The theme for the planning guide is “Make the Most Money by Making the Most of 2012.”

This is a handy tool to help you plan ahead, be deliberate about your marketing, and be in it for the long haul. What we find is that our affiliates who reap the highest rewards are the ones who are consistently sharing the tools they love to use and telling their readers and followers why they love them. They don’t do it just once and hope it works. They are consistently sharing their ideas.

While this guide is designed with iThemes affiliate marketing in mind, it’s also a perfect tool to use in developing the overall marketing plan for your entire business. Please use it in whatever way serves you best.

Download the 2012 iThemes Affiliate Calendar and Planning Guide.

We want to help EVERYONE earn 4- and 5-figure affiliate commissions!

Why? Sure, we make more money. We wouldn’t pretend that’s not a part of it.

But it’s more than that, too. The more money you make, it means the more success we’re having in fulfilling our mission to Make People’s Lives Awesome.

Not only can it make your life more awesome by having some extra spending money, but you are helping make other people’s lives awesome by introducing them to tools and training that make web design easy and simple.

And the easier and simpler web design is, the more time they have to focus on their families, their business, their own personal development, and the less time they spend being stressed out about web design…hence a more awesome life.

So the way we look at it, the iThemes Affiliate program is a win-win-win. And we’re so happy you’re a part of it!

Not an affiliate yet? Be sure you apply - and then use the tools and tips on this site to help you join the group of well-paid affiliates!

Thanks to all our affiliates who are helping spread the word. We know that all your links, blog posts, tweets, and word-of-mouth advertising are helping build the foundation and strong reputation. And the more you do this, the more people will turn to you for trusted advice and then click on your link when they make their first purchase at iThemes, PluginBuddy, or WebDesign.com.

Thanks for an awesome 2011! Can’t wait to see what happens in 2012!

Previously all the child theme links went to the demos. These links still exist, and are indicated by “Builder Child Theme Demo – Name of Child Theme” as you can see in the image below.

And that’s great news for the affiliates! It means once people get to the site and see the video of Cory talking about the ToolKit, or attend a webinar at WebDesign.com using the free One Month LIVE Webinar pass, they are sold on the ToolKit. So all you have to do is get people to the site, clicking through your affiliate link.

We’ve made that easier for you by providing affiliate links that take people directly to the announcement about the 44% savings on the ToolKit, as well as a link that takes people to the landing page (post) for the “12 Days of WebDesign.com” where they’ll see all the gifts from each day.

The deadline for the ToolKit sale is December 12th (Monday) at midnight central time.

Just log in to your members area and navigate to your affiliate links. You’ll find all these links near the end of the list since the most recently added links are always at the bottom.

A couple of notes:

• In the video I refer to the “panda lady” – this is the “sales chat” icon (a panda) located on the main website pages.
• The video also references two other sessions on trends and how to make money by providing specific services. These videos are available to people who attended the LIVE training, and to members of WebDesign.com on the November LIVE Event page. (You will need to log in to WebDesign.com to view the videos.)
• When providing financial examples I reference a discount that was only available at the LIVE Event. We usually offer a hefty discount that can be used while attending our LIVE events, which is a great incentive to attend.

300 x 250 pixels:

468 x 60 pixels

You may want to read the full FTC document as well as the latest rulings. You may also find this letter interesting.

Since there is still enough murkiness around the topic, our recommendation is that you disclose when you are using an affiliate link, or in some way make it clear and obvious that you are making recommendations using affiliate links. That way you are safe, and you can feel good about taking the high road.

Of course the best way to eliminate people’s fear that you are endorsing a product just for the money is to actually purchase the product, use it yourself, and speak about your personal experience with it.

Though I haven’t tried this plugin myself, there is one in the WordPress.org codex called Add Post Footer that may or may not help you out. It lets you add a custom paragraph to the end of every post.

Not sure what to say in your disclaimer or disclosure statement?
Here are some samples to consider as you create the statement that works best for you and your followers.

“*In the spirit of full disclosure, this is an affiliate link, which means that I may get a commissions if you decide to purchase anything from X company. I only recommend products & systems that I use and love myself, so I know you’ll be in good hands.”  — from a PDF, statement at bottom of page

“Affiliate Disclosure: I am grateful to be of service and bring you content free of charge. In order to do this, please note that when you click links and purchase items, in most (not all) cases I will receive a referral commission. Your support in purchasing through these links enables me to keep my design and customization prices ridiculously low and empower more people worldwide to blog with less worry and less hassle. Thank you! ”  — statement found in website footer

“DISCLOSURE: I may be an affiliate for products that I recommend. If you purchase those items through my links I will earn a commission. You will not pay more when buying a product through my link. In fact, I oftentimes am able to negotiate a lower rate (or bonuses) not available elsewhere.
Plus, when you order through my link, it helps me to continue to offer you lots of free stuff.   Thank you, in advance for your support!”  — statement at end of email from an internet marketer

“Disclosure: Compensated Affiliate” — from WarriorForum

What is your disclosure statement? Please share in the comments below.

How did he do it?

Grant’s methods are a perfect x of how less is often more. Grant sent 2 short emails and a handful of tweets (shown below).

The secret?

He believes in BackupBuddy 100%. He is an enthusiastic fan of BackupBuddy and has recommended it frequently. So when he recommended it again, people believed him because of the consistency. They trust him and follow his recommendations.

He didn’t over do it. Grant didn’t barrage people with emails or hyped-up language. He was straightforward and matter-of-fact.

He timed it with a promotion we were already running, so his readers knew they were getting a great deal on something Grant had already been talking about for a year.

So what are the takeaways for other affiliates?

Use the products yourself. That will give you first-hand experience and credibility when you recommend them to others. People who trust you want to use what you use.

Be honest and sincere. People can see through hype a mile away. Sincere enthusiasm is not hype, though, so let your real feelings come through.

Be consistent. Keep your message out in front of your readers. And make sure the message remains consistent. Don’t trot out one backup service as the best one month, and then something else the next month. It’s OK to change your mind, of course, but you have to explain it carefully, and then remain consistent.

Piggyback on offers we are already making. While readers like to use what you use, they like it even better if they can get it at a discount. Make sure you’re on the mailing lists for each of the brands so you will know when promotions are being run.
iThemes.com
PluginBuddy.com
WebDesign.com

OK, so you might be thinking, “Sure, Grant can do that. He’s already got a good mailing list.”
Yes, that’s true. But he didn’t always. He had to start somewhere, and the reason his list has grown is because he followed the principles above – particularly honesty and sincerity, consistency, and using the resources he recommends.

So what product have you been using that you love and want to promote next?

See the tweets and emails Grant used:

****************************************************

Email #1:
This is a very short and sweet email. We don’t want you to miss out on this special offer from our friends over at PluginBuddy.

If you don’t already have one of the best plugins we know of in BackupBuddy.

Thru October 17 you can save 33% off BackupBuddy using coupon WP33.

Grab your own copy here – http://bit.ly/do5AVC

Remember use coupon code WP33

Grant Griffiths
Co-Founder of Headway Themes
************************************************************
Email #2:

We sent you out a very brief email the other day about the BackupBuddy discount.

The discount is up today. This is one plugin we recommend all the time to Headway users too.  Not only can you use BackupBuddy to do backups of course.  You can use BackupBuddy to easily move a site from one host to another.

We don’t want you to miss out on this special offer from our friends over at PluginBuddy.

If you don’t already have one of the best plugins we know of in BackupBuddy and have been on the fence, now is a good time to get it.

Thru the end of today you can save 33% off BackupBuddy using coupon WP33.

Grab your own copy here – http://bit.ly/do5AVC

Remember use coupon code WP33

Grant Griffiths
Co-Founder of Headway Themes
************************************************************

The just-announced basics webinars are a good opportunity to introduce your audience to WebDesign.com for free. Here’s a blog post you can use to spread the word:

Web Design 101: Free Beginner’s Classes

WebDesign.com just announced free webinars every Tuesday morning for beginning web designers. If you or anyone you know has considered learning how to build a website, now’s your chance.

These “basics” webinars will happen every Tuesday at 11 a.m. CT. They’ll cover the basic web design building blocks that beginners need to get started.

The tentative schedule includes:

• Getting Started with Builder
• WordPress 101
• Getting Started with BackupBuddy
• How to Build a Website

It’s an easy way to get a beginner started and a nice introduction to the WebDesign.com webinars. Register today.

How to Use This Article
We encourage our affiliates to use our content. Just copy and paste the above article, personalize it to fit your voice and be sure to insert your referral link for WebDesign.com.