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marți, 14 iunie 2011

Anafore Customer Referral Program Review Graywolf's SEO Blog

Anafore Customer Referral Program Review

Posted: 13 Jun 2011 10:34 AM PDT

The following review is a sponsored post for Anafore Customer Referral Program.

Anafore customer referral program is an email add on that merchants or online stores can use to incentivize customers to share promotional offers with their friends in exchange for their own promotional offers. Basically, when a customer completes an order, it sends them an email asking them to forward this offer (like a 10% discount). For every person who converts, they get a a promotion (like 15% off their next order).

The system is really easy to set up. Basically you set up a custom subdomain to use for tracking, upload your logo, setup the discount message, and install a tracking script on your system. Screen shots of the setup below (click to enlarge)

When a customer completes an order, they give you a secret email to forward the customer info to them, and then either right away or on a delay you send them the email containing the referral offer. You have to program your shopping cart to take care of the discount; Anafore only handles the email and tracking. If you are using Amazon Webstore, Big Cartel, Etsy, Majento, Shopify or Volusion, they provide you with links during setup to get the offer set up properly.

Anafore Cart Options

Anafore tracks how many offers you sent, when you sent them, how many were opened and when, who are the biggest referrers, who are the biggest sharers and lots of other stats. I was running an imaginary campaign, so the numbers are low.

Anafore Tracking Dashboard

The system is really easy to set up and get information out of. If you are using one of the above mentioned platforms, integration is really easy. You can use your own ecommerce system. If you do, you will just need to set up the offers and take care of the data exchange, but it’s not too complicated. They do offer one month risk free; after that, it’s 65 cents per click. My suggestion would be not to trigger the campaign until the customer’s order is approved or ships–this way, you don’t end up paying for leads from deadbeats.

Creating a referral loyalty program is a really good idea. Your current customers are always your best leads, and giving them an incentive to share with their friends is a very good idea. The system is extremely easy to set up and, to be honest, I can’t see it taking more than an afternoon to implement. At 65 cents per click, it’s almost a no brainer unless you are working with extremely low-priced merchandise. You can customize your offers and presentation however you like, although my suggestion is to keep it as simple as possible. You can learn more about customization on the FAQ. With a one month risk free offer, it’s hard to go wrong, so give Anafore a try.

The preceding has been a sponsored post. Find out more information about sponsored posts.

photo credit: Shutterstock

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Anafore Customer Referral Program Review

Why is there a rock wall on the South Lawn?

Your Daily Snapshot for
Tuesday, June 14, 2011

Photo of the Day

Kids climb a rock wall during a Let's Move! South Lawn Series event on the South Lawn of the White House, June 13, 2011. The series, which invites students from Washington, D.C., area sports leagues and community programs to participate in a variety of physical activities, will last through the summer. (Official White House Photo by David Lienemann)

Seth's Blog : In praise of programming

In praise of programming

Not computer programming, which is important, but content programming.

Someone decides what to put on the radio after that song you just heard. Someone realizes that Conan needs to do more than just tell standup. Someone decides that if every tweet is just like the tweet you just sent, it's boring.

We're all programmers now. We all have to decide what to post next, what to point to next, what to launch next. Is there a skill in dreaming up Must-See Thursday nights, or in establishing a season of Shakespeare or even in deciding what's on the special list at the restaurant? I think there is.

Yes, you must do great work. You also need to figure out how to program for your audience, even if the audience is only one person.

• Email to a friend •

luni, 13 iunie 2011

Mish's Global Economic Trend Analysis

Rosenberg Says 99% Chance of Another Recession by 2012

Posted: 13 Jun 2011 12:31 PM PDT

In a Bloomberg video David Rosenberg, chief economist at Gluskin Sheff & Associates, says there is a 99% Chance of Another Recession by 2012. Rosenberg also talks about the outlook for the U.S. economy.

Selected Quotes

Bloomberg: How Certain are you that we may be headed for a recession

Rosenberg: I think that by 2012, I would give it a 99% chance. I say that because as an economist, you have to be part historian. When you have a manufacturing inventory cycle recession, they are usually separated 5 years apart. But when you have a balance sheet recession, credit contraction, asset deflation (for example residential real estate), the downturn tends to be separated every 2 to 2.5 years. ... Economists call this a soft patch. It's not like this is a soft patch. Basically, when all the stimulus is gone, you get to see what the emperor looks like disrobed. It's not a pretty picture.

No Double Dip

Rosenberg goes on to say it's a second recession, not a "double dip" and more stimulus is coming once the "Fed sees the white eyes of the economy".

Given that there is no incentive in Congress for more stimulus (nor should there be), Bernanke will have a tougher time, this time, unless there is a significant drop in oil and food prices.

Mike "Mish" Shedlock
http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com
Click Here To Scroll Thru My Recent Post List

Trichet's Twisted Mind Fights the Oil Monster Alone

Posted: 13 Jun 2011 08:54 AM PDT

I cannot help but laugh at the latest nonsense out of ECB president Jean-Claude Trichet. Please consider Trichet: Need to prevent oil-fed inflation spiral.

Speaking at an event organized by the London School of Economics, Trichet said the recent surge in energy and commodity costs had driven the sharp increase in headline euro zone inflation over the last year.

"In those circumstances, the central bank must prevent increases in the prices of raw materials from being incorporated into the long-term inflation expectations which could trigger second round effects on wages and prices," he said.

"Unemployment at 9.9 percent of the labor force remains much too high, and structural reforms are of the essence to make the euro area economy much more flexible and to elevate its growth potential," he said.

Inflation Expectation Theory is Nonsense

There is not a damn thing the ECB or anyone else can do about peak oil. There is nothing the ECB can do about rapidly expanding credit in China. There is nothing the ECB can do about misguided QE policies in the US.

But most importantly, this entire notion of "inflation expectations" is nonsense. It's time for a recap of Miracle of Survival and Falling Inflation Expectations.

Bear in mind what follows was written in response to misguided Fed worries about deflation (falling, not rising, inflation expectations). The same applies in either direction as I shall get to in a moment, but first consider this snip regarding falling inflation expectations.

Miracle of Survival and Falling Inflation Expectations

Series of Questions

If your refrigerator conks out, will you buy a new one or wait 6 months to take advantage of lower prices?
If the transmission on your car fails will you wait 6 months to get it fixed?
If your pantry is bare, will you wait 1 month to buy food even if you expect food prices to drop?
If you need a new winter coat, will you wait and if so, how long?

The answer to that last question is "Perhaps for a bit, but you will not wait 3 years even if you expect prices will be even lower 3 years from now."

Miracle of Survival

Today I received an even better example from "Chris" who writes...

Hello Mish

The best argument in your "winter coat" deflation comparison is consumer electronics. Everyone knows that as soon as they buy something from the consumer electronics department the price next month will go down or the same product will be offered with more bells and whistles for the same price. Yet by some miracle Best Buy seems to survive!

Thus, the next time you hear the Fed or some parrot taking about the importance of inflation expectations and how people will hold off buying stuff if they expect prices to fall, please calmly ask them how the hell Best Buy stays in business, making a huge profit on hundreds of stores, selling merchandise that will undoubtedly be lower in price in a few months.

According to the incredibly silly "inflation expectations" model, Best Buy cannot possibly exist, so it must be a miracle that it not only exists, but thrives.

To show that inflation expectation is nonsense in both directions please consider the following questions.

Rising Inflation Expectations Questions

If your refrigerator is working, will you buy another one out of fear prices are going up?
If you have a nice winter coat will you buy another one out of fear of rising prices?
If your freezer and pantry are full, will you buy more food with nowhere to store it?
Other than your car, do you have a place to store oil?

Businesses may buy ahead of price increases, but no more than they have room to store raw materials. Consumers may stock their freezers but only at the expense of something else they will then not have money to buy.

The only time people get in a mad rush to dump currency is in periods of hyperinflation or when credit is expanding rapidly. Well credit is not expanding rapidly, consumers are deep in debt and deleveraging.

Given constant supply of money and credit, if consumers stock up on one thing it is a mathematical certainty they will have to cut back elsewhere.

Why Do Prices Rise?

Prices do not rise out of expectations; prices rise out of increased money supply and credit (or supply constraints such as peak oil). If prices rise as a result of supply shocks, even peak oil, prices have to fall somewhere else, if money supply and credit are constant.

Wage growth is anemic. Credit is anemic. Fears of an inflation spiral as a result of rising "inflation expectations" is nonsensical.

No Winning Solution For Trichet

I am not saying Trichet shouldn't hike. I am saying his explanation is piss poor. Quite frankly he is trapped in a One Size Fits Germany Policy on interest rates. There are no solutions given the widely varying economic problems of Euro-Zone countries.

The ultimate irony in Trichet's madness is he proclaims to be worried about inflation, yet promised "unlimited liquidity" at 1.5%. Are we to believe a hike from 1.25 to 1.5 percent will cure the inflation problem, so much so that the ECB can continue offering "unlimited liquidity"?

Apparently not, given Trichet wants to hike rates to contain the "inflation expectations" of his own "unlimited liquidity" policy.

Is that twisted or what?

Please see Confused Trichet Walks Tightrope on Liquidity, Rate Hikes, Greece; Reflections on Unexpected Things for more details.

Mike "Mish" Shedlock
http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com
Click Here To Scroll Thru My Recent Post List

Damn Cool Pics

Japan Earthquake and Tsunami Recovery

Posted: 13 Jun 2011 03:32 PM PDT

Japan is finally trying to recover from the devastating earthquake and tsunami that struck the country earlier this year. These photos show what a monumental effort it is. It will probably be years before things are back to normal.