ShipABall.com Helps Greg Hoffman Consulting

I needed a gimmick to get the attention of a popular affiliate program owner and I decided against shipping Donuts this time. At some point last year, Shawn Collins suggested I use ShipABall.com to send a unique reminder of my services. 

The customer service at ShipABall was very quick and responsive with my custom message for the 10-inch inflatable ball. I was pleased with the images and the price was right. 

Now let's see what happens...

Try out ShipABall.com.

Men's Coupons Sites Soar in Second Quarter '09

As the economy slowed and families had to dig deeper this Spring to make ends meet, coupon focused web sites have seen tremendous growth, especially one specific site that caters to unlikely users - men.

A quick review of Google News under the keyword "coupons" will show thousands of recent media mentions, all talking about how shoppers are taking advantage of online discounts, said Traci Dean, owner of MensCouponClub.com. "We focus on helping men who find it difficult to shop online or are too busy and want to find good deals in one place," she said.

Dean reports Second Quarter '09 sales for MensCouponClub.com will be an estimated 75% more than the Second Quarter '08 results. The site has also added approximately 500 additional e-commerce merchants this year and is working directly with affiliate managers to provide custom coupons for its customers.

"We have recommendations to what women want, suggestions made by women, and by the same token, for women using our site, we have recommendations for what men like, suggestions made by men," Dean said.

Stereotypes don't apply these days when it comes to using coupons and saving money at the grocery store or online, according to retiree Martin De La Montainge, of Tampa. "I'm happy to save money anyway I can. The only coupons I used in the past were found in Sunday newspapers, however, I found MensCouponClub.com that sends a weekly email containing many coupons for different products that fit my needs. Occasionally I will see a coupon for a product that I have never used before and the discount provided by the coupon is an incentive for me to purchase the product and try it at least once."

MensCouponClub.com works with reputable merchants and adds exclusive coupons every month in many different categories such as: Sports & Fitness, Electronics; Health; Apparel and many others. The owners of MensCouponClub.com also run CouponsandSportsBlog.com to compliment their services and give its visitors updates on major sports related stories mixed with deals they might like. For more information, visit http://www.menscouponclub.com or contact by email: contact(at)menscouponclub.com

Don't Panic! Take a Towel Wherever You Go Monday!

A towel, it says, is about the most massively useful thing an interstellar hitch hiker can have. Partly it has great practical value - you can wrap it around you for warmth as you bound across the cold moons of Jaglan Beta; you can lie on it on the brilliant marble-sanded beaches of Santraginus V, inhaling the heady sea vapours; you can sleep under it beneath the stars which shine so redly on the desert world of Kakrafoon; use it to sail a mini raft down the slow heavy river Moth; wet it for use in hand-to-hand-combat; wrap it round your head to ward off noxious fumes or to avoid the gaze of the Ravenous Bugblatter Beast of Traal (a mindboggingly stupid animal, it assumes that if you can't see it, it can't see you - daft as a bush, but very, very ravenous); you can wave your towel in emergencies as a distress signal, and of course dry yourself off with it if it still seems to be clean enough.

More importantly, a towel has immense psychological value. For some reason, if a strag (strag: non-hitch hiker) discovers that a hitch hiker has his towel with him, he will automatically assume that he is also in possession of a toothbrush, face flannel, soap, tin of biscuits, flask, compass, map, ball of string, gnat spray, wet weather gear, space suit etc., etc. Furthermore, the strag will then happily lend the hitch hiker any of these or a dozen other items that the hitch hiker might accidentally have "lost". What the strag will think is that any man who can hitch the length and breadth of the galaxy, rough it, slum it, struggle against terrible odds, win through, and still knows where his towel is is clearly a man to be reckoned with.

- Douglas Adams: The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

Greg Hoffman Becomes Certified Affiliate Manager

In 2006, I attended Affiliate Summit for Thompson Cigar. While I was there I met Janet Meiners Thaeler and she convinced me to purchase the original Affiliate Classroom Affiliate Manager training course. It came in a box with a huge 3-ring binder with workbooks and DVDs all over the place. I found it to be a great resource but it lacked any final certification.

In 2007, while with Kowabunga, I bumped into AC's Anik Singal at another Affiliate Summit. I pestered him about when he would move the Manager course online. He said it was coming soon and that everyone was looking forward to it.

In 2008, my former employee and now one of my best friends, Lisa Van Noland-Caraffi, was one of the first affiliate managers to jump in and complete the AC Certified Training online. You can see her testimonial on the AC Certified homepage...

In 2009, I finally committed to investing in the training. Tonight, I completed the final exam. It's very rewarding and let me tell you, the final exam was not a piece of cake. After all the successful affiliate programs I've managed in the last 5 years in all the major networks, the AC Certified Training taught me tips and tricks I've never considered.

Thank you Rachel! I owe you some donuts.

Sign up for the AC Certified Course now.

Gorilla picks up a Nikon D40

For the first time since 1994, I purchased a quality camera today. My last one was a Nikon 6006 purchased out of the Abes of Maine catalog. The D40 may not be top of the line but I'm sure it will fit my needs as a small business owner and a father to 2 very active children. 

I attribute the purchase to a lucky birthday present. My aunt placed a bet for me in the Kentucky Derby and the horse that I chose at random won - Mine That Bird. So those 50-1 winnings along with some other birthday money, I set out to get a new camera.  The battery is charging and I can't wait to test it out. Make sure you are following me on Twitter so you can see some of the Twitpics I upload later this week. 

Find Great Deals on Brand Name SLR Cameras at www.AbesOfMaine.com.

Get Solar Power for Your Home

SunPower Corp produces the world’s most POWERFUL and EFFICIENT solar systems and is leading the way in product innovation. As a manufacturer of the highest-efficiency solar-panels, SunPower is transforming neighborhoods and bringing the environmental community together like never before, providing a powerful global solution to homeowners.



This is cool technology -

Introducing the SunPower Monitoring System® with three ways to monitor — wireless in-home display, web interface, and on-the-go access from your iPhone™ or iPod® touch mobile devices. Now you can track the performance of your solar system on your terms.

Now if I could only get my apartment complex to install these, my power bill wouldn't be so high and I could say I was living a "green" lifestyle. Of course, I would have to live in one of these areas..Central Valley CA, North California, La Metro area, Bay Area CA, San Diego(Inc Palm Springs), Palm Springs, New York, Denver Boulder, Phoenix, Honolulu, Boston, South Jersey, Philly suburbs.

Cobb Chamber of Commerce

I joined the Cobb Chamber of Commerce last week to help network locally. I was a member in 2003 when I did a few small projects for the chamber staff. 

Today was the First Monday Breakfast at the Atlanta Marriott Northwest. The speaker was Margaret DeFrancisco, President and CEO, Georgia Lottery Corporation. She is a great speaker.

It was good to get out and start networking again. I look forward to more events with the Cobb Chamber and reconnecting with people I've worked with in the past. 

Greg Hoffman Consulting is Born

For the last year I have been working as an independent consultant for various online marketing agencies. I have enjoyed the work as an affiliate manager and I hope to continue picking up projects with some of the great teams I've worked with. 

But in this economy, I felt it was time to launch my own consultancy. I can't wait around for others to do business development and with my Public Relations background, I can offer just a little bit more to some merchants on my own. 

Greg Hoffman Consulting offers affiliate program management, online public relations, marketing communications and search engine marketing. 

My point is to drive traffic to your site! Whether your site is a brochure site for a local company in Metro Atlanta or an E-Commerce site selling widgets, I can help you find the quality traffic you need to make the phone ring or convert sales at a higher rate. 

GregHoffmanConsulting.com needs a few more tweaks but it gets the point across. Please stop by and read about my services.

Watch for press releases and new client announcements soon. First client is already on the books!