I’m very excited to announce that as of this morning (12:00am EST) the Inspired Affiliate Marketing Challenge #2 has officially begun.  Our first challenge was a success and I know a lot of people had fun participating in it, but our second challenge is going to be even more fun than the first one.

With this second challenge, sponsored by our friends at Amped Media, we’re rolling out more prizes , more ways to win, and more options for you to choose from. As part of this challenge I’m making some improvements to the structure of the contest, which I hope will make it more exciting for everyone.

The Affiliate Incubator

The first addition we’re making to the challenge is the addition of a new category called The Affiliate Incubator category.  The Affiliate Incubator category allows all the new affiliates who sign up with Amped Media during the 2nd challenge to compete in a category which is separate from the Main Category contestants.  In addition to that, all affiliates who signed up during the first challenge who did not place in the Top 3 also qualify to compete in this category.

How To Tell If You Qualify for The Affiliate Incubator Category

Well, this is really easy.  If you didn’t win one of the prizes in the top 3 spots in the first challenge (The winners were CD1369, CD1374, CD1665 ) you qualify for this category.  Furthermore, you will continue to be eligible to compete in this category in further challenges until you place in the top 3 in either the Main Category or The Affiliate Incubator Category .

The addition of this category will allow all new affiliates who just signed up for an Amped Media account or those who are just getting going to be able to compete on a level playing field with others of similar skill level.  Of course you are also automatically competing in the Main Category as well and it is possible for you to actually win prizes in both categories if you are able to compete with the other top guns in the Main Category .

There will be a separate prize pool for The Affiliate Incubator category which I’ll go into shortly, but before we get into the prizes let me talk about the next improvement in this challenge.

Winners Choice

Winners choice is a new addition to our affiliate marketing challenge which I think will really add an element of excitement to the contest.  There are two parts to Winners Choice:

(1) Prize Pool Choice – Prize pool choice simply means this.  Instead of affiliates competing for a specific prize in the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place spots, they will instead be competing for 1st, 2nd and 3rd choice of pick from our prize pool.  What this means is that if you place 1st place in the contest, you will get first choice of any one of the prizes in the prize pool.

Even though this may not seem like a big difference at first glance since you would think that the first place winner would typically just pick the most expensive prize anyways, and the second place winner would pick the second most expensive prize etc. but in reality sometimes the first place winner might be more interested in the slightly less expensive prize if they already have the most expensive one or just aren’t interested in it.

This means that it is actually possible now for the third place winner to go home with the most expensive prize if the first and second place winners pass on it.  Like I said, at first glance this may not sound like a very likely scenario, but this is where the second part of Winners Choice comes in to add another layer of fun to this competition.

(2) Earnings Carryover Choice – The second part to Winners Choice is that we are now going to give the top 3 winners not only the choice to pick one of the prizes, but if they want, instead of taking a prize they can also decide to carry over their earnings from this contest period into the next contest period!

So, for example lets say that you place third place in this competition and you don’t particularly want the prize that’s left in the prize pool, you can instead choose to take your earnings from this competition and carry them over to the next competition.  What this will do is it will now put you ahead of the race of everyone else who will most likely be starting at $0 in earnings (unless they carried over as well) and possibly give you the edge you need to win first or second place.

What’s even more exciting about this option is that carrying over your earnings from one competition to the next allows you a much better chance to win prizes in the “Super Affiliate Category ”.

A Real Life Examples to Demonstrate What’s Possible

Let me quickly give you a real life example using last months stats to clarify what this means.  Winners Choice was NOT available last month, but here is what could have happened if it was available.  I just want to show you guys an example of how this works so what I’m going to write below is just hypothetical.

Last month CD1369 (Tara) placed 1st in the competition with earnings of $872.40.  This means that she won the 16GB iPod Touch .  With Winners Choice , Tara would have the choice to pick any one of the three prizes.  Let’s say that she didn’t particularly want the iPod Touch but she liked the Sony Digital Camera sitting in 2nd place.  With Winners Choice she would have the option of taking the digital camera instead and then CD1374 (Richard Bonner) would have second choice over the remaining iPod Touch or the Logitech Gaming Keyboard .

Furthermore, let’s say that Richard now decides that he doesn’t want the iPod Touch or The Logitech Keyboard but instead would like to carry over his $578.00 in earnings into the second challenge because what he’s really after is the Sony Playstation 3 available to him in the $10,000+ Super Affiliate Category .  With Winners Choice he would be able to do that and he would start off the Inspired Affiliate Marketing Challenge #2 with $578.00 already in the bag.

What’s great about this hypothetical scenario is that now the person in the 3rd place spot would have the choice to either pick the iPod Touch or the Gaming Keybaord! Therefore, it is now more important than ever to try to get into the Top 3 even if you’re just going place third place because you never know what will happen at the end of the competition.  If the two winners above you end up carrying over their earnings, you might just walk away with the best prize just for placing 3rd!

Changes to The Super Affiliate Category

For The Super Affiliate Category what we’re going to do is keep the prizes exactly as they are, but change the way the prizes are earned.  Because of Winners Choice, anyone who places in the Top 3 of either the Main Category or the Affiliate Incubator Category now has the option of carrying over their earnings from this competition into the next one which means that it is now even easier to win prizes in this category.

Hypothetically if for example you wanted to win the Playstation 3 , and you placed in second place with $3,500 in earnings, you could carry those earnings over to the next challenge instead of taking a prize and then you would only need to do another $6,500 in revenue in that challenge to quality for the $10,000 Super Affiliate Category .

Of course you don’t have to carry over your earnings if you don’t want to, it’s entirely your choice.  You could just as easily take your choice of the prizes and then try to earn another $10,000 in the next challenge to try to win the Playstation 3 .

How to Participate

For anyone who participated in the first Inspired Affiliate Marketing Challenge , you’re automatically eligible to participate in this month’s challenge as well.  All you have to do is just earn affiliate revenue through Amped Media and you’re all set.

For any new participants, the rules are very simple.  Here’s what you need to do:

(1) Sign up for an Amped Media account using my referral link (Click Here to Sign Up ).  Once you sign up using this link I will be able to see your earnings in my account.  If you don’t sign up using my referral link or if you already have an account with Amped Media under someone else’s referral link you are unfortunately not eligible to participate since if I don’t refer you I have no way to see your earnings.

Please note that in order to approve your account Amped Media must be able to reach you by telephone on the phone number you sign up with, so make sure you enter in a telephone number that they can reach you at during business hours.  A lot of affiliates miss out on getting their accounts approved simply because Amped is unable to get a hold of you.

If you’re having any problems getting your account approved, let me know and I’ll try to help out.

(2) Once you have your account with Amped Media approved, you are ready to start earning revenues.  Go nuts!  Earn as much as you can during the competition, and the Top 3 earners in the Main Category and the Top 3 earners in the Affiliate Incubator category qualify to win prizes.  If your earnings go above $10,000 you then qualify for one of the prizes in the Super Affiliate Category.

(3) Make sure you take the time to get to know your affiliate manager at Amped Media and talk to them about getting the kind of offers you want in order to earn the most.  Amped Media is committed to bringing you the best offers possible, but as they are a rather new network they might not necessarily have all the offers you may see on other networks yet so you have to be proactive and ask them for what you want.  They can’t read your mind.  Also, if you’re running similar offers on other networks at different payouts make sure you talk to your affiliate manager. They are there to help you get competitive payouts on offers as well.

That’s pretty much it.  If you have any questions, leave a comment or shoot me an email.  I’m here to help you win.

Enough With the Rules, Lets See the Prizes!

I’ve dumped a lot of info on your guys with the rule enhancements above and I know you want to dive into the prizes but I highly encourage you to read through what I wrote above a few times and leave a comment if you need any clarification on the rules because if you understand the rules properly and thoroughly, you’ll be able to strategize better to win more of the prizes that you really want – and that’s really what I’m trying to accomplish here.  I want you to not only win, but to win what you want!

Ok, let me run through the prizes now.

Super Affiliate Categories

There are currently three prize levels in the Super Affiliate Categories.

Earnings of $50,000+ Category

ASUS G Series G50VT-X2 Gaming Laptop

• Intel Core 2 Duo P8600 (2.40Ghz)
• 15.4″ Wide SXGA+ Screen
• 4GB Memory, 320 GB HDD, 7,200 RPM DVD
• NVIDIA GeForce 9800M GS 512MB Graphics Card

To qualify to win this laptop you must earn at least $50,000 in earnings during the competition period.  Remember that even if you don’t quite make it to this level in this challenge, as long as you place in the Top 3 you will have the choice to carry over your earnings to next month and compete to win this thing again.

Earnings of $25,000+ Category

Canon EOS Rebel XSi Digital SLR Camera

• 12.20 MegaPixel
• EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS Lens
• See Full Specs Here

To qualify to win this beautiful digital SLR camera you must earn at least $25,000 in earnings during the competition period.  Once again, remember that even if you don’t quite make it to this level in this challenge, as long as you place in the Top 3 you will have the choice to carry over your earnings to next month and compete to win this thing again.

Earnings of $10,000+ Category

Playstation 3 (80 GB) Gaming Console

• Blu-ray Disc Player
• DualShock 3 Wireless Controller
• Internet-Ready WiFi
• Also Plays CD’s and DVD’s
• HDMI Output for 1080p Resolution

To qualify to win a Playstation 3 Gaming Console you must earn at least $10,000 in earnings during the competition period.  Once again, remember that even if you don’t quite make it to this level in this challenge, as long as you place in the Top 3 you will have the choice to carry over your earnings to next month and compete to win a Playstation 3 again.

Main Category

The Main Category is open to all contestants regardless of your earnings level.  There are three prizes that will be available in this category and the person who earns the most revenue during the challenge period will have first choice pick on the prizes.  As outlined above, each person in the Top 3 gets a choice to pick one of the prizes left in the prize pool OR to elect to carry over their earnings into next month’s challenge.

Here are the three prizes available in this Main Category Prize Pool:

Prize #1: Nike+ Runner’s Gift Pack

This is the ultimate gift pack for people who love to run or are looking to get into jogging.  I have personally used the Nike+ system to track my runs and I absolutely love it.  Here’s what’s in the pack:

• 8GB iPod Nano with Video (Purple shown above, you can pick any color though)
• Nike+ iPod Sport Kit , complete with a receiver you plug into your iPod Nano and a sensor for your shoe
• $100 Nike Gift Card (You can use this towards a nice new pair of Nike running shoes or perhaps even the iPod Watch Remote )
• 30-minute Nike Sport Music Mix iTunes Gift Card
• See full details here

Prize #2: Belkin – N1 Vision Wireless Router

This N1 Vision wireless router allows you to not only setup a 802.11n wireless network at home, but also gives you a digital display of your network’s broadband speed, computer bandwidth usage, and the status of your connected devices.

• 802.11n Wireless Standard
• Works with PC and Mac
• 4 Ports, 300 Mbps speed
• See more details here

Prize #3: Samsung 19” Widescreen Flat-Panel LCD HD Monitor (923NW)

This 19” Widescreen Flat-Panel Monitor from Samsung can be plugged into your computer or as a secondary monitor for your laptop.
• Ultrafast 5ms response time
• 1440 x 900 maximum resolution
• 1000:1 contrast ratio
• See More Details Here

So there you have it. Those are the three prizes that the Top 3 winners of the Main Category will get to choose from.  I hope you guys like them!

Affiliate Incubator Category

Now as I mentioned above I am now adding an Affiliate Incubator Category to the competition.  To see if you qualify for this category see the full description above.

Here are the three prizes available in the Affiliate Incubator Category:

Prize #1: Logitech – G15 Gaming Keyboard With LCD Display

The first prize in the Affiliate Incubator prize pool is the Logitech G15 Gaming Keyboard with LCD display.  If you’re a serious gamer you’ll love this keyboard.

Prize #2: Sony – Bluetooth Wireless Headphones (Black)

These wireless Sony Bluetooth headphones allow you to listen to music wirelessly from your Bluetooth-enabled audio devices.

Prize #3: Belkin – Nostromo SpeedPad n52te Gamepad

This Gamepad from Belkin will give you a competitive edge over your competition.  The perfect prize for any gamer.

Final Words

I hope you guys enjoy this competition and the prizes available.  I hope to see you guys blast through your earnings this month and use this challenge as a motivational tool to take you to the next level in your Affiliate Marketing business.

Some final words of advice from me would be – DON’T WAIT!  I know that the Christmas season is upon us and it’s easy to get busy right now going to Christmas parties and getting caught up in Christmas shopping and all the hooplah of the holidays, but if you don’t take your foot off the gas right now you’ll blast into the new year with a lot of momentum and set yourself up for 2009 to be your best Affiliate Marketing year ever!

Best of Luck Everyone!

** Disclaimer:  Although we don’t anticipate this to happen, Amped Media and Inspired Affiliate reserve the right to exchange prizes for something of equal or greater value should items not be available.  Participants can only win one prize in the competition in either the Super Affiliate Category or the Main Category, but not both.  Participants who qualify for the Affiliate Incubator category may also win one of the three prizes from that category in addition to the prizes in the Main Category.  Terms subject to change.  To qualify, participants must sign up using my referral link .  Feel free to contact me if you have any questions.

Click Here to Sign Up for Amped Media