The Firebox Affiliate Blog

What's In My Toolbox

I thought it would be useful for me to share the tools (most free, some with a small charge) that I use on a daily basis when doing online marketing stuff. Most of these will be familiar to people, but I think new affiliates and affiliate managers will benefit from having a list for reference.

SEO and PPC

SEOMoz is a suite of tools invaluable for SEO. It allows you to build a backlink list from competitors easily, see how sites are ranking etc.

Revenuewire Keyword Manager is great for building lists of keywords. You can rearrange them, wrap them in tags for importing, combine different words in different combinations.

Adwords Editor allows you to bulk edit Google campaigns

Google Insights for Search is great for researching keywords.

Affiliates

The http headers plugin for Firefox allows you to decode any link. So you can see if it's an affiliate link, and the cookies set enables you to indentify the affiliate. There's nowhere to hide!

General

URL encode and decode tool. This takes a url string with random characters in it and turns it back into a normal link. If you've copied a link from a Google ad this will help you see it properly.

Feed validator for Atom and RSS. Put in the url of an RSS feed and this will tell you if it's valid code, and what you should change.

XML validator. Like the above, but for xml feeds.

Firefox plugin for html validator. Like the above validators, but as a plugin.

Random Number Generator. Run competitions? This generates truly random numbers allowing you to pick winners fairly.

HTML

Real-time HTML editor. Check code here before you use it. Allows you to play around without saving code.

HTML Code tutorial. Handy reference guide for HTML coding.

HTML Colour Codes. A list of colour references for HTML.

Finance

VAT Calculator. Calculates pricing with and without VAT

HM Revenue and Customs historic exchange rates. If you paid euros for something 6 months ago, work out what it actually cost.

Echange rate. Up to date currency converter.

Social Media

Tweetdeck. Easy to use twitter tool. Very useful if you're monitoring multiple accounts, you can setup columns for different searches.

Video

VLC will play pretty much any file, even those that stump windows media player.

Got any tools you use yourself on a regular basis? (preferably free ones!) I'd love to hear about them.

Thanks

Naomi

Recent Top Firebox Bestsellers

Here's a list of our top five bestsellers over the last month. This is based on number of units sold. To keep constantly up to date with what is selling well, I recommend using the RSS feed for our site Top Twenty. This is updated regularly (at least once an hour) so it accurately reflects what is selling. And unlike on most sites, it uses realtime sales data not just what we want to push!

Bestsellers:

1. Addictaball.

It's a puzzle in a ball, and is horribly addictive (I own one). Comes in Small (£6.99) and Large (£11.99). Also known as Addict-A-Ball.

 

2. Wild Hibiscus Flowers

These are flowers that you put in the bottom of champagne glasses, and watch 'bloom' into a flower. They are edible so after you finish your bubbly you can scoff the booze-soaked flower.

We've been selling these for a while, the recent jump in popularity was because they were featured on This Morning (from 03:30). Holly thought they would be perfect for weddings, and we've sold more of the 2 jar pack than the singles, so I think people were listening! One jar is £9.99 and the two pack is £16.99.

3. illoom balloons

Outdoor party season has arrived, and these are brilliant for nightime gatherings. A simple idea: a balloon with an LED light inside, they look wonderful when filled with helium. The mixed colour pack is most popular. £8.99 for 15.

 

4. Garlic Zoom

This was also in the same This Morning feature. It's a clever garlic cutting gadget, you zoom it along the countertop to chop. Now comes in XL for garlic-lovers and large families. Standard £7.99, XL £14.99

 

5. USB Snakescope Camera

This has come back into stock after we sold out of the first load very quickly. Its a USB camera on a long bendable tube. It may look like an accident waiting to happen, but has many practical uses like investigating blocked drains (it's waterproof) and retrieving small metal items (it has a magnetic attachment). The overly paranoid can use it to peer round corners. £29.99

   

So the lesson here is, TV coverage drives lots of sales, and party/wedding season is upon us!

Today's new products on Firebox

We've got a great range of new products on Firebox.com today, thought I'd highlight some you might want to promote.

Family Slanket £89.99

This is the latest version of the bestselling Slanket, a natural progression from the kids and double versions. Room for five family members plus dog.

 

Clever Peg £39.99

This wifi enabled peg tells you when it's raining and beams the info to an iPhone app.

Duck Separator £12.99

Enjoy a trip to the local pond without the menace of greedy ducks stealing all the food. This ingenious device fires bread at your chosen duck and then encloses it in a special ring, stopping other wildfowl grabbing their snack.

 
Firebox Cheese Club £84.99

This cheese subscription will introduce you to a wonderful array of cheese, ranging from simple cottage cheese right through to sophisticated stilton. Also includes free cheese board and knife.

  

Glow in the Dark Suntan Lotion £12.99

Never miss a spot again by applying this in the dark so you can see exactly where you've missed!

Adult Naughty Step £29.99

Great for home or office, this step disciplines naughty adults using the same proven method as for kids. Has three levels: quite naughty, really naughty and might go to prison.

 

DIY Carbon Freezing Kit £45999.99

Sci-fi becomes a reality as this kit lets you freeze yourself like Han Solo. If you sell this through your site you'd get £3914.89 in commission! (we take off VAT).

  

If you would like banners or other creative for any of the above products please let me know. Preferably before midday.

Naomi

Things to Make and Do at Firebox

We've had some new products on the site recently that allow you to make stuff yourself. This follows the increase in popularity of craft and homemade products- I've been known to knit a few things myself.

Here's a rundown of the latest products you can promote in this category:

Sock Monkey Kit £11.99

 

This great kit contains everything you need to make a sock monkey. It also comes with a great book with instructions for making not just the monkey but a sock elephant, crocodile, squirrel and many more.

Chocolate Making Kit £14.99

 

I've tried this out myself and it's great. Has all the butters and powders you need to create your own chocolate in about 15 mins. You can also get ideas for new recipes online so you can experiment with your own flavours.

Sock Knitting Kit £14.99

 
This kit contains 4 double pointed needles (which you use for knitting round things like socks), enough wool for one pair and a book of patterns. The kit isn't for complete beginners- you'll need to learn some basic knitting stiches first, but it's great for anyone who wants to learn sock knitting.

Cupcake Kit £11.99

 
This kit has proved immensely popular since we put it on the site last year, and it makes a great gift for a friend. It has 250 nice cupcake cases, a recipe book and a piping bag and nozzles for icing. Yum.

If you would like any more information on these or other Firebox products, please e-mail us at affiliates@firebox.com.

Micro trend: Giant Stuff

Big is back and it's in fashion. There's a bit of a trend going on at Firebox for giant stuff. Especially sweets...mmm.

Perfect for Mad Hatter's Tea Parties (the new Alice in Wonderland film is out next week), here's a selection of all the oversized curiosities we have on the site:

 

Giant Chupa Chup £19.99

It's not quite the size of your head, more that of a small child. Strawberry flavour. Random fact: the Chupa Chup logo was designed by Salvador Dali.

 

Giant Gummi Bears £14.99 (medium) and £29.99 (giant)

The biggest gummi bear in the world! Truly enormous.

 

Giant Cupcake Tin £29.99

Bake your own scrumptious giant cupcake.

 

Teacup Plant Pots £24.99

Giant teacups for putting houseplants in. Do not drink out of unless you've plugged the drainage holes in the bottom.

 

Giant Microbes £6.99

Enlarged cuddly bacteria and viruses. Particularly nice is MRSA- it has a cape (superbug, geddit!).

Feel free to use this article on your affiliate blog.

Valentine's products and creative

Here's some info from us on Valentine's day- there will be a few more posts to follow.

Copy and Landing page

Here's some copy about Valentine's and a link to our landing page:

If you’re looking for a different kind of gift to give your Valentine, try Firebox.com, the home of amazing and quirky gifts! They’ve got chocolate pizza, heart shaped flying lanterns and sparkling wine that contains real gold flakes. Firebox Valentine’s gifts for him include Sex Panther, the aftershave from the film Anchorman. And if you can’t decide, there’s  the Valentine’s Mystery Box which will save you money on some mystery romantic gifts.

Creative and Video

We've put together a Valentine's video, which has been uploaded to our affiliate video player. Go to that page, choose '22 Carat Vodka' as the product, add in your aff id and network and copy the code into your site. An example of how it will look is below.

There are Valentine's banners available on both networks, they look like this:

Available in 468x60 (animated as above or static), 120x60, 125x125 and 120x600. If you need an alternative design or size please let me know.

Products

Here are our top products for Valentine's day.

Valentine’s Day Mystery Box- exclusive. For him or her £19.95

Our Mystery Box was one of our bestsellers at Christmas, so this Valentine’s version should do well. It’s a selection of mystery romantic gifts, saving over £5 on the RRP.

Romantic Chocolate Pizza £12.95

A 7” solid gourmet chocolate pizza. This is delicious, and incidentally is what I’ve got my boyfriend this year.

My Beating Heart £29.99

Sounds strange, but does actually work. A soft heart with a simulated heart beat that helps you relax.

Mini Hottie Hand Warmer £4.99

A mini hot water bottle with a heart design cover.

22 Carat Vodka £39.99

The girliest vodka ever created. Its pink, has flakes of real gold, and comes in a gorgeous jewel-shaped bottle.

Sex Panther £29.95

One for the men, this is a product from the film Anchorman. 60% of the time, it works every time. Grr.

Other info

We've setup an advice page featuring Dr Love here. We're also offering a Valentine's version of our CrapWrap service, where we'll wrap your gift just as badly as you would.

More details

If you need any extra information you can e-mail me on naomi.brown@firebox.com or call 0870 420 4946.

Recent Bestsellers (including the Flu) at Firebox

Wow, its been ages since I've done a blog post on here. In my defence, i've been busy with other things, and I've been caught up in the Twitter phenomenon. You can catch me at @NaomiMB, or the official Firebox account is @firebox.

Anyway, here are some of our bestselling products at the moment, to give you some ideas for what to promote...

Henry Desktop Vacuum £12.95
A bestseller since before Christmas, this is a mini battery-powered replica of the popular vacuum cleaner with a face.

Cyber Clean £7.95
Got a gross keyboard or other gadgets? This clever goo will help you clean them up safely. Also available in a minty blue version perfect for your car. Video creative available for this product.

Sex Panther £29.95
60% of the time, it works every time. If you don't know what I'm talking about, watch Anchorman, its very funny. This film tie-in aftershave is a Firebox UK exclusive. Video creative (see below) available.

Sega Mega Drive Twin Player Console £39.95 NEW
Pre-loaded with 15 classic Sega games, it will also play all your old Genesis and Mega Drive cartridges, and it comes with two controllers for some classic retro gaming battles!

Giant Microbes from £5.95
A product we've sold for a while, making a comeback (possibly to do with our current health concerns?). Before you ask, no Flu isn't the bestselling version, the Common Cold is! Although sales of Flu have been increasing.

My predictions for 2009

Everyone is doing prediction lists at the moment, so I thought I'd join in. Here is my list, its a mixture of predictions about affiliate marketing, internet marketing and general trends in product buying. Will be interesting to see which of these come true!

Video
Online videos were big news in 2008 and this will continue. At least one network will launch a fully-functional video serving system with affiliate tracking integrated, to build on the merchant solutions currently out there such as our own Affiliate Video Player.

Affiliate Programmes closing
Sadly this is definately going to be a theme of 2009. Retailers will either bring their affiliate programmes in-house to try and cut costs, or they will close them completely, normally because they've gone bust. Warning signs on an affiliate programme include creative not updated, sales not being validated and commission rates being cut (although sometimes a big increase in commissions can indicate a certain desperation for sales at any cost that doesn't bode well). On the remaining affiliate programmes commission levels and cookie lengths will be tinkered with to get maximum ROI.

Retro
Nostalgia will be a big trend in 2009, with people wanting to recapture past glories and look back to slightly happier times. Retro prodcucts will continue to sell well. We may even start to see some 90s products coming through, as we move towards the end of this decade. Possibly due for a revival are Pogs, Trolls, Tiddlywinks, Ghostbusters (a new film is rumoured), Care Bears and Sea Monkeys.

Simplicity
This is a trend already being seen in consumer technology- the move away from complex gadgets to simple stuff. Following on from the iPhone there's definately a market for a simpler easy to use mass-market mobile phone that just works. The key is making it cool- look at the Flip digital video camera and ASUS Eee laptops. Overall people will want to invest in products that work and last- we'll see less throw-away gadgets becoming popular this year.

Product Reporting
Affiliates now not only want to know that they've made a sale, but what they've actually sold. Product reporting will be adopted by more of the major networks, in addition to the click tracking already available.

Transparency
This will be the big buzzword for 2009 across all digital marketing, but particularly with affiliates. Merchants are demanding greater knowledge about what affiliates are actually doing, and the clever ones will use this to maximise revenue from the channel, tailoring campaigns to what works.

Its going to be an interesting year!

Last month's bestselling Firebox products

Its been a while since I've posted (I got caught up in lots of Christmas stuff), so a Happy New Year to everyone!

First post of the year is a look back at what were our bestsellers for December- these are likely to be big this year as well, so give a good idea of some stuff to promote.

In order of number of units sold:

1) Mystery Box from £14.95. This was the surprise Christmas bestseller for us- a box of random Firebox products at a reduced price. Available in versions for him or her. A Valentine's version is planned.

2) Plop Trumps £5.95. Everyone's fave novelty stocking filler

3) Screaming Flying Monkey £4.95

4) Henry Desktop Vacuum Cleaner £9.95. One of the best selling gifts, also available in a pink Hetty version.

5) Stylophone Original £14.95 This electronic instrument is definately enjoying a bit of a revival.

Bestselling products for the last month at Firebox

Here are some ideas for some popular products you might want to promote. This list is the top ten selling products for November, based on units sold.

1. Plop Trumps £5.95
This silly game is based on Top Trumps, but uses different types of dung as its subject.

2. Screaming Flying Monkey £4.95
This funny monkey toy can be flung across the room, and makes a screaming sound as it flys. Complete with special monkey mask and cape.

 
3. My Own Morph £9.95
Morph is back and now you can create him yourself. Comes complete with a load of fun accessories and some classic Morph episodes on disc.

4. Stylophone £14.95
A reissue of the classic 70s electronic instrument made popular by Rolph Harris. The new version even allows you to plug in your MP3 player and play along to your fave tracks.

5. Bubblewrap keychain £6.95
If you or someone you know is addicted to bubblewrap this is the perfect product. It recreates the sound and feel of popping the bubbles in a small keychain. Plus for every one hundred clicks it makes a random sound "pop, pop, pop, woof, pop".

6. Batteries

7. Echo Bot £6.95
A fun toy that records any message you want and plays it back when someone goes past. It also looks like a bright orange alien with one eye. Cute.

8. Miracle Fruit Tablets £9.95
These miraclulous berries work temporarily on your tastebuds, making everything taste sweet. Soon you'll be sucking on lemons and drinking vinegar.

9. Mood Beams £9.95
These cute light-up critters phase through different colours, and react to sound. They come in a variety of different colours and styles, including new fiesty Tude Beams.

10. PicoZ MX-1 Extreme £19.95
The smallest remote control helicopter in the world! Truly tiny.