ClickBankSuccessForum.com

calvin69 · Joined: 13 Apr 2004 Posts: 25

Let me be the first to applaud Steve Rouse at ClickBank for having the guts to show up here. I'm not sure I'd have the courage with all of the problems we're experiencing with ClickBank.

With that said, let me stir the pot a bit.

On January 1, I started a tiny marketing co-op. We're a small group of work-at-home internet marketers laser focused on matching people with problems (search via pay per click search engines like Google(TM)) and matching them to companies with solutions (like merchants at ClickBank). We've been delighted with ClickBank up until last month...

... But these days, we're seeing wild, inconsistent sales results... just as ClickBank's CEO claims "systemwide record setting numbers."

So who do you believe?

Mondays are typically the strongest day of the week for us... it's usually the best day for ClickBank conversions. But is it pure coincidence that our numbers are way down around the time ClickBank added this statement to the first page of their order form:

wayne · Joined: 13 Apr 2004 Posts: 762

Steve posted in another thread that they had to put that wording on
the order form to please Visa, and I don't think that is the problem
with the inconsistent sales. My sales were down in April, but then
later in the day on the 29th they started up again, and have been
normal since then even with the wording on the order form. Although
my sales do seem to be down some today again.

Edit: I no sooner posted this and I checked my account and my second
sale has just shown up. Starting out kind of slow today (2 PM), but will see
what happens the rest of the day, maybe it will straighten out.

calvin69 · Joined: 13 Apr 2004 Posts: 25

Here's an idea... I have a Web page all about ClickBank... I'd like to include a section with a checklist... a checklist that affiliates (and merchants) could reference to make sure ClickBank is up and running.

Here's one nifty example... I use http://www.alertra.com to check a link from 4 or 5 different parts of the world.

Do you have any nifty ClickBank checklist ideas that we could reference before we go into "panic mode?" If so, post 'em here... I'll compile 'em... and display them at my site, too.

Cheers!
Markus Allen
Publisher
$10,000 Marketing Tip of the Day

jjjones · Joined: 28 Apr 2004 Posts: 120

My ClickBank sales are down tonight but I chalked it up to the final episode for Friends. Smile

Went to my local watering hole and they were dead as well (and Thursday is usually a very busy night there)

My point? Go have yourself a beer and be glad your world doesn't revolve around a stupid sitcom.

James

ClickBobby · Joined: 03 May 2004 Posts: 1026

I haven't noticed any change in my Clickbank sales.

I wish stats were better and I probably would add a few other things to my wish list....but overall, I think Clickbank is a great site/service.

ClickBobby

Max_m · Joined: 28 Apr 2004 Posts: 178

calvin69,

I honestly don't think that the problem is with the (new) wording on the order form. Yes it might put off some customers, to my opinion not more then 5% of buyers.

The problems with sales lately look to me like a clear tracking problem at CB, i for one had a record day on Monday (a very unusual record high which to me suggest a serious tracking problem, OR that sales reported are delayed and then all come at once on one day). Same with refunds by the way. I offten get a quiet 3 to 4 days with 0 refunds and then suddenly boom, 6 or seven refunds in one day.

Nope, it is not the wording on the order form. It is the tracking of sales which is way off.

P.S.
Here is another example. I had three 0 sales days up to this morning (very unusual my end) and woops, checking my states this morning i can see 6 new sales for last night (???).No adwords campaigns running (all off till i can see tracking returning to normal). Go figure !........probably will die for another 3 days again but i'ill have to just wait and see.

Also, looking at other posts here I am starting to notice a pattern, whenever some affiliates report record low days some other affiliates will report record highs and vice versa.

Are sales being tracked to the right accounts ???

Just my 2 cents.

ClickBobby · Joined: 03 May 2004 Posts: 1026

wshi88 · Joined: 14 Apr 2004 Posts: 17

My clickbank sales surged this week after Phil Wiley sent out a newsletter promoting Traffic Equalizer (see my detailed TE review here).

If you missed the newsletter, please email me, see my signature file for email address.
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William

Michael Rasmussen · Posted: Fri May 07, 2004 4:56 am Post subject:

Markus,

I'm with you all the way.

My sales have plunged since that little statement was added to the ClickBank order form. For this reason I made a specific post about it back on May 1, at:

http://www.clickbanksuccessforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=130

I know my sites best and know their potential, and there’s really no other explanation for the sudden drop in sales. If people don’t mind it being there, fine. But for those that do, I think they should have the option keep it off.

When people reach the order form, I want them to enter their credit card info as soon as possible to make the sale (before they change their mind). I don't want them reading unnecessary content that may distract or discourage them from buying my product.

Isn't it enough we mention the order was processed by ClickBank on the finished page?

I'm really glad you brought this topic up. Hopefully some others will support us. Let me know if I can help you in any way possible!

-Michael

wshi88 · Joined: 14 Apr 2004 Posts: 17

What really bothers me about clickbank, is that they rarely consult with us vendors and affiliates. We bring them all the money, yet we're seldom, if at all, informed about any significant change they are making that can have a huge impact on our sales.

I've never received one single email from CB for any change they are making.

It's just not very professional in my opinion.
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calvin69 · Joined: 13 Apr 2004 Posts: 25

ClickBobby,

Since you're subscriber of my newsletter (especially if you've been one for a long time), you know I rarely talk trash... my tips are 98+% positive.

Please give me the benefit of the doubt that when I do go "negative", it means something.

More than 75% of my income comes from profit sharing... I get 25% of the profit that my Preferred Members generate. So when their profits shrink, my profits shrink. And when I'm worried about paying bills, I can't spend time in my "marketing lab" testing new ideas... everyone loses.

And over the last month or so, my members have been... well... concerned. Our secret is quite simple... submitting millions (yes millions) of keyword phrases to pay per click search sites (like Google(TM) and Overture) at the minimum bids) directing traffic to ClickBank merchants.

Don't be fooled by the tiny size of our group... for example, our newest member just tested over 2 million impressions for just one ClickBank product over the last 6 days... so without giving up the entire secret, we're VERY serious about this and the numbers are large enough for us to spot trends in minutes... hours at the latest.

Onward.

What's interesting is my post has generated a ton of views... the most I've seen on this forum since it started... and this post is less than 24 hours old... check back a month from now and I'll bet the amount of "views" will be significantly higher. That should tell you (and Steve Rouse at ClickBank) that there's a pattern here... and the interest level on this topic is quite high.

But as I suggested in my reply yesterday, ClickBank could turn this "negativity" into an "opportunity".

In fact, I make this offer to Steve Rouse... Steve, I'll gather my top producing members of my coop and invite them to brainstorm ideas... simple ideas... to bring back the old ClickBank we knew and loved... no charge... just the cost of the conference call to our bridge line. Our next call is Wednesday, May 19th at 6:15 p.m. (NY time).

Steve, if you can't make the call, here's just one idea that I'd bet we'd all love to see...

... For less than a cost of a fancy diner in Boise, Idaho (that's where ClickBank is located), hire a freelance programmer at ScriptLance or Elance and create a Web page that lets us check the status of ClickBank's "uptime"... my hosting company does it and it's quite handy... if I see that my server (named "Viola") has red dots, I know there's a problem (and my hosting company is alerted about it). But if there's green dots, I know that my hosting company is working just fine... letting me know it's probably something on my end that I have to fix.

By the way, if you want to see this in action, here's the link:
http://status.kualo.com/

Onward.

I'm somewhat concerned by the lack of response from Steve Rouse at ClickBank... so I'm escalating my testing at similar ClickBank alternative called Payloadz.com.

Now that PayPal DOESN'T require an account to process credit card transactions, Payloadz.com is very promising alternative.

If Harvey (the owner of this forum) doesn't mind, I'd love to hear feedback about Payloadz as a ClickBank alternative. If Harvey DOES mind, then I'll create a message board forum at my site to trade ideas about Payloads.

Steve, we'd love to hear your thoughts. My offer to trade ideas with my top producers is yours just for the asking.

Cheers!
Markus Allen
Publisher
$10,000 Marketing Tip of the Day

hughman · Joined: 26 Apr 2004 Posts: 22

Clickbobby, calvin69 owns pay http://payloadz.com/ .. I would have guessed that in his first post .. but he made it even more apparent in his last post. Not that that's a bad thing .. good way to bring attention to a new site.

http://payloadz.com/ is not a bad site but is confusing to naviagate and for someone not used to affiliate programs or merchants looks for affiliates it's a bit confusing.

Also, the cheap products on the store page are not going to attrack merchants that sell a higher end product. I sell a product for $39.95 .. the $2.00 products would make me think any visitor would see my product as to expensive. Also seems very strange you have some higher priced products on the bottom where no one can seem them but push the $2.00 products at the top. Should be listed more like clickbank and more organized into sujects and more consistant down the page.

calvin69 · Joined: 13 Apr 2004 Posts: 25

calvin69 · Joined: 13 Apr 2004 Posts: 25

I see this post has been read over 1,000 times (a record it seems) and yet Steve Rouse (CEO of ClickBank) is suddenly silent... you know what they say about silence.

Should we take the hint?

By the way, there's a suggestion that parasite software (like the old Gator.com) could explain why affiliates are seeing their commissions slashed while ClickBank (and ClickBank merchants) report on-target sales.

Any thoughts?

Markus Allen
Publisher
$10,000 Marketing Tip of the Day

limitup · Joined: 21 Apr 2004 Posts: 115

That is definitely a possibility. There are numerous spyware type apps that hijack affiliate links. Very common with CJ links, and while I haven't personally seen any that hijack ClickBank links I'm sure they are out there.

terrystips · Joined: 28 Apr 2004 Posts: 13 Location: Vermont

...is people get to the sign up page, read that message and think that the product they are going to buy is one of 10,000 products in a clearinghouse type of operation. It cheapens all the products being sold via Clickbank...which is certainly misleading!