Michael M's X10 Blog

Today is Halloween… and by the time I get home from work it’ll already be dark and the streets will be full of ghosts, goblins, monsters, and more. I’m ashamed to admit this, but last week I bought a big bag of candy to pass out. But as the week passed on, I’ve been slowly munching away on the little delights, now leaving only about 5 pieces in the bag… It looks like I’ll be shutting off the lights to the front door and quietly be hiding in my home. Oh well, I tried….

It’s been a good trick or treat campaign for our affiliates though this past week, as many of them have been able to generate a lot of sales. I’ve had the opportunity to speak with several of them and was provided some goodies. For example, www.davesbargain.com has a section on freebies. In talking to Dave, he’s taken advantage of a few things there himself and is the recipient of several cool gifts. I just wanted to share this with everyone in the event you may be looking for a few good deals. Thanks Dave!

Hope you all have a Happy Halloween!

Posted by Michael Mallari at 02:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Here we are on a Monday, in the chilly Pacific Northwest. Can’t complain though because the weather today is beautiful. There’s not a cloud in the sky, but there’s definitely a hint of Winter in the air.

Also, we changed back the clocks to regular time, and now around 5pm, it’s pitch black outside!

I’m not going to complain though, because it’s almost time for snowboarding, my favorite sport of the winter. I’m not a good boarder, but I enjoy tumbling down the mountain every so often. I recall my first trip up a few years back where all I could do was continually crash… I was so sore that day. My most embarrassing moment came on this day, when after my 1,500th crash of the day, I let out a big tantrum and the lady on the lift above me yelled out a few words of encouragement. You wouldn’t believe the bursts of laughter from my friends. To this day, they never let me live it down…

I also recall my brother’s first trip up the mountain. He was so scared on his first run, he simply removed his board and had walked down! Much to the laughter of our group of 10! That was the first and last time he’s been up since.

But now its a few years since, and a few trips later. I hope to make it up to the resorts a few times this year, and I also plan on bringing a helmet-cam (an Xcam mounted to my helmet) to show off my crazy skills as I plummet down the mountain at rocket-speed. If anything, at least I’ll be able to records a few good laughs, if not my death... or a few broken bones...

Happy Snowboarding Everyone!

Posted by Michael Mallari at 05:47 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

I had the opportunity to speak with one of our affiliates who runs a very interesting site. Needless to say as I was looking over his webpage, I found it hard to get back to work. I wanted to share his site with you at www.caught-on-video.com. Your “one stop” source of top quality, family friendly and porn-free website videos. Featuring many types of videos, you’ll find something to fill your fancy!

If you have the chance, check 'em out! But if you're like me, you might want to wait until you get off of work!

Posted by Michael Mallari at 06:28 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

I would have to say the most often asked question I receive, and the most important, is “What are X10’s rules when it comes to keyword bidding on the Search Engines?”

To answer this question, there is only 1 rule. All we ask for when keyword bidding, is that your bid not exceed the maximum dollar bid of X10’s bid. Why you ask? The reason is simple. If we were to allow everyone to bid to their maximum content, a huge bidding war would occur, not between us at X10, but between our affiliates. This would lead to a lot of unfairness. In order for these bidding wars to be kept under control, we simply ask that your bids not exceed ours.

I’ve had many affiliates tell me they’ve heard of many crazy rules we have in place. The truth is, for as long as I’ve been the Affiliate Manager, I haven’t heard of any other rules except for the one I mentioned above. However, as an affiliate, if you have questions or concerns, it would be a good idea to bring it up instead of holding off from the program and potentially losing many sales and profits. So, if you have any concerns, send me an email and I’ll be more than happy to address it with you.

Posted by Michael Mallari at 06:14 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

With the recent push of Google updating their backlinks, many of our affiliate’s sites were re-ranked or pushed aside from the front of the search engine towards the back. This had a big effect on them as many of them saw their sales plummet.

I’ve heard from many affiliates who’ve had to spend time re-designing their sites in order to conform to Google’s new ranking system. Affiliates are being creative in order to get their pages re-listed on the front page. Some of the more creative things I’ve heard are the addition of true content to go with their banners. This means that instead of just displaying a banner on your site with the hopes that someone would come by and click it, affiliates are providing faqs sections or item descriptions. Adding content that is creative and unique is extremely important in order for their pages to receive higher rankings on the search engines.

If you’re having trouble generating hits for your site try changing up your content. Especially if you haven’t done so in a long time. Change is good, especially when it comes time for the search engines to crawl your sites.

For those who are more daring, another thing would be to try the Keyword Pay-Per-Click channels on popular search engines. How these work are by bidding on keywords, you have the chance to earn a higher placement of your site on the ad channels. We are finding that our top affiliates use this method and are generating a lot of sales.

If the pay-per-click channel is out of your budget, try adding a blog or a forum. Blogs or forums are great ways to attract readers to your site, and the more popular your site becomes with the readers, the higher your rankings go on the search engines.

In the event you are in need of more suggestions, shoot me an email and I’ll be more than happy to assist!

Posted by Michael Mallari at 06:11 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

I receive many inquires from our affiliates about Microsites. These were mini-websites that X10 used to design for affiliates to help them sell our products. Unfortunately, X10 no longer produces these mini-sites. However, we have had many affiliates inquire about designing their own sites and were in need of articles, comparisons, or faqs regarding X10 products. Those items, we do have. All that’s needed is a simple email to the Affiliates Team at affiliates@x10.com and we can quickly email them to you. Also, please title your subject line with X10 Affiliates, or something that will catch our eye, as we receive thousands of emails a day that are spam.

For those of you looking to be creative, you are also welcome to use any of the items on x10.com if it will help you out. This includes all images, multimedia, graphics, articles and more!

To learn more, visit us at www.x10affiliate.com

Posted by Michael Mallari at 06:43 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

As the Affiliate manager, one of the most asked questions I receive comes from others living globally outside of the United States and Canada. The question “Can I join if I operate my website from a country that’s not the US or Canada?”

The answer to this question is YES! Absolutely! Keep in mind that the Internet is a global phenomenon. It’s a way to tie people together from all parts of the world. As a hobbyist web designer I know that many of my readers come from outside the US. So I find it fascinating that someone in Europe would be going over things that I am creating in the Northwest Corner up in Seattle. By adding products that they may be interested in, I am reaching out to them overseas and finding ways to earn extra income. This logic holds true for anyone no matter where they may be. X10 may only ship products throughout North America, but it doesn’t mean that you don’t have the ability to capitalize on this, especially if you draw a readership base with many from the US or Canada.

To learn more, visit us at www.x10affiliate.com

Posted by Michael Mallari at 06:26 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

This has been a very busy week here at X10, probably the busiest since my tenure here. Needless to say, I’m proud that all of the hard work I’ve put in has amounted to a ton of newfound knowledge and improvements for the Departments I am asked to care for.

With many hours put in this week, I’ve spent many of them revamping our Affiliate site. It’s in with the new and out with the old. Also, I’ve had the opportunity to speak directly with so many of our Affiliates to find ways that we can help them make more sales. I’m excited to see the results start to show from their end.

I just wanted to remind you, if you operate a website, let us help you make money off of it! Come visit our In-house VIP Affiliate Program at www.x10affiliate.com! If you have ever wanted to get into the world of Online Advertising, it’s definitely a great way to go!

Posted by Michael Mallari at 06:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

Today we are providing our Affiliate partners through our VIP Affiliate site another opportunity to make their riches!

X10 is pleased to announce that affiliates can now earn 10% profits from every Video Calling System sold as a result of their advertisements. This means at the minimum you’ll make $29.99 USD per system sold!

If you are an affiliate jump into the action by grabbing banners from our affiliate site. If you want to learn more about becoming a VIP Affiliate, visit us at our website at www.x10affiliate.com.

Becoming an affiliate is free! and you'll never have to pay for anything. So why not start earning your riches today?

Posted by Michael Mallari at 04:44 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)