Tricia Meyer

Affiliate Marketer, Blogger, and Consultant

Why I Still Walk for Breast Cancer Awareness

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Avon Walk to End Breast Cancer

I’ve seen a lot of posts in my Facebook feed this month about “pinkwashing” and why Breast Cancer Awareness month is a farce. I take the time to read all of them because I don’t want to be one of those people who just buries my head in sand and ignores anyone who disagrees with me. But after doing a 10 mile training walk on the treadmill today, I felt like I couldn’t be quiet anymore about why *I* will be doing the Avon 39 Walk to End Breast Cancer next week.

The first time that I signed up for the walk, I did it for very simple reasons. Both of my grandmothers had breast cancer. I had many friends, neighbors, and colleagues who fought breast cancer along with an aunt and a cousin. I felt so impacted by the sheer volume of people around me who had faced it. I wanted to do something to honor all of them and it seemed like the money and awareness that I could raise would be a way of doing that.

That first walk changed everything.

In the course of my fundraising, people came out of the woodwork telling me their stories. A neighbor who was only my age and had undergone a double mastectomy and I didn’t even know it. A friend whose mother died of breast cancer the year before. It seemed like by putting it out there that I was doing the walk, people felt more comfortable talking to me about breast cancer. Many of them thanked me for doing it and asked me to carry their names or the names of their loved ones during my walk, and I did.

During the walk itself, I saw so many survivors. I was humbled to see women who were just completing chemo walking faster than I was. I learned that my teammates were all walking for very personal reasons, too. Talking to Shawn and knowing why he wears the hat that he wears reminds me at every mile how important it is to him. Seeing Vanessa‘s mom, a breast cancer survivor herself, waiting and waving at the Finish Line brought the whole walk into perspective.

And then there’s the money.

A lot is said about how much of the “funds” raised by pink campaigns actually goes to research and the people who need it. I don’t doubt for one minute that many companies use it mainly for PR, and I hate that the NFL gives so little compared to what it looks like they are giving. Attending the opening and closing ceremonies of the Avon Walk as well as their website tells me exactly where that money is going. Hearing people from God’s Love We Deliver, You Can Thrive!, and the NYU Cancer Center talk about how they are using the money they are getting makes me wish I had raised even more.

It’s Not Just Me

For every story out there about someone who hates Breast Cancer Walks, there is another story about someone who is inspired by them. Today I came across this post Why I Quit the Avon Walk, and it was NOT at all what I expected. It’s the story of Michelle Ward and how important the walk was to her 6 months after chemo. The post is from 2012 and in it she vows to continue doing the walk each year. I skimmed through her site to see if she is walking this year. I found 2 things: Michelle’s fundraising page for this year (having raised over $7K so far and walking again with her mom, BFF, and another friend) and a blog post by Michelle from October 7 of this year saying that the breast cancer has reoccurred (My Begrudging Life Lessons).

I hope somehow in that sea of people in New York this weekend that I find Team Awesome and can tell them that I read about Michelle and am praying for her. She posted “I personally feel strong when I share what I’m going through and get messages of kindness and support back.” I intend to find any way that I can to let her know that she has the support of a totally unknown blogger in Indiana.

I probably haven’t changed your mind about whether you will walk a walk like this yourself or even give money to mine. But I hope that I have at least shared a different perspective from what you are seeing on social media. My heart breaks for the women who feel like “pink” and “October” are a slap in the face for what they have been through. I hope that they will understand that the rest of us are just trying to do what we can in the ways that we know how to give our time and money to a cause we ALL believe in.

 

Affiliates Should Keep An Eye on Commissions

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When I first started adding affiliate marketing links to my site, I watched my numbers like a hawk. I could tell you every banner that was clicked through, how much money I had made that day, and how far I was from getting my first check. Of course, I was lucky if I was getting 1 sale a day and sometimes it took 3 months to hit a network minimum to get a payment!

Since then I have become more lax about watching when the money comes in. Even if I track my earnings regularly, I don’t always check important things like when a merchant last paid the network, when a network last paid me, and if all of the checks I DID receive were correct. That’s a big mistake. If affiliate marketing is your business, you need to treat it like one and be sure that you are receiving every penny that is owed to you. Here are some ways that you can ensure that you get what you deserve.

Choose Networks That Make Merchants Pre-Pay

Every network does their payment system a little bit different. Some invoice merchants at the end of the month and give them X amount of time to pay, which means you get it Y amount of time later. Other networks make the merchant put money into an account or put a credit card on file to cover the commissions at the time of the transaction. This is preferable!

I understand that merchants want to pay later. But for many reasons this causes problems for affiliates. As an incentive site, it is hard for me to wait for 90 days to pay out my members when they make purchases. Even as a non-incent site, you may be putting out money in advance for traffic or advertising that is hard to wait 90 days to get back (especially if you are a new company).

Even if you can afford to wait for the funds, you do not want to take the chance of getting burned by a company that goes out of business. We have seen numerous merchants file for bankruptcy. Affiliates become unsecured creditors under the Bankruptcy Code. This essentially means that we are about last on the list to see any money. Even if they end up paying pennies on the dollar to their creditors, the network will get their cut first. A lot of affiliates lost out when big brand names like Linen ‘n Things and Entertainment Book filed bankruptcy, and I am guessing that we won’t be seeing any money coming from Coldwater Creek for the sales we sent this month.

You do not always have a choice as an affiliate, but if you do have the choice, go with a merchant on a network where the funds are guaranteed to get to the network. Even if the network holds them for 30 days, at least you know you are going to get paid. My personal favorite for this is ShareASale because they are very transparent about the process and let you know if a merchant’s funding dips.

Watch When Merchants Pay the Network and You

If you end up going with a merchant on a network that does not require pre-payment, be sure that you are watching to see when a particular merchant’s money is being added to your account. Most networks will have a place in their system where you can see what each payment you receive represents.

Linkshare has an interesting report under “My Account” “Payment Info” “Advertiser Payments History.” You can see a chart of all of the merchants for which you have generated commissions and when they paid their invoices. Sometimes it can be a little bit alarming. For example, it is the end of May and 1800flowers has not yet paid its February invoice for some reason (although it paid March).

Hmmm…flowers…February…I’m guessing they owe a lot of affiliates a lot of money?

Impact Radius sends out an alert when a merchant owes you money and is behind in paying. At that point it is too late to do anything about the past money but at least you can decide it you want to continue promoting the merchant until they get caught up.

Also be sure that the network itself is sending you money when it is supposed to. I realized one time that Google had been sitting on my payments for 3 months because I didn’t have something tax-related updated in my account!

Stay Updated on Major Commission Drops

I know you receive 1000 newsletters a day, and many of us are guilty of not reading them all. But there are some that you NEED to be reading. Merchants are dropping commissions left and right. You may end up being lowered to 1% or even 0% in a program. Chances are good that the merchant isn’t going to call and leave a message on your home phone when they do it. Many of them are quietly slipping them by affiliates.

I like to keep bookmarked the thread “The Ever-Decreasing Commission Rate Downward Spiral” on ABW. You won’t see everything posted but most of the time people do tend to post the really egregious ones. It’s an okay backup if you happen to miss an email. The more of us who contribute to the thread, the more useful it will be.

As an affiliate, there is no one looking after your commissions except for you. You have to place a lot of trust in the networks with which you are working to make sure that they are looking out for your best interests, giving you the tools to watch your money, and creating some kind of accountability with the merchants.

Have you ever found yourself missing a chunk of affiliate revenue? What caused it? Were you able to get it back?

Support My 40 Mile Avon Breast Cancer Walk

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Update! I’ll be walking in my FOURTH walk in October!

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As a part of Affiliate Marketers Give Back, I will be undertaking my second Avon Walk for Breast Cancer this October 18th and 19th in New York. I completed this walk back in 2012 and it was one of the most amazing experiences of my life for many reasons. I could use your support this year in a lot of different ways.

(Don’t want to read the whole post? You can jump to my Donation Page if that is the only thing you are looking for!)

Why I Walk

I posted the first time I did the walk about my two grandmothers. Grandma Emma is a breast cancer survivor. Grandma Rose, unfortunately, is not. Her breast cancer  was so advanced once detected that it spread to her lungs and other places. We lost her very quickly. I walked also for a handful–maybe 10?–of other people close to me whose lives had been touched by breast cancer.

As I prepared for that walk and word got around that I was doing it, I was shocked at the number of friends and family members who told me that they were breast cancer survivors. Cousins, co-workers, neighbors, Bunco group members, Zumba girls. I would say that the number of people I am walking for this year is probably more like 40 or 50.

As Vanessa and Shawn and I walked the last 13 miles on that Sunday in New York, trying to muster up as much energy and enthusiasm as we could while braving blisters and chaffing and muscle aches, I was inspired by all of the people around me. Men and women who fought breast cancer bravely were walking right along side us (and finishing before us!). They bore shirts with their pictures and held signs with their stories. It was impossible not to be forever touched by it.

I have two daughters and three nieces. I have a sister and a sister-in law. Statistically, one of us will be diagnosed with breast cancer. The thought of it being any one of those 7 literally brings me to tears. Will it be caught early? How invasive will it be? What can I do NOW to help??

How You Can Support Me

I’m asking for your support and I will take it any way that I can get it.

First, I need donations to even be able to walk. Last time I received $5 donations from a LOT of people and those $5 donations ended up adding up a lot. I need to raise $1800 total in order to be able to walk (that doesn’t include the hotel and flights that I pay for separately). You can make donations quickly and easily online. If you donate and want me to walk for someone in particular for you, let me know who that is and I will add their name to the list that I will carry through the event.

Second, you can help me spread the word about the walk. The more people who read this post, the more people who are going to help me and help support the walk in general. Tweet the post. Share it on FB. I’m not above begging when it comes to something like this.

Third, when it comes time for the walk, keep an eye on us that weekend and cheer us on. Chances are pretty good that I am going to end up having to get a cortisone injection in my ankle to be able to pull off the whole 40 miles, but I am dedicated to completing it. The people who commented on pictures and texted me during those last 5-10 miles last time were what got me through it. For a little while the text messages were the only thing that kept me from wanting to just stop and wait for a bus to come by and get me. It really made that much of a difference!

The Education is Important

Yes, this walk is a fundraiser. And it raises a LOT of money for some great causes. But it is also about education. It’s about awareness. You might say to yourself “but people talk about breast cancer all the time.” There’s a reason for that. Every 13 minutes a life is lost to breast cancer. Early detection is so incredibly important–lifesaving. Events like the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer play a big part in that by educating people, paying for educational programs, and supporting educational programs financially. In addition, there is still the hope that funds raised will lead to a cure.

Can I count on you to support me in some way? Big or little, I can use all of it that I can get!

Why My Business Will Not Be Open Thanksgiving

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As Black Friday approaches, I am seeing more and more advertising materials. Between the customer facing ads I get myself (via email and my mailbox) and the newsletters I am getting from the merchants I promote, it’s obvious that everyone is ready to start making that anticipated holiday money. But at what cost?

When I was younger I would get up early with my mom and go Black Friday shopping. That was officially the start of holiday shopping season. More recently, companies started running their “Black Friday” deals online on Thursday. (I’ll admit that I sometimes check those out while watching football.)

Now I am hearing more about brick and mortar stores that are actually starting their holiday deals on Thursday…Thanksgiving…in the morning! And I am sure that there are plenty of cash back and deal sites who will be running big fun things on Thanksgiving to try to capitalize.

I will not be one of them. Sunshine Rewards will not be one of them.

My company will be closed on Thanksgiving. Just like it was last year. In fact, we even let our customers know in advance that we will not be working on that day and that they can reach us again starting Friday morning. We’ve sent out emails in the past saying that we will be closed so that our employees could spend time with their families. Not a single customer has ever complained.

Why am I so adamant that we will not be open on Thanksgiving even though I know that we could probably make more money if we were? Quite a few reasons.

First, I’m busy on Thanksgiving. Plain and simple I have a lot to do! Between turkey baking and wine drinking and football games, time is of a premium on Thanksgiving.

Second, Thanksgiving is a family day. For pretty much the entire rest of the year I am on a laptop, tablet, or phone working. Whether I am in my office or my family room or even the school pickup line, I am always working off and on. Thanksgiving is one of the only days of the year where we are all together without work or school or dance class or Zumba or any other noise. If there were ever a time to truly focus on spending time as a family without any distractions except for food and football, it’s Thanksgiving.

Lastly, everyone deserves a break. My customers deserve a break from endless streams of sales emails in their inboxes. I deserve a break from the computer. Affiliate managers deserve a break from hearing from me. If we all agree to take a break on the same day, it can work out. When others don’t follow our lead, it creates expectations that we should all continue to be online because others are.

You could make the argument that I will still make money on Thanksgiving because people can technically still shop through my site. That’s true. But it is a fraction of what I would make if I were out pushing deals that day. I could even automate my Daily Deal newsletter to go out that day, but I won’t. I don’t want people looking for the email. I want them doing whatever it is they like to do on Thanksgiving. If that includes online shopping, they can feel free to visit my site. I just won’t be on it.

Will you be working on Thanksgiving? Is it too good a marketing opportunity to miss?

Why Affiliate Marketers Should DIRTFT

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When I was a kid, my dad had a shirt from work that I will never forget. It was plain blue with the letters “DIRTFT” on the front in blue. Simple but profound. We joked that it was his “Dirt Foot” shirt. But it was really a motto that they had at PPG, “Do It Right The First Time.” It always stuck with me both in my work and my private life.

It’s easier to do something fast than to do it right, but many times that will come back to bite you. When I get an idea, I want to execute it immediately. Sometimes that means cutting corners. But in the end, I know that I am better doing it right the first time.

I’ve come across this so many times in my affiliate marketing business and figured I would share them with you so that you don’t make some of the same mistakes that I did.

  • Use Templates and CSS. Often when you are building a site you just want to jump in and get it going. When I launched Sunshine Rewards it was on a template system with CSS but to save time I often just hard coded things like URLs, fonts, and colors. My programmer hated it. Fast forward 7 years and we are now white labeling the site. Every place that I hard coded versus using the template or CSS now has to be changed. This can also come into play when you are using a WordPress Theme and have to upgrade it.
  • Build Affiliate Links Properly. On SR we use a link database. One some of my blogs I use Pretty Links. But in a lot of places I have just dumped in raw affiliate links because I was trying to get a post up quickly. With the closure of the Google Affiliate Network, I have had to change every single link for affected merchants. On SR and where I used Pretty Links to redirect, it is a snap. But in all of the places that I just dropped a quick affiliate link? It’s nearly impossible. It would take me so much time to go into every post that it wouldn’t be worth the time. Will I lose revenue? Absolutely. So now I have to pick and choose where I will lose the most and where it isn’t worth it to spend the time changing the links. Not a good use of time.
  • Use SubIds or Different Network Accounts. Most affiliate networks will allow you to use your links on multiple sites. That makes it easy to apply for a program once and then just use those links across different sites. But what happens when you want to try to figure out revenue for a particular merchant just for one of your sites? Or if you want to sell a site? If you know you won’t be selling sites, at least use the SubIDs available within each network so that you can easily see which sites your revenue is coming from. If you think there is a chance you might ever sell your sites, you may want to have separate network accounts when possible.
  • Anticipate replication. When I first started working with CPA Networks, we coded our site to be able to do postbacks from just them. Once we started working with a couple more Networks, we completely changed our system to be able to quickly add new networks without redoing a lot of work. Now we can add postbacks for most networks that use the most common platforms (CAKE, Directtrack, etc) in less than an hour.
  • Set up folders and use naming conventions. I have so many images and files on my computer and often I know that I want something from the past but just can’t put my finger on it. It may be a stock photo that I bought years ago and never renamed or a video saved in a random folder. Do yourself a favor and rename images so that you can find them later, set up folders to organize different projects or sites, and don’t just save everything in default places with default names because it’s faster. You’ll regret it later!

There are so many areas in my business where I am either glad that I took the time to do something right the first time or regret that I did not. Do you have any examples of either from yours?