AssocTRAC 4.0 - Affiliate Management Solution Review

Okay, the thing that stops people from starting their own affiliate

programs is the cost. I know that. I mean, getting started can cost you literally thousands of dollars. And that's simply not realistic for many online business owners.

For example: To get started with one of the biggest affiliate
management programs out there (I'm not naming names!) will cost you a MINIMUM of $11,500 in your first year alone! And it could be a LOT more!

And to make matters worse, many of these companies actually penalize you for being successful. In other words, the more money YOU make, the more they will demand that you pay them!

That's why I was so excited when I discovered AssocTRAC 4.0. It's a
complete affiliate management solution that gives you absolutely everything you need to start and run your own affiliate program AND it lets you do it without all the traps that so many of the other affiliate management programs try to lure you into.

(For example, AssocTRAC does NOT take a percentage of every
sale you make, and it doesn't force you to send traffic that is rightfully
yours to some other site like so many other programs do.)

And here's the kicker: For a limited time, you can even try it out
risk free for 90 days. That way, you can prove to yourself how
easy it is to enlist an army of affiliates who will work day and night
for you promoting your products, and if it isn't exactly what you're looking for, you don't pay a dime!

I give AssocTRAC 4.0 a solid 10 out of 10 rating. If you're
at all considering your own affiliate program (and even if you haven't
really thought about it before now) you owe it to your business to check this out!

Click
here to read more and try it out for yourself!

bfw

Covestor pays Investors

Are you looking for a site who pays a stock investor for picking the right stock? Then you should check out Covestor.

Covestor is an online community for self-directed investors to share their information and tricks of the trade. The unique aspect to Covestor is that it grants you the opportunity to earn revenue by providing your services to other investors.

While Covestor is free to join, it is a private community for those who have proven to be skilled successful self-directed investors. After your application is accepted, you can then utilize Covestor’s real-trade sharing service to build your track record. The data is of course kept private. Professional tools measure and display your normalized results, which in turn validate your performance so others can see how well your selections are doing. The data can also be exported with the use of a widget to your blog or MySpace.

You can view others’ portfolios and compare their performance against yours. Covestor will also rank your performance to that of the community of fellow investors.

So, if your looking to earn a little extra money from your expertise, you can offer your data to be tracked by others who invest in a managed account that makes investments informed by your data feed. You don’t have to be a registered member in order to track others. Covestor will open standard managed brokerage accounts for your followers, and each will be managed by a regulated investment manager in the appropriate jurisdiction. This feature should be live within the year.

Good investing!

SteamStreet Launches Community for Investors

SteamStreet is a community for investors to share information and play their hand at creating a portfolio. The site is currently in a private beta, but I recently came across an article that talked about a few of the features the site will have.

You will be able to pick the stocks you’d like to add to your portfolio; get a quick market summary at a glance; perform research of an individual company and make your own notes about each stock accordingly. SteamStreet will allow this information to be shared with the larger community, depending on your privacy settings. Viewing another users profile and public stock information will reveal their notes regarding a particular company their following. Information regarding an individual company can be filtered by your own notes as well.

The basic version of SteamStreet is available, however, you will have to pony up about $8 per month if you intend on using the more comprehensive analysis tools.

While SteamStreet is a community, its not the place for finding new investment friends. They take confidentiality very seriously and rightly so.

I recommend visting their website to find out more.

Today's investment idea has to do with my nephews teeth

About a month ago my sister called and asked if I could take my nephew to the dentist. Being the great uncle that I am I said sure. While waiting I was browsing through some literature and came across one for a company called Align Technolgies . These folks have pioneered a new system for straightening crooked teeth. The medical term is Malocclusion.

They market a system called -Invisalign, which is "a series of clear, removable aligners that both orthodontists and dentists use as a technique to give their patients a beautiful smile. With more than ten million unique aligners made to date, Align is one of the largest manufacturers of mass customized products in the world". The system sure beats metal braces.

I did some additional due diligence when I got home and was very impressed with the company and its products. The company released their latest quarterly financials on July 25th and realized revenue growth 44% yr over yr.

I'm no expert on teeth nor dentistry, however, I believe these guys have really carved out quite a niche for themselves and the future looks bright.

Please do your own due diligence before investing a penny of your own money.

bfw

Wize Launches Affiliate Widgets for Bloggers

The product review site Wize has just launched a new widget for bloggers allowing them to capitalize when they become an affiliate.

Here's how the company describes the program:

What is it?

"The Wize Widget is a targeted feed of product photos and rankings, designed specifically to increase conversion on product-focused blogs and web sites. The goal of the Wize widget is to provide customers with the information they need to make a good purchase decisions exactly when and where they need it. Although this service can be used by anybody with a web site, it is especially geared towards bloggers who write about new products, products they love, or product quality. The widget is easy to set up, and will become more customizable over time."

Here's the link to sign up for the program http://wize.com/typepad.

Penny stocks continued....

The second penny stock that I've taken a position in is called Big Cat Energy Corp (BCTE). These guys have a patented system of re-injecting water back into a coal mine. That process helps the operators of the mines minimize water pollution. I don't know much about the mining business but I've done some research on their technology and based on the number of field tests their potential customers are conducting, I'd say they may be on to something.

Again, I encourage everyone to do their own DD. More information about the company can be found at http://www.bigcatenergy.com/s/home.asp.

Ever consider investing in Penny Stocks?

That question usually elicits a dirty look from most prudent and seasoned investors. Only the guys with a strong stomach would even consider trading in penny stocks.

However, every once in a while we come across a company or companies that really deserve a closer look. One such company is called NutraCea (NTRZ). They are a health-science company, engaged in the development and distribution of stabilized rice bran and proprietary rice bran formulations (company website: http://www.nutracea.com). The stock trades at around $2.80.

This is a company that has very little competition (a good thing!) and is having to expand its operations because it can't keep up with demand for its products (another good thing). I was really impressed by this little company when I came across them that I bought some shares for my retirement portfolio.

Now, I'm not saying you should do the same thing, however, I really encourage my readers to do their own due diligence and take a look at this company. Who know, you to may be impressed.

A Mutual Fund that has gotten a 32% return / yr?

To be more precise...for the past 6.5 years. While most investors concentrate on putting their money into Mutual Funds that invest primarily in US stocks, there is a whole other world of funds that invest in overseas markets that have trumped the returns found in the U.S.

One of them is the Global 10 Large Cap Index Fund by http://www.globalinv.net/default.asp?lf=1. While much is written in the press about the returns in Latin America and Asia, very little is written about investments in the Middle East. We all know why.

This fund invests in the 10 largest companies trading on the Kuwait Stock exchange and is worth taking a look at.

ICBC overtakes Citigroup....

Well, it happened this week. The Industrial & Commercial Bank of China overtook Citigroup to become the world's largest bank (read the story: http://tinyurl.com/2uolwp)

The Headlines read 'Worst Market drop in 4 years"

Wow! What a week the markets had. It appears that the subprime fiasco is really begining to have an impact on the markets. Bear Sterns this week notified some of their clients that they'd be liquidating two of their hedge funds due to tremendous losses in the subprime arena......ouch!