and more
* New training program for new affiliates
* Tons of new marketing and business-building aids
* More “internationalization”
* New and improved EyeEarn
* An improved compensation plan with five exciting new bonuses
* More incentives for becoming an EA and maintaining EA status
* More incentives for advancing through all the Team Leader ranks
* A more powerful and lucrative Executive Bonus
* Affiliate Center facelift (new, simpler navigation and menus, etc.)
* MUCH, MUCH MORE!

Stay tuned for further updates and get ready for the new year and “SFI 3.0!”

So, it’s official. We now have just over four weeks to make our plans on what we want to do to promote SFI, the new store, and the other changes we’ll see in 2009.

For the latest information on the store, including FAQs and many screenshots, see:

https://www.sfimg.com/NewStoreUpdates.sfi

(The page, above, is only viewable by SFI affiliates. If you’re interested in what’s coming down the road and you’re not an affiliate, you can join for free and learn more about the features of the new store before it is announced to the public. This new store should help all of us earn more commissions, if it lives up to its potential.)

(Update August 2009: Affiliate links removed, as I no longer promote SFI Marketing Group.)

I’m not going to repeat what I’ve already written about SFI. You can see more of what I’ve said by browsing the SFI Marketing Group category on this blog.

I have mixed feelings about SFI. I believe it is a great company and that they’re trying to help us all earn more in an ever-changing environment. They’ve tested a number of things in the last few years and not all of them worked out as expected. The announcement of this new store and the new system enhancements offer hope for the future, but I’m not going to gush about it. I’ll wait until the store opens and the new site bugs are worked out before making a decision.

I think SFI offers some great training for people new to affiliate and network marketing, and you can get this training for free. That’s one of the best things about the company; they’re working hard to help their members succeed online.

Still, even though I’m earning ongoing commissions from my marketing efforts, it’s not as much as I’ve expected, based on the length of time and the amount of marketing I’ve been doing.

I’ve put SFI on my probation list, as I’ve previously discussed. I’m giving this new program until July 1, 2009, to prove itself. If I see a substantial increase in my commission checks - and if the promise of the store lives up to the expectations - I’ll continue with the company. If not, it will be time to move on.

I respect Gery Carson and all he does at SFI, but it’s time to see more return for my efforts.

In anticipation that the store may become a huge success, I’ve started a Squidoo lens for SFI Marketing Group Store where I’m posting a teaser for now and will add relevant information after the store opens in January. (That lens has been deleted.)

I haven’t decided exactly how I’m going to do it, but I’m planning on promoting the store on multiple sites and I’ll be helping all the affiliates in my downline who are EA and above by using their links in some of the ads.

What do you think? Select any of the choices in the poll, below, that apply to you, or add your own in the Other section, by typing it into the gray box at the bottom, above the Vote button. The answers appear all mixed up because the poll is set to randomize the answers in an attempt to reduce bias. You can select one or more of the answers; please check all that match your opinons.

What do you expect from SFI in the coming six months and what are your plans to promote the company and the new store?

I’m looking forward to your comments.

Act on your dream!

JD

Stoney deGeyter has published a list of over 400 items you should think about when marketing online.

This checklist, The Best Damn Web Marketing Checklist, Period!, is heavy on what, but light on how.

He says he’ll be addressing some of that over the next couple of weeks:

Over the next couple of weeks I’ll provide some additional explanation and insights to the lists below. And since this list is always a work in progress, any additional thoughts and insights are welcome. I’m always adding and removing things as I see fit. Which brings me to one more note: many items are included here based purely on my own preferences and by no means constitute an absolute truth or necessity.

So, of course, I printed a copy of his list and I’m studying it in some detail.

For a long time, I’ve had a task on my to-do list that I just haven’t gotten around to doing: Create checklists for building a website, lens, marketing funnel, autoresponder series, etc.

Now, it’s a lot easier to put that phrase on a to-do list than it is to actually take the time to do it, so I applaud Stoney for actually doing it.

His checklist will not be directly applicable to what I want to do, but it is a great resource to help me identify what I think is important and what should be done.

That brings up the question…

Do you use checklists in your marketing business?

If you have checklists, or know of any online, I’d love to hear more about them.

When I get my checklists completed (one of these days), I’m going to make them into PDF reports you can download.

Over time, maybe we can develop some useful resources so we can do more planning and less flying by the-seat-of-our-pants.

I’m looking forward to your comments and any resources you want to share.

Act on your dream!

JD

On July 29, 2008, Lori Robinson, Administrator for the SFI Discussion Board, posted an announcement: New SFI Store Update.

Here’s what Lori had to say:

For our many affiliates anxiously awaiting the unveiling of the new SFI store (and for brand new affiliates who may not have heard about the coming new store), here’s an update of some of the exciting features everyone will be enjoying soon:

• ONE store for everything. The new store will service both SFI affiliates and retail customers alike. Everything from nutritional products to Internet services to SFI promotional materials.

• Thousands (soon tens of thousands) of new products in dozens of new categories, plus closeouts, collectables and hard-to-find items available nowhere else.

• Earn instant SVP on EVERY product in the store…including all SFI promotional materials like X-Cards, postcards, business cards, etc.

• Exclusive, money-saving daily deals (”Deal Of The Day”).

• Special weekly/monthly sales with special discount prices.

• New products added daily.

• You can promote the store as a whole, or any individual product in the store, or any department, or any selection of products of your choosing.

• No longer do high shipping costs need to get in the way of becoming EA or making sales internationally. This is because the new SFI store will be utilizing new partner companies who will be shipping to you directly from outlets around the world. Additionally, through the store’s Private Seller program, you can locate sellers and products located in your same country—even the same city!

• Because of how it’s being built, virtually anything can be added and sold in the store. Goods, services, downloadable software and media, you name it! The sky’s the limit!

• The new SFI store also allows you to sell YOUR stuff. Through the new store’s Private Seller program you can quickly, easily, and cheaply convert stuff you no longer want or need…into stuff you do! List your stuff at the new store, and sell for cash….or for any product in the store. You can even earn EA status each month selling unwanted items around your house! Use the new SFI store as your online garage sale to clean out your closets, attics and garages! List and sell dozens or even hundreds of miscellaneous items easily.

• Hot, new marketing program will allow you to easily generate lifetime retail customers by the hundreds! And earning EA status though retail sales will have never been simpler or easier!

• Standing Orders, on thousands of products, will be available both to affiliates AND retail customers. If you place an order containing any Standing Order-Eligible product, you’ll automatically be alerted how to set up a Standing Order for that item in seconds.

These are just SOME of the amazing features the new SFI store will come with. And there are many, many, many more. Not only that, the new store is also going to usher in some powerful new enhancements to the overall SFI program including substantial simplification, bigger bonuses, and more incentives to become and remain an EA.

Stay tuned for further details!

L. Robison

Needless to say, this announcement continues to pique my interest.

Ever since Gery Carson, President of SFI, announced this new, not-yet-opened ecommerce store, I’ve been waiting with bated breath to see if it lives up to my expectations.

Lately, I haven’t been doing much promotion of SFI products, because I don’t want to get things in place and then have to change everything when the new store opens.

So, instead of advertising for retail sales, I’ve been working on building a larger downline of affiliates so we all can promote more when the ecommerce store opens.

If you like, you can subscribe to a short email series about how you can promote SFI Marketing Group using the Private Success Team downline builder.

(Update August 2009: Affiliate link removed, as I no longer promote SFI Marketing Group.)

Originally, the store was supposed to open in late spring, 2008, but it has been delayed.

When asked about it, Gery Carson responded:

We’ve added many powerful features since originally announced so there is still a substantial amount of design and programming yet to do. Hence, an estimated arrival date is difficult to predict. It is well worth the wait I can assure you however.

When an affiliate asked if the new store will be open by Thanksgiving so we don’t miss the Christmas shopping season, Gery Carson answered:

Everything is progressing very nicely. So long as that continues, it should arrive well before Thanksgiving.

Now, anyone who has ever been involved in the development and implementation of a major ecommerce site knows that schedules can slip as new features are added and new problems surface.

So, I’m not concerned about a delay of a few months. I would much rather the new SFI store be opened when it’s ready, rather than being rushed to market just to meet an arbitrary goal date.

One of the things I find most intriguing about the new store is the increased availability of products and services that international affiliates can market. Shipping costs have made marketing SFI physical products cost prohibitive, and this includes the Veriuni line of health products, nutritional supplements, weight loss products, and all-natural cleaning products.

Many of these products are popular with customers in the United States, so I’m sure this has been frustrating for affiliates who live in other parts of the world.

I’m hoping there will be lots more products that can be marketed around the world as a result of the new store and the partner companies that will be shipping from many more locations than the current one in the United States.

I don’t mind recruiting new affiliates and building my downline, but that doesn’t increase my income nearly as much as promoting lots more products and services that can be bought by anyone at retail. I love making retail sales!

So, while I’m rather impatient and want to see this store, I’ll do my best to wait patiently until Gery announces the grand opening.

Then, if I like what I see, I’ll have a lot to say about the new SFI store as I explore ways to advertise and promote it and the products in it.

I hope you’ll come along for the ride. This might be a very interesting year for SFI.

Act on your dream!

JD