Make Money with Affiliate Programs

The .ME top-level domain is now open for registration by the general public. They are going for $19.99 a year with a two-year minimum (at least at GoDaddy where I registered some names).

I think this could be a useful domain extension for affiliates for a few reasons. First, if you are doing anything with PPC, this could be a short, action oriented URL for your ads.

Second, it is a good extension for your personal brand for a resume, personal blog, etc.

And third, you can make some interesting calls to action by getting a name that can be made into a call to action for lots of products or services.

Register .ME domains today before all of the good names are gone.

Bear in mind, there are lots of people registering these domains today, so even if you think you’ve successfully registered a domain, you might be out of luck.

That happened to me with five .ME domains today. I went through the process to purchase them and later got emails like this one:

Dear Shawn Collins,

The following domain name has failed to be registered:

HIRE.ME

Error: HIRE.ME: cannot register - already registered

We will evaluate this error and retry the registration if appropriate.

If we are unable to successfully register the domain name, your account will be credited accordingly. Please allow one business day for the refund to be processed.

Please contact GoDaddy.com, Inc. if you need any further assistance:
http://www.godaddy.com/gdshop/support.asp?prog_id=GoDaddy&isc=gdbb14

Sincerely,
GoDaddy.com, Inc.

Nice that I didn’t get that already registered indication until after they took my money. Other domains were shown as already registered as I searched for them.

La.ME

I am always interested in seeing uncommon ways to market affiliate links, and one example I came across today is a Domain Lookup Firefox extension.

Not only is this a very useful tool for domain junkies, as the extension enables users to perform one click domain searches through their registrar of choice using selected text in their browser window, but it’s a great place to work in affiliate links.

This Firefox extension currently works for 1&1, 123reg, DirectNic, DomainDiscover, Dotster, eNom, Fabulous, GoDaddy, Melbourne IT, Moniker, Register.com, NameCheap, NameScout, Network Solutions, UKReg, and UK2.

More details at http://www.qualitynonsense.com/148/domain-lookup-firefox-extension/.

Q: I have a multitude of keyword affiliate domains (i.e. bookaffiliates, sportswearaffiliates). Would I be better off developing these domains as niche directories for businesses looking for affiliates in these areas, or should I try to find buyers for the domains?

A: Neither option really falls into affiliate marketing, per se.

I would discourage you from developing these domains as directories, as I am guessing that with the “multitude” of domains, whether they be in the dozens or hundreds, you are not going to build real sites.

These “directories” won’t serve any need, in my opinion.

I’d love for you to prove me wrong, but I am doubtful that you’d be willing to sustain even ten sites of this time for any period of time.

I think you’re better off trying to sell the domains, if there is a market for them.

Otherwise, the wisest move may be to never make a move. Just let them expire.

If you really love some of them, create authentic sites that solve a problem for people. Provide a unique value proposition with your sites - don’t look for the quick hit.

Download the answer to the affiliate domains question.

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