Affiliate Theme is developed by the people at Unique Blog Designs (Nate Whitehill, Josh Mullineaux and Matthew Blancarte.) They are also the people behind Theme Wars, and Squeeze Theme.

The only reason I am including the links to the above sites, is to avoid confusion with other similarly named sites. There are a couple of other affiliate type themes for Word Press available on the internet.

What the Affiliate Theme is Supposed to Do

• Make building and customizing affiliate sites using Word Press easy
• 6 unique layouts
• Built in color picker
• Lifetime access to Resource Center and Support
• Optimized for PPC and SEO campaigns
• Ability to build dynamic, high converting affiliate marketing web sites using a single theme

Where the Affiliate Theme Fails

• The Affiliate Theme is buggy
• Support is not handled in a timely manner
• It is not easy and very time consuming if you have to deal with Affiliate Theme support and buggy issues
• They do not post or offer any money back guarantee with their product on their sales page
• It is over priced

My Experience with Affiliate Theme

I purchased the Affiliate Theme from Unique Blog Designs on September 29, 2009 for $124.95, but it was not until December 22, 2009 when I actually installed the theme. Major fail on my part, I admit, for not testing this sooner so my chances of getting a refund would be greater. Lesson learned

I assumed this would be  a great product and didn’t think I would have  issues since some big players in affiliate and internet marketing were singing the praises of this product, such as: John Chow, John Reese, Johnathan Volk, Yaro Starak, and Zac Johnson.

From the  first installation of Affiliate Theme I was having problems. I joined the Affiliate Theme support forum and posted my first support issue on December 23, 2009. It took 7 days for a forum moderator to reply to my post. This should have been an immediate red flag. It was suggested that I submit a support ticket and I did so on January 3, 2010 and it was January 6, 2009 before anyone attempted to check out my support issues.

By that time I had uninstalled and reinstalled Word Press and uninstalled the affiliate theme as well. I reinstalled theme, placed another post on the support forum that support was not being handled in a timely manner. That post was deleted by the forum moderators.

On January 26, 2010 I was finally contacted by support about the issues I was having and on January 28, 2010 was advised the problem was corrected and the thread I had posted on the forum was closed.

On January 29, 2010 I emailed Nate Whitehill back that I was still having issues and the problem was not resolved. As of today I have not received a reply. *See update below*

On February 5, 2010 I sent a tweet to Nate Whitehill, a post on the forum, a support ticket and a screen shot of the formatting issues. The forum moderators have now set my comments up where that do not post immediately and have to be approved.

February 7, 2010 I removed the Affiliate Theme from my web site because I cannot afford to waste any more time on this theme. Time is money

I purchased this theme (developers option) because I owned several domains and I wanted to build affiliate sites using this theme. So far I have yet to build one site much less multiple sites.

I have been dealing with buggy issues with this theme since December 23, 2010 and as of February 7, 2010 it is still not working correctly.

Update

February 8, 2010 I was sent the following tweet from Nate Whitehill:

“Sorry for the delay – will have a response for you tonight.”

February 9, 2010 I received an email:

Hi Renee,

I understand by your tweet you are no longer using Affiliate Theme. I would be happy to give you a refund if that is the case. Let me know.

Thanks,

Nate

February 9, 2010: I sent an email to Nate that I would like a refund since I was unable to use this Wordpress Theme.

I received the following email from Nate Whitehill tonight at 7:08 PM:

Hi Renee,

Not a problem. I am sorry you had trouble using Affiliate Theme. We are almost finished with version 2.0 of the software which adds a lot of great new features and makes integrating affiliate offers even easier.

I just sent you the refund.

Let me know if you have any other questions.

Thanks,

Nate Whitehill | Co-Founder | Unique Blog Designs, LLC

I am happy to report I have checked my PayPal account and I do have a refund

My Issues With the Affiliate Theme

• Control panel was not showing up correctly as shown in their video tutorial (corrected)
• At first offers were not appearing on the main page like they were supposed to (corrected)
• The header and sub title are linked to the conversion URL instead of the post as checked on the settings (corrected)
• Categories were not displaying correctly and the page was scrambled mess and not readable (semi-corrected) Appears correctly sometimes and other times the sidebar and the link post title is scrambled and not readable.
• Control panel showing version 1.2 when I was using version 1.3 (corrected)
• If visitors can not read the page, I’m not going to be able to sell affiliate products
• Shady practice of deleting negative comments and issues on the support forum
• This theme has not been completely developed and is not stable enough to use on multiple sites
• In viewing the Support Forum post of other users, on some occasions it is 1-2 weeks before a post is answered by a moderator

While searching the web for Affiliate Theme reviews I stumbled across a review of Unique Blog Designs Squeeze Theme. This is an excellent in depth and honest review.

Had the Affiliate Theme lived up to my expectations, I would have purchased the Squeeze Theme and joined their affiliate program for both themes. I cannot in all honesty recommend nor promote their products via affiliate links.

Related posts:

1. My First Blog Entry
2. Still Working on Blog Design and Content
3. What is Affiliate Marketing? – The Brief Definition

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

So you have a friend or relative who’s into affiliate marketing and you’re just dieing to make some money on the internet. Well before you just leap into affiliate marketing, you need to know a few things.

This kind of sounds like a Jeff Foxworthy post.

Affiliate marketing might not be for you, if….

• You want to get rich quick
• You need to make money immediately
• You don’t have some basic computer skills, such as:
  • Check and send email
  • Copy and paste
  • Some knowledge of HTML
• You don’t know how to build a web site (You can do affiliate marketing without this skill, you just have a bigger advantage if you have this knowledge)
• You are lazy
• You think you can just throw up a web site and expect to make money
• You are planning on spamming people (you could get prosecuted and your email and web hosting accounts could be suspended)
• You don’t have a couple hours a day to devote to affiliate marketing
• You are not willing to spend some money (hosting, domain name, etc.)
• You are not willing to learn and do your research
• You are expecting some one else to do it for you (it’s work and are you willing to pay someone to do your work?)
• You are paranoid of the internet

Everyday I see eBooks, videos, and sales pages telling people how they can make money immediately on the internet. Everyday someone buys a product they do not need and worst yet they go on to buy many other worthless products.

Just how does one learn all this stuff? For any beginner I would recommend, The Super Affiliate Handbook by Rosalind Gardner. This was the first book I ever purchased on affiliate marketing and you will refer to it again and again.

The Super Affiliate Handbook: How I Made $436,797 in One Year Selling Other People’s Stuff Online

by Rosalind Gardner

The definitive, #1 Clickbank best-selling guide to affiliate marketing.

Again this is one affiliate marketing book you simply can’t go wrong by purchasing.

Related posts:

1. What is Affiliate Marketing? – The Brief Definition
2. Affiliate Programs – The Signup Process
3. Review: Affiliate Theme by Unique Blog Designs

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

No, I’m not there yet, but I’m on my way….just be quiet and let me drive!

Today I stumbled across a blog by Andy Hagans, Tropical SEO, and I loved his post on The Dream.

I don’t personally know Andy Hagans, so I did what any internet savvy person would do I Googled him…’cause I was curious if we were near the same age. Well long story short he’s probably a few years younger than I am.

No doubt age is probably a factor in one’s goals. In my younger days I would probably have wanted the jag (I’m a sucker for nice wheels – it could end up on the list) and a 3,000 square foot house. I realize not everyone shares the same dream as an internet or affiliate marketer and I’m quite sure my dreams in my thirties were different from my dreams now.

My dreams contain some of the elements Andy pointed out in his post. So I thought I would share some of my dreams and what I envisioned as my ultimate “wealthy affiliate lifestyle”.

1. Life on a tropical island or houseboat – where I could wear shorts, a t-shirt and flip-flops year round
2. A pimped out ride – actually I do LOVE my 2000 Mitsubishi Eclipse GS, it just needs some TLC
3. Passive income – so I could work less and play more
4. Work for myself
5. Be debt free – pay for everything with cash
6. Contribute something to society – either with monetary donations or my time (volunteer work)
7. Sleep late every day – of course I would have plenty of extra money to buy cool pajamas, a pair for every day of the month!

I probably could have written more on what I didn’t want, but why focus on the negative? Bottom line is I’m striving for simplicity and self sufficiency.

What are your dreams?

Related posts:

1. What is Affiliate Marketing? – The Brief Definition
2. Affiliate Marketing Might Not Be For You, If

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Signing up for an affiliate program step by step process:

1. You join an affiliate program by signing up with a user name and password and URL (if you have a web site). On the sign up form you will provide your contact information, such as: your name, address, and phone number.
2. Normally you will need to furnish your Tax ID or social security number, if you are a sole proprietor. If you live in the US, you will have to fill out and submit a W9 form( taxpayer identification and certification form).
3. You may also choose your preferred method of payment, such as, check, Pay-Pal or direct deposit.
4. You may also be given the option to choose the type of affiliate terms you would prefer, such as: pay per lead, pay per click, or pay per sale.
5. The affiliate program may approve you automatically, or they may have to review you site or confirm via telephone before you are approved.
6. Once approved you will be given a unique affiliate user ID or code, which you will use to promote their  product  and it will also be used to track the sales that you generate through their program.
7. You may also be provided with a link to log into and review your stats  and sales.

You are on your way to becoming an affiliate marketer.

Related posts:

1. What is Affiliate Marketing? – The Brief Definition
2. I Will Be Reviewing Products
3. Review: Affiliate Theme by Unique Blog Designs

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Affiliate marketing is an internet-based marketing practice in which a business (Affiliate or Associates Program) rewards affiliates for each visitor or customer brought about by the affiliate’s marketing efforts.

Simple explanation – Affiliate Marketing is commission based selling on the internet.

Commissions are based on the purchase price of the product offered (Pay per Sale), a set value based on clicks generated (Pay per Click), or by actions such as new user registrations or downloaded products (Pay per Lead).

Merchants benefit from partnering with affiliates because it is an inexpensive way to increase their sales, generate leads, drive traffic to their sites, and promote their products.

Affiliates benefit because these programs are free to join and it’s a inexpensive way to start an internet or home-based business.

Related posts:

1. Affiliate Programs – The Signup Process
2. Affiliate Marketing Might Not Be For You, If
3. About

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

First of all I am well aware of the “paid review” thing and I won’t be doing them, at least not now. Just so you know. I really don’t want to get into the paid vs not paid review topic. Since I am new to blogging I just don’t feel it’s best for me. If I ever do decide to engage in paid reviews, I will post some information on my review status.

Please don’t send me anything to review….cause that would be a paid review now wouldn’t it? Basically a paid review is when you are compensated in some way for reviewing a product, be it money, advertising, or the product in exchange for your review.

Being an affiliate marketer..I will have some affiliate links here and there to products….’cause well I would like to make some money and that’s the way I roll

There are a number of products I have used through the years and I will be  providing honest information about those products…the good, the bad and the ugly. I have been testing some new products and then there are the freebies. I’m all about FREE.

Related posts:

1. Review: Affiliate Theme by Unique Blog Designs
2. Affiliate Programs – The Signup Process
3. About

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Let me introduce myself…My name is Renee’ Thronson and I am affiliate marketer. Basically what I do is sell other people’s stuff online on a commission basis. I have been actively involved in affiliate marketing since 2000.

Just so that you know that there is a real person behind this blog, I have included my mugshot.

I have made some money with affiliate marketing. It’s just not as easy as some folks would have you to believe. It is WORK.

I’d like to tell you a little bit about my background, mainly to prove that you don’t have to be a big computer guru to become an affiliate marketer. You just have to be willing to learn and to be persistent.

I’m 53 years old and during my lifetime I have worn many hats. I worked 25 years for BellSouth during which time I worked as a directory assistance operator, long distance operator and a sales and service representative. BellSouth is where I was first introduced to computers and was trained. Nothing fancy just using in house programs.

In 1990 I got my first computer, when my then father-in-law gave me his old Tandy computer after he purchased a fancy new computer with Windows 3.0. Slowly I graduated to bigger and better computers and software programs. I am totally self taught. So I feel that if I can master affiliate marketing and computing skills anyone with a computer and willingness to learn can.

Some of the other jobs that I have held during my life time include working out of my home and then later my own retail store as an airbrush artist and then later owning my own screen printing shop, Slick T’s Screen Printing. Those were the Corel years.

To supplement my income through the years I have also worked as a bartender. It doesn’t have much to do with affiliate marketing, but if you have the fixings I can make you a Walk Me Down Sweet Jesus drink After retiring from bartending in 2005, I established Pour Me A Shot, a web site which offers free shot drink recipes and bartending information.

I am also the owner of  Thronson Marketing, a website publishing company based in Biloxi, MS. which operates a network of web sites in various niche industries.

As far as my personal life….I have lived on the Mississippi Gulf Coast most of my life and yes I even survived hurricane, Katrina. I love art but don’t consider myself much of a painter…I prefer pen and ink. My interests are varied: art, listening to live music, computers, an occasional cocktail, reading, Shetland Sheepdogs, and jewelry making.

There you have it…Renee’…the short version or maybe it wasn’t so short.

Renee’

Related posts:

1. What is Affiliate Marketing? – The Brief Definition

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.