On the morning of day two at the show last week, Melissa Wicks from VScrub Merchant Solutions moderated the well-attended free site seminars starting with “How To Convert Traffic Into $$$” and following up with a seminar on “How To Make Affiliate Programs Work For You.” After the introductions of Aly from Python, Big Bear from GrammaCash, BT from TrafficCashGold and Ben Bayr from Cyberservice for the first seminar, the questions started rolling in from newbies and old-timers alike..On the morning of day two at the show last week, Melissa Wicks from VScrub Merchant Solutions moderated the well-attended free site seminars starting with “How To Convert Traffic Into $$$” and following up with a seminar on “How To Make Affiliate Programs Work For You.” After the introductions of Aly from Python, Big Bear from GrammaCash, BT from TrafficCashGold and Ben Bayr from Cyberservice for the first seminar, the questions started rolling in from newbies and old-timers alike.

There seemed to be some disagreement on how many pop-ups are considered acceptable, and what the level that essentially “kills” traffic is, but the panelists were in agreement that consoles can definitely provide you with extra revenue. “We are a spreadsheet driven industry,” stated Aly, “A good exit strategy and a way to monitize your traffic is with consoles.”

Big Bear went on to discuss his free site strategy that he has employed for years ranging from “One-page wonders” with text only, on up to full-on websites. “If you want to play with the directories, then you need to play by the rules,” he cautioned. Big Bear also added that he prefers using his one-page wonders with text only consoles to build up traffic on his free sites to send to pay sites.

When it comes to paying for traffic or working on getting traffic to your site, Aly said that, “Experimentation is key.” Time isn’t free, so it’s a waste of time if you are spending up to 20 hours a day and driving non-converting traffic to paysites. But not all paysites and affiliate program operators who run them are created equal. BT claimed that he prefers a “pay-per-join” business model as a way to make a quicker buck, and it is easier to trust as opposed to a rev-share model.

Next up for the morning free site seminars was the seminar on “How To Make Affiliate Programs Work For You” featuring guest speakers Quentin from TopBucks, Tonda from WegCash, Tony from ChiChiClicks and BT from TrafficCashGold.

Quentin stated that there are many levels of affiliate programs, but it is important to aggressively advertise if you offer several sites, as opposed to just offering a one page affiliate program and hoping that traffic will come. “You want Webmasters to push and promote your traffic so it’s essential to take care of ALL of your Webmasters.” Let your Webmasters know in mailings who your top referrers are.

When operating a free site, you should always shop around to find an affiliate program that works best for you to promote on your site. Word of mouth is often a good tactic to employ, especially with Webmasters who operate similar free sites as you do. Quentin said that you should mix ads and different affiliate sites in with your content, but not to make your site a banner farm. Tonda agreed adding that you shouldn’t oversaturate your site with banners

Things got pretty heated up when the inevitable topic of affiliate shaving was brought up by an audience member. Shaving has been a problem and a bone of contention for Webmasters in our industry since the affiliate program model surfaced several years ago, but has always seemed to begrudgingly be accepted in our industry. The panelists agreed that there is some amount of shaving that goes on out in our industry, but that a reputable affiliate program is not going to actively try to rip you off, especially considering that a surfer can end up to one of their paysites though any level of clicks.

It’s important to follow your stats, and if you aren’t happy with your affiliate program there are always going to be several alternatives to switch to, and until Webmasters band together to boycott and take a stand against some of the industry’s biggest shavers, it will always exist.

Jay “LAJ” Kopita is the Executive Editor for YNOT NEWS and the Communications Director for YNOTMASTERS and can be reached at editor@ynotnews.com and jay@ynotmasters.com.