eBay To Close Unsed Accounts With No Activity

In a announcement on the ePN Blog this week it was said that EBay Partner Network will close inactive accounts. ePN is looking for accounts that haven't had activity and will close them. A email will be sent to the users giving a 3 day notice.
ePN has cracked down on black hat marketers and those in violation of TOS. Though ePN said this is not a expiration it is clear they are cleaning house. Many folks start Internet Marketing sites and just give up after learning that it's real work. Sorry to say their is no such thing as a automatic money making program. SEM and SEO is work. You must update your sites and add content regularly in order to generate traffic. Hence their are lots of dormant ePN accounts.
It's sad that folks would let a ePN account go inactive seeing how hard it is to get a account these days. ePN is one of the best affiliates you can have.
If you are considering applying to ePN make sure your site is established and has relevant content before submitting a application. The vetting process ePN uses is more difficult than the one Obama's appointees go through IMO. Have your sites prepared for some heavy duty scrutiny

EBay Category Numbers Changing Again

Any affiliates using ePN should check the category numbers because they are changing once again.
In the past these Category changes have created havoc for some affiliates, but this update only seam to be updates, not a huge reconstruction of categories. I highly suggest you bookmark the page ePN announces category changes and check it every month. EBay is in constant transition and we need to be too. Be prepared and updates like this don't create huge issues as they did in the past

Tax Time Is Coming Affiliate Marketers

Lots of people jump into affiliate marketing without thinking first. Remember making money on the Internet is a business and the government will want their cut.
Even knowing we have 3 months plus to file now is the time to gather your information. I always gather my income first. Many affiliate programs only go back one year in their reports sections. Be sure to download all your income from each and every program you have used over the last year. At the very least print the reports from your affiliates.
Gather your expenses. Remember you are a business like it or not. One good thing about being a money making business is that you can write off just about everything you have purchased over the last year. Just some examples would be computers, back up hard drives, scripts, hosting accounts and even pens and pencils. Any service you use to run your business online can be written off.
Hopefully you have saved all your invoices and email receipts from online purchases. Don't just leave them on your CPU, Print each and everyone of them.
One thing about the IRS is you must at least file by 4/15 each year. Even if you send a incomplete form you must atleast declare your income by then.
Now don't quote me on this, but if you are disabled and on disability Making Money Online as a hobby can be considered residual income which you don't need to report to SS, but you must claim it with the IRS for income tax. Thats how SS explained it to me, but call them yourself. You can't be a LLC or incorporated but you can earn money online. From what I was told is the rules about making money kick in when FICA starts. Thats when you get a job at a business and they start the process of deducting money from your pay check. SS told me if I found a Rolex Watch in the trash everyday and sold it online that would not affect a disability status, but it dose need to be reported as income with the IRS. Again if your making Money Online due to being disabled call Social Security and ask for yourself.
Try to remember the basics. Money comes in and money go's out. The money's that go out can be deducted from the money that comes in which is your income. The total income is what you use to determine the amount you pay tax on.
Start now and save yourself a huge headache in March or April

eBay To Cut 1000 Jobs in Q4, What's Next ?

It's in all the papers and on CNBC today that eBay will cut 1000 jobs and reduce new hire positions. This only shows what we in the affiliate world have seen coming for months. With fee restricting every few month's and the loss of confidence from affiliate marketers and eBay sellers we are sure more news will be coming from the company. Look for eBay to cut back even more as the economy slides down. Common sense would dictate reducing expenses during hard times. That what all business's do. Whether it's your local builder or painter or a huge company reasoning says to cut back on money going out until money comes in. Basic business.
Who will suffer. Well eBay employee's for one and then stock holders. After those folks take a hit look for eBay to cut back in other place's. Were we don't know, but advertising is usually on the list when a company is having issues. According to a story on Cnet eBay just purchased a Danish classified service which would show us that they are continuing to try expanding world wide with hopes of generating revinue abroad.
Face it eBay isnt what it use to be. People don't spend hours browsing sites selling stuff. Internet users are becoming more sophisticated and tend to do more research before buying. With so many websites to choose products from their are only a few reasons a shopper would go directly to the site. One is close outs and another is buying used items. Also consumers are using their work computers to buy during their lunch hours or free time. Since most folks use the Internet at work these days they tend to turn their computers off at the end of the day and not turn on it back on till they need to. People are just getting sick of the same old thing online. The desire isnt there anymore to sit for hours and browse the site.