Archive for the ‘Marketing’ Category
Amazon Affiliates Screwed: Colorado Law HB 10-1193
Amazon Affiliate Marketers and all who use affiliate marketing worldwide took a major blow to their income today. Why is Colorado Law HB 10-1193 a major setback for small business and entrepreneurship not only in the state of Colorado but worldwide? Let me explain some really basic business principals.
Here’s the basics.
The problem:
Colorado has a huge budget deficit. They desperately need to increase their income. Someone suggest that if they could collect sales tax on sales made to Colorado residents by internet companies such as Amazon, they could generate revenues to help their budget problem.
The Obstacle:
Internet companies like Amazon don’t have a business presence in the state of Colorado and therefore are not subject to collecting and paying Colorado sales tax.
The Solution:
Colorado declares law HB 10-1193 which states any company who has an affiliate marketer that generates over $10,000 of income for that company is a legal agent of that company and thus the company has a presence in the state and must collect and pay sales tax. An affiliate marketer is a person who gets paid a fee for referring business to another company. For example, if I am an Amazon affiliate and I recommend a book and refer you to Amazon to buy it, I could get a referral fee for that sale.
The Result:
Amazon fires all its affiliate marketers who reside in Colorado. They continue to sell to Colorado residents directly and through affiliate marketers who reside in other states. The group who is hurt the most is the small business owner who was putting food on the table and a roof over their family’s head via affiliate marketing. The other one hurting is the State of Colorado because they now loses the personal and business income tax they would have derived from the resident affiliate marketers. The state also forgoes the income from sales tax. Everyone loses, even Amazon.
There are a number of reasons that HB 10-1193 was a stupid law. That’s right it was downright ignorant of the lawmakers to pass HB 10-1193.
First, an affiliate has no control or say in the company’s business. They get paid as a 1099 relationship. They simply refer customers to another company. It’s a form of marketing and advertising.
Second, HB 10-1193 forces an undue burden on the producer of the good and services. As a small business owner and the only employee, I have used affiliate programs to promote my goods and services. It is an effective means of generating awareness for many reasons. According to the new law, if my company is based outside Colorado, but one of my affiliates is based inside Colorado and happens to have referred 10 people who bought my $1000 widget, I now have to figure out how to collect and file sales tax in the state of Colorado. Yoohoo Colorado, it’s not worth my time. I too would do what Amazon is doing and simply ban all affiliates in the state of Colorado. I’ll have my out of state affiliates refer that business to me or simply forgo income from Colorado. Hate to tell you, but Colorado adds a small amount of revenue to an internet company’s bottom line compared to other states.
The third reason HB 10-1193 kills small business in Colorado is that if I am now the affiliate marketer residing in Colorado, not only have I lost my income from Amazon, but I have now lost it from all the other companies with which I have an affiliate relationship. So, not only have I lost my income, but Colorado has lost the revenues from my income tax.
Fourth, How the heck are they going to enforce HB 10-1193? It’s going to take a lot of resources to identify who is an affiliate that generated over $10,000 of income and for what companies did they achieve this and did that company collect sales tax for those particular sales?
Obviously, no one really took the time to think HB 10-1193 through. Either that or there’s a lot of stupid idiots voting for this bill.
The can of worms:
I’m not sure but I would think that anyone who participates in a traditional MLM business would also be subject to this new law. What if those companies also ceased to operate in Colorado? What then?
What you can do to help:
If you are an affiliate marketer in Colorado or know someone who is, you may express your views of Colorado’s new law to members of the General Assembly and to Governor Ritter, who signed the bill HB 10-1193. If you are a company that uses affiliates that may be based in Colorado, please let them know what has transpired and direct them to members of the General Assembly and to Governor Ritter.
Here’s Amazon’s announcement to affiliates…
Dear Colorado-based Amazon Associate:We are writing from the Amazon Associates Program to inform you that the Colorado government recently enacted a law to impose sales tax regulations on online retailers. The regulations are burdensome and no other state has similar rules. The new regulations do not require online retailers to collect sales tax. Instead, they are clearly intended to increase the compliance burden to a point where online retailers will be induced to “voluntarily” collect Colorado sales tax — a course we won’t take.
We and many others strongly opposed this legislation, known as HB 10-1193, but it was enacted anyway. Regrettably, as a result of the new law, we have decided to stop advertising through Associates based in Colorado. We plan to continue to sell to Colorado residents, however, and will advertise through other channels, including through Associates based in other states.
There is a right way for Colorado to pursue its revenue goals, but this new law is a wrong way. As we repeatedly communicated to Colorado legislators, including those who sponsored and supported the new law, we are not opposed to collecting sales tax within a constitutionally-permissible system applied even-handedly. The US Supreme Court has defined what would be constitutional, and if Colorado would repeal the current law or follow the constitutional approach to collection, we would welcome the opportunity to reinstate Colorado-based Associates.
You may express your views of Colorado’s new law to members of the General Assembly and to Governor Ritter, who signed the bill.
Your Associates account has been closed as of March 8, 2010, and we will no longer pay advertising fees for customers you refer to Amazon.com after that date. Please be assured that all qualifying advertising fees earned prior to March 8, 2010, will be processed and paid in accordance with our regular payment schedule. Based on your account closure date of March 8, any final payments will be paid by May 31, 2010.
We have enjoyed working with you and other Colorado-based participants in the Amazon Associates Program, and wish you all the best in your future.
Best Regards,The Amazon Associates Team
Imagine growing up in our house. You are 6 years old. You are just finishing up breakfast. You are just learning to read. You start practicing your reading on the box of cereal in front of you. You are so excited you have to share your excitement with your mom.
Mom, so this cereal makes you lower your cholesterol.
(Of course, I have to help with the word ko-les-ter-ole.)
Well, not quite honey. You see, they are using an implied benefit in their advertising copy. I know it says that it helps lower your cholesterol, but if you read the fine print, at the bottom of the box, you will see that studies show that any food that has X amount of Y ingredient will lower your cholesterol. And since this product happens to have that amount, they are implying that this product will also reap you this benefit. They are hoping that no one reads that fine print and that they assume that it is only this product that provides you this great benefit.
See here it is. It says “* Three grams of soluble fiber daily from whole grain oat foods, like Honey Nut Cheerios® cereal, in a diet low in saturated fat and cholesterol may reduce the risk of heart disease. Honey Nut Cheerios® cereal has 0.75g per serving.” So, Any food that has soluble fiber from whole grain oats can make the same claim being made by this cereal.
And as a child, you don’t need to care about your cholesterol anyway. It’s only something to be concerned about when you get older. So that statement doesn’t even apply to you.

“oh.”
Way to go mom! Way to pop that bubble! They’ll be no uneducated consumers in this household!
Where in your daily life to do you stumble across a marketer using an implied benefit in their messages? Have you ever sat up and taken notice? Please share some of your observances with us. I might even share them with my kids
List of 300+ Marketing Ideas & Tactics
Here’s the laundry list of over 300 Marketing Tactics and Marketing Ideas to use to market your small business. The list is organized alphabetically. In The Millionaire Marketing Machine, I have organized this list of Marketing Ideas by how each is used in the marketing process to power your marketing machine. Each marketing idea in this list marketing tactics has a purpose that is intertwined with the others and when used together and in sequence they create a powerful engine to propel your business forward.
404 Errors
800 number and PO Box
800 Phone Number
900 Phone Number
A letter of introduction to the company
A sample news story
Ad Sense by Google
Ad Tracking
Ad Words by Google
adopt-a-highway
Ads in videos
Advergames
Advertising
Advertorial
Affiliate Marketing
after-hours gathering
Airplane Chauffeur
Animation
annual award
answering machine message
Articles
Auctions
Audio Marketing
audio message on website
Audio or video files of interviews, speeches and performances
Autoresponders
Avatars
award
Award Recognition
Backend Marketing
Banner Ads
Bartering
be interviewed
Birthday Reminders
Blog Advertising
blog comments on other blogs
blog RSS and syndication
Blogger relations
Blogging
blogging communities
Bonus Offers
book a celebrity guest
bookmark this page script
Bookmarking
Borrow a wall/building
Branded microsites
Branding
brochure
Build trade show booths and exhibits
building signage
Bumper Stickers -
bundle products
Business Cards
Case Studies
chamber of commerce
Charity Donations -
Circulars -
Client Appreciation BBQ -
Clubs
co-branded product
Color schemes
Commenting on related blogs
Comparison shopping
Conference Calls
Consulting
Contests
contextual advertising
Copywriting
Coregistration
Corporate Web Site
Coupon
Courses
Create an XML sitemap
Credibility
Cross Promotion
customer loyalty program
customer of the month
Demonstrations -
direct mail campaign – 3-6 postcards post 7-10 days apart
Direct Response
Discussion Groups
Doctors Office Magazines
Domain Names
Download Page
drawing
Ebay
E-book -
Ebooks
Eclass
editorial calendar
Endorsements
examples
Exclusives
expo booth
extranet
Ezine
Fake publicity stunt -
Favicons
Feedback forms
Fish Bowl Business Cards -
Flash
Forums & Newsgroups
free content
free ebook
free gift with $X purchase
free shipping
Freebies
Freelancing
fund-raising
Get listed in a paid directory like BOTW or Yahoo Directory.
grand opening
Gratitude
Guarantees
Guest blogging
guest presenters
guest speakers
Hair Salon’s and Barber Shops -
Hang up fliers, posters or business cards at community halls, libraries, or other local businesses,
Headlines
Hold a Contest -
Holiday Greetings -
Holidays
How-to clinic
Image
image communities
Industry Events
Info Products
instant messaging
internet TV
Interviews
intranet
Joint Ventures
Keywords
language translated content
Leads
Let Others Talk You Up
limited-time offer
Link Bait
Link Cloaking
Link Strategies
Listbuilding
List in related quality directories
List of frequently asked questions
live customer service
live streaming
loan your facilities as a meeting place
Local Events
Logos
Magazines -
Mailing lists signup
Mastermind Groups
Media Events
Media Kit
Membership sites
merchant account – accept more payment options
microblogging
Mini Courses
Mini Ebooks
Mini Sites, microsites
Mobile Ads
Mobile content
Money Stamping -
Movie Theater Ads
Multimedia
Music
Network Marketing
Networking Organizations
News feeds
News related to the industry or investor news
Newsletters
Newspaper advertising
Offer all the extras
online chat
online games
Online radio show
open house
order form
organize a conference
Outdoor Signs -
Own the bus stop
own TV show
Paid Reviews
participate in forums with Signature
participate in wikis
partnerships
Pay it forward
Pay per click
Pay per whatever
Peer to Peer relationships
Phone consulting
photos
podcast
Pop-overs
Pop-unders
Pop-ups
Postcards
Posting in related forums
PPC – Pay per Click
Preselling
presentation
Press Release
Press tour
Price Reduction
Pricing
primary call-to-action above the fold
Print Calendars -
Private Label
Private Sites
Product and service information and brochures
prospecting
Public Relations
Public Speaking
Publicity
Publishing
Put it on a bus
Questions
Radio_internet
ratings sites
Recent reviews, publications and articles
refer-a-friend link
referral fees
Referral Marketing
regional content
Reports
Reprint or Resell rights
Return address label
Reviews
Reward Programs
RSS Advertising
sales event
Sales Letter web Page
Sales letters
samples
Scarcity
schedule of promotions and events
Screensavers
Search engine optimization
search marketing
sell ad space on your properties
SEM – Search Engine Marketing
Seminars
Sex Sells
Shopping carts
signage
signature
Signs
social advertisements like Facebook
Social bookmarking your site
social media advertising
social networking
social networking, forums, wikis, collaboration
special interest groups
split-test
Sponsor an event
Sponsor the homeless
sponsorship
Squidoo
Sticky Notes
Sticky pages
Submit your site to the DMOZ directory
Submitting articles to directories
Surveys
Sweepstakes
syndicated content
Syndication
tagging
tagline
Talk Shows
Target Market
teach a class
Teleconferencing
telephone hotline
Teleseminars
Testimonials
Testing and Tracking
Thank You pages
The company profile, history, and management
Tips
Toolbars
Top 10 reasons to choose YOU
Trade Associations
trade shows
Trade Shows
Training
Translation
Troubleshooting
T-Shirts
Tutorials
TV
Unsubscribe message
Upselling
Url
user generated content
USP
vendor relationship management
video communities
Videos
Viral Marketing
Virtual Tradeshows
virtual worlds
Voicemail
voting features
Web Pages
Web Site Design
webinars
Welcome or confirmation message
white papers
widget advertisements
widgets
Window decals
window displays
Word of Mouth
workshop
Writing guest articles
Yellow Pages
I’d like to thank some of the blogs that I used to compile this list of 300 Marketing Ideas and Tactics:
Over 150 Marketing Tactics and Growing, By Kevin Wirth
50 Guerrilla Marketing Tactics You Should Be Using, By Bootstrapping Blog
If you have any other marketing ideas or tactics that you would like to add to the list, please add a comment below.
Ever wonder why people pay for a PR firm? What kind of publicity do they get for their money? Here are some of the things a Public Relations agency should be doing for you. Or, if you choose to write your own plan, here’s what you should include.
- Messaging
- Media Training
- Construct Story
- Media or Press Kit
- Generate Media Opportunities
- Build Strategic News Pipeline
- Editorial Calendar Outreach
- Leverage Events
- Media tour
- Media Events
Let’s look at that a little bit further. What does it mean? What do you really get?
PR Messaging
If your company has not already come up with its positioning and a clear set of messages, your PR firm can craft those for you. They should be reinforcing your brand, positioning and messages throughout everything they do. This is key and fundamental to the success of every marketing program.
Media Training
Everyone in your company who will be interviewed by the media should trained on how to communicate effectively with them. You need to learn how to answer questions in a way that supports your messaging. You should be prepared to expect certain questions and the best ways to get your message across.
Construct Story
Your PR Agency should be able to take your messages and translate them into multiple stories that appeal to a variety of media that target your ideal customer. They will also create and pitch each story to the media.
Media or Press Kit
A media kit (sometimes called press kit) is like a resume for your company. It includes:
- A letter of introduction to the company
- The company profile, history, and management
- Product and service information and brochures
- Recent reviews, publications and articles
- Press releases
- Audio or video files of interviews, speeches and performances
- A sample news story
- News related to the industry or investor news
- List of frequently asked questions
- Other information such as awards, photos, white papers, schedule of promotions and events, statistics, samples or examples, logo and image art, an order form.
Generate Media Opportunities
Create a targeted list of media and analyst contacts. Start contacting them locally then build nationally and internationally. Pitch stories. Position your company as the go-to source of information on your subject.
Build Strategic News Pipeline
Develop a scheduled series of news releases (press releases) and draft the announcements that strategically roll out different aspects of the story.
Editorial Calendar Outreach
Identify publications that target your ideal customer and make a list of the planned stories or editorial opportunities that exist within their annual calendar. Pitch you product/service where appropriate.
Leverage Events
Develop a PR strategy to leverage events that your company hosts or participates in. Recruit press to cover the stories.
Media tour
A media tour is when you meet with editors and reporters to introduce your company, product or service. The end goal is to build the relationship so that they print an article about your product, service or company, or that they come to you for quotes.
Media Events
Just as you need to build community among your customers, you need to build community among the press. You want to build your brand or image in their mind and then stay top of mind with them. An event is a perfect way to do this. It may be as simple as a sneak-preview party or a press appreciation party. Free food and drink is always appealing.
With the exception of the media kit and the media events, most of these activities do not cost much money in terms of materials. But they do take time. If you want to write a plan for yourself, you should include most of these tactics. Typically a company will outsource these functions because they don’t have the time and the existing relationships with the press. if you choose this route, look for a firm that already has established relationships with the media outlets that reach your target customer.
