Affiliate marketing is internet advertising that allows any online business to affiliate themselves with web site owners (known as affiliates or publishers) using affiliate programs.

Affiliates make money by generating sales, leads and traffic for the Merchants business. Merchants who sell goods and services online or seek other affiliate business activity typically use one of the affiliate program commission payment models below:

Cost Per Sale (CPA)
A visitor referred by the Affiliate purchases goods and services from the Merchant. This payment structure is referred to as - cost per sale or cost per acquisition (CPA).

Cost Per Lead (CPL)
A visitor referred by the Affiliate completes a form on the Merchants web site. This payment structure is referred to as - cost per lead (CPL).

Cost Per Click (CPC)
A visitor to the Affiliates web site clicks on a Merchant's banner and visits the Merchant's web site. This payment structure is referred to as - cost per click (CPC).






According to Wikipedia:

Affiliate Marketing is an Internet-based marketing practice in which a business rewards one or more affiliates for each visitor or customer brought about by the affiliate's marketing efforts. It is an application of crowdsourcing.

The Affiliate Marketing industry has four core players at its heart: the Merchant (also known informally as 'Retailer' or 'Brand'), the Network, the Publisher (also known informally as 'the Affiliate') and the Customer. The market has grown sufficiently in complexity to warrant a secondary tier of players, including Affiliate Management Agencies, Super-Affiliates and Specialized Third Parties vendors.

Affiliate marketing overlaps with other Internet marketing methods to some degree, because affiliates often use regular advertising methods. Those methods include organic search engine optimization, paid search engine marketing, e-mail marketing, and in some sense display advertising. On the other hand, affiliates sometimes use less orthodox techniques, such as publishing reviews of products or services offered by a partner.

Origin
The concept of revenue sharing—paying commission for referred business—predates affiliate marketing and the Internet. The translation of the revenue share principles to mainstream e-commerce happened almost four years after the origination of the World Wide Web in November 1994.

The consensus of marketers and adult industry insiders is that Cybererotica was either the first or among the early innovators in affiliate marketing with a cost per click program.

During November 1994, CDNOW launched its BuyWeb program. With this program CDNOW was the first non-adult website to introduce the concept of an affiliate or associate program with its idea of click-through purchasing. CDNOW had the idea that music-oriented websites could review or list albums on their pages that their visitors may be interested in purchasing.
These websites could also offer a link that would take the visitor directly to CDNOW to purchase the albums. The idea for remote purchasing originally arose because of conversations with music label Geffen Records in the fall of 1994. The management at Geffen wanted to sell its artists' CDs directly from its website, but did not want to implement this capability itself. Geffen asked CDNOW if it could design a program where CDNOW would handle the order fulfillment. Geffen realized that CDNOW could link directly from the artist on its website to Geffen's website, bypassing the CDNOW home page and going directly to an artist's music page.

Amazon.com launched its associate program in July 1996. Amazon associates could place banner or text links on their site for individual books, or link directly to the Amazon home page.

When visitors clicked from the associate's website through to Amazon and purchased a book, the associate received a commission. Amazon was not the first merchant to offer an affiliate program, but its program was the first to become widely-known and serve as a model for subsequent programs.

In February 2000, Amazon announced that it had been granted a patent (6,029,141) on all the essential components of an affiliate program. The patent application was submitted in June 1997, which predates most affiliate programs, but not PC Flowers & Gifts.com (October 1994), AutoWeb.com (October 1995), Kbkids.com/BrainPlay.com (January 1996), EPage (April 1996), and several others

Performance marketing:
In the case of cost per mille/click, the publisher is not concerned about a visitor being a member of the audience that the advertiser tries to attract and is able to convert, because at this point the publisher has already earned his commission. This leaves the greater, and, in case of cost per mille, the full risk and loss (if the visitor can not be converted) to the advertiser.

Cost per action/sale methods require that referred visitors do more than visit the advertiser's website before the affiliate receives commission. The advertiser must convert that visitor first. It is in the best interest for the affiliate to send the most closely-targeted traffic to the advertiser as possible to increase the chance of a conversion. The risk and loss is shared between the affiliate and the advertiser.

Affiliate marketing is also called "performance marketing", in reference to how sales employees are typically being compensated. Such employees are typically paid a commission for each sale they close, and sometimes are paid performance incentives for exceeding targeted baselines. Affiliates are not employed by the advertiser whose products or services they promote, but the compensation models applied to affiliate marketing are very similar to the ones used for people in the advertisers' internal sales department.

The phrase, "Affiliates are an extended sales force for your business", which is often used to explain affiliate marketing, is not completely accurate. The primary difference between the two is that affiliate marketers provide little if any influence on a possible prospect in the conversion process once that prospect is directed to the advertiser's website. The sales team of the advertiser, however, does have the control and influence up to the point where the prospect signs the contract or completes the purchase.

Our Advertiser Networks:
Commission Junction
ShareASale
PepperJam
clixGalore
Commission River
Second Tier Affiliate Training
Internet Marketing Center

Performance marketing is a comprehensive term that refers to online marketing and advertising programs in which retailers and service companies — also known as affiliates or publishers — are paid when a specific action is completed, such as a sale.

With traditional display advertising, advertising fees are paid up front and do not depend on a specific transaction taking place. Department store magnet John Wanamaker once said, “Half the money I spend on advertising is wasted; the trouble is I don’t know which half.”

In performance marketing, advertisers and marketers only pay for successful transactions. Each transaction is based on a consumer taking a defined action, such as making a purchase from the advertiser or signing up for a subscription. The trackability of performance marketing isn’t based on estimates. It’s based on actual results — meaning that a marketing program’s effectiveness is accurately determined, down to the mouse click.

Market Size
Performance Marketing is a multibillion dollar industry that continues to grow year-over-year. There are more than 200,000 affiliate publishers and over 5,000 advertisers in the performance marketing space.

The Players
The performance marketing industry has three core constituencies: advertisers, networks and publishers.

Advertisers/Merchants – These are retailers with products to sell, or service companies with offers to promote. They set up affiliate programs as part of their marketing channel. These affiliate programs can either be through an affiliate network or tracked with in-house software. Affiliates (or publishers) apply for inclusion in these programs. Once accepted, merchants provide creatives (such as special promotions and links) that are placed on affiliates’ Websites. If an affiliate sends traffic or a sale to a merchant, that merchant pays the affiliate a commission.

Networks — These are third-party companies that act as middlemen between the merchants and affiliates. The networks provide a platform for tracking transactions, and reporting and connecting publishers (affiliates) with advertisers (merchants) to optimize the transactions that are conducted through these relationships.

Affiliates/Publishers – These are Website owners who sign up for merchant programs and promote those merchants through links that are tracked. Affiliates are paid for the completion of a specific action (driving traffic, sending leads or making sales).

Publishers are not sales agents, nor do they work directly for the advertisers they promote. They are independent companies that use a variety of advertising and marketing methods — including search engine optimization, paid search, email marketing, social media marketing and display advertising — to generate traffic. The publisher does not handle the sale, ship goods or accept payments directly from the consumer: This is the responsibility of the advertiser.

In recent years, this rapidly burgeoning market has grown sufficiently in complexity to warrant a secondary tier of players, including affiliate management agencies and specialized third-party vendors.

Thanks to Performance Marketing Alliance (PMA) for providing this report!

A.R.M. Enterprise is a proud publisher of The ShareASale Performance Marketing Network
Only pay when it works!

Commission River Inc. was founded in December 2005. Although, up to that point, the primary business interest of the founders of Telarus had been commercial telecommunications. Many independent agents and clients requested that Telarus put its award-winning technical staff to work on a program that offered agents more than just business phone services. Over time, the chorus of requests became so resounding that the founders of Telarus; Adam Edwards and Patrick Oborn, decided it was time to grow in a new direction using the base of relationship marketing experience gained from commercial telecom sales.

Commission River is an independent, privately held corporation, owned by the same shareholders as Telarus, Inc. The focus of Commission River is to offer unique, strategic, and complimentary residential-based offerings that the other "big players" in the online affiliate marketing space have undeserved or missed altogether. Commission River does not add a vendor to it's portfolio of advertisers unless it can bring something original to the table. This ensures that the publishers and independent agents who work with us have a strategic advantage when they take these products to market.

Even though Commission River itself is just a few years old, the people behind the scenes have years of experience building, managing, and supporting online affiliate marketing programs. The director of Commission River, Robert Probst, is a great example of leadership and integrity in the online affiliate marketing space. With over 5 years of experience at the helm of other programs, Mr. Probst brings with him the ability to create agent-friendly, vendor-profitable programs that last.

Adam V. Edwards President

Mr. Edwards is a co-founder of Commission River, Inc. and currently serves as its president. Prior to co-founding Commission River, Inc. in 2005, Mr. Edwards was the VP of Finance for Quest Manufacturing, Inc. where he lead the acquisition of a new operating unit in 2001 and helped structure the unit for financing in 2002. Mr. Edwards served from 1999 through 2001 as the VP of Finance for Silicon Film Technologies, Inc. In this role at Silicon Film, Mr. Edwards prepared the company for its successful financing in 2000 in which the company raised $6 Million. Mr. Edwards has a background in public accounting and worked as an auditor at KPMG LLP. Mr. Edwards experience at KPMG ranged from auditing small private companies to working on SEC filings for large international and public companies. He was also involved in the Korean Practice and the Structured Finance division. Mr. Edwards holds a B.S. in Accounting from Brigham Young University and is a CPA.

Patrick K. Oborn VP of Sales and Marketing

Mr. Oborn is a co-founder of Commission River, Inc. and currently serves as its Chief Innovation Officer. He is responsible for web design, internet marketing strategy, search engine optimization, agent web marketing tools, and training. Mr. Oborn is an expert in search engine marketing and is highly respected by agents who attend his seminars and web trainings regularly. Prior to co-founding Commission River, Inc. in 2002, Mr. Oborn was a web designer at Cognigen Networks, Inc from 1999 to 2002, where he helped develop and deploy over 50 online affiliate marketing web sites now in use by over 225,000 sales agents worldwide. During his time at Cognigen, Mr. Oborn developed BottomLine long distance bill comparison technology, featured in the Wall Street Journal and USA Today. Mr. Oborn graduated with Honors from Brigham Young University in 1997, with a Masters degree in Electrical and Computer Engineering and a minor in Spanish Literature.

Robert W. Probst Director of Operations

Robert Probst is the director in charge of business development and affiliate operations for Commission River. He is responsible for interfacing with new advertisers, overseeing the support of affiliates, and general strategy for expanding and improving the business. Mr Probst has over ten years of marketing experience starting in 1995 with Excel Communications, WorldConnect, Inc. and Cognigen Networks, Inc. Prior to becoming the Affiliate Director for Commission River, Inc., Mr. Probst was instrumental in the development of large agent programs with numerous telecom companies. When asked what his most significant contribution has been, he stated, "I think my ability to understand the wants and needs of the sales agents, and deliver the products and services they want to sell has been a primary reason why my affiliate programs have been so successful." Mr. Probst also stated that "Negotiating good contracts that reward the agents, as well as protect their commissions is also a key factor in the success of any affiliate program."

Glenda K. Probst Affiliate Support Supervisor

Glenda Probst is the supervisor in charge of affiliate support for Commission River. She is responsible for making sure all of our publishers have the tools and training they need to succeed in our system. One of her most important roles is making sure all affiliates are paid the correct amounts, and taking urgent and immediate action whenever issues arise. Mrs. Probst comes to Commission River, Corp. with over 15 years of experience with affiliate marketing programs, offline sales systems, commissions tracking, and FCC Compliance. For the past five years agents have been quick to recognize her Midas Touch when solving their problems. Glenda's history in telecom dates back to 1993, when she became involved in sales and training for a long distance company. By 2001 she was promoted to National Trainer for Cognigen Networks, Inc.; traveling with a team that included Patrick Oborn and Robert Probst. As a National Trainer, Glenda was instrumental in working directly with sales agents, training them marketing strategies to increase their sales.

RiverOffers.com:
CommissionRiver.com:
ShopforT1.com:
ShopforEthernet.com:
ShopforDSL.com:

Bay Hill Capital
OTC:BB BYHL



If you run a business that has locations distributed around town, or around the country, MPLS can help you make more money as an enterprise. Bold statement? Yes. With MPLS you can tie all of your locations together, eliminate carrier hardware in your telecom closet, and prioritize all of your data traffic so that voice and video run flawlessly - even when the network is at its busiest.

Multiprotocol Label Switching is a flexible, cost-effective wide area network solution for linking all of your locations via a secure and scalable network infrastructure.


Network Efficiency - Label based switching methods allow routers to make forwarding decisions based upon the contents of a simple label, rather than by performing a complex route lookup using the destination's IP address.


Traffic Engineering - The ability to set the path traffic will take through the network and the ability to set performance characteristics for a class of traffic (voice, video, email, internet traffic, etc.)


VPNs - Using MPLS, service providers can create IP tunnels throughout their network, without the need for encryption or end-user applications. In addition, MPLS is protected by carrier-based security. With VPNs, if one gets hacked your entire network is vulerable.

Start Your Search Here

Ethernet is, quite simply, plugging your network directly into a telecom provider's network. When you bypass the local phone company you cut out an expensive transport step. Having direct access to customers is a carrier's goal as it allows them to control the user's experience from end to end while reducing cost. These savings are passed on to you.

"The market for managed metro Ethernet services is expected to grow by 30 per cent a year until 2010, when it will top $25 billion (?2.3bn) worldwide."
Infonetics Research - July 2007

"Over time, Ethernet will overwhelm SONET in the MAN/WAN market. Ethernet is cheaper, has better economies of scale and allows for simpler, more unified networks. Ethernet is at the gates, and it's coming in."
Greg Collins - July 2007
Business Communications Review Magazine

Here at Telarus, parent company of ShopforEthernet.com, we pride ourselves on our ability to partner with diverse and unique companies within the telecommunications industry; especially those whose focus is Ethernet and other "up stream" services. Our IT department has produced many cutting-edge software solutions that make it easy to do business with us, whether you are a one-man-shop or a Fortune 100 company.

Use the links we provide for you below to learn more about the programs and software we have created to expand your business.

Master Agents

If you maintain your own master agency and are feeling the pressure to provide your subagents with top-of-the-line back office software and stable carrier contracts, Telarus is the perfect place for your business. We have invested millions into the development of MARS (Master Agent Reporting System) that you can private-label and roll out to your network of agents, taking away the need to partner with a generic software provider that doesn't allow much if any modifications from the standard. Likewise, our carrier contracts offer you a safe haven in the midst of the massive "telecom squeeze" that is happening courtesy of all the merger activity taking place. Fact is, carriers want more and more revenue to come from less partners, forcing the smaller agents to see refuge with the larger master agents.

Value Added Reseller / Network Integrators

One of the main focuses of Telarus is Value Added Resellers and Network Integrators. We understand that a meaningful relationship consists of more that just an occasional plea for new business. Our VAR Network program allows our agents to recruit VARs into one main pool, and drives equipment leads to these VARs based upon their individual qualifications and preferences. We currently specialize in generating leads of people looking to buy Avaya, Cisco, NEC, Mitel, Nortel, ShoreTel, Polycom, and more.

Traditional Agents / Product Specialists

The real strength of Telarus resides in the quality of agents we work with. This is not cliche? Telarus has attracted some of the brightest, honest, and most integrity-filled agents in the industry. This "honor code" allows agents to partner with one another to close deals and split the commission accordingly, it allows them to receive warm leads generated by other agents, and it allows them to offer honest feedback to the IT staff at Telarus on the performance and utility of the software we create. Telarus is more than a "contract shop" that pays the "highest commission" and offers the "lowest rates". We offer our agents true value: software, support, and a sense of family.

Referral Affiliates

The Telarus Affiliate Program was created with the internet marketing expert in mind, not to mention people who are naturally gifted at social networking. Which ever the case may be, Telarus pays affiliates to generate leads for our Product Specialist agents to close. To accomplish this, Telarus has created XML plug-in technology that allows all of our affiliates the ability to add our GeoQuote real-time price tool to any existing web site (that runs PHP or Cold Fusion). We have also created an extensive library of Search Engine Optimization articles authored by our co-founder, Patrick Oborn, SEO expert. If you have a web site and/or relationships and you would like to begin earning a residual commission (and spiffs) by generating telecom service and equipment leads, you've come to the right place!



VAR
The Telarus/ShopforT1 VAR Program is very simple in its form and powerful in its function, opening up new windows of opportunity for you to earn money in commercial telecom sales.

A Value Added Reseller is someone who is:

Authorized to sell a specific brand of telecom equipment
Certified as a skilled technician to support the hardware he/she sells

Most business telephone systems are somewhat complex in nature. The vast majority of PBX and VoIP hardware is not "plug and play". A skilled technician is required to program the system according to the customer's needs.

Likewise, most new commercial telephone systems cannot be purchased directly from the manufacturer or any other retail outlet - you have to buy them from a local authorized sales partner. This means that VARs in your local area perform both the role of technician and also as equipment dealers.

In performing these valuable services, VARs build up a clientele who are accustomed to calling on them for any and all telecommunication needs, from wiring, to hardware, and even to long distance and high-speed internet service provider recommendations.

a VAR (Value Added Reseller) can be anyone whose core business is selling and installing hardware devices (PBX systems, routers, switches, firewalls, etc.) and servicing those same products.

VAR's have direct relationships with customers and have already built a reputation for giving the customer the equipment or service they need.

A VAR's recommendation for telecommunications service is highly regarded by their customers, in fact; approximately 35% of decisions around telecom service are influenced by a VAR#. This is an enormous number!

With all the money spent on the direct sales efforts of telecom carriers and the millions of dollars spent on advertising, still, over a third of purchasing decisions are influenced by a VAR.





Good Day All! Can you see your online business expanding? How long would it take to reach your sales goal for one month, two, or longer?

Do you want to see those numbers in less time, let's say one week, two, or less?

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Let shareasale.com find sales leads for you. Only pay when it works!
ShareASale is a performance marketing network, which means that the affiliates who generate traffic and sales are only paid upon actual performance, and at the commission rate that an individual merchant sets.

When you setup your account as a Merchant - you get to decide which action will constitute a commission, and how much that commission should be. You may also have multiple different commission structures depending on which affiliate brought you traffic, or based on another pre-set criteria.

Once your account is setup, you are able to quickly upload any number of banners, text links, videos, widgets, etc... Affiliate will choose from your available creative and begin sending you visitors using their own individual traffic generation methods.

When a sale or lead takes place on your site, the referring affiliate will be commissioned according to your set rates - and we will pay that affiliate for you, while deducting your ShareASale account.
Drive more traffic to your online store using performance based marketing.