April 15, 2011
Go Green, Save Money, and Impress Eco-Conscious Consumers
The following entry was originally posted by Christy on the Llewellyn blog for booksellers, MoonLit on April 14, 2011.
Hello again, Booksellers!As Earth Day approaches, the issue of green takes center stage. How eco-friendly is your store?
I confess that I don’t have the greenest lifestyle. While I use a rain barrel, make an effort to buy local organic foods, recycle (including the plastics that the city won’t take), and keep a chemical-free lawn, there’s a lot more I could do. On my list this summer? Composting!
Taking steps toward a greener business can save a few dollars and win over environmentally conscious customers. Here are some green business practices to ponder.
Reusable Bags
Reusable bags are catching on. Some shops offer a small ten cents discount to customers who use them. Custom tote bags printed with your business name and logo is a great way to advertise your store and encourage customers to bring their own bag. Another option is to simply ask customers (buying only one one or two small items) if they need a bag before automatically providing one. Those who are concerned about reducing waste will feel good about supporting an eco-friendly business.
Make the Leap from Print to Digital
Do you have a store newsletter? Think of how much paper and money you can save by switching from print to electronic. There are plenty of free resources for designing e-newsletters. One example is MailChimp.com, which offers easy design templates and other services.
Rejuvenate or Update?
Consider ways to fix what you have, instead of replacing it. If buying new is the only answer, research energy-efficient options that will save you money in the long run. Here’s some information on rebates and funding for energy efficient updates from Energy Star.
Starve the Landfills
It’s amazing how many people have a use for what we consider trash. Before sending your junk to the landfill, check with Freecycle.org to see if someone wants to take it off your hands.
More easy ways to reduce, reuse, recycle:
• Seal air leaks in windows and doors.
• Replace incandescent light bulbs with fluorescent.
• Bring in plants to clean the air.
• Opt for paperless billing.
• Reduce junk mail by having your name removed from unwanted mailings.
• Coordinate a staff carpool or encourage employees to commute by bike or mass transit.
• Launch an in-store recycling program.
Have more ideas for reducing your carbon footprint? Please share!
I'll sign off now and leave you with some thought-provoking candidates for a book display.
Voices of the EarthThe Path of Green Spirituality
Sacred Land
Intuitive Gardening for Personal, Political and Environmental Change
Pagan Visions for a Sustainable Future
Ecoshamanism
Sacred Practices of Unity, Power and Earth Healing
April 14, 2011
Magical Storekeeping: 5 Simple Feng Shui Tips for Businesses
The following entry was originally posted by Christy on the Llewellyn blog for booksellers, MoonLit on April 13, 2011.
To draw new customers into your mystical haven, to make your existing customers’ bookstore experience as enticing as possible, and to position your store for long-term success, there are a number of simple feng shui considerations you might like to employ.
Never underestimate the power of signage. A sign that succinctly defines and describes who you are and what you offer—and one that’s easily readable from the street—will get you noticed. (Or, if your store has an entry that’s not visible from the street, do your best to clearly mark the entrance with strategically positioned signs and arrows.) By removing all possible confusion and giving your potential customers an obvious mental picture of how to arrive and enter—and what to expect once they do—they will feel much more comfortable about the prospect.
The front door is the place where blessings and abundance enter your business—so it’s exceptionally important to make sure that it’s noticeable, welcoming, and open! For example, make sure that any plants placed nearby are healthy and vibrant, and perhaps bring in a big red doormat to “roll out the red carpet” and cheerily welcome in your clientele.
When we enter a new environment, we need a moment to come into the present and orient ourselves to our new surroundings. That’s why—as opposed to an explosion of displays and products just inside the door—it’s best to leave a bit of relatively open/clear space in this area for your customers to transition into the environment and serenely assess what surrounds them. (If you want to observe this dynamic first hand, observe what your customers gravitate to immediately upon entering the store. You’ll likely notice that products that are too close to the entryway often go unnoticed.)
What turns a good shopping experience into a great one? You guessed it: a magical bathroom. Your customers will love you for it—so why skimp in this area? Have fun with it. For example, you might paint it a whimsical color, hang a sparkly crystal in the window, and/or display attractive and uplifting artwork.
Always remember the music! The right music can transport the listener to another realm, and is a key ingredient to bringing out the desirability of your products and enticing your customers to linger and return. Choose something entrancing and pleasant that seems to blend seamlessly with the mood of the store.
April 12, 2011
Llewellyn's Affiliate Update, April 2011: Spring Sale, Coupon Offer, Special Promotions
Get fresh Llewellyn banners and text links and the scoop on special offers, sales, and promotions.
The April issue of the Llewellyn Affiliate Update is now available.
Click here to view month's issue.
March 13, 2010
History of the Advertising Tax
I came across this video created by Affiliate Marketing expert and veteran, Shawn Collins posted on his Affiliate (Tip) blog earlier this week. It covers the basic background of the advertising tax, how it impacts affiliates and merchants, and provides a few simple suggestions on what you can do to take action on this very important issue within the affiliate marketing industry.
The legislation being enacted in several states is no doubt an issue that has made a significant impact on affiliate partners and merchants across our country. I'll be posting more updates and information on the advertising tax in the near future.
In the meantime, you can join the Facebook group Fight Against the Advertising Tax if you would like to become involved or learn more about how this issue is effecting the affiliate marketing industry.
For the latest updates and information on affiliate marketing become a fan of Shawn Collins on Facebook and follow @AffiliateTip on Twitter.
October 19, 2009
Learn from the Pro(Blogger)
Want to learn more about blogging, become a better blogger, and enhance your presence in the blogosphere? Go to the pro, ProBlogger.net.
ProBlogger.net is a website and blog created by b5Media VP and professional blogger Darren Rowse. Darren started ProBlogger.net in September 2004 primarily as a way to keep a track of all the information he was gathering about blogging for money. Today, the site has evolved into the go to resource where "bloggers learn the skills of blogging, share their own experiences and promote the blogging medium."
In 2005, Rowse created the 31 Days to Build a Better Blog challenge. The collection of posts is full of insightful tips, creative suggestions, and easily implemented ideas. It is an essential read for both blogging newbies and experienced bloggers.
You can browse through a complete list of all of the blog tips or purchase an updated version of the challenge that Darren ran in early 2009.
At ProBlogger.net you'll also find informative posts focused on making money with your blog through affiliate marketing, including 10 Tips for Using Affiliate Programs on Your Blog, 5 Lessons on Making Money with Affiliate Programs, and 6 More Tips for Affiliate Marketing on Blogs.
In early October 2009, Rowse launched ProBlogger.com to serve as a private, online community where bloggers can share ideas, network, and learn from each other. The introductory cost for membership is very reasonable—only $1.95 per month. You'll also receive 50% off 31DBBB Workbook as a bonus for joining the new community.
To get Darren's latest blogging tips as well as keep up-to-date on trends in social media and blogging follow @ProBlogger on Twitter.
September 26, 2009
How to Build Your Own Links
Build your own links to any page on the Llewellyn website by following these steps after you log in to your Google Affiliate Network account.
To create one link at a time with the Build Your Own Link (BYOL) feature:
- In your Google Affiliate Network account, click the Links tab, then click By Advertiser.
- Locate the appropriate advertiser. In the 'Action' drop-down menu, click Build Your Own Link, then click Go.
- Specify the appropriate link details in the fields, then click Build Link.
You can use Llewellyn book covers to create banners for these links by downloading the image for the cover or by referencing URL for the image source on our website.
We have several image sizes available. Use the links below to reference the appropriate image size by placing the product’s EAN number at the end of the URL.
60 px wide: http://www.llewellyn.com/_theme/product_images/60/[EAN].jpg
80 px wide: http://www.llewellyn.com/_theme/product_images/80/[EAN].jpg
100 px wide: http://www.llewellyn.com/_theme/product_images/100/[EAN].jpg
200 px wide: http://www.llewellyn.com/_theme/product_images/200/[EAN].jpg
All URLs to the landing pages for Llewellyn products use the following structure:
http://www.llewellyn.com/product.php?ean=[EAN]
Note: EAN numbers can be found on the product detail page. Click here to see how to find this information.
Want to save time? Use the Upload Your Links feature to create up to 2000 links.
To create links in bulk with the Upload Your Links feature:
- In your Google Affiliate Network account, click the Links tab, then click By Advertiser.
- Locate the appropriate advertiser. In the 'Action' drop-down menu, select Upload Your Own Links, then click Go.
- In the 'Upload Action' drop-down menu, select Create BYOL.
- Enter a confirmation email if needed.
- Create and save a properly-formatted bulk upload file (MSExcel spreadsheet) on your computer.*
- Click Browse to locate your file.
- Click Upload.
* Formatting tips:
- If you need help with file formatting, click here to view a sample of a bulk upload file created using Llewellyn product information.
- If you're creating links, leave the LID (link id) blank.
- If you're deleting or updating BYOLs, you must provide the LIDs, which you can view or download on the 'Available Link Templates' page in your account.
- You can update a maximum of 2000 links in your file.
Confirmation email and files:
- After you complete the upload process, Google Affiliate Network will email you a file with the link ID and Link HTML fields populated.
- If your upload processed correctly, you'll receive a file named Success. In the file, the 'Reserved' field is blank, and the 'Return message' field will display the word Success.
- If some links weren't processed, you'll receive a 'Success' file and a second file named Failure. In the file, the 'Return message' field will display error messages.
- If no links were processed, you'll receive a 'Failure' file.
For a complete list of titles published by Llewellyn click here to download our Fall 2009 Trade Catalog.
If you would like to preview forthcoming Llewellyn titles click here to download our Winter 2010 Trade Catalog.
We also publish a bi-monthly consumer catalog, New Worlds. Click here to view and download the latest issue.
September 25, 2009
Join the Llewellyn Affiliate Program
Llewellyn is excited to announce our new affiliate program is now live on the Google Affiliate Network!
Join our affiliate program and earn 8% commission on all products from the world's oldest and largest New Age publisher!
For more than a century, Llewellyn has been at the forefront of holistic and metaphysical publishing and thought. We’ve been a source of illumination, instruction, and new perspectives on a wealth of topics, including astrology, tarot, wellness, earth-based spirituality, magic, and the paranormal.
The world’s oldest and largest independent publisher of books for body, mind, and spirit, Llewellyn is dedicated to bringing our readers the very best in metaphysical books and resources.
We’ve spent the last two years redesigning our website to make it friendlier, easier to use, and include more information about our books, authors, and our topics.
Now you can take reap the rewards of our effort by joining our new affiliate program on the Google Affiliate Network.
Benefits of joining our affiliate program include:
- 8 % commission on all products
- 30 day credit for customer referrals
- exclusive coupons and special offers
- up to 12% commission for top performing affiliates
Click here to join our program if you are an approved publisher with the Google Affiliate Network.
Click here to apply if you aren't currently a member of the Google Affiliate Network.
After you've joined, be sure to opt-in to our monthly affiliate newsletter for up-to-date information on new releases, best-selling titles, upcoming promotions, new links and exclusive program offers.
You can also stay informed on the latest Internet and Affiliate Marketing news and information by reading our dedicated affiliate program blog and by following @LlewellynAP on Twitter.
We will be adding more banners and text links in the next few weeks. We are working on a data feed for the program and hope to have it available soon.
In the meantime, we have empowered our affiliate partners by enabling the BYOL feature (build your own links) so you’ll be able to link to the landing page of your choice.
September 10, 2009
Important Notice to Members of the Llewellyn Online Affiliate Program
If you've visited Llewellyn.com recently, you may have noticed we've made more than a few enhancements to our website.
A few of the things that we've added:
- "Browse Inside" features that allow customers to preview our books before they purchase
- More content, including Llewellyn Journal articles, recipes, tidbits, advice, how-tos, and more
- Two new monthly newsletters, the Wellness Update and the Magic Update, in addition to must-read favorites like the Witchy Update and the Llewellyn e-Magazine
- New blogs, each dedicated to our core topics like Magick, Paganism, Astrology, Tarot, Body and Soul, and the Paranormal
- An improved shopping process, with enhanced search functionality and a streamlined shopping cart
Along with these changes, we are currently in the process of upgrading our affiliate program.
Llewellyn is excited to be working with the Google Affiliate Network to offer a new and improved affiliate program that will include the following features:
- State-of-the-art reporting capabilities
- Full access to update and change account information
- Additional income earning opportunities through an enhanced multi-tiered commission structure and 30–day credit for customer referrals
- Increased options for linking to our website with an expanded selection of text, banner, and other promotional creatives
- Exclusive coupons to offer site visitors
As part of this transition, all current Llewellyn program partners will need to reapply for Llewellyn's new affiliate program through the Google Affiliate Network. Once approved, partners will need to update all affiliate links to Llewellyn.com from their website.
Existing Llewellyn Online Affiliate Program members will no longer be able to access their account information through the previous program interface. As of September 8, 2009, we will no longer be able to track any activity generated by affiliate links created through these accounts.
Payments are currently being processed for any and all unpaid commissions earned through Llewellyn's affiliate program prior to September 8, 2009. Checks for these earnings should be received no later than October 1, 2009.
Any questions regarding outstanding account balances, payment status, and previous program activity can be directed to affiliateprogram@llewellyn.com.
We are working hard to have the new Llewellyn Affiliate Program up and running as quickly as possible. We will send an invitation to apply for the new program to all of Llewellyn's previous affiliate partners as soon as our application on the Google Affiliate Network is available.
In the meantime, you can browse through our list of frequently asked questions, read our affiliate program blog, follow our program on Twitter (http://www.twitter.com/LlewellynAP), or send an email to affiliateprogram@llewellyn.com if you have any questions.
We apologize for any inconvenience caused while the program is in transition. We sincerely appreciate your patience and understanding while these changes are being made.