Earlier this year I was doing a very involved project integrating Post Affiliate Pro and Modern Bill when I came across a problem…

Cookies were disappearing.

And if affiliates aren’t making sales… they’re going to move on to a competitor that has the services and the tracking systems in place to monetize that traffic.

Luckily, I’d come across this before when writing my own PHP apps. You see, if you don’t know what you’re doing when you’re setting a cookie, chances are that you’re not going to get your desired end result.

Unless you take necessary steps… most cookies will not work across these three kinds of urls:

• http://yoursite.com
• http://www.yoursite.com
• http://subdomain.yoursite.com

Here’s a 6 minute video that explains this phenomenon and shows you a quick demonstration.

My client was using a subdomain for promotion and their root domain for taking the orders via Modern Bill.

I had to go into the Post Affiliate Pro code, find where the cookie was being set, and rewrite some of the code.

How I Solve This for My Own Post Affiliate Pro Installs

I like to keep things as easy and simple as possible. Hacking the internal code of Post Affiliate Pro has a major drawback in that updating a server with a newer version will overwrite the change… and then you’re back in the same spot, often without realizing what you’ve undone.

So what I like to do is to force the server to serve up only web pages with www in the url. This means I don’t have to tamper with the cookies… they’ll always be set for the correct domain… the only one that’s possible.

It’s very rare that one of my clients sets up their install on a subdomain. So this technique is really handy.

But it requires that your web hosting company run Linux on the server with mod_rewrite turned on. I’ve created a push button tool and step by step video in my members only section for folks that purchase Post Affiliate Pro through my affiliate link:

Affiliate Link for Bonuses

But let me go ahead and show you how to do this. Here’s what you need to add to your .htaccess file:


# force www.
RewriteEngine on
RewriteCond %{HTTP_HOST} !^www.yoursite.com$
RewriteRule ^(.*)$ http://www.yoursite.com/$1 [R=301]


Just replace yoursite.com with your actual domain.

A word of warning… backup your site and your existing .htaccess file if you have one. Tinkering with .htaccess is a bit like doing brain surgery on your website. One little goof can have far reaching effects.

That’s A Lot More About Post Affiliate Pro

It seems like more and more I’m doing custom installs for clients that would rather pay me to do it “right” than give them 2 hours worth of information on how I do it.

But if you’re keeping costs down, here’s something you should see.

Click the picture graphic above and you’ll get a larger image of my Post Affiliate Pro members only section where I have over 2 hours of video, 8 downloads, and more.

If you decide to purchase Post Affiliate Pro, you should strongly consider buying through my link:

Use this link to get the bonuses

And then you can send your purchase information to me here:

Post Affiliate Pro Bonuses

After I verify the order you get an email from me with your own login for the members only section where you’ll find the movies tutorials and downloads.

Over the past week or so I’ve received plenty of emails wondering if I’m changing my mind all of a sudden and now recommending Idev Affiliate.

[the post that sparked the emails is here]

The answer is no.

I haven’t done the review yet. I haven’t even installed the software.

My plan is to install the software, take notes, make slides, record videos and give my analysis as I move through the process… and then sum it all up at the end.

Here’s what I expect to find:

1. For some marketers, Idev Affiliate is the way to go
2. For others it will be Post Affiliate Pro

If you’re looking for a clear road map to make the decision easy… to help you decide which solution is right for you… then stay tuned.

That’s what you’re going to get.

For example, I already know from my discussion with Jim, the maker of Idev Affiliate, that there are some features that Post Affiliate Pro has that Idev doesn’t… and probably never will. Jim doesn’t want to go that route.

And I respect that.

But Jim and his team aren’t selling broken glass in a paper bag… Idev Affiliate is mature and it’s well supported.

So once I install the software and go through my notes, I’ll distill it all down and take the guesswork out of making your decision.

A few months back I got a voice mail message from the creator of Idev Affiliate, Jim Webster. He believed that some of my comments about Post Affiliate Pro versus Idev Affiliate didn’t add up and he wanted to know where I got some of my information.

[here's my review of Post Affiliate Pro]

So we played phone tag and email tag for a bit until we could finally talk on the phone for an hour or two. And I learned a lot…

Did I get it wrong?

The simple fact of the matter is that when I first decided to set up an affiliate system many years ago, the first company that stood out in my research was Idev Affiliate. I did my research, and purchased the software.

But at the time I had a specific need that even Jim himself told me (by support ticket) that Idev couldn’t fulfill.

At that point I then purchased Post Affiliate Pro and haven’t looked back…

Until now.

Jim gave me a clear picture of who his target merchant is and where his product shines. And honestly, I think Idev Affiliate is the most well known name in the category for two reasons:

1. His product was the first (or one of the first)
2. It’s high quality

Flip Flop?

Before you call me John “Flip Flop” Kerry, let me say that I asked Jim some very specific questions and there are some key places where Idev Affiliate does not shine. And from what Jim tells me, he’s okay with that. His product is for a certain type of vendor… and I may not be one of them.

But there are some very high profile merchants using Idev Affiliate so it’s worth a second look. Plus, I’ve come across some things about Post Affiliate Pro that I don’t like, and I think it’s time to give them both a fresh look.

During the phone we agreed that I’d take a look at the very latest and greatest version of Idev Affiliate and see where things stand… and that I’d update my site with my revised thoughts on Idev vs. Post Affiliate Pro.

That’s exactly what I’m going to do.

Why You Should Pay Attention

If you’re a merchant then the thought of only paying for successful sales (and paying 30 days after you bank the money) has always been attractive. But with click costs of Adwords, Yahoo and MSN going up with no end in sight, it’s getting more attractive as traffic costs rise.

You have basically three choices:

1. Do nothing and look for other ways to grow your profits
2. Join a third party network (CJ, Clickbank, Linkshare, etc)
3. Get your own affiliate network

Option 1 is not for you if you want to grow your business and keep a handle on costs.

Option 2 has limitations and problems, especially the high price of CJ and other high profile networks.

If you go with option 3, as I did, then you’ll likely realize that there are two main players: Idev Affiliate and Post Affiliate Pro.

At the end of this, I probably won’t be able to say there’s one clear winner for everyone. It’s probably going to depend on your business model and what you value most (service, ease of use, etc).

Update: I’m launching a new site in 2nd quarter of 2009 dedicated to answering questions for online merchants looking for guidance on a spectrum of topics, including “What affiliate software is best for me.”

I’m finalizing the password protected section of my site and uploading the videos to my server. Over the past several months I’ve discovered even better ways to install Post Affiliate Pro to make it easier to attract your own affiliates.

Here’s a very small taste of what my clients get when they purchase Post Affiliate Pro through my affiliate link:

More videos will be coming soon. I’ll upload the short clips to YouTube and then post longer ones here.

Right now I offer

• 20 online videos each about 6 minutes long
• Custom PHP code as shown in the videos
• Custom HTML templates I created (two of them)
• Custom email templates for use with Post Affiliate Pro
• Full PDF of my slide presentation seen in the videos
• Discount off my video review of your website (optional, separate service costs extra)

It doesn’t cost anything extra…

Post Affiliate Pro Bonuses

Step 1: Click this link

Step 2: Buy Post Affiliate Pro

Step 3: Send me your information here and once I verify your order I’ll give you a login for all the good stuff

Basically, the problem was/is that the new affiliate tracking system 1shoppingcart.com switched to is losing track of some of the affiliate information, and as a result, affiliates are losing money they should be entitled to.

Nothing angers an affiliate marketer more than pulling off a successful promotion only to have problems getting credit for the sales.

If you use 1shoppingcart.com, you’re not going to like my solution, but here it is:

1. Research several commercially available software packages
2. Pick the best one
3. Install it on your own server
4. Configure it to work across multiple websites, for multiple products
5. That’s it.

As simple as I made that sound, it’s actually much more difficult – but the rewards can be huge.

The difficult part about the process is:

• Researching the products takes time
• Most software available to run your affiliate system will limit your options, not increase them
• Most software won’t work for multiple products across multiple websites
• Configuring the software correctly can be confusing

I’ve put together a video program that will soon be available on DVD that shortcuts the entire process, eliminates the time consuming research, makes installation a breeze, and shows you exactly how to configure the software to work across multiple domains and products.

I’m currently compiling the avi’s so I can create the DVD’s. Once I get the first DVD printed and I review it, I’ll run a 48 hour sale. Right now, I’m thinking $10 or so plus shipping. That could change, but it’s going to be a steep discount off the full price.

If you want to be on the notification list, subscribe to my RSS feed.

A few things occurred to me as I was planning the install:

1. I’ve done a lot of research on different affiliate software and systems
2. Installing any of these software products isn’t easy
3. I have a lot of technical programming tips and tricks that anyone setting up an affiliate system to promote products would want to know

So, in a future post I’ll be announcing a 48 hour sale on the product I’ve created that’s a brain dump of everything I can show you about creating your own affiliate system (using commercially available software, and which one to use) so you don’t have to pay monthly fees to someone else (like 1shoppingcart.com).

Part of the package is a collection of templates, html, and programming code that I created for my own system. I’ll give these to you so you can plug them into your own system, or modify them to meet your needs.