Frequently Asked Questions About Owning a Local Kidz Stuff Affiliate
There is an initial fee of $1500 for setup and the first years subscription payment. Each year thereafter, there is a $1200 annual fee. Templates and artwork are supplied, but any promotional expenses are the responsibility of the affiliate, such as copies, banners, other marketing and promotional expenses, and business expenses such as bookkeeping, taxes, etc.
Local Kidz Stuff is a product of Circle 7 Software, Inc. (www.circle7software.com) and a DBA of the corporation. Circle 7 Software, Inc. was founded in 2005 and is incorporated with the State of Texas.
The initial “setup” of a Local Kidz Stuff affiliate site involves entering the data of the local businesses, places and events your local area. No site design, web programming, or software installation is required, just data entry. It can take as long as 3 weeks until an affiliate site is ready for launch if 2-5 hours a week are applied to the data entry and discovery.
After the listings are populated, then it’s just a matter of maintaining current events and periodic checks for changes to business listings (address/phone number changes, out of business, etc.), basic site promotion, and advertiser meetings and follow-ups. Site maintenance is estimated at between 2 and 5 hours a week.
Local Kidz Stuff affiliate sites make money from selling web ads on their site. The web site has a built-in Ad Manager giving the affiliate owner the power to place and manage ads. Circle 7 Software, provides Media Kit documents and their source files, as well as ad contracts (Insertion Orders) and marketing documents to make this process as easy as possible.
Nothing. Local Kidz Stuff is a SaaS application (Software-as-a-Service), which means that there is one installation of the software on our hosting servers and that one installation is the same for all affiliates and viewers. There is no software to install, upgrade or maintain and no website design skills are needed to manage a Local Kidz Stuff website. Upgrades and fixes are done by Circle 7 Software, Inc. and these are automatically applied to all affiliates. Other than the annual subscription license fees, there is no cost for any upgrades.
Local Kidz Stuff sites are defined by the communities they are in. The affiliate helps to define the area that their site will accompany, since the locally residing affiliate owner knows more about the community than we do. Zip codes are used as soft boundaries. Local Kidz Stuff sites will be community-based, and the area is strictly enforced to maintain credibility and data quality. No one person or organization can own an entire state, for instance, and many large cities will contain many Local Kidz Stuff areas. A city like Houston, for instance, might have as many as 25 Local Kidz Stuff sites. “Local” is the key word here.
Circle 7 Software, Inc. will provide support for all affiliates by email or phone during normal business hours throughout the duration of the affiliates association with the company. Our philosophy is that if the affiliate isn’t making money, then we are not making money, so we are happy to provide all the support an affiliate will need. This includes help with marketing documentation and graphics and a basic level of coaching.
Yes. We provide suggested ad rates, but we understand that some markets can command higher rates. We also allow the affiliate to provide whatever discounts they feel is necessary to make a sale, which is especially helpful when just starting out.
Sure. We provide all the documentation you’ll need to feel comfortable about talking to advertisers and the site does a large part of the selling itself. Additionally, you are free to hire sales agents or work with independent sales reps to help you as much as you need.
Local Kidz Stuff is about businesses, services, places, attractions, and events that cater to children. A furniture store, for instance, will not be allowed to be listed unless it is a specialty kids furniture store. Keeping the site focused on things parents need for their kids, holds to a high standard in value and quality for the visitor to the site.