Author: Mitch Keeler

This month we have somebody new stepping out from behind the support ticket and help desk, taking time off from working hard at Lunarpages to answer some questions.  Tiara Rea is the Affiliate Program Manager for Lunarpages.  Not only is she an affiliate mastermind, but also she has a Bachelor of Arts degree in English.  How is that for impressive?  As somebody who has trained under her I can tell you first hand, she is more than knowledgeable in the world of affiliates and is by far one of the most interesting people I have had the privilege to meet while working with Lunarpages.  With that said, let us get on to the first question…

To our Lunarpages Affiliates, you are a friendly face and helpful hand; however to other hosting clients, the appendage metaphor might not be the best to use, since they are not as familiar with you.

Could you let us know your title and day to day roles here at Lunarpages?

Yep, I am the Affiliate Program Manager here at Lunarpages, which means I handle most of the affiliate-related inquiries our customers and affiliates have. So if you want to refer your friends to Lunarpages and make $65-180 for it, you’ll probably end up speaking with me! I also take a lot of business development emails, write for our Web Hosting Newsletter, and do most of the copywriting and editing for our websites, too. But the Affiliate Department is definitely my favorite aspect of my job, since it keeps me in touch with our customers and affiliates. I love helping them earn money!

So, in a nutshell, you help people make more money. You must deal with a lot of happy people! What would you say is the biggest misconception with affiliate plans, in general?

There are two big misconceptions, actually: 1) That affiliate programs are “get rich quick schemes” and 2) that they are only for huge websites or corporations.

1) You would be surprised by how many customers disregard the Affiliate Program because they think it’s some kind of scheme or that it costs money. I love their surprise when I tell them, “No, there is absolutely no cost, and if you refer 4 people to Lunarpages, that’s at least a free $260 in your pocket!” There’s no scheme, no cost, and it’s EASY. That’s the best part! It’s not a scheme or some kind of pyramid trap—if you refer a customer our way, you earn $65-180 for that sale. No hoops, no schemes, no tricks; just another way to help you make some extra cash.

2) Our Affiliate Program works for the stay-at-home mom referring her friends and family or the Business Tycoon referring partners, colleagues, and clients. We have about 80,000 affiliates, and they range from those who refer a couple people every year to those who refer a couple every day. It all varies, but it’s all free money in the long run, so there are phenomenal benefits to joining.

In the past few months, we have talked with a lot of remotes, but you actually get to report to the office! Give me some inside dirt, and feel free to change names to protect the innocent.

Our office in Anaheim is SO NICE!! I can’t even describe how great it is to come into work here every day. Oh, but you want the dirt… Hmm… Does an interoffice water-balloon fight count as dishing the dirt? Nah, it’s fantastic here. Not that I don’t envy remotes, who can “go to work” in their PJs, though…

What do you do when you’re not helping people make more money?

I love to write, play my guitar, knit, visit Disneyland, and nerd out with my roommates over our obsession with Harry Potter. Really, we’d all rather sit around discussing Dumbledore’s intentions in Half-Blood Prince than go out clubbing or something (I know: Nerd Alert!). Oh, and I love the beach!! It’s one of the best things about living in California.

Do you have any overlooked affiliate-related tips you could share?

For small affiliates who may only refer a handful of customers every year, I’d recommend putting a link to your Affiliate Tracking URL on your website. You would be surprised at how much strangers may value your recommendation for hosting.

For medium-sized affiliates who refer a couple customers every month, if you haven’t gotten in touch with me yet, you should definitely do so. I am always willing to help you make the jump from medium to big! Also, are you promoting all of our plans? If not, look into Quicksite ($75/sale) and Dedicated Hosting ($180/sale) to boost your income.

And for big affiliates, branching out to new niches is always good. Keeping in touch with me at all times also ensures we are working hand-in-hand to keep your income rocking.

When they write the book and then later make the movie (which is nothing like the book) about your life, what is one thing about you that you hope they get right?

My love for music, writing, and animals are all really important aspects of my personality. But also I hope in the movie they can capture the nerdy parts of my life too. I would my future Hollywood director would choose someone cool and exotic like Thora Birch to play me as well.

Do you have any projects or web sites outside of Lunarpages?

I have a personal blog where I keep in touch with my friends, and I also do a lot of writing for the magazine PingZine. I’m also about to go back to school to take some additional creative writing and music classes, which I am extremely excited about!

How did you get started in the wild and wacky web hosting world?

Like most of the people in this industry, it was a complete accident. I had just moved to California and was applying at Lunarpages for a Customer Service position. Amy Armitage, my fantastic colleague here at Lunarpages, actually stole me from the CSR position I was applying for and asked me to join her team instead. My responsibilities just grew from there, from minor affiliate stuff to Sales calls and now to developing and managing the Affiliate Program; it’s just all fantastic. I know everyone we interview says so, but Lunarpages really is an awesome place to work.

If you were not involved in the web hosting business, where might you be?

I think I would be teaching in a creative writing or music setting, or writing a really fantastic novel or book of poetry. I do a lot of writing and music on the side, so it would definitely involve one of those aspects.

Why should average customer come talk with you about signing up with the Lunarpages Affiliate Program?

Because it’s easy, it’s 100% free, and you can earn big bucks just by referring friends, family members, coworkers, and even strangers. Give me a call or shoot me an email and I’d be pleased to help you get started earning $65-180 per sale! 877-586-2772 x4 or affiliate@lunarpages.com.

There you have it, one on one with our master of the affiliates, Tiara Rea!  Be sure to check out some of the past Lunarpages interviews we have done too, for more information on the people that are helping you out each and every day.