Ashleigh was out this week, so Cindy Ballard from the original podcasts joined me. Now she is sitting on the other side of affiliate marketing as an OPM for Greg Hoffman Consulting. We talked specifically about one of her managed programs, Designer Shoes.

• Designer Shoes started for larger shoes sizes but now has expanded to include all hard to find sizes from 4 up to 16, including various widths. They include many different brands including New Balance and Aerosoles.
• The site allows you to shop by size as well as by type or brand of shoe. Even sizes like 13 have over 700 different shoes available!
• If you are looking for shoe deals, start first with the “On Sale” Clearance tab with prices up to 80% off. The Daily Specials tab has new markdowns each day.
• Interesting things about the Designer Shoes Affiliate Program on Sharesale include no reversals plus affiliate-only coupon codes like free shipping on every purchase (normally free shipping on $75). Shoe programs generally have high reversal rates, so this is a big deal!
• What’s hot in shoes right now for fall and winter? Check the New Arrivals tab. In particular boots and dressy shoes for the holidays are selling well.
• Get DesignerShoes.com coupons at Sunshine Rewards.

You can find Cindy Ballard at Greg Hoffman Consulting and Tricia Meyer at Tricia.me or Sunshine Rewards.

Halloween shopping is in full swing and customers can get some great deals from a variety of merchants. Be sure to check for exclusive coupons and cash back on all of these merchants from Sunshine Rewards.

Show notes:

• Great deals we are seeing from merchants that we have never heard of before, including Costume Discounters.
• Shout out to Halloween Express for sponsoring a fun Facebook contest for us ($100 gift card). Their option to buy online and pick up locally will be great for many shoppers.
• A great option for plus-sized Halloween costumes (and not just lingerie) is Plus Size Lingerie Boutique.
• Hot costumes this year like Avengers plus blasts from the past like Power Rangers and Strawberry Shortcake.
• Save money when you use what you have buy purchase accessories only.
• Odd promotions from merchants unrelated to Halloween like Auto Parts Warehouse.
• Cheryl’s fun cookie greeting card for $5 (less if bought in bulk). Perfect for grandkids, college students, and anyone you just want to send a little pick-me-up to.
• Ways to reuse costumes so that you get more bang for your buck (like trips to Disney and birthday parties).

Ashleigh Ball is the Sunshine Rewards coupon and deal expert and Tricia Meyer has been in the deal site industry for over 8 years. They are both avid online shoppers who are always looking for the best deals possible.

Show Notes:

• Wine clubs are not just about memberships. They are often just scheduled shipments.
• Wine clubs send tasting notes that are good for learning more about wine. They also tend to send a nice variety.
• Discussion of wine clubs as a gift versus sending Wine Club gift baskets.
• Choosing your first wine club.
• Ordering a big case club such as the Wall Street Journal club can be good for newbies. Includes variety plus tasting notes.
• Eric loves the Cellars Wine Club Half Case Club because of the quality of the wine and the size of the shipment.
• Pay attention to shipping costs. Some include them and some do not.
• Todd and Tricia talked about favorite local wine clubs like Simply Wine in Northville, Michigan, and Cooper Hawk Winery in Indianapolis, Indiana.
• Cellars Wine Club was the overall favorite, with different clubs for different people.

Find more wine club tips from Todd, Tricia, and Eric at WineClubReviewsandRatings.com

Ashleigh Ball is the Sunshine Rewards coupon and deal expert and Tricia Meyer has been in the deal site industry for over 8 years. They are both avid online shoppers and white wine drinkers.

Show Notes:

• NFL gear is not just made for men anymore. Think women, kids and dogs, too.
• Why are people spending so much on NFL gear? The Internet definitely plays a role.
• What does the Reebok to Nike jersey deal mean for you?
• Unique gift ideas. Not just jerseys. Think jewelry and household goods.
• NFL Wine Gifts
• Favorite merchants: Fanatics, Fans Edge, Fans with Pride, SkinIt, Fathead

Ashleigh Ball is the Sunshine Rewards coupon and deal expert and Tricia Meyer has been in the deal site industry for over 7 years. They are both avid online shoppers who are always looking for the best deals possible.

Daily Deals are all the rage in marketing these days and it can be difficult to make sure that you don’t miss them. Consumers are starting to look for these deals on a regular basis and affiliates are trying to figure out how to make the most of them. Because of our research for our new Sunshine Rewards Daily Deal emails, we have learned a lot about them in the last month and what to share what we have learned.

• Some of the merchants who do a great job with daily deals include: BuySpys, Orange Onions, and Tanga. Others that focus on daily deals but do not always send them out to their affiliates like 1SaleADay and VMInnovations are worth visiting daily.
• Common niches for daily deals are magazines, shoes, and electronics.
• Group buying sites like Groupon, Saveology, Living Social, Mamasource, and Plum District are also worth it for both affiliates and consumers to check every day.
• Amazon features free Kindle books each day as well as free and discounted MP3s.
• Daily deals have to be weighed against the cost of shipping.
• Consumers should focus on bookmarking a couple of good daily deals sites to visit each day, watching the Facebook streams of brands that they love, and signing up for newsletters for merchants that they frequently buy from.
• Affiliate sites that focus on daily and last-minute deals like Dealnews and Shopping Bookmarks are good for consumers to visit each day.

Clearly daily deals are working for merchants and affiliates should continue to find ways to capitalize on them.

Ashleigh Ball is the Sunshine Rewards coupon and deal expert and Tricia Meyer has been in the deal site industry for over 7 years. They are both avid online shoppers who are always looking for the best deals possible.

For the average consumer, it’s hard to understand the different types of online coupons and deals. Tricia Meyer and Ashleigh Ball talk about the different types of codes and how to get the best deals shopping online. Find Coupons and Discounts for hundreds of merchants at Sunshine Rewards.

Show Notes

• Compare free shipping (minimums, no minimums) with flat rate shipping and figure out when they are good deals and when they are not.
• Percent off coupons and dollar off coupons from the same merchant can be confusing. Do the math to figure out which is better for you. Spending more to save more isn’t usually worth it.
• “Stacking” coupons is the best deal when it is possible. Not all merchants allow it but it is worth trying.
• “BOGO” can be “Buy One Get One Free” or “Buy One Get One Half Off” depending on the merchant and that makes a big difference. Payless ShoeSource often does the Buy One Get One Half Off.
• Read the fine print for exclusions such as brands or previously reduced merchandise.

Father’s Day is a little over a week away, which means that there is still time to order some great gifts for dad. Even if you are listening to our podcast a couple of days before Father’s Day, we’ve got some tips for gifts that will get to dad in time while not breaking your bank.

Show Notes:

• Electronics and Gadgets are still some of the most popular gifts for Father’s Day. You can get them quickly by using Amazon Prime or shopping online somewhere like Best Buy and picking up in-store. Roku is big in addition to Kindles. If you have a little more time, Paul’s TV has some amazing deals on televisions. Vann’s is also a good choice for a wide variety of gifts and great customer service.
• If dad is into gaming, check out Gamestop for some good deals on games.
• You can’t go wrong with food and drink gifts. Omaha Steaks is a favorite for most dads and you will get the most bang for your buck if you order one of the packages and meet the minimum for free shipping. Spend the extra money on food rather than FedEx. (Get our latest Omaha Steaks free shipping deal)
• Popcorn is popular and there are a wide variety of merchants to choose from depending on what you want to spend. Some of our favorites are Popcorn Factory, Popcornopolis, Dale and Thomas, and Garrett Popcorn.
• Coffees of Hawaii is a little more exotic for the coffee-drinking dad. Choose from one-time purchase or a coffee delivery service. (Sunshine Rewards has a limited time cash back increase plus Coffees of Hawaii coupons)
• Two of Ashleigh’s favorites are Harry & David and My Wines Direct. Both are featuring specials right now for Father’s Day.
• If dad is into sports, Football Fanatics does 3-day shipping on all of their orders for $4.99. Their merchandise is not limited to football, and you can find professional as well as college teams.
• Event tickets are great if he loves live sports. Plus, you are creating an experience or a memory out of the gift. Many of the merchants are not working with cash back or coupon sites anymore so it is harder to get “deals” but if you watch eBay, StubHub, and Ticket Liquidators frequently you might get lucky.

Don’t forget that you can get cash back and coupons from Sunshine Rewards for almost all of the merchants that we talked about in the podcast.

Tricia’s on vacation most of the rest of the month so watch for the next podcast in early July. Unbelievably, we will already be looking at back to school purchases.

(Find us online: Tricia Meyer and Ashleigh Ball of Sunshine Rewards)

Mother’s Day is less than a week away but it is not too late to order terrific Mother’s Day gifts and have them arrive on time. Ashleigh and I shared our first podcast today to chat about our favorite options for last minute Mother’s Day gifts.

Show Notes:

• Flowers are obviously one of the first things that people think of for mom. Be sure that you understand the difference between flowers that are delivered via carrier and those that are same day delivery by local florists. Both are still available with plenty of time for delivery. Early delivery may be cheaper. Consider mixed bouquets or tulips rather than standard roses. (Get 1-800-FLOWERS coupons)
• Food and drinks are great for the moms who have everything. Mrs. Prindables has some great deals right now (Tricia’s favorite) including free shipping on select items. Another great choice is wine. You can get Cellars Wine Club deals plus they deliver to Indiana (and most other states). Other merchants mentioned: Harry & David, Fairytale Brownies, Cheryls, David’s Cookies.
• Jewelry is another standard choice but you can go traditional or bold with spring colors. Be sure to use Ice.com coupons or MyJewelryBox.com coupons because they can save you 20-25% off and both guarantee delivery by Mother’s Day still.
• Are gift certificates an appropriate gift for mom? They might be depending on the mom. If you do choose one, be sure that it is tailored specifically to her tastes so that she knows that you put some thought into it. Merchants mentioned: GiftCertificates.com, SpaWish, Spa Finder.

Don’t forget to check for coupons as well as cashback at all of the merchants above at Sunshine Rewards.

Halloween is only a couple of weeks away, and Halloween shopping is in full swing. Besides the obvious (costumes), people are scooping up Halloween decor and treats. Cindy and Tricia review Halloween merchants and tell you where you can get some of the best deals and unique items (even places that are not known for their Halloween merchandise).

Show Notes:

• Tricia and Cindy wing it this week by not planning out in advance what they are going to talk about. That itself is scary.
• You can spend some big money on spooky Halloween decorations. Look for coupons at Sunshine Rewards!
• The Grim Reaper from SpiritHalloween.com really scares Tricia, and you can see a video of it here. Make sure that you enter to win the Grim Reaper from Sunshine Rewards.
• Congrats to BuyCostumes.com on their Commission Junction University win! Be sure to check out their deals under $10.
• Some popular costumes this year that Tricia has been working on promoting are Sookie Stackhouse, the Smurfs, and Wizards of Waverly Place. Twilight is still hot.
• A fun place to get candy for an adult Halloween party is Old Time Candy because they have candy by decades.

Click here for Halloween coupons and discounts.

Click here to sign up for Sunshine Rewards to get cash back on every purchase.

* What are the point of the programs? Some merchants make it easy to learn about their programs while others seem to hide them.
* Traditional cash programs where you get a percentage back from every purchase to spend later on the site. Great examples are drugstore.com dollars, eBay bucks, and Football Fanatics.
* Points programs where you get points for purchases and can later convert them to credits on the merchants site. Most popular included Best Buy Rewards Zone and 1-800-Flowers Fresh Rewards. A new one to Sunshine Rewards is SubscriptionAgent.com.
* Loyalty programs where you do not get get free merchandise credits but you might get even better deals. Prime examples are the Shoebuy 10% coupon for repeat buyers and the Sephora Beauty Insider program.