Shawn Collins' Blog

Affiliate marketing and other stuff from Shawn Collins, co-founder of Affiliate Summit.

Archives for August 2005

It’s Official: Affiliates are Affiliates

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Whenever I go to industry events and participate in message boards, I come accross a variety of synonyms for affiliates. They are sometimes publishers or partners or associates or whatever other name du jour.

Surprised kid

This muddy semantic landscape can be confusing for outsiders and insiders alike. So I thought I’d ask a bunch of affiliates if they consider themselves to be affiliates or one of the other namesakes.

The results of my poll were that the majority, nearly 60%, of affiliates consider themselves to be affiliates.

A little less than 25% of affiliates refer to themselves as publishers. Only about 8% think of themselves as partners, and less than 3% as associates.

The remaining 5% of affiliates prefer to go by their own titles, such as “traffic driving and conversion specialist” or the hybrid, “affiliate partner.”

Affiliate Summit 2006 – Now Accepting Speaking Proposals

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Affiliate Summit 2006 is going to have two tracks, one targeted to affiliates and the other to merchants, rather than going with the one size fits all agenda we’ve had in the past.

We are now accepting proposals for presentations and panels for Affiliate Summit 2006.

Based on overwhelming feedback in favor of Las Vegas, we are returning there next year (January 9-10, 2006).

Submit a proposal to speak at Affiliate Summit 2006 at http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.asp?u=317181307562

Subscribe to the Affiliate Summit Real Deal newsletter at http://www.affiliatesummit.com to keep up on the conference details as they are confirmed.

Direct Response Technologies Refuses to Provide Confidential System Information to PrimaryAds

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Pittsburgh, PA – August 30, 2005 – Direct Response Technologies, Inc., (DRT) a leading provider of online media and technology solutions, received a motion from PrimaryAds, a client utilizing DirectTrack® (DRT’s proprietary affiliate and ad serving technology) as the back bone for its network, on August 26, 2005 which will force both companies back into court. PrimaryAds is a wholly owned subsidiary of Think Partnership, Inc. (AMEX – THK), a direct competitor of DRT.

In the motion that Think Partnerships’ subsidiary, PrimaryAds, filed in the Court of Common Pleas in Pittsburgh, PA, it claims that Direct Response Technologies, Inc. is not providing a copy of the business information and data of PrimaryAds that have been captured on DirectTrack in accordance with the Consent Decree entered into by both parties on June 24, 2005. In particular, PrimaryAds asks the Court to compel DRT to provide three specific categories of information to PrimaryAds.

It is DRT’s position that the Consent Decree clearly requires DRT to provide only the business information and data belonging to PrimaryAds. However, the Consent Decree expressly states that DRT is not required to provide PrimaryAds with any of DRT’s proprietary or confidential information regarding the operation of DirectTrack®. The information that PrimaryAds, as well as Think Partnership, seek in their motion pertain to the fundamental structural compositions to the DirectTrack® tracking system. These fundamental structural items are not business data, which – as most all of DRT’s clients are well aware – can be retrieved easily from their copies of the DirectTrack® system. What PrimaryAds really wants is a road map on how to build out Kowabunga’s My Affiliate Program, which is clearly neither part of the Consent Decree nor reasonable.

Jason Wolfe, President/CEO of DRT states, “as mentioned in our prior press releases, as well as in the Consent Decree, our primary concern was the level of access THK had to the intellectual capital, embodied within our DirectTrack® system, and that this access would help it to develop its Kowabunga / MYAP subsidiary at our expense. We entered into the Consent Decree thinking that PrimaryAds would uphold the confidential nature of our technology and system – when in fact it was sharing our proprietary information with Kowabunga / MYAP in violation of the Consent Decree as well as its client agreement.”

What THK wants is for DRT to provide Kowabunga / MYAP with a road map of how the DirectTrack® databases and systems fit together. THK also wants to provide its PrimaryAds affiliates and advertisers with the same DirectTrack® tracking codes and logins, thereby confusing PrimaryAds’ affiliates and advertisers into thinking that they are on the DirectTrack® system when in reality they are on an inferior Kowabunga / MYAP platform.

Wolfe continues, “it’s like owning a KFC franchise, and then discontinuing your franchise license while at the same time keeping a confusingly similar KFC store signs up on the outside of the restaurant and changing the name by one letter to fool users into thinking that they are eating the same chicken when they entered the store. We simply will not allow DirectTrack® to be compromised in that fashion, and we will not allow affiliates and advertisers to be fooled.”

“Mr. Jacobs, the CEO of THK, believed that he could enter this market space, acquire a number of companies by setting unrealistic expectations, and become a dominant player. When he received resistance from DRT, instead of signing a long term agreement to protect THK’s investment in PrimaryAds, he decided to abuse the court system to intimidate DRT and to force DRT to assist their direct competitor in building out the Kowabunga / MYAP product. The public markets are keen on THK; it is reflective in its poorly performing stock. These latest legal maneuverings will be played out in the courts, again. DRT intends on proving to the Court that the requested data regarding the manner in which DRT operates DirectTrack® is not the property of PrimaryAds, but instead belongs to DRT.

George Bordo, the COO of DRT has been working with PrimaryAds during this transaction, “The comments in the press release reflect how unfamiliar the THK teams are for a transition of this magnitude. Considering the interaction to date, there appears to be no defined process or structure to their transition plan, which is usually reflective of an immature product.” Bordo continued, “Ken’s comments in the press release actually support our position. The information they are demanding is not collected by DirectTrack, but rather they are generated using proprietary DRT algorithms”

DirectTrack® currently powers 120 networks including affiliate networks, ad serving networks, and co-registration networks. The DirectTrack® ‘network of networks’ delivers roughly 12 billion ads per month, and over 65,000,000 clicks through its patent pending CrossPublication™ technology. DirectTrack® was launched as a low cost network platform for advertising and affiliate networks to get setup and launched quickly, and has proven that a company can grow rapidly utilizing the power of DirectTrack® and the network of networks.

About Direct Response Technologies, Inc.

Direct Response Technologies, Inc. founded in 1994, is a media and technology firm dedicated to delivering performance-based results and technology solutions to clients. Direct Response Technologies is a privately held company with offices in Pittsburgh, PA, and New York NY, owned in part by Jupiter Media (NASDAQ: JUPM). The company also operates an office in North Dakota in conjunction with the Department of Commerce of North Dakota.
Direct Response Technologies (http://www.directresponse.com) provides technology for (1) secure coupon delivery and tracking solutions through www.mycoupons.com ; (2) keyword tracking through www.keywordmax.com; (3) affiliate tracking through www.directtrack.com; and (4) gift certificates and gift card solutions through www.giftcards.com.

CONTACT:
Public Relations
Direct Response Technologies, Inc.
412-921-6881
pr@directresponse.com

Price Increase for Affiliate Summit Real Deal Newsletter Advertising

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The introductory prices for advertising ($500 for a display ad and $125 for a text ad) in the Affiliate Summit Real Deal newsletter are ending.

The August 31 issue will be the last one with these prices. After that, the display ads will run $1,000 and text ads will be $250.

However, if you wish to book a long-term placement in the newsletter, you can do so through August 31 at the current rates.

Book your ads at http://www.affiliatesummit.com/advertise.shtml

Attack of the Affiliate Networks

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For the past many years, affiliate marketing has been in something of a downsize phase, at least as far as the affiliate networks go.

It was six years ago this time that I was involved in my first affiliate marketing conference. I was working at Refer-it.com, and we were putting on Affiliate Solutions ’99 at the San Francisco Marriott.

The companies on the network panel were Be Free, Commission Junction, iMediation, LinkShare and Nexchange.

The following spring, the inaugural Affiliate Force conference took place at the convention center in Miami Beach. This time around, the network roster grew to eight companies: Commission Junction, Dynamic Trade (now Performics), ePod, iMediation, Nexchange, OneMinute Shopper, vstore, and yo.com.

And then the dot com bubble burst, taking many of those companies with it.

But 2005 looks to be the year of the affiliate network rebound. CJ, LinkShare, and Performics are chugging along, and Kolimbo is making a bid to join them.

Last month, Digital River launched oneNetwork, and AzoogleAds is rolling out MPORT in mid-September. Plus, DirectTrack is powering 125 CPA networks these days.

Welcome back to the salad days of affiliate marketing.

Go Contextual or Go Home in Affiliate Marketing

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The following is what Cayce Daye had to say in response the the question, What is wrong with affiliate marketing and how can it be improved?

Affiliate marketing is a very powerful promotional tool that when implemented correctly can be extremely profitable for both merchants and vendors alike. That said, affiliate marketing has flaws that could stand to be corrected and should be.

Web sites that contain zero real content and only have forty or so blinking, flashing, shifting banners stacked in a careless, mindless manner are detrimental to the whole of affiliate marketing.

I believe the most effective way of making money through affiliate marketing is through relevant content on the page that the affiliate banner is located on.

Better yet, featuring the merchant using product reviews or recommendations lends credibility and relevance and primes the prospect for buying. Too many web sites have completely unrelated banners to their sites’ content.

These types of web sites are very damaging to webmasters whose sites are solely reseller sites. Search engines are only getting smarter and it won’t be long before they can distinguish a reseller site for what it is and penalize it.

Pertinent content is necessary. Without search engine generated traffic you’re left having to buy traffic which cuts profits. Affiliate managers should provide chunks of promotional text embedded with deep linked hyperlinks, ready for copy and pasting conveniently coupled with the appropriate banners/images to place with it on the affiliate’s site. I find that all too often affiliate managers let anyone join their program.

The benefits of this are obvious; however, the shortcomings far outweigh them. By taking the lazier path and not researching who’s marketing their name, products and/or services, they’re not maximizing the potential at hand.

By taking the time to look at the web site that their banner will be on gives the affiliate manager the ability to suggest placement and materials to help the webmaster sell more effectively. As well as keeping Joe’s Hammer Factory banner off flowerbaskets.com.

How would you answer the question, What is wrong with affiliate marketing and how can it be improved? There are no right or wrong answers – just opinions that can help improve the industry.

The author of any response that is published at affiliatetip.com or affiliatesummit.com will receive a limited edition “It’s an affiliate thing, you wouldn’t understand.” t-shirt.

Share your thoughts now at http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.asp?u=56601070891

Ask Shawn Collins: Average Length of Cookie Days

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Q: What is the average expiration of the cookie for tracking revenue? Is it different for email vendors vs. affiliate programs?

A: I have collected lots of data for my AffStat reports, but this is something I have not asked (expect it in my next report!). Anyhow, my guesstimate would be 30 days.

On another note, I collected information from affiliates for the AffStat 2004 Report, and one of the questions was “How many return days for cookies would you consider to be fair”?

Surprisingly, a little more than 40% wanted to see any period longer than 45 days, 45% said a range of 30-44 days, and 12% stated that 1-29 days would be fair.

As far as e-mail vendors vs. affiliate programs, I have seen varying lengths based on the product or service being sold, but not in the method in which it is being promoted.

Attention Bad Guys: DirectTrack is Launching Enhanced Anti-Fraud Tools

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DirectTrack, who power 125 CPA networks, are releasing a new feature so that all their networks can share information on affiliates that commit fraud.

So if a fraudster joins XYZ network, then gets booted, he won’t know that if he joins ABC company that the folks at DirectTrack are monitoring him and flagging him. Some of the fraud management tools include:

  • Shared report across all clients of previously caught frauders
  • Auto deny applications based on countries and other criteria
  • Authentication of tracking pixels to prevent affiliates from generating false leads/sales
  • Notification to networks if tracking pixels on their advertisers sites are removed
  • FraudMeter that constantly monitors affiliate activity to look for trends & characteristics common with fraud

While the safe havens are being destroyed for affiliate fraudsters, I’d encourage any companies with their affiliate programs on auto-approval to switch to manual approval to build some protection on your front ends.

The Importance of Community in Affiliate Marketing

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I was watching the video yesterday for Over and Over (Nelly and Tim McGraw) and it occurred to me that the song is something of a metaphor for affiliate marketing.

In the video, you see a split screen with Nelly (rapper) and Tim McGraw (country singer) sharing the common bond of a broken heart.

That they are polar opposites makes the video interesting. The come from different worlds, but they have this common experience.

That’s where affiliate marketing comes in. Anybody in the space knows the blank look – that look when you try to explain affiliate marketing to your friends and family.

I cheat nowadays in my description. No longer do I go with the drawn out, deep explanation of things. I just give them the elevator pitch.

What do I say? Well basically, it’s the online equivalent to the Avon ladies that used to canvas neighborhoods. People earn money based on their performance in selling products or services.

So that is our common bond. We are a bunch of characters from different backgrounds, but we are all affiliate marketers and nobody gets us.

The one place for us to get together and discuss this stuff (besides conferences) is in the communities on the Internet.

But the affiliate populace has not found what it’s looking for, it seems. There are lots of affiliate forums out there, yet more than 90% of affiliate marketers in a recent poll seem to think there is a need for something fresh and different.

The teeming affiliate masses want a new venue to discuss their shared experiences. They need one. Who will carry the torch?

Are you an Affiliate, Publisher, Partner or Something Else?

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The lexicon of affiliate marketing can be a bit confusing to newbies and grizzled veterans alike.

One person’s affiliate is another person’s publisher or associate or partner or…

Anyhow, I’m curious about what people prefer to be called, or if they don’t have a preference either way.

Please take a moment and share your thoughts at http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.asp?u=983921296007