New Announcements at SFI

[Lori G.]

To: All SFI Affiliates
From: Gery Carson, SFI President

Today is a truly exciting day for all SFI affiliates! Today we are pleased to
announce EYEEARN and MAXMALLS.

EyeEarn is SFI's exciting new co-op. For just a one-time investment of $20 (for
an EyeEarn Starter Kit), you can start receiving a monthly share of affiliate
signups worldwide!

In addition to being the coolest co-op we've ever offered, EyeEarn also
represents a fantastic new way to DIRECTLY recruit affiliates and build residual
income.

MaxMalls is SFI's new online shopping center--a portal to major, name-brand
online stores! We have launched MaxMalls with over 100 stores, but we will be
adding HUNDREDS more. MaxMalls is also integrated into the EyeEarn Co-op. That
is, as an active member of the EyeEarn Co-op, you will receive a share of ALL
MaxMalls sales worldwide...every month!

You heard right: Participating in the EyeEarn Co-op gets you a monthly flow of
fresh, new affiliates (personally sponsored by you) AND a share of all MaxMalls
worldwide sales, too. And all you need is the starter kit to get started!

Full details on EyeEarn and MaxMalls are online now at:

www.sfimg.com/Resources/EyeEarn/EyeEarnOpp.sfi

Also be sure to check out the EyeEarn FAQ page at:

www.sfimg.com/Resources/EyeEarn/EyeEarnFAQ.sfi

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SPECIAL NOTES:

1. This is a PRE-LAUNCH for EyeEarn. The formal, full launch of the EyeEarn.com
site will be on January 2nd. Purchase your starter kit now for delivery on or
about January 2nd.

2. MaxMalls is online and open for business NOW. So, if you still have Christmas
shopping to do, please check MaxMalls.com for your favorite stores and help us
get MaxMalls rolling!

3. Many of you may want to consider changing your SFI focus to EyeEarn. You can
do this at: www.sfimg.com/Focus/showIndex.sfi

4. We've added a new EyeEarn forum to the SFI DBoard (www.sfidboard.com). I
expect there will be some lively threads, and I'll be personally answering
questions, so stop by.

5. A wide array of EyeEarn marketing tools and promotional items are on the way,
including: an EyeEarn Gateway Website; E-Cards; a variety of banners and text
ads you can use on the Web; postcards for direct mail campaigns; printer-ready
flyers; plus a variety of EyeEarn hats, mugs, buttons, and other gear you can
use as conversation starters. All items will be available on or before January
2nd so everyone can dive right into 2008 with this exciting new program.

SFI Marketing Group
5945 Cornhusker Hwy, Suite A
Lincoln, NE 68507 USA
Ph 402-434-8480, Fax [phone]
www.sfimg.com

You are receiving this special newsletter because you joined the SFI affiliate
network. To opt out of SFI, go to: www.sfimg.com/4515

[shing]

We should compare MPM and MaxMalls side by side to see which is more lucrative. It will be an interesting comparison. Especially since it's part of SFI.

Shawna

[stirls]

I am intertested to get people's opinion on these offers

Personally I am not too interested in EyeEarn - I amnot interested in putting a banner on my car and it feels like Eagle Co-op (without the monthly fees) which I have not seen good results from in the past. I would rather continue to promote my site with SFI links on it so that I can control where my affilaites come from.

your thoughts?

[Janderson]

I already know I am not going to be using the EyeEarn thingyjimmiga because all the leads going into that are coming directly from ClickBucks and 99.9999% of the CB members are international. I've never really had any luck with international members holding onto them for 90 days to see if they decide if they're going to become an EA.

When ClickBucks first came out It was $2 to $4 per EA (which takes 3 months for them to become an EA) Now the ClickBucks is way down to $0.40 to something else.

When SFI starts bringing in US leads into EyeEarn then I will consider using them. I don't know what the chances are of that happening unfortunately.

In the past month I've had 2841 unique visitors arrive to my /free website ... 0 Affiliates. so far. Zero.

There is another advertisement going on that comes from Mike Hanson now running SFI Coop from e-cents.com. I have not used that yet. What I do not understand is why he is running that espesically now when we already have a company wide powerline going.

Jeff Anderson

[cindi]

Chris,

I don't understand the EyeEarn thing. Why would I want to plaster my car and my body with this stuff? Why not just put an SFI bumper sticker on your car and be done with it

The mall looks good. It is a little skimpy on what it has to offer though. I am sure it will get bigger over time. I think it is less intrusive than MPM.

Jeff, I run my regular links on my website and I use my CB on special advertising. I try and pay my EA with it. This works for me because the signups I get through my CB advertising are usually people who won't do anything anyway. If I can make a few bucks from it then it helps me. (The greed is showing) ;D

Cindi

[mpatton]

zolar said:

I already know I am not going to be using the EyeEarn thingyjimmiga because all the leads going into that are coming directly from ClickBucks and 99.9999% of the CB members are international. I've never really had any luck with international members holding onto them for 90 days to see if they decide if they're going to become an EA.

When ClickBucks first came out It was $2 to $4 per EA (which takes 3 months for them to become an EA) Now the ClickBucks is way down to $0.40 to something else.

When SFI starts bringing in US leads into EyeEarn then I will consider using them. I don't know what the chances are of that happening unfortunately.

In the past month I've had 2841 unique visitors arrive to my /free website ... 0 Affiliates. so far. Zero.

There is another advertisement going on that comes from Mike Hanson now running SFI Coop from e-cents.com. I have not used that yet. What I do not understand is why he is running that espesically now when we already have a company wide powerline going.

Jeff Anderson

Jeff,

I am in agreement that this is the product as Eagle just in a new wrapper. I marketing class I remember Prof. Dr. Green saying all companies make "New improved" products when the sales bell curve begins to drop.
As to the Mall - - I am not sure if we will have a link to market for our customers or if this is just a new twist to the old concept SFI offered before where members could buy online... for some discount or whatever.

While it is more work we can build our own mall using Linkshare, Commission Junction, Sharesale, and connect commerce. I have my own mall that I host with over 500 stores. I save money, and as the word gets out have began to get repeat customers.

Michael

[Nancy]

I am not really interested in either. From what I can see MPM has more and is more useful. Of course, I don't really like Nice Offers either as it is hard to sell for me.

I use clickbucks, but have had no luck with international affilaites continuing past the 90 days. As I have no EA's at this time, I am seriously considering not staying an EA myself, and using the $29.00 a month on other advertising for other programs that are paying me more.

I personally am disappointed with the avenue SFI has taken, and have a hard time selling it to people. I like their products, but right now I don't like the direction the company is taking.

Not to say SFI is a bad company and hasn't been good to me it has, but these two new items are of no use to me at this time.

I am sure many of you will vehemently disagree with me, and some will not, I say if it works for you, it works, but it isn't for me.

Just my thoughts

Nancy

[Sandi Moses]

Thanks, but no thanks.

I hate to be a wet blanket, but I doubt this will last a year. The only people enthusiastic about it will the cheerleaders themselves (aka SFI employees.) Everyone else will just roll their eyes as they mumble something like, "You have got to be kidding me."

Too bad they didn't test market this concept with "real people" beyond their "small circle of friends"

Nancy, I have been an SFI affiliate for 4 years now. The best I can say for it is that it helps pay for the nutritional and cleaning products that I like. I buy them, it keeps me EA, and my commission usually covers about half the cost of the items plus the shipping. Not exactly profitable.

I still may try Merchant Services. For the life of me I don't understand the appeal of NOC.

JMHO.

Sandi

[mpatton]

b123home said:

Thanks, but no thanks.

I hate to be a wet blanket, but I doubt this will last a year. The only people enthusiastic about it will the cheerleaders themselves (aka SFI employees.) Everyone else will just roll their eyes as they mumble something like, "You have got to be kidding me."

Too bad they didn't test market this concept with "real people" beyond their "small circle of friends"

Nancy, I have been an SFI affiliate for 4 years now. The best I can say for it is that it helps pay for the nutritional and cleaning products that I like. I buy them, it keeps me EA, and my commission usually covers about half the cost of the items plus the shipping. Not exactly profitable.

I still may try Merchant Services. For the life of me I don't understand the appeal of NOC.

JMHO.

Sandi

As far as SFI even in the days I was associated with the "pebble" I made ok money with SFI then about "what three years ago" they decided to go from Six figure Income to Strong Future International...they have been on the down slide since then. .... I just dropped my EA status but doubt I will be actively marketing SFI again.

As far as Excellent Health and Home products. E-mail me there are some better ones available. you can purchase as preferred customer only or if you want you can also market....

Michael

[mpatton]

zolar said:

I already know I am not going to be using the EyeEarn thingyjimmiga because all the leads going into that are coming directly from ClickBucks and 99.9999% of the CB members are international. I've never really had any luck with international members holding onto them for 90 days to see if they decide if they're going to become an EA.

When ClickBucks first came out It was $2 to $4 per EA (which takes 3 months for them to become an EA) Now the ClickBucks is way down to $0.40 to something else.

When SFI starts bringing in US leads into EyeEarn then I will consider using them. I don't know what the chances are of that happening unfortunately.

In the past month I've had 2841 unique visitors arrive to my /free website ... 0 Affiliates. so far. Zero.

There is another advertisement going on that comes from Mike Hanson now running SFI Coop from e-cents.com. I have not used that yet. What I do not understand is why he is running that especially now when we already have a company wide powerline going.

Jeff Anderson

Jeff

I jut took a look at the e-cents site. Looks like one is similar to the eagle coop in guaranteeing some # of sign-ups

The other seem to be a combination of SFi affiliates and the follow-up series in their autorepsponders ...

Michael

[Erich]

Hi Everyone

First off let's not forget SFI is one of our primary affiliate partners.

I think before we make any final judgements on this new program we should all read the FAQs, which I'm told addresses almost all the criticisms here. We do not want to let misconceptions come through without knowing all the facts. I have had contact with Gery and he says they are selling HUNDREDS of EyeEarn Starter Kits daily and and he has seen a lot of excitement over them.

I have personally seen several sales in my own line... so let's try to keep things positive here since one persons perception can be completely different than anothers... and we don't want to influence anyone in a negative way...

Erich

[maggiemae]

I don't know whether or not this new venture of SFI will be successful, but am giving it a try. $20 bucks for leads isn't that bad, even if most are international. It should be good for US residents. For the life of me, I can't understand why more SFI affiliates aren't out there flogging the Merchants Program. I think that is a tremendous opp. If I lived in the states I would be out there promoting it in a flash(even at my advanced age). I can't tell you how many little restaurants or businesses we have visited in our travels in the US on our way to Mexico that are still using old outdated credit processing equipment.

I also think that the Mall is just another income stream to add to the mix. I try to tell affiliates that they need to pick an area they want to promote and concentrate their reading and efforts. It's necessary to give people lots of avenues to make income. The neat thing about SFI is their many gateway websites. I promote many of them in viral ads. I have only 3 EA's, but eventually I'll have more. I do agree that many Internationals find little in the program that they can really promote. I know that I am venting, but marketing is a selling job and few people seem to realize that. SFI doesn't emphasize that and they should. Someone has to spend money in order for EA's to earn income.

[Sandi Moses]

maggiemae said:

I don't know whether or not this new venture of SFI will be successful, but am giving it a try. $20 bucks for leads isn't that bad, even if most are international. It should be good for US residents. For the life of me, I can't understand why more SFI affiliates aren't out there flogging the Merchants Program. I think that is a tremendous opp. If I lived in the states I would be out there promoting it in a flash(even at my advanced age). I can't tell you how many little restaurants or businesses we have visited in our travels in the US on our way to Mexico that are still using old outdated credit processing equipment.

Hi, Maggie

Is there any reason you can't drop off promo material at these places as you come across them? I thought the businesses had to be in the USA but not necessarily the affiliate.

My guess is that people don't do it more because it would mean making a sales pitch to the business and most people can't bring themselves to do that.

Sandi

[David Watson]

I purchased the starter kit. and I am looking forward to taking advantage of the new program. with a positive attitude,

[Sandi Moses]

Keep in mind that there is more to it than just sending in the $20. The $20 probably barely covers the cost of the bumper stickers and t-shirt. You are expected to do the advertising by wearing the t-shirt or at the very least putting the bumper sticker on your car. The way I read this paragraph from the sales page,

Simply verify with SFI that you've outfitted your car with a banner. You'll then begin receiving a share of the fruits of the entire, worldwide EyeEarn advertising network!

you don't begin earning your share of affiliates until you comply and prove you are participating in the advertising.

I don't think anyone would object to spending $20 for an endless stream of leads, even if most of them turned out to be worthless, because you never know when you'll snag that "diamond in the rough." It's the part about being the walking/driving billboard that seems to be the objection . . .

Sandi

[Erich]

davidwatsonusa said:

I purchased the starter kit. and I am looking forward to taking advantage of the new program. with a positive attitude,

Good for you David... this could be a good marketing tool or strategy for SFI... The cost really isn't that much to give it a try...

Take Care

Erich

[michael]

I don't want to sound negative about this. But if you read the FAQ,

Q: What about subsequent months? Are there any requirements to continue to receive EyeEarn shares?

A: Yes. After your initial activation month, to continue to receive shares, you must log in at the SFI Affiliate Center (www.sfimg.com) monthly and complete an EyeEarn Reactivation Form. The Reactivation Form consists of a short questionnaire, 1-3 brief marketing surveys, a confirmation of your active participation in EyeEarn, and your commitment to doing your online shopping through MaxMalls.com (see Q&As on MaxMalls below). One or more miscellaneous additional activities may also appear on the Reactivation Form each month. You should be able to easily complete everything on the Reactivation Form each month in less than 15 minutes. If you fail to complete the Reactivation Form, you will not receive any EyeEarn shares for that month.

It isn't clear what they mean exactly by that and I don't want to speculate as it would sound bias.

Michael

[kiriba]

It seems to me that the EyeEarn program can be a good starter vehicle for newer SFI affiliates that are unfamiliar with Internet marketing and think some type of "voodoo" is involved.

[kiriba]

Michael,

Regarding the "committment" to make purchases hrough MaxMall, this is the reply that I just got from Gery Carson:

"The commitment is to simply go through MaxMalls when you can when you shop online.

Example: You normally buy office supplies online from Office Depot. Office Depot is in MaxMalls, so you go to Office Depot by first entering MaxMalls. That's it. You'll go to the exact same Office Depot store, pay the exact same prices, etc. The only difference is you'll now be generating revenues you get to share in as an EyeEarner, PLUS you'll be automatically supporting the Save The Children program.

If the stores you shop at aren't in MaxMalls, you're under no obligation to use alternate MaxMalls stores.

Makes sense? Assuming the stores you want to shop at are at MaxMalls, can anyone come up with any reason NOT to make your purchases through MaxMalls?"

[michael]

Thanks for that info Kirba

Many times when you see an statement like that it makes you think that you will be required to make a monthly purchase.

But since that isn't the case I will probably order a kit. It can't hurt any.

Thanks again.

[Sandi Moses]

kiriba said:

Michael,

Regarding the "committment" to make purchases hrough MaxMall, this is the reply that I just got from Gery Carson:

"The commitment is to simply go through MaxMalls when you can when you shop online.

Example: You normally buy office supplies online from Office Depot. Office Depot is in MaxMalls, so you go to Office Depot by first entering MaxMalls. That's it. You'll go to the exact same Office Depot store, pay the exact same prices, etc. The only difference is you'll now be generating revenues you get to share in as an EyeEarner, PLUS you'll be automatically supporting the Save The Children program.

If the stores you shop at aren't in MaxMalls, you're under no obligation to use alternate MaxMalls stores.

Makes sense? Assuming the stores you want to shop at are at MaxMalls, can anyone come up with any reason NOT to make your purchases through MaxMalls?"

MaxMalls appears to be set up in competition with My Power Mall, another TOPS program. You benefit when you shop from link to stores accessed through either one. You will need to decide which portal will work most to your benefit.

Sandi

[talfighel]

I usually try to stay out of threads that talk about SFI whether it is in a good way or bad.

I am not saying that SFI is a bad company at all but at the end of the day, the affiliate wants to be more and more profitable. I am not sure if this is the case with SFI anymore.

For me, i would stick with promoting my /FREE SFI page. All those new offers, I will not be interested in them at all.

I hear more and more people saying that MPM is more profitable then SFI. I was even told by one of the top internet marketers online that MPM has been more profitable in their first 6 month then being in SFI for 5 years now.

Since we are all here to make more money, for those here who have experience both in SFI and MPM, can you share your thoughts here.

At the end of the day, I want to have a strong residual income.

Tal

[Michael Gale]

I donated my $20! I think this system may help some of us that only get one or two sign-ups a month with our own efforts. Time shall tell. It looks to me that each of us will still have to visit the site to know the answers for the survey questions even if we don't buy.

Michael G.

[zeta]

Hey Michael

Good to see you back here!

Zeta