Thursday, February 16, 2006

Who "owns" your zip code? What? You mean someone may own my zip code? How? Don't be concerned. It's not what you may be thinking. Dan Nickerson has created a remarkable GeoAfilliate Marketing concept and has created several websites to make it work. With most affiliate marketing, an individual joins a merchant's program and then promotes the merchant's products using an individualized affiliate code. Dan introduces a different way of doing affiliate marketing with Got-Zip.com. Instead of promoting a merchant's products with your individual code, you just send them to Got-Zip.com. Dan handles joining the various affiliate programs, approximately 100 at this time, and the site maanages your commissions based on the zip code in which the visitor/purchaser lives. When you go to the site, you tell it your zip code and a cookie is placed on your computer to remember it. That's it. From then on, when you visit Got-Zip.com and make a purchase, the person who "owns" your zip code (and/or county or state) will get a part of the commission from that transaction. If nobody "owns" the zip code, county, or state, the unclaimed commission is put into a reserve pool and is shared by all the folks who own other territories. How do you "own" a zip code? There are three ways. Well, actually, there are six ways, depending upon where you live. You can "own" a zip code by paying an annual fee. If you live in the zip code you purchased, you are considered a resident. Otherwise, you are considered a prospector. A prospector, who lives outside a territory, can purchase the area. However, if a resident comes along later, the resident can also purchase the area and they will share commissions on any purchases made by residents of the area. However, if a resident buys a territory first, prospectors are locked out and the resident gets the full share of the commissions. Zip codes are "sold" on an annual basis. Counties and States are sold based on a monthly subscription. At this time, all the states are taken, but there are still many counties and zip codes available. I don't know if this will stall out or take off and fly. However, I've read all the posts in the forum that go back over a year and Dan appears to be honest and hardworking. He has some very innovative ideas. Based on my evaluation, and gut-feeling, I "bought" my 28906 zip code and Cherokee County, NC. I probably would have bought North Carolina, but someone beat me to it. If you decide you want to be a part of this, you should be aware that it will take some time before your investment will pay off in profits unless you can generate sales to people living in your territory. If you just purchase a territory and wait for others to do the work, it may take a long time to profit. One good thing is that nobody so far has lost any money by trying it. In the past, if someone cancelled their subscription, all their payments were refunded. Now, they have a territory auction to give others a chance to purchase your territory from you. What happens if you live in a sparsely-populated rural county, as I do. Is it fair to pay the same price for that zip code or county as someone else would pay for a territory in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Houston, or another territory with many more people and prospective customers? It depends on several factors. Are you a resident or a prospector? How much local promotion are you going to do? Do you have traffic funnels you can use to direct people living in your territory to Got-Zip.com? Depending upon your personal marketing initiative and creativity, you may be able to make more sales in a smaller area than someone else can generate in a more-populated area. You get your share of the commissions on sales in your territory. What I didn't realize at first, and which makes this more attractive in my opinion, is that you also get an equal share of the commissions on sales in territories that have not been claimed. But, I don't believe you can depend upon that to earn a profit. It may offset some of your investment, but you need to generate sales from residents in your territory to make this really profitable for you. And, you may also earn from others' promotional efforts. Perhaps a customer sees advertising from one of the other territory owners and they make a purchase. If they live in your territory, you'll get the commission (or at least your part of it). The same holds true if someone living in another territory sees your advertising and makes a purchase. The "owner" of that territory will profit from your promotional efforts. The easy part of this is that you don't have to use affiliate codes to earn from it. All participants just send folks to Got-Zip.com and the site's software and administrators sort the commissions by zip code. If you type in the Got-Zip.com URL, don't forget the hyphen. If you want to be a part of this, you should take a long-term view on your participation. You will not earn massive profits in a short time with no work. I'm going to be watching this site and this new concept of GeoAffiliate Marketing to see how it works. I invite you to visit Got-Zip.com and make a purchase from one of our many merchants. Who knows, I may make a commission off your purchase. Or maybe someone else will. But, you'll still be buying products you like from vendors you trust and will not pay any more by going to Got-Zip.com to find the merchant and click on their link. We'll appreciate your business! 2:32:30 AM    comment []

Sunday, January 1, 2006

I want to help you promote your business and get more customers in 2006. If you own a business, you already know that all businesses need new customers. Two months ago, a new online service was introduced with the purpose of making it easy for merchants and business owners to offer special discount offers to attract new customers (or reward existing customers). Not only is it easy to do, but it costs absolutely nothing to register your business and create your special offers. You, as a business owner or manager, can decide what kind of offer you want to make. You can offer a percentage discount on the next purchase. Offer a special price or a freebie. Buy one, get one free. Buy one, get another at half price. Buy lunch and get a free beverage. $500 off at closing when you buy a new home. Whatever kind of offer that works for both you and your customers or clients. You know all about these kinds of offers. So do your customers and potential customers. And your competition. What's the catch? There isn't one. You can advertise for free and set all the conditions of the offer. All we ask is that you pay a bounty for each coupon that is redeemed by a paying customer. And, to top it off, you decide how much you're willing to pay for that customer to redeem the coupon. It's entirely up to you. You advertise free and pay only for results. How much are you willing to pay to acquire a new customer? How much are you willing to pay to get new business from your existing customers? What is the lifetime value of a new customer for your business? How much are you paying to acquire a customer now? Are you willing to try something new where you control the offer and the amount you're willing to pay, and to pay only when someone actually purchases from you? You don't have to pay for advertising and hope it works. You don't have to pay when someone clicks your advertising link. You pay only when someone actually redeems your coupon and makes a purchase from you. Guaranteed results. When you create an offer, won't you think about making your expiration date at least a year from now? That way, more people will get a chance to try your offer, you'll have less administrative efforts in renewing the offer, our affiliates (thousands of them) will have an easier time promoting your offer, and we'll all save time and effort in promoting your business. Of course, if an expiration date a year from now doesn't suit you or your offer, you're free to set the offer and the expiration date to exactly what you want. That's one of the beauties of this new service. We're working hard to promote you. I'm asking you to give us a try. If it doesn't result in new business for you, it won't cost you a penny - just a few minutes of your time. I'm also asking you to make an offer that is exclusive to our service. How many people promote your coupon when you advertise in your newspaper? We are ready to actively promote your offer. Since you're saving money by not paying for advertising that doesn't work, we'd like to ask you to make a offer that is better than your usual offer. You'll benefit and so will your new customers. I want to promote your business. If you go to http://ShowYourCoupon.com you can see our service in action. To register your business and start creating your special offers, go to http://merchant-info.showyourcoupon.com and sign up for free. I'll syndicate your coupon at http://SyndicateYourAd.com and to other websites, weblogs, and other venues -- all at no extra cost to you. Try us, please. You have nothing to lose, and the potential of attracting new paying customers at a cost you set. Remember, no customers, no cost. Register your business for free and make your offer to new prospective customers. I want your business and I'm willing to work to help you promote your business and make more sales. Your coupon will be actively promoted at SyndicateYourAd.com and many other sites that are fed from that weblog. Sign up today. (This service does not accept offers for business opportunities. We are happy, however, to help you promote your products and services.) Thank you, and I look forward to promoting your business. I hope you have a wonderful 2006. John L. Dilbeck Dilbeck Marketing Murphy, NC 3:29:48 PM    comment []

Saturday, December 24, 2005

Women for Women Grants Application Deadline -- February 3, 2006 -- Western North Carolina (Asheville, North Carolina) (Context Tag: Western North Carolina, Women for Women) Almost one year ago, they began coming together, a group of women who wanted to create positive change for women and girls in western North Carolina. They formed Women for Women and now have more than $185,000 to grant in the coming months to nonprofit organizations and public agencies that serve women in crisis. Grants from $30,000 to $100,000 are available, and the deadline to apply is Friday, February 3, 2006. To date, 188 women have become members of Women for Women, a special initiative of the Community Foundation of Western North Carolina that encourages women's philanthropy. Each member contributes $1,100 per year for three years, then together they learn about pressing needs facing women throughout the region and determine how to direct their funds. During the first year of grantmaking, the membership decided to award grants to organizations that are helping economically disadvantaged women rebuild their lives and be more self-sufficient. "We are looking for applicants that can supply safety net programs to prevent setbacks for women such as homelessness, joblessness, and hunger," said Carol Minton, chair of the grants committee. "We plan to fund groups that work cooperatively with others, address causes rather than symptoms, and make a lasting impact." To be eligible for consideration, a nonprofit organization or public agency must meet specific guidelines and serve one or more of the 18 counties in the western North Carolina region. To apply for a grant or become a member of Women for Women, visit Community Foundation of Western North Carolina or call 828-254-4960. 1:35:46 AM    comment []

Friday, December 9, 2005

What are you doing to help others succeed in 2006? I've created several forums with the goal of helping you help others. What are you or your group doing to help others in 2006? I've written a short article about this at: We succeed by helping each other succeed Who in your community is working to make your town a better place in which to live? With whom are you volunteering? What are the group's goals and how are they working to achieve those goals? If they have an online presence (website, blog, mailing list, news group, or forum) tell us about it. I welcome your input, comments and thoughts on how we can work together to help each other succeed. All the best, JD I succeed by helping you succeed. 5:42:04 AM    comment []

Tuesday, December 6, 2005

Initializing categories at ISucceedByHelpingYouSucceed.com A few days ago, I made the decision to move all my blogs powered by Blogger off their free storage at Blogspot.com. Over the weekend, I was busy rethinking what I want to do with my blogs, how I want to power them, where I want them hosted, and how to syndicate them for maximum readership. This post is to announce a new website I just created to help me with those aims, and, also, to create the new categories I'll be using here. In subsequent postings, all will be posted to the home page, and some will also be posted to the appropriate category. It will take another week or two to make things work as well as they were before Blogger started blocking my blogs. Things happen, we make changes, time goes on. (Context Tag: Act On Your Dream, I succeed by helping you succeed) 8:05:43 AM    comment []

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