Years ago I discovered a little program called Claris Homepage. It was great for putting together websites without having to learn HTML. But times change and the Internet has evolved. Software for creating really effective websites is now a lot more complex.
To cater for that complexity, there is DreamWeaver. Fantastic software. Very powerful, but also very expensive. If you create a lot of websites - maybe for a living - you probably can't do without it.
For us mere mortals though, DreamWeaver is way out of our price range (for now), so what other alternatives?
I recently discovered XSitePro. It lets you build websites quickly and easily, just as Claris Homepage did for me years ago.
The thing that impressed me most about XSitePro was that the sites it generated all seemed to follow the Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) rules. This means that your site, once up and running should actually stand a chance of appearing in the Google results pages if you promote it properly.
It handles links between pages, and even generates a sitemap page for you. And if you change the site, everything is updated. So it's not just a web designer - it's web site manager.
There are numerous templates to choose from, including those from a growing third-party business. You can change the look and feel of your entire site in seconds, just by choosing a different template.
At less than $200, XSitePro is affordable to most online marketers.
I'm currently rebuilding one of my sites using XSitePro. When it's done I'll write a full review of XSitePro, and illustrate it with my new site.
Thursday, March 27, 2008
Beware ClickBank's Dormant Account Policy
If you're getting into affiliate marketing, one of the most popular places to start is ClickBank. It's easy to use, and well-tried.
But if you're a beginner and not yet very good at marketing, you could lose the money that you have earned so far.
One of my colleagues had earned about $23 in his ClickBank account, but as he wasn't really promoting his links very well, he just didn't get any more sales for quite some time. When finally he went to check his balance, he saw that it had fallen to $16, and there were a number of small ($1 and $5) transactions on the account. He couldn't understand what they were, so I investigated for him.
It turned out that those charges were for a «Dormant account». In ClickBank's world, this means an account that has a positive balance, but no transactions for an extended period of time.
I investigated further and found that the following scale of charges are applied:
$1 if the account is dormant for 90 days
$5 if the account is dormant for 180 days
$15 if the account is dormant for 365 days
ClickBank pays out at 2-weekly intervals, and it is at those times that the charges are levied.
The charges are applied at every payment time.
So if you account has been dormant for 180 days, you will be charged $5. If your account has still been dormant for 180 or more days 2 weeks later, you will be charged $5 again. And again, and again until your account becomes active again, or your balance reaches $0.
My colleague never received any money from ClickBank. His balance didn't reach the payment threshold, so he didn't get sent any money, and his account stayed dormant long enough for his $23 to be completely consumed in charges.
How many other people have suffered this fate?
Perhaps you now understand why I think Click2Sell is a much better alternative.
But if you're a beginner and not yet very good at marketing, you could lose the money that you have earned so far.
One of my colleagues had earned about $23 in his ClickBank account, but as he wasn't really promoting his links very well, he just didn't get any more sales for quite some time. When finally he went to check his balance, he saw that it had fallen to $16, and there were a number of small ($1 and $5) transactions on the account. He couldn't understand what they were, so I investigated for him.
It turned out that those charges were for a «Dormant account». In ClickBank's world, this means an account that has a positive balance, but no transactions for an extended period of time.
I investigated further and found that the following scale of charges are applied:
$1 if the account is dormant for 90 days
$5 if the account is dormant for 180 days
$15 if the account is dormant for 365 days
ClickBank pays out at 2-weekly intervals, and it is at those times that the charges are levied.
The charges are applied at every payment time.
So if you account has been dormant for 180 days, you will be charged $5. If your account has still been dormant for 180 or more days 2 weeks later, you will be charged $5 again. And again, and again until your account becomes active again, or your balance reaches $0.
My colleague never received any money from ClickBank. His balance didn't reach the payment threshold, so he didn't get sent any money, and his account stayed dormant long enough for his $23 to be completely consumed in charges.
How many other people have suffered this fate?
Perhaps you now understand why I think Click2Sell is a much better alternative.
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