It doesn’t work like that.

ePN wants top quality sites to represent them. And, who can blame them? They’re certainly important and big enough to call their own shots. YOU are the one who needs them – they have an abundance of applicants to choose from. So, to be sure your site meets their needs it’s best to follow their guidelines. Here’s what I’ve discovered:

1. The website must be a functioning, established website. We don’t really know how old the site should be; some have gotten new sites approved; others have had new and aged sites rejected. It is safe to say that older is better, but an older site that is poorly built will not work. It will be a good idea to make sure the registration is for 2 years or longer for the site you are submitting.

2. The site should have some backlinks.

3. The site should have original, informative, unique content – especially the homepage. The site should not be just a ‘placeholder’ waiting to add the Mage tools. Build the site as if you’d never heard of WPMage and are very much in love with ebay — meaning, you can see ebay products on the site but of course you don’t mention ebay anywhere in the content. If YOU can see ebay on the site, then they will see the potential as well.

4. You should have content on the site related to items sold on Ebay. For example, financial sites and Internet marketing sites are not really ebay-friendly sites and should not be submitted. However, sites about collectibles, art, antiques, etc., will be great. As for how much content – I believe more is better. Write 10 original content articles and backdate all of these. Then, schedule several articles so that it will look like you are actively updating your site. If you do not have a source for articles I can give you a name.

5. No off-site commercial links – i.e., no monetization, not even Google. A link to an authority site may be helpful – but don’t overdo the off-site links.

6. Deep link into your site – meaning, place a keyword link within an article that leads to another article, then link from that article to another article … until you have linked to all of the articles in your site.

7. Have a ‘Contact Us’ page on your site with accurate contact information, not just a form.

8. Have an “About” page that talks about a real person behind a real site.

9. Have a Privacy and TOS page.

10. Make sure you do not have “privacy” enabled on your domain name registration.

11. When you complete the application, tell them (in comments) any positive info about why you think your site will be a good fit for eBay.

For more tips – see What to Do if eBay Says No

This is a very good video from eBay:

How to Get Approved by ePN Video

Linda

But, I’ve discovered lately that so are the Adsense earnings.

Like eBay, Adsense has some pretty strict rules so you must be very careful about running Adsense on your maged sites. Don’t put Adsense on sites that you translate (something I never do, anyway).  If you’re like me and take the time to build good sites with good content then it will work just fine. If, however, you just want to get sites up super fast and not move on to the next site I’d stay away from Adsense altogether.

I added Adsense to a couple of sites in October and earned $80 in Adsense clicks that month (on those sites) so I’m slowly adding more Adsense sites to my portfolio. November was a little more than that. Can’t wait to see December’s earnings. It is looking good, so far.

Here’s how I build my Adsense sites: I create a site using my own content on the frontend … with about 30 good articles and then use the articles from article directories on the backend. There’s a theme in the Mage download area that is created just for Adsense and you might want to use that.  I have used it on one site. But, I find that any theme will work so long as you don’t clutter it up with a lot of links for the visitor to click on.

I don’t put any products on my Adsense sites … just focus on content. The only monetization is Adsense. As stated, you don’t want your visitor to have too many choices.

I once knew a dad who always said “no” when his child asked for something. At first, the child was hurt, took it personally and went away crying. But within a few months the child learned the dad was easy to win over by persistence … the “no” always turned into a “yes” because the child had learned the secret … no is just the first step on the way to yes.

That’s the way a lot of affiliate companies are. They say no … but it’s really just a step on the way to yes; you just have to be astute enough and brave enough to keep going back.

Take eBay’s partner network, for example. They usually always say “no” first. Most people will tuck tail between legs and run away. The persistent ones who follow the steps below  – unless blatantly in violation of the ePN terms of service – will win in the end.

This how-to assumes you have already purchased a good domain that is 2+ years old and that you have registered it for a minimum of 2 years. (NOTE: It is not necessary to have a 2 year old domain as was once thought. I have clients who have had 2 month old domains approved. However, it is vital to have 2+ years registration).

Okay … Here’s how to get a site accepted by eBay.

Step 1. Find a good niche and create a nice looking blog. Spend some time on it … don’t just throw it up quickly and expect it to be accepted.

Step 2. Add 20 – 30 pages of good quality UNIQUE and relevant content. Do NOT use articles from any article directory and do NOT use PLR unless you re-write it to at least 60% difference.

Step 3. Add pages for your contact details, a privacy policy, a TOS and even the new FTC regulation disclaimer – it can’t hurt and may help (no I don’t have an example, so please don’t pm asking for one. You can see mine here.).

Step 4. Do NOT Monetize your blog in any way.

Step 5. Look at your site with a critical eye. Ask yourself, If I am a reviewer from ePN would I want a site like this to represent eBay?

Step 6. Do NOT use domain privacy; eBay will want to see your contact details when they do a WHOIS check. Make sure the personal information listed on the WHOIS is the same as the one you use in applying to ePN.

Step 7. Submit your application and expect to get rejected the first time. When you do get rejected send a polite reply asking why. You will get a “cut and paste” answer. That’s okay.

Step 8. If the previous step has happened, email them back and politely show how your site does not fall into any of the categories mentioned. Make sure it doesn’t!

You may get another cut and paste response … but I doubt it. What you want to eventually happen is for a real person to look at your site and give you a real answer.

If you DO get another cut and paste response, study the response carefully. Look at your site critically. Then write them again, and do Step 8 … UNTIL THEY SAY YES! If you have followed the guide above you will get stand a better chance of getting accepted than most.

NOW HERE’S THE SECRET: Never quit asking until Dad puts the foot down and says, “I said, ‘no’ and I mean ‘no’ so don’t ask again!”

Learn from the child.

From the Pen of the sage ….

Linda