SAVE THE DATE: AffiliATE SuMMiT WEST 2011 - JAnuAry 9-11 in VEgAS
The Official Magazine of Affiliate Summit
Issue 11 | August 2010
YTCracker:
The Life of a Meganerd
from
the Trash 80 to a black Mercedes Page 7
Boosting Your Traffic and Credibility with PR
By Ali Croft Page 19
Evaluating Your Merchant’s E-Commerce Website
By George Hansen Page 30
Affiliate Summit East 2010 Agenda Page 36
Social Media’s Rules of Engagement
By Brian Solis Page 67
www.affiliatesummit.com
™
Table of Contents
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03 |
The importance of Public relations |
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Mike Sprouse |
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04 |
grow your Audience Through Podcasting |
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Daniel M. Clark |
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05 |
The Truth About Paid Traffic |
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Ad Hustler |
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07 |
interview - yTCracker: |
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The life of a Meganerd |
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Shawn Collins |
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09 |
The Power of Headlines |
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Ola Edvardsson |
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10 |
Avoiding the Butterflies of Distraction |
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Aaron Dragushan |
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11 |
Mobile Affiliate Marketing – 4 Ways to Start |
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Liane Carmi and Jim Lillig |
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12 |
Why Was My Affiliate Application Declined? |
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Trisha Lyn Fawver |
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13 |
guest Posting for Traffic and links |
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Cathy Stucker |
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14 |
Best Practices for B2B Affiliate Marketers |
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Todd Bloch |
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16 |
Affiliate Marketers raise $73,000 to Battle Breast Cancer |
Missy Ward
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19
20
21
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
life of a Traveling Affiliate
Joshua Wexelbaum
Boosting your Traffic and Credibility with Pr
Ali Croft
Pop Culture Sites: Quick Pros and Cons
Tricia Meyer
use Joomla! to Explode your Affiliate income
Michael Wayne
Write Web Content Worth Sharing
Nick Usborne
Marketing to Women Online
Sara Anderson
get Out of the Basement & into Coworking
Shawn Collins
Tips for Creating Effective Web Video
Kevin Hillman
Show Me the Money!
By Gil Abir and Amy Ely
A Case for increased 2011 Performance Marketing Budgets
David Dalka
The Path to Multiple Affiliate network Success
Bob Drumm
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30 |
Evaluating your Merchant’s E-Commerce Website |
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George Hansen |
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31 |
The rebranding of Affiliate Marketing |
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Scott Medlock |
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32 |
AffStat Affiliate Marketing Statistics |
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34 |
Become a Master unnetworker |
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Kim Ann Curtin |
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36 |
Affiliate Summit East 2010 - Show Agenda |
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48 |
frank luntz - Keynote Bio |
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49 |
Jim Kukral - Keynote Bio |
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50 |
Speaker Bios |
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64 |
Product feeds Can Do What? |
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Lee Brignell-Cash |
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65 |
utilizing Mobile Ads in Affiliate Marketing |
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Michael Grabowski |
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66 |
niche Websites - David Beats goliath |
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Ryan Gilbert |
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67 |
Social Media’s rules of Engagement |
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Brian Solis |
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70 |
Hilton new york Map |
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Issue 11 | AUGUST 2010
STAff
Co-Editors in Chief
Missy Ward, Shawn Collins
Co-Publishers
Missy Ward, Shawn Collins
™
Contributing Writers
Gil Abir, Sara Anderson, Todd Bloch, Lee Brignell- Cash, Liane Carmi, Daniel M. Clark, Shawn Collins, Ali Croft, Kim Ann Curtin, David Dalka, Aaron Dragushan, Bob Drumm, Ola Edvardsson, Amy Ely, Trisha Lyn Fawver, Ryan Gilbert, Michael Grabowski, George Hansen, Kevin Hillman, Ad Hustler, Jim Lillig, Scott Medlock, Tricia Meyer, Brian Solis, Mike Sprouse, Cathy Stucker, Nick Usborne, Missy Ward, Michael Wayne, Joshua Wexelbaum
graphic Design
Lynn Lee Design
Magazine Coordinator
Amy Rodriguez
Proofreader
Trisha Lyn Fawver
Affiliate Summit 1253 Springfield Avenue, Suite 327 New Providence, NJ 07974-1935 tel (417) 2SUMMIT (278-6648) 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 feedfront@affiliatesummit.com
© 2010 Affiliate Summit, Inc. and Individual Authors
Editors’ note – 11th issue
Call Me Anything, Just Don’t Call Me late for Dinner
There’s been a lot of talk of late regarding a change in the affiliate marketing nomenclature; inclusive of the industry name itself.
Some argue that as our industry evolves, that the designation should take on a broader descriptive, e.g., “performance marketing industry”, in which affiliate marketing plays a vital role as a significant channel; yet one of many.
As an industry, we do tend to overcomplicate the issue by using disparate terminology for essentially the same things, leading to even greater confusion, especially to folks outside of our community.
For the last decade, I’ve called myself an “affiliate”, while others have preferred to be called “publisher” or “associate”. Lately, I’ve also seen the term “media partner” being used to essentially describe the same relationship that I’ve had with my “merchants” (or “advertisers”, depending on what THEY choose to call themselves).
Some make a case that “affiliate marketing” carries a lot of yucky baggage with it and
by renaming it “performance marketing”, that our industry will garner more media attention, become shielded from advertising tax laws and that it will somehow change the perception that some people have about our industry overall.
Others maintain that after spending years educating online marketers and the public about affiliate marketing that changing the name now, would set us back in a time where our industry continues to emerge and is now being recognized as a legitimate, viable marketing channel.
As I look at the agenda for Affiliate Summit East 2010 included in this issue and the incorporated articles written by the experienced marketers that specialize in various subsets of internet marketing, I would wager that many do not call themselves affiliate marketers or performance marketers. Rather, they likely have labeled themselves as social media marketers, SEO’s, bloggers, e-mailers, direct marketers, etc., even though they all are involved in affiliate marketing at some level and are actively trying to increase their foothold in our growing sector of online marketing.
So, while I’m all for a term to better reflect our industry’s forward-thinking, innovative, multi-channel approach to generating sales and leads, I don’t know if I’m ready to change it to performance marketing, just because it somehow seems more mainstream.
“A rose by any other name would smell as sweet.”- William Shakespeare
Email me your thoughts at missyward@affiliatesummit.com to be published in FeedFront Magazine’s new Letters to the Editor section.
Missy Ward is a Co-founder of Affiliate Summit and Co-Editor-in-Chief of FeedFront Magazine.
The importance of Public relations
By Mike Sprouse
Most advertising executives and marketers believe nowadays that a successful public relations strategy can play a vital and ROI- accretive role in their company’s success.
From creating a positive corporate image, to reaching out to influencers within the industry or media, public relations can shape how both internal and external stakeholders view the company.
With the speed at which our
communication tactics are changing, it
is fundamental that your company’s PR
strategy remain current and in line with corporate goals.
In today’s business world, immediacy and transparency are two terms that should be of high importance to company executives. Due to the Internet-created 24 hour news cycle of our society, any news that
a company makes—whether it is good or
bad—can be spread all over the world in a matter of minutes.
With social media, blogs and forums, consumers and affiliates have the opportunity to engage in dialogue with company representatives to share their thoughts and make their voices heard. This is vastly different from a decade ago when public relations were seen as one- way communication, with the companies controlling the message.
The ability of consumers and performance marketers to engage in conversations with company representatives makes it necessary for companies to be transparent. It can be very easy for advertising agencies, networks and performance-based affiliates to be viewed negatively if they are not upfront about their business practices.
Often, companies that are transparent are more successful due to the trust they are able to foster with their internal and external publics.
That said, just having a solid public relations mindset is not enough. Companies must be willing to speak up about the necessity of setting a good example with their public relations strategy. Because misinformation can be spread so easily, having good relationships with media and trusting stakeholders and affiliates can help companies avoid a crisis situation.
Advertising companies and networks must ensure that everyone—from employees to affiliates—is on the same page. If the employees are unhappy about the direction their company is perceived to be heading, morale and production will drop, and this image manifests itself outside company walls.
But if stakeholders and other external influencers are confident in your company, it will be reflected in your brand’s image and return on investment.
By creating and sticking to a strong PR approach, advertising organizations can ensure that they are communicating quickly and efficiently with affiliates. This communication is important to ensure that everyone associated with the company is presenting a unified message.
With so many Web-savvy people engaged with networks and ad intermediaries, the smallest discrepancy or problem can make news, affecting the company’s brand, as well as its finances.
The bottom line is this: PR is more important than ever no matter where you sit in the online marketing ecosystem.
Mike Sprouse is the CMO of Epic Media Group, where he oversees all marketing strategy.
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Daniel M. Clark
Grow Your Audience Through
Podcasting By Daniel M. Clark
It isn’t as sexy as video. It isn’t as trendy as mobile advertising or social media, If you ask anyone in our industry if they do it, chances are, they don’t.
Podcasting.
Often overlooked and underrated, podcasting is a fantastic way to communicate with your customers and fans, expand your reach and, frankly, have a lot of fun. The best part about it? It’s practically free to do and easier than almost anything else you have in your repertoire.
It’s cheaper, faster and much more simple to produce than video. It isn’t as complicated as getting into the mobile game. It isn’t nearly as time consuming as social media. You don’t have to replace any of those activities—if you’ve got twenty minutes a week and a microphone (you almost certainly do, on both counts) you can be a successful podcaster.
Still not convinced? Wizzard Media announced that 1.4 billion podcast downloads were processed in 2009. They are just one source for podcasts. People are listening. What do you want to say to them?
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Choose a Topic
What do you have to talk about? I know there is something related to your business that you can talk about for 20 minutes. Do you release new products every week? Would you like to interview people in your company or in your industry? Choosing a topic shouldn’t be too difficult; even the most esoteric topics have listeners.
Just as with blogging, though, don’t feel that you need to be all business. It is often better to podcast about a topic you’re passionate about. Listeners will get to know you and your bio (which you’ll mention at the start and end of each show) will lead them back to your business.
Plan, Plan, Plan
One key to listener retention is ensuring that listeners know what to expect. Once you’ve chosen your topic, stick to it. If your topic is fine art, don’t spend ten minutes talking about your dog. Listeners won’t stick around waiting for your main topic to come up. You don’t need to be completely inflexible, but vary too wildly and you’ll turn off the listeners you’ve worked to attract.
Part of listener expectations is your schedule. Ideally, you will publish your podcast episodes on the same day(s) every week. Like blogging, content published on a regular schedule is preferred by the people that consume it.
Another key to listener retention is repetition. Not repetition in what you say, but repetition in how you say it. Be yourself, or choose a persona that you can stick with. Consider your topic, and plan your style accordingly. Worried about your voice? Don’t be! Be natural. You’re not Tom Brokaw or Oprah, and listeners don’t expect you to be. Your voice is fine.
Once you’ve got a plan, you’re ready to investigate the technical details of recording, editing, uploading and promoting. The good news is all those things are a breeze once you’ve got your plan in place!
Daniel M. Clark is a co-host of the Geek Dads Weekly podcast (geekdadsweekly.com).
By Ad Hustler
The typical CPA affiliate has three main components to a campaign that determine whether it’s a failure or a success: Traffic Source -> Landing Page -> Affiliate Offer. We’ll discuss traffic sources, as this component can make or break the whole campaign.
Paid traffic sources typically fall into a few major categories with countless subcategories.
Pay-Per-Click (PPC) PPC is very broad. Search engines, as well as most social networks, use a PPC bidding model to sell off their ad inventory. There are also ad networks dedicated to selling media on a pay-per-click basis.
Many affiliates start out by using PPC because there is typically not a large monetary commitment; ads are easy to change and the traffic tends to be scalable. The problem with PPC is that search engines and social networks have high quality standards which sometimes causes an issue getting the ad to actually run.
Pay-Per-View (PPV) PPV, sometimes also called contextual traffic, is generated through adware installed on a user’s computer. The user downloads a game or other piece of software bundled with adware provided by an ad network that caters to this niche.
The advertiser can then bid on targets based on keywords the user types or websites they visit. This triggers a popup.
Some advantages to PPV are that there are no quality score issues and getting your ad to show up is as simple as outbidding the other advertisers that want to show up on that target.
The downside is that the traffic tends to be lower quality, harder to monetize and there is so much that it can crash your server.
Media Buy Media buys are typically priced one of two ways: a cost per impression basis (CPM) or flat rate for a set time period. You can either do individual site buys where you contact a webmaster and negotiate a deal to advertise on a site, or go through an ad network and have your ads placed on many sites.
The upside to media buys is that if you can create a profitable campaign, the
opportunity to scale it out is tremendous. The downside is that you are typically locked into your media buys and the upfront investment required can be substantial.
I’ve used all of these traffic sources profitably. My advice to other affiliates is to master one traffic source to start. Rather than jumping around and trying to capitalize on the latest and greatest source of traffic to hit the streets, learn the ins and outs of one particular source.
This will allow you to have a solid traffic source to launch new campaigns, better connections with account managers and sometimes gets you access to profitable information that other affiliates would never find out about.
Ad Hustler has been advertising online for more than 7 years, and he blogs at www.adhustler.com
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Photo by Gary-Rosenzweig-MacMost.com
YTCracker:
By Shawn Collins
The Life of a Meganerd
from
the Trash 80 to a black Mercedes
I was reading some posts on ppc.bz last fall and there was the audio of a song called Hogg Theme Song by YTCracker. That was my first exposure to what I later found out was Nerdcore hip hop and I liked it.
It had the sound of hip hop, but the lyrics covered nerd stuff like video games and programming. And this guy Bryce Case, Jr., aka YTCracker (pronounced “whitey cracker”), intrigued me. I checked out his Wikipedia entry and found it he’s a former cracker who gained infamy for defacing several federal and municipal government sites in the United States, as well as in private industry at the age of 17.
Since then, he’s made a name for himself in affiliate marketing, as well with his music, record label (Nerdy South Records), and as a DJ.
Recently, I sat down with him to get the rest of the story behind YTCracker.
Shawn Collins: What’s the origin of your name, YTCracker?
yTCracker: In a nutshell, YTCracker (or its various other forms of capitalization I utilize, depending on what mood I am in) is just
a catchy infini-entendre that plays off the
color of my skin, computer hacking, “youthful technology”, the Kourier girl “Yours Truly” from Snow Crash, the YucaTan Peninsula, and the simulation game Yoot Tower. Conveniently, when people want to know if I am around, they can text/email/IM me with the efficient, six-character message “yt yt?”
As a white nerd coming up in the rap game,
I could take the wind out of the sails of many
a battle rapper by being self-deprecating
from the jump. Sadly, it is somewhat of a misnomer because I am actually only half- white - my dad is close to 50% Choctaw and Cherokee, and my mom is 50% Hawaiian and Chinese.
It is for this reason that YT most likely stands
for “Young Trickster,” thereby joining the ranks of other famous rapping Youngs like Young Jeezy, Yung Joc, Young Buck, Neil (Kneel) Young, and the Young Money clique.
SC: Do you think government sites are properly fortified against cyber terrorism
threats? How about air traffic, banks, public
utilities?
yTC: In another nutshell, no, but not necessarily for technological reasons. The
weakest link in any computer system is the moron sitting in front of the keyboard, and as long as there are morons to be socially engineered and manipulated like pawns or college-age girls, the hackers will always have the upper hand.
SC: Did you really learn to program BASIC from age 4? In your song, “meganerd”, you mention the “trash 80” - did you learn on the TRS-80 as a kid?
yTC: I was a precocious Young Trickster. I loved reading, and my wonderful mother got me started early on with the books, and my dad was a rocket scientist who spent his day designing missiles to fight the Communists.
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Nowadays, computers are very commonplace, and can be found in almost every home; most kids from my generation didn’t grow up with
personal computers, leaving only the alpha nerds like my dad with the hardware. We had
a Timex-Sinclair 1000 and a Texas Instruments
TI-99/4A, both of which used a flavor of BASIC as their operating system. Since the Sinclair
(our first PC) didn’t take any game cartridges,
if I wanted to play on the computer, I had to
write my own stupid games.
Let’s just say I had more fun than should be humanly possible with the words INPUT and PRINT. Nice life.
critique of the “mainstream” rap world. I attempted to capture all of the illustrious intentions of 98% of rap songs I recalled in recent memory. I was just really scientific when I made it, and frankly, I am reckless. With over 100k views, it is my most popular music video. Long after I am gone, it will probably be the thing I am most remembered for. My reputation is ruined. LOL Reputation.
yTC: I have such an eclectic musical taste that I can’t even begin to enumerate them all. My favorite band is a group of scientists out of the United Kingdom named Pendulum. The cofounder/bassist Gareth is a friend of mine, and he just leaves his gold records lying in prefabricated ornate frames strewn about the floor of his flat. I think that is keeping it real to the max. Who lives like this?
SC: When you were a teenager, who did you like more, Angelina Jolie in Hackers or Sandra Bullock in The Net?
yTC: Angelina Jolie. You get to see her boob, too, so that is no contest.
SC: Mac or PC?
yTC: I’ve become an Apple fanboy in the last few years, but I can’t completely get away from Windows, so I run a virtual machine. OSX is POSIX-compliant, so it helps me keep my operating system polygamy low.
SC: What’s so funny about money from your song, “LOL Money”?
SC: How long have you been an affiliate?
yTC: “LOL Money” is my thinly-veiled
yTC: I’ve been doing Internet marketing in
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some capacity since I was 16 years old. I started spamming back when you could scrape the entire AOL member directory AND mail a kajillion emails with no rate limits off of a single account. Even though it was as simple as pressing a button, I only did it a few hours a day because I was an idiot. I made egregious amounts of money for a 16 year old, but [insert platitude about a time machine here].
SC: What are you doing in affiliate marketing these days?
yTC: I’m kind of secretive about my dealings within the advertising space and operate
exclusively with a select cabal of soldiers. My partners and I frequently joke that we are
your “favorite
Mad Libs were awesome in elementary school.
’s
favorite
”
SC: With all of your skills, why isn’t there a working site for Nerdy South Records?
yTC: There is an old saying that goes
“a painter’s house is never painted” or something like that. Sticking with the Mad
Lib formula, “a
’s
is never
ed.” Fill in the blank with something
that has to do with me.
Check out ytcracker.com for music and more information on YTCracker.
Shawn is a Co-founder of Affiliate Summit and Co-Editor-in-Chief of FeedFront Magazine.
How much time do you spend writing and testing headlines for your campaigns?
If there’s one thing that is often misunderstood in marketing, it’s the importance and power of headlines.
In the offline world, you’ll find headlines on the cover of magazines, on billboards, and in direct mail.
In the online world it’s your subject line in your email message, the headline of your search ad, and the first thing someone sees when they come to your landing page.
The truth is this: if your headline is bad, your visitors will never bother to look at the rest of what you’re offering. If your headline is great, then it can carry even average copy below it, because you drove home the biggest benefit of what you’re promoting.
Now, headlines are nothing new. As long as we have been selling in print there have been headlines. And here’s a little secret: the offline print world is a treasure chest of good headlines and copy to be inspired by. There
The Power of Headlines
What Affiliate Marketers Can Learn From Magazine Covers By Ola Edvardsson
is so much good copy out there on magazine covers and in direct mail letters that you’ll never see if you’re just looking at online ads.
Start looking at magazine covers when you’re standing in the checkout line at your grocery store. Editors at print magazines know that what’s on the cover will make or break the sales of the issue. So they take their work very seriously. Whenever you need to write copy, it’s a good exercise to head to your favorite bookstore, library or online magazine outlet and browse through the magazines. Look at both cover headlines and story headlines to get inspiration for your campaigns. One source to start with for headlines is Reader’s Digest and their website at RD.com.
You might even find a whole new niche that you never even considered! If there are a lot of magazines for a niche topic with a lot of ads in them, there’s a good chance that there is an online audience for it too.
Want to find the real gold? You will need to do a bit more digging. Head to your local library and ask them to bring out a couple of years of back issues of the magazines you’re
interested in. What you want to find are direct marketing ads that have been running for a long time. If the ad is running for more than a year it’s likely making money.
Now you might ask, what type of headlines work more often than others?
The best headline is the one that offers a solution to a defined problem that your prospect wants solved. That’s why you’ll find a lot of headlines that start with: “How to”, “Five Steps to” and “Seven Secrets to” either wealth, happiness or health.
So keep your eyes open to headlines all around you, do your homework and remember to test, test, test.
Ola Edvardsson is the CEO of Performancy, an online publishing company.
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By Aaron Dragushan
Aaron Dragushan
AvoidinG THE BuTTERfliES of diSTRACTion
Mental “butterflies” are distracting thoughts that flutter into your head and lead you astray when you’re trying to work. Examples would be new ideas, things you need to do, or simply the urge to check your email.
The problem with chasing them is that you don’t get right back to whatever you were working on. After doing whatever distracted you, somehow you ended up on YouTube, Facebook, etc. and an hour later you have nothing to show for it.
If you’ve ever wondered why you check your email so often, or go back to your favorite sites again and again, it turns out your brain is the culprit. Every time you see something new, your brain releases the feel-good chemical dopamine.
Tomorrow morning when you first check your email, see if you notice a little whoosh of excitement as you scan your new unread messages. This effect happens right away, before your brain can actually read the subject lines; all you know at that moment is that they’re new.
So, how can you fend off these butterflies of distraction?
Keep a pad of paper and a pen next to your computer. The next time a butterfly flutters into your head, write it down on the pad instead of following it. This way you stay focused, and don’t wander off into the foothills of the internet.
Good luck!
Aaron can be found on Twitter as @Dragushan and helps entrepreneurs kick butt at Upgrademe.org.
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MOBilE AffiliATE MArKETing
– 4 WAyS TO STArT
By Jim Lillig and Liane Carmi
There are four main ways for affiliates to get into the mobile performance marketing arena. Click-to-call, smartphone applications, mobile landing pages, and SMS campaigns provide different channels where affiliates can profit in this growing industry.
Click-to-call campaigns are used with pay-per-call offers. Affiliates who have access to pay-per-call campaigns place ads for tracked phone numbers, and, as the name implies, are paid per call.
In combination, pay-per-call and click-to-call are well-suited for mobile advertising. The one-step call process when a consumer clicks on the ad increases conversions. Banners, text ads, display ads, search ads and mobile landing pages dedicated to displaying the tracked phone number are all great ways to promote pay-per-call offers.
Unlike pay-per-call campaigns, which are not widely available, smartphone applications are probably the most well-known advertising media when it comes to the mobile industry.
Consulting firm Chetan Sharma estimates in a recent study that mobile app downloads will reach almost 50 billion by 2012. This overabundance of impressions available means low competition for affiliates.
It is easy to target the right audience, as most applications are popular with specific demographics, and structured around particular activities. Affiliates can buy ads on applications using services like appdog.com, or Apple’s iAds platform.
Affiliates who favor organic (free) marketing on the Web might be interested in creating mobile sites that attract visitors for specific niches. This is a great time to get involved, as the rules in this industry are still being written!
Mobile search is quite different from regular Web search, so affiliates should take the time to do appropriate research. Also, note that mobile devices vary widely in their display abilities, so be sure to use the mobile preview tool to check your site’s compatibility.
Mobile sites are a great way to build a list, which is why SMS campaigns work so well with this type of marketing. Affiliates who are tired of the low open rates on their emails will be glad to know that on average, according to Nielsen ratings, 90% of SMS messages are opened within 15 minutes.
This gives list builders the ability to target their prospects at a specific time of the day - or even in specific geographic areas. Note that consumers are more sensitive about text messages, so it is important to be very relevant in your SMS marketing.
Click-to-call, application ads, mobile search and SMS campaigns are all great ways to get involved in mobile affiliate marketing. Those who get in on the action today are likely to find themselves profiting greatly from this growing industry.
Jim Lillig, Vice President of Business Development, and Liane Carmi, Project Manager at Offermobi.com, the first US-Based mobile performance network.
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Michael Buechele, Stephanie lichtenstein and Trisha lyn fawver
WhY WAs MY AffiLiATe APPLiCATion DeCLineD?
By Trisha Lyn Fawver
I hear a lot of affiliates ask this question,
wondering why their applications get declined by various merchants or advertisers. As a former affiliate manager, there are a lot of reasons why I might reject an application.
There are many managers out there that are, shall we say, less than stellar in the communications department. Therefore, in an effort to bridge this gap, here are some things affiliates should consider when their applications are declined.
Are my website urls correct?
I’ve seen instances where affiliates have misspelled their domain names accidentally,
added an extra http://, left off the extension (.com? .net?). Many affiliate managers are savvy enough to omit the extra http:// or try adding the .com to see if a website loads, but
I know some are not so diligent, so it’s best
that you make checking your websites as easy
as possible for the affiliate manager.
Have i been declined a lot?
There may be a bigger issue at hand, like problems with your hosting company. If you’re experiencing a lot of declined
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applications, you should check to ensure that all your sites are up and running properly. Try viewing your website in different browsers (Firefox, IE, Chrome, etc.) to see if something isn’t loading correctly. Some merchants are very sensitive to the content and layout of a site where their advertisements will potentially be seen.
Do i have any unprofessional or questionable content on my website?
Some brands are more sensitive when it comes to the content on a website where their ad will appear. For example, the Apple Store has very strict guidelines relating to website content and where you’re allowed to place banner advertisements. Larger brands tend to have stricter guidelines, and may choose to decline you if your websites do not convey a similar professional image that is on par with the brand. You can consider changing your website to meet their standards or finding another merchant with more lenient standards to promote.
Are all my websites listed in my profile?
Some networks require you to apply to programs for each of your websites, but most
simply ask that you to list all of your affiliate sites. It is an affiliate manager’s job to check out the affiliate’s websites to find that good, niche fit. If you’re applying for a software affiliate program and only have your knitting website listed, the affiliate manager may not see a good fit and choose to decline you. Having all your websites listed shows the affiliate manager that you work in different verticals and they can see more potential for appropriate promotions.
There are hundreds of other reasons why you might be declined. It ultimately depends on the merchant and what kinds of affiliates they want to work with.
Always attempt to reach out to the affiliate manager if you’ve been declined for a program you really want to promote. It never hurts to ask for an explanation or a second chance.
Trisha Lyn Fawver is a client support specialist at ForMeToCoupon.com and blogs at TrishaLyn. com.
Guest posting on other people’s blogs has both short and long term benefits. In the short-term, you’ll garner exposure to a new audience and increased traffic as they click through to your site to learn more about you and what you do.
In the long-term, the links you get will help your search engine rankings, and the visibility and credibility of being featured on many blogs will build your reputation as a leading authority in your industry.
To get the greatest benefit from guest posting, you need a strategy. Here are some ways to make guest posting work for you.
guest post regularly. Get in the habit of seeking out blogs that can use your content and offer posts to them. Add an entry to your calendar to seek out guest posting opportunities and create content for them.
Post to a variety of blogs. Think creatively to find blogs that are not in direct competition with your blog, but may share an audience. For example, on my blog for mystery shoppers I have run guest posts on topics ranging from online surveys to cheap ink and toner refills to green shopping. I even had a post from a mystery novelist who writes books with a mystery shopper heroine.
give your best content. Guest posting is not a way to get rid of posts that are not good enough for your own blog. This will be many readers’ first exposure to you, so make sure they see you at your best. Generally, you should not republish your guest post anywhere else.
Ask (nicely) for the links you want. Some bloggers have specific rules about how they link to guest posters, but many are open to using
By Cathy Stucker
guest Posting for Traffic and links
your preferred links. That doesn’t mean you should load up your post with links. Many bloggers will allow you to have two links in your bio, including anchor text links. Some will even allow links in the body of the post. Ask for what you want, but accept that you may not get everything you ask for.
Promote your guest posts. When your posts are published, let people know about them. Post the links to Twitter, Facebook and other social networking sites. Bookmark and Stumble the posts. Post links to them on your site. Submit your guest posts to blog carnivals. The more people who see your guest posts, the more valuable they are.
use your guest posts to build relationships with other bloggers. Submitting a guest post does not have to be a one-time event. It can be a stepping stone in building relationships with bloggers in your niche. In addition to promoting your guest posts, respond to reader comments on the blog and stay involved with the blogger and their audience. Keep the door open for future interactions, such as reciprocal guest posts, joint ventures and more.
Just a little time invested in guest posting can pay big dividends in traffic, search engine rankings and dollars in your pocket.
Cathy Stucker runs a free service to connect bloggers and guest posters at http://BloggerLinkUp.com/.
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By Todd Bloch
Todd Bloch
B2B Affiliate Marketers
Forrester projects B2B (business-to-business) interactive marketing spending to hit $4.8 billion in 2014, over double an estimated $2.3 billion in 2009. We believe that affiliate marketing will be a big component of that growth.
B2B affiliate programs have taken a back seat in the industry, despite the fact that many B2B businesses already rely on contractors to drive sales offline. Nonetheless, business advertisers have not gained the attention of online affiliates because of long sales cycles, latent transactions, offline conversions and high customer acquisition costs.
That is all about to change thanks to better tracking technologies and creative new ways of structuring programs. Here are several ways that advertisers can collaborate with affiliates to build dynamic, successful programs:
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lifetime commissions – B2B businesses often lose money on the first sale but earn |
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profit over the lifetime of that customer. Offering residual commissions on lifetime referral revenue will help affiliates compete. Eliminating the cookie window is a good start, but a cookie is only good if the customer uses the same browser forever and cookies aren’t deleted.
3. Commission structure– It can take months for leads to convert into acquisitions due to multiple touch points, various decision makers and high value purchases. Affiliates want commission on leads, but businesses are concerned about quality. One option is to offer hybrid commissions, paying a modest bounty on leads, but also a substantial bonus for each lead that converts.
4. Batch file reporting – Tracking pixels will not capture every action over the length of a program. Creating a spreadsheet of all actions on a regular basis is the answer. Importing this batch file ensures affiliates garner commissions on all sales the pixel misses, offline transactions and latent conversions.
5. Offline sales force - Remember the Avon women that sold door-to-door? B2B merchants are empowering field sales agents, tele-reps and even cable TV affiliates to promote products and services on a performance basis. Setup, reporting
and payouts are all handled via the network platform.
6. Endemic affiliates – Your list of prospects is much narrower than in the B2C world. Proactively uncovering, recruiting and building relationships with niche affiliates with content related to your business is a solid strategy.
Outside of the affiliate arena, it seems B2B marketing has found success in every media channel. For instance, on television with Bloomberg and CNBC, search with Business. com, online content with BizJournals.com or Entrepreneur.com and even print with Crain’s, Inc. magazine and others.
Agencies, program managers and networks can now educate advertisers and affiliates on not only their barriers to entry, but also the available solutions. There are huge, untapped opportunities in the B2B sector, and it is poised to ride shotgun with B2C affiliate marketing.
Todd Bloch is a Director at PartnerCommerce, a B2B affiliate network located in New York.
By Missy Ward
Affiliate Marketers raise $73,000 to Battle Breast Cancer
In 2007, I founded AffiliateMarketersGiveBack.com with two goals in mind: to raise money to support Breast Cancer research, treatment, awareness and community programs through combined efforts within the affiliate marketing industry and also provide an outlet for people to help themselves by uplifting others in a ways that another piña colada-filled vacation, more “stuff” or a beefier resume couldn’t possibly begin to do.
With this in mind, on June 5th-6th, Team Affiliate Marketers Give Back set out on our 4th annual walk to fight breast cancer. This time, we took on the streets of Chicago for the 2010 Avon Walk for Breast Cancer.
26.2 miles later, we crossed our first finish line at Warren Park, the site of the temporary Avon Wellness Village, where many of the walkers camp overnight.
While some of the team headed back to the hotel, some of us decided to walk (hobble) just a little bit further to a local Mexican restaurant to celebrate our first victory with tacos y cerveza.
crossed the finish line with Melissa Salas.
After months of fundraising, 39.3 miles walked, dozens of team blisters and aching muscles, I am proud to say that Affiliate
Marketers Give Back raised our highest team
amount to date: $73,552.65.
the 5th largest fundraising team and I was the 3rd largest fundraiser overall.
Our team was
I’d like to thank all of the people on my team, all of the folks that supported us with donations and words of encouragement along the way and the rest of the walkers that took on Chicago with us.
Denver in June 2011. For more information about walking or sponsoring the team, please visit http://AffiliateMarketersGiveBack.com.
Missy Ward is the Co-editor-in-Chief of FeedFront Magazine and Co-Founder of Affiliate Summit.
Joshua Wexelbaum
I’m sitting in a small van, cross-legged next to seven slightly smelly hippies as we navigate through the desert landscape of Namibia, Africa.
Nothing is around for hundreds of miles except a tribal village where we purchase precious stones from local kids on the side of the road.
The previous day, I spotted a cyber cafe in a small town and managed to get online to check my campaigns. The next time I’ll be able to check my stats will be in a few days, as we approach a larger city.
Last year, I rented an apartment in Shanghai, China for two months and watched Usain Bolt break the world record in the Olympics. I just got back from a three month trip to Melbourne, Australia where I went to the Formula1 race, and then drove a rental car through New Zealand.
Work hard, play hard. Grind a few months of the year, travel the rest. For the past six years, I’ve lived the life most people dream. I’ve backpacked through dozens of countries and rented luxury apartments in beautiful cities across the globe.
This is my affiliate lifestyle.
Let’s get something straight. Affiliate
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life of a
Traveling
Affiliate
By Joshua Wexelbaum
marketing is an incredible business because we make mad cash and can work from anywhere.
Affiliates often ask me, “How can I travel like you?”
Here’s the game Plan:
1) Pick a city. I suggest Buenos Aires, Cape Town, Melbourne, Barcelona, Tel Aviv or Shanghai (in that order).
2) Find a rental apartment using craigslist. com. The apartment should have a broadband Internet connection installed prior to your arrival. Beware of scammers on Craigslist; do not pre-pay.
3) Ensure your affiliate business is generating stable profits. Your business should run on auto-pilot and require less than a few hours of daily work.
4) Establish your budget and income goals. Your passive income should be at least double your expenses in your target country.
5) Buy your airline ticket. With a specific departure date, you cannot postpone or procrastinate taking the trip.
Tips for Success Travel to a single city and work from your laptop. It’s more difficult to run your business
while backpacking. Bring your monitor(s), laptop & smartphone. I packed two 24” monitors to Australia.
If you are renting an apartment, invest in a desk and comfortable chair.
running your Affiliate Business Abroad The most difficult part of traveling abroad is maintaining your work ethic. You need discipline. Business must always remain the first priority.
Finally, you must structure your affiliate business as a system. Focus on producing revenue through a single system, and then scale that system using an outsourced team. You manage your team, and your team manages the system.
Life is too short to spend in front of a computer!
Josh Wexelbaum is a veteran affiliate marketer, and he blogs at ScrappyBusiness.com.
By Ali Croft
Boosting your Traffic and Credibility with Pr
Public relations is an essential component of any company’s growth strategy, including affiliates. Good PR will raise awareness of your business while building trust with your potential customers, increasing the likelihood that they’ll make a purchase with you. And, with a little time and effort, it’s relatively easy to do some of your own.
In its simplest form, PR is about getting other people to say good things about you. Whether these people are bloggers, reporters or influencers in other realms - like social media and web forums - the key to getting them to write or talk about you is building mutually beneficial relationships. Just like in the real world, people help people they know.
When beginning your PR effort, one of the
first things to do is research the influencers in your industry. There’s no bigger waste of time than pitching people who either don’t cover your industry or don’t draw the audience you want to target.
Do your homework – use Google News, Google Blog Search and BackType to see who the influential bloggers, reporters, commentators and Tweeters are and create a list of people you want to target.
Less is more here; the more targeted your list, the better. Start with realistic expectations - chances are that USA Today won’t be interested until they see others on the web buzzing about your business.
Once you’ve got your list, start finding ways to provide value to your targets. Comment on their latest story or offer to introduce them to another expert. Be helpful - don’t just sell yourself.
Sooner or later, you’ll start to develop a relationship, and you’ll have much more luck getting their attention when you have news to share.
The next best thing to do is brush up on your writing skills. There are tips on writing good PR content all over the web. Some of my favorite sites include CopyBlogger and TopRankBlog.
Learn what’s really newsworthy (hint: it’s usually not your newest widget). Put your company news in context with what’s
happening in the industry and help tell the bigger story.
Be willing to share data and include other companies as examples in your pitch. Not making it all about you will increase the chances of people taking you seriously.
Learn how to write a news release, which can be sent over a newswire or the web, getting you in front of journalists and web searchers while increasing SEO.
Try offering your targets pre-written articles. Bloggers are always on the hunt for more content, and offering them neutral, non self-promotional guest blog posts targeted to their audience is a good way to build relationships while generating good PR.
Finally, sign up for HelpAReporterOut (HARO). This daily newsletter alerts you to reporters looking for sources for their stories. With your newly minted writing skills, pitch yourself as an expert for articles about your industry.
PR isn’t rocket science. It just takes time. Like in affiliate marketing, research, test and optimize for the best results.
Ali Croft is Director of Public Relations at Just Drive Media.
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Pop Culture Sites:
Quick Pros and Cons
By Tricia Meyer
Every time I hear about a popular, new book series, my mind immediately goes to whether or not it would make a good niche website.
I start searching the web frantically for everything I can find about the book, including how deep the series will be, whether there is talk of movies, and the amount of merchandising being done.
Sometimes I sit on the idea for weeks and other times I register a domain name immediately.
The one thing I always do when I launch a new site is work through the pros and cons of starting a site for that niche. Here are my top three suggestions for each if you are considering starting any type of pop culture niche website.
Cons:
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• Even if the niche becomes a hot one, it may be hard to monetize beyond Google AdSense and products targeting the demographic interested in the given topic. Even if products exist, they may not be available through affiliate programs or may only be in affiliate programs with which you do not want to work.
• Pop culture sites do not usually have much of a shelf life. People move on to the next popular artist, television show, and even book series in a short time. By the time you build up your traffic, no one may be interested in it anymore.
Pros:
• Sites are easy to launch and generally do not initially cost you more than a domain name and your time. Using WordPress and a free or cheap theme, you can have a site up and running in an evening.
• When you are interested in the topic, it can be fun to research it, write about it, and look for complementary merchandising opportunities. If you are going to be reading about it and talking about it with your friends anyway,
why not make some money off of your knowledge?
• Google Alerts are a pop culture webmaster’s best friend. By setting up alerts for your topic, you can be notified within an hour of any news about the topic, including product releases, book pre-orders, movie debuts, and concert ticket sales.
When launching a pop culture niche site, sometimes you get really lucky (hello, Twilight!). Other times you don’t get much of a return on your investment (Percy Jackson who?).
As long as you weigh the pros and cons of your decision, you won’t regret that you took the chance.
Tricia Meyer is the owner of Sunshine Rewards and runs a number of niche sites.
By Michael Wayne
use Joomla! to Explode your Affiliate income
Joomla is a content management system,
The primary difference
is that Joomla has a lot more built-in features
similar to WordPress.
& functionality.
With Joomla’s Extensions, you can turn your site into a social network, membership site, and more in minutes. If you’re looking for a new tool to increase your leads and sales, Joomla just might be the right solution.
The WordPress Alternative Many affiliates avoid Joomla because it’s more difficult to learn than WordPress, and doesn’t seem to provide great built-in SEO. In reality, Joomla can actually provide equal or greater SEO results if utilized correctly.
There are also many SEO extensions available, such as SH404SEF, that give you granular control over your SEO and rival anything WordPress has to offer. While Joomla does have a bit of a steeper learning curve, there are a ton of tutorial websites available for beginners to help you get up and running fairly quickly.
Modules Make Split Testing Easy Joomla has an awesome feature called modules, which are content blocks of code, widgets, or applications.
Modules can be placed in multiple preset locations, anywhere in your template. You can create multiple modules that display ad banners or affiliate links and place them virtually anywhere on your site.
The beauty of modules is that they are conditional. You can display them according to section, category, and/or by user state (registered user or guest). This basically provides built-in split testing!
Complete Editorial Control Joomla provides complete editorial control. You can assign users to user-groups, such as authors, editors, publishers, etc., with ease.
Think of the possibilities: you could install and launch multiple niche content sites, set up unlimited ad modules, and have them display conditionally according to their author, category and/or section.
Also, Joomla enables you to display one set of ads for registered users and another set for guests. Your imagination can run wild with the number of different scenarios you could run to maximize your click-through rates.
list Building & Email Marketing Administrative account management is built into the core of Joomla. The benefit here is
that you’ll always have immediate access to your entire database of users. Joomla’s built- in “mass email” tool can send email blasts to all your users, in plain text or HTML.
You can also target by user groups, such as authors, editors, publishers, etc. It’s a great tool for marketing & connecting with your community – with their permission of course.
Endless Possibilities Joomla has some affiliate-friendly extensions, including JomSocial, which lets you turn your Joomla site into a full-featured social network, and JoomFish, a tool that enables you to natively translate your site into almost any language.
Used together, they are great tools for targeting by interest or demographics, and for generating additional international traffic.
Joomla is an indispensable tool in my affiliate arsenal and if you give it a shot I’m sure it will be for you as well!
Michael Wayne is a blogger (MikeWayne.com), affiliate marketer, and President of MediaCraft Marketing, LLC.
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By Nick Usborne
Write Web Content Worth sharing
As affiliate marketers, we are often tempted by the lure of high volume, inexpensive content. We figure that if we take a list of a few hundred long tail keyword phrases, we can write an article around each, and then make out like a bandit with free search engine traffic.
Realizing how much work is involved to do that, we may start looking at outsourcing our content writing overseas for $2 a page. We may also turn to automated content rewriting software to churn out pages for even less.
This approach has gained some traction among affiliate marketers because it works - up to a point. Yes, you can optimize low quality content and fool the search engines, most of the time. But you can’t fool your readers.
Readers will recognize rubbish content in a heartbeat. As a result, while a small percentage will click on a link that might make you a few pennies, you can be sure of two things: 1) that visitor won’t
return and 2) that visitor won’t tell his or her friends or colleagues to visit your site.
To avoid this, a good alternative is to create fewer pages of content, but of much higher quality. In particular, you want to write content which is good enough and interesting enough to be worth sharing.
In other words, leverage the power of social networking.
Does this really work? Does creating quality content worthy of sharing actually attract more traffic and increase conversion rates?
Yes, it does, according to the folks at Yahoo!:
“Cody Simms, who heads up what is left of Yahoo’s Open Strategy, tells me that early data suggests social links spread through Facebook, Twitter, and Yahoo’s own status updates “can drive an order of magnitude more sharing on Yahoo.” And those visitors are more engaged also. For instance, when people click through from a status update to Yahoo News, Sports, Finance or another Yahoo property, they end up spending at least twice as much time there than the average visitor. For Yahoo, tapping into social traffic is what it’s all about.” (Excerpt from Techcrunch.com. May 17, 2010)
At a time when low quality content is finding its way onto more and more websites, you have an opportunity to separate yourself from the crowd, by creating pages which are helpful, informative, engaging and worth sharing.
You can make a few bucks with cheap content. But you can create a business with quality content that’s worth sharing.
Nick Usborne is the Founder of WebContentCafe.com, the author of Net Words, and New Path to Riches, and has been writing copy and content online since 1995.
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Marketing to Women Online
By Sara Anderson
When Dove’s sales declined, as a result of being lost in a crowded market, they reached out to Edelman Public Relations for help. Utilizing the power of video, storytelling, online advertising, and social media, Dove’s efforts to reclaim their market share exceeded the company’s expectations, resulting in a 700% increase and $1 billion in product sales, based on findings in the Dove Campaign for Real Beauty Case Study.
The key to their success? Appealing to women’s emotions by focusing their campaign on redefining beauty and improving women’s self esteem.
Dove’s success illustrates the importance of marketing to the emotional side of women. Marketers must drop the old mentality of “targeting” women and connect with them, instead. Earn their trust.
Women account for 85% of consumer purchases, buying for themselves, their families, and their businesses*. Additionally, they control 51.3% of the nation’s private wealth, according to “Influence: How Women’s Soaring Economic Power will Change Our World for the Better”. With such tremendous buying power, affiliate marketers cannot afford to misunderstand what drives the purchases of this demographic.
Below are 5 guidelines to follow when marketing to the group that really holds the wallet.
Speak Her language Don’t disrupt her online experience with over-hyped sales messages. Gently spark her interest with empathetic, relational ad copy. Video can be a powerful medium to quickly evoke emotion.
Connect Her with Others Women are biologically wired to share experiences with each other. While men are sold by facts and figures, women would rather hear about how a person’s life was improved by a product.
Allow Her to research One advertising message may not be enough to convince a woman that your product is what she needs, and she will most likely explore more details over time before making a purchase. Create URLs that are easy to remember, so she can find your site quickly when she is ready to buy.
Appeal to Changing Status Trends While traditional status luxury lust is here to stay, trendwatching.com points to a couple new status trends that are emerging.
• generosity: Donations to nonprofits. 10% of proceeds donated to a child in need.
• green Credentials: Eco-friendly goods and services. Organic baby food.
Patterns Cognitive anthropologist Dr. Bob Deutsch writes marketers should recognize that women have the ability to perceive more than the metric of a product attribute. Women take it all in and then decide how your product or service fits into the pattern of her life. Help her figure that out and your marketing campaigns will be pure gold.
While marketing to women takes extra preparation, keep in mind the words of Og Mandino, author of The Greatest Salesman in the World, “Never skimp on that extra effort, that soft word of praise or thanks, that delivery of the very best that you can do.”
Though it may prove to be challenging at first, once you have created marketing campaigns that effectively meet her emotional needs and fit within the pattern of her life, you will have a distinct advantage over your competitors. Now that’s money.
Sara is a blogger, fashion-addict, and founder of the online fitness community, fitvolution.com.
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get Out of the Basement & into
Steve guberman and Mike green
By Shawn Collins
My first home office was an unfinished basement with a concrete floor and cinderblock walls. A couple coats of paint, a cheap area rug, and some pictures on the wall made it more homey, but it still sort of sucked.
There was no natural light, it was hot always, and I couldn’t get a cell signal.
If only there was a coworking space in my area back then.
What is Coworking? Wikipedia defines coworking as “a style of work which involves a shared working environment, sometimes an office yet independent activity. Unlike in a typical office environment, those coworking are usually not employed by the same organization. Typically it is attractive to work-at-home professionals, independent contractors, or people who travel frequently who end up working in relative isolation. Coworking is the social gathering of a group of people, who are still working independently, but who share values, and who are interested in the synergy that can happen from working with talented people in the same space.”
So, for all the affiliate marketers working out there in isolation, coworking can be a great alternative to the distractions and limitations of
working at home.
Not to mention the use of meeting rooms and other common areas in the coworking space.
The Coworking Experience
I recently found out on Twitter that the first
coworking space in New Jersey was opening. It’s a place called Converge (Twitter: @convergenj), and it was close to my house, so I hopped in the car to go and get a look at their space and chat with Steve Guberman and Mike Green, who started it up.
In addition to being the first coworking place in NJ, Converge is also the first in the country to be affiliated with a university. Converge is on the campus of Kean University, and just a block from an NJ Transit train stop.
I was impressed at the layout and amenities at
Converge. Their facility includes a wide-open atrium filled with desks, as well as a lounge, two conference rooms, and two studios.
Since they’re on a college campus, they have the added benefit of access to a pool of local intern labor.
The Price of Coworking In the case of Converge, they have a variety of
packages that range from $20/day to $400/ month, depending on the needs of members. Members receive benefits such as hi-speed Internet access; use of printer, scanner, and fax; conference room access; coffee, tea, beverages, and snacks; and member-only events.
I’ve looked around my general area for office space in the past, and the rates and benefits of coworking are way more attractive than a lease in an office building.
This provides a nice alternative to a new affiliate marketing business that doesn’t want to lock into a lease, as well as purchasing furniture, getting Internet and other utilities set up, etc.
Plus, I like how they are planning to use the space for things like meetups and guest speakers. Not only does the cost of coworking provide a place for your company, but also a built-in community of potential mentors, inspirations, partners, and friends.
More information on coworking at www.coworking.com.
Shawn is a Co-founder of Affiliate Summit and Co- Editor-in-Chief of FeedFront Magazine.
Converge lounge
Converge lounge Kitchen
Converge Conference room
Tips for Creating
Effective Web Video
By Kevin Hillman
Web video has barged right through the front doors of online advertising and marketing. With the rise in new, web-based technology, coupled with high speed internet connections, video on the web has become a crucial tool, moving viewers from basic interest and inspiring them to take action.
Web video has grown to new heights with social media websites such as Facebook and MySpace allowing for users to place videos on their pages.
One of the most important things you want to remember when creating a web video is your target audience. Unfortunately, most people seem to forget this one important thing.
Remember to create footage for the viewer’s eyes only, not yours! This is the key to creating effective video for the web. The target audience will determine how you want to present your topic as well as the tone of the video.
Once you know your target audience, the next step will be to determine the objective of your video. What is your video intended to do? Is it intended to sell, market, or promote a product or simply to entertain
your viewers?
Next, decide how you want to present the topic to your audience. Will you present it in the form of a comedy, drama, lively, factual, or a documentary? Select the one that would be best to get your message across.
Video quality also plays an important role in drawing in viewers. The quality of the video can either establish great creditability and professionalism or show that you’re not serious about the message you’re trying to get across.
Exceptional quality shows that you really care about what it is you’re presenting and that you took the time and effort to make the best possible video for the viewer. Low quality video screams rushed, sloppy work and that you could care less about the interests of the viewer.
Want maximum exposure on the Internet? It’s only a few clicks away with the numerous websites that allow you to upload your video once it’s completed. A few of the bigger websites are YouTube, Vimeo, and iTunes.
The more websites your video is posted on, the more viewers your video will get. Launch a stunning multimedia campaign and watch
your conversion rates skyrocket.
The last, and perhaps the most important tip, for creating effective web video would be to always keep your audience engaged. By doing so, this will allow you to keep the length of the video, without it being a problem. When the video first begins, engage your viewers with an attention- grabbing opening that will hook them. Once you have your viewer’s full attention, introduce what it is that you want to accomplish in the video.
Be very careful not to over-do the opening of a video by being too silly or being too serious. These simple suggestions will help you become more aware of what exactly you must do to create a highly effective web video.
Kevin’s extensive experience includes working on numerous acclaimed national television shows and commercials.
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By Gil Abir and Amy Ely
Show Me the Money!
What’s the key to an affiliate’s heart? Great advertisers? Stellar service? Leading technology? Maybe. We’d argue that while all of these are important, receiving commission earnings quickly and cost-effectively tends to top the list.
While many affiliates operate within the boundaries of traditional payment methods,
a variety of more advanced
options are being introduced to turn a satisfying payment process into a rewarding experience.
This is particularly important for global networks that face high transfer fees and longer
wait times. As a result, offering
a suite of payment options
becomes a competitive advantage, especially in the eyes of affiliates that use the immediate cash flow to grow their business.
As one example, buy.at launched a prepaid MasterCard with Payoneer to simplify the payment process for international affiliates. A year later the team reached out to affiliates in several countries to evaluate their experience and determine next steps.
Case Study #1 Affiliate: Cashbacking / region:UK Challenge: BACS payments took 3 -4 days before clearing with the bank Solution:Used the card to
receive payments, for ATM withdrawals, and for online and offline purchases result: Not only are payments faster, this affiliate appreciates the convenience of using the card almost anywhere as another source of funds
“Faster payment is crucial and I’m able to predict more accurately when the funds will be available on the account. I’m
thoroughly impressed with the service provided, particularly how easy it is to manage my account online with up-to-date transaction details.” -Daniel Stewardson, Cashbacking
Case Study #2 Affiliate: Ticket Crush /
region: US Challenge: Sought out a more convenient and versatile payment option Solution: Setup the card to receive payments from multiple countries and contacts Payoneer’s customer support for balance information result: Quick access to both US and international payments and uses the card to compartmentalize buy.at earnings and expenses from other sources of income
“The buy.at MasterCard is extremely convenient and a great choice for an affiliate in any country. It’s easy to call Payoneer anytime I have questions and I’m impressed with the service overall.” -Kyle McPeck, TicketCrush.com
Case Study #3 Affiliate: Saya Intellicall / region: India Challenge: Commission checks took up to 30 days to clear and become usable funds Solution:Signed up for the card to receive payments, use the ATM service, and withdraw cash result: Funds are now available within a few hours, providing an efficient global payment option
“The world is changing very fast, so we need fast service to go with the world. [This] card is a good solution.” - Abdullah Saya, Saya Intellicall
Overall, the findings were very positive and revealed the variety of ways that affiliates in different countries chose to use the card. Beyond buy.at, Payoneer saw an average 77%
year over year growth in card signups since their launch in 2005, indicating the increasing popularity of alternative payment options.
What’s the bottom line? Explore new payment options that exceed affiliate expectations. It may be deciding factor of whether or not you keep their business.
Gil Abir is VP of Corporate Partnership at Payoneer, and Amy Ely is Marketing Manager at buy.at.
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A CASE fOr THE inCrEASED
David Dalka
Chris Brogan stated “Most major brands are doing some sort of affiliate marketing are you?”at the recent Business Marketing Association 2010 Conference.
It was great to see people outside of performance marketing’s core challenging senior level marketers to learn about performance marketing. Certainly a sign that things are changing as the increasing volume of content online is reducing the reach and impact of traditional brand marketing channels.
As Chief Financial Officers scrutinize marketing budgets more closely, the opportunity exists for marketers utilizing emerging channels with superior ROI like affiliate marketing and search to advocate significant budget shifts away from legacy channels.
However, this can only occur if you educate your senior level leadership teams across the organization about the economics and features that performance marketing provides.
With 2011 budget season just around the corner, here are some tips on how to advocate increased budgets to performance marketing channels. It’s important to consider that there are emerging channels like mobile and elsewhere where performance marketing
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2011 Performance
Marketing
By David Dalka
Budgets
principles will potentially to play a large role.
Here are a few things I do when presenting senior level strategy sessions to advocate more efficient marketing allocations and execution:
Explain the benefits of the performance marketing channel to budget team members – You are the expert. You understand the issues because you’ve attended the conferences, done the hard work in the trenches and busted your butt. The executive team doesn’t know what you know – YET! You must transfer the wisdom and knowledge so that others can understand.
Meet with all of these people individually BEfOrE you meet as a group – People are at vastly different points on the learning curve in regards to online marketing issues. Respect that by simplifying concepts and encouraging questions. If you meet as a group, most people are afraid to ask for explanatory questions; meeting privately will create the opportunity for understanding. Most importantly, start with people at your peer level in each target group, then move to the actual budget team. You will get practice and learn valuable insights
Tie the conversation to the potential for improvement in business outcomes - Invite the people for coffee or lunch and say, “I’d like to explain to you what I do and how it affects our revenue, costs and profit”. Be sure to connect the conversation to trying to improve business outcomes; it will improve the odds of proper time allocation for your meeting and set the frame that you want to help everyone in the organization be more successful.
Encourage future communication and questions – If they view you as a helpful resource about the Internet, they will come to you with more questions and raise the profile and understanding about the great work you are doing in performance marketing.
These small steps create understanding and raise of the profile of performance marketing, which is ultimately good for everyone. Share this article and others like it; there is a long journey ahead. Enjoy the ride.
David Dalka is a business leadership consultant and marketing speaker, http://www.daviddalka. com
By Robert Drumm
The Path to Multiple Affiliate network Success
In these lean times, retailers need to explore every possibility to grow sales in the most economical way possible. Expansion of
a retailer’s affiliate program through the
addition of a second traditional affiliate network can be an attractive option for retailers.
When reviewing this strategy for your company, keep in mind the positives and negatives of additional networks.
A second network can add a significant
revenue boost to your affiliate channel through the addition of new affiliates, competitive recruiting benefits, and contrasting features and promotional opportunities.
While it may be true that most affiliates are active in nearly every network, there are a solid number of partners who will only join programs located at Commission Junction, ShareASale, or any other traditional network. Adding a second network to your affiliate program will give you access to an entirely new group of affiliates who may not have worked with you otherwise.
There are many recruiting advantages with operating multiple networks including flexibility and promotional opportunities. Offering the flexibility of networks and the various benefits each provide allows your partners to select the best fit for their needs.
Features like coupon feeds, RSS, and different ways to use product feeds at each network
allow your affiliates to mix and match the easiest way to promote your products to their visitors.
Taking advantage of various ways to promote your program in each network is another recruiting advantage. Newsletters, “featured program” spots, and other placements will increase your visibility to network exclusive affiliates along with the majority who use more than one network.
The benefit of running two traditional networks is countered by many different problems that can occur during setup and along the way. Merchants should be aware of new technology needs, additional workload, and double the problems.
For some merchants, technology challenges could be an obstacle to adding a network. Duplication of orders across networks needs to be addressed through suppression of code or through the ability to identify orders and crediting the affiliate who sent the last click.
Double the workload is another problem that will arise including multiple newsletters and other affiliate communication. Creating separate feeds with different requirements and the maintenance that goes with that can be an issue.
Merchants may also find some networks will require more work than another and will need to decide if the additional labor can be covered by increased revenue.
Fraud problems will also be doubled with more enforcement needed for PPC and terms of service violations. A strong PPC Policy and terms should be implemented including spelling out how affiliates are credited in a multiple network environment and if your terms are different for each network.
Adding multiple networks may not be the best solution to increase affiliate sales for every merchant, but the value is certainly there once all the obstacles have been addressed.
Robert Drumm is affiliate manager for AC Lens, Baseball Rampage, and operates RobertDrumm.com.
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Evaluating your Merchant’s E-Commerce Website
By George Hansen
You’ve been there; you see a product online and click the buy now link, but then you’re taken to a cart that you just don’t trust. The originating landing page may have looked professional, but the cart does not pass the security test.
This is an all too familiar situation. If you’re the affiliate, imagine the number of sales you have dropped and the revenue you have lost.
The quality of a merchant’s shopping cart, and more accurately the quality of an e-commerce website, should not be overlooked when evaluating which products to promote.
As an affiliate, you invest too much time and money to support sub-par merchants and their products. You should expect merchants to have a world class e-commerce solution to help convert the clicks you deliver into paying customers.
After all, as an affiliate that’s the core of your business. So, before partnering with a merchant, you should evaluate the merchant’s e-commerce website.
The Merchant’s Home Page The first step is to evaluate the merchant’s home page. Ask yourself if the page is
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inviting? Does it feature an image of the product? Does the page look professional? Is the navigation intuitive and are all requisite elements included? Are global elements included and if so for which locals? Is the page translated? Are localized versions of the products available?
Key Elements Next, look at key elements that are critical to the e-commerce portion of the merchant’s website. The most important elements for an affiliate are the product detail pages. Check to see if each product has a dedicated page and determine if the page is inviting, professional and sales focused.
Notice the page layout and if the product picture, description and call-to-action are located above the fold of the website. Look to see if consumers are provided with enough information to make an informed buying decision, such as independent references and user-generated feedback.
Product Detail Page layout Ensure the product detail page layout is well merchandised, clear and actionable. Consumers should be able to scroll through the featured details for more information about the product and again be prompted to take action.
george Hansen
Shoppers who are ready to buy should be able to make an immediate purchase without further navigation, while those in the information gathering stage should be able to read through the product features and once fully informed make a product purchase.
The Shopping Cart The final step is to look at the actual cart itself. Determine if the cart page is intuitive and simple to use and if the products are accurately represented. Walk through the purchase process itself – and in some cases actually make a purchase. The ultimate litmus test is trust – do you trust the cart?
By following these steps, you will be informed before making your decision to support a merchant and their products.
George Hansen is the Director of Sales and Business Development for Digital River oneNetworkDirect.
By Scott Medlock
The Rebranding of Affiliate Marketing
Lately there has been much talk about how affiliate marketing fits into the overall advertising and marketing industry. There has also been an increased effort to bring major brand advertisers into the space and how to best introduce more key advertisers to the opportunities (and profits) we can provide as affiliates.
It has been suggested that we have outgrown the simple term affiliate and should now call ourselves performance marketers.
Overall, this makes sense. Few people I encounter offline understand anything about what it is that we do. So I conducted a small experiment. While I was meeting with a few people at a local business networking event, I described my company as a performance marketing company. Someone (thankfully) asked, “What’s that”? So I gave the following explanation:
“Performance marketing is where advertisers, working through an agency, place creatives with publishers who accept payment (generally via a neutral tracking network) as a result of consumer action on the advertising instead of an arbitrary payment based on possible reader/ viewership”.
The reaction was quite interesting in that everyone in the small group instantly understood the model. The similarities to traditional marketing and advertising channels made sense to them.
They were able to associate their existing knowledge and experience with their own business advertising with what it is that we do without me having to give a larger explanation of affiliate marketing.
Then I added that 90% of what my performance marketing company does is online. I ended up making a couple referrals to friends in our industry that day; businesses that understood what we do and needed to explore creating an affiliate program for their companies.
That experiment in self definition occurred
a couple months ago when several affiliate
tax issues were front and center. This got me thinking about how our self definition as affiliates has been hurting us.
TV stations regularly air infomercials during the weekend nights on a performance basis. So do radio, cable, and sometimes even newspapers will do a hybrid deal (fixed fee plus a performance “commission” for coupons).
And why were those performance marketers “left out” of the affiliate tax law proposals? And what would happen if we describe our industry structure in the terms of the rest of the advertising and marketing industry?
It seems to me (and I am not a lawyer) that
by reclassifying ourselves as performance marketers and describing our structure like the rest of the advertising and marketing community, that if and when affiliate tax legislation is being debated it would be more difficult to separate us from the larger performance marketing industry.
This would mean that online, TV, cable, radio, and print media would be affected along with us and that we can stand united to fight unfair and burdensome taxation.
We’re all performance marketers. Whether a performance marketing affiliate, performance marketing network, performance marketing agency, etc. It’s time to redefine ourselves as performance marketers to help others understand our businesses, create larger opportunities with brand advertisers, and to help mitigate being separated, targeted, and taxed unfairly.
Scott Medlock is the Administrator of the AffSpot Affiliate Forum and Blog
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The 2010 Affiliate Summit AffStat Report, a compilation of survey date from more than 1,150 affiliates has been published. This is the eighth annual edition of the report.
Affiliates were surveyed on their methods, preferences, and strategies for the 2010 Affiliate Summit AffStat Report.
The report features dozens of charts of data, based on the responses from the participating affiliates on affiliate marketing, social media, search marketing, domains, email, and more.
Also included is an uncensored view into the opinions of affiliates on a variety of other subjects.
Affiliates were asked to share any complaints, ideas, suggestions or opinions they have regarding affiliate marketing.
The research has been designed to increase awareness and foster best‐ practices in the affiliate marketing industry.
The full report is currently available to download at http://affstat.com.
The following are excerpts from the report.
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!ow do you most o+en .nd out a0out an affiliate program and then join?
Manager is
on TwiTer
3.9%
Manager is
acHve on
message
boards
6.4%
Contacts
You
16.2%
Do you prefer network or independent affiliate programs?
47.4%
What is your preferred method for .nding out informa>on from an affiliate manager?
Affiliate Forum
Blog
8.1%
0.5%
Company site
13.8%
Instant Messenger
2.4%
What is the minimum EPC (earnings per 100 clicks) for you to promote an affiliate program?
9.2%
Less than
$5.00
$15.00
5.0%
What is the highest reversal rate you would accept?
20‐25%
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Become a Master unnetworker
By Kim Ann Curtin
I did an email intro to an old and new friend after discovering they both lived in Boston. But my old friend never reached out. When I asked why, he said he didn’t want to be stuck “hooking” the guy up with business prospects or be a burden himself.
He’s not alone with this view point that networking is a transactional numbers game. This is why I advocate unNetworking; it’s an authentic and non- transactional way of building your Rolodex.
Think long Tail This is not a hat you can put on just for events; it’s a way of life. Building relationships with human beings is never transactional. It means a true connection with another. It’s better to bring home one business card of someone you really connect with than a stack from people you can’t even recall. Here’s a secret:
most of the people you meet won’t be an immediate prospect. That part comes later once they know and trust you. Letting go of the mindset that you must “score a deal” will loosen you up so you can find true connection with the people you meet.
Be Authentic You don’t have to be a master of
ceremonies or an extrovert. All you have to be is kind and genuine. Be who you are – anything else will come off as fake. Mention how challenging it was to even approach them if it was. When you show your vulnerability you will be seen as a human being, not a title. You’ll be remembered as someone “real.”
it’s About Them Try the host mindset. When you host a party you aren’t focused on yourself; you’re too busy making sure everyone else is having a good time. When you approach people ask them what it is that they need, then stay connected while they explain. Think of either who or what you know that might assist them and then follow through. This will set you apart from everyone. And when it’s your turn to speak, you know where to put the emphasis on your offerings.
Mix it up Go to events or groups that you don’t consider yourself a member of. You can be sure to stand out since you will be the only one of your kind, a guaranteed way to broaden your relationships.
This last one is why I’m even here in this
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Kim Ann Curtin
magazine. I attended Affiliate Summit East last summer for the first time, in spite of not being an affiliate marketer. Relationships that began then have now turned into friendships as well as extraordinary business opportunities. Plus I continue to receive an amazing education from proven experts on how to be a more effective online business woman. Is it awkward to go in as a foreigner? Hell yes. But the discomfort lasts only as long as it takes to introduce yourself to one person. unNetworking is about building authentic relationships with people that you like and trust. Be that first and everyone eventually will want to do business with you.
Stop by www.TheCoachShoppe.com to schedule a free call with Kim to help understand how to get your life or business on track.
Thank you
Affiliate Summit
East
2010 Sponsors
DIAMOND SPONSOR
TITANIUM SPONSOR
Saturday, August 14
Early registration
location: 2nd Floor Promenade
Time: 4:00pm – 8:00pm
Come by Saturday evening to pick up your badge and attendee bag so you can enter immediately at noon on Sunday when the show opens!
Sunday, August 15
Booth Setup location: Rhinelander Gallery & Americas Hall 1 Exhibitor Move in: 8:00am – 6:00pm
registration location: 2nd Floor Promenade Time: 8:00am – 6:00pm
first Timers guide for Affiliate Summit location: Gramercy Suite Time: 10:00am-11:00am
Advice for people attending the Affiliate Summit conference for the first time.
• Shawn Collins, Co-founder, Affiliate Summit (Twitter @ affiliatetip)
(This Session is Open to all Pass Holders)
Blogger room location: Clinton Suite Time: 12:00pm – 6:00pm
The Blogger’s Lounge is an area reserved for credentialed bloggers/press to grab some desk space, blog, interview, relax and network. Heather Smith will be the BlogMistress of the Affiliate Summit Blogger’s Lounge, where she’ll be acting as liaison between Affiliate Summit and the press and bloggers attending the show.
• Heather Smith, Blogger, Beautiful British Columbia (Twitter @heatherinbc)
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Meet Market location: Americas Hall 2 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 Summit East | 2010 AgEnDA
Search Marketing Campaign review Session 1a location: Gramercy Suite Time: 12:00pm-1:00pm
Attendees will apply to have their site and campaigns reviewed before the conference. Our panel of experts in SEO, link building, PPC, social, and affiliate will choose 4-5 companies for review.
Experience level: Intermediate Target audience: Affiliates/Publishers Niche/vertical: Search Marketing
• Kate Morris, SEO Consultant, Distilled Consulting (Twitter @ katemorris) (Moderator)
• Kristy Bolsinger, Social Media Marketing Strategist, RealNetworks (Twitter @Kristy)
• Scott Polk, Founder, ScottPolk.com (Twitter @scottpolk)
• Carolyn Shelby, Web Experience Manager, United Way of Metropolitan Chicago (Twitter @cshel)
• Christa Watson, CEO of Awesome, TheChrista.com (Twitter @ ChristaWatson)
(This Session is Open to Gold, Platinum, and Diamond Pass Holders Only)
fast Track your Business with Outsourcing Session 1b Location: Murray Hill Suite Time: 12:00pm-1:00pm
Learn how outsourcing is the shortcut to online success. 10yr veteran shares proven, low cost strategies and examples you can copy to significantly reduce the time of building a successful business.
Experience level: Beginner, Intermediate Target audience: Affiliates/Publishers Niche/vertical: Outsourcing
• James Martell, President, Net Guides Publishing Inc. (Twitter @jamesmartell)
(This Session is Open to Gold, Platinum, and Diamond Pass Holders Only)
innovate! new Exciting Applications of Affiliate Marketing Session 1c location: Sutton Complex (Beekman & North) Time: 12:00pm-1:00pm
Affiliate marketing is increasingly used in new web startups, services and applications. Discover the most exciting new ideas that are helping to grow and highlight affiliate marketing industry.
Experience level: Advanced Target audience: Affiliates/Publishers, Merchants/Advertisers, Networks Niche/vertical: Innovation
• Joe Stepniewski, Co-Founder, Skimlinks (Twitter @digijoe)
(This Session is Open to Gold, Platinum, and Diamond Pass Holders Only)
Podcasting 101 Session 1d Location: Sutton Complex (South & Regent) Time: 12:00pm-1:00pm
In this era of self-publishing, anyone – including you – can produce a podcast (and make money doing it!) Come learn the basics of producing, monetizing, hosting and promoting your very own podcast.
Experience level: Beginner Target audience: Affiliates/Publishers Niche/vertical: Podcasting
• Lisa Picarille, Consultant, LisaPicarille.com (Twitter @lisap) (Moderator)
• Daniel M. Clark, Owner, Host, Geek Dads Weekly (Twitter @ danielmclark)
• Trisha Lyn Fawver, Client Support, For Me To Coupon (Twitter @ TrishaLyn)
• Joe Magennis, Principal, Baseballisms (Twitter @joemagennis)
(This Session is Open to Gold, Platinum, and Diamond Pass Holders Only)
leading Advertisers Discuss Their Effective Affiliate Programs Session 2a Location: Gramercy Suite Time: 1:30pm-2:30pm
Learn from some of the biggest online stores and brands on what makes their affiliate program successful. Tips, tricks, debate, and discussion on the future of affiliate and performance marketing.
Experience level: Intermediate Target audience: Merchants/Advertisers Niche/vertical: Affiliate Program Management
• Steve Schaffer, Founder & CEO, Offers.com (Twitter @ SteveSchaffer) (Moderator)
• Courtney Goldstein, Director, Online Card Acquisition,American Express
• Darci Grum, Affiliate Marketing Manager, Sears Holding Company
• Chris Symons, Principal, Partnerships and Alliances, Travelocity. com
(This Session is Open to Gold, Platinum, and Diamond Pass Holders Only)
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new lead generation Models: Social-Mobile-Viral Session 2b Location: Murray Hill Suite Time: 1:30pm-2:30pm
Lead generation in the new media game. How to turn friends into fans and customers. In this energizing, interactive session, discover how to drive traffic, leads, and sales in the new media game.
Experience level: Intermediate Target audience: Affiliates/Publishers Niche/vertical: Lead Generation
• Declan Dunn, CEO, Dunn Direct Media (Twitter @declandunn)
(This Session is Open to Gold, Platinum, and Diamond Pass Holders Only)
leveraging Profits Through Social Media Connections Session 2c Location: Sutton Complex (Beekman & North) Time: 1:30pm-2:30pm
Affiliates using social media for advertising alone are missing most of the profits.
Experience level: Intermediate, Advanced Target audience: Affiliates/Publishers Niche/vertical: Twitter
• Warren Whitlock, Publisher, BestSellerAuthors.com (Twitter @ WarrenWhitlock)
(This Session is Open to Gold, Platinum, and Diamond Pass Holders Only)
Supercharging WordPress for SEO Session 2d Location: Sutton Complex (South & Regent) Time: 1:30pm-2:30pm
WordPress provides an excellent foundation for SEO, but there are many ways to improve it. I’ll present key techniques and powerful plugins that can supercharge a WordPress site for SEO.
Experience level: Beginner, Intermediate Target audience: Affiliates/Publishers Niche/vertical: SEO
• Jon Henshaw, Co-Creator & Product Manager, Raven Internet Marketing Tools (Twitter @RavenJon)
(This Session is Open to Gold, Platinum, and Diamond Pass Holders Only)
Affiliate Summit East | 2010 AgEnDA
Simplify the Web to Achieve your goals Session 3a Location: Gramercy Suite Time: 3:00pm-4:00pm
Content Management Systems (CMS), themes, templates, SEO— AAAAHHHHHH! Initially, it all seems very confusing, but today, we’re going to simplify the Web and learn what it REALLY takes to dominate.
Experience level: Beginner Target audience: Affiliates/Publishers Niche/vertical: WordPress Themes
• Chris Pearson, Overlord, DIYthemes, LLC (Twitter @pearsonified)
(This Session is Open to Gold, Platinum, and Diamond Pass Holders Only)
More Money, Same Traffic, list Building & Paths Session 3b Location: Murray Hill Suite Time: 3:00pm-4:00pm
Want to make more money for the same traffic? Learn about ideas on how to gather data before, increase sales and show multiple offers after you make the sale.
Experience level: Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced Target audience: Affiliates/Publishers Niche/vertical: Monetization
• Jason Akatiff, President, Coleadium Inc. dba Ads4Dough (Twitter @smaxor)
(This Session is Open to Gold, Platinum, and Diamond Pass Holders Only)
Seven Deadly Sins of Affiliate Marketing 2010 Session 3c Location: Sutton Complex (Beekman & North) Time: 3:00pm-4:00pm
A fast paced multi-media presentation on affiliate danger zones focusing on the latest FTC enforcement priorities and initiatives and plaintiffs’ targets infused with useful tips and humor.
Experience level: Intermediate Target audience: Affiliates/Publishers Niche/vertical: Legal
• Bennet Kelley, Founder, Internet Law Center (Twitter @ InternetLawCent)
(This Session is Open to Gold, Platinum, and Diamond Pass Holders Only)
Affiliate Tactics, Opportunities, and Traffic Comparisons Session 3d Location: Sutton Complex (South & Regent) Time: 3:00pm-4:00pm
Affiliate tactics, opportunities, and traffic comparisons will be discussed in this session.
Experience level: Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced Target audience: Affiliates/Publishers Niche/vertical: Targeting
• Kim Kaplan, Vice President, Plentyoffish
(This Session is Open to Gold, Platinum, and Diamond Pass Holders Only)
Affiliate Summit newcomer Program Meetup Location: Gibson Suite Time: 6:30pm – 7:30pm
(Open to all attendees enrolled in the Affiliate Summit Newcomer Program)
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Monday, August 16
Continental Breakfast Location: Americas Hall 2 Time: 9:00am-10:00am
(Breakfast is Open to Platinum and Diamond Pass Holders with Breakfast Tickets Only)
Coffee Service Location: Meal Area Time: 10:00am-12:30pm and 2:00pm-6:00pm
registration Location: 2nd Floor Promenade Time: 7:30am – 5:00pm
Blogger room Location: Clinton Suite Time: 8:30am – 6:00pm
The Blogger’s Lounge is an area reserved for credentialed bloggers/ press to grab some desk space, blog, interview, relax and network. Heather Smith will be the BlogMistress of the Affiliate Summit Blogger’s Lounge, where she’ll be acting as liaison between Affiliate Summit and the press and bloggers attending the show.
• Heather Smith, Blogger, Beautiful British Columbia (Twitter @ heatherinbc)
Exhibit Hall Location: Rhinelander Gallery & Americas Hall 1 Time: 10:00am – 5:00pm
(Exhibitors may set up beginning at 9:00am.)
Opening remarks & Keynote Location: Grand Ballroom Suite Time: 9:45am – 10:45am
• Jim Kukral, CEO, JimKukral.com (Twitter @jimkukral)
• Frank Luntz, Political Consultant, Pollster, and Author
(This Session is Open to All Pass Holders)
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link Building Victories and failures Session 4a Location: Gramercy Suite Time: 11:30am-12:30pm
Overview of easy and advanced link building opportunities, using everything from the newest tools to complex advanced strategies for building links.
Experience level: Intermediate Target audience: Other Niche/vertical: SEO
• Wil Reynolds, Associate, SEER (Twitter @wilreynolds)
(This Session is Open to Platinum and Diamond Pass Holders Only)
Turn Website & Social Media Traffic into gold Session 4b Location: Murray Hill Suite Time: 11:30am-12:30pm
This presentation will share 10 cutting edge strategies to generate massive website traffic and social media clicks and turn that traffic into revenue.
Experience level: Intermediate Target audience: Affiliates/Publishers Niche/vertical: Soical Marketing
• Jay Berkowitz, Internet Nursery School Professor and CEO, Ten Golden Rules (Twitter @JayBerkowitz)
(This Session is Open to Platinum and Diamond Pass Holders Only)
Affiliate Summit East | 2010 AgEnDA
Master of your Domain? Session 4c Location: Sutton Complex (Beekman & North) Time: 11:30am-12:30pm
The basis of business on the internet is your domain name. Buying, selling, defending, procuring and maximizing domain names is key aspect of any affiliate marketer.
Experience level: Intermediate Target audience: Affiliates/Publishers Niche/vertical: Domains
• Gary Kibel, Partner, Davis & Gilbert LLP (Twitter @GaryKibel_law) (Moderator)
• Sara Freixa, Brand Protection Manager, Americas, Melbourne IT DBS Inc
• Peter Marinello, Director, Electronic Retailing Self-Regulation Program
(This Session is Open to Platinum and Diamond Pass Holders Only)
using Social Media for SEO Session 4d Location: Sutton Complex (South & Regent) Time: 11:30am-12:30pm
If you thought Twitter was just for talking about great BBQ and Facebook was just for making old girlfriends jealous – thing again. Learn tactics to leverage social media to boost your rank on Google.
Experience level: Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced Target audience: Affiliates/Publishers, Networks Niche/vertical: SEO
• Josh Ziering, Owner, Full Speed SEO (Twitter @JoshuaZiering)
(This Session is Open to Platinum and Diamond Pass Holders Only)
Affiliate Showcase Location: American Hall 2 Time: 11:30am-12:30pm
Affiliate Showcase will be an opportunity for affiliates to preside over tables where merchants and networks can visit with them to discuss working together.
(This Session is Open to Gold, Platinum, and Diamond Pass Holders Only)
luncheon Location: Americas Hall 2 Time: 12:30pm-1:45pm
(Lunch is Open to Platinum and Diamond Pass Holders With Lunch Tickets Only)
facebook Advertising from Soup To nuts Session 5a Location: Gramercy Suite Time: 2:00pm-3:00pm
Advertising on Facebook is a huge opportunity for affiliate marketers. But most affiliates stop – finding the platform very frustrating to use. Come and get the scoop on how it “really” works.
Experience level: Beginner, Intermediate Target audience: Affiliates/Publishers, Merchants/Advertisers Niche/vertical: Facebook
• Jeremy Schoemaker, Marketer, ShoeMoney Capital INC (Twitter @shoemoney)
(This Session is Open to Platinum and Diamond Pass Holders Only)
Avoiding the google Slap Session 5b Location: Murray Hill Suite Time: 2:00pm-3:00pm
Panel discussion with key executives from Google and ClickBank on landing page quality scores and ad quality guidelines.
Experience level: Intermediate Target audience: Affiliates/Publishers, Merchants/Advertisers Niche/vertical: Google
• Dush Ramachandran, Vice President – Sales & Business Development, ClickBank (Twitter @DushR)
• Frederick Vallaeys, AdWords Evangelist, Google (Twitter @ siliconvallaeys)
(This Session is Open to Platinum and Diamond Pass Holders Only)
Social Media Marketing for Affiliates Session 5c Location: Sutton Complex (Beekman & North) Time: 2:00pm-3:00pm
Session will touch on three main aspects to social media marketing:
how it works, content, and managing the process to create and run your campaigns.
Experience level: Intermediate Target audience: Affiliates/Publishers Niche/vertical: Social Media
• Brent Csutoras, Social Media Consultant, Brent Csutoras, Inc (Twitter @brentcsutoras) (Moderator)
• Kevin Henrikson, Technical Director, Henrikson Media (Twitter @ kevinhenrikson)
• Muhammad Saleem, Director of Social Media Strategy, Tribune Media Group (Twitter @msaleem)
(This Session is Open to Platinum and Diamond Pass Holders Only)
Android Affiliate Mobile Marketing Session 5d Location: Sutton Complex (South & Regent) Time: 2:00pm-3:00pm
How best to integrate your affiliate program for the mobile web & applications along with mobile advertising & marketing options for all devices including the fastest growing mobile platform, Android.
Experience level: Intermediate Target audience: Affiliates/Publishers Niche/vertical: Mobile Marketing/SEO
• Michael Martin, Owner, Mobile Martin (Twitter @googleandblog)
(This Session is Open to Platinum and Diamond Pass Holders Only)
Vertical Exchange Location: American Hall 2 Time: 2:00pm-3:00pm
Vertical Exchange will be an opportunity for affiliates, merchants and networks to find one another by vertical to network and work our deals.
(This Session is Open to Gold, Platinum, and Diamond Pass Holders Only)
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SEO Site review/Clinic Session 6a Location: Gramercy Suite Time: 3:30pm-4:30pm
Live Q&A, site audits and suggestions on how to help the internal site structure, as well as ideas how to build a better site for organic rankings.
Experience level: Intermediate Target audience: Merchants/Advertisers Niche/vertical: SEO
• Rae Hoffman, CEO, Outspoken Media (Twitter @sugarrae) (Moderator)
• Greg Boser, President, 3 Dog Media, LLC (Twitter @GregBoser)
• Michael Gray, President, Atlas Web (Twitter @graywolf)
(This Session is Open to Platinum and Diamond Pass Holders Only)
Crowdsource your Success Session 6b Location: Murray Hill Suite Time: 3:30pm-4:30pm
Discussion about how to utilize various crowdsourcing tools and resources as an affiliate marketer and merchant to improve conversions and improve revenue.
Experience level: Intermediate Target audience: Affiliates/Publishers Niche/vertical: Marketing
• Matt Mickiewicz, Co-Founder, 99designs, Flippa & SitePoint (Twitter @sitepointmatt)
(This Session is Open to Platinum and Diamond Pass Holders Only)
Affiliate Summit East | 2010 AgEnDA
Why Q4 is the year long Season Session 6c Location: Sutton Complex (Beekman & North) Time: 3:30pm-4:30pm
Think Q4 planning begins in Q2 or Q3? Think again. Really executing on the crucial holiday season means planning all year long. Experience level: Intermediate Target audience: Affiliates/Publishers, Merchants/Advertisers Niche/vertical: Retail
• Kim Riedell, Vice President, Client Development, Commission Junction, a ValueClick Company (Twitter @CJnetwork)
(This Session is Open to Platinum and Diamond Pass Holders Only)
Affiliate Marketing in a Digital World Session 6d Location: Sutton Complex (South & Regent) Time: 3:30pm-4:30pm
Affiliate marketers face challenges making money on lower priced items such as MP3’s and eBooks. We’ll present best practices and some tips and tricks that work.
Experience level: Beginner Target audience: Affiliates/Publishers Niche/vertical: Digital
• Zahid Khan, Senior Product Manager, Amazon.com (Twitter @ AmazonAssociate)
(This Session is Open to Platinum and Diamond Pass Holders Only)
Ask the Experts Location: American Hall 2 Time: 5:00 pm-6:00pm
Ask the Experts will be an opportunity for merchants, networks and affiliates to ask questions about various specialties and issues. Hand picked experts will handle topics in their specialty, and conduct chats, answer questions and share opinions during this networking and education session.
• Affiliate Program Case Studies: Strategies and Practices: Melanie Seery, President, Affiliate Advocacy LLC (Twitter @Mellies)
• Are You Kidding Me? Merchant Mistakes: Adam Riemer, President, Adam Riemer Marketing, LLC (Twitter @rollerblader)
• Beyond Business Cards: Jen Goode, Doodler in Charge, JGoode Designs (Twitter @jgoode)
• Effective Affiliate Payments: Alex Mifsud, CEO, EntroPay (Twitter @entropay)
• Explode Your Traffic With Content Marketing: Michael Pomposello, Account Executive, Content Written (Twitter @ pwebbiz)
• How to Avoid Becoming a Regulatory: Linda Goldstein, Partner, Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP
• How To Outsource Your Boring Tasks Overseas: John Hasson, President, JAH Media, LLC (Twitter @JohnHasson)
• Listing Building Playbook: Brian Evans, Internet Marketing Entrepreneur, DailyConversions.com (Twitter @dailyconversion)
• Long Term Facebook Strategies: Keith Posehn, President, Zorz LLC (Twitter @zorzllc)
• The New Frontier for Infommercials: Affiliate Marketing!:
Rebecca Madigan, Executive Director, Performance Marketing Association (Twitter @pmassociation)
• The Pay-Per-Call Opportunity: Jason Spievak, CEO, RingRevenue, Inc. (Twitter @ringrevenue)
• Pay Per View Traffic and Techniques: Kris Trujillo, Owner, F5 Ads, LLC (Twitter @Cashtactics)
• So I Sinned, Now What?! – Tom Cohn, Of Counsel, Venable LLP
• Using APIs to Maximize Affiliate Opportunities: Christopher Calvi, Business Development Executive, Adknowledge (Twitter @ politivi)
• WordPress Plugins: Julia Barrett, Director, Affiliate Marketing, Shopzilla, Inc. (Twitter @szpublisher)
(This Session is Open to All Pass Holders)
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Tuesday, August 17
Continental Breakfast Location: Americas Hall 2 Time: 9:00am-10:00am
(Breakfast is Open to Platinum and Diamond Pass Holders with Breakfast Tickets Only)
Coffee Service Location: Meal Area Time: 10:00am-12:30pm and 2:00pm-6:00pm
registration Location: 2nd Floor Promenade Time: 8:00am – 3:00pm
Blogger room Location: Clinton Suite Time: 8:30am – 4:00pm
The Blogger’s Lounge is an area reserved for credentialed bloggers/ press to grab some desk space, blog, interview, relax and network. Heather Smith will be the BlogMistress of the Affiliate Summit Blogger’s Lounge, where she’ll be acting as liaison between Affiliate Summit and the press and bloggers attending the show.
• Heather Smith, Blogger, Beautiful British Columbia (Twitter @ heatherinbc)
Exhibit Hall Location: Rhinelander Gallery & Americas Hall 1 Time: 10:00am – 4:00pm (Exhibitors may set up beginning at 9:00am.)
Opening remarks & Keynote Location: Grand Ballroom Suite Time: 10:00am – 11:15am
• Shawn Collins, Co-Founder, Affiliate Summit (Twitter @ affiliatetip)
• Jim Kukral, CEO, JimKukral.com (Twitter @jimkukral)
(This Session is Open to All Pass Holders)
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uncovering Advanced Paid Search Strategies Session 7a Location: Gramercy Suite Time: 11:30am-11:50am
Allen will provide a checklist of qualities advertisers should look for in search partners to bring PPC campaigns to the next level, including traffic quality, targeting and tracking, and service. Experience level: Advanced Target audience: Merchants/Advertisers Niche/vertical: Search Advertising
• Allen Hammock, Director, LookSmart (Twitter @brainvat)
(This Session is Open to Platinum and Diamond Pass Holders Only)
How to Turbocharge your Business Session 7b Location: Murray Hill Suite Time: 11:30am-11:50am
To be successful without burning out, you need to work smart. I’ll show you how to find time, focus like a laser, boost your energy & distraction-proof yourself against the inevitable time gremlins. Experience level: Beginner Target audience: Affiliates/Publishers Niche/vertical: Productivity
• Aaron Dragushan, Founder, Upgrade Me (Twitter @dragushan)
(This Session is Open to Platinum and Diamond Pass Holders Only)
Curation. Can you filter free Content? Session 7c Location: Sutton Complex (Beekman & North) Time: 11:30am-11:50am
Curation is the hottest word in web content today. Can you harness the power of Web aggregation and curation to increase page views, return visits, conversions, and sales.
Experience level: Intermediate Target audience: Affiliates/Publishers Niche/vertical: Curation
• Steve Rosenbaum, CEO, Magnify.net (Twitter @magnify)
(This Session is Open to Platinum and Diamond Pass Holders Only)
Affiliate Summit East | 2010 AgEnDA
How to Eliminate Affiliate fraud 100% Session 7d Location: Sutton Complex (South & Regent) Time: 11:30am-11:50am
Step-by-step detailed review of proven techniques and technologies to eliminate affiliate fraud.
Experience level: Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced Target audience: Affiliates/Publishers, Merchants/Advertisers, Networks, Other Niche/vertical: FTC
• Rey Pasinli, Executive Director, Total Apps, Inc. (Twitter @ TotalApps)
(This Session is Open to Platinum and Diamond Pass Holders Only)
Affiliate freakonomics: Market Quirks at Work Session 8a Location: Gramercy Suite Time: 12:10pm-12:30pm
A look at click data uncovering the quirks of the affiliate market preventing most publishers from optimizing revenue — and how technology can make things right again.
Experience level: Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced Target audience: Affiliates/Publishers, Networks Niche/vertical: Optimization
• Oliver Roup, CEO, VigLink (Twitter @oroup)
(This Session is Open to Platinum and Diamond Pass Holders Only)
The info Product Co-Creation formula Session 8b Location: Murray Hill Suite Time: 12:10pm-12:30pm
In this presentation I reveal the simple, step-by-step formula that my clients and I use to transform our lists’ inquiries and comments into best-selling information products .
Experience level: Intermediate Target audience: Affiliates/Publishers Niche/vertical: Information Products
• Clay Collins, CEO, The Interactive Offer and Business Idea (Twitter @ClayCollins)
(This Session is Open to Platinum and Diamond Pass Holders Only)
implementing a Successful Coupon Strategy Session 8c Location: Sutton Complex (Beekman & North) Time: 12:10pm-12:30pm
Learn how to effectively implement a successful coupon strategy into your business and increase sales, profits and conversion by using sole affiliate ownership, branded coupon keywords and more.
Experience level: Intermediate Target audience: Merchants/Advertisers Niche/vertical: Coupons
• Travis Cox, eCommerce Manager, ICON Health & Fitness
(This Session is Open to Platinum and Diamond Pass Holders Only)
Processes for Building Profitable Affiliate Websites Session 8d Location: Sutton Complex (South & Regent) Time: 12:10pm-12:30pm
This session will explain how to navigate from a website concept to a live and profitable business earning revenue from affiliate offers.
Experience level: Intermediate, Advanced Target audience: Affiliates/Publishers Niche/vertical: Site Building
• Ryan Wilson, SVP, Intela (Twitter @aremdubya)
(This Session is Open to Platinum and Diamond Pass Holders Only)
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luncheon Location: Americas Hall 2 Time: 12:30pm-1:45pm
(Lunch is Open to Platinum and Diamond Pass Holders With Lunch Tickets Only)
Affiliate Platforming: How to Attract & retain Audiences Session 9a Location: Gramercy Suite Time: 2:00pm-3:00pm
Affiliate marketing is a whole new ball game. The problem is there are so many tools, which ones should you use and how? This session looks at best platforms in both social media and viral marketing.
Experience level: Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced Target audience: Affiliates/Publishers, Merchants/Advertisers Niche/vertical: Audiences
• Scott Stratten, UnPresident, UnMarketing (Twitter @ UnMarketing)
(This Session is Open to Platinum and Diamond Pass Holders Only)
How Bloggers Can Successfully Connect with Audiences Session 9b Location: Murray Hill Suite Time: 2:00pm-3:00pm
Advice and tips for bloggers to increase their success in connect with audiences and at the same time making them more appealing to advertisers and increase revenue.
Experience level: Intermediate Target audience: Affiliates/Publishers Niche/vertical: Blogging
• Kristopher B. Jones, Founder & President, KrisJones.com (Twitter @krisjonescom) (Moderator)
• Drew Bennett, Blogger/Photographer, BenSpark.com (Twitter @ BenSpark)
• Tim Jones, Co-Owner, Destinations To Explore, Inc. (Twitter @ TheRealTimJones)
• Murray Newlands, Co-Founder, Influence People (Twitter @ murraynewlands)
• Eric Schechter, Social Media Manager, Clickbooth (Twitter @ EricSchechter)
(This Session is Open to Platinum and Diamond Pass Holders Only)
Turn Small Changes into Huge Business results Session 9c Location: Sutton Complex (Beekman & North) Time: 2:00pm-3:00pm
How to transform your business and skyrocket your profits by using the law of compounding and proven, easy to implement, incredibly effective business strategies from my Blueprints to Profits Program.
Experience level: Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced Target audience: Affiliates/Publishers Niche/vertical: Business Owners
• Paul Lemberg, CEO, Lemberg + Company (Twitter @paul_ lemberg)
(This Session is Open to Platinum and Diamond Pass Holders Only)
Strategies for Marketing to Women Session 9d Location: Sutton Complex (South & Regent) Time: 2:00pm-3:00pm
3 out of 4 women identify themselves as the primary shoppers for their households. We will discuss marketing to women from a merchant, OPM, and affiliate viewpoint.
Experience level: Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced Target audience: Affiliates/Publishers, Merchants/Advertisers Niche/vertical: Marketing
• Kim Salvino, Sr. Account Manager & Affiliate Evangelist, buy.at (Twitter @Kim_Salvino) (Moderator)
• Tricia Meyer, Owner, Sunshine Rewards (Twitter @sunshinetricia)
• Kristin Kinsey, President/CEO, MadHatter Consulting, Inc. (Twitter @kc)
• Laura Parvey-Connors, MomGeek/Media Designer, Vanns and Mamalode (Twitter @laurapconnors)
(This Session is Open to Platinum and Diamond Pass Holders Only)
Closing Session Location: Sutton Complex (Beekman & North) Time: 3:15pm-4:15pm
(This Session is Open to All Pass Holders)
Affiliate Summit East | 2010 AgEnDA
Keynote Bio
Frank Luntz
Frank Luntz is one of the most honored communication professionals in America today. Time magazine named him one of “50 of America’s most promising leaders aged 40 and under” and he is the “hottest pollster” in America according to The Boston Globe. Frank was named one of the four “Top Research Minds” by Business Week and was the winner of the coveted Washington Post “Crystal Ball” award for being the most accurate pundit in 1992. Public
Television’s Bill Moyers had this to say about Frank: “He’s
a magician with a gift for the politics of words and what
words best connect with the hearts and minds of the public”. Said comedian Al Franken: “Asking Frank Luntz if he understands public opinion is like asking Julia Child if she knows how to make a souffle.”
Dr. Luntz has written, supervised, and conducted more than 1,500 surveys, focus groups and dial sessions in over two dozen countries and four continents over the past decade. Frank has become the go-to consultant when Fortune 100 companies need communication and language guidance, from General Motors to Federal Express, Disney to American Express, from AT&T to Pfizer, from Kroger supermarkets to McDonalds and the entire soft drink and motion picture industry, as well as the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the National Association of Manufacturers and the Business Roundtable.
The “Instant Response” focus group technique pioneered by Frank was profiled on 60 Minutes. He has also been
a guest on Meet the Press, Nightline, The Today Show,
The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer, Good Morning America, Hannity and Colmes, Charlie Rose, Real Time with Bill Maher, and Hardball with Chris Matthews. He also served as a consultant to the award-winning NBC hit show “The West Wing.”
More media outlets have turned to Dr. Luntz to understand the hopes and fears of Americans than to any other political pollster. In the 2000 election cycle, Frank conducted almost two-dozen focus groups for MSNBC and CNBC, including live sessions following each night of both party conventions and presidential debates. His reoccurring segments on MSNBC/CNBC, “100 Days, and
1000 Voices” won the coveted Emmy Award in 2001. He
was a primary night and election night commentator for The News with Brian Williams on MSNBC in 2000 and for
Hardball in 2004. Frank was the first and most vociferous public opinion expert to predict the GOP’s demise in the
2006 congressional elections. Frank has conducted focus
group sessions for all three major television networks, two
of the three cable news channels, PBS and the BBC. He has also conducted focus groups for The Wall Street Journal, Newsweek, The New Yorker, and U.S. News & World Report.
Frank is the author of the much acclaimed Words that Work: It’s Not What You Say, It’s What People Hear. The book delves deeply into the art and science of language creation, examining how the simple choice of words can change the course of history.
Keynote Bio
Speaker Bios
Jim Kukral
For almost 15-years, Jim Kukral has helped small businesses and large companies like Fedex, Sherwin Williams, Ernst & Young and Progressive Auto Insurance understand how to build successful new online businesses or energize and refresh existing ones. A graduate of The University of Akron with a BA in Public Relations and a minor in Sales & Marketing, Jim has spent time working with publicly traded firms and small businesses alike. Jim’s work and experience in the Internet marketing industry has branded him as a leading thinker and thought-leader in the community. He currently serves as a Certified Adjunct Professor for The University of San Francisco online where he teaches thousands of students how to harness the power of online marketing. Jim is also the author of two new books to be published by Wiley Press. The first, called “Attention! This Book Will Make You Money”, will be in bookstores in August 2010. The second book, called “The Ultimate Pitch”, is scheduled to be released in 2011. Today, Jim manages a successful Web business consulting firm (http://www.thebizwebcoach.com) where he helps businesses find ways to skyrocket their sales, leads and publicity through the power of online marketing. You can find out about all of Jim’s work and projects by visiting http://www.jimkukral.com.
Affiliate Summit East 2010 Speakers
Jason Akatiff
Jason Akatiff AKA Smaxor got started in this industry 6 years ago after buying a bizopp software package on Black Hat SEO. But it wasn’t what was in the package that was the springboard for him into the industry, rather, it was what was lacking. He quickly realized that the majority of prepackaged software lacked the content & systems needed in order to get to the next level, so he created his own! He self taught himself PHP in order to build out his own cutting edge systems and fill the void he saw in the space. Over the next few months, he began assembling and training a team around him to build economies of scale and help lessen the work burden. With this new found time, he quickly and aggressively moved into large scale media buying with his primary focus being in the CPA space. Today Jason owns and operates Ads4Dough CPA Network, manages the internal media buying team, continues to run both online and offline marketing campaigns, and is building out quite a bit of technology.
Julia Barrett
Julia Barrett is the Director of Affiliate Marketing at Shopzilla, Inc., managing the Shopzilla Publisher Program. Having started with the Shopzilla Publisher Program as project manager, leading through its beta launch, Julia has gradually assumed responsibility of all aspects of the program. She has overseen the design, development and launch of many affiliate marketing products, including the release of the program’s more robust Catalog API in 2009, and the recent release of a content suite catering to Shopzilla’s beso.com property. Instrumental in implementing operational process throughout the program, she has built a team committed to providing personal, open communication with their publishers. Julia has been with Shopzilla four years, starting as a business analyst within Content Operations. Prior to Shopzilla, Julia worked for Bear Stearns. Though she misses Wall Street, she is quite happy managing shopping content distribution.
Drew Bennett
Drew Bennett is a Husband, Father, Blog Consultant, Photographer, Traveler, Wired Kayaker and Transformers Fan. He has taken a Photo- A-Day for 5 straight years. He blogs about his photos and his life at BenSpark.com. BenSpark.com is a personal blog where Drew builds community with his readers through conversation, contests and compelling content. Drew also builds community through his newsletters Behind The Lens where he offers his photography tips and Personal Branding Bootcamp. Drew is constantly looking for opportunities to expand his brand. You’ll often find him at industry conferences and tradeshows.
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Jay Berkowitz
Jay Berkowitz is a dynamic marketing professional. He’s managed marketing departments for Fortune 500 brands: Sprint, Coca-Cola, McDonald’s and eDiets.com. Mr. Berkowitz is the Author of “Ten Golden Rules of Online Marketing”, host of the Award-Winning Ten Golden Rules of Internet Marketing Podcast and CEO of www. TenGoldenRules.com, an internet marketing consulting agency that helps companies get more traffic to their websites and convert that traffic to sales with a focus on improving profit. Mr. Berkowitz is the Founder of www.InternetMarketingClub.Org, 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, eBay Live, Ad-Tech, The American Marketing Association, Search Engine Strategies, and the CEO Executive Forum. He is the recipient of the PR Star Award and a SOFIE Award.
Kristy Bolsinger
Kristy Bolsinger is currently employed as a Social Media Marketing Strategist with RealNetworks in Seattle, WA. Prior to her time at RealNetworks Kristy was working as a Social Media Marketing Consultant and completing her MBA at Willamette University. She maintains a social media blog and can also be found on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.
Greg Boser
Greg Boser (aka WebGuerrilla) is an internet marketing consultant who has specialized in search engine optimization since 1996. Having served as President of WebGuerrilla, LLC for over 10 years, Greg has now launched 3 Dog Media, a new full service internet marketing company that supports more client needs than traditional SEO. 3 Dog Media provides a fresh look at how to maximize Web 2.0 in any vertical, while grasping every SEO opportunity. Greg Boser has been quoted in Newsweek, WSJ, as well as having been a former moderator for WMW. You may also recognize Greg from his weekly radio show “SEO Rockstars” on WebmasterRadio.FM. Greg has been speaking in the conference circuit since 1999. 3 Dog Media specializes in SEO, SMM, Reputation Management and Wordpress Development.
Christopher Calvi
Christopher Calvi is part Jabberwocky, part business development executive at Adknowledge, the largest privately owned ad network on the Internet. With years of experience managing, selling, and using APIs, Christopher brings a diversified perspective to his work and is excited to be discussing the joys of RESTful web services at Affiliate Summit. At Adknowledge, Christopher works closely with publishers on all breeds of feed implementation including mobile, toolbar, and web content. Prior to Adknowledge, Christopher held a variety of positions at Shopzilla and worked on several political campaigns. He holds a B.S. in Public Policy from Georgia Tech and lives in New York City with his wife, Katie. You can read his blog at http://www.politivi. com/ and follow him on Twitter @politivi.
Daniel M. Clark
Daniel M. Clark has been a resident of the Internet since 1992. He either is or has been: a t-shirt designer, an art reviewer, a system administrator, a video game designer and programmer, a blogger, an affiliate marketer, a podcaster, a space cowboy, and a gangster of love. Mostly what Daniel is right now is a work-at-home Dad, raising two kids, ages 4 and 1 with his wife, Angela. Daniel’s podcast is Geek Dads Weekly – www.geekdadsweekly.com – a one hour show that he does with his partner, Joe Magennis.
Thomas A. Cohn
Tom Cohn, of counsel to the law firm of Venable LLP, is a former FTC attorney [17+ years, NY regional director] representing a variety of online and offline advertisers and marketers, including affiliates, merchants and ad networks. He has spoken at Affiliate Summit West, ad:tech SF, Meetup202NYC and numerous advertising law workshops and conferences sponsored by Promotion Marketing Association, Interactive Advertising Bureau, Direct Marketing Association and many others. Tom counsels advertisers, online marketers, media companies, ad agencies and production companies on advertising, marketing and promotion matters, and represents them in connection with state and federal litigation and investigations, as well as before the National Advertising Division and other self-regulatory organizations. He is a member of the Committee on Consumer Affairs of the New York City Bar and the Food, Drug & Cosmetic Section of the New York State Bar Association, and he is admitted to the bar in New York and Massachusetts.
Clay Collins
Clay Collins is the creator of Project Mojave, a high end internet marketing membership site with hundreds of members. Clay is known for repeatedly helping entrepreneurs ENSURE the massive success of their products before they spend a dime on product creation or promotion. Clay grew up with his grandparents on a citrus farm in rural southern California and now lives in Minnesota where he spends much of his time backpacking, bouldering, and trying to suck less at rock climbing.
Travis Cox
Travis Cox has been in the internet marketing field for almost five years. He started his career at Overstock.com, where he ran the paid- search, natural-search and email programs and helped with affiliates for the auction site. After his time with Overstock, he joined ICON Health & Fitness, the largest fitness equipment manufacturer in the world. As e-commerce manager, Travis manages the Affiliate and SEO programs and oversees all international Direct Response business. Currently the number-one fitness affiliate, ICON runs a Direct Response business for more than eight websites, including NordicTrack, ProForm, Healthrider and Weider. ICON’s affiliate program is ranked in the top 90, and during its busy season, it is one of the top 40 in the CJ network. In November 2009, ICON implemented a successful coupon strategy that helped increase sales by 18 percent and conversion by more than 10 percent.
Speaker Bios
Brent Csutoras
Brent Csutoras is a seasoned Internet Marketing Consultant who primarily specializes in Social Media, Viral Linkbait and Search Engine Marketing strategies. Known for his work on Weird Asia News, a popular website serving a growing audience of around a million unique visitors a month, Brent has built a reputation as a Social Media expert. Brent speaks regularly at some of the largest and well known conferences, such as SMX, Pubcon, SES, and InfoPresse. He has also been mentioned in Forbes.com, interviewed forEntrepreneur.com, and was recently recognized as one of the Top 25 Most Influential Online Marketers of 2008. Brent has made guest appearances discussing the arts of Social Media and the impacts it has on Search Engine Marking on highly popular internet marketing radio shows such as Good Karma, Rush Hour, and Webmaster on the Roof. Most recently, Brent was named a Senior Editor for Social Media in the SEM Journal and awarded a SEMMY.
Aaron Dragushan
Aaron Dragushan is the founder of UpgradeMe.org, a community of online entrepreneurs who are strapping on booster rockets to take themselves and their businesses to the next level with a fresh new approach to work. Aaron funded his first company with credit cards 12 years ago. It has grown to serve clients such as Reader’s Digest, CNBC and Crest and been featured in the Wall Street Journal, PC Magazine and the BBC News. Aaron’s businesses now run on auto-pilot, and he takes time off to play with his kids whenever they’ll put up with him.
Declan Dunn
Declan Dunn is CEO of DunnDirectMedia, a pioneer of affiliate programs, and also the founder of one of the first social networks dedicated to education in 1995, recognized by Adobe in 2009 for the Social Impact in Media Award. This combination of social community building, affiliate marketing, and business savvy is what Declan delivers as a New Media publisher. He is an innovator and inventor of breakthrough marketing strategies for over 15 years on the Internet. Dunn Direct Media is the 21st century form of direct marketing. Direct media means using audio, video, and traditional direct marketing to generate leads and sales. Creating copy that makes it easy for people to get to know your company, then guiding them through your own sales process developed to build trust and create repeatable, monthly revenue. You will get his findings live, and will be able to apply them directly to what you are doing now.
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Brian Evans
Brian Evans is a young and successful Internet Marketing Entrepreneur. He blogs at DailyConversions.com, which is a blog geared at a variety of internet marketing topics to give readers as many “ah-ha” moments as possible. He runs a highly successful internet marketing and list building coaching program at ListPlaybook.com. Brian is also a highly sought out consultant, managing projects, running traffic, building lists and generating leads/sales for some of the biggest names in the business. He attributes his success to his constant studying of human behavior in addition to always finding ways to build relationships with web surfers and his readers. Brian invites anyone reading this to email him at brian@dailyconversions.com, if you need some quick questions answered about list building or internet marketing. He can’t guarantee an immediate response since he’s busy consulting, blogging and coaching students but will respond as soon as he can with some free advice.
Trisha Lyn Fawver
Trisha burst onto the affiliate marketing scene in 2006 with no shortage of enthusiasm. Quickly turning her passionate desire to learn into actionable items and real results, she has managed various affiliate programs, from lead gen to retail, B2B and B2C, both in- house and with industry-leading outsourced program management agencies. Trisha currently works with For Me To Coupon, an automated affiliate coupon feed, managing projects, running social media, and assisting clients. Trisha co-hosts a podcast on the GeekCast.fm network, Affiliate Marketing Fanatics, with Mike Buechele. Blogging about marketing and social media at TrishaLyn.com has set her apart from the pack and allowed her to gain insight and expertise within the dynamic industry of affiliate marketing.
Sara Freixa
Sara was born in Barcelona. She graduated with a law degree from Abat Oliba before obtaining a Master Degree in New Technologies law in ESADE. She worked with J. Isern Patentes y Marcas, SL a Spanish trademark agency where she gained valuable experience in all aspects of domain name work including recoveries via acquisition and filing UDRPs. In 2005 Sara moved to New York to join the law firm Arrufat Gracia, PLLC based in Manhattan. There, Sara gained extensive insight into the world of American and Spanish Trade Mark law as well as in contract law and company formations. In 2007 Sara joined Melbourne IT where she is currently employed as a Brand Protection specialist based in New York. Sara works with some of the biggest corporate accounts in the world including Microsoft, Twitter, Sara Lee, Danone, Morgan Stanley, Discovery Communications, or The New York Times. She is highly regarded in online IPR circles for her meticulous high quality work and her dedication client service.
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Courtney Goldstein
For the past seven years, Courtney has worked in a variety of Acquisition and Product Management roles at American Express. Most recently, as Director of Online Card Acquisition, she has developed strategies to understand, attract, and engage top consumers and small business owners through marketing channels that include Affiliate, Display Media, and Paid Search. Specifically for the Affiliate channel, Courtney works closely with her affiliate partners to identify appropriate capabilities to target future best customers, design optimal marketing language for Charge and Credit Card products, and ensure that card members have an optimal acquisition experience. Courtney holds a BS from The Wharton School and an MBA from Columbia University.
Linda Goldstein
Linda Goldstein is widely recognized as one of the leading advertising lawyers in the country. She is Chair of the Promotion Marketing Association’s Legal and RegulatoryAffairs Committee and former Chairperson of the Board of the Electronic Retailing Association. Linda represents clients in every sector of the advertising and marketing industry in advertising, intellectual property, and digital media matters. Her practice includes review of advertising campaigns for legal compliance on behalf of brand marketers and agencies, representing clients in false advertising cases, and negotiating and drafting a wide range of industry-governing agreements.
Jen Goode
Jen Goode is a multitasking entrepreneur. She is a work-at-home mom of three, artist, social media enthusiast and “doodler in charge” of JGoodeDesigns.com. She offers her illustration and design work for art licensing to manufacturers and retailers and also promotes her designs as a merchant through various print-on-demand affiliate programs. Jen is an active affiliate in the Performance Marketing industry, the Affiliate Summit Newcomer Program Coordinator and has been proactive in the fight against the Ad-Tax in Colorado. Jen writes as the Denver work-at-home mom at Examiner.com and is a member of the PMA, COMA and CHA, the Craft and Hobby Association.
Michael Gray
Michael Gray has worked in the internet world since 1998, when he became Webmaster for a major retailer in New York. He developed their website strategy and grew their online sales from $100,000 to over $25 million in annual website sales. Michael then moved into affiliate marketing and started his own consulting firm. Michael has worked with many businesses to develop and implement their Social Media Strategy. He also specializes in blog development and Search Engine Optimizations for businesses of all sizes. Michael has been a speaker at Search Engine Strategies, PubCon, SEOClass and SMX. He is also moderator at Sphinn and Webmaster World. Michael is President of Atlas Web Service, located in Long Island, New York.
Darci Grum
Darci Grum is the Affiliate Manager for Sears.com, Sears ranks No. 7 in the Internet Retailer Top 500 Guide and is the second largest mass merchant online, after Amazon.com. In her role she is responsible for overseeing all revenue generated from affiliate relationships as well as maintaining and building strategic partnerships. Darci joined Sears in 2007 from her position at Discover Financial Services where she also managed affiliate marketing. Darci resides in Chicago with her husband and new son. In her spare time, Darci enjoys running, traveling and spending time with family and friends.
Allen Hammock
Allen Hammock, a 15 year veteran of the online advertising industry, has served LookSmart in various sales, marketing and technical roles since 2004. In his current position as Director of Technical Sales, Allen acts as an educator and evangelist for the company, teaching customers and partners about LookSmart’s unique approach to search advertising. Allen is an active public speaker, and has published several articles on performance marketing, most recently “Search Marketing: A Portfolio Approach” in Online Strategies magazine.
John Hasson
John Hasson works from home– usually in whatever he slept in. He stated out as a programmer (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. 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. Around late 2008 he started to really focus on outsourcing his daily tasks to the Philippines. — “They just got so boring to me (not the Philippines, the tasks.)” Currently he has plans to launch an outsourcing service for others to hire people in the Philippines using his same methods for training and outsourcing.
Kevin Henrikson
Kevin Henrikson has 11 years’ experience in technologist and management positions at Silicon Valley Internet startups and public companies including Yahoo and Openwave. He is a frequent speaker on open source messaging, AJAX and related topics. He has a B.S. in Engineering from UCLA.
Speaker Bios
Jon Henshaw
Jon Henshaw is a veteran of Internet Marketing and Web Design. He started his first company in 1996, and has worked with numerous startup companies and corporations. In 2007, Mr. Henshaw co- founded Raven Internet Marketing Tools. Raven provides a suite of tools that allows Internet marketers to research, manage, monitor, and report on all aspects of their campaigns. Raven has become an industry standard for agencies, in-house marketing departments, and Internet marketing professionals around the world. Mr. Henshaw is regarded as an expert in the Internet marketing industry, has written extensively about Internet marketing, and speaks often at industry conferences. He’s been quoted and mentioned on Monster.com, Website Magazine, Houston Chronicle, CNET News, and Search Engine Journal. He also developed and taught Internet marketing courses for the University of San Francisco, and been the guest speaker at universities, including Vanderbilt’s prestigious Owen Graduate School of Management.
Rae Hoffman
Eight 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 is the Principal of Sugarrae SEO Consulting. She also owns numerous successful personal websites on a wide range of topics.
Kristopher B. 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. An accomplished best-selling author (www.amazon.com/pepperjam), Kristopher is the former President of Pepperjam Network, a next generation affiliate network recently acquired by GSI Commerce (NASDAQ – GSIC). Under Kris’ leadership Pepperjam, the company he founded in 1999, was
a three-time Inc. Magazine fastest growing company. 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.
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Tim Jones
Tim Jones has been working with internet projects and affiliate marketing for the last 8 years. Tim is the co-founder and CEO of DestinationsInFlorida.com; a travel site that focuses on the number one travel destination in the world, Disney World. This company revolutionized the way Disney travel is sold. He authors several blogs and maintains several affiliate marketing sites, including TheRealTimJones.com. Tim attends and speaks at many conferences including Affiliate Summit, and BlogWorldExpo.
Kim Kaplan
Kim Kaplan is VP at Plentyoffish, where she leads POF’s business development and ad monetization strategy. With over 2.5 billion impressions a month, POF is the world’s largest online dating site, requiring significant informational and relationship management to optimize ad revenue. Having been involved in the marketing industry from both an agency and client capacity, Kim has managed multiple sides of the Media matrix. Kim holds a BAH from Queens University and a Masters in International Business from UNSW in Sydney, Australia. Previous speaking engagements include: AdTech/AdSpace 2009 ‘AdSense Rockstar Keynote Panel’, iDate 2010, Affiliate Meetups throughout North America.
Bennet Kelley
Bennet Kelley is founder of the Internet Law Center and has been described by an affiliate publication as “one of the top ten qualified attorneys in internet law.” He has considerable expertise in online advertising having worked as in-house counsel and chief privacy officer for internet advertising and e-commerce companies such as ValueClick and Hi-Speed Media. He currently represents many clients in this space in the United States and Canada. Bennet is Co-Chair of the California Bar Cyberspace Committee and has played a leading role in shaping internet law and policy having testified and lobbied on internet issues in Washington and Sacramento and leading the effort to develop a cyberspace primer for incoming state lawmakers. Bennet is a regular on Webmaster Radio’s InBoxed and his firm’s newsletter, Cyber Report, was named one of the top 100 Internet law resources and recognized by the Los Angeles Press Club.
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Zahid Khan
Zahid is a Product Manager with Amazon Associates, Amazon’s world-wide affiliate network. Zahid has been with Amazon for close to 4 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 (www.dglaw.com). 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 technology and entertainment companies, marketers, and advertising trade associations. Prior to becoming an attorney, Gary was an Information Systems Analyst with Merrill Lynch.
Kristin Kinsey
Kristin Kinsey is the founder of MadHatter Consulting, Inc., through which she manages affiliate programs for clients such as SleepyHeads. com, SigningTime.com, LiLash.com, and BadBoy.com. Kristin’s philosophy of combining smart marketing savvy with strong ethics has won her the respect of merchants and affiliates alike. She holds a degree in New Media Arts and Sciences from Indiana University, and Applied Computer Science from Purdue University. Kristin also holds a key position on her local Rainmaker Advisory Board.
Paul Lemberg
Paul Lemberg figures out ways for business owners to make more money. He has been doing that for about 17 years, working with dozens of Fortune-100s and hundreds of small business CEOs, to double, triple, and sometimes grow profits more than 10-fold. Over the last few years, his small-business clients have pocketed more than $300 million in profits and cash from selling their companies. Paul launched his first software company with a partner and $3,000 of credit card debt, selling it three years later for just under ten million dollars. He then launched another company, this time selling to a large German Bank. After spending the next five years as corporate and market strategist for technology giants like IBM, EDS and HP, he started advising business owners and entrepreneurs. Paul is the creator of blockbuster business growth programs FormulaFIVE and Blueprints To Profits, and is the author of the best-seller, Be Unreasonable.
Rebecca Madigan
Rebecca Madigan is Executive Director of the Performance Marketing Association, a non-profit trade association formed to connect, inform and advocate on behalf of this rapidly growing industry. The PMA strives to raise the profile of performance marketing by demonstrating the value of this multi-billion marketing channel.
Joe Magennis
Joe Magennis is the host of the Cover the Bases podcast series for Baseballisms.com. Joe speaks with the authors of books on baseball, diving into their motivation for writing books about our National Pastime, as well as and in depth look at the subject matter they have pursued. He co-hosts a social media podcast called The Bella Buzz and appears on the GeekCast.fm network as an original member of the Geek Dads Weekly podcast. Joe has been involved in web based initiatives since 1998 as a founding partner of the Atlanta based marketing agency Fluid Media Inc.
Peter Marinello
Peter C. Marinello is the Director of the National Advertising Review Council’s (“NARC”) Electronic Retailing Self Regulation Program (“ERSP”) and a Vice President of the Council of Better Business Bureaus, Inc. (“Council of Better Business Bureaus, Inc.”). Before joining NARC in July 2004, Peter had been the Associate Director at the National Advertising Division of the CBBB (“NAD”) since 2000 and a Senior Staff Attorney with NAD since March of 1993. Peter has written over 500 self-regulatory decisions on various advertising topics and products including nuclear energy, dietary supplements, direct response and on-line marketing and has spoken on behalf of the NAD and ERSP at a number of trade conferences and workshop seminars throughout the country. He has also been the author of a number of articles regarding advertising self-regulation in various trade publications. Peter is a graduate of St. Johns University School of Law and has been a member of the New York State Bar since 1988.
Speaker Bios
James Martell
Recognized as a leading expert in affiliate training, James is President of Net Guides Publishing Inc. and author of the top selling “Affiliate Marketers Handbook.” A sought-after speaker, James has presented at Commission Junction University, Affiliate Summit, The System Seminar, Digital River Lab, and more. He is also the host and creator of both “The Affiliate Buzz” (the 1st and longest running Affiliate Industry Podcast) and “Coffee Talk,” a series of interviews with Industry Experts. James relies on outsourcing for the creation of his websites, graphics, articles, podcasts, and video in order to streamline his business, enabling him to break away from the daily grind. He credits this “autopilot” for the success and freedom he now enjoys. His latest project, the Affiliate Marketer’s “SUPER Boot Camp,” is a collection of 26 recorded lessons, hours of audio, scheduled online events—such as live Q&A sessions— and a vibrant 24/7 members only forum.
Michael Martin
Michael Martin is the Owner of Mobile Martin based out of San Diego California. Michael graduated from UMass Dartmouth with a Computer Engineering degree and a minor in German plus attaining a PMP certification from the Project Management Institute. In his 10+ years of Internet Marketing experience he has project managed & overseen the online marketing improvements to such sites for SC Johnson, IGN, Avaya, Road Runner Sports, Deepak Chopra, Trump Properties, The Active Network, Resource Nation, as well mobile marketing news at Mobile Martin – http://www.mobilemartin.com/. Michael Martin is also on the SEMPO Education Committee & previously spoken at SMX Advanced, SMX East, SMX West, SES New York, SES Chicago, WordCamp LA, Affiliate Summit West, The San Diego Google Technology User Group (GTUG), several PubCons, as well the PMI Project Management Institute Annual Conference.
Tricia Meyer
Tricia Meyer is the owner of MeyerTech, LLC, which consists of various internet properties including a loyalty site (Sunshine Rewards), a blog for moms (Helping Moms Connect), and a number of niche sites (notably BuyTwilightStuff.com, ChocolatePicnic.com, WimpyKidStuff. com, and WOWPstuff.com). She spends the majority of her time marketing to women through her different sites as well as the Twitter accounts and Facebook pages associated with them. Tricia is a graduate of Ball State University and the Indiana University School of Law, Bloomington.
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Matt Mickiewicz
Matt Mickiewicz is the co-founder of 99designs, Flippa & SitePoint. 99designs has been featured on “Good Morning America”, NY Times, CBS News, The Economist and dozens of other major news outlets. The company was named into Entrepreneur Magazine’s “Brilliant 100″ list in 2010 for revolutionizing and disrupting the graphic design industry with its unique crowdsourcing model. Flippa.com is the Internet’s most popular marketplace for buying and selling websites. Over $37 million in transactions have occurred, with upwards of $100,000 in daily deals happening between website buyers & website sellers.
Alex Mifsud
Alex Mifsud is Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of Ixaris Systems, Ltd. Under its EntroPay brand, Ixaris offers one of the most cost- effective, convenient and rapid means for businesses and consumers to make safe online purchases and to send instant payments around the world. Prior to Ixaris, Alex worked with the Technology Practice of Arthur D Little, the global management consultancy, where his clients included blue-chip companies such as Telia, VW Group, Granville Baird and 3i. Alex holds a Bachelor in Electrical Engineering from the University of Malta and a Masters and PhD in Computer Science from the University of Edinburgh. He previously headed the Department of Computer Science and AI at the University of Malta.
Kate Morris
Kate Morris is an SEO Consultant at Distilled Consulting in Seattle, WA. Kate specializes in Paid Search (PPC), Natural Optimization (SEO), Landing Page Optimization (LPO), and Social Media Marketing (SMM). Kate blogs regularly at KateMorris.com, SEOmoz, and Distilled. co.uk. Due to great friends and a love for teaching others, Kate began speaking late 2008 at SMX East 2008. At PubCon 2008, Kate did a panel for Landing Page Optimization and an SEO site clinic. She has since spoken at PubCon South, SMX London, Affiliate Summit East, Affiliate Summit West and PubCon Vegas on various SEO, PPC, and LPO topics, as well as some on social media marketing utilizing Twitter.
Murray Newlands
Murray now runs his own business and manages a wide range of clients to grow their businesses and optimize their advertising ROI. Affiliate Heat is an affiliate network specializing in Lead Generation in the UK and USA. Murray provides online PR and Social media consultancy to Affiliate Networks and a broad range of International companies.
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Laura Parvey-Connors
For the past five years, Laura Parvey-Connors has honed her marketing expertise as, at various points, Media Designer, Creative Lead, and Graphic Designer at Vanns.com – an authorized online retailer for consumer electronics. However, her interest in marketing was broader than her job duties, so she created Meld Media, LLC to work with clients independently on a wide array of projects. In addition, she recently took on the online management of a new publication created for mothers, www.mamalode.com. Laura’s background with several start-ups taught her the value of being a “Jill of all trades” and maintaining longterm vision while working within the current reality. Laura’s experience spans almost the entire marketing spectrum from strategy and implementation to design and layout to fine-tuning the programming code. A graduate of the University of Montana, Laura has a degree in print journalism with a minor in media arts.
Rey Pasinli
Rey Pasinli is one of the merchant service industry’s foremost experts on internet fraud and security. With nearly twelve years of industry experience, he has successfully managed over 7,000 internet campaigns. As Executive Director of Total Apps Inc., Mr. Pasinli is responsible for identifying and developing emerging fraud scrubbing technologies to improve the security of each client’s processing. Mr. Pasinli currently collaborates with former government officials, the top executives at multiple processors along with prominent internet marketing organizations, to establish underwriting protocols, fraud detection and prevention programs along with implementation of today’s most robust fraud scrubbing technologies. Clean processing is less problematic and more profitable over the long term for everyone involved. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from California State University Fullerton and a MBA from Pepperdine University.
Chris Pearson
Software developer, Web ninja, problem solver, and infinite talker.
Lisa Picarille
Lisa Picarille is a consultant specializing in the online marketing, branding, social media and content creation. Previously, she was the Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of Revenue Magazine. Currently, she co-hosts the popular Affiliate Thing podcast with Shawn Collins and is a regular panelist on The Spew, a podcast about women in online marketing. Lisa is a veteran journalist who began her career as a professional sports writer in Boston. She has also headed the news departments Wired.com, TechWeb.com, TechTV.com and CRN.com. Her work has appeared in Rolling Stone, CRM Magazine, PCWeek, MacWeek, Computerworld and InfoWorld. Lisa is a frequent speaker at industry conferences including Ad: Tech, the LinkShare Symposium, Affiliate Summit, Web 2.0, Blog World Expo, and the Social Media Marketing Summit. She is a founding board member for the Performance Marketing Alliance and the 2008 winner of LinkShare’s Golden Link Award for Most Vocal Performance Marketing Advocate.
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 the Senior SEO Analyst/SEO Evangelist at Bruce Clay, Inc in Simi Valley, CA. Scott 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, Spoerts Illustrated, etc …) and numerous others.
Michael Pomposello
Michael has spent the past two years helping businesses grow their web presence using the power of content marketing. He is always enthused to talk with businesses and affiliates about leveraging quality, unique content to build traffic and authority in a niche. While Michael cannot express his passion for content marketing enough, he anticipates being able to share his knowledge on the topic with others who are interested.
Keith Posehn
As a professional in the online world with over 16 years experience, Keith has developed extensive and unique expertise in the development of online businesses in the e-commerce, social media and mobile spaces. His early experiences were in web page development and video game production. Keith next moved into consulting with e-business clients as well as consulting for the Sacramento Angels. In 2008 Keith founded Zorz, an online marketing consultancy providing performance marketing solutions for clients in the web and mobile spaces.
Dush Ramachandran
Dush Ramachandran is the Vice President of Sales & Business Development for ClickBank. Ramachandran joined ClickBank in 2005 and is responsible for ClickBank’s sales activities and alliances with affiliate and vendor organizations worldwide. He holds a B.S. in Physics from St. Joseph’s College, Bangalore University and an M.B.A. from the Indian Institute of Management. Prior to ClickBank, Ramachandran was VP of International, Global Alliances and Business Development at Requisite Technology. In this position he was responsible for building out Requisite’s International Operations and leading the company’s relationship with SAP, Atos Origin and Mitsui, all of which accounted for a substantial portion of Requisite’s revenue. He joined Requisite in 1998 through its acquisition of Antaeus Systems Inc., where he was the President, CEO and Founder. Prior to Antaeus, Ramachandran was President and CEO of Conceptual Technologies.
Speaker Bios
Wil Reynolds
Over the past 10 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. For the last 6 years, Wil and the team of search professionals at SEER Interactive have been assisting clients in maximizing their visibility and sales using search engines in both SEO and SEM. You can catch Wil speaking with anyone who wants to learn about search, whether it is in a coffee shop or a major conference, it just runs through the veins! His goal at every speaking engagement is simple:
Make sure everyone walks out with at least 1 new piece of information or perspective on an SEO topic.
Kim Riedell
Kim Riedell oversees publisher client account management nationwide and advertiser client account management on the east coast for Commission Junction. She joined Commission Junction from BeFree when the two companies merged in 2003 and has since managed account teams to consistently and strategically grow client revenue. Prior to Commission Junction, Riedell was a director at Student Advantage and has held numerous sales and marketing positions at Lightbridge and MCI Telecommunications. She has a bachelor’s degree from the University of New Hampshire and an MBA from the Simmons College School of Management.
Adam Riemer
Adam is the founder of Adam Riemer Marketing, LLC. (ARM). Adam has over 10 years of online marketing experience and is the trusted source for Strategy, Campaign Creation & Execution for companies from the Fortune 500 to Mom & Pop Shops. Adam has spoken and been booked on panels internationally at various conferences & events. Some of the topics he has spoken on, and some of the services he can offer your company include; Affiliate Marketing, PPC, SEO, CSEs, Email Optimization, Channel Development, Sales Funneling, Online Strategy, User Experience & Conversion Rate Optimization & more. Prior to starting ARM, Adam worked in house at various Inc. 500 companies. He played a key role in the strategy & the implementation of their campaigns helping them grow into multi-million dollar corporations. Adam would like to invite you to join his managed programs as well as contact him at adamr(at) adamriemer (dot) me if he can help with your Marketing.
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Steve Rosenbaum
Steven Rosenbaum is the CEO of Magnify.net – the fastest-growing video curation platform on the web today. Magnify allows web sites, media companies, and content entrepreneurs to aggregate and curate web video from a wide variety of web sources. Currently Magnify.net publishes over 67,000 channels of Curated-Consumer Video, and is working closely with a wide variety of media makers, communities,
and publishers in evolving their content offerings to include content created by, sorted and reviewed by community members. Rosenbaum
is a serial entrepreneur, Emmy Award winning documentary
filmmaker, and well know innovator in the field of user-generated media creation, aggregation and curation. Rosenbaum’s MTV Series “UNfiltered” is widely regarding as the first successful US commercial use of User Generated Video (UGV) in mass media.
Oliver Roup
Oliver has over 15 years of experience solving market inefficiencies and consumer problems through smart technology. Prior to founding VigLink, he was a Director at Microsoft in charge of product for various media properties including XBOX Live Video Marketplace, Zune Marketplace and MSN Entertainment. Oliver was also an early employee at Internet Radio pioneer Echo Networks and has worked for Paul Allen at Vulcan, for iPlayer at the BBC and for the Founders Fund. Oliver has issued and pending patents covering micro- transactions, media and metadata. He received his Bachelors and Masters in Computer Science from MIT and his MBA from the Harvard Business School.
Steve Schaffer
Steve Schaffer is the founder and CEO of Vertive, Inc. and Offers.com. The award-winning Offers.com is the first place to go for all the best offers – from online coupons & deals to travel and service offers. The site combines intuitive categorization and design with unique editorial content. Updated daily, Offers.com provides 14,000+ offers from 3,000+ merchants in 175+ categories. Vertive was founded by Steve
Schaffer in 2003. Steve has been involved in the Internet industry since 1995 and is an active speaker at industry conferences. Offers.com is
a charter member of the Performance Marketing Association. Prior
to Vertive, he spent 10 years in product management and marketing roles at companies including eRegCard and Symantec. Steve is a graduate of The University of Texas at Austin with a bachelor of business administration in finance.
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Eric Schechter
As Clickbooth’s Social Media Manager, Eric Schechter works hand in hand with industry bloggers and the company’s top publishers on a daily basis. In just over a year, Eric has helped the company create a powerful social presence on the web, and by utilizing Social Media, has built a strong community of bloggers and affiliates. As the editor of the Clickbooth blog, Eric continues to provide readers with relevant and insightful posts on Social Media, Affiliate Marketing, and Industry News and Trends. You can connect with Eric on Twitter at twitter.com/ EricSchechter or on his personal blog EricSchechter.com.
Jeremy Schoemaker
From unemployment to eight figures in only four years, Jeremy “ShoeMoney” Schoemaker is a blogger’s “American dream.” Starting with absolutely no capital, he educated himself and began building ecommerce sites to earn revenue. During this time, he started blogging his experiences at Shoemoney.com and then used the blog to springboard new companies like Auctionads, which had one of the most impressive launches of any online advertising company ever. Jeremy continues to launch new startups and also chronicles his adventures on his blog.
Melanie Seery
Melanie Seery is the President/Founder of Affiliate Advocacy, the organization which grew from the advocacy work that earned her the Affiliate Marketing Advocate 2009 Affiliate Summit Pinnacle Award and the ShareASale Industry Advocate Performance Award 2008. Co-chair of NY Affiliate meetings and speaker at industry events in 2008, 2009 and 2010, she continues to work on ways to improve the industry for everyone through education and addressing critical industry issues including the representation and protection of ethical affiliates and merchants. She believes that all affiliates, merchants and networks need to have voices. Also the owner of NYAffiliateVoice, Melanie continues to speak out on various industry issues including the internet tax issues. Melanie is also involved in several community service projects including raising awareness, acceptance and understanding of children with health challenges and serves as a volunteer tutor in reading and math for both children and adults.
Carolyn Shelby
Carolyn Shelby has been involved in developing and marketing Internet technologies 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 including SEO in all phases of the SDLC and encourages businesses to be “search aware” from square one. She specializes in rehabbing under performing/out-dated Web sites and helping larger corporations adjust their structure and focus to make the most of new media. Carolyn can be heard on the weekly SEO 101 podcast on BlogTalkRadio.com, or she can be found online at Cshel.com.
Jason Spievak
Prior to founding RingRevenue, Jason was a Director and Chief Financial Officer at CallWave, Inc. (CALL), a voice-over- internet software and service provider. Jason led CallWave’s successful IPO in 2004 and was a member of the senior team that delivered 12 consecutive quarters of revenue growth, profitability and positive cash flow with more than 750,000 paid subscribers. Prior to CallWave, Jason was Vice President of technology M&A in Broadview’s Silicon Valley office, where he was the execution lead on more than $1.25 billion in successful transactions. Jason has also held product management roles with Nextel Communications and with Netopia (NTPA), where he helped the company complete its successful IPO in 1996. Jason earned his MBA from the Kellogg School at Northwestern University and his BA from UC Santa Barbara.
Joe Stepniewski
Joe Stepniewski is the co-founder of Skimlinks.com, a leading content monetization solution for online publishers. Multi- award winning Skimlinks helps thousands of publishers earn an easy incremental revenue stream from affiliate marketing. Skimlinks works by aggregating 23 affiliate networks and 7,500+ merchant programs, converting product links in publisher’s content into affiliate links automatically. Additional tools help content creators add relevant links easily, ultimately improving the monetization of their content without affecting user experience or compromising editorial integrity. Joe previously founded SiteRefinery, an ‘internet property development’ startup which acquires under-performing websites/domains and redevelops their traffic, functionality and monetization, from his background as an affiliate. Joe is a self-confessed geek based across the pond in London, but keeps sane by enjoying the avocados, sun and beaches of his hometown Sydney.
Speaker Bios
Scott Stratten
Scott Stratten is the President of Un-Marketing.com. He is an expert in Viral, Social, and Engagement Marketing which he calls Un-Marketing. Almost 50,000 people follow his daily rantings on Twitter and was voted one of the top influencers on the site with over 90 million users . His recent Tweet-a- thon raised over $16,000 for child hunger, in less than 12 hours. His book “UnMarketing: Stop Marketing. Start Engaging” is due to hit the shelves in the Fall of 2010 from Wiley & Sons. His clients’ viral marketing videos have been viewed over 60 million times and has generated massive profits both for in house products and affiliate promotions. One of the movies was chosen by the Chicago Bears as their biggest motivator towards their Super Bowl run a few years ago, while another made their client over $5 million in 7 days. He recently appeared in the Wall Street Journal, Mashable.com, USA Today, CNN. com and Fast Company. That plus $5 gets him a coffee anywhere in the world.
Chris Symons
Chris oversees the Travelocity branded affiliate program, and also works with Travelocity’s top private label partners. He has been at Travelocity since 2005, and in the travel industry for more than 10 years—with a diverse background that includes online travel agencies, the casino industry and destination marketing. In his spare time, Chris enjoys spending time with his wife and children, as well as umpiring college baseball.
Kris Trujillo
Kris is an extremely talented Internet Marketer with a large reach in the Affiliate Marketing industry. He started a few years back with nothing more than a desire to quite his day job (like most people). He made his first $700 in one week online with free advertising sources and later went on to generate over $13,000 in profit his first full month into his online venture. Last October he launched MassPPVTraffic and sold the site 4 days later. This 25 year old Internet marketer truly is the pied piper of Internet traffic.
Frederick Vallaeys
Frederick Vallaeys is Google’s AdWords Evangelist. In this role, he helps advertisers learn about which Google products are best to support their marketing goals and represents the needs of advertisers to the engineering and product management teams. He joined Google in 2002 to help bring AdWords to the Dutch and Belgian markets, and has been involved in the design of many of AdWords’ core features. He holds a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from Stanford University. Frederick has spoken at numerous search marketing conferences around the world including Search Engine Strategies (SES), Ad:Tech, and PubCon. He has contributed his search marketing expertise to trade books like “AdWords for Dummies” and McGraw- Hill’s “Advertising and Promotion” text book. He has appeared on NPR, ABC News, PBS, Fortune Small Business, and many other news outlets to explain how AdWords can be a main driver of success for companies.
Warren Whitlock
Author of the first book on Twitter, speaker, blogger and marketing consultant.
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Speaker Bios
Ryan Wilson
Ryan Wilson is an online marketing professional and a co-founder of Intela, a global performance marketing company with offices in London and Boulder, CO. Ryan started in online marketing in 2001 when he founded an online home furnishings website as a side project while doing technology consulting and IT management. Since starting Intela in January of 2006, Ryan has held senior roles in operations, accounting, information technology, email marketing, and lead generation. Ryan was instrumental in the design and launch of Intela’s lead generation business and each of the sites in Intela’s portfolio. Ryan currently leads the email marketing, lead generation, and the software development teams at Intela. Ryan graduated from Florida State University with degrees in both management information systems and marketing and holds a master of business administration in entrepreneurship from the University of Colorado.
Josh Ziering
Joshua Ziering is a phoenix based SEO who loves to talk about common sense, SEO, and tactics one can use to take on corporations with lots of resources and budgets.
Affiliate Summit hosted nearly 200 affiliate marketers in new york City on Monday, June 21 at the Antarctica Bar for a night of networking, complimented by free beer and lombardi’s Pizza.
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By Lee Brignell-Cash
Product Feeds Can Do What?
A well-structured and accurate product
feed can be an extremely important source of revenue for eCommerce
retailers. Applications of product feeds
in online marketing have increased
significantly in recent years to create brand new revenue streams.
While product feeds have been used in price comparison and affiliate marketing for several years, marketers are now realizing the huge potential that can be unlocked by applying their data to other online marketing channels. Those that have invested in feed marketing are seeing fantastic returns in both KPIs as well as increased efficiencies in their processes.
So, if this area of online marketing is delivering results, why isn’t everyone doing it and why isn’t there a stream of research papers analyzing the returns?
Well, there are three main factors that are currently slowing feed marketing projects down:
1. Quality of merchant data feeds:
While product feeds play an important role in partnerships, their actual production is often seen as a lower priority and feed quality suffers as a result.
2. Perceived complexities of dealing
with data files: The most important considerations should always come back to the business goals and application, so don’t leave it all to Information and Communication Technology staff.
3. Education and best practice
guidance in the marketplace: There are very few resources available to help you
determine your strategy and execution with product feed marketing.
So what applications exist for marketers who want to make use of their product data? As previously mentioned, price comparison or comparison shopping engines are powered entirely by product feeds and give us a very good example of a well defined use, as well as how data feeds allow affiliates to create innovative and useful representations of merchant data to convert sales.
Google Product Search is another application of product feeds and is often one of the first product feeds that a merchant will produce and utilize (free traffic!). The issue here can often be that once a merchant has produced a feed to integrate with the Google Merchant
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Center platform, they will seek to use the same format for other applications.
E-mail marketing tends to take a back seat in most conversations about innovative online marketing. However, by merging eCRM and data feeds you can create very powerful, tactical e-mail campaigns aligned with your general product marketing strategy.
Most online retailers have tried some kind of behavioural retargeting or contextual advertising. Again, the use of feeds here can significantly improve interaction and conversions of online display advertising when combined with these powerful techniques of targeting users.
As data feeds are simply representations of your products that you sell on your sites, iPhone and Android apps can be easily constructed if you have a well formatted feed.
Look at your own business environment and determine how feeds fit in with your particular environment. Happy feed marketing to you.
Lee Brignell-Cash is the Co-Founder and COO of FusePump Ltd.
greg rollett
utilizing Mobile Ads in Affiliate Marketing
By Michael Grabowski
The term mobile advertising often leads to confusion as it has different meanings to different people.
Mobile advertising can be accomplished in a variety of ways: SMS (Short Message Service), MMS (Multimedia Messaging Service), Bluetooth, infrared, in-game/app marketing, LBS (Location-Based Services), and mobile web.
However, I am focusing on CPA offers on mobile web for their growth rate and targeting ability.
Mobile web advertising is a hybrid of traditional banner, search advertising, and PPV (Pay Per View), in that it is interruption marketing.
As with PPV, the user is seeking a specific bit of information, such as movie times or weather. If you are getting in the way of these activities, you better have something good to say.
Affiliate marketers who use paid traffic often rely on PPC (Pay Per Click). They learn customer behavior in one circumstance and then have a difficult time moving from PPC to another method, as it requires a different mindset.
So why move into mobile web advertising? It’s a relatively untapped traffic source bound to grow as mobile web becomes the standard and feature phones (non-smart phones) die off. Worldwide mobile advertising was $2.6 billion in 2007 and is projected at $19.1 billion by 2012, according to eMarketer.
So what works on the mobile web? CPA offers that require limited user interaction, such as zip/email submits, mobile coupons, and downloads.
It’s unlikely an iPhone user is going to fill out a ten-field form or enter their credit card information. The focus is quick interaction to generate an action.
As with PPC, PPV, and media buys, tracking what converts is essential. It has been said a million times before, but I still see people direct linking without any tracking whatsoever. “Track, analyze, and regroup” should be your motto.
To get started, the big three PPC engines have their own mobile ad offerings, and in recent months each have bought out smaller networks.
You’ll want to begin where the traffic is, so start with a network like AdMob or AdWords (iPhone and rich media targeting setting) and
Michael grabowski
then scale out to other sources once your learn the ropes. You do not want to start at a smaller network first, as you’ll need enough data to understand the mobile demographic.
Many networks allow you to target by variables such as operating system, type of connection (cellular vs. WiFi) and geographic location. This type of targeting opens up a lot of options for you as the advertiser.
Take geo-location, for example. Local lead generation could be a real possibility using this method.
The focus for your campaigns should be simple and clear. Think about the intent of a mobile web user as they often are not just browsing but searching for specific information.
Your goal is to make your information what they are looking for.
Mobile web and other mobile marketing methods are at the very early stages of development and getting in now is paramount.
Michael Grabowski is an affiliate marketer, and you can find him on Twitter @mgrabowski.
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Niche Websites - David Beats Goliath
interviews with Wacky Planets, Yesstyle and historic newspapers
By Ryan Gilbert
How can you be completely outgunned, outmatched, and outnumbered and still win? If you are a niche site, there are ways and means of beating the big brands by the clever use of affiliate marketing tactics.
We interviewed niche sites YesStyle (yesstyle.com), Historic Newspapers (historic-newspapers.co.uk) and Wacky Planet (wackyplanet.com), who have all seen their businesses skyrocket by over 70% in the last year, to discover how they have beaten bigger, more established brands.
What are the advantages of being a niche site?
‘There are many advantages that a well- run large company has over the smaller niche company, including financial
and staff resources, economies of scale and an ability to bundle products into
a single offering. However, a major
disadvantage, particularly within the affiliate space, is their inability to respond quickly. To give you an example, YesStyle can respond faster to an affiliate bespoke request than a big brand can, because with a bigger brand there will be more bureaucracy, processes, technical development pipelines and sign-off requirements to go through.’ Stefan Janssens, Internet Marketing Manager for YesStyle
It has been argued that the Internet is a
price leveler and niche sites can compete
side by side against big brands. How true
is this?
‘This is very true in our case. Our Historic Newspapers site is a true niche; it offers one product and can be termed as a ‘Cash Cow’. The advantages of such a niche site over a large ecommerce site
is instant recognition, high conversion
rates (4 – 8% depending on season), low
maintenance and once PPC campaigns are mature they just need administration. We can command higher sell prices on
a niche site as historic newspapers has
the largest collection of newspapers in private hands.’ Jim Kinloch, Online
Marketing Manager for Historic Newspapers.
Big brands offer trust and reliability over niche sites. Building a brand takes time.
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How big a challenge is this for sites like you?
‘I disagree with this assumption. Niche sites can build a high level of confidence by employing technology and processes with recognized ‘safe shopping’ kitemarks e.g.: the BBB logo. A website is a website and as long as the website promotes itself with recognized safety symbols, a customer will purchase. If the offer to the consumer is good and your products really are not widely available, then success will follow. Moreover, customer care can be more easily achievable in a small organization if you are prepared to add the personal touch that so many big businesses have now lost. In fact we have a high level of repeat business from customers and an email database of 50,000 registered users.’ Arthur Berman, Founder Wacky Planets
In a May 2009 New Yorker article, ‘How David Beats Goliath’ bestselling author Malcolm Gladwell makes the point that “Effort can trump ability.” He writes, “We tell ourselves that skill is the precious resource and effort is the commodity. It’s the other way around as niche sites are proving via affiliate marketing.”
Ryan Gilbert is Webgains Director USA.
By Brian Solis
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