Professional Documents
Culture Documents
www.affiliatesummit.com
™
Table of Contents
03 Get In Your Subscribers’ 16 How Banner Advertising Can 32 Ten Ways to Promote
Address Books Now Boost Affiliate Sales Facebook Business Pages
Justin Premick Amanda Schwarz Mari Smith
05 Reduce Fraud Risk Through 18 Emotionally Charged 43 It’s All About You.com
Your Affiliate Agreement Affiliate Marketing Ted Murphy
David Naffziger Jami Gibbs
44 Chris Brogan Bio Affiliate
07 Walking the Walk in 19 7 Essentials When Making Summit East 2009 Keynote
Affiliate Marketing Affiliate Program Changes
Shawn Collins Jamie Birch 45 Peter Shankman Bio Affiliate
Summit East 2009 Keynote
10
Affiliate Marketing Industry
20 Inside Information on
Ripe for Quality Effort
Affiliate Classifying 46 All Speaker Bios
Will Martin-Gill Matt Enders
60 Multicultural Affiliate
21 The Direct to Merchant Marketing
11 Reward Sites: Asset or PPC Minefield Brian Hawkins
Liability?
Deborah Carney
Tricia Meyer
61 4 Characteristics of
23 Affiliate Fatblogging Successful Affiliate Program
12 Privacy Is Good Policy Shawn Collins Managers
David Klein Geno Prussakov
26 Why We Should All Believe
13 The Five Most Common in Trade Shows 63 Affiliates Unplugged
Missing Pieces to
Michael Sprouse
Affiliate Sites 65 Why Integration Matters for
Matt McWilliams
27 Flogging – Will Your Blog Affiliate Marketing
Be Outed? Debbie Bookstaber
14
Affiliate Software Essentials
Jason Dodd
That Support Your Business 66 People to Follow on Twitter
Nicky Senyard
29 The Workspaces of
Affiliate Marketers 68 Hilton New York Maps
Shawn Collins
FEEDFRONT MAGAZINE | AUGUST 2009 | 1
Issue 7 | AUGUST 2009
FeedFront Editors’ Note – 7th Issue
™
Training Your Mind and Body
STAFF
Co-Editors in Chief
Missy Ward, Shawn Collins
Co-Publishers
Missy Ward, Shawn Collins
Contributing Writers
Jamie Birch, Debbie Bookstaber, Chris Brogan,
Deborah Carney, Shawn Collins, Jason Dodd, Matt
Enders, Jami Gibbs, Brian Hawkins, David Klein,
Will Martin-Gill, Matt McWilliams, Tricia Meyer,
Ted Murphy, David Naffziger, Lisa Picarille, Justin
Premick, Geno Prussakov, Amanda Schwarz, Nicky
Senyard, Mari Smith, Michael Sprouse and Missy
Ward
Graphic Design
Lynn Lee Design
Affiliate Summit It’s an exciting time for affiliate marketers their efforts to live a healthier and more
1253 Springfield Avenue, Suite 327 with all indicators pointing to the growth of productive lifestyle.
New Providence, NJ 07974-1935 our industry.
tel (908) 364-2767 Whether you’re a cubicle warrior in an office;
fax (908) 364-4627
Each day, as the affiliate marketing industry work from home or from Starbucks, you
expands, competition heightens. To be may also enjoy The Workspace of Affiliate
Articles in FeedFront Magazine are the opinions
successful, an affiliate marketer must be on Marketers, (p. 29) where we examine the
of the author and may not necessarily reflect the
the forefront of unique and effective ways sacred spaces where all things are possible.
views of the magazine, or its owners. FeedFront
Magazine always welcomes opinions of an
to market online. This requires creativity,
opposite nature.. and a lot of it. As athletes train their body and mind for
maximum sports performance; marketers
For more information, visit: www.FeedFront.com A fascinating study that appeared in the need to prepare the same in order to keep
January, 2002 issue of the Physical Educator a competitive edge in the fast-paced world
Interested in advertising? Please visit http:// concludes that there is a constructive of business.
feedfront.com/advertising/ or email us at: relationship that exists between the creative
contact@feedfront.com thought process and physical fitness. Is your body and mind prepared to be
Additionally, research form a McCoy and successful?
Evans study in 2002 indicates that physical
environment also plays a role in fostering Missy Ward & Shawn Collins
creativity. FeedFront Co-Editors in Chief
The way people use the Web is The Lying Game; by that time, he had strong level of trust among his online
constantly changing. People have already borrowed tens of thousands of community. In the United Kingdom,
become more wary of where the dollars from people who believed him JP Rangaswami is managing director
information they receive comes from, to be the real thing. As for Joe Pistone, of BT Design for BT Group. His blog,
and with good reason. We read articles his true identity was never exposed (that Confused of Calcutta, is often about
about how the person beside us at the is to say, until the FBI revealed it). This cricket, music, food, and many things not
bar ordering the Miller Genuine Draft is enabled him to eventually send more related to a major telecommunications
actually a paid “buzz generator.” We read than 100 members of the New York Mob company; yet, because of his stories and
product reviews on the Web, believing to prison, striking a serious blow to the conversational writing tone, we trust
that they are a reflection of what the Mafia. How would he have done this Rangaswami and have a positive opinion
reviewers think of the product—only in the twenty-first century, with much about BT.
to find out that products returning a of our communication going through
higher cut of the profits are always rated digital channels? Obliterating an identity Those who are most familiar with
higher than products that are perhaps online as well as in the real world is the digital space—we refer to them
superior in quality. We know how less- extremely difficult at best. as “digital natives”—have become
than-honest advertisers and marketers accustomed to a new level of
work to influence us. We realize that It’s difficult to reach out and do business transparency. They operate under the
those few lazy reporters in our media with people using the Web. This is assumption that everything they do will
who just report on whatever a PR firm especially true in an environment where eventually be known online. Realizing
tells them without follow-up offer poor trust isn’t previously established and they are unable to hide anything, they
reporting. We are living in an age where where the prospective customer has choose not to try. Instead, they leverage
the financial collapse of 2008 and 2009 access to far more information about the way the Web connects us and ties
shook our trust in our entire financial your organization, products, and services our information together to help turn
system, compromised the viability of than ever before. transparency into an asset for doing
our retirement funds, and sent massive business.
waves of distrust through London, New How Humans Shape the Web
York, and beyond. Although the general public’s level of
mistrust is at an all-time high, there Chris Brogan is President of New Marketing
It is unclear in an age in which are individuals and companies who do Labs, a social media agency and education
technologies such as Google prevail over successfully use the Internet to establish company and blogs on ChrisBrogan.com
almost all information whether either levels of trust in the communities
of the two gentlemen discussed earlier where they operate. In the technology
would have been able to pass as the sector, a person such as Robert Scoble
people they did for so long. Conway’s (circa Microsoft days) stands out as
elaborate Stanley Kubrick impersonation someone who, by the nature of how
was eventually discovered as a fraud and he communicated about his formerly
exposed on television in a series called faceless company, developed a
David Naffziger
The majority of affiliates create value for in the future, this clause may provide Once you’ve conclusively identified fraud,
their merchant partners, however most additional protection. give yourself the ability to deny or reverse
affiliate programs have been subjected to those payments. Keep in mind that these
fraud at some point. Affiliate fraud can take terms should only be used if fraud is
Handling Trademark Bidding
many forms; it can be outright transaction legitimately suspected, not as a tool to
If you prohibit trademark bidding, require
fraud or other illegal activity, manufactured manage disagreements with affiliates.
your search affiliates to add your brand
leads, misled consumers or traffic from
terms to their list of negative keywords. The
prohibited sources. Your affiliate agreement is an excellent tool
search engines aggressively broad match
for managing your fraud risk; however it is
and some affiliates take advantage of this
The networks do a good job providing basic only one aspect of a comprehensive fraud
to comply with your policy (not bidding
legal protections against these activities, prevention program that includes affiliate
on brand terms), while getting their ads
but merchants should use their own affiliate application review, regular communication
shown for searches on your brand. Negative
agreements to ensure maximum protection. and abuse monitoring.
keywords provide the cleanest method for
ensuring that affiliates do not advertise on
The supplemental affiliate agreement fulfills Make sure you consult legal counsel as you
your prohibited terms.
multiple roles, but there are several aspects craft or modify your affiliate agreement.
of that agreement important to protecting
your program from fraud: Delay or Deny Fraudulent Payments
Affiliate fraud is frequently perceptible in
the data provided by the affiliate networks. David Naffziger is CEO of BrandVerity, a firm
Identify Allowable Marketing Techniques
Sharp changes in affiliate performance or that detects affiliate violations of merchant
Affiliates use a variety of techniques to
unusually high conversion rates can be early paid search policies.
market your program including email
indicators of a fraudulent affiliate. However,
campaigns, paid search, organic search,
this data is rarely enough to conclusively
desktop software, incentivized programs
determine fraud. Credit card fraud can take
and even offline advertisements or pitches.
weeks to surface. Other forms of abuse
Your agreement should consider each of
such as trademark poaching or spyware
these techniques and describe in plain
take time to collect the evidence necessary.
English which techniques are allowed in
your program.
Give yourself the right to delay payments
if you suspect fraud. Don’t allow pressure
Provide generic statements that can be
to finalize your payments prevent you from
applied to marketing techniques used
making a good decision about suspected
in the future. A common approach is to
fraud. Delayed payments give you the
prohibit marketing campaigns deemed to
opportunity to fully research the suspicious
be detrimental to the merchant’s brand. If
activity and collect the data needed to deny
an unsavory technique is used by an affiliate
or reverse payments.
These people had the pounds just melting away! At this point in Meanwhile, I thought, you know I’ve always wanted a blog but
the story, I just thought it was really cool. But then they interviewed never had anything to say before (that I thought people should
a woman who worked out of her home office and had decided she actually listen to, anyway. ha!) and I have friends and family that
could do the same thing with her treadmill. aren’t on Twitter, so I created the blog at turbowalkstation.com.
She just laid a table leaf over her treadmill “arms” and put her laptop It’s actually worked out well; combining the two (I have a plugin
on it. She had been doing it for a year and had lost something like that feeds my Twitter messages to my blog, so yea! Instant content!)
70lbs just walking slowly on a treadmill all day while she worked. and I get a lot of questions on Twitter like, “How do you make one
of those?”, “Why are you doing this?” and “What the hell is that?” to
By then I was looking down at my bloated belly, thinking about the which I just point them to appropriate page in my blog.
50lbs I had gained, how my back was about to give (I’ve had back
issues since I was 12), and how I had this really nice treadmill in the Shawn: Do you really get work done on there?
back room collecting dust, and thought, I could totally do this!
Lauren: I really do. Some people are mystified either because they
My husband and I went to Lowes that day and got a flat piece of just can’t picture it (there are a couple of videos on my blog for you
wood to screw down to the treadmill arms and VOILA there was skeptics out there) or they think ‘yeah, that’s nice but it wouldn’t
my first my treadmill desk! There’s even a picture of me on my blog work for my situation’.
when I was preggo and huge, just struttin’ my stuff.
Basically, your only lifestyle requirements need to be: 1. Work from
Of course, since then, there have been a few upgrades. I took away home 2. Work on a computer. That’s it. I don’t care what it is you do
the laptop, and opted instead for a PC with a 32 inch monitor that on your computer all day, if you meet those two requirements, you
Lauren: Totally. Sitting is about the worst thing out there you For those that have the money to burn and don’t want to DIY, there
can do to your spine. Standing is better, but it starts to hurt after a are already-made treadmill desks out there for a pretty penny (just
while. Walking is one of the best things you can do for your back. be sure to check the mph limit, some don’t go above 2.0 mph. I, for
It slowly stretches and strengthens the muscles that support your one, enjoy my options).
spine.
Shawn: Any advice for affiliate marketers that want to get in
Truth be told, this is the real reason I’m doing it. For anyone who’s shape?
ever been in chronic pain, it can be so debilitating and depressing.
I was tired of being 30 years old and feeling like I was 80. Since I’ve Lauren: Find what works for you and incorporate it into your
started walking everyday on the treadmill my pain is 99% better. I lifestyle. Keep the NEAT mentality in mind while you work. It
haven’t felt this good since I was a kid. doesn’t have to be a treadmill.
Shawn: What’s your power song (song that gets you pumped Some people use stationary bikes, others use a giant exercise ball
when exercising)? to sit on while they work at their desk (apparently the balancing on
the ball encompasses the NEAT and it’s great for the back) It doesn’t
Lauren: I don’t listen to music. I think most people listen to music matter what you do, just keep moving.
when they exercise because it’s a nice distraction from the tedious
torture they’re putting their mind and body through. I don’t need Shawn: Have you ever gotten really into something on your
a distraction. screen and then flung off the back of the treadmill?
That’s the beauty of this whole thing. I’ve always been the type to Lauren: LOL, No thank goodness. When I first started I was so
get absorbed in my work. It’s the same thing when I moved my scared I was going to be one of those people on YouTube that go
work to my treadmill. I get lost in my work and next thing I know, flying off their treadmills. I do make sure to attach that safety cord
I look down and I’ve been on for 100 minutes and burned 500 to my waistband every time, just in case.
calories.
Shawn: Any regrets about posting your progress online? Shawn is a Co-founder of Affiliate Summit and Co-Editor-in-Chief of
FeedFront Magazine.
During the past two decades, affiliate tools, including better options to target by
marketing has quietly grown into a customer and geography, and to optimize
multibillion dollar industry, with projected landing pages.
13 percent year-over-year increases through
2012[1]; making it one of online advertising’s 2. Affiliates – Build high quality sites with value-
fastest growing segments. added content, integrating links and ads in user-
friendly ways. (For example, integrate merchant
As the industry matures and the stakes links within relevant content, not around it). Use
get higher, issues of quality weigh heavily more targeted creatives and tools to engage
on affiliates and merchants alike. What users in a merchant’s product and brand. Take
kinds of traffic are affiliates sending to their advantage of landing page and geo-targeting
advertisers? Are top affiliates compensated functionality when available.
fairly? What happens when honest affiliates
must compete with those who cheat the The affiliate marketing industry stands to gain
Will Martin-Gill
system? The affiliate community should be much from increased debate and studies about
asking these questions and exploring quality quality, and ways advertisers and affiliates can
measures that can elevate the industry, lifting work together to improve metrics. The more
reputations and profits with them. day to eBay bring 44 percent more revenue stakeholders can demonstrate the quality
per click than the program average. and impact of affiliate marketing, the larger
Consider the quality implications of modern the investments merchants can make in
pay structures. Generally, the more sales Sending buyer traffic from high-quality commissions, tools and people that can drive
and leads an affiliate sends, the more likely websites with a positive marketing the industry and its best affiliates forward.
the merchant will put them in special bonus experience sets the stage for a quality
tiers and pay more. In this scenario, smaller experience on a merchant’s site. If all
affiliates who may send more valuable traffic stakeholders unite to promote quality, profits [1] Source: Jupiter Research US Online Affiliate
are undercompensated, while those who increase and perceptions of the channel Marketing Forecast, 2007 to 2012
send large volumes of lower-quality traffic improve. The following steps can help make
– some who also commit fraud – are unduly that happen:
rewarded.
1. Advertisers - Calculate and compensate Will Martin-Gill is Director, Internet Marketing for
When eBay brought its affiliate program for the value delivered by affiliates. Reward eBay, leading business development for eBay’s
in-house last year and analyzed performance and encourage by paying appropriately affiliates channel.
data, the company re-examined those for engaging users through a positive
traditional notions of affiliate marketing. experience. Some leading affiliate and ad
Traffic quality demanded attention. networks already do this. AdSense adjusts
cost-per-click payouts based on a series of
For example, the data suggested that many quality-based metrics. Amazon encourages
small affiliates, especially those with relevant quality in a way by compensating more for
content sites, actually do bring more engaged deep linking and some of its tools, which
customers and better converting traffic. it presumably has tied to better quality
Small affiliates with fewer than 100 clicks per publishers and overall results. It’s also
important to keep investing in affiliate
2) Most reward sites keep track of the 5) A good reward site will be able to
purchase histories of their members in quickly track down and minimize fraud.
some way. Using their databases, they can By monitoring accounts and watching
help you target particular demographics spending patterns, reward sites can often
and types of purchasers for your products. alert you to fraudulent purchases before
They know who buys shoes, kids clothes, they are even shipped. This can include
electronics, etc. stolen credit card numbers and false
information.
Tricia Meyer 3) Because reward site members watch
their accounts closely for credits, the sites The degree of benefit will, of course,
Every merchant, at one point or another, can help you pinpoint tracking issues at the depend upon the particular reward site.
has heard a horror story about cash back/ network level or even on your site. This can Talk to the cash back sites with which you
reward sites and why they shouldn’t work help you isolate particular landing pages are interested in working and ask them how
with them, however, when done properly or links that are not working before the they can help you with some or all of the
(avoiding known issues and ensuring that problem becomes widespread. above.
certain checks are in place), reward sites
can actually help grow your program. 4) Reward sites give people an extra
incentive to make bigger purchases than Tricia Meyer is the owner of the cash back
Here are five ways: they might have made otherwise. When shopping site SunshineRewards.com.
1) Reward sites have strong membership a member is getting cash back on a
Clients frequently inquire, skeptically, as to In crafting your privacy policy, you must potential financial benefits derived from a
the necessity of posting privacy policies on provide specific disclosures for each intended database of consumer information – it makes
their websites. While some clients might use of the data, and you cannot deviate from good business and legal sense to craft a
prefer to skip that step (and expense), my the range of options granted to you in your privacy policy that is well-suited to the needs
advice is always the same: If you operate a privacy policy. of your business, and that provides your
website that collects Personally Identifiable website visitors with the information they
Information (“PII”) from end-users (name, If you want to change your privacy policy require to make an informed decision.
e-mail address, phone number, etc.), it is to allow for greater uses of the PII in your
crucial that you compose an easy-to-read database, you must contact the users that This is only a brief overview of some of the
privacy policy that you make available to are already in your database and receive legal issues associated with privacy policies.
visitors on your home page. additional consent from them. For that Remember to retain a licensed attorney to
reason, it usually makes sense to grant your draft your privacy policy.
Letting website visitors know, via your privacy business the greatest range of potential uses
policy, what PII you collect, how you intend to of the data when you first draft your privacy
use it; to whom you disclose the information policy. David O. Klein is a partner with the firm of Klein
to; and the security measures taken to Zelman Rothermel LLP in New York, NY, where
protect that PII, is not only good policy from Even where you state up-front in your privacy he practices Internet Marketing Law. He can be
a customer-relations perspective, it is also policy that you can use your end-users’ PII in reached at (212) 935-6020 or via e-mail at dklein@
required by state and federal law. various ways, that does not always grant you legal.org.
the right to such uses. For example, more
In addition to making sure that your online restrictive laws apply to the use of sensitive
data collection activities are compliant with information such as Social Security Number,
state and federal law, a well-written privacy health-related information and financial data.
policy can form a key feature of your online
business strategy. If proper disclosures are While properly collected end-user data
included in your privacy policy and above may provide your business with a valuable
the “Submit” button on your website, you can revenue stream, collecting data also imposes
monetize user data through e-mail marketing, a responsibility on your employees to
telemarketing and, where permitted by law, safeguard such data. Various state and federal
mobile/text message marketing, to end-users. statutes require that you distribute to your
employees a written manual on data security
On the other hand, if you do not properly procedures, and that you notify end-users in
inform end-users of your intention to use case of any breach of security with respect to
their data for marketing purposes, any their data.
attempt to do so would almost certainly
violate applicable law. With all the rules and regulations governing
the collection and use of PII – and given the
Today it seems everyone has a website. them. Place them throughout your site and
You’re not everyone though; your site is your create a prominent “Testimonials Page.” If you
business. Your website should be professional don’t have any testimonials, ask your affiliate
and encourage your visitors to buy. manager if you can use the merchant’s.
Hyper-Targeting
In addition to general marketing tools such as banner and flash
ad management tools, affiliates need to be able to hyper-target
their promotions in order to maximize promotions. There are two
sides to affiliate hyper-targeting: (1) sending referrals to the most
appropriate landing page, and (2) having customizable URLs so
that affiliates can track and optimize their conversions.
Banner advertising may not be your first thought Reinforce your search campaign with
when building your online marketing strategy. retargeting
Maybe you feel that it is only effective for large Retargeting enables you to show banner ads
companies, or that that search engines drive promoting your site to people who have already
more measurable, impactful results. Perhaps visited your site and left. The goal is to convince
the process of setting up banner ad campaigns them to return to your site to complete a
seems a bit intimidating. transaction.
It turns out that banner advertising, especially If you are currently running a search campaign,
on third-party networks, is both an easy and implementing a retargeting campaign can
accessible way for you to promote your site or visually reinforce a visitor’s previous brand
business. Here are a few goals that a banner experience on your site, or remind them why
advertising campaign can help you achieve: they visited in the first place. Click-through rates
on retargeting campaigns are very high, as the
Pinpoint and attract the right leads audience is already familiar with your site.
Many banner advertising networks offer a
host of advanced targeting options, including Banner advertising is more targeted, effective
geographical, demographic and site content. and affordable than ever before. This is a great
They can generate leads from specific locations, time for affiliate marketers to take advantage of
target to people who have particular online banner advertising – to find and convert new
habits, or show banners on sites whose content leads, stretch their advertising budgets, and
appeals to your target audience. These people reinforce their other marketing efforts.
may not be looking for your business on search
engines, but when they see your banner ad on a
trusted site, they may take a second look.
Amanda Schwarz is a Product Manager for BidPlace
Optimize your advertising dollar SB, a banner advertising solution offered by
Banner advertising has never been more Platform-A/Advertising.com.
affordable, especially on third-party networks
that are able to deliver clicks across a wide range
of sites. Look for a network that allows you to pay
only per click, and to set your own price. Coupled
with the ability to target customers effectively,
each click can be both inexpensive and likely to
convert.
Charged Affiliate
Marketing
Jami Gibbs
As an affiliate marketer, you will always be learning something forwarding that idea to Google support), it’s still a nice idea to
new, be it designing landing pages, finding new keywords, or carry over. I then mentally assign that action to all applications
finessing your copywriting skills. However, there is one thing on my desktop. This forces me to stand, walk away from my
that you will learn faster than anything else – your plate will desk, take a breather, and center my emotions to help me take
always be full. But, have you considered the emotional pitfalls the next logical step in my marketing campaign.
of your affiliate marketing PPC campaign? More importantly,
have you learned how to control those emotions to maximize
your profit? Jami Gibbs (Twitter @JamiGibbs), a website publisher and budding
affiliate marketer, is originally from Chicago and currently resides
The first emotion many of us experience is the euphoric high. in Tel Aviv, Israel.
It’s the excitement we feel when we get our first click, sale, or
profitable day. Naturally it’s a feeling we want to maintain on a
day-to-day basis. It’s a positive feeling, right?
As Greek philosopher Heraclitus once said, “The only constant is Accurate data, partner consultation, and adequate lead time will
change”. But you shouldn’t make changes without thoughtful, help you and your program maintain trust and the performance
in-depth consideration and accurate information. that we all need during these tough times.
Nothing will upset your partners more and reduce the overall
performance of a program than affiliates finding an email in their
inbox that tells of a dramatic change taking place immediately. Jamie Birch is the owner of the affiliate management agency
JEBCommerce.com, MyAffiliateCoach.net, and NewsForAffiliates.com.
If you find yourself under pressure to change the cookie days
(also known as commission duration or return days), overall
Matt Enders
When my company takes over the significant amount of monthly revenue. be sustainable over time as any number
management of an existing affiliate of factors beyond your control could
program or launches a new one, we do so High Potential affiliates are important temporarily or permanently affect their sales
using the Structured Diversity Method I both as a group and individually. This volume. The loss of even a single Premium
have developed. Affiliates are categorized group does not typically make their living Partner in a program consisting only of this
into three distinct classifications: Aggregate entirely from affiliate marketing, but they group will result in a significant decrease in
Volume, High Potential, and Premium are generating consistent sales each month. overall revenue.
Partners. Their commission earnings play a role in
both their business and personal budgeting. In utilizing the Structured Diversity Method
Each affiliate within any given classification High Potential affiliates are likely to increase for your affiliate program design, you will
is equally significant and must be treated their sales rapidly if they are given the right be able to reach profitability from the sales
with a high level of importance. This tools. generated by Aggregate Volume and High
ensures that your affiliate partners are Potential affiliates alone.
able to consistently improve their sales Premium Partner affiliates are your top
volume and helps your program become performers. They may or may not be However, you must attract and recruit
a significant portion of your overall online considered an industry Super Affiliate, but affiliates of all three classifications in order
revenue. regardless are generating a significant to realize the sharp growth curves you
amount of your monthly sales. These are looking for. You must manage your
Aggregate Volume affiliates comprise the affiliates should be viewed as a method program under the assumption that each
foundation of your program. These affiliates of “sharpening the tip” of your affiliate partner in each classification wants to earn
are what most would consider rookies to program. They have the ability to drive more with your program and is actively
affiliate marketing. They will likely have significant amounts of revenue, often in a working on improving their business. If you
many questions and may need to be very short period of time. More importantly, provide the tools and assistance needed,
taught the basics of generating traffic and their high performance level is often you will find a steady flow of affiliates
converting visitors. These affiliates typically sustainable over time. advancing their performance level and
generate a few orders each, per month. generating more sales in your program.
You can build a significant revenue
Your program should be designed so that generating program through Aggregate
you have hundreds of converting affiliates Volume and High Potential affiliates alone,
at the foundation level who occasionally but overall growth will be inconsistent Matt Enders is the CEO and Founder of
generate individual sales, but who, as the and slow. Likewise, a program built mgecom, inc., a leading Outsourced Affiliate
Aggregate Volume group, contribute a with Premium Partners alone may not Program Management firm.
Direct to merchant (DTM), pay per click (PPC) were interested in the product being promoted
advertising has been increasingly restricted lately, and possibly other similar products that can be
with major merchants like Amazon and EBay featured on the same site.
stating they will no longer allow affiliates to use
the merchant site as their landing pages in PPC Third, affiliates that perform well utilizing pay per
campaigns. click ads in the search engines have unique skills that
many other marketers don’t have. Leveraging those
What this means to affiliates is that they will now be skills to build traffic to their own websites provides
tasked with building their own websites and landing them with an opportunity to increase their own
pages that convert. Even though many affiliates authority and credibility with shoppers. Building
made a lot of money using DTM PPC, the technique their email list should take them to new levels that
is flawed and smart affiliates should have recognized they weren’t aware they could achieve.
that long ago.
If you’re not great at building websites and landing
First, affiliates have been paying for traffic and pages, I recommend partnering with someone who
sending it directly to the merchant. Unfortunately, is, or utilizing sites such as Elance.com to outsource
when the merchant pulls the plug, as many are now the portions you can’t do yourself. In the ever-
doing, those affiliates will not have any residual traffic changing affiliate and online marketing landscape,
to a website of their own. the more you are able to utilize your skills and adapt
to new requirements, the more successful you will be.
With perfected keywords, ads and their own
websites, affiliates would have been able to continue
without issue and have a site with some authority
and customer trust. Deborah Carney (TeamLoxly.com) is an Affiliate
Manager and Consultant that also hosts a podcast
Second, affiliates with their own sites could have on Geekcast.fm to teach affiliates the ABCs of getting
been building a mailing list to use to contact started (AffiliateABCs).
people about similar or better products. Not a
spam list, but a real list built from people that
Here are some affiliate marketers that are trying to achieve a net loss.
Ayako Bingham
Where can people follow your progress? What’s your power song (song that gets you pumped
www.branding100.com when exercising)?
I’m currently listening to the best singles of No Doubt which have
What’s your power song (song that gets you pumped some nice fast paced songs. Before that, I was listening to the
when exercising)? best singles of Michael Jackson such as Beat It and Billie Jean.
Don’t Cha / The Pussycat Dolls Great running music.
Any regrets about posting your progress online? Any regrets about posting your progress online?
I love taking pictures, but I don’t like being in them. But, this way, Absolutely not. It’s all about public accountability and pressure.
I am pushed to accomplish my weight loss efforts Promising to reach a goal to yourself is one thing, but promising it
to the world is something completely different.
Any advice for affiliate marketers that want to get in shape?
Find something that works for you. I am not a treadmill type and Any advice for affiliate marketers that want to get in shape?
it took me a while to find something I actually enjoy doing. Try announcing your weight loss or fitness goal publicly. It’s a lot
harder to come up with excuses when everyone is watching you.
Tyler Cruz
Where can people follow your progress? Scott Jangro
www.tylercruz.com In particular, my weight loss challenge vs. Where can people follow your progress?
Jonathan Volk started at the post www.tylercruz.com/blogging- There’s no easy way to do this. For a while I was using the Nike+
weight-loss-challenge-cruz-vs-volk website but the battery died on the sensor. I go through phases
Israel Lagares
Where can people follow your progress?
www.FatManUnleashed.com or www.twitter.com/israellagares
What’s your power song (song that gets you pumped when
exercising)?
Any song by Eminem gets me going. It’s like I transfer all of his
hate into my workouts.
Any advice for affiliate marketers that want to get in shape? Jonathan Volk
If you are trying to get in shape start off slow. Cut the little things Where can people follow your progress?
out and replace them with positive choices. Instead of soda, My affiliate marketing blog, www.jonathanvolk.com every
drink diet soda. Then instead of diet soda switch to water. Get Wednesday.
in small workouts. Hop on the floor and do some pushups then
go for a walk in the park. Do that for a month and then step your What’s your power song (song that gets you pumped when
game up. You can also try my Blogger Proof Workout. It’s made exercising)?
for those folks that live behind the monitor. Check it out at www. Skillet, Comatose. ;)
fatmanunleashed.com/bloggerproofworkout.pdf
Any regrets about posting your progress online?
James Seligman None! It’s been a great motivation for me. When I gain or lose
Where can people follow your progress? weight and I post it online; it’s a huge accountability tool for me.
www.jamesseligman.net
Any advice for affiliate marketers that want to get in shape?
What’s your power song (song that gets you pumped when Even though much of affiliate marketing is done solo, do not
exercising)? apply this to your weight loss regimen. I had been trying to
Indestructible - Disturbed become healthier and get in shape for a while and it was not until
I had a friend to work out with and push me that I was able to
Any regrets about posting your progress online? really have any progress.
No regrets, with other affiliates also getting in shape, it’s like you
have your own little support system.
Shawn is a Co-founder of Affiliate Summit and Co-Editor-in-Chief of
Any advice for affiliate marketers that want to get in shape? FeedFront Magazine.
Just take a quick 10-minute walk every day before logging on
your computer. One of my biggest issues was sitting in front
of the computer all day and eating snacks (junk food), so don’t
snack!
By Michael Sprouse
Michael Sprouse
I have to admit that when I entered this sector of online eye is important. While you can’t measure this aspect of shows
advertising as a profession, I totally underestimated the value of concretely, look at the volume of things that happen at the
face-to-face meetings and relationships. I, like many, believed show, and during the evening events. People clearly value the
at the time that since a high percentage of daily business was social aspect of trade shows.
done via IM, email and the telephone, that trade shows and
other “physical” events were somehow less important. The third answer relates mainly to the networks and merchants
reading this: “Branding”; a word that connotes something
Was I ever wrong. In fact, key trade shows – including and most not often pondered. But, consider a few of the major trends
notably Affiliate Summit – have become indispensable parts happening right now; more marketing dollars flowing online;
of our company’s marketing budget and resource allocation more dollars flowing specifically to performance-based
each year. So why, in this day of economic cuts, bailouts and a marketing from cash-strapped advertisers during this recession;
recession, are these seemingly “non-ROI” spending activities still and a never-ending expansion of new categories and verticals.
thriving?
All of this means more new people, affiliates and advertisers
The first answer is because they are anything but “non-ROI” and attending trade shows that are most likely unfamiliar with your
have everything to do with making money. I’ve been in several company. No matter how “big” you think your company or
different industries in my career, and I can tell you that at shows network is, a majority of people that are entering this sector of
like Affiliate Summit, business actually gets done on the spot. online advertising probably haven’t heard of you. Being able to
showcase yourself to these folks, and build new relationships
This is truly a unique characteristic as trade events go. In so with them, is huge.
many other industries, you hear about the long boring days at
the booth, or the dull/fluffy presentations by out-of-touch “suits” Trade shows aren’t cheap. For networks and affiliates alike, it’s
who don’t understand the workings of the business. (Some an investment in time, money and people. But from where I sit,
people consider me a “suit”, so I can say that.) How lucky we are I wouldn’t “trade” (sorry) the benefits listed above for anything
to have shows like these that are busy, well-attended, and bring else in our company’s budget.
together successful people and companies in the spirit of doing
actual business?
The second answer is those all-important relationships. No Michael Sprouse is the Chief Marketing Officer for Epic Advertising,
matter how technologically advanced we as an industry get, and is based at the company’s headquarters in New York, NY.
there will never be a replacement for affiliates and affiliate
managers meeting in person.
Using your blog to promote your will soon be knocking at your door? Genuine blogs have staying power. While
affiliate campaigns can be like walking a Review these three symptoms of a fake it might feel like hard work to maintain
tightrope. In order to do it correctly, you blog to find out. a genuine blog, the rewards make it
must learn how to monetize your blog worthwhile. Over time you will develop
without becoming a biased “flog” (fake You’re not transparent – You hide who a loyal tribe of followers who appreciate
blog); losing the trust of your readers and you are and who you represent. You and respect your unique and refreshing
search engines alike. might even go as far as to have fake openness. If you’re a real person with a
commenters on your blog. It’s important real voice, your blog is bound to resonate
According to comScore MediaMetrix to remember the whole idea behind with readers as they sense that you are
(August 2008), blogs received 77.7 million blogs – to give the little person a voice. actually interested in them and not
unique visitors in the US, out of a total A lack of transparency hides or obscures blogging simply to capture a click-
Internet audience of 188.9 million. Armed that voice. through, a sale or an ad view.
with the knowledge that traffic equals
money, it’s easy to see why blogging You’re adding content that is pure Stay true and you’ll never have to worry
is catching on - merchants and affiliate fiction or staged – Have you ever written about being called out for faking it.
marketers alike. a product review post about a product
you’d never used but pretended you
Herein lies the trap. had? It’s all too easy to just copy review
content and post it as your own and add Jason Dodd works as a technical copywriter
Perhaps it’s simply a reflection of human your affiliate link. for Affilorama.com, an online affiliate
society but wherever there is money to training portal that teaches you how to
be made there’s always someone who Your only goal is to monetize – It’s not make money from affiliate marketing.
will abuse it. The abuse of blogging has wrong to monetize your blog. In fact
been seen in a phenomenon known as you deserve to be compensated for the
‘astroturfing’ or fake blogging. These time and effort involved in crafting your
bogus blogs, or ‘flogs’, are not just the wordy works of wonder. However, when
work of small-time marketers; companies monetization becomes the sole focus of
such as Sony, Coke, L’Oreal and Walmart your blog you run the risk of faking it.
have all been outed as running a flog. The Problogger Jack Humphrey is guided by
damage is irreparable and criticism from what he calls the ‘90/10 rule’. Essentially
the blogosphere harsh. this means he is providing valuable,
free content 90% of the time, and the
How do I know if my blog is actually a monetization takes care of itself.
flog? Worried that the blogging police
liateCREW.com
Chuck Hamrick, affi
arketing
Grandeur M
Jason Lane,
xD irectNet, Inc.
Wendy Palmer, Re
buy.at
Ashlee Pendleton, Clickbooth Dominic Yiadom,
GOLD SPONSOR
SILVER SPONSOR
BRONZE SPONSOR
Sunday, August 9
Dynamic Shopping – Content, Conversion, Analytics
Session 1b
Location: Classroom B – Clinton
Time: 12:00pm-1:00pm
Booth Setup
This session will discuss dynamic shopping features for affiliate
Location: Exhibit Hall Area –
websites: banners vs. dynamic content, duplicate content, SEO
Americas Halls 1 & 2 & conversion impact, and merchant relationship impact, and
Exhibitor Move In: 8:00am – 6:00pm reporting.
• Mike Allen, President, Shopping-Bargains.com, LLC
(Twitter @mta1)
Registration
Location: 2nd Floor Promenade • Anthony Bajoras, President & Co-Founder, m o v e software
to meet with affiliates to discuss their affiliate Regardless what your role in the industry is, it’s important to be
programs and cut deals. Vendors that cater to noticed within the industry. Learn the networking and social media
affiliates and merchants will also have tables techniques that make it possible.
to share information about their products • Michael Buechele, Owner, MikeBuechele.com (Twitter @
mikebuechele)
and services. Each table is a meeting spot
• Trisha Lyn Fawver, Affiliate Manager, Paulson Management
for teaching, learning, closing deals, creating Group (Twitter @trishalyn)
partnerships and finding new opportunities.
• Jen Goode, Doodler in Charge, JGoode Designs (Twitter @
JGoode)
There will be a silent auction to benefit Big • Stephanie Lichtenstein, Affiliate Program Manager, Andy
Brothers Big Sisters of New York City during Rodriguez Consulting (Twitter @StephARC)
the Affiliate Meet Market.
Affiliate Summit East | 2009 Agenda
• Lisa Picarille, Online Marketing Consultant, LisaPicarille.com Advertising Tax Impact, Accomplishments and the Future
(Twitter @lisap) Session 2c
Location: Classroom C – Concourse A
(This Session is Open to Gold and Platinum Pass Holders Only) Time: 1:30pm-2:30pm
Optimizing Google AdWords Performance Discussion on the Advertising Tax by industry leaders that have
Session 1d played a key role in organizing industry advocates and educating
Location: Classroom D – Nassau Suite legislators on the impact of state tax nexus legislation.
Time: 12:00pm-1:00pm • Karen Garcia, Partner, GTO Management (Twitter @
karengarcia)
Join us to get the tricks for effective Google AdWords account
• Beth Kirsch, Volunteer, Performance Marketing Alliance
optimization. Learn how you can use paid search techniques on
(Twitter @bethkirsch)
Google to meet your marketing goals through search engine
marketing. • Brian Littleton, President / CEO, ShareASale.com (Twitter @
Brianlittleton)
• Tyrona Heath, Program Manager, Customer Education,
Google (Twitter @tyrona) • Melanie Seery, President, Affiliate Voice (Twitter @mellies)
(This Session is Open to Gold and Platinum Pass Holders Only) (This Session is Open to Gold and Platinum Pass Holders Only)
Creating Lasting Publisher and Advertiser Relationships Igniting Viral Campaigns by Creating Relevant Conversations
Session 2a Session 2d
Location: Classroom A – Gibson Location: Classroom D – Nassau Suite
Time: 1:30pm-2:30pm Time: 1:30pm-2:30pm
Results are what matter in performance marketing. These industry Learn how companies of all sizes including major brands are
leaders will discuss how they work together to create long-term taking advantage of the tools , trends and technology to cut
partnerships. It will explore communication, commission, policies through the noise and connect with potential customers.
& more. • Larry Bailin, CEO, Single Throw Internet Marketing (Twitter
• David Lewis, CEO & Founder, Cashbaq (Twitter @cashbaq) @LarryBailin)
• Steve Schaffer, Publisher, Offers.com (Twitter @ (This Session is Open to Gold and Platinum Pass Holders Only)
SteveSchaffer)
• Chris Symons, Senior Account Manager, Partnerships and Rolling Out Across Europe
Alliances, Travelocity Session 3a
Location: Classroom A – Gibson
(This Session is Open to Gold and Platinum Pass Holders Only) Time: 3:00pm-4:00pm
Personal Branding 2.0 Taking the leap across the pond? Find out where to start, what
Session 2b you need to take into account, the challenges & pitfalls, and the
Location: Classroom B – Clinton differences in the various markets via a recent case study.
Time: 1:30pm-2:30pm • Robert Glasgow, Managing Director, Webgains
Everyone knows the power Twitter, Facebook and social networks (This Session is Open to Gold and Platinum Pass Holders Only)
have in today’s online marketplace. How can building your own
personal brand help you increase traffic and exposure?
What the Heck is a Website Nowadays?
• Stephanie Agresta, EVP, Porter Novelli (Twitter @ Session 3b
stephagresta) Location: Classroom B – Clinton
• Sarah Austin, Founder & CEO, Pop17 (Twitter @pop17) Time: 3:00pm-4:00pm
(This Session is Open to Gold and Platinum Pass Holders Only) Businesses may be changing the way they look at web presence.
Visit www.infusionsoft.com/affiliates.
© 2009 Infusionsoft. All rights reserved.
Affiliate Summit East | 2009 Agenda
• Scott Polk, Senior SEO Analyst, Bruce Clay, Inc. (Twitter @ • Removing the Payments Headache: Yuval Tal, CEO, Payoneer
scottpolk) • Using Photographs in Your Websites to Gain Traffic:
• Carolyn Shelby, Owner, CShel (Twitter @cshel) Deborah Carney, CEO, Team Loxly (Twitter @loxly)
Exhibit Hall
Location: Exhibit Hall Area –
Americas Halls 1 & 2
Time: 10:00am – 4:00pm
(Exhibitors may set up at 9:00am)
Keeping Your Affiliate Program Clean Lead Generation: Driving the Future of e-Commerce
Session 7a Session 7d
Location: Classroom A – Gibson Location: Classroom D – Murray Hill
Time: 11:30am-12:30pm Time: 11:30am-12:30pm
Learn advanced approaches to running a clean affiliate program. Lead Generation allows publishers to add a whole new revenue
A review of the systems, processes, tools and techniques used by stream to their repertoire. It not only provides quality control, but
leading affiliate programs to keep their programs clean. allows the publisher to predict commissions.
• Jamie Birch, Owner, JEBCommerce (Twitter @JamieEBirch) • Russ Pechman, Vice President, Lead Generation, LinkShare
• Graham MacRobie, President & CEO, Alias Encore (Twitter @
grahammacrobie) Luncheon
• David Naffziger, CEO, BrandVerity Location: Sutton Complex
Time: 12:30pm-1:45pm
• Joshua Sloan, CEO, Sloan Tech (Twitter @sloanzone)
(Lunch is Open to Platinum Pass Holders Only)
(This Session is Open to Platinum Pass Holders Only)
(This Session is Open to Platinum Pass Holders Only) (This Session is Open to Platinum Pass Holders Only)
Profitable Performance Marketing: More Money for You Hot Topics in Marketing Compliance and Enforcement
Session 7c Session 8b
Location: Classroom C – Gramercy Location: Classroom B – Clinton
Time: 11:30am-12:30pm Time: 2:00pm-3:00pm
Presenting actionable items for 7 main topics, including social Hear from regulators and industry insiders on critical legal issues
media, negotiating, points of sale opportunities, content that facing affiliate marketers today, including advertising practices,
pulls, partnerships, prioritization, and the expense of inefficiency. affiliate liability, and enforcement priorities.
• Lisa Riolo, Consultant, LisaRiolo.com (Twitter @lisariolo) • Leonard Gordon, Director, Northeast Region, Federal Trade
• Karen White, VP of Marketing, SquirtGun Media Group, LLC. Commission
(Twitter @KarenWhite_LV) • David Graff, General Counsel and Sr. Vice-President,
Corporate Development, Epic Advertising
(This Session is Open to Platinum Pass Holders Only)
• Jeffrey Greenbaum, Partner, Frankfurt Kurnit Klein & Selz PC
(Twitter @jeffgreenbaum)
• Peter Marinello, Director, Electronic Retailing Self
Regulation Program, Council of Better Business Bureaus
(This Session is Open to Platinum Pass Holders Only) The entry fee for the Affiliate Triathlon is $100, which is donated
directly to Big Brothers Big Sisters of New York City.
Key Trends in Performance Marketing
Session 8d Enroll at http://www.affiliatesummit.com/affiliate-triathalon-
Location: Classroom D – Murray Hill enrollment/.
Time: 2:00pm-3:00pm
(This Session is Open to All Pass Holders)
An informative discussion about the current explosion and future
of performance-based marketing, including what it all means for
advertisers, traditional agencies and publishers. James Little of Affiliate Future at Affiliate Triathlon
GeekCast.fm Live!
Location: Classroom C – Gramercy
Time: 3:15pm-4:15pm
[ted_murphy_attribution_adam_wiggall_of_turnandface_dot_com.
jpg Ted Murphy]
Chris Brogan
Chris Brogan uses social media and technology to build digital relationships
for businesses, organizations, and individuals. He has merged his experience
in technology (enterprise IT and wireless telephony) with his passion for social
media, such that he’s showing organizations how to use these tools inside
the firewall, as well as to build authentic conversations between coworkers,
customers, and even competitors, and demonstrating how these tools drive
business. Chris is Vice President of Strategy & Technology at CrossTech Media, an
integrated marketing and events company. He blogs at chrisbrogan.com.
Speaker Bios
Keynote Bio
Peter Shankman
Peter is the founder and CEO of The Geek Factory, a marketing and PR firm. He
launched HelpAReporter.com to connect journalists with sources via social media.
He launched AirTroductions, which was acquired and relaunched as TripLife. He
is the author of “Can We Do That?! Outrageous PR Stunts That Work and Why Your
Company Needs Them.”
Christopher Park
Christopher Park has been Blair.com’s Affiliate/Partnerships Scott Polk
Manager since January, 2001, and has been working with Blair’s Scott Polk has built his expertise as a knowledgeable and
paid search program since September, 2004. Additionally, he has experienced Search Engine Optimization strategist for more than
been employed by Blair for over 20 years. The Blair.com affiliate 11 years. He is currently working as the Senior SEO Analyst/SEO
program was featured in the “premier” and Sept./Oct. 2006 issues Evangelist at Bruce Clay, Inc in Simi Valley, CA. Scott concentrates
of Revenue magazine, and Chris has been interviewed for articles his resourcefulness and skills on the diversified aspects of Search
in publications such as Multichannel Merchant and Marketing Engine Optimization for clients, where he’s earned the distinction
Today. Chris is an active participant on industry message boards, of consistent top rankings in all major search engines. He is
and a frequent speaker at affiliate marketing events. When consistently involved in technologies that maximize usability
he’s not living the dream that is affiliate marketing, Chris is a and accessibility when optimizing/developing large web sites as
Councilman for the City of Warren, PA, and coaches Junior High well as identifying problems and solutions that result in major
School Football for the Beaty Dragons. Chris lives in Warren with cost saving strategies. Highly successful and respected within the
his 2 sons, Jacob and Nathan. 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
Neil Patel (PGA/PGA Tour, Sports Illustrated, etc …) and numerous others.
Neil Patel is the co-founder of 2 Internet companies: Crazy Egg,
and KISSmetrics. Through these 2 companies he has helped large
corporations such as AOL, General Motors, Hewlett-Packard and Geno Prussakov
Viacom make more money from the web. By the age of 21 not Evgenii “Geno” Prussakov is a graduate of the University of
only was Neil named a top 100 blogger by Technorati, but he was Cambridge. He is the author of “A Practical Guide to Affiliate
also one of the top influencers on the web according to the Wall Marketing” (2007), the “Online Shopping Through Consumers’
Street Journal. Eyes” (2008), international speaker, senior editor for the affiliate
marketing section of the Search Engine Marketing Journal, and
regular contributor to Website Magazine, FeedFront Magazine
Russ Pechman and Econsultancy.com’s blog. Geno is the founder and CEO of
Russ is Vice President at LinkShare Corporation, where he is
AM Navigator, an outsourced affiliate program management
responsible for the strategy and overall management of the lead
company, and he was voted the “Best OPM of the Year” for three
generation business including the Lead Advantage Network. He
years in a row (2006-08) by the largest online affiliate marketing
has worked at LinkShare for five years, previously as the founding
community, ABestWeb.com. He is now working on his doctorate,
Director of the lead generation business and prior to that, as a
and continues to write and pro-actively manage a number of
Senior Account Manager, managing the affiliate programs for
affiliate programs.
some of the large retail brands. Russ previously founded and
sold an online retail company for Israeli-made toys, Little Israel.
In a previous life, Russ worked as a reporter and managing editor Dush Ramachandran
for Institutional Investor, Inc. Russ graduated with an MBA from Dush Ramachandran is the Vice President of Sales, Marketing and
Cornell University and a BA from Brandeis University. Business Development for ClickBank. ClickBank is the largest on-
line retailer dedicated to digital products and operates a global
network of 110,000 active affiliates.
Lisa Picarille
Lisa Picarille is a consultant specializing in the online marketing,
branding, social media and content creation. Previously, she
By Brian Hawkins
>
with this nonsense of dropping an affiliate if they don’t you have for your site is far different than what I need
make a sale in 6 months? If I’m serving up your ads, that to promote those items on my site. Cut the gibberish
means I’m getting your eyeballs. Maybe people just and give me shorter descriptions. Include keywords
aren’t interested in your products! that customers would search for outside of your site.
• It seems that if you don’t make any sales you get left You have to think outside of your site to really provide
alone. When money starts rolling in everyone wants valuable data to your affiliates. Any kind of industry
to start asking questions. Affiliate marketing is a cut news or alerts are great to share. Your affiliates will
throat business. Many tactics take time and money absorb your passion for this as a career and not just a
to learn and affiliates should not be bombarded with quick buck.
questions having to explain how they market. If there • Not being able to directly talk with the merchant. The
is no spamming or deception involved, does it really “separation” of merchant and affiliate by networks and
matter? Everyone is making money and isn’t that what 3rd party AM’s discourages productive collaboration.
it’s all about.
• Stop sending useless emails. 5 emails from one program
• I’d like to see more of them accept incentive traffic. As in a week is WAY TOO MUCH! Sending them once a
long as you don’t misrepresent the merchant it shouldn’t month requires planning, but you are supposed to be a
matter where the sales or leads come from as long as manager.
they are reliable.
• Affiliate programs have too low a return rate. For a Get the 2009 Affiliate Summit AffStat Report for free at
targeted site it should be higher than a mass marketer http://www.affstat.com.
(think niche marketing). ROI is too low given the
constant work involved. I would like to see more
partnerships, for instance, if I run targeted sites I would
lease that site to the advertiser rather than work with
straight affiliate programs. I own targeted sites & once
the economy improves I will sell them rather than work
for a low ROI. Not worth the marketing effort under the
current conditions.
• I get the heebie jeebies when I see/read a lot of the
affiliate marketing stuff out there. To me, an affiliate
program should match the site’s theme. If your site’s
Why Intergration
Matters for
Affiliate Marketing
Debbie Bookstaber
By Debbie Bookstaber
It seems clear that affiliate marketing should be an obvious who reap the benefits of publishers’ expertise in SEM, SEO, loyalty
win-win proposition for both advertisers and publishers. Affiliate marketing, and social media.
marketing reduces financial risk and upfront costs associated
with traditional marketing. Gaining executive support is critical. Affiliate marketing must be
seen, not as an add-on program or as a competitor, but rather
Since advertisers pay for performance, affiliate programs are as a key part of the strategic plan to increase revenue. After
among the most cost-efficient marketing channels. So why do setting and enforcing program terms on trademark bidding,
so many companies view affiliate marketing as risky or even advertisers find that “search affiliates” strengthen the company’s
detrimental? search presence—blocking the competition, identifying long-
tail keywords and increasing reach. Placement on comparison,
Although publishers work with advertisers, they do not work for coupon and cash-back websites also increases sales.
them. Affiliate marketing requires advertisers to sacrifice control.
As a result, tension exists between affiliate program managers Above all, executives are concerned with the bottom line, and
and marketing departments. the bottom line is affiliate marketing, done right, is extremely
profitable.
Whether you’re a publisher or an Outsourced Program Manager
(“OPM”), it pays to understand how others view the industry.
Brand managers worry that placing their banners on affiliate
websites “cheapens” the brand. Search managers are concerned Debbie Bookstaber is the Director of Strategy at The JAR Group,
with brand management and competition. Marketing managers www.thejargroup.com, an interactive marketing agency, which
claim that respected loyalty sites such as Upromise, Ebates and delivers a suite of online services that integrate search marketing,
FatWallet cannibalize sales. online advertising, affiliate marketing, social media, market
research, and more, to grow our client’s revenue.
An affiliate program’s success or failure is a result not just of
commissions but rather of the level of integration with the
advertiser’s marketing plan.
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