The Official Magazine of Affiliate Summit Issue 4 | January 2009

The Women of
Affiliate
Marketing
Interview With
Tim Storm Page 4

Introduction to
Podcasting Page 11

Target.com Affiliate Program

on Twitter Page 21

Affiliate Opportunities
in a Recession Page 67

www.affiliatesummit.com
We're a new breed of affiliate network.
Energetic, knowledgeable, innovative, respon-
sive, and cutting-edge. We provide the most
personalized service, with industry-leading
sales reporting and analytics tools, huge com-
missions, and the highest-converting shop-
ping cart in the business.
Our affiliates can choose from the hottest selling
digital products from world-class merchants.
And what's more, each member of our staff trains
with an affiliate guru in the high mountains for
several months before joining the team. These
are just a few of the reasons we're able to levitate
your affiliate business to the next level of success.
 ™

Table of Contents
03 Struggling Entrepreneurs, 21 Target Targets Affiliates 59 Thinking Outside the Ad
Do Not Give Up Through Social Media David Fortino
Jim Kukral Jillian McGary
60 How to Effectively Blog for
04 Taking the Affiliate 22 Affiliate Summit Social Branding and Monetization
Media in NYC Andrew Wee
World by Storm
Missy Ward Amy Rodriguez
61 Click Fraud: What Every
08 Opportunities for Affiliate 23 What to Look For in an Online Advertiser Needs
Affiliate Network to Know
Marketers in 2009
Ian Fernando Harald Anderson
Mike Sprouse

24 Call to Activation 62 Ask InternetGeekGirl

09 Niche Picking:
Geno Prussakov Stephanie Agresta
Finding a Profitable Niche
for Your Website 63
Lisa Caraffi
25 Affiliate Summit 2009 West Improve Your Blog Earnings
Affiliate Marketing Listings Zac Johnson

11 Introduction to Podcasting 34 Affiliate Summit 2009 West 65 My .02 on SMX East

Shawn Collins Wil Reynolds
Conference Agenda
12 How Social Networks 42 Will Blog for Food 66 Chat Improves Conversions –
Validated the Soft Sell Shawn Collins That’s What We All Want
Brian Littleton Durk Price
44 Gary Vaynerchuk Bio
13 Celebrating Women Affiliate Summit 2009 67 Affiliate Opportunities
in Affiliate Marketing West Keynote in a Recession
Shawn Collins and Missy Ward Nicky Senyard
45 Affiliate Summit 2009 West
68
20 Affiliate Fraud –
Speaker Bios
Using Trademarks in
A Growing Concern in Affiliate Marketing
Affiliate Marketing? Mark Rosenberg
Tyler Allen
58 London Calling:
a4uexpo Recap
Matthew Wood

FEEDFRONT MAGAZINE | JANUARY 2009 | 1

Issue 4 | January 2009
FeedFront Editor’s Note – 4th issue
™
Jump the Economy Struggling Entrepreneurs,
Do Not Give Up
STAFF
Co-Editors in Chief
Missy Ward, Shawn Collins By Jim Kukral

Co-Publishers Welcome to being a struggling entrepreneur. It’s a

Missy Ward, Shawn Collins rough life.

Contributing Writers But there’s good news too.

Stephanie Agresta, Tyler Allen, Harald Anderson,
Lisa Caraffi, Shawn Collins, Ian Fernando, David If you’re struggling there is hope. There is a reason to
Fortino, Zac Johnson, Jim Kukral, Brian Littleton, carry on. You can make it work, if you carry on.
Jillian McGary, Durk Price, Geno Prussakov, Wil Remember that every single great success story
Reynolds, Amy Rodriguez, Mark Rosenberg, Nicky started with one of the following…
Senyard, Mike Sprouse, Missy Ward, Andrew Wee,
Matthew Wood
1. I failed 1,000 times before I succeeded…
2. We had no money left in our bank account…
Graphic Design 3. I was on the verge of giving up…
Lynn Lee Design

Sound familiar? Being an entrepreneur has its

Proofreader ups and downs. Yes, there is going to be struggle
Amy Rodriguez through the tough times, and yes, it could possibly
Photo by Deb Carney
drain your bank account and damage your marriage,
Affiliate Summit and yes, it could drive you to want to give up.
221 Sherman Ave Jim Kukral Moderates a Session at Affiliate Summit Social Media

Ste #8 PMB 185
Berkeley Heights, NJ 07922-1173
tel (908) 364-2767
fax (908) 364-4627
Articles in FeedFront Magazine are the opinions
of the author and may not necessarily reflect the
views of the magazine, or its owners. FeedFront
Magazine always welcomes opinions of an
opposite nature.
For more information, visit:
www.FeedFront.com
Interested in advertising? Please visit
http://feedfront.com/advertising/
or email us at: contact@feedfront.com
© 2009 Affiliate Summit, Inc. and Individual
Authors.
Missy Ward and Shawn Collins at Affiliate Summit Social Media
Many affiliate marketers are scared about
the state of the economy right now, and
how it might impact their business.
While your peers tremor and consider
how their business will fare, take control
of your fate and be aggressive in your
marketing and advertising.
So we’re in a recession or a depression or
whatever. So what!
As Evel Knievel, the “King of All Stuntmen”
once noted, “With every adversity, there is
an equivalency to benefit. Sometimes you
just have to look for it.”
It’s all about how you frame it. You don’t
want to deliberate whether you’ll survive
the downturn, but rather how you’ll survive
and thrive.
Consider the experiences of D.G.
Yuengling & Son, the oldest beer maker in
the U.S., in the early part of the last century.
By the time the Great Depression hit,
Yuengling had already endured seventeen
years of Prohibition.
The company produced “near beer”
Photo by Deb Carney
throughout the Prohibition years to stay
in business, and then diversified their
operations into dairy farming, Broadway
shows, and dance halls during the Great
Depression.
These days, Yuengling is one of the
biggest American commercial breweries
and they continue to expand.
Down the road, there will be companies
that are recalled as examples on how to
weather adversity, and others will simply be
forgotten. Which will you be?
Be a business daredevil. Now is not the
time to fold up and go home. Go hard, go
strong, and jump over anything that gets in
your way.
Missy Ward & Shawn Collins
FeedFront Co-Editors-in-Chief
It’s rough out there right now, I know. You’re losing But that’s when your passion comes through to save
your cool in this tough economic market. You’re you. That’s when you stop pitying yourself and turn
trying to make ends meet, while at the same time, towards the sun and give it another go. That’s when
you’re trying to push ahead and be successful as an you work even harder to get what you wanted.
entrepreneur. You’re working your a#* off and it’s
getting you by, but not getting you ahead. Don’t give up. Keep taking your shots. Keep
innovating. Keep pushing new ideas and supporting
I know how you’re feeling. old ones. Keep on keeping on.
It will happen. You can succeed. You can hit that
I know what it’s like to be spending more than you home run. You may look back at these days, years
make. I know what it’s like to have your wife give from now and remember about how tough it was,
you that look when you tell her you need to spend but then be proud of yourself for persevering.
another $1,000 or more to start a new project.
I know how it feels to be so frustrated that you The entrepreneur inside you knows you can do it.
haven’t “made it” yet that you want to give up and Now, just do it.
go get that “real job” you said you would never take.
You can find out more about Jim Kukral by visiting
I know how you’re feeling. TheWebCoach.biz.
I know what it’s like to see millionaire friends not
worry about money. I know what it’s like to see your
associates who have already “hit their home run”
not worry about the economy because they’ve got
money coming in consistently every month. I know
what it’s like to wake up every day and wonder if
today is going to be the big day you get an idea to
turn it all around.

FEEDFRONT MAGAZINE | JANUARY 2009 | 3

Taking the Affiliate World by Storm
By Missy Ward
Tim Storm, the owner, founder and Chief Mucky Muck of
FatWallet.com, an online community and shopping resource, is
no doubt, a cornerstone of the affiliate marketing industry.
Known for his technical savvy, his strong emphasis on his
employee’s welfare, his hands-on approach with his site visitors
and yes, his relentless quest for the perfect golf swing, Storm
epitomizes all that is good in affiliate marketing – ethics,
innovation and commitment.
Back in 2002, Storm made headlines when he squared off
against retail giant Wal-Mart. After one of the FatWallet.com
forum members posted product pricing information scheduled
to appear in the retailer’s Black Friday advertisements, Wal-Mart
sought the identity of the member, invoking sections of the
Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA).
Storm refused to provide the personal information of the forum
member, and solidified his reputation as an advocate for the
rights of consumers to gather and share information.
Since FatWallet’s launch in 1999, Storm has been featured in
numerous media outlets, such as the New York Times, MSNBC,
Fast Company, National Public Radio, and more. His vision and
leadership is the driving force behind FatWallet’s outstanding
growth.
In 2006, Storm’s contribution to the affiliate marketing industry
was recognized as he became the second affiliate marketer to
receive the Affiliate Marketing Legend award during the Affiliate
Summit Pinnacle Awards Gala.
FeedFront’s Co-Editor-in-Chief, Missy Ward recently talked with
the inspirational Storm about his business, and his views on life
and affiliate marketing.
Missy: So, talk to me about your childhood. What was young
Tim’s life like growing up?
Tim: When I was finishing 5th grade, my parents told me that
they had signed me up for summer school. I had no idea what I
did wrong. I thought I was getting decent grades.
Then they told me it was for a computer class. My next question
was “What is a computer?”
Over that summer I became connected to something that will
likely be with me for the rest of my life. I taught myself basic
algebra as I learned to write computer programs to entertain
myself and my friends. Programming was always more fun than
the actual games that I wrote.
4 | JANUARY 2009 | FEEDFRONT MAGAZINE
We started bringing on employees in 2001
to help keep the site up to date.
I learned early on that it was easy for me
to gloss over some important details. I
also began recognizing my strengths and
I wanted to spend more time on those. It
A few years later, when I was in my early teens, I wrote
was then that I hired people that were
a bulletin board program and took over my sister’s phone
better than me at the things that I would
line when she moved out to college. It was my first online
rather not do, or wasn’t good at.
community, before I could drive, on a 300 baud modem and a
Missy: When did you realize that
Commodore 64.
FatWallet had “arrived” and what is the
secret to its success?
Missy: And as I understand it, you still live close to where
you grew up. Correct?
Tim: While I do see FatWallet as
successful, I still believe that we have yet
Tim: Yes, I live in a small rural community. I literally have cows
to “arrive”. There is so much opportunity
in my neighborhood. It is close to where I grew up, and close to
out there, so much room to grow, so many
family. It takes me about 12 minutes to get in to the office in the
people that we haven’t been able to serve
morning, even though Google Maps says it should take 21.
yet.
Missy: So tell me about your first Web site and how you got
We recently had our 1 Millionth visitor
started on the Internet.
join our site. That would have been
inconceivable in the early days.
Tim: While my online interactions started back in the 300 baud
Compuserve days, I don’t think I did my first official Web site until
Whenever I go to a sporting event at a
the mid-90’s, when I was designing loudspeakers as a profession.
large venue, I visualize all the people in
I was working for a consumer electronics company (Mitek Corp)
the stadium with a laptop sitting in front
at the time, and built out their entire Web site in my “spare” time,
of them, and then recognize how many
and ended up taking over all the Internet projects across their
stadiums full of these people we serve on
brands.
any given day. It is quite humbling.
Missy: How did you make the leap into affiliate marketing?
There are no secrets to our success.
FatWallet’s purpose is to serve the
Tim: My first connection to affiliate marketing was through the
consumer community. We have shown
Amazon Associates program, where I had added some links to
ourselves time and time again to make
some reference books to back up the content that I had been
decisions that are aligned with our core
creating in a technical support area for the audio brands I was
customer.
working on.
Our core values of Integrity,
Missy: How did you come up with the idea for FatWallet.
Commitment, Change, Respect, Balance
com? What were some of the first affiliate programs that you
and Passion will keep us on course toward
joined?
our 10 year goal of 10 million engaged
Tim Storm Wins Affiliate Summit Legend Award
citizens.
Tim: One day I was going to place an order at an online retailer
that had previously sent me an email coupon. I didn’t have
The site was really just a hobby at that Missy: When did you realize that you Missy: Shifting gears here. How would
access to my email at the time, so I did an AltaVista search for
point. I was simply hoping to get my $100 couldn’t run the whole site by yourself? you characterize the current state of
coupons, and came across sites that weren’t current or didn’t
back that I spent on the domain name and What were some of the challenges that affiliate marketing?
look professional.
Web hosting. you faced when it came to juggling
creativity and business? Tim: I see affiliate marketing as
And that’s when FatWallet.com was born. It seemed like it was
Amusingly enough, I recouped my $100 “maturing”. There is so much opportunity
a manageable project to do in my spare time, so I simply started
investment back in my first month in Tim: Before I started working on here, but unfortunately, there are also
in. I joined a bunch of programs on the same day – the early
business. FatWallet full time in September of 2000, opportunists looking to make a quick
ones were Buy.com, Amazon.com, BN.com.
my wife had been helping out while I was buck . Luckily, I can usually sniff them out
earning a steady paycheck at my “real job”. quite quickly.
FEEDFRONT MAGAZINE | JANUARY 2009 | 5
 It is important to me, and FatWallet that we focus on long term
mutually beneficial relationships.
Missy: In your opinion, what are some of the biggest hurdles
facing affiliate marketers right now?
I see my passion for business in general, not just affiliate
marketing. I am certainly a student of the game – something
that can never be mastered. One of the most rewarding
elements for me is that I know that I’ve helped create great jobs
for great people.

Tim: Affiliate marketing is challenged by the view of it being
a “second class citizen” in many corporations, despite being
the most measurable and highest ROI methods of customer
acquisition and retention.
Because it is still relatively new, it often isn’t understood by
some folks in the “C suite” and dictations are made without
understanding the implications.
Missy: So how does a company go about doing affiliate
marketing “right”?
Tim: The key to doing affiliate marketing “right” is to understand
the value of a customer, finding affiliates that understand what
customer you are looking for, communicating that clearly, and
compensating the affiliate for accomplishing the goal you have
set out to do.
Missy: OK – now really personal. Tell me something about
you unrelated to the internet, that people would be surprised
to know.
Tim: I don’t consider myself a thrill-seeker, but so far this year
I have taken part in a zero gravity flight, a mock air combat
mission, and plan to try bobsledding in December as part of a
group I belong to called Maverick Business Adventures (www.
maverickbusinessadventures.com).
Missy: Check you out Mr. Daredevil! Now give me the skinny.
What do you really want to do in the future, outside of
FatWallet.com?
Tim: Wow, I have no idea when that time will come. It isn’t on
any timeline that I am aware of!

Missy: What is the biggest piece of advice you would give an
affiliate just starting out?
Tim: Don’t get wrapped up in the “turmoil” of the day. Look for
your opportunity to serve a customer, find the right business
case and start it. If it doesn’t work the way you want, don’t waste
a lot of energy complaining about it. Find the fit that works…
the answer is out there!
I don’t think I could be satisfied if I wasn’t constantly learning and
helping people live better lives. I have found that creating jobs is
one of the most satisfying results of starting FatWallet.
Missy Ward is the Co-Founder of Affiliate Summit, Co-Editor-in-Chief
of FeedFront Magazine and blogs at MissyWard.com

Missy: What do you see as the 3 trends affiliate marketers

should have on their radar in the next few months?

Tim: Mobile, offline integration, technology.

Missy: What is your vision of affiliate marketing 5 years from

now?

Tim: I see increased transparency, and reduced feedback time.

Companies will need to have deeper integration of their affiliate
marketing program with their core business processes.

Missy: Let’s break it down personal here. What are some of

your other passions other than affiliate marketing?

Tim: I’ve had a long term love/hate relationship with golf. I love
the challenge of taking on something you can never truly master.
I stopped playing for a couple years due to a thumb injury.

A few years ago, I started playing again and became an investor

in the golf course right behind the office.

6 | JANUARY 2009 | FEEDFRONT MAGAZINE

Opportunities for Performance Ad
Networks and Affiliate Marketers in 2009
By Michael Sprouse
Both statistical data and casual evidence support that performance-
based marketing has the potential to survive, if not thrive in tough
economic times.
As advertisers and agencies around the world look for greater
accountability and transparency, and for their marketing dollars to
“work harder”, it opens the door to responsible networks and affiliate
marketers to shine.
It may sound counterintuitive to say 2009 might be the time our
industry grows up even more, but it’s looking good for this space as
other sectors, not based on performance, are in decline.
Recession Proof Marketing?
Performance marketing and affiliate marketing are not totally
recession-proof. There is simply no way to tell what will happen to
worldwide consumer demand in 2009, the effect of the credit crisis,
and what a new administration in the U.S. will mean for large and small
businesses and sole proprietors.
To try and claim that online marketing at large is part of a business
ecosystem resistant to larger, global, external factors is naïve at best. I’m
simply stating that our sector has as good a chance as any at thriving.
The Performance Growth Trend
With every report published by the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB),
a very clear trend has been happening for years.
Performance marketing is increasing to the point where it now makes
up the majority of advertising spend online in the U.S. This trend is
following suit globally, too.
Search is growing. Display, despite its negative press in recent
months, is growing. Traffic and internet usage worldwide continues to
increase overall which means there will be inventory, eyeballs, clicks
and actions to be had.
Social networks continue to blossom and represent opportunity for
marketers who can monetize them effectively.
Opportunity is Knocking
If you’ve been around this business for any length of time, you know
there are always new opportunities to make money, build new
businesses, and invent new products or brand-build in unsaturated
niches.
8 | JANUARY 2009 | FEEDFRONT MAGAZINE
Niche Picking:
Finding a Profitable Niche for Your Website
By Lisa Caraffi
One of the most frustrating exercises for an Internet marketer can
be the task of picking the right niche.
In general, there are two ways to go about deciding on a niche
for a Web site or blog, depending on the reason that the site was
created.
For example, a blog that is focused on a particular topic or interest
has a self-defined niche and shapes up much differently than a Web
site created for the sole purpose of making money.
Those looking to blog about a particular subject, meet others
with similar interests, and make a little money, should consider the
following:
• Passion matters. Antique watch fanatics might choose to create
a blog about the mechanics of antique watches, as well as other
aspects of watch collecting, but Web sites and blogs require
frequent updating. Passing interests do not make for an effective
affiliate niche.
• Expertise matters. It is not enough to enjoy a particular topic
and to have a surface knowledge about the subject matter at
hand. Readers will see through the façade and comment on any
misinformation. Having credibility is important when trying to Google Trends
establish visitor loyalty.
There is an appeal to the practice we call direct marketing, and these
The criteria changes if the purpose of the Web site is strictly to • Spy on the competition. Do a search with niche keywords and
are the times to educate the larger population, including advertisers,
make money. Finding a revenue producing niche requires keen see what the organic results are doing. This is a great way to get
about its virtues; such as greater measurability, speed to market,
observation, plenty of research and persistence. new ideas for content and to spot trends in the niche.
transparency, accountability; none of which have to be at the expense
of a brand.
• The main objective for this type of site is to sell what is hot. Picking the right niche is often a challenging task, but it becomes
Therefore, publishers that belong to a network should contact easier once a publisher understands the objective of the Web site or
The opportunities exist for new offers, new ad formats and new ways
their affiliate manager, who can usually offer input on the best blog in question.
to reach consumers in 2009.
performing verticals and their best converting offers.
On a macro scale, it could be an opportune time for performance Yet, regardless of the focus, launching a successful Web site or
• Tools like WordTracker and Google Trends assist in determining blog relies on quality content, an eye for new trends and a desire
marketing as a whole to attract a new breed of advertiser or agency
search volumes. When using them, it is important to make sure to have fun.
looking to market more effectively.
that the search volume of a particular keyword is not the only
criteria. Publishers should pay attention to the depth of the Lisa Caraffi is Affiliate Network Manager for Kowabunga!, a leading
Affiliates should keep their eyes open every day, but also be mindful
results to see how many keywords can effectively be used to provider of interactive performance-based advertising networks and
of the long-term vision and stability available from a reputable network.
target traffic. technology platforms.
With an industry still in its adolescence, it’s good for everyone in the
• Trends in the media, particularly magazines and television, can
ecosystem to build sustainable, responsible businesses that attracts a
assist in determining a niche. Publishers should embrace the
more diverse group of advertisers; can stand the test of time; weather
newest fads and know how important it is to be on the cutting
future downturns; and provide future rewards.
edge of what is “now”. Promoting a product or service for as long
as it is profitable is key, but looking for the next big thing will
Michael Sprouse is the Chief Marketing Officer for Epic Advertising, and is
lead to a constant revenue stream.
based at the company’s headquarters in New York, NY.
FEEDFRONT MAGAZINE | JANUARY 2009 | 9
Introduction to Podcasting
By Shawn Collins
Shawn Collins and Missy Ward record an episode of the Affiliate Thing podcast
I am frequently asked what I use to create
podcasts, so I thought I’d put together
information on the various equipment,
programs, etc. for anybody interested in
getting into podcasting.
First off, why podcast? Well, it’s an
additional area for you to reach your
audience to share information, generate
revenue, and create more content for your
site(s).
One thing to note is that the things I use
are for the PC (I use them in both XP and
Vista). I’m a PC, what can I say?
Anyhow, I most often record over Skype,
which offers a cleaner sound than a
recorded telephone call. But I don’t record
with Skype - I pair it up with a program
called Pamela.
This enables me to host and record a call
with multiple people at multiple locations,
though I wouldn’t recommend more than
3-4 people, as the recording gets a little
messed up when people speak over each
other.
Sound Forge Audio Studio 9 software to
edit the audio. It’s an easy interface to
edit out dead air, as well as conversations
before and after the recording.
Sometimes, I will add in some royalty-
free music to play for introductions and
transitions. A good site for this sort of
music at reasonable prices is Stock20.com.
Finally, I use the podPress plugin on
WordPress to post podcasts to my blogs.
This is a really useful plugin that enables
you to provide streaming of the audio, as
well as a download link. Plus, you get stats
on the number of listens.
Another WordPress plugin you can use,
Photo by Deb Carney
which doesn’t have as many features as
podPress is Audio player.
When I record over the computer, I wear
After you have your podcast going,
a Plantronics DSP400 Foldable Multimedia
be sure to submit it to iTunes to provide
Headset, which gives the option to plugin
listeners with another way to access and
either by USB or two plugs for hearing and
listen to it.
speaking.
Listen to me on the Affiliate Thing and
There are a lot of varieties of Plantronics
GeekCast Show podcasts on GeekCast.fm.
headsets, as well as other brands. I’ve
been most pleased with the quality using
Shawn is a Co-founder of Affiliate Summit
Plantronics.
and Co-Editor-in-Chief of FeedFront
Magazine.
And then when I am recording in-
person, I use the M-Audio MicroTrack
24/96 Professional 2-Channel Mobile
Digital Recorder. Thanks to Jay Berkowitz
of Ten Golden Rules for turning me on to
this one.
This recorder is very light and small
(about the size of a cell phone) and has all
sorts of bells and whistles, such as levels,
jacks for lines, external mic, etc.
The M-Audio machine connects to
the computer via USB to transfer files
and records to a SanDisk 4GB ULTRA II
Compact Flash.
After I’ve got a recorded podcast, I use
FEEDFRONT MAGAZINE | JANUARY 2009 | 11
How Social Networks Validated
the Soft-Sell
By Brian Littleton
I am not a fan of the “hard sell”. Infomercials, long-form sales
letters and persistent aggressive sales calls cause me to zone
out, rather than creating any interest, on my part, in the product.
As a sales alternative, I have advocated “soft sell” techniques,
focusing on the product, needs of potential clients, and letting
demand build organically, instead of by force.
For years, I’ve often been told that I am wrong on this
point. However, recent reactions from social networks, with
respect to the emergence of marketers, have shown that
soft sell techniques are already playing a big role in the new
marketing arena.
EARLY RETURNS ARE IN
Many marketers agree that social networks are the next big
playground. Unfortunately, most have seen disappointing early
results. I believe it is because their marketing approach has
been off the mark.
Strong-armed sales techniques are nearly universally ignored
on social sites. These types of campaigns can actually have a
negative effect on brand; not to mention an enormous waste of
time and resources.
Members of social networks prefer to interact amongst
each other, peer-to-peer. Hard sell techniques serve as an
interruption to that conversation.
A means to encourage conversation and interaction, such as
a person or application is far better suited for this marketing
channel. Marketers shouldn’t be afraid of jumping in to
social networks, but they need to be respectful of the people
who make up the community, and the unwritten rules of
engagement.
SOFT SELL
In social networking, a marketer’s best play is to become part
of the community, not just to market to it. This approach takes
considerably more time, effort, and creativity, but has far greater
long-term potential.
Quality conversation, sincere opinions, and just being an
interesting person to follow, builds loyal bases. Followers don’t
want to see just your latest and greatest deal; they also want to
get to know you.
Social networks are communities, and, as such, have different
expectations and tolerance levels for the marketers among
them. Carry yourself more as if you are a new guest at a party.
You wouldn’t be to popular if you just walked in saying “Buy
my stuff!”
REPEAT BUSINESS
Repeat business is the core of any business’ success. Selling a
customer on a product which doesn’t deliver on its expectations
or providing poor customer service will result in less overall
success – even if the original sale technique is working.
On the flip side, marketers drawing in
followers or friends in social networking
will have difficulty in the long term if
their feeds don’t continue to deliver.
Even worse, a marketer can
experience a drop in followers if
their feed is consistently filled with
over-marketing that annoys their
readership.
Using social networks to interact with
and help current customers is one of the
soft sell techniques gaining a lot of traction as
well as media attention.
Companies who have a real presence on
message boards, blogs, and other social
platforms can build brand loyalty and
increase the chance for repeat business.
Brian Littleton is the President/CEO of
ShareASale.com, Inc., a
retail-focused affiliate
network for businesses
of all sizes.
Brian Littleton Speaking at
Affiliate Summit East 2008
Celebrating Women in Affiliate Marketing
By Shawn Collins and Missy Ward
Back in the late nineties, it was not unusual to attend an affiliate marketing event (or any
online marketing event for that matter) and see very few women in the room.
Fast-forward ten years later and you’ll find that the opposite is true. Affiliate marketing is overflowing
with women who are leaders in their fields or bright, up-and-coming innovators.
The following are self-submitted brief bios and wisdom from the women who make up this great
talent pool of affiliate marketers.
The women of affiliate marketing were asked to share one tip they would give to a new affiliate
getting into the industry and where they see the industry one year from today.
Let’s hear it for the ladies!
Amy Ely Cindy Ballard
buy.at / Platform-A, US Marketing Manager Sunshine Rewards, Marketing Specialist
Years in Affiliate Marketing: 3 Years in Affiliate Marketing: 2
Favorite Website: buyat.com Favorite Website: SunshineRewards.com
“I see more affiliate marketers using new “Attending the Affiliate Summits which are
tools and technologies to enhance and earn held twice a year is one of the best sources
more money from their sites - including video, I have found to help expand my knowledge
widgets, and more.” and give me a better understanding of
affiliate marketing.”
Stephanie Agresta
InternetGeekGirl, Founder Missy Barnstein
Years in Affiliate Marketing: 11 Platform-A, Sr. Marketing Manager
Favorite Website: Twitter.com Years in Affiliate Marketing: 9
“Build an audience. Core to any publishing Favorite Website: Jambase.com
business model is the ability to have an “Stay true to your word. Never make
interested, active and targeted following. It is a promise you can’t keep and never
your job to connect that audience with offers, compromise your integrity. But most of all,
content and information that interests them and that serves the have fun!”
needs of your advertisers”
Kit Bennett
Jill Anderson Kaboose Inc., Founder and GM
Google Affiliate Network, AmazingMoms.com, Affiliate Marketing Director
Account Strategist Years in Affiliate Marketing: 10
Years in Affiliate Marketing: 2 Favorite Website: AmazingMoms.com
Favorite Website: Linkedin.com “Be patient, there is no such thing as an
“One year from today I see the affiliate easy buck. Use as many tools as you can to
marketing industry taking on a stronger make linking easier. I still believe you need
presence for many merchant brands. With to provide quality content to the user. Then
the current state of the economy, online shopping seems to be the again I am an old school affiliate marketer utilizing organic search as
answer for many households.” opposed to PPC or an SEM budget.”
FEEDFRONT MAGAZINE | JANUARY 2009 | 13
 Connie Berg
FlamingoWorld.com, Head Bird
Years in Affiliate Marketing: 10
Favorite Website: Twitter.com, Tmz.com and
PerezHilton.com – it’s a 3-way tie.
“Take something you love and find a way to
make money with it. If you do something just
to make money and have no passion it won’t
work. Affiliate marketing is a lot of work. You can’t just put up a site
and expect the money to flow. Don’t try to copy what everyone else
is doing, find something unique to add value to your site so people
will want to visit.”
Ayako Bingham
buy.at, Affiliate Development Manager
Years in Affiliate Marketing: 3
Favorite Websites: I have too many favorite
sites to list
“Affiliate marketing is going to grow
bigger and bigger. That will lead to healthy
competitions between affiliate networks as
well as great revenue opportunities for all affiliates.”
Deborah Carney
Team Loxly, CEO
Years in Affiliate Marketing: 10
Favorite Website: ABestWeb.com
“I see affiliate marketing evolving away from
mega mall sites into more review sites and
interactive sites. More retail and less lead
generation as the economy changes the way
people shop plus the regulatory agencies jumping in and restricting
tactics that people are finding intrusive or misleading.”
Liane Dietrich
LinkShare, Managing Director, UK
Years in Affiliate Marketing: 5
Favorite Website: iStorez.co,
“I see the future of affiliate marketing
swimming in convergence in all areas. That
is, maximizing the benefit to the consumer
by combining a balance of the key value
propositions of creative promotions, communities, technologies,
new media, etc. And still fun!”
Megan Egan
oneNetworkDirect - Digital River,
Affiliate Development Coordinator
Years in Affiliate Marketing: 1
Favorite Website: MSN.com
“Be a sponge. Do your research and get your
hands dirty and try something that stretches
your abilities.”
14 | JANUARY 2009 | FEEDFRONT MAGAZINE
Trisha Lyn Fawver
New Edge Media,
Director of Affiliate Marketing Affiliate Marketing Manager Years in Affiliate Marketing: 5
Years in Affiliate Marketing: 2
Favorite Website: Facebook.com
“I see affiliate marketing advancing into video
and rich media much more, but otherwise in a
similar position to today.”
Melissa Feemster
LinkShare Corporation,
Director, Client Services
Years in Affiliate Marketing: 4
Favorite Website: ShopItToMe.com
“In the current climate of uncertainty, affiliate
marketing is well positioned to be a growth
channel in 2009. Because the CPA model is
as cost efficient and quickly measurable as you can get, we have an
advantage as CMOs look to design next year’s marketing budget.”
Jen Fluker
MarketLeverage.com, Publisher Manager
Years in Affiliate Marketing: 2
Favorite Website: OrlandoWeekly.com
“Being a successful affiliate requires a passion
for the industry, patience, and dedication.”
Anne Fognano
CleverMoms, LLC, Mama in Charge
Years in Affiliate Marketing: 9
Favorite Website: Google.com
“As social networking and mobile technology
continues to grow, I would expect that
affiliates will continue to move more in this
space to attract a wider margin of customers.”
Rosalind Gardner
Rosalind Gardner Consulting, CEO
Years in Affiliate Marketing: 11
Favorite Website: Google.com
“I believe that the gloomy economic forecast
should actually result in growth for our
industry as more people bargain hunt online
and more merchants seize the opportunity to
start or move their businesses online.”
Kristen Grace
BuyCostumes.com,
Years in Affiliate Marketing: 4
Favorite Website: Twitter.com
“Every affiliate marketer should know HTML.
Affiliates and their affiliate managers! It
separates those who just want to earn a buck
from those who want to earn a living. It amazes me how many
people in the industry don’t know how to read an affiliate link.”
Stephanie Harris
Schaaf Consulting, Affiliate Manager
Years in Affiliate Marketing: 5
Favorite Website: RevenueToday.com “Learn the perspective of everyone and put
“I think we’ll see a deeper saturation of affiliate
marketing programs in social networks, more
affiliates whose sites are social networks or
who use social networks more heavily to
market their own sites, and more customers using social networking
platforms as ways to interact with brands.”
Rachel Honoway
Affiliate Classroom, Inc., VP of Marketing
Years in Affiliate Marketing: 10
Favorite Website: Facebook.com
“I think that this industry is due for a major
technological advancement. We’ve been
doing a great job at adopting and applying
all of the new technologies that have been
thrown at us for the last few years, but it’s been a while since the
affiliate marketing industry demanded, developed and spread new
technology.”
Karen Hoxmeier
MyBargainBuddy.com, Owner
Years in Affiliate Marketing: 9
Favorite Website: MyBargainBuddy.com
“In the future, I believe merchants will find
their metrics are improved by affiliates that
promote their specific products and brands.”
Erin Hughes “There’s an interesting trend that is growing now: more and more
AzoogleAds, Assistant Manager,
Network Distribution
Years in Affiliate Marketing: 2.5
Favorite Website: Facebook.com
“You’ve got to spend money to make money!
Make sure to allocate a proper budget for
testing new offers.”
Jessie Jones
PopShops.com, CEO
Favorite Website: Instacalc.com
“There is no magic bullet. It takes creativity,
passion, hard work, originality, smart niches,
and great marketing to make money in this
industry.”
Beth Kirsch
uAmplify, VP, Business Development
and Marketing
Years in Affiliate Marketing: 10
Favorite Website: Facebook.com
together deals that help people make money.
Connectors in this field go a long way and in
this field karma pays off.”
Jackie Lane Bates
LinkConnector, Director of Marketing
Years in Affiliate Marketing: 4
Favorite Website: WebMD.com
“I see the affiliate marketing Industry as
legitimizing itself further over the next year.
As we work to standardize our practices and
tighten up the ethics in this industry, we also
gain ground in being perceived as a serious and essential sector in
the advertising and marketing world.”
Stephanie Lichtenstein
Andy Rodriguez Consulting,
Affiliate Program Manager
Years in Affiliate Marketing: 1
Favorite Website: Facebook.com and
Twitter.com are a tie.
“Prepare yourself for ongoing changes in the
industry.”
Kathleen Lindsay
Allegiance Marketing Resources, Director
Years in Affiliate Marketing: 9
Favorite Website: Spree.com
manufacturers and brands starting their own programs that are now
in competition with their retail outlets. This will be one to watch.”
FEEDFRONT MAGAZINE | JANUARY 2009 | 15
 Jessica Luthi
AffiliateProgramAdvice.com, CEO
Years in Affiliate Marketing: 10
Favorite Website: Wickedfire.com
“ I predict that affiliate marketing will have a
major surge in new business as the suffering
high street shops still struggle to get folks
through there bricks and mortar doors. I
predict we will see more offline businesses entering our space,
possibly the mom and pop type stores.”
Rebecca Madigan
Performance Marketing Alliance,
Founding Organizer
Years in Affiliate Marketing: 4
Favorite Website:
RelevantlySpeaking.com
“Affiliate marketing is the most effective,
measurable and profitable marketing
channel, but we suffer from misinformation. It is time to change the
perception and promote our legitimacy.”
Rexanne Mancini
Rexanne.com, Owner
Years in Affiliate Marketing: 10
Favorite Website: ABestWeb.com
“Prepare to spend countless hours sitting in
that chair.” channel affiliate marketing efforts to
Donna McCarthy
DMC Affiliate Consulting, Consultant
Years in Affiliate Marketing: 7
Favorite Website: AffiliateTips.com
“Read, read, read. There is so much good
information out there. Make sure you are
reading to stay up with the latest technologies
and trends.“
Tara McCommons
LinkConnector Corporation,
Director of Sales
Years in Affiliate Marketing: 4
Favorite Website: Wikipedia.com
“As an affiliate, in order to successfully pre-sell
a merchant’s products or services you need to
be able to relate to that product or service and
believe in it.” manager, it shows that you’re interested in making the most of the
16 | JANUARY 2009 | FEEDFRONT MAGAZINE
Jillian McGary
Target, Marketing Analyst --
Affiliate Progam
Years in Affiliate Marketing: 1.5
Favorite Website: SnowProfessor.com
“Be proud! Starting a business is a great
accomplishment. If it were easy, everyone
would do it.”
Tricia Meyer
Helping Moms Connect/
Sunshine Rewards, Owner
Years in Affiliate Marketing: 4
Favorite Website:
SunshineRewards.com/videoblog
“New affiliates should get involved
networking on forums, Facebook, industry
blogs, and Twitter. The more people you know, the more
opportunities you will have to learn and grow.”
Theresa Miller
Digital River, Inc., Corporate Events Manager
Years in Affiliate Marketing: 3
Favorite Website: Cascadegear.com
“In one year from today, I see affiliate
marketing starving for innovation.”
Judi Moore
Affiliate and Chief Juggler
Years in Affiliate Marketing: 4+
Favorite Website: HuffingtonPost.com
“Forget the eBooks that promise quick or
easy wealth and just steadily build a business
that reflects what you want to be. Surround
yourself with ethical, positive, and forward
thinking people.”
Renee O’Banion
CelebrateExpress.com,
Affiliate Marketing Manager
Years in Affiliate Marketing: 3
Favorite Website: Facebook.com
“Identify which merchants you want to
promote and establish a relationship with
the affiliate manager. Ask questions, request
feedback, and get involved. By reaching out to your affiliate
partnership.”
Angela Pak Elena Potoupa
Amazon, Marketing Manager Wow Things, Inc. (Wow-Coupons),
Years in Affiliate Marketing: 1 President/Owner
Favorite Website: Amazon.com Years in Affiliate Marketing: 3.5
“Subscribe to as many email lists as you Favorite Website: Google.com
can, to be in the know about upcoming “Believe. Listen to your gut. Work hard. Speak
promotions to advertise on your site.” up. Set goals and resolutions. Be creative, but
play by the rules!”
Swetal Patel Kelly Powers
MediaWhiz, Director, Advertiser Services Zazzle.com,
Years in Affiliate Marketing: 8 Senior Customer Acquisition Manager
Favorite Website: SheFinds.com Years in Affiliate Marketing: 4
“The smartest affiliates will continue to Favorite Website: Zazzle.com
find ways to spread their wings, diversify “As you become established, take the time to
and work through many marketing get to know your advertisers. Understand their
channels at the same time. Advertisers needs and goals, and communicate your own.
will continue down the path of seeing affiliates as true Great things are accomplished when we work together as a team.”
partners, rather than just affiliates.”
Heather Paulson
Paulson Management Group, Inc.,
President
Years in Affiliate Marketing: 9
Favorite Website: Ice.com
“In a year from now, 3.0 affiliate
networks will better enhance the multi-
serve the affiliates tracking and segmentation by way of better
media and reporting.”
Melanie Pawlak
LinkConnector, Merchant Sales Manager
Years in Affiliate Marketing: 2.5
Favorite Website: BagsBuy.com
“Include fresh content and information
on your website that you are interested
in and have a lot of knowledge about.”
Kerri Pollard
Commission Junction, General Manager
Years in Affiliate Marketing: 9
Favorite Website: Yahoo! Finance
“In today’s competitive environment, it’s
a must to put the consumer first. In order
to achieve your goal of making money,
you need to first determine how you’re
going to add value to the consumer path.”
 Amy Preis Lisa Riolo
buy.at / Platform-A, Affiliate Development lisariolo.com
Years in Affiliate Marketing: 1.5 Years in Affiliate Marketing: 9
Favorite Website: Favorite Website: Current.com
ICanHasCheezBurger.com “Don’t give up too soon. The learning curve
“Ask questions. When people in the is deceptively steep. Consistent, predictable
industry offer their business card or contact success takes time. If you understand this,
information, reach out. You might be surprised you’ll have realistic expectations and sufficient
at how many people are ready and willing to help you get started.” patience to get to the fun part.”
Laura Przybek Kim Rowley
buy.at, Events Marketing Manager Key Internet Marketing, Inc., CEO
Years in Affiliate Marketing: 3 Years in Affiliate Marketing: 10
Favorite Website: Facebook Favorite Website: ShoppingBookmarks.com
“Attend every networking opportunity and “In a year from now, we will likely have lost
talk to everyone... new or old to the industry.” some affiliates who were discouraged with the
recession, while others will have flourished by
capitalizing on the situation.”
Dina Riccobono
MarketLeverage, Marketing Manager Melissa D. Salas
Years in Affiliate Marketing: 1 Buy.com, Director of Marketing,
Favorite Website: MarketLeverageTV.com Buy.com / BuyTV Host
“Networking opportunities are going to Years in Affiliate Marketing: 6
accelerate; business channels such as trade Favorite Website: Facebook
shows, forums, and blogs, will have an even “Affiliates need to evaluate programs
bigger influence. Video is going to have a huge holistically, in terms of brand recognition,
role in affiliate marketing’s future, as well.” conversion, reliability, convenience, security,
and guaranteed customer satisfaction.”
Kim Riedell
Commission Junction, Vice President, Client Kim Salvino
buy.at, Sr. Delivery Manager
Development-East
Years in Affiliate Marketing: 5 Years in Affiliate Marketing: 4
Favorite Website: Fidelity.com Favorite Website: ABestWeb.com
“In a year, I see more large brands realizing that “I see affiliate marketing making great strides
they need to expand their scope and include with regards to reputation management.
even more affiliates who are successful and can Strong affiliates are beginning to take action
drive sustainable profitable sales.” to clean up the industry.”
Melanie Seery
NYAffiliateVoice, Business Owner
Years in Affiliate Marketing: 4
Favorite Website: NYAffiliateVoice.com &
ABestWeb.com
“Aside from adhering to ethical practices,
my advice is to always seek to improve your
knowledge and skills in order to diversify and
adapt to changes in the industry.”
18 | JANUARY 2009 | FEEDFRONT MAGAZINE
Carolyn Tang Tara Zottola
ShareASale.com, Inc., AKMG, Inc., VP Business Development
Director of Client Services Years in Affiliate Marketing: 2
Years in Affiliate Marketing: 10 Favorite Website: IMediaConnection.com
Favorite Website: ICanHasCheezBurger.com “Be honest and straight forward - that’s the
“There are so many great mobile e-commerce best way to earn respect in our business.”
apps in their infancy right now that bridge
the gap between online and offline shopping.
Increased price transparency, better customer service and actual,
true integration are right around the corner.”
Missy Ward
Affiliate Summit, Inc., Co-Founder
Years in Affiliate Marketing: 10
Favorite Website: Twitter.com and
Bloglines.com
“Look for merchants, networks, affiliate
managers and OPM’s that are embracing
social media marketing. It’s likely that their
programs will be stronger as their sites become stickier and their
customers more loyal.”
Kimberlee White
AKMG, Inc., President
Years in Affiliate Marketing: 8
Favorite Website: AKMG.com
“In one year from today, I see affiliate
marketing skewed even more toward
performance based models (CPA). I also
see affiliates utilize more creative ways of
generating traffic such as via text messaging and social sites such as
Facebook.”
Linda Woods
PartnerCentric, Inc, CEO/Founder
Years in Affiliate Marketing: 11
Favorite Website: It changes all the time
“I see the rise of Social Media playing a very
large part in online marketing overall. In many
ways it is like the affiliate channel in the “early”
days.”
FEEDFRONT MAGAZINE | JANUARY 2009 | 19
 Target Targets Affiliates Through
Social Media
By Jillian McGary

The Target.com affiliate program began to explore social media

to better serve our publishers. We started by observing the
community. Through Twitter, we followed the members of the
affiliate community and learned from industry experts. Listening to
discussions gave us insight into current events and helped generate
ideas to improve our affiliate program.

Once we understood the landscape, we created an account on

Twitter for our affiliate program to offer our partners another line of

Affiliate Fraud–
direct communication.

The @AffiliateTarget Twitter account was established in

A Growing Concern in Affiliate Marketing?

September of 2008 and has 70+ followers and follows 40.

We wanted to ensure our partners knew real people are working

on Target’s affiliate program and how to reach us. Twitter is a great
way for affiliates to contact us if they have questions, as we can
By Tyler Allen stolen/borrowed to create a “profile”. This For advertisers tying to generate quality respond quickly using the Direct Message and @Reply features.
profile consists of a working virtual phone sales leads, it can really affect the morale
With an ever growing number of publishers
number with a matching voicemail, a valid and productivity of the sales force, resulting Publishers are busy and get a ton of emails, but Twitter can be a
and bustling campaigns, affiliate managers
email, and a new IP address for each offer. in many wasted phone calls and emails to convenient alternative that is accessible from a computer or mobile
are certainly busy people. Amongst the
potential clients who don’t exist, or who did device.
affiliate manager’s long list of concerns is
Sometimes, these fraudulent publishers not and will never have an interest in using
affiliate fraud. Both click and CPA fraud are
will even have someone answer the phone their product/service. We use Twitter to announce program updates and reach out to
continual concerns in the affiliate marketing
and tell the merchant they are no longer publishers, but also to solicit feedback from the community.
industry.
interested in the offer because they have Is Affiliate Fraud Illegal?
already purchased the product/service In short – yes. Affiliate fraud is stealing. Our affiliates are the experts when it comes to their visitors, so we
Recent estimates indicate average fraud in
elsewhere. This tactic is all in an effort to It is not just a way to outsmart the system ask about banner creative, video player vendors and even our plan
the CPA segment to be as high as 8%, with
make the conversion look legitimate to the or to get back at the networks, as some for the holidays.
some offers/industries experiencing fraud
merchant. publishers choose to believe.
ranging upward toward 22%.
Twitter is a wonderful way to grow relationships, offer a
The main problem is that increasingly The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) convenient communication option for our publishers and ensure
In this competitive marketplace, there’s
complex schemes used by publishers Cyber Crimes division is spending more and that affiliates know who to contact if they have questions.
little room for fraud, which hurts honest
today are becoming much more difficult more time investigating affiliate fraud due
publishers, merchants, and networks.
to identify without access to data that to its volume and potential to provide hard Relationships are the best part of the business — without them
is typically unavailable to the affiliate to track funds for devious uses. we’d just be left with spreadsheets, and that’s not nearly as fun.
Evolution of Fraud
manager.
Fraud is on the rise today, due to the
The industry will likely see more attention Jillian McGary began working on the Target.com Affiliate Program
sophistication of cutting-edge tactics used
What Else Does Fraud Affect Besides ROI? from the FBI in the future if the growth of in July 2007. Before going to Target, she spent three years at an
by fraudulent publishers. Many affiliate
Unfortunately, fraud affects many other fraud in this area goes unchecked. advertising agency and two years teaching behavior therapy to
managers used to be able to spot almost all
aspects of the advertisers business. Fraud children with autism.
fraud with the naked eye by monitoring a
against advertisers that require the use of a Tyler Allen is Executive Director of the Cyber
publisher’s conversion rates, referring URL’s,
credit card to complete an offer can result in Crimes Field Agency (CCFA).
and IP addresses.
the cancellation of their merchant account
due to a high amount of chargeback’s or use
The most sophisticated fraudsters today
of stolen credit cards.
are using automated systems to complete
multiple offers with real information that is

20 | JANUARY 2009 | FEEDFRONT MAGAZINE FEEDFRONT MAGAZINE | JANUARY 2009 | 21

Affiliate Summit
Social Media in NYC
By Amy Rodriguez
In October 2008, Affiliate Summit had a
niche one day show at Baruch College in
New York City focused on the different
aspects of social media in affiliate
marketing.
Lots of exciting buzz around Facebook,
MySpace, Twitter and making videos but
how can you make money from them?
How can you use social media effectively
within your business? How do you get
started? The keynote and breakout sessions
tackled these topics head on and gave the
attendees lots of useful tips and ideas.
Don Crowther, social media guru and
blogging expert, delivered the day’s
keynote setting the tone with electrifying
energy. He captivated the audience with
stats, tips and ideas. This is definitely a
session you can watch multiple times and
learn something new each time.
Kudos to Kukral. Jim kept the show
moving along as the Emcee and panel
moderator. He did an excellent job
engaging the speakers, keeping them
on their toes and on task. Shawn Collins
and various other tweeters kept everyone
connected with live twittering throughout
the show up on the big screen. Good stuff!
The first panel of the day was Gain Friends
and Influence, With Video featuring Steve
Rosenbaum, CEO/Founder, Magnify.net
and Melissa Salas, Director of Marketing,
Buy.com. They concentrated on tailoring
22 | JANUARY 2009 | FEEDFRONT MAGAZINE
Photos by Deb Carney
Don Crowther Delivers the Keynote Address
videos to your audience and selecting the
right content while using lots of first-rate
examples.
Next up was Social Media Case Studies,
presented by Michael Jenkins, CEO/Founder,
MarketLeverage; James Keating, VP of
Marketing, ShopWiki; and Jivan Manhas,
President, Advaliant. These gentlemen
detailed the fundamentals of their own
successes with social media - how they got
started and what makes them profitable.
The third session was Making Social Media
Make Money featuring Larry Bailin, CEO,
Single Throw Internet Marketing; Shashi
Bellamkonda, Social Media Swami, Network
Solutions; and Jay Berkowitz, CEO, Ten
Golden Rules. They addressed what blogs
and podcasts you should be following, as
well as increasing return visitors and how to
make them want more.
The last session Leveraging Social
Networks with Sachin Agarwal, President/
CEO, Dawdle.com; Zac Johnson, President/
CEO, MoneyReign, Inc.; and Adam Alter,
Head of Network Management at Epic
Advertising. They talked about setting up
ad campaigns, custom banners and creating
landing pages. The panel also discussed
how to find what works for your site and
building profitable relationships.
Thanks to Platform-A for sponsoring the
cocktail hour. It was a nice way to wrap up a
fruitful conference day.
To cap the night off, folks headed over
to Room Service NY for a party hosted by
ShareASale to continue networking. What a
terrific venue.
I encourage you to check out the
videotaped sessions from the show. Don’s
keynote and all of the panels are available
on AffiliateSummit.tv.
A special thanks to all of our sponsors,
including oneNetworkDirect (Platinum
Sponsor) and NextWeb Media (Gold
Sponsor).
Thanks to everyone that attended, we
appreciate you coming out. It was a lot of
fun to have a smaller focused show with
attendance capped at 300 and only one
track of sessions. Next up… Vegas!
Amy Rodriguez is the Conference Director at
Affiliate Summit.
1. Reputation
How often is the network spoken about
on the Internet? Are the media and blogs
portraying the network negatively or
positively? Why? Reputation and brand are
very important. Reputation is an indicator of
how they operate and perform. All networks
say they have the best of whatever they may
claim but how truthful is it really?
2. Ask About Tracking and Reporting
Which tracking software does the network
use? Is it an in-house system or third party
software? Do they have a backup system?
How do they generate and create subID
reports? Also, ensure that the network
software is secure and updated on a regular
basis.
3. Request a Temporary Account Prior
to Joining
Before joining a network, ask for a
temporary login or account. This gives you
a chance to view the interface and explore
offers, payouts, and more importantly to
test reporting/tracking. You do not want
to join a network and find out they do not
have the offers you want to promote. Even
What to Look For
in an Affiliate Network
There are a number of things you should look for when deciding
which networks to promote. Here are six areas I consider before
putting energy into a new network.
By Ian Fernando
worse that their tracking and reporting security and comfort when promoting an
system are not recording everything offer via the network.
accurately.
6. What are the Methods of Payment?
4. Diversity of Offers Check to see how you will be paid: PayPal,
How wide of a range of offers do they have? wire transfer, check, etc. If by check, how
How concentrated are they? Some networks is it delivered? How often are you paid?
are solely on particular niches, such as Weekly, bi-weekly, daily? What is the
UK offers, credit loans, and insurance. quota for such payments? Can you get
Others may have a wide variety of items to direct deposits? Inquire about the fees for
promote, from infant diapers to fashion and the direct deposits, if any. And if you are
clothing. There are also networks who cater located outside of the United States, do
to a little of everything but do not have a they securely ship checks or direct deposit
huge list of offers in each niche. You will internationally?
need to ask yourself what type of offers you
want to run. Take these steps to perform due diligence
on a network, and you will limit risks and
5. Talk to the Managers headaches down the road.
Is the affiliate manager friendly when you
speak to them? Are you able to small talk Ian Fernando is the Founder of IANternet
while on the phone? How many people Media LLC and Blogger/Affiliate Marketer at
did you talk to after signing up? You want IanFernando.com.
to talk and get the feel from the affiliate
manager or team members of the network.
Accessibility is also important – are you able
to reach representatives from the network
via email, phone, IM, Twitter, etc.? Access
and responsiveness will give you a sense of
FEEDFRONT MAGAZINE | JANUARY 2009 | 23
Call to Activation by Geno Prussakov
One of the keys to running a fruitful affiliate
program lies in understanding that not only
should there be a robust affiliate recruitment
strategy in place, but also a continuous
activation of the recruited affiliates into
becoming producing affiliates.
Affiliate activation is one of the most
frequently overlooked components of
affiliate program management, especially by
newly launched programs.
Sooner or later, every merchant realizes
that success is not measured by the numbers
of recruited affiliates, but rather by the
numbers of those whom are truly active.
Over the years of experimenting with
different ways of motivating affiliates, I have
realized that the best way to activate affiliates
is to expose them to activation offers in each
step of their interaction with the affiliate
program.
Just as banners with a clear call to action
outperform those that do not, affiliate
programs with a compelling call to activation
outshine other affiliate programs.
There are three phases of affiliate
engagement… the recruitment phase,
welcoming phase, and routine phase.
Recruitment Phase
Here you want to motivate affiliates to
not only join your program, but also to put
up your links and refer their first orders/
leads. This can be done by remunerating the
desired actions with a tangible bonus or a
commission increase.
This should be practiced throughout the
recruitment process - from the outgoing
e-mails soliciting affiliates to join the affiliate
program, to the very text of the program
description on the merchant’s website.
Welcoming Phase
Stop your reading here and take a new
look at the application approval e-mail that
you are currently sending. Do you sound
24 | JANUARY 2009 | FEEDFRONT MAGAZINE
Geno Prussakov chats with Lisa Picarille of Revenue Magazine
motivating enough for them to set aside
their other projects and put up a few links
for you? Does it inspire them to start a few
new paid search campaigns to generate a
couple of orders for your program within an
X number of days after signing up?
Convincing calls to activation in the
text of the welcome e-mails are like seeds
falling on fertile soil. It is evident just from
their application that they have intentions
of promoting you. They applied, and you
approved their application.
Don’t just send them a “welcome-aboard-
you’ll-love-working-with-us” message. Offer
them a reason to jump right on it, or you may
well be put at the very end of that endless
merchants-to-develop queue.
Routine Phase
It is the routine that has “an unbelievable
power to waste and destroy” (cf Henri de
Lubac). Do not waste your affiliates’ time
with predictable monthly newsletters. Turn
this part of your routine into fun for them.
Run especially aggressive monthly activation
Photos by Deb Carney
campaigns for the affiliates that are already in
your program, but are not yet performing.
The market of affiliate programs will
only continue to grow more and more
competitive. If you want your program to
succeed, make it stand out, and weave the
calls to activation into the very structure of it.
Geno Prussakov is the CEO of AM Navigator,
and author of “A Practical Guide to Affiliate
Marketing” and “Online Shopping Through
Consumers’ Eyes.”
Affiliate Summit 2009 West
Affiliate Marketing Listings
1115Media.com
Nothing for Sale!
I have absolutely nothing for sale!
Come on by WWW.1115MEDIA.COM for Mike Buechele’s insights
into the Affiliate Marketing, Online advertising and New Media
industries. Discuss some thought provoking questions about your
business and career path, and join the conversation for some fun.
Football picks every Friday. Mike’s new book on leadership and
motivation is coming soon along with a release party with a live
band in New York City. WWW.1115MEDIA.COM
AbeBooks, Inc.
Join the AbeBooks Affiliate program and make revenue by referring
your visitors to millions of books worldwide. We offer 90-day cookie
tracking, competitive tiered commission rates, free shipping on
millions of books with no minimum purchase, API availability, and
committed account management. AbeBooks is a leading online
marketplace for textbooks, new, used, rare and antiquarian books.
Visitors can easily find what they want, so whether you’re adding
links to a price comparison site, shopping portal, blog or personal
site, you can make extra revenue by referring buyers to AbeBooks.
Visit www.abebooks.com/docs/AffiliateProgram for more info.
AdHustler.com
AdHustler.com chronicles a serial internet entrepreneurs
experiences with making money online. Topics discussed include
affiliate marketing, search engines, social media, traditional media
and much more. Follow my case studies on new traffic sources and
make money learning from my failures and successes.
Adservice Media
Northern European affiliate network, one of the largest and
fastest-growing in Scandinavia, Huge network of high quality and
professional online media partners, Main focus on CPA, CPO and
CPC campaigns, State of the art efficient and user friendly partner
program. Visit us - www.adhustler.com
Advanta
Is your site frequented by small business owners, business
professionals or entrepreneurs? If so you should become a part of
the Advanta Affiliate program! One of the largest issuers of small
business credit cards, Advanta offers a legacy of experience and
success in the affiliate marketplace. Join our program and reap
benefits such as historically high conversion rates in the business
credit industry, a cookie window of 60 return days, a liberal keyword
bidding policy and a dedicated and experienced affiliate marketing
team. To learn more and meet our team, visit us at the Meet Market
on Sunday, January 11th!
AffiliateProgramAdvice.com
Services the UK and USA. Affiliate Marketing is about conversions.
We are more than just an affiliate management agency, we take the
holistic approach and look at all the aspects of your business. After
all, if you don’t make money, neither do we. Offering Consultancy
and service in all areas of E-commerce, are we any good? Read our
testimonials and then have a bit of a google.
aGoodCause.com
aGoodCause.com is amongst the world’s leading online shopping
sites. We’re: Active in 8 countries, Working with 5000 online brand
stores, Supporting 700 charities, Official partners with MySpace and
many other major strategic partners. More info on how to benefit as
an affiliate or merchant on www.agoodcause.com
AlexBet.com
AlexBet.com is a leading Graphic Design and Web Development
studio. We follow the latest trends and have years of experience
in the Affiliate Marketing industry working with both merchants
and affiliates. We make your websites work for you, not the other
way around. Our services include logo design, website design, web
templates, e-commerce websites, coupon websites, automated
affiliate websites, banners, posters, brochures, and practically
anything that has to do with graphic design or web development,
for both the web and print.
FEEDFRONT MAGAZINE | JANUARY 2009 | 25
Affiliate Summit 2009 West | Affiliate Marketing Listings
Anjani Square, Inc. (redtagdeals.com)
RedtagDeals.com is the leading destination for free coupons,
coupon codes and promotional offers to save money at thousands
of stores online. Grab the latest and most recent online coupon
codes for free at the mouse of a click and enjoy the savings on all
your shopping online.
Atherion Software
Atherion Software makes applications that help users protect
and secure their private information and identity, and maintain
and optimize the health and efficiency of their PCs. Founded
by software security and utility experts, Atherion’s background
includes experienced veterans from Microsoft, Aluria, McAfee, and
the financial industry. Affiliate Summit attendees can register for
free copies of Atherion products at www.atherionsoftware.com/
ASLV2009 through January 31, 2009.
AvantLink.com
AvantLink was founded on the basis of offering innovative technology
free of charge, a quality platform, brand protection, and exceptional
levels of partner support. We offer standard banner/text/html campaigns
in addition to robust reporting, integrated and advanced datafeed
solutions, tracking embedded RSS feeds, an Affiliate API and more. This is
a professional and comprehensive systems for top tier Affiliate marketers
and merchants alike.
B4Playing
We are affiliate marketers for over 9 years. We have developed our
techniques for doing SEO, PPC, Media buying and more. We are
always happy & looking to work with new programs, networks and
know new people in the online industry anyone is welcome to
contact me. Feel free to email me to itay@b4playing.com or Skype
me: itaypaz77
Backcountry.com
Backcountry.com is dedicated to being the best online retailer of the
best built outdoor and backcountry gear on the planet. We scour
the planet for the top gear you demand. In our stores, you’ll find
the best gear from top brands like The North Face, Black Diamond,
Mountain Hardwear, Arc’Teryx and more. With over 600 brands and
nearly 17,000 products, Backcountry.com offers a wide array of the
absolute best made gear including backpacking, camping, skiing,
snowboarding, rock climbing, kayaking, mountaineering gear and
more, all at competitive prices. If you can’t find a piece of gear on
Backcountry.com, its likely not a piece of gear you really need.
Barefoot Media, LLC
Anyone who’s done creative work knows it’s a bit like being at
sea. You can’t make the wind blow, but you can put up a sail.
Much more than just combined skills and talents, it takes a spirit
of interrelationship to harness the creative current. While our
backgrounds and experiences are diverse, we’ve collaborated
together in many contexts and we know how to maximize each
other’s strengths to deliver results. What you can expect from
Barefoot Media is uncompromising attention to detail and a
relentless commitment to excellence. Contact us for your email and
creative needs. www.barefootmedia.com
Blue Man Productions
Blue Man Group is the first top-tier live entertainment show to
offer its own direct affiliate program. They are best known for
their critically acclaimed theatrical performances that have been
described as a visually stunning, wildly inventive and hysterically
funny. Blue Man Affiliates benefit by selling a show that is widely
recognized and universally acknowledged as being one of the
highest quality entertainment experiences on the planet. Blue Man
Group Affiliates Enjoy: 5-7% commission on ticket sales, Advanced
web-based tracking and reporting, Custom website, landing pages
and video widgets, Start Selling Now and Earn $25 after 1st Sale and
$50 after 5th Sale To Join Visit www.bluemanaffiliates.com
Brandlet.com
Brandlet.com is an online fashion retailer featuring more than 100
of the best fashion brands with the latest styles for women. Expect
to find designer and brand name fashions, commonly found in
department and specialty stores, at a set price of $19.95 for all items.
From trendy to classic, juniors to misses, there is something for every
woman at Brandlet.com. In addition to every day savings at Brandlet.
com, we’re practically giving away top brands. Our “Deal of the Day”
marks down one item to just $1 every day, where early bird shoppers
will have the opportunity to buy one item at $1 until it is sold out. We
operate our own state of the art warehouse where everything we sell
is stocked. We ship every order by ourselves, not partnering with any
drop-shippers like many of our competitors do. If it’s on our site, it will
ship within 1 business day.
BrandVerity
Merchants, are your affiliates violating your PPC keyword policies?
Have you ever checked your search results from home in the
evenings? Have you ever asked a friend to conduct a search from
a different city? PoachMark monitors search ads for you. You
input your PPC policy and PoachMark alerts you when it discovers
advertisers violating your policy. PoachMark captures dayparting,
reverse-geotargeting, and the use of source-masking redirects.
PoachMark visits every website to find which advertisers are
your affiliates. You get a full picture of who is buying ads on your
terms. Stop trademark poaching now! Learn more at http://www.
brandverity.com
Broderick Street Partners LLC
Broderick Street Partners is a major affiliate marketer focused on
financial services. We promote loans and financial products on
both ends of the credit spectrum via paid-search campaigns. If you
are looking for a high quality and potent affiliate to promote your
financial product, please call us at 415-244-6101.
Buckingham, Doolittle & Burroughs, LLP
Buckingham, Doolittle & Burroughs, LLP offers comprehensive
intellectual property and litigation legal services to national and
international clients. With offices in Ohio and Florida, our attorneys
focus on developing cost-effective solutions to the challenges
facing our clientele today. We provide experienced representation in
intellectual property, licensing, and IP litigation relating to the areas
of cyber law, trademark, copyright, unfair competition, trade secrets,
patented technology, and computer software matters. Our clientele
ranges from the national and international corporations to the local
entrepreneur, throughout the United States and abroad, in virtually
every industry and trade.
CDF Networks
CDFnetworks.com is one of the oldest and most respected affiliate
marketing and pay per click blogs. Stop by for a no nonsense
view of PPC marketing from an experienced super affiliate. No
paid reviews or fluff posts, just good content that you’ll want to
read. We also feature a section with the latest PPC coupons. www.
cdfnetworks.com
CleverMoms, LLC
CleverMoms.com has been offering consumers coupons, deals, and
sales, for over 800 online merchants, since 1999. CleverMoms and has
been featured in Woman’s Day, Woman’s World, NBC, ABC, CBS and
more! Be sure to visit CleverBabies.com and CleverDads.com too!
ClickLeasing.com
ClickLeasing.com is the premier online marketing firm and domain
leaser. ClickLeasing guarantees quality traffic and quality domains to
our partners and customers. ClickLeasing.com - Guaranteed Results
Instantly.
CopierSupplyStore.com
Affiliate Marketers! Looking for a High Converting Offer? Start
promoting the world’s largest toner and office supply website.
Affiliates can earn additional revenue by monetizing your existing
B2B traffic or get a high converting keyword lists for PPC campaigns.
The CopierSupplyStore.com has been a Brick-and-Mortar business
for over 30 years. I created this affiliate program for a few reasons
one, I realized how well it was converting and knew some affiliates
would be stoked when they found this offer. And two, we use
reliable 3rd party networks for payment. Monthly bonuses are
available, so please come take a look.
Copperstar Content
Copperstar Content is building two theme networks and is looking
for affiliate partners with exposure in the travel industry. Please
contact Robb Vaules (robb@copperstar.com) for more information.
D and D Marketing, Inc
(dba: T3leads)
T3Leads.com is an important lead generation company based
in Sherman Oaks, California. Centered around Pay-Per-Lead, we
manage webmasters with a generation model that produces
what advertisers really need to be successful. Our search engine
optimizers work to produce high quality leads, insuring the success
of the network. Leads generated in many categories payout
between 1 and 60 dollars to affiliates. Categories included are:
Payday Loans, Auto Loans, Debt Settlement, Mortgage, Insurance,
Home Improvement and others. In business since 2003, T3Leads has
built momentum, expertise and understanding in the operations of
lead generation.
Edmunds.com
Join the Edmunds.com Affiliate Program on Commission Junction!
What is Edmunds.com? The premier online resource for automotive
consumer information and the #1 source of new car leads in the
industry. Who are Edmunds.com publishers? Auto enthusiast,
car buying advice and financial advice sites. What is Edmunds.
com’s offer? $4.75 for every completed new car lead form, custom
commission terms to top publishers, bonus incentive programs,
high EPC and conversion rate, 30 day referral period, over 100
available links and a monthly publisher newsletter Who do I contact
with questions? David Camacho, Affiliate Marketing Manager,
dcamacho@edmunds.com
FEEDFRONT MAGAZINE | JANUARY 2009 | 27
Affiliate Summit 2009 West | Affiliate Marketing Listings
Entertainment Magazine
Entertainment Magazine (EMOL.org) has been online since 1995 with
entertainment news and features, free movie downloads and casual
games. Every day between 20-30,000 unique visitors from more than
150-200 countries visit EMOL.org and EntertainmentMagazine.net,
the dynamic RSS section of the website. Entertainment Magazine, a
print publication established in the Southwest US in 1977, is entire
online with daily updates. EMOL.org partners with advertisers and
freelancers around the world.
Finish Line
Finish Line is a leading athletic retailer offering the best selection
of brand name footwear, apparel and accessories. The company
operates over 700 stores in 47 states and online at www.finishline.
com. Finish Line’s affiliate program offers commission on all
purchases made online including gift cards. FinishLine.com always
offers Free in store pick-up as well as free returns to any of our 700
stores. Join the FinishLine.com affiliate program today or email
Rob Gough (rgough@finishline.com) to grow your Finish Line
partnership!
Football Fanatics
Football Fanatics is leading the way in officially licensed
merchandise for NCAA, NFL, MLB, NHL, NBA and NASCAR. We have
a huge selection of jerseys, shirts, hats, collectibles, memorabilia
and more. We have over 70,000 items available and many more on
the way! Become part of the winning team and gain immediate
access to 1,600+ unique banners, video ads and a 70,000+ item data
feed. You can join us on ShareASale, Commission Junction or our
in-house program.
Geeks.com
Since 1996, Geeks.com has been one of the leading online direct-
to-consumer computer products retailer, specializing in excess
inventory, manufacturer-closeouts, daily computer specials, high-
demand and unusual computer components, peripherals, and
accessories. As one of the Top 500 Web Retailers for 2007, Geeks.
com ships a huge selection of inventory from its 160,000 square
foot Oceanside, California-based fulfillment center to a dedicated
following of tech-savvy, “Geeky” consumers. Geeks.com Affiliate
Program offers a dedicated Program Manager, data feeds, widgets,
custom-branded coupon codes, competitive compensation and
more. For more information contact Anita York, Anita@geeks.com.
28 | JANUARY 2009 | FEEDFRONT MAGAZINE
HDRwalls.com
HDRwalls.com offers a welcome change from hum-drum single
color desktop backgrounds or the limited selection of built-in OS
wallpapers. They currently have about 350 High Dynamic Range
(HDR) photos in resolutions ranging from 800x600 to 1920x1200
for free download. They also provide sizes for iPod Touch, PSP,
Blackberry, and iPhone. HDR photography is the result of increasing
the dynamic range of a photo through tone mapping and
combining multiple exposures.
HLOLA.com
HLOLA, a Conversion Tracking for PPC Affiliates reveals valuable
information that can dramatically improve your campaigns.
Discover profitable keywords and the actual search terms people
used to find you; Check out your campaign’s monthly, weekly, or
daily trends; and Learn about your most converting traffic sources
and can target your campaigns more efficiently. HLOLA is extremely
flexible... It supports ALL Affiliate/CPA networks, works with or
without a website, and is compatible with all major search engines.
Learn more here: http://hlola.com. Enter ‘ASEAST09’ as the promo
code to get a 50% discount.
IANternet Media LLC
We have access to hundreds of reputable advertisers, access to the
most exclusive offers, and provide the highest payouts! Does that
not sound familiar? Almost as if EVERY other network said the same
thing. Before you join a network, be sure to get another affiliate’s
opinion on them. Be satisfied with the network you are joining and
not just the marketing hype. AFFpinions.com has real opinions from
real affiliates on networks and their own experiences. Don’t believe
all the affiliate marketing myths; get the REAL stories from REAL
affiliates! AFFpinions.com.
InspireMeToday.com
Inspire Others and Build Residual Affiliate Income! Receive your
unique affiliate code and when your referrals join InspireMeToday.
com, you will receive a very generous 50/50 residual payout
indefinitely! Visit InspireMeToday.com/Summit for complete details.
Each day we feature inspiration from a different Luminary. Business,
motivation, health, wealth, relationships, lifestyle, etc... including
Jack Canfield (Chicken Soup for the Soul), Michael Gerber (E-Myth),
Dr. Bernie Siegel (Love, Medicine and Miracles), Dr. John Dimartini
(The Secret), Janet Attwood (The Passion Test) and hundreds more.
From engaging interviews to a short motivational text or just the
quote of the day, it’s a win-win for everyone.
iRetired Media Inc.
Through our network of retirement planning, insurance, and finance
related Web sites, iRetired Media provides business strategy and
performance based marketing solutions.
iSpionage.com
Discover Profitable Niches without Spending a Dime! With
iSpionage, you will: Save time researching multiple niches at the
same time, Significantly increase your chance of finding profitable
niches, Write high click-through-rate ad copy in less time and lower
your CPC, Discover profitable keywords that your competitors are
bidding on now, Get alerted when others started to encroaching
your territory, your data is guaranteed accurate and refreshed daily.
This program delivers all the intel you need to dramatically save you
time, prevent competitors from stealing your customers while you
steal theirs.
Kites In Season
KitesInSeason.com is a new community information website for
the single and dual line kite fliers, from beginners to experts. Join
the community now and you can get started uploading photos,
chatting in the forum, sharing tips, giving and receiving advice from
fellow kite fliers, and blogging about recent articles or videos. We’ll
be doing reviews on some kite books, and also offering you a place
to get your kiting needs filled. Remember€¦ Once you have a breeze
you’ll have kites in season
Long Marketing
Discover the truly incredible potential of China’s massive customer
base for internet marketing! Now, you are aware that in 2008, the
Chinese mainland’s internet population had reached 253 million
and this increasingly wealthy country is seeing explosive growth
of online shopping. Compared with the USA, the penetration
rate in China is still very low (19.1%) and with more than 200 new
internet users every minute, imagine how you can begin to easily
profit with the Chinese consumer. Now, for free information on
how you can reach this budding goldmine of internet riches, go to
AFFILIATEMARKETINGCHINA.COM
Mary M Henderson LLC
Cover yourself in style with the best umbrellas at www.
affordableumbrellas.com and after a walk on the beach rest
luxuriously in your favorite hammock purchased at www.
myaffordablehammocks.com. Check it out; it’s just the best.
mgecom, inc.
Has your affiliate program grown stagnant? ROI reached a plateau?
Is your affiliate channel no longer effective? At mgecom, inc.,
our priority is to deliver measureable results through your affiliate
program. By managing your program with an individualized focus,
implementing effective recruitment strategies, and targeting
goals relevant to your core business, we will effectively increase
your revenue. Choose a partnership with mgecom, experts in
outsourced affiliate program management. Contact us for a free
consultation at www.mgecom.com, info@mgecom.com, or (877)
447-1541.
MyCoupons.com LLC
MyCoupons.com offers Advertisers Unique Opportunities. We
offer Coupon Codes for Individual Stores and a Shopping Engine
to showcase products, Couparison Shopping. We consistently are
Top Performers for our network partners. Advertisers have the
opportunity to work directly with us to create customized programs,
increasing their Traffic and receiving a better ROI. Mycoupons.com
offers every advertiser the same opportunities no matter the size of
your company. Our team focus is Personal Attention for Advertisers
and their business goals. We customize each program to maximize
the Revenues you receive from your MyCoupons program. For
details contact us at sales@mycoupons.com or call 866-383-7890.
Needzilla.com
Looking for a way to get more eyes on your product or service?
Needzilla.com is the next generation of online social classifieds
introducing a third party to internet transactions. By utilizing our
website you gain free access to an unlimited sales force of Bounty
Hunters. Name your bounty today and take advantage of this new
and amazing opportunity!
Omaha Steaks
Omaha Steaks® Shipping Great Gourmet ¦ Everywhere ¦ Every
Day. Our popular white coolers can be seen circling the globe
on missions of culinary delight. Known both nationwide and
internationally for providing the finest in premium beef and
exceptional gourmet foods, Omaha Steaks grew from a very
humble beginning in 1917 as a custom butcher shop. Yet today
the company is America’s largest direct response marketer of
premium gourmet food gifts. Join our affiliate program today and
start earning $$$. Visit www.OmahaSteaks.com/affiliate for more
information.
FEEDFRONT MAGAZINE | JANUARY 2009 | 29
Affiliate Summit 2009 West | Affiliate Marketing Listings
Phoenix Publishing Group
Hey everyone, just thought I’d use this space to tell you about a
great new program that will help you save up to 80% on all of your
travel. I used it to get a $500 upgrade at the Seaport Hotel for
Affiliate Summit Boston. Check out the Discount Travel examples
and then contact me if you’re interested in becoming an affiliate.
This really does work and it’s a lot of fun too. You can get the
full story on how you can save big bucks every time you travel at
www.HomeVacationBusiness.com.
priceline.com
Priceline.com is one of the most recognized names in the online travel
space. We have relationships with all the major, name brand suppliers
customers know and trust. We offer a wide variety of travel affiliate
programs to help you earn money selling airline tickets, hotel room,
rental cars, and vacation packages on your web site. Whether you’re
looking to make money by selling Priceline branded travel products
on your web site, build your own branded travel web site, or get
access to our inventory through our travel XML solutions, we have a
product for you! Visit www.priceline.com/affiliates
Professional Cash
At ProCash we believe EVERY affiliate is important. Whether you’re
a beginner or advanced marketer, we want to offer you as much
help and assistance as possible. We have an extensive promotional
materials area with banners, articles, tips, and more. We’re available
to help you directly with PPC, SEO, Email marketing, and any other
training or assistance you may need. You can promote all our public
records niche products with a clear conscience knowing you are
providing people with a valuable quality product at a fair price. You’ll
be rewarded VERY well with up to 75% commission on every sale.
Puritan’s Pride & Vitamin World
Now is the time to join Puritan’s Pride & Vitamin World’s affiliate
programs! Q1 is our peak season, which means more commission
for you! For more information on our programs visit: Puritan’s
Pride: http://affiliate.puritan.com/ and Vitamin World: http://www.
vitaminworld.com/pages/affiliate.asp?
R3R
R3R is a web business consulting agency. We work on both sides
of the affiliate marketing aisle – as affiliates and as merchants. So
we use our experience and expertise to help small businesses build,
promote, and monetize websites. Our strong background in lead
generation for service industries (i.e.: law, insurance, accounting,
etc.) comes from operating a number of related publishing sites. In
2005 we helped launch a major new in-house affiliate program for a
nationwide insurance brokerage (CLICKinsure.com). We continue to
manage all aspects of the program as outsourced program managers
(OPM).
30 | JANUARY 2009 | FEEDFRONT MAGAZINE
Red Tag Technologies
Red Tag Technologies develops social media applications. Through
our portfolio of web-based products, we provide our clients with
the tools and resources to establish monetized online social
communities. For more info, please visit our website at http://www.
redtagtech.com. Build, Promote, Monetize. We can help.
Round Sky, Inc
We generate and sell exclusive Payday leads, Debt Settlement leads,
and Auto Loan leads. Visit www.LeadHorizon.com for details!
ScrapbookersInnerCircle.com
Connect with a worldwide circle of interesting people who
enjoy scrapbooking, the most versatile hobby of all. www.
ScrapbookersInnerCircle.com appeals to dedicated scrapbook
aficionados, those who take this pastime to a high level of in-
depth collecting and inspired creativity. Post questions, create a
blog, upload photos. We’re a venue of dedicated people sharing
interesting ideas, motivating each other and perfecting our craft.
We’re eager to meet you and gain from your contributions, so join
now to get started and receive our gift for joining, six-podcasts of
helpful scrapbook lessons.
SkinCareRx.com
SkinCareRx is an active retailer of professional skin care products,
including: Obagi, iS Clinical, Glytone, M.D. Forte, and many more.
Our Partner, SkinBotanica sells only 100% natural beauty products.
Both sites share the same shopping cart. Our Affiliate Benefits
include: 20% commissions on all sales, average order of $110, 45-
day action referral period, and free shipping on orders over $49.
Visit SkinCareRx.com today to see what we have to offer, and receive
10% off your entire purchase. Enter SUMMIT at checkout (expires
February 28, 2009)
Top Toys for Kids
Top Toys for Kids, www.top-toys-kids.com, is excited to be attending
Affiliate Summit West. We look forward to meeting with our
merchants and fellow publishers.
TrainSignal.com
TrainSignal.com Affiliate Program: Our
company creates “real-world scenario based”
computer training materials so your website
visitors can prepare for IT certification
exams. Our training is used worldwide by
individuals, small/medium business, some
of the largest corporations in the world,
educational institutions, governments
and a favorite of the US Military. We value
our affiliates and encourage them to
concentrate on marketing techniques that
we can’t allocate the resources to or don’t
have the expertise to manage in house. Our
affiliate program is exclusive on ShareASale,
has high conversions, 20%+ commissions,
product data feed and professional
management by Andy Rodriguez
Consulting.
TribanBiz Inc
How many Bloggers ARE NOT using
WordPress? Too few to mention. THE REST
ARE YOUR POTENTIAL BUYERS! proudly
Introducing WP Affiliate Elite http://www.
wpaffiliateelite.com/ Join Our Affiliate
Program - Earn 45% Of Each Sale You Make
With WP Affiliate Elite EVERY KEYWORD
on your Blog can turn into an Affiliate link.
No programming knowledge is required.
Takes only 3 minutes to install. Hides your
affiliate links to avoid losing commissions.
Pre made link style included! Track each
click making it easy to analyze which are the
most profitable.
WattBuzz.com
Introducing an exciting new deal site:
WattBuzz.com! This deal site is specifically
Women’s Tennis Apparel Zynali Incorporated
targeted to professionals in the low voltage
electronics industry. Whether you’re
My name is Cheri Britton and I am the owner The world of online gambling is filled with
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 Thank You
Affiliate Summit West
2009 Sponsors
PLATINUM SPONSOR

GOLD SPONSOR

SILVER SPONSOR

BRONZE SPONSOR

Listen to sessions from Affiliate Summit East 2008 free at GeekCast.fm

FEEDFRONT MAGAZINE | JANUARY 2009 | 33

Affiliate Summit West | 2009 Agenda
Sunday, January 11
Booth Setup
Location: Exhibit Hall Area - Pavilion 1-7
Exhibitor Move In: 9:00am - 6:00pm
Registration
Location: Registration Office Space #2
Time: 8:30am - 6:00pm
Affiliate Meet Market
Location: Pavilion 8-11
Time: 12:00pm - 6:00pm
Exhibitor Move In: 9:00am - 12:00pm
Affiliate Summit kicks off with an extended session of structured,
face to face networking. Merchants will have tables set to meet
with affiliates to discuss their affiliate programs and cut deals.
Vendors that cater to affiliates and merchants will also have tables
to share information about their products and services. Each table
is a meeting spot for teaching, learning, closing deals, creating
partnerships and finding new opportunities.
Affiliate Strategies for Traffic Generation and Monetization
Session 1a
Location: Classroom A - Brasilia 1-3
Time: 12:00pm-1:00pm
(This Session is Open to Gold and Platinum Pass Holders Only)
Affiliate marketers on popular issues like PPC and SEO optimization,
content and website strategies, monetizing long-tail traffic and
emailing. Moderated session, includes a Q&A with the audience.
• Andrew Wee, Founder, WhoIsAndrewWee.com (Moderator)
• Miles Baker, President, MarketingWithMiles.com
• Geordie Carswell, Founder, Diversion Marketing
• Nick Koscianski, President, NickyCakes.com
34 | JANUARY 2009 | FEEDFRONT MAGAZINE
Advanced Approaches to Affiliate Recruiting,
Training & Management
Session 1b
Location: Classroom B - Brasilia 4-7
Time: 12:00pm-1:00pm
(This Session is Open to Gold and Platinum Pass Holders Only)
Dual presentation on advanced techniques, strategies and ideas
for affiliate training and management. This enlightening, and
entertaining session will help you improve and grow your affiliate
program.
• Heather Paulson, President, Paulson Management Group
• Geno Prussakov, CEO, AM Navigator LLC
Chat Delivers: More Sales, More Affiliate Revenues
Session 1c
Location: Classroom C - Miranda 5-6
Time: 12:00pm-1:00pm
(This Session is Open to Gold and Platinum Pass Holders Only)
Learn from presented case studies and analysis how online chat
technology increases sales conversions 8-15% while delivering more
earnings to affiliates. Everybody wins.
• Lisa Riolo, Founder, Hammock Ventures (Moderator)
• Jacquie Matzat, Marketing Manager, Your Baby Can Read, LLC
• Durk Price, President, eAccountableOPM
• Glenn Russell, Co-Founder and CEO, UpSellit.com
• Alan Weissman, Owner, MyNursingUniforms.com
Affiliate Marketing in 2009
Session 1d
Location: Classroom D - Miranda 7-8
Time: 12:00pm-1:00pm
(This Session is Open to Gold and Platinum Pass Holders Only)
This panel of well-known industry experts will address the current
state of affiliate marketing and will discuss future trends and
expected growth patterns.
• Kristopher B. Jones, President & CEO, Pepperjam (Moderator)
• Gary Ackerman, President, M3 Mobile Marketing
• Rae Hoffman, CEO, Sugarrae & MFE Interactive
• Linda Woods, President & CEO, PartnerCentric, Inc.
Affiliates & Internal Search: Recipe for Disaster?
Session 2a
Location: Classroom A - Brasilia 1-3
Time: 1:30pm-2:30pm
(This Session is Open to Gold and Platinum Pass Holders Only)
Google’s rules are often misunderstood, causing turf wars
between the affiliate channel & search teams. Learn through real
world examples how to maximize affiliate search & internal search
programs.
• Tony Pantano, CEO, Imwave, Inc.
Future of Affiliate Marketing - Offline
Session 2b
Location: Classroom B - Brasilia 4-7
Time: 1:30pm-2:30pm
(This Session is Open to Gold and Platinum Pass Holders Only)
Purpose of presentation is to outline our vision or the future of
affiliate marketing and seeing an expansion of affiliate marketing
to offline transactions and offline media channels (publishers).
• Jonathan Treiber, EVP Biz Dev & Co-founder, RevTrax
The Black Ink Session
Session 2c
Location: Classroom C - Miranda 5-6
Time: 1:30pm-2:30pm
(This Session is Open to Gold and Platinum Pass Holders Only)
Behind-the-scenes review of one of Jeremy Palmer’s successful
affiliate sites. Learn how to plan, develop and market your own
profitable affiliate site with a hands-on case study.
• Jeremy Palmer, President, Quit Your Day Job, LLC
The Ultimate Pitching Guide
Session 2d
Location: Classroom D - Miranda 7-8
Time: 1:30pm-2:30pm
(This Session is Open to Gold and Platinum Pass Holders Only)
Experts share their best (and most outrageous) secrets for getting
attention from merchants, media and the masses. You’ll learn the
tips, tricks and techniques to get the attention you seek.
• Lisa Picarille, Publisher & Editor-in-Chief, Revenue
Magazine (Moderator)
• Anita Campbell, Editor-in-Chief, SmallBizTrends.com
• Jim Kukral, Owner, TheBizWebCoach.com
• Peter Shankman, Founder, Help a Reporter (HARO)
Automating Websites and PPC Management
Session 3a
Location: Classroom A - Brasilia 1-3
Time: 3:00pm-4:00pm
(This Session is Open to Gold and Platinum Pass Holders Only)
Learn advanced concepts for automating daily website tasks
(such as downloading stats, uploading changes, etc.) without
access to an API.
• John Hasson, President, JAH Media, LLC
Developing The Right Merchant Mindset
Session 3b
Location: Classroom B - Brasilia 4-7
Time: 3:00pm-4:00pm
(This Session is Open to Gold and Platinum Pass Holders Only)
Affiliate programs don’t run well on auto pilot. Many merchants
start down the road of affiliate marketing because they heard or
read somewhere how profitable it could be.
• Andy Rodriguez, President, Andy Rodriguez Consulting Inc
Beyond Customer Acquisition: Opportunities Affiliates Can Bring
Session 3c
Location: Classroom C - Miranda 5-6
Time: 3:00pm-4:00pm
(This Session is Open to Gold and Platinum Pass Holders Only)
Session highlights examples where merchant/affiliate
collaboration sparked tremendous growth including improving
overall site conversion; identifying hot product trends; and
translating online success into offline retail sales.
• Angel Djambazov, OPM, Custom Tailored Marketing
Ethical Issues in Affiliate Marketing
Session 3d
Location: Classroom D - Miranda 7-8
Time: 3:00pm-4:00pm
(This Session is Open to Gold and Platinum Pass Holders Only)
There are two sides to ethical issues in affiliate marketing, and we
will entertain audience questions for a panel of industry leaders.
• Haiko de Poel, Jr., Managing Partner, dp Internet
services, LLC DBA ABestWeb (Moderator)
• Connie Berg, CEO, FlamingoWorld.com, LLC
• Chuck Hamrick, Affiliate Manager, affiliateCREW.com
• Brian Littleton, President / CEO, ShareASale.com
• Paul Nichols, Director of Sales, Ebates.com
Affiliate Summit Mentor Program Meet-up
Location: Brasilia 1-3
Time: 6:30pm - 7:30pm
Affiliate Summit Hospitality Room Open
Location: Patio/Miranda 1&2
Time: 9:00pm - 12:00am
FEEDFRONT MAGAZINE | JANUARY 2009 | 35
 Affiliate Summit West | 2009 Agenda

Whitehat Linkbuilding Strategies: Beginner to Advanced Luncheon The Future of Performance Marketing: The Evolution (part 1)
Session 4a Location: Pavilion 8-11 Session 5b

Monday, January 12 Location: Classroom A - Brasilia 1-3

Time: 11:30am-12:30pm
(This Session is Open to Platinum Pass Holders Only)
Continental Breakfast It’s no secret, links matter. We’ll present everything from basic
directory linkbuilding to advanced tactics like .edu & authority
Location: Pavilion 8–11 linkbuilding. Discussion will include all above board, clean tactics.
Time: 9:00am - 6:00pm • Wil Reynolds, Associate, SEER Interactive
Time: 12:30pm-1:45pm
(Lunch is Open to Platinum Pass Holders Only)
Location: Classroom B - Brasilia 4-7
Time: 2:00pm-3:00pm
(This Session is Open to Platinum Pass Holders Only)
Organic SEO Site Review We will start with a short presentation and then these industry
Session 5a leaders will continue with an open discussion about the evolution
Location: Classroom A - Brasilia 1-3 of affiliate marketing into performance marketing. Panelists will
Time: 2:00pm-3:00pm continue in Session 6b with: “What’s Next”.

(Breakfast is Open to Platinum Pass Holders Only) (This Session is Open to Platinum Pass Holders Only) • Larry Adams, Product Manager, Google
SEO review of audience members sites with real feedback and
Affiliate Marketing 2009: What Really Works Now direction on how to improve their rankings in the SERPs. • Scott Jangro, President, MechMedia, Inc.
Coffee Service Session 4b • Jim Jessup, Direct Marketing, Yahoo!
Location: Classroom B - Brasilia 4-7 • Scott Polk, Senior SEO Analyst, Bruce Clay, Inc. (Moderator)
Location: Pavilion 8–11 Time: 11:30am-12:30pm • Eric Lander, Organic Search Manager, ADP, Inc. • Steve Schaffer, Founder/CEO, Vertive, Inc.
Time: 10:00am–12:30pm (This Session is Open to Platinum Pass Holders Only) • Carolyn Shelby, Director of Natural Search, CShel
In this highly interactive session, affiliate marketing veteran Ola
and 2:00pm–6:00pm Edvardsson takes a fresh look at what really works in the affiliate • David Snyder, Co-Founder, Search & Social, LLC
marketing space.
Registration • Ola Edvardsson, CEO, Performancy
Location: Registration Office Space #2
Reaching Aggressive Goals without Monetary Incentives
Time: 8:30am - 6:00pm
Session 4c
Location: Classroom C - Miranda 5-6
Time: 11:30am-12:30pm

Bloghaus/Press Room (This Session is Open to Platinum Pass Holders Only)

Location: Miranda 3
Time: 8:30am - 6:00pm
The Bloghaus is an area reserved for credentialed bloggers/press to
grab some desk space, blog, interview, relax and network.
• Julie Vazquez, Blogger, JuliesJournal.com (Blog Mistress)
This session outlines how to best manage affiliate relationships to
reach major revenue goals without additional budget. Tactics focus
on non-monetary incentives to increase affiliate performance.
• Chris Kramer, Co-Founder and Media Director,
NETexponent (Moderator)
• Darren Eilers, Founder & CEO, DME Media, LLC

Exhibit Hall • David Lewis, CEO & Founder, Cashbaq

Location: Exhibit Hall Area - Pavilion 1-7
Time: 10:00am - 5:00pm
Opening Remarks & Keynote
Location: General Session Room - Brasillia 1-7
Time: 9:45am - 10:45am
• Jim Kukral, Owner, TheBizWebCoach.com (MC)
• Gary Vaynerchuk, Director of Operations, Wine Library
(Keynote)
(This Session is Open to Gold and Platinum Pass Holders Only)
• Kevin Smith, Affiliate Marketing and Business Development
Manager, Brown Shoe Co. -- Shoes.com
Advertising on Facebook
Session 4d
Location: Classroom D - Miranda 7-8
Time: 11:30am-12:30pm
(This Session is Open to Platinum Pass Holders Only)
Learn about advertising on Facebook and how affiliates can reach
over 100 million members. Join us for a panel discussion including a
Facebook representative covering all you need to know.
• Dan Murray, Internet Marketing Strategist, Ravenwood
Marketing, Inc. (Moderator)
• Zac Johnson, President / CEO, MoneyReign Inc.
• Alex Schultz, Facebook

36 | JANUARY 2009 | FEEDFRONT MAGAZINE


The 100% Open Rate Solution
Session 5c
Location: Classroom C - Miranda 5-6
Time: 2:00pm-3:00pm
(This Session is Open to Platinum Pass Holders Only)
Mobile marketing is the most direct “direct marketing”. In this
session, I will demonstrate why all merchants and affiliates should,
and will soon be, using mobile marketing.
• Joel Comm, CEO, TextCastLive, Inc.
Affiliate Videos: Where Do They Work Best?
Session 5d
Location: Classroom D - Miranda 7-8
Time: 2:00pm-3:00pm
(This Session is Open to Platinum Pass Holders Only)
How are videos being used by affiliates and merchants? A detailed
look into how and where they are performing best with suggested
hints and tips to drive better click through and conversions.
• Marty M. Fahncke, President, FawnKey & Associates
(Moderator)
• Michael Jenkins, CEO/Founder, MarketLeverage
• Melissa Salas, Director of Marketing, Buy.com
• Jonathan Stefansky, EVP Sales and Marketing, Qoof
Landing Page Testing To Increase Conversions
Session 6a
Location: Classroom A - Brasilia 1-3
Time: 3:30pm-4:30pm
(This Session is Open to Platinum Pass Holders Only)
Landing Page Testing can lead to double digit conversion rate gains.
Learn how to test your pages to improve conversion, and attract
super affiliates without changing your payout structure.
• Tim Ash, CEO, SiteTuners.com
The Future of Performance Marketing: What’s Next (part 2)
Session 6b
Location: Classroom B - Brasilia 4-7
Time: 3:30pm-4:30pm
(This Session is Open to Platinum Pass Holders Only)
Industry leaders will continue their discussion about the future of
performance marketing. How will the industry change? Who will lead
the growth? This is a continuation of Session 5b: “The Evolution”.
• Larry Adams, Product Manager, Google
• Scott Jangro, President, MechMedia, Inc.
• Jim Jessup, Direct Marketing, Yahoo!
38 | JANUARY 2009 | FEEDFRONT MAGAZINE
• Steve Schaffer, Founder/CEO, Vertive, Inc.
Mobile Web Opportunities
Session 6c
Location: Classroom C - Miranda 5-6
Time: 3:30pm-4:30pm
(This Session is Open to Platinum Pass Holders Only)
The mobile internet is growing fast. The session will cover business
opportunities, technical challenges, traffic sources and monetization
methods. It is aimed at both advertisers and affiliates.
• Peter Glaeser, Managing Director, Mobile Space Ltd.
Using Social Media for Commodity Affiliate Programs
Session 6d
Location: Classroom D - Miranda 7-8
Time: 3:30pm-4:30pm
(This Session is Open to Platinum Pass Holders Only)
Affiliate programs are a commodity biz: you compete based on SEO
or page design. We’ll explore other ways to approach your business,
including how to use social networks to gain the upper hand.
• Dave Taylor, Principal, Intuitive Systems
Affiliate Summit Pinnacle Awards Gala
Location: Brasilia 4-7
Time: 5:00pm - 6:30pm
The Affiliate Summit Pinnacle Awards Gala is affiliate marketing’s
most prestigious, competitive honor for the leaders in the space.
Award winners are recognized because they are innovative leaders
with vision and influence.
The following awards will be presented:
• Affiliate of the Year
• Affiliate Manager of the Year
• Exceptional Merchant
• Affiliate Marketing Advocate Award
• Best Blogger
• Affiliate Marketing Legend
In addition to honoring the award winners, the Affiliate Summit
Pinnacle Awards Gala is a networking cocktail reception.
Affiliate Summit Hospitality Room Open
Location: Brasilia 4-7
Time: 9:00pm - 12:00am
Affiliate Summit West | 2009 Agenda
• How to Boost Your Link Building Campaign: Assaf Igell,
Co-founder and Vice President, Syntryx Executive Solutions
Tuesday, January 13 • Mobile Marketing Best Practices: Consumer & Brand
Protection: Gary Ackerman, President, M3 Mobile Marketing
• Oldtimer Mentors: Skip Graham, President, Giant Head
Continental Breakfast
Interactive; Senior Partner, InterAdnet Response Marketing;
Location: Pavilion 8–11 Executive Director, The Internet Oldtimers Foundation
Time: 9:00am - 6:00pm • Social Networks: Dave Taylor, Principal, Intuitive Systems
(Breakfast is Open to Platinum Pass Holders Only) • Teaching Affiliates to Understand Conversion Metrics: Chuck
Hamrick, Affiliate Manager, affiliateCREW.com
Coffee Service
10 Success Strategies for Internet Marketers
Location: Pavilion 8–11 Session 7a
Location: Classroom A - Brasilia 1-3
Time: 10:00am–12:30pm
Time: 11:30am-12:30pm
and 2:00pm–6:00pm (This Session is Open to Platinum Pass Holders Only)
Internet Marketing has become increasingly complex. This
presentation will outline the multiple tactics available; and
Registration categorize them into one of ten focused strategies for marketing on
Location: Registration Office Space #2 the internet.
Time: 9:00am - 3:00pm • Jay Berkowitz, CEO, Ten Golden Rules
How to Monetize Your Site with Widgets
Session 7b
Bloghaus/Press Room Location: Classroom B - Brasilia 4-7
Location: Miranda 3 Time: 11:30am-12:30pm
Time: 8:30am - 6:00pm (This Session is Open to Platinum Pass Holders Only)
The Bloghaus is an area reserved for credentialed bloggers/press to This discussion by Amazon Associates will go over how to enhance
grab some desk space, blog, interview, relax and network. your site using various widgets, what works and what doesn’t, and
• • Julie Vazquez, Blogger, JuliesJournal.com (Blog Mistress) how effective different widgets are to your site. We’ll show you easy
ways you can implement widgets to monetize your site right away.
Exhibit Hall • Zahid Khan, Product Manager, Amazon
Location: Exhibit Hall Area - Pavilion 1-7
Time: 10:00am - 4:00pm
Super Affiliate PPC Marketing Strategies
Session 7c
Ask the Experts Location: Classroom C - Miranda 5-6
Location: Brasilia 4-7 Time: 11:30am-12:30pm
Time: 10:00 am-11:15am (This Session is Open to Platinum Pass Holders Only)
(This Session is Open to Platinum Pass Holders Only) In this panel, three top PPC super affiliates will reveal their exact
Ask the Experts will be an opportunity for merchants, networks and strategies. Learn how to effectively use Google, Yahoo and MSN to
affiliates to ask questions about various specialties and issues. drive inexpensive qualified traffic to any of your websites.
Handpicked experts will handle topics in their specialty, and • Anik Singal, CEO, Affiliate Classroom (Moderator)
conduct chats, answer questions and share opinions during this
networking and education session. • Rosalind Gardner, CEO, WebVista, Inc.
• Affiliate Created Video: Tricia Meyer, Owner, Sunshine Rewards • Colin McDougall, CEO, VEO 2.0 Elite Certification Course
• Creating Video Content for Affiliates: Jonathan Stefansky, • Amit Mehta, CEO, Performance Marketing Worldwide
EVP Sales and Marketing, Qoof
FEEDFRONT MAGAZINE | JANUARY 2009 | 39

Social Media Risks and Rewards
Session 7d
Location: Classroom D - Miranda 7-8
Time: 11:30am-12:30pm
(This Session is Open to Platinum Pass Holders Only)
This session will explore the potential risks in using social
networking and user-generated content for marketing campaigns,
and will give practical suggestions to help marketer’s campaigns
succeed.
• Gary Kibel, Partner, Davis & Gilbert LLP (Moderator)
• Shashi Bellamkonda, Social Media Swami, Network Solutions
• Will Haselden, Section Chief, Cyberfraud Section, Office of
the Attorney General, State of Florida
• Mike Kowal, Managing Director, Advertiser Services, LinkShare
• Jivan Manhas, President, Advaliant, a Division of MediaTrust
Luncheon
Location: Pavilion 8-11
Time: 12:30pm-1:45pm
(Lunch is Open to Platinum Pass Holders Only)
Driving Leads Through Smart Domain Development
Session 8a
Location: Classroom A - Brasilia 1-3
Time: 2:00pm-3:00pm
(This Session is Open to Platinum Pass Holders Only)
Are domains a part of your affiliate marketing strategy? If not, they
should be. Discover the power of direct navigation and learn how
domains can impact SEO/SEM.
• Monte Cahn, CEO & Founder, Moniker.com / SnapNames.com
Setting Quality Standards in Affiliate Marketing
Session 8b
Location: Classroom B - Brasilia 4-7
Time: 2:00pm-3:00pm
(This Session is Open to Platinum Pass Holders Only)
Join eBay for a discussion on improving the quality of its program,
from detecting and removing back hats to working more closely
with white hats to improve their affiliate marketing results.
• William Martin-Gill, Senior Manager, eBay Partner Network
Advanced Optimization for Landing Pages
Session8c
Location: Classroom C - Miranda 5-6
Time: 2:00pm-3:00pm
(This Session is Open to Platinum Pass Holders Only)
Learn how to optimize your landing pages and increase conversion
rates by 50-500% using simple techniques and technologies.
40 | JANUARY 2009 | FEEDFRONT MAGAZINE
Affiliate Summit West | 2009 Agenda
Get that competitive edge by increasing margins and return on (This Session is Open to Platinum Pass Holders Only) Affiliate Triathlon
marketing spend. PPC campaigns on blasting keywords to find profitable keywords. Sponsored by GetAds.com
Location: Brasilia 4-7
• Olivier Chaine, CEO & Founder, magnify360 (Moderator) • Ian Fernando, Founder, IANternet Media, LLC
Time: 4:30pm - 5:30pm
• Trevor Claiborne, Product Marketing Manager, Google The Affiliate Triathlon is a three event contest of skill, determination
Combating Fraud in Affiliate Marketing and dexterity open to all attendees at Affiliate Summit West 2009.
• Lisa Crossley Hunter, Senior Director CJ Search,
Commission Junction Session 9d
Location: Classroom D - Miranda 7-8 The winning athlete (highest cumulative score across the three
• Beth Kirsch, VP, Marketing and Business Development, Time: 3:15pm-4:15pm
competitions) will be awarded their choice of:
uAmplify
(This Session is Open to Platinum Pass Holders Only)
Discussion on new ways to keep affiliate programs safe from One non-corner, 10’ x 10’ exhibit hall booth (value: $5,195) at
Make an Impact in Governmental Affairs unethical merchant and affiliate practices. Reducing fraud frees up Affiliate Summit East 2009.* Four Platinum Passes (value: $4,996) for
Session 8d more money to be spent and earned in affiliate marketing. use at Affiliate Summit East 2009.*
Location: Classroom D - Miranda 7-8
• Todd Crawford, Owner, ToddTalks.com
Time: 2:00pm-3:00pm *Either prize can be sold or transferred to another person and
(This Session is Open to Platinum Pass Holders Only) • Kuba Poraj-Kuczewski, SVP Media Services, Affiliate Summit 2009 East, takes place in NYC on August 9-11, 2009.
Now that marketers are learning that policy matters, this panel EducationDynamics, LLC The entry fee for the Affiliate Triathlon is $100, which is donated
of political insiders will discuss what they need to do to have an directly to the National Breast Cancer Foundation.
• Joshua Sloan, Director of Online Marketing, 1&1 Internet, Inc.
impact?
• Ernie St. Gelais, CTO and Co-founder, LinkConnector
• Bennet Kelley, Founder, Internet Law Center (Moderator)
• Wright Andrews, Partner, Butera & Andrews
Managing Your Brand
Session 9a
Location: Classroom A - Brasilia 1-3
Time: 3:15pm-4:15pm
(This Session is Open to Platinum Pass Holders Only)
It is essential to monitor your online reputation, and this panel of
experts will explain how to manage your brand.
• Andy Beal, Founder, Trackur.com (Moderator)
• Fionn Downhill, CEO, Elixir Interactive
• Rob Key, CEO, Converseon, Inc.
• Lee Odden, CEO, TopRankMarketing.com
Understanding the UK Affiliate Landscape
Session 9b
Location: Classroom B - Brasilia 4-7
Time: 3:15pm-4:15pm
(This Session is Open to Platinum Pass Holders Only)
This session will cover the culture of affiliate marketing in the UK, as
well as statistics revealing growth rates, size of market and the latest
trends.
• James Little, Head of Affiliate Development, AffiliateFuture
The Art of Keyword Blasting
Session9c
Location: Classroom C - Miranda 5-6
Time: 3:15pm-4:15pm
 Amy Preis, Mike Allen, Ayako Bingham, Billy Kay, Matt
Burchard, James Tippins, Robyn Tippins, Brad Cooks, Tim
Jones (clockwise from bottom)

Dinner Table: Sarah Chow, Steve Hall, Ian

Fernando, Shawn Collins, Zac Johnson,
Reena Kamath, John Chow (clockwise
from bottom)
Ward
Photo by Missy

Missy Ward

Will Blog for Food by Shawn Collins

Affiliate Summit hosted a dinner in Las Vegas on September 19, 2008 during Blog World Expo.

The dinner took place at Wolfgang Puck’s Chinois, where dozens of bloggers got together for some
tasty food and shop talk.

Here are some action shots from the dinner, as well as dinner guests styling in their souvenir t-shirts
from the get together.

rd
Photo by Missy Wa
Will Blog for Food Shirts (Left to right) Amy Preis
Ward
Photo by Missy and Ayako Bingham, Tim Jones, jim Kukrai, John
Chow, Kim Rowley, Jen Goode
Lisa Picarille, Frank Eliason, Karen Garcia, Wade Tonkin, Connie Berg
Dan Gray, Gary Rosenweig, Dave Taylor, Micah Baldwin,
Jason Soto, Tris Hussey, Jim Kukral

42 | JANUARY 2009 | FEEDFRONT MAGAZINE FEEDFRONT MAGAZINE | JANUARY 2009 | 43


Keynote Bio
Gary Vaynerchuk
Gary Vaynerchuk, star of Wine Library TV, is Director of Operations at Wine Library
in Springfield, NJ. Gary’s love affair with wine began at a young age when he
started reading Robert Parker and Wine Advocate and blossomed over the years
as he traveled around the world to various wine-producing regions (his wife
remains blissfully unaware of this affair). But it troubled Gary to observe the
stuffiness of the industry-conceited sommeliers, snobby shopkeepers unwilling
(or unable) to educate their consumers, and seemingly mystical conventions all
combine to make wine seem intimidating to the uninitiated. Wine Library TV
seeks to change all that. Aimed at anyone interested in truly learning about wine,
from beginners to experts, young (above 21 of course) to old, Gary and the WLTV
community embrace the notion that wine can be enjoyed by all. In each episode,
Gary tastes wines on the fly-it is unrehearsed, unscripted, and off-the-cuff. As Gary
likes to say, he shoots from the hip, but always from the heart.
Gary Ackerman
Gary Ackerman currently serves as President of M3 Mobile
Marketing, where he is responsible for driving the overall strategy
and execution of sales, marketing, and operations. He has
positioned M3 Mobile as one of the leaders and experts in the
mobile marketing channel. Before joining M3 Mobile, Gary held
a number of senior level management positions where he was
primarily focused on new business development from large national
accounts. He also has experience in exploring and structuring
strategic partnerships with media, communications and technology
companies. During his downtime, Gary balances his wife, 2 kids and
his golf game in Collegeville, PA, a suburb of Philadelphia.
Larry Adams
Larry is a product manager for affiliate marketing for the Google
Affiliate Network, formerly known as Performics. He has been an
advocate for affiliate marketing within DoubleClick and Google as
well as the industry at large for the past five years. Prior to Google/
DoubleClick/Performics, he was an engineer and technical architect
for software and consulting companies specializing in eCommerce.
Larry graduated from Carnegie Mellon University in 1997 with
a bachelors degree in Industrial Management and a masters in
Information Systems.
Wright Andrews
Wright Andrews is founder of Butera & Andrews, a former
President of the American League of Lobbyists and was included
in Washingtonian Magazine’s Top 50 Lobbyists. His clients have
included numerous major corporations, trade associations,
Governors of various states. In the last several years, he had
managed teams of lobbyists for large, multi-million dollar lobbying
coalition efforts at both the federal and state levels. Andrews began
his career as Chief Legislative Counsel to Senator Sam Nunn and has
been featured on many television and radio programs dealing with
lobbying.
Tim Ash
Tim Ash is the President of SiteTuners, a leading landing page
optimization firm. During his 14 year involvement with the Internet,
Tim has worked with American Express, Sony Music, American
Honda, COMP USA, Harcourt Brace, Universal Studios, HomeGain,
Eaton, and Coach to develop successful Internet initiatives. He is
a highly-regarded speaker at Search Engine Strategies, Affiliate
Summit, and Internet World. Tim is a contributing columnist to
several publications including SearchEngineWatch. He received his
B.S. from UC San Diego “with highest distinction”. He also completed
his M.S. during his PhD. studies in computer science at UCSD.
He is the author of the Amazon bestselling book Landing Page
Optimization.
Speaker Bios
Miles Baker
Miles Baker blogs about Internet marketing methods at
MarketingWithMiles.com. He’s been marketing online full-time for
10 years doing everything from digital software sales, PPC, SEO, and
blogging, to consulting and affiliate management.
Andy Beal
Andy Beal is an internet marketing consultant specializing in search
engine marketing, online reputation management, and business
blogging. Considered one of the world’s most respected online
marketing experts, Andy has worked with many top companies
such as Motorola, GlaxoSmithKline, SAS, Lowes, Quicken Loans, and
NBC. Highly respected as a source of internet marketing advice,
Andy Beal has had articles published around the world, including
BusinessWeek, Search Engine Watch, Mashable, and Web Pro News.
He is the co-author of the critically acclaimed online reputation
management book Radically Transparent, editor of Marketing
Pilgrim, and founder of the online media monitoring service Trackur.
com.
Shashi Bellamkonda
Shashi Bellamkonda works for Network Solutions as the first-
ever Network Solutions “Social Media Swami”. Helped Network
Solutions aggressively move into the online space to listen to and
interact with its customers and win the 2008 SNCR Excellence in
New Communications Award for Online Reputation Management/
Corporate Division. A prolific Twitterer, blogger, and product
innovator, Shashi loves technology, testing new things and helping
people. A self-described “Internet junkie,” Shashi has presented
previously on “How to Sell Social Media to Your Boss” and “Social
Media tools for Small Business”. Shashi started his blog to keep his
many on and offline friends up to date on the coolest new things
to check out and answer their questions on social media and
technology from what to use and how, how to prevent popups, how
to avoid viruses, how to save computers from hackers, and the ever
popular “Why is my computer freezing?”
Connie Berg
Connie Berg is the Founder of FlamingoWorld.com which offers
discounts and coupons from online retailers, and ForMeToCoupon.
com a consolidated coupon data feed for affiliates covering most
major affiliate networks and almost 2000 merchants.. Through
the years, Connie has attended many affiliate marketing functions
and actively opposes unethical affiliates and practices within the
affiliate community. Connie is a member of several affiliate network
advisory panels and sometimes contributes to Revenews.com on
topics related to affiliate marketing. She is the winner of the 2004
Linkshare Golden Link Most Vocal Advocate Award and the 2008
Affiliate Summit Pinnacle Award – Affiliate of the Year Award.
FEEDFRONT MAGAZINE | JANUARY 2009 | 45

Jay Berkowitz
Jay Berkowitz is a dynamic marketing professional. He has managed
marketing departments for Fortune 500 brands: Sprint, Coca-
Cola and McDonald’s and successful dot-com eDiets.com. Mr.
Berkowitz is the author of the Ten Golden Rules of Online Marketing
Workbook, the host of the Ten Golden Rules of Internet Marketing
Podcast and Founder and CEO of www.TenGoldenRules.com, an
internet marketing consulting business based in South Florida. Ten
Golden Rules helps companies get more traffic to their websites and
convert that traffic to sales with a focus on improving internet profit.
Mr. Berkowitz is the immediate Past President of the American
Marketing Association South Florida and a founding Board Member
of SFIMA, the South Florida Interactive Marketing Association. Mr.
Berkowitz is a popular presenter at conferences and events such as
Affiliate Summit, The American Marketing Association, The Direct
Marketing Association, Search Engine Strategies, Ad-Tech, and the
CEO Executive Forum.
Monte Cahn
Monte Cahn is Founder and President of Moniker and also President
of SnapNames. The two companies form the Aftermarket and
Registrar Division for Oversee.net, the leading provider of Domain
Asset Management services, a complete set of business services
that help clients manage, protect and maximize the value of
their domains. At Moniker, Monte has pioneered domain name
aftermarket services since 1999, with a focus on delivering top-
notch security, customer service, and value added products and
services. He has more than 20 years of experience in the healthcare,
high-technology and Internet fields. Monte helped start the first
online domain brokerage business in 1996, and facilitated the
first domain name sale over $1 million dollars (Wallstreet.com)
and $2 million dollars (Autos.com). He co-developed the first IRS-
recognized domain appraisal system, and is the visionary behind
Live Domain Auctions. Monte Cahn is host of the weekly radio show,
Domain Masters, on WebmasterRadio.fm.
Anita Campbell
Anita Campbell is CEO of Small Business Trends, an online community
touching 250,000 small business owners each month. It is an award-
winning site, named to the Forbes Best of the Web (twice in 2005 and
2008), and receiving recognition from the Wall Street Journal and
MSNBC television. Integral to the success of the community is the
Small Business Trends network of experts – a group of small business
owners who share their expertise. Anita also hosts a weekly Internet
radio podcast show featuring 200+ interviews with small business
owners, entrepreneurs and stakeholders important to the small
business market. Anita is regularly quoted in the media, including
such publications as Fortune Magazine and the New York Times. Her
columns, articles and advice are regularly featured in sites such as
Inc Technology, the American Express OPEN Forum, and the PayPal
Online Merchant Network.
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Geordie Carswell
Geordie Carswell is a PPC super affiliate and author of the PPC Super
Affiliate Blog. He served as founding CEO of top affiliate network
and credit card processor RevenueWire. Between marketing
projects he continues to blog on affiliate marketing, PPC, and SEO at
GeordieCarswell.com.
Olivier Chaine
Olivier Chaine is founder/CEO magnify360, the leading provider of
self-learning, software-as-a-service (SaaS) marketing optimization
technology. Olivier was on the original team at LowerMyBills.com,
as VP of Technology/Web Ops before it was acquired by Experian for
$400+ million. Developing and launching the industry’s first user
behavior analysis system, Olivier helped LMB increase itsconversion
rate by over 200% and its site stability to over 99.9%. Now, as CEO
of magnify360, Olivier brings that same innovation, bringing true
1-to-1 personalization to the online user experience, enabling Web
sites to adapt in real-time to the behaviors of individual visitors.
Using next generation multivariate testing, real-time behavioral
targeting and predictive modeling, the magnify360 Platform:
PROFILEs individual visitors to websites, microsites and landing
pages, TARGETs the most relevant on-site experience to each visitor
in real-time and CONVERTs more visitors into leads and sales.
Trevor Claiborne
Trevor Claiborne is the Product Marketing Manager for Google
Website Optimizer. During his two years at Google, Trevor has
worked on projects ranging from helping the long tail of small
businesses advertise online using Google AdWords to helping
launch Google Ad Planner, Trends for Websites, and Insights for
Search. Currently, Trevor focuses his time on marketing Website
Optimizer and promoting website testing to online marketers. He
is one of the founders of Google for Business Educators, and also
writes for the Inside AdWords and Website Optimizer blogs. Trevor
lives in San Francisco. In his free time, he enjoys walking around the
city, sharing good food and good drink with friends, and long runs
along bay.
Joel Comm
Joel Comm is an Internet entrepreneur who has been online for
over 20 years. In 1995, Joel launched WorldVillage.com, a family-
friendly portal to the web which enjoys thousands of visitors each
day. Joel is the co-creator of ClassicGames.com, which was acquired
by Yahoo! in 1997, and now goes by the name Yahoo! Games. Since
then, Joel’s company, InfoMedia, Inc., has launched dozens of web
sites which offer online shopping, free stuff, website reviews and
more. Joel is the author of many popular books, including the NY
Times Best-Seller, The AdSense Code. As the Host and Executive
Producer of the web’s first competitive reality show, “The Next
Internet Millionaire”, Joel set a new standard for original Internet
programming. His most recent book, “Click Here to Order”, is an
Amazon.com and BN.com best-seller.
Todd Crawford
Todd Crawford was most recently the Vice President of Sales
and Business Development for Digital River’s affiliate network,
oneNetworkDirect. Mr. Crawford joined Digital River in May 2006
and was responsible for establishing new affiliate relationships,
developing new product features and overseeing the operations
and marketing for oneNetworkDirect. In 1998, Todd Crawford
helped found Commission Junction and acted primarily as the
VP of Sales over the next 7 plus years. Although his primary
responsibilities were new advertiser acquisition, he also handled
many other business initiatives ranging from international
expansion in Europe and Asia to industry relations and business
development. Todd Crawford is currently working on a new project
while continuing to be involved in the performance marketing
industry. You can read more about Todd on his blog at toddtalks.
com. In 2007, Mr. Crawford won the Affiliate Marketing Legend
Award at the Affiliate Summit Pinnacle Awards in Las Vegas.
Lisa Crossley Hunter
Lisa Crossley Hunter is the Senior Director of Commission Junction
Search (CJ Search). She is responsible for the entire organization
in providing premier SEM services to all managed CJ Search clients
with a special focus on the interrelationship between search and
affiliate marketing. Lisa has over six years of hands-on search
engine marketing experience in PPC, SEO and conversion analysis
ranging from tactical execution to high-level strategic planning
to help clients obtain optimal results. Prior to her work at CJ
Search Lisa was the VP of Client Services at Idearc Media (formerly
known as Inceptor, Inc.). Lisa also managed web site development
projects for high profile clients during her tenure at Agency.com.
Before moving to the site development and search marketing
industry in 2000, Lisa spent seven years as a client-facing software
development consultant with Accenture.
Haiko de Poel, Jr.
Haiko is the owner and administrator of ABestWeb, the largest
affiliate marketing forum with over 45,000 members accumulated
in the the past seven years. He also coined the term parasiteware
and been a source of open, free and real information for the stance
against various unethical and technological based affiliates. Prior to
opening ABestWeb, Mr. de Poel, Jr., has started and sold many small
companies ranging from a long distance reseller to a tequila import
company. He was also highly successful in Real Estate sales and even
did a stint on Wall Street.
Speaker Bios
Angel Djambazov
Born in Bulgaria, Angel Djambazov has spent his professional career
in the fields of journalism and online marketing. In his journalistic
career he worked as an editor on several newspapers and was the
founding Editor-in-Chief of Wyoming Homes and Living Magazine.
Later his career path led to online marketing where while working
at OnlineShoes he earned the Affiliate Manager of the Year (2006)
award at the Affiliate Summit, and In-house Manager of the Year
(2006) award by ABestWeb. Currently Angel is the OPM for Jones
Soda and Bag Borrow or Steal, leads the marketing efforts of
PopShops.com which was awarded Best Affiliate Tool (2007) award
by ABestWeb, and is the Managing Editor for Revenews.com. Angel
lives north of Seattle, spending his free time reading up on obscure
scientific references made by his wife, Jenn, while keeping up with a
horde of cats and a library of books.
Fionn Downhill
Fionn Downhill is the Chief Executive Officer and President of
Elixir Interactive. Established in February 2003, they are a digital
marketing agency that focuses on search and social media. They
specialize in helping companies understand how their customers
think and interact online and then use that information to develop
highly targeted marketing programs. Fionn is a native or Ireland and
lives in Scottsdale Arizona, where her business is based. Fionn is
very involved in the advancement of search engine marketing and
is a strong advocate for best business practices in the industry. She
is past board member of the Search Engine Marketing Professional
Organization (SEMPO). She is a founding member and past chair
of the SEMPO Institute which was launched to provide first class
training for the search engine marketing industry worldwide. Fionn
is a frequent speaker on Search Engine Marketing and is actively
involved in the Search Engine Marketing community.
Ola Edvardsson
A veteran of the affiliate marketing industry since its inception,
Ola has spent the past 12 years in a highly unusual dual role. He
has been advising clients, ranging from Fortune 100 corporations
to entrepreneurs launching new businesses, on their marketing
strategies, while at the same time always making money in the
trenches as an affiliate. His executive-level marketing coaching and
development of Internet strategies for large companies, combined
with a deep knowledge of the day-to-day craft of Internet
marketing, is what makes Ola unique in the industry. He is the CEO
of Performancy, an Internet Strategy and Media company. At heart
he is an affiliate and is currently involved in two new start-ups
where affiliate income is the primary revenue source. Originally
from Sweden, he currently lives in the metro Detroit area with his
wife and two children.
FEEDFRONT MAGAZINE | JANUARY 2009 | 47

Darren Eilers
Darren is the Founder and CEO of DME Media, a performance-
marketing firm based in St. Louis, Missouri. DME has developed
proprietary performance marketing systems and tools that have
helped them consistently rank as a top-tier Publisher in affiliate
networks such as Commission Junction. Prior to launching DME
Media, Darren held senior level positions in the advertising and
marketing industry for over 14 years, including work for major retail
clients such as Wal-Mart, KOHL’S, JCPenney and Dillard’s. His areas
of focus throughout much of his career have been in e-commerce,
online marketing, and web design. Venturing into the affiliate
industry in 2003, Darren quickly built a reputation as an out-of-the-
box thinker, capable of quickly adapting to the many challenges
affiliates face. Founding DME Media in 2007, the company now
employs in areas such as PPC marketing, SEO, and website design &
development.
Marty Fahncke
An expert in multi-channel direct response marketing with
over 20 years experience, Marty M. Fahncke brings a unique
and experienced perspective to his audiences. As President of
FawnKey & Associates, a consulting and project management firm,
Marty has generated hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue
for his clients using direct response television, the telephone, and
the internet. His most recent venture, BizKidz.com is a website
designed to educate, entertain and inspire the next generation
of entrepreneurs…kids age 7-15. On www.BizKidz.com, children
learn real business, marketing, and entrepreneurial skills in a safe,
fun environment, all while earning real money. Marty speaks
to audiences across the country on topics related to internet
marketing, social media, affiliate marketing, and more. Marty also
shares his knowledge as an Advisory Board member and feature
writer for Electronic Retailer magazine. His writing can also be
found at the popular blog “My Perspective”, which can be read at
http://www.MartyFahncke.com.
Ian Fernando
Ian Fernando is an influential blogger and affiliate marketer.
His views and insights have been seen all over the Internet as
he provides useful tools and tips on online marketing, affiliate
marketing, blogging, and related topics. His blog, IanFernando.com,
is geared to providing substantive advice to the up and coming
online entrepreneur. Ian is an aggressive Internet marketer. He
has utilize the power of the internet to become an influential and
respected blogger and affiliate marketer. Ian is an ‘out of the box’
thinker and is an example of a successful entrepreneur that has
made and continuous to make money online.
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Rosalind Gardner
Rosalind Gardner has been a leader in the affiliate marketing
industry since 1998 and is recognized best through her ‘Affiliate’s
Corner’ column in “Revenue Magazine” and her “Super Affiliate
Handbook: How I Made $436,797 in One Year Selling Other People’s
Stuff Online”. As a speaker, consultant and prolific blogger, Rosalind
teaches affiliates how to build sustainable online businesses and
teaches merchants how to structure their affiliate programs to
attract and retain loyal Super Affiliates like herself.
Peter Glaeser
Peter Glaeser is a pioneer in mobile affiliate marketing. While
working for one of the world’s largest mobile content providers
he launched a mobile tracking solution and one of the world’s first
ringtone affiliate programs for the mobile internet. In 2008 Peter
switched sides and became a full-time entrepreneur as an affiliate
marketer and consultant. He runs the Sponsormob mobile ad
network and supports merchants and media agencies in online and
mobile advertising. Peter is based in Berlin/Germany and a regular
speaker at online and mobile marketing events in Europe and the
United States. He blogs at peterglaeser.com. Peter holds an M.A.
in International Political Economy from the University of Warwick
(UK). He is a self-taught programmer and has significant experience
in project management and developing of sites on the wired and
mobile internet.
Skip Graham
James (Skip) Graham is a successful entrepreneur that has raised
over $23 million in investment capital. Currently he runs several
ventures and is retained as a business plan and investment
consultant for several others. He has served 16 years in the media
space and over 11 years in software, ASP and interactive: sales,
marketing, developing and management. Graham founded
Giant Holdings which owns InterAdNet, Giant Head, The Internet
Oldtimers Foundation and HereWare. Interadnet focuses on media
strategies to successfully market customer products and services
both online and through traditional channels, as well as proven
marketing channels: email, lead gen, search and affiliate marketing.
Giant Head Interactive Marketing, formed in 2000, uses a consistent,
controlled process of interaction to insure brands are positioned
top of mind as positive, proactive aspects of your customer’s lives.
HereWare is an on-demand and All-In-One Sales, CRM, Project and
document management system.
Chuck Hamrick
Chuck Hamrick is an outsourced program manager (OPM) at
affiliateCREW, a Salt Lake City, UT based internet marketing
company, managing Register, Little Giant Ladder, Rug Doctor,
Bosleyinfo, Sole Treadmills, Proform, WORX Yard Tools, 1000Bulbs,
and more. Active in online marketing since 1999 with SEO, PPC,
email marketing and lead gen. Full time Affiliate Manager since
2005 previously managing ToolKing, Backcountry and Ancestry. You
will also find Chuck as a moderator on ABestWeb.com. He also had
a prior 13 years career in manufacturing as project management. To
learn more visit affiliateCREW.
Will Haselden
Mr. Haselden is the Section Chief of the Cyberfraud Section in the
Florida Attorney General’s office, located in Tallahassee, Florida. In
that position, he recently negotiated a settlement with AT&T that
provides for changes to the online affiliate marketing model by
which mobile content is sold to consumers across the nation. The
Cyberfraud Section continues to seek compliance with applicable
marketing law from other businesses in this online space. Mr.
Haselden is a trial attorney with both governmental and private
practice experience. He is licensed to practice in both federal and
Florida state courts.
John Hasson
John has been doing affiliate marketing since mid 2006. He got
lucky his first month and posted a decent profit. His third month, he
lost money. Every month since then has been profitable and he has
been honing his PPC skills and driving traffic to quality websites. He
has been programming and designing databases, web applications
and 32 bit apps for 15+ years before he fell into affiliate marketing.
He has written shareware applications (one was mentioned in
Wired), GIS mapping systems, accounting systems and of course
websites.
Rae Hoffman
Ten years ago Rae started a small website about her son and his
medical condition that became one of the first international support
groups and largest website in general on the topic. It earned
national media coverage and helped further medical research in
the field. Investigating ways to support that site, she found affiliate
marketing and became one of the most well known voices in
the affiliate landscape and organic search engine optimization.
Today, her current area of research is site auditing and advanced
organic link development techniques relating to all of the major
engines. Ms. Hoffman serves as the CEO and Managing Director of
website publisher MFE Interactive and is the author of the often
controversial Sugarrae Internet marketing blog. She also owns
numerous successful personal websites on a wide range of topics.
Rae is a regular speaker at the PubCon, SES and SMX conferences
and is a former WebmasterWorld.com moderator as well as a regular
columnist for Search Engine Land.
Speaker Bios
Assaf Igell
As cofounder and vice president of channel partners and product
strategy at Syntryx Executive Solutions and Drill.com, Assaf Igell
handles strategic enterprise sales, business development with
prospective distribution channel partners, and custom client
research and consulting engagements. Assaf brings to Syntryx
over 8 years of experience in advising and executing broad online
marketing campaigns in several of the Internet’s most lucrative and
most competitive industries including iGaming, Health, eLearning
and Comparative Shopping. Prior to Syntryx, Assaf spent 3 years
working as a senior Traffic Analyst and Director of Advertising
Technologies at one of the largest interactive ad agencies in
the iGaming vertical. Over the years Assaf’s specialties in online
marketing included: web analytics, ad serving and targeting
technologies, integration, search engine algorithms and SEO,
SEM, affiliate marketing, media buying, and strategic business
development.
Scott Jangro
Scott Jangro is the president and co-founder of MechMedia, Inc., a
firm specializing in performance and search engine marketing since
2004. Prior to MechMedia, Scott served as a Director of Product
Management at Be Free, Inc. and later Commission Junction, both
divisions of ValueClick, Inc. from 1999 to 2004 and previously served
in technical support management roles at Open Market and Dragon
Systems. Through industry events, advisory boards, and his writing
activity on Jangro.com and Revenews.com, Scott remains an active
and vocal member of the affiliate marketing community. He also
recently founded a rapidly growing affiliate marketing community
at BUMPzee.com.
Michael Jenkins
Michael Jenkins is the Founder and CEO of PrecisionPlay Media,
the parent company of one of the Internet’s fastest growing
performance advertising networks: MarketLeverage.com. He is
responsible for the creation, vision and overall direction of several
Internet advertising related businesses. Under Michael’s direction,
PrecisionPlay Media was recognized by Inc. 5000 as one of the
Fastest Growing Private Companies in America, and was also ranked
by Inc. as #86 on the Top 100 Advertising and Marketing Companies
category. PrecisionPlay Media employs over 50 people and has
grown revenues nearly 500% over the past 3 years. Michael is an
interactive advertising veteran with hands-on experience at the
affiliate level in search engine, email and web marketing. His recent
efforts in social media have lead to significant increases in the size
of MarketLeverage’s publisher network and the debut of the affiliate
industry’s first Internet TV show: MLTV.
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Jim Jessup
Jim Jessup leads the affiliate channel strategy at Yahoo! and is
responsible for developing programs that can provide affiliates
opportunities across the company’s broad network of diverse
businesses. Prior to joining Yahoo!, Jim spent 4 years at Commission
Junction where he managed CJ’s Key Accounts team and was
responsible for the performance of some the largest affiliate
programs on the web.
Zac Johnson
At the ripe age of 15, Zac Johnson began making money online
designing web site banners for $1 each. A self taught entrepreneur,
Zac’s been making money online for over 10 years and been
involved in nearly every facet of affiliate marketing. Still a one man
company, a recent highlight of Zac’s success is “How I Made $860,
538.38 Profit in 4 Months!” from one web site, and can be read at
his Super Affiliate blog. Zac’s latest focus is his personal blog “Inside
the Secret Life of a Super Affiliate” (ZacJohnson.com), where he
provides readers firsthand accounts of his experiences, successes &
failures. In addition to his own success stories, Zac reviews affiliate
networks and informs readers how & where they should be making
new money. He plans on releasing a case study of his secret tips
free through his blog instead of in an eBook. Zac’s blog has grown
to over 1500 subscribers and has referred over $100,000 in new
business to his advertisers and network partners in less than a year.
Kristopher Jones
Kristopher B. Jones is well-known throughout the search-engine
and affiliate marketing community as a true pioneer and leading
voice on trends and strategies for effective online marketing.
As President and CEO of Pepperjam, an Inc. 500 Company and
industry-leading search, affiliate and media management company.
Kristopher is looked to by thousands of businesses worldwide
as one of a small group of pure internet marketing experts.
Kristopher was recognized in 2005 as an Entrepreneur of the Year
by Bank of America and as one of the “Top 20” Business Leaders
in Northeastern, Pennsylvania under the age of 40. Kristopher
previously worked as a senior staff member to Congressman Paul E.
Kanjorski (PA-11) and is a frequent speaker at conferences including
Search Engine Strategies (SES), eTail, ERA, and Affiliate Summit,
among others.
Bennet Kelley
Bennet Kelley is founder of the Internet Law Center and has been
at the center of many of the hottest Internet issues over the past
decade. Kelley, who previously was Assistant General Counsel
for ValueClick, is Vice Chair of the California Bar’s Cyberspace
Committee and a contributor to the Journal of Internet Law. Kelley
spoke at the 2007 and 2008 Affiliate Summit West.
50 | JANUARY 2009 | FEEDFRONT MAGAZINE
Rob Key
Formerly head of the Innovations Group at a division of Young
& Rubicam and member of the WPP.com board, Rob founded
Converseon in 2001 to provide new, innovative communication
solutions designed to help companies meet their business
objectives in a digital environment. Rob’s twenty years of
experience spans public relations, reputation management, search
marketing, affiliate marketing and online media/advertising, which
has convinced him that markets clearly are “conversations” that
require new ways of communicating. He has been involved in
digital marketing since 1995. Rob is a frequent speaker at a range
of leading industry conferences, including Affiliate Summit and
Jupiter Media’s Search Engine Strategies Conferences (SES), to help
evangelize his message of creative communications innovation.
Zahid Khan
Zahid is a Product Manager with Amazon Associates, Amazon’s
world-wide affiliate network. Zahid has been with Amazon for
close to 2 years and has been instrumental in conceptualizing,
designing and delivering Amazon Widgets – rich, interactive
displays that bring Amazon.com functionality to your website.
Zahid has been closely involved in launching a dazzling array of
widgets including MP3 Clips, Carousel, Your Video Widget and
more. With his deep technical and business understanding of
widgets, Zahid is intimately familiar with the dos and don’ts of rich
media advertising. Before Amazon, Zahid was a technical analyst
in the higher education software domain and a senior applications
engineer with Oracle Corporation. He has earned a master’s in
Computer Science from Stanford University and has a bachelor’s
degree from Georgia Tech.
Gary Kibel
Gary Kibel (gkibel@dglaw.com) is a partner with the law firm
of Davis & Gilbert LLP. He practices in the areas of New Media,
Advertising/Marketing and IP law. Gary regularly counsels
clients with respect to issues such as interactive advertising,
search marketing, affiliate marketing, enterprise technology
implementations, contextual/behavioral advertising, privacy
and security, gaming, content licensing, wireless services and
entertainment, joint ventures, copyrights, trademarks, corporate
matters and laws affecting the Internet. Davis & Gilbert is
widely regarded as the premier law firm in the U.S. representing
advertising, marketing and promotions agencies, from specialized
shops to the largest advertising holding companies in the
world, and also represents prominent marketing, technology
and entertainment companies, brands and advertising trade
associations. Prior to becoming an attorney, Gary was an
Information Systems Analyst with Merrill Lynch.
Beth Kirsch
Beth Kirsch part of a founding team that has boot strapped uAmplfy
over the past two years and she is responsible for strategy, sales,
and business development. Beth was previously the VP of Marketing
and Sales at Like.com, where she brought the product to market
and grew revenue from zero to millions. Before that, she was a
Director of Marketing at LowerMyBills.com, an Experian Company
and top five Internet advertiser. She also directed online media,
search, and affiliate channels for Audible during its high growth
period. Beth has been an expert speaker at industry conferences on
a regular basis including, Ad:Tech, Affiliate Summit, and the Direct
Marketing Association. She also blogs on ReveNews, and her entries
have been redistributed in numerous publications including the
Wall Street Journal Online, paidContent.org, iMediaConnection, and
MarketingVOX. Beth was part of a team at ReveNews that received
MarketingSherpa’s “Best Blog 2006” award.
Nick Koscianski
Nick is a successful affiliate marketer, blogs at Nickycakes.com and
Wickedfire forum moderater. With the ultimate goal of helping new
people succeed in the industry, his no-nonsense approach aims to
show newcomers and experienced affiliates the “real” side of online
marketing.
Mike Kowal
Mike Kowal is Managing Director, Services for LinkShare where
he oversees the Chicago advertiser services team and provides
strategic guidance and services for many of LinkShare’s top
clients. His team is responsible for service execution and
management of client programs, as well as education and
synchronization with advertisers’ online marketing channels. He
joined LinkShare in 2005 as the Director of Shared Services and
was responsible for Advertiser analysis and communications
for the network. Prior to joining LinkShare, Mike was at General
Electric Company where he was a Sr. Marketing Manager and
Product Manager of Consumer Protection Products. Mike has
over 17 years of experience in online, direct and database
marketing and has an M.B.A and a B.S. in Management
Information Systems, both from the University of Dayton.
Speaker Bios
Chris Kramer
Chris has spent nearly 10 years in the interactive marketing space
working on more than 20 blue chip clients including NY Times,
American Express, Scholastic, About.com and ESPN. As the Co-
Founder of NETexponent, Chris has helped to build the agency into
one of the premier interactive shops by delivering key strategic
execution across multiple channels including Affiliate Marketing,
Search Marketing, Media Buying and Planning, Email Marketing,
and Merchant Partnerships. Before co-founding NETexponent Chris
helped to build the performance-marketing group at Mass-Transit
Interactive as their Senior Marketing Manager. Prior to that Chris
established himself as a leader in the industry as part of i-traffic’s then
newly formed affiliate marketing group. Chris has been a featured
speaker at Affiliate Summit and Commission Junction University and
was recently named to the Affiliate Summit advisory board.
Jim Kukral
Jim Kukral (The Web Coach) is an award-winning blogger, speaker,
author and business web coach. For over 10 years, Jim has been
working with both small businesses and Fortune 500 customers to
help them find success online. Jim is a graduate of The University
of Akron. You can read about Jim and his many online successes by
visiting www.jimkukral.com.
Eric Lander
Eric Lander has been an organic search optimization specialist since
2001. Having co-founded two separate search marketing agencies, Eric
actively works as the Organic Search Manager for ADP’s Dealer Services
division where he manages SEO for more than 2,000 car dealers in
the United States and Canada. Lander also works as an independent
search marketing consultant for those not in the automotive industry.
Throughout his career Eric has enjoyed writing articles and how-to
pieces to share industry information, insight and opinion. First began
appearing in 2002 on SEO Today, SitePoint and Search Engine Guide,
Eric now serves as the Associate Editor for Loren Baker’s Search Engine
Journal.
David Lewis
David Lewis is CEO and founder of 77Blue which operates online
shopping websites including Cashbaq. David has worked for and
founded Internet and software businesses for over a decade with
companies including Overture / GoTo.com, Intuit, Edmunds.com,
SeeBeyond, Union Bank of California and Digital Planet. Earlier in
his career, David was a Certified Public Account and received his
MBA from UCLA’s Anderson School. David was awarded the Horizon
Award for Innovation by Commission Junction in 2006. David
recently launched his first Facebook app, statustalker.
FEEDFRONT MAGAZINE | JANUARY 2009 | 51

James Little
After leaving college, James Little, 26, went straight into work as
a Developer for Onetel where he remained for five years. During
this time he moved to the marketing team and learnt about main
aspects of online marketing including affiliate marketing, SEO and
PPC. He then took the post of Online Marketing Manager at Field &
Trek where he was responsible for all online sales. James managed
this by building an effective PPC campaign, improving the SEO,
increasing the online conversion rate and creating a strong affiliate
campaign. James moved on from Field & Trek to St. Minver where
he was the company’s first Affiliate Manager responsible for setting
up the gaming affiliate system for the likes of Littlewoods Bingo,
Lastminute.com Gaming and Yahoo Bingo. At the time of leaving
affiliate marketing was generating around 30% of all the online
players. James then joined Altogether Digital to setup its affiliate
divisione. He left it in safe hands to join the team at AffiliateFuture.
Brian Littleton
As the founder and CEO of ShareASale, Brian has connected
thousands of merchants and affiliates alike, ensuring mutual
profitability while preserving the sprit and core values of the affiliate
marketing industry. Since 2000, his leadership and vision have
helped shape the industry into what it is today. ShareASale currently
supports over 2,200 small- to medium-sized merchants, and works
with its clients, both on the advertising and publishing end, to
maximize their individual potential.
Jivan Manhas
Jivan Manhas is a Founder, and President of Advaliant, Inc.,
MediaTrust’s performance affiliate network. Both a seasoned
executive and experienced entrepreneur, Mr. Manhas possesses
diverse business experience, a fundamental understanding of
how to leverage cutting-edge technologies within online media,
and valuable strategic and operational experience in creating new
ventures. Prior to co-founding Advaliant, Mr. Manhas was a co-
founder of three Internet consulting companies, ViaCentrix, Digital
Bytes and Consultica.
Will Martin-Gill
Will Martin-Gill is senior manager of Internet marketing for eBay,
leading business development for eBay’s affiliates channel. Prior
to this, Will was responsible for leading key advertising and search
engine marketing initiatives for eBay, and before that he was senior
manager of corporate strategy. His scope of responsibility included
strategy development, mergers and acquisitions and various
projects across Marketplaces, PayPal and Skype, including Internet
marketing strategy. Before joining eBay, Will was an associate,
and subsequently, a manager with Boston Consulting Group. His
projects included a 12-month engagement on the start-up team
that created and launched Orbitz.com. He worked in strategy,
customer relationship management and other types of analysis
for projects in consumer and industrial goods, as well as financial
services. Will holds a B.S. in systems engineering from University of
Virginia, as well as an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School.
Jacquie Matzat
Jacquie Matzat is the Internet Marketing Manager for Your Baby Can
Read, LLC. Your Baby Can Read is a revolutionary Early Language
Development Program for children ages 3 months to 5 years. The
company launched an Affiliate Program in 3rd quarter of 2008
within the Google Affiliate Network. Jacquie has over 10 years of
experience in consumer product marketing with an emphasis in the
interactive sector – including the development and management
of pay-per-click campaigns, SEM, SEO, Affiliate programs and web
promotions.
Colin McDougall
Colin has tapped into massive traffic generation strategies that earn
him has much as $70,000 in a single month. Colin McDougall is an
author, speaker and consultant specializing in teaching affiliate
marketers and merchants how to achieve the results they deserve
via effective and sustainable traffic generation and marketing
strategies. Thousands of companies have increased their earnings
several fold with the information that Colin teaches in the VEO 2.0
Elite Certification Program.
Amit Mehta
An academic by training, Amit completed his PhD in Theoretical
Physics in 2005. He got a job at MIT Lincoln Labs & started affiliate
marketing around the same time. Having spent a considerable
amount of time researching the explosive growth and success of
the Internet. Amit knew thats where the future was. He didn’t have
an idea for a product or service, but when he heard about affiliate
marketing he knew he could do this. Amit quit his job just 9 months
after beginning his affiliate efforts. Amit started with Googlecash,
which was at the time, one of the easiest ways to make money as an
affiliate. Now Amit leads a company that make custom affiliate sites
and uses PPC to drive traffic to them. Amit also authors a popular
affiliate marketing blog, Super Affiliate Mindset.
Speaker Bios
Tricia Meyer
Tricia Meyer started her career as an attorney and took a
detour into affiliate marketing, never looking back. After some
experimentation with a few content sites, she launched the loyalty
site SunshineRewards.com. She developed Sunshine Rewards
into a full-scale community that includes blogging, member
reviews, Facebook applications, and videos. Recently, Tricia has
started moving back into niche sites, including two of her favorite
subjects—Twilight and chocolate. She is an active participant on
both ABW and AffSpot and serves on the Affiliate Summit Advisory
Board.
Dan Murray
Dan Murray is Internet Marketing Strategist and Founder of
Ravenwood Marketing, Inc., a performance-based Internet
marketing firm in Boulder, Colorado. Ravenwood does high-volume
PPC keyword bidding and organic SEO as a super affiliate. The firm
was selected as a Horizon Award winner by Commission Junction
for exceptional year-over-year performance and serves on CJ’s
Publisher Advisory Board as well as Yahoo’s Affiliate Advisory Board.
Additionally, Ravenwood was named the number one fastest
growing large Denver-area private company by the Denver Business
Journal. Ravenwood Marketing specializes in helping companies
acquire new customers from search engines and only gets paid on
performance when a sale is made. Dan has worked in the Internet
marketing industry for over thirteen years in a variety of marketing
positions ranging from website design to email marketing and
online lead generation. He holds a degree in engineering from the
University of Notre Dame and a Master’s degree in applied statistics
from Rutgers.
Paul Nichols
Paul Nichols is the Director of Sales at Ebates.com, a loyalty
shopping site. He has been with Ebates since July of 1999 and
has served in several different capacities at Ebates including
Director of Business Development and Director of Product. He
also created, developed and managed Ebates.com’s own affiliate
program. Mr. Nichols has been a guest speaker at many Internet
related conferences and symposia. Prior to his career in affiliate
marketing, Paul was a prosecutor with the San Mateo County
(California) District Attorney’s Office. In that capacity he prosecuted
virtually every category of crime, and lectured extensively to law
enforcement personnel covering a wide range of topics.
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Lee Odden
Lee Odden is CEO of TopRank Online Marketing, a digital marketing
and public relations agency that provides search, social media
and online PR consulting training to companies including NWA,
McKesson and Cision. Odden also publishes Online Marketing
Blog which is recognized as one of the top marketing blogs by
Advertising Age and ranks in the Technorati top 50 blogs (by fans)
out of 133 million. Odden is an active Internet marketing advocate
promoting best practices, strategies and tactics through speaking at
DMA, PRSA, Blog World and Search Engine Strategies conferences.
Odden has been cited for digital marketing and PR expertise by The
Economist, Fortune and eWeek, contributes articles to MediaPost,
iMedia Connection and Target Marketing and has a chapter featured
in the book, “Online Marketing Heroes” published by Wiley. TopRank
Marketing is also active with industry associations including DMA,
PRSA, SEMPO, Web Analytics Association and MIMA.
Jeremy Palmer
Jeremy Palmer runs QuitYourDayJob.com, an affiliate education Web
site. He initially worked part-time in the field of affiliate marketing
in 2003. After six months he quit his day job to become a full-time
affiliate. Today, he actively runs over 100 affiliate sites across dozens
of different industries. In 2005, Jeremy received the Commission
Junction Horizon Award for Innovation, and he is also recognized
as a CJ Performer, Yahoo Search Marketing Ambassador and Google
AdWords Professional. Jeremy is a frequently featured speaker and
panelist at affiliate conferences and is a regular contributor to high
profile internet marketing Web sites.
Tony Pantano
Tony Pantano is currently the CEO of Imwave, Inc., with offices in
York, Pennsylvania & Reston, Virginia. The company’s primary focus
is building and launching effective pay-per-click (PPC) search engine
keyword marketing campaigns for our affiliate marketing partners.
He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Business/Economics from
the University of Pittsburgh & a Masters of Business Administration
degree from York College of Pennsylvania. Mr. Pantano began his
career in the Internet industry 14 years ago as a Principal of Cyberia
Communications, Inc., a start-up Internet Service provider in York,
PA prior to its acquisition by D&E SuperNet, 1998. Mr. Pantano most
recently served as Regional Vice President of Interactive Media &
Director of Marketing with the York Newspaper Company leading
a team responsible for the creation and implementation of all
consumer marketing programs and Internet operations all of Media
News Group owned newspapers in PA.
54 | JANUARY 2009 | FEEDFRONT MAGAZINE
Heather Paulson
Heather Paulson is President of PaulsonManagementGroup.com
a full service eCommerce agency specializing in affiliate program
management working with select clients. Heather has years over
11 of experience initiating and managing online lead generation,
retail sales and CPM e business model strategies for many Fortune
500 e-retailers with management experience of media budgets
over $20 Million annually. Ms Paulson has worked as a consultant
and or contractor on hundreds of e business accounts. Ms. Paulson
was featured in the July 2005 issue of Revenue Magazine, and is an
active blogger on ReveNews.com. In 2006 Heather was appointed
to the Affiliate Summit advisory board. In 2007 Ms. Paulson was
appointed to the advisory board for Affiliate Classroom. In 2007 Ms.
Paulson was elected as PPCClassroom.com’s education manager.
In 2008 Ms Paulson was nominated as a FAB member of the
Performance Marketing Association and is an honorary recipient of
the ACC Certified Affiliate Managers Course.
Lisa Picarille
Lisa Picarille is the Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of Revenue
Magazine, The Performance Marketing Standard. She is responsible
for developing all editorial content for the print magazine and
the website (www.RevenueToday.com). In addition to setting
the editorial tone for the publication, Lisa overseas production,
sales and distribution of Revenue Magazine. She also co-hosts the
popular Affiliate Thing podcast with Affiliate Summit co-founder
Shawn Collins. Lisa is a veteran journalist who began her career
more than 20 years ago as a professional sports writer in Boston and
has also headed the news departments of major high tech news
organizations including Wired.com, TechWeb.com, TechTV.com
and CRN.com. Her work has also appeared in Rolling Stone, CRM
Magazine, PCWeek, MacWeek, Computerworld and InfoWorld.
Scott Polk
Scott Polk has built his expertise as a knowledgeable and
experienced Search Engine Optimization strategist for more
than 11 years. He is currently working as a Senior SEO Analyst/
Lead at Bruce Clay, Inc in Simi Valley, CA. Scott Polk concentrates
his resourcefulness and skills on the diversified aspects of Search
Engine Optimization for clients, where he’s earned the distinction
of consistent top rankings in all major search engines. He is
consistently involved in technologies that maximize usability and
accessibility when optimizing/developing large web sites as well as
identifying problems and solutions that result in major cost saving
strategies. Highly successful and respected within the Search Engine
Optimization communities, Scott has consulted and been employed
by successful internet companies such as: Edmunds.com, AT&T
Wireless, ABC News(local),Turner Properties (PGA/PGA Tour, Sports
Illustrated, etc ...) and numerous others.
Kuba Poraj-Kuczewski
Kuba Kuczewski is the SVP of Media Services at EducationDynamics,
a leader in online distance learning. He directs the paid traffic,
analytics & optimization for their network of sites, including
overseeing vendor relations and media strategy. Kuba led the
media capabilities at WorldClass Strategy, which was acquired by
EducationDynamics in 2007. Prior to EducationDynamics he was an
affiliate and email manager at GiftCertificates.com. He holds a BA in
Marketing and International Business from Seattle University.
Durk Price
Durk Price has 10 years in the affiliate industry as both a Merchant
and as Program Manager. His company, eAccountableOPM was
formed 9 years ago and has specialized in Outsourced Affiliate
Program Management during that period. eAccountableOPM
currently manages affiliate programs for 40 merchants including:
eFaucets, CanvasOnDemand, Junonia, Jim Cramer and TheStreet.
com, Sizzix, LightingCatalog.com and more. The company currently
manages programs in the following networks: Commission
Junction, Google Affiliate Network (Performics), Linkshare,
ShareASale, AvantLink and others.
Geno Prussakov
Evgenii “Geno” Prussakov is a graduate of the University of
Cambridge. He is the author of “A Practical Guide to Affiliate
Marketing” (2007), the “Online Shopping Through Consumers’ Eyes”
(2008), and also the Senior Editor for the affiliate marketing section
of the Search Engine Marketing Journal. Geno is the founder and
CEO of AM Navigator, an outsourced affiliate program management
company, and he was voted the “Best OPM of the Year” for two years
in a row (2006 and 2007) by the largest online affiliate marketing
community, ABestWeb.com. He is now working on his DBA (doctor
of business administration), and continues to pro-actively manage a
number of affiliate programs.
Wil Reynolds
Over the past 8 years, Wil Reynolds has dedicated himself to
doing two things well: driving traffic to sites from search engines
and analyzing the impact that traffic has on the bottom line of
companies. Wil’s career began at a web marketing agency in 1999,
where he spearheaded the SEO strategies for companies like Barnes
& Noble, Disney, Harman Kardon, Debeers, Doubleclick, Hotjobs,
and Mercedes Benz USA (to name a few). Today, Wil and his team of
search professionals at SEER Interactive, assist clients in maximizing
their visibility and sales using search engines.
Speaker Bios
Lisa Riolo
Lisa Riolo is an active member in the performance marketing
community and remains committed to its further growth and
achievement. As a consultant, she helps online businesses
transform potential and opportunity into profits and results. Lisa’s
previous experience includes a senior vice president of business
development role at Commission Junction and managerial roles
at Peet’s Coffee & Tea and Bank of America. She holds a bachelor’s
degree in psychology from Claremont McKenna College. In addition
to speaking at key industry events, Lisa can be found online at
lisariolo.com, LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter.
Andy Rodriguez
Andy Rodriguez is no stranger to the sales and marketing world.
From his career in print and online advertising to his relentless
and eager sales approach, Andy has always had the right formula
for success. Andy has ventured into the consultation field where
he can expand and share his knowledge of affiliate marketing
with the rest of the industry. His formula for growing an affiliate
program is extensive and complex; combining elements of trust,
ethics, industry knowledge and open communications with affiliate
partners. Andy was credited with the revival of the TigerDirect
affiliate program, ChecksUnlimited and dozens of others in the last
8 years. On July 2005 he created the one of a kind, highly popular
“Affiliate Manager Certification Seminar” which he runs twice a year.
Andy and his team are also responsible for the phenomenal growth
of the Ticketmaster program on the new buy.at network in the US.
Andy lives in Miami, Fl with his wife, 2 kids, a beagle and his Golden
Retriever.
Glenn Russell
As CEO, president and co-founder of UpSellit, Glenn Russell brings
15 years of experience in the technology information sector to the
direction and management of the company.
Melissa Salas
Melissa Salas is the Director of Marketing for Buy.com and Co-
Host of the TV show, BuyTV, that airs weekly on G4. Having joined
Buy.com in 2000, she manages Buy.com’s marketing campaigns
with Portals and Shopping Comparison sites, as well as Buy.com’s
Affiliate Program. Born and raised in Southern California, Melissa
attended Long Beach State University where she received a B.A. in
Communications, and minored in Interpersonal Communication
and Business Organization. Prior to Buy.com, she worked at Wells
Fargo Bank as a Financial Consultant for 8 years.
FEEDFRONT MAGAZINE | JANUARY 2009 | 55

Steve Schaffer
Steve Schaffer is an accomplished Internet strategy and product
marketing professional with a 20 year track-record of successfully
growing start-ups and established Internet and consumer software
companies. Steve founded Vertive, Inc. in 2003 to provide search
engine marketing services. In 2004 he shifted the company’s
focus to performance marketing and moved it to Austin from
Palo Alto. Vertive is now a leading performance marketing
company that builds websites that connect consumers with the
online information, products and resources they want. Steve
has been involved in the Internet industry since 1995. Before
launching Vertive, he founded a successful, award-winning online
entertainment network and community. He previously spent
10 years in various product management/marketing roles at
companies including eRegCard, DayMaker, Power Up and Symantec.
Steve is a graduate of The University of Texas at Austin with a
bachelor of business administration in finance.
Alex Schultz
Alex Schultz leads the Internet marketing team at Facebook as
a principal in the growth department. Alex is responsible for all
aspects of Facebook’s outbound ROI based Internet marketing.
Alex joined Facebook from eBay, where he managed international
best practice sharing and coordination for affiliate and paid search.
Alex holds an MA Msc in experimental and theoretical physics
from Cambridge University which he paid for through being a paid
search arbitrage affiliate.
Peter Shankman
Peter is the founder and CEO of The Geek Factory, a marketing and
PR firm. He launched HelpAReporter.com to connect journalists
with sources via social media. He launched AirTroductions, which
was acquired and relaunched as TripLife. He is the author of “Can
We Do That?! Outrageous PR Stunts That Work and Why Your
Company Needs Them.”
Carolyn Shelby
Carolyn Shelby has been involved in Internet technology since
1994, when she was the managing partner of an Internet
Service Provider start-up near Purdue University. She has been
professionally designing and developing Web sites for businesses
and not-for-profit groups of all sizes since 1995. She is an advocate
of holistic SEO, and specializes in rehabbing underperforming/
out-dated Web sites and helping larger corporations adjust their
structure and focus to make the most of new media. Carolyn
currently co-hosts “SEO 101” on WebmasterRadio.fm, writes about
search industry related news and SEO-focused web design on her
blog (cshel.com), and is the Director of Natural Search at Chicago-
based BeFoundLocal.com/The Krull Group.
56 | JANUARY 2009 | FEEDFRONT MAGAZINE
Anik Singal
Anik Singal is the Founder and CEO of The Affiliate Classroom, a
virtual training center for affiliate marketers of all experience levels.
The Affiliate Classroom provides up-to-date training materials for
affiliate marketers and affiliate managers to help them attract more
traffic and convert higher. Affiliate Classroom launched the first
industry accredited certification program for affiliate managers in
March 2008 as it continues to become the central location for all
industry education.
Joshua Sloan
Joshua Sloan is the Director of Online Marketing at 1&1 Internet, Inc.
1&1 is a true giant in the web hosting and domain industry. 1&1 has
registered over 10 million domains, hosts over 5 million websites,
and has a global customer base of over 7.7 million. Since 2004,
Joshua has overseen the online media planning at 1&1. Like 1&1,
Joshua is truly dedicated to CPA performance based marketing. First
online in 1987, he describes himself as a proud “second generation
geek.” Engaged in online marketing for several companies since
1994, Joshua has seen and experienced the various changes in
online marketing practices and ecommerce landscape. His speaking
activities range from private tutoring and public events, to teaching
ecommerce and web marketing to college students. Next to online
marketing, Joshua’s next favorite activities are mineral collecting
and encouraging the entrepreneurial spirit in those around him.
Favorite mantra: ‘Everything is possible’.
Kevin Smith
With nearly 10 years in the online space, Kevin Smith has seen
industries succeed and fail and what works and doesn’t in affiliate
marketing. Having spent 7 years in the online gambling space,
he saw that sector grown from an early-stage revenue maker to a
$12 billion a year industry, and saw the role affiliates played in its
growth. Now with Shoes.com he is growing the affiliate network for
one of the largest online shoe stores.
Ernie St. Gelais
With nearly 10 years in the online space, Kevin Smith has seen
industries succeed and fail and what works and doesn’t in affiliate
marketing. Having spent 7 years in the online gambling space,
he saw that sector grown from an early-stage revenue maker to a
$12 billion a year industry, and saw the role affiliates played in its
growth. Now with Shoes.com he is growing the affiliate network for
one of the largest online shoe stores.
Jonathan Stefansky
Jonathan is the EVP of Sales and Marketing for Qoof, where he is
responsible for all revenue generating activities of the firm. His
background which combines years of service in both sales and
technology give him a unique perspective that has enabled him
to create strong partnerships with leading companies across
numerous verticals. Under Jonathan’s leadership Qoof’s roster
of clients includes companies like: Ice.com, TheKnot.com, Buy.
com, Gaiam, Favor Affairs and Geeks.com. Before joining Qoof,
Jonathan served as EVP of Sales and Marketing for IDT Global
Services, a professional services firm and global call center. Prior
to IDT, Jonathan worked at Akamai Technologies as VP of Strategic
Accounts working with major client accounts. Before this position,
Jonathan was VP of Network Infrastructure and Architecture, where
he was responsible for the company’s global network deployment.
Jonathan is also a former analyst and VP of Global Internet
Infrastructure at Goldman Sachs and Co.
Dave Synder
David Snyder is a search and social strategist who has worked on
both the agency and enterprise level. He currently co-owns his own
consulting group, Search & Social, LLC. He writes for several web
publications including MarketingPilgrim.com, SnydeySense.com,
and contributes a column on online reputation management at
SportsAgentsBlog.com.
Dave Taylor
Dave Taylor has been involved with the Internet since 1980 and has
launched four startups, published twenty books, and currently runs
three popular blogs, notably including Ask Dave Taylor.com. He’s
internationally renowned as a top expert in the field and award-
winning public speaker.
Jonathan Treiber
Mr. Treiber has been at the helm since RevTrax’s inception in June
2006, leading the company through its initial product launch,
several rounds of capital raising, team expansion and several key
business partnerships. Jonathan led the execution of new product
development and marketing, and continues to recruit a growing
list of marquis advertising clients and promotional distribution
channels with significant consumer purchasing power. Jonathan
has been actively involved in the affiliate space since June 2006
with a variety of businesses on the affiliate side, particularly in the
online loyalty space. Besides an active role in the affiliate marketing
business, Jonathan has also had previous speaking roles at industry
events, including leading a roundtable discussion at the Affiliate
Summit Las Vegas last year on offline affiliate marketing. Jonathan
holds a Bachelor of Arts, with distinction, from Cornell University.
Michael Vorel
Michael Vorel is president and founder of Vastplanet Corporation,
a dynamic firm specializing in e-Commerce Web Development
and Internet Marketing Management for a variety of top brands
since 1998. Prior to Vastplanet, Michael worked within the
computer industry for ten years in international product marketing,
Speaker Bios
purchasing, sales management, pricing and strategic analysis. He
has expertise in affiliate marketing and management, e-commerce
web design, social networking strategy, video, ppc, search, email
marketing and competitive analysis. As an affiliate marketer and
outsourced affiliate program manager, he is actively involved in
creating niche and coupon sites in addition to managing programs
for clients. Based in Tampa, Florida, Michael is a member of the
Affiliate Summit Advisory Board and recently helped with the
formation of the Performance Marketing Association.
Andrew Wee
Andrew Wee is an Asia-based Internet Marketer. Formerly a tech
journalist and web content developer for Singapore Press Holdings,
one of Asia’s largest media groups, Andrew has covered the dotcom
boom and subsequent crash. As a business consultant and trainer,
he has worked with brick-and-mortar businesses establishing an
online presence. Andrew’s background in psychology includes
a specialization in personality theory and social/organizational
psychology. He is also a NLP (neuro linguistic programming)
certified practitioner. An active affiliate marketer, Andrew also
blogs at WhoIsAndrewWee.com. His blog content is syndicated
across several networks, including WebProNews, 9Rules and IM
Newswatch. He also serves as a member of the Yahoo! MyBlogLog
Advisory Group.
Alan Weissman
Alan Weissman, President of Young Lion, Inc. and owner and
operator of MyNursingUniforms.com, the #1 Dickies Scrubs online
seller. MyNursingUniforms.com runs affiliate programs on Google
Affiliate Network and AvantLink.
Linda Woods
Linda Woods is a sought-after consultant and recognized expert in
the areas of e-commerce and affiliate marketing who has helped
scores of companies find success in the competitive, ever-changing
Internet landscape. Linda has been involved with affiliate marketing
since its inception. After gaining experience that included working
at then-startup Commission Junction in 1999, Linda started her own
Internet marketing consultancy - PartnerCentric - in 2000. Today
PartnerCentric manages more than 30 of the top affiliate programs
and has expanded to become a full-service Internet marketing
agency that offers media buying, e-mail marketing, social media
management and all creative services from banners to web design.
Linda is a frequent speaker at affiliate-related events and has been
featured in many publications, including Revenue magazine. She
lives in Santa Barbara, California, along with her son.
FEEDFRONT MAGAZINE | JANUARY 2009 | 57
 London Calling:
a4uexpo Recap Thinking
By Matthew Wood
The second annual a4uexpo Affiliate Marketing
Outside the Ad
By David Fortino
Conference & Exhibition took place on October 14-15
in London, England.

Attendance was up 25% from last year with well over

1,000 attendees passing through the venue at ExCeL London
during the two day conference. Those in attendance were able to
network with over forty exhibitors, listen to eighty international speakers,
Why should it be accepted that the only way to generate
attend over forty conference sessions, and have a great time at three revenue for your site is to bombard your audience with ads
networking parties after conference hours.
that your audience eventually ignores?
Highlights from day one of the conference sessions included a master class
in WordPress optimization by Joost De Valk. Also, there was an insightful
session on utilizing mobile within the space and how to secure buy-in for your Far too often, publishers have come to the affiliate programs. While many publishers
affiliate program from the CEO – sometimes a tricky task. conclusion that making money has to come at realize this to be the case, they struggle to find
the cost of compromising user experience. The ways to monetize free content efficiently.
The day ended with a very entertaining Extreme SEO discussion involving five of crafty publisher has realized this and embraced
Europe’s top search engine optimization gurus who gave the 300+ audience a revealing new forms of monetizing their traffic that their The onus shouldn’t be on the publisher
insight into the darker side of SEO and how to protect you against it. audience actually welcomes. to figure this out. They should partner with
companies who can help in a seamless manner
An information-packed session by Dr. Karl Blanks and Ben Jesson at Conversion Rate Experts Free offers such as free magazines and start collecting the cash. Something as
demonstrated that you can use psychological methods to increase conversions. This certainly woke up subscriptions, white papers, software trials, simple as a subtle link inclusion in a post/article
the audience and vast note-taking was witnessed. podcasts and webinars have proven to be could drive substantial revenues if targeted
an extremely lucrative way for publishers to correctly.
Networking was far from over on day one, as the evening was spent cruising down the Thames not only generate an incremental revenue
past famous landmarks on the largest entertainment vessel available in London. On board stream, but also reward their visitors for their Audit the advertising opportunities on your
were the crème of the affiliate marketing industry with 500+ affiliates, merchants, agencies and continued support. sites and test alternatives, such as free offers, to
networks enjoying food, drink and discussion. optimize your site. If you’re running campaigns
Tapping into human nature and the impulse that your audience isn’t interested in, you’re
Through the generosity of those onboard, $7,000 was raised for Cancer Research and the of requesting something that is free has turned simply willingly wasting opportunities.
Lymphoma Association in a charity auction. the traditional revenue generation model on its
head for many publishers. David Fortino is the Vice President of Audience
Day two session highlights included informative sessions on how to conquer European affiliate Development at NetLine Corporation and
marketing, coupon code implementation, and award-winning affiliate managers shared their most Gone are the days where you constantly have RevResponse.com.
important marketing strategies. to rely on selling your audience something or
sending them to a site that’s only going to ask
Other sessions included Meet the Super Affiliates Q&A, as well as coverage of mobile, video, rebate and API’s for their credit card shortly after visiting.
and how these channels are placed within the sector and what their role will be in 2009.
Exhibit Hall at a4uexpo
London 2008 Think about it…giving your audience a free
The Ice Party, incorporating the now infamous Vodka luge, was the final networking opportunity for those looking
subscription to Oracle Magazine or sending
to maximize their time and close deals at a4uexpo.
them over to Amazon to buy a book on Oracle.
What do you think would perform better?
The next event will be a4uexpo Europe, taking place in Amsterdam at the RAI Centre on
April 28-29, 2009.
The conversion rates on free products are
statistically off the charts in comparison to
a4uexpo London will be returning to ExCeL on October 13-14, 2009.
traditional commerce/transactional based
FeedFront readers are invited to claim 10% off both events using the code FF10.

Matt Wood is the Managing Director of Existem Ltd, as well as the founder of the
affiliates4u forum and a4uexpo.

FEEDFRONT MAGAZINE | JANUARY 2009 | 59

How to Effectively Blog for Branding
and Monetization
By Andrew Wee
There’s a perception that blogging is
just a platform for creating affiliate
sites and generating profits with them,
which may not be totally undeserved.
A well-maintained blog features
frequent and new content, compared to
traditional article style websites. Search
engines happily send visitors seeking
niche relevant content by featuring
blogs high in their results.
However, blogging can be much more
than just another quick way to create a
Web site and pump it full of advertising
and embedding affiliate links in the
post. That’s just scratching a blog’s
potential.
The big money comes when you
establish a brand and THEN bank on
your brand.
The Power of Branding
In a study conducted by a retailer which
manufactured their own lines of car
batteries, it found that one product line
consistently outsold the others many
times over.
This was despite the fact that the
batteries had the same specifications
and performed the same.
The difference? The brand.
One brand carried the retailer’s name,
while the other product line was
labeled Die Hard batteries.
The Die Hards flew off the shelves,
outselling the ones carrying the
retailer’s name many times over.
60 | JANUARY 2009 | FEEDFRONT MAGAZINE
How does this relate to Internet
marketing?
Think about your niche for a moment. Is
there a particular influencer or opinion
leader that almost everyone listens to?
Is there an Oprah or Martha or Larry
King who talks and causes everyone
else to listen?
With the power of blogging, you don’t
need to have a million dollar budget to
achieve the same effect.
Here are some tips to help you break
apart from the millions of blogger out
there:
• Integrity: Honesty and reputation are
two of the highest valued attributes
when people were surveyed about
role models they admire and respect.
The personality and character
outclassed even physical appearance
and wealth.
• Integrity in the blogging context
means you’re objective in your posts,
it may even mean choosing not to
promote affiliate products with high
payouts, simply because you don’t
agree with the ethics of the industry
or the manner in which it is projected.
• See things in a different light:
You may have your favorite news
channels, which sounds strange
because all broadcasters have access
to the same news source. What makes
it different is the way in which it’s
presented.
• Being able to understand how
everyone else is doing things, and
consciously choosing an approach
that reflects your personality and
gives a fresh perspective to your
audience will have them thanking
you for your efforts.
Studying some of your favorite
blogs and analyzing their style and
techniques will give you ideas for
enhancing your blogging style.
While establishing a brand with your
blog takes more effort than merely
publishing keyword-loaded posts, it
can generate huge dividends for your
profits and your business.
Andrew Wee is the creator of the
SecretBlogWeapon.com blogging system
and blogs at http://WhoIsAndrewWee.com
Click Fraud:
What Every Online
Advertiser Needs to Know
By Harald Anderson
Imagine the following scenario… You open up your cellular When you stop and ponder the fact that Google generated
telephone bill and you have been charged an astonishing $10,000 $17 billion dollars in profits over the last twelve months, you can
for last month’s activity. Convinced that there must be an error, you certainly understand how a 16 percent fraud rate would be enough
contact customer service to question the charges. to rattle the foundations of e-commerce online.
When you request a copy of the calls made to achieve those Somebody’s got some serious ‘splainin to do!
charges, the customer service representative tells you they cannot
make that available to you because it would compromise the A few years ago, Google dropped a lawsuit and settled out of
security of their platform. court with a leading developer of a ‘clickbot.’ These clickbots
are software designed to hide and rotate a computer’s specific
What?! Sound hard to believe? numerical identification, or IP address.
Unfortunately, incidents like this occur quite regularly in the pay
per click industry. The unique characteristic of a clickbot is that it can space clicks
minutes apart to make them appear much less conspicuous.
Customers who once wholeheartedly put their faith in online Observers of the case reasoned that settling it kept the
advertising are beginning to question the integrity of a system embarrassing news off the front pages and out of sight of online
riddled with fraud, corruption and corporate spin experts. advertisers.
The problem, in a nutshell, is that the pay per click model is prone The question I ask is: Where is the outrage?
to illicit monetization opportunities that often are very difficult to
detect or stop. Over the past few years, a prosperous underground I cannot think of another industry where such an illicit wealth
click-fraud community has arisen where members are compensated transfer can occur so quickly and undetected.
to click on the advertisements of other members Web sites. How large is the global market for evil? If this issue continues
unresolved, I can assure you that the pay per click model will be
These “paid to read” or “paid to click” rings are comprised of tens replaced by something less prone to fraud, corruption and spin.
of thousands of members who earn income for fraudulently clicking
on advertisements. Harald Anderson is a passionate pay per click marketing expert and the
Director of Search Engine Marketing at Clickbooth.com.
In many instances, participants from Virginia to Bangladesh speak of
earning as little as $10 to several thousand per month. This is income
they could never have earned if the pay per click search engines were
as successful at stopping click fraud as they claim.
The crux of the matter lies in the huge discrepancies between
private click fraud companies and the pay per click search engines
themselves.
For example, Click Forensics, a leading click fraud monitoring
platform, routinely reports a pay per click fraud rate in between 16-
27 percent. Google, on the other hand, claims that the actual level
is closer to .2 percent.
FEEDFRONT MAGAZINE | JANUARY 2009 | 61
Improve Your Blog Earnings By Zac Johnson
We all know that blogging is one of the
fastest and most effective ways for you to
have your voice heard. However, blogging
is also one of the slowest methods for
generating money online.
Not only do you have to establish yourself
or your blog, but you also need traffic,
readers that interact, and a blog that people
actually want to read.
Once you have established your blog,
it’s time to focus on increasing the overall
value. I recommend you implement the
following tips for instantly increasing your
blog’s revenue month over month.
Stop Making the Middle Man Rich
There is no reason why you should be
giving up 30% or more to a middle man ad
serving company. Take advantage of direct
sales on your blog and you can rapidly
increase your income.
You know what type of advertisers your
readers have an interest in. Do not wait for
advertisers to contact you, contact them
and make a deal.
Residual Income is Awesome
There is nothing better than residual
income. Unfortunately, it’s also one of the
harder affiliate programs to come by.
If you can generate leads from your blog
that will earn you residual income, you will
rapidly see a wave of increasing dollars in
your pocket every month.
You Must Have a Newsletter
I cannot stress how important it is to have
your own newsletter. The majority of your
blog visitors will probably come to your
Web site once, and most likely will never
come back again.
If you can get them to subscribe to your
mailing list, not only can you provide them
with exclusive content, but they will also
receive a notification every time you write a
new post. It’s never too early to start building
your newsletter list.
Give Your Readers Something Free
An excellent way to make your blog stand
out from the competition is to offer a free
ebook or service to your readers. You are
most likely already writing a blog about a
niche topic you know very well, so why not
offer your readers a free ebook in exchange
for joining your newsletter?
I’m sure you have seen many of these tips
before. The difference is that you may not
have implemented them yet.
Now that you have finished reading this
article, go to your computer right now and
make the necessary changes to improve
your bottom line.
Zac Johnson is the President and CEO of
MoneyReign, Inc. You can read his blog at
ZacJohnson.com.
“Ask InternetGeekGirl” By Stephanie Agresta
Q: Dear IGG.
I’m an “up-and-comer” in
social media and online
marketing. I work for
a startup with limited
resources. You seem to be
everywhere at all times!
What would you suggest
a social media gal on a
budget do?
Sincerely,
Pimp My Conference Stephanie Agresta Speaking at Affiliate Summit West 2008
Schedule own event during the show, such as a networking via social networks and
VIP dinner or entertaining outing. You email to set up critical meetings. You’ll
Dear PMCS: can maximize the number of leads from save time and energy by not wandering
this one experience and spend the next the lobby aimlessly.
These days it’s hard not to be inundated year closing business.
• Go Local: In addition to conferences,
with the sheer volume of specialized
• Find a Conference Buddy: Splitting there are many local events that you
conferences and events in our industry. It
travel costs is a no-brainer. Bunk with can attend for free and you won’t come
can feel overwhelming. Given shrinking
a friend and attend all the freebie food home to a full in-box.
budgets, here’s my best advice for saving
and drink events you can. Every startup
some dough and maximizing your • Be Informed: Make sure you have a
loves a cost-conscious employee.
marketing investment: detailed list of all the conferences out
• Submit Yourself as a Speaker: A great there. Add the Somewhat Frank (Frank
• Focus on One Core Show: If you’re
way to save on attendance costs is to Gruber) public Google calendar to your
reading this article, there is a good
be selected as a speaker. Almost every iGoogle.
chance you participate in the
conference has an online submission
performance marketing industry
process for suggesting content ideas. Got a question for InternetGeekGirl? Send it
and you already know about Affiliate
You can rally some colleagues and to contact@feedfront.com.
Summit. Affiliate Summit is a great
put together a panel with you serving
example of a show that is seminal to
as the moderator. Not bad for your Stephanie Agresta blogs at InternetGeekGirl.
its market. My advice is to maximize
personal brand either! com and Twitters compulsively @
your presence at one critical show per
stephagresta.
year. Instead of spreading yourself • Attend One New Conference a Year:
thin at four conferences where you see I know I just said to cut back in some
the same people, consider spending areas, but I also make an effort to go to
additional dollars to get more attention one show each year that I skipped the
at one show (including a well-timed, previous year. This helps expand your
coordinated announcement and horizons and your network. It can also
influencer relations campaign leading give you a leg up on your competitors.
up to the event). Review lower cost
• Prepare: Make sure you do pre-show
sponsorships; and consider doing your
FEEDFRONT MAGAZINE | JANUARY 2009 | 63
My .02 on SMX East By Wil Reynolds
If you can’t keep up with the conference of the month, last month
SMX landed in the Big Apple. The Javits Center to be exact.
Registration went smoothly, so I was off to the races and on to my
first session.
It seems Internet marketing conferences sometimes struggle with
balancing introductory, medium and advanced content in one
event. SMX advanced tends to lean more on the Intermediate level
and that seems to fair well with most of the attendees.
That said, I still walked out of many of the sessions feeling like the
20 or so tips I gained made the cost well worth it. In fact, there is
strong value there for most people.
Two speakers who really blew me away with new ideas, tools,
and perspectives were Stephan Spencer of Netconcepts and Debra
Mastaler of Alliance Link. As someone who has been at this for
10+ years, I often go to these events to network, but their sessions
taught me a lot and gave me plenty of food for thought.
The big news of the show was the launch of SEOmoz’s Linkscape
tool, which will attempt to level the playing field by providing
information to Webmasters on linking. It is long overdue, as running
a link search in Google might only show you 1-5% of your links. This
tool’s launch was definitely the talk of SMX, but time will tell if it is a
strong as it claims.
Photo by Third Door Media, Inc.
Search Marketing Expo NYC 2008
Photo by Third Door Media, Inc.
New to me were the 30-minute educational sessions in the expo
hall, with hosts from Google, SEOmoz, Apogee Search, and others.
These presentations were an excellent way for exhibit hall
attendees to get a condensed version of the full breakout session,
which they wouldn’t typically get to experience. Topics included
linking, paid search, and analytics. Since the expo hall was a bit on
the small side, this was also a great attraction for those companies
with booths.
Advanced and basic tracks were clearly defined and labeled,
which made it easy for attendees to follow. The in-house track
was also very useful. It was geared towards helping companies
that manage search internally (in-house) and raised issues and
solutions for their specific needs. I especially liked the panel on
“How To Break Up With Your Agency.” This was a unique topic and
one that I think is important for attendees to understand when
structuring agreements.
One of the sessions unique to SMX is titled “Give It Up”, where
the rule is you can’t blog about anything that is presented for
30 days. It provides some exclusivity on the content and makes
SMX distinctive.
All in all, it was a great show. I learned a lot and got to see some
of the SEO royalty.
Wil founded SEER Interactive, a Philadelphia-based SEO firm in 2002.
FEEDFRONT MAGAZINE | JANUARY 2009 | 65
Chat Improves Conversions–
That’s What We All Want!
By Durk Price
For the last year, my company has been implementing artificial intelligence chat
to save sales following cart abandonments. As a performance-based marketing
company, we are always looking for ways to improve conversions as a way to
helping our clients grow.
determine how to make the best offer to
keep the cart from being abandoned.
And most importantly, none of these
solutions protected the affiliate commission.
Chatting to Save a Sale
We got a recommendation to try UpSellIt,
a chat technology company, and began
talking to them about their save-a-sale
application. We liked their responsiveness,
their customer service, their referrals and
their performance pricing model and began
a rollout with a number of clients.
The results were an instantaneous
improvement in conversions; affiliate
conversions and PPC and natural traffic
conversions too. UpSellIt’s claims of improving
site-wide conversions of between 8-15% were
UpSellit.com Homepage well founded.
We felt that attacking cart abandonments Now we have about 20 clients using the
was a really great way to help our clients product. Our client conversions of cart
as we also improved our program abandons to sales run between 15% and
performance. 35% with the monthly average for all clients
using it of between 19% and 20%.
We also required a solution that would
protect the affiliate traffic being sent to our Convincing the Client
client sites. One of our wins was with a larger client of
ours, who has an experienced US based
Most applications we saw were of the DIY in-house customer support team and a
(do-it-yourself ) variety, or connected to a state-of-the-art live chat software.
live chat feature, as in “thanks for the cash,
good luck installing it” kind of attitude. Initially not too excited about the idea,
they added it on a sister site and the results
None of these solutions offered best turned their heads. Then they installed
practices models or insights to help clients UpSellIt on the main site.
66 | JANUARY 2009 | FEEDFRONT MAGAZINE
Targeting very deep cart abandons, where
live chat responses were not fast enough to
keep prospective purchasers from leaving
the site, they now are experiencing cart
abandon conversions to sales of 35%.
We are now so sold on the tool and the
relationship with UpSellIt that it is a virtual
requirement for us to take on a new client.
To make sure the client understands the
opportunity offered by this application, we
are running numbers to show them how
this will impact their site-wide sales.
And these days, making every visitor
session count is important.
The Customer is Always Right
Lastly, one of the things we were concerned
about was negative customer feedback.
After one year of installations in a broad
variety of clients and categories, we have
yet to receive one customer complaint.
Durk Price is President of eAccountable
OPM, which provides outsourced program
management for 40+ clients across most
major networks.
Affiliate Opportunities
in a Recession
By Nicky Senyard
Between the current financial climate
and the holidays having just passed us,
consumers are going to be less likely to
make purchases. So affiliates should be
considering what kinds of promotions to
focus on in the coming months.
The obvious answer is to promote
online savings, but with so many
ways to provide consumers savings,
affiliates have to decide what kind of
savings to focus on offering.
Well, the numbers prior and
leading up to the holidays offer
some insight into the savings
that consumers look for online
during a recession, and coupons
seem to represent a great affiliate
opportunity.
Coupons on the Rise
Months before the credit crisis
peaked, both comScore and
Hitwise noticed that coupons
were one of the leading ways
that consumers were saving on
their purchases. In fact, if they
were going to spend, there was
a good chance they were going
Nick Senyard to look for a coupon first.
For instance, Hitwise reported that during
the week ending May 3, 2008, visits to
coupon sites were up 85% year-over-year for
that week. Consumers were also spending
39% more time on these sites that they did
the previous year. Similarly, searches for the
term “coupons” were up 45% year-over-year
for that same week.
If consumers were seeking out coupons
online before the economic slowdown
turned into a full-blown recession, then
coupons should persist as a very strong
opportunity for some time to come.
FEEDFRONT MAGAZINE | JANUARY 2009 | 67
Focusing on Coupons
If coupon offers are a promising recession
opportunity, then affiliates need to
understand who is downloading them
and what they are using them to save on.
All indicators suggest that the majority of
coupon users are women, and that family-
related coupons are the most popular.
When it comes to ecommerce activities,
women seem overwhelmingly focused on
family savings. In October, for instance, the
Marketing to Moms Coalition found that
some of the most popular online activities for
women were shopping for their children and
downloading coupons.
By focusing on promoting family-related
coupons, then, affiliates can help insulate
themselves against reduced consumer
spending. Family-related coupons not only
target the kinds of products that consumers
look for in a recession, but especially the
demographic that is most actively searching
for them.
Opportunity Knocking
A change in the economy does not mean a
lost opportunity. Rather, it means a changed
one. Consumers may have tightened
budgets, but that only means they will alter
how they buy. Their family budgets will have
to go further, but there are some things they
will always need, so there is considerable
opportunity for affiliates who can help them
save on such items.
By promoting coupons, affiliates can attract
not only consumers looking for coupons, but
the full spectrum of consumers looking to
save – which will be most of them. Coupon
promotions, therefore provide affiliates an
opportunity to profit from helping families
make ends meet.
Nicky Senyard is the founder and CEO of
ShareResults.com, a relationship-focused
affiliate network.
Using Trademarks in Affiliate Marketing
By Mark Rosenberg

Using someone else’s trademarks for marketing purposes can
pose legal risks for affiliates. Many trademark owners claim that
such use is prohibited. However, it is not that simple. Affiliates
can use another’s trademarks under certain conditions.
The central issue is whether the trademark use is likely to
confuse consumers into believing that the trademark user is
related to or authorized by the trademark owner. If the use is
likely to cause confusion, the use is prohibited.
Put another way, an affiliate can use another’s trademark in a
keyword, metatag or Web site content if that use is not likely to
cause confusion.
Even if there is no likelihood of confusion, there are limits.
Under the legal doctrine known as “nominative fair use,” an
affiliate can use another’s trademark only if (i) the trademark
owner’s product or service cannot be readily identified
without the use of the trademark; and (ii) the trademark is
used only to the extent necessary to identify the trademarked
product or service.
While it may be permissible for an affiliate to offer a Starbucks
gift card, the bounds of fair use are exceeded if the affiliate
uses an image of an actual Starbucks gift card (which may also
constitute copyright infringement) or displays a mock gift card
with the word Starbucks in a large and/or bold font.
Similarly, a permitted use of a trademark can become
infringing when the trademark is used with text which creates
the impression that the trademark owner authorized or is
sponsoring the affiliate’s offer.
While this may simply be a result of sloppy drafting, for
trademark infringement liability, intent is irrelevant. All that
matters is whether there is a likelihood of confusion.
By using another’s trademarks for the right reason and in a
proper manner, you can avoid trademark disputes.
Mark J. Rosenberg is an attorney with Sills Cummis & Gross P.C. in
New York City and can be reached at 212-643-7000.

An affiliate must also have a good faith reason to be using the

trademark. For example, an affiliate can purchase the trademark
as a keyword or place it an email if the affiliate is offering the
genuine trademarked product.
They can also use a trademark to make a legitimate
comparison to the trademarked product or to inform consumers
that a merchant is offering a generic version of that product.

On the other hand, if the affiliate is not offering the

trademarked product and either purchases the trademark as
a keyword in order to drive traffic to their Web site or uses it in
Web site content in order to obtain an organic listing that use
will likely be problematic.
When affiliates find themselves on the wrong side of a cease
and desist letter, it is often because the limits of nominative fair
use have been exceeded. This frequently happens when an
affiliate calls undue attention to the trademark.

For example, nominative fair use only permits the use of a

trademark in block letters. Using a trademark in its stylized logo
form or in font that is more prominent than the surrounding text
is impermissible. Gift card offers are often problematic.

68 | JANUARY 2009 | FEEDFRONT MAGAZINE