Shawn Collins' Blog

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

Archives for July 2006

Life’s a Beach for Some Affiliates

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I’ve been down the shore (that’s a trip to the beach for non-NJ folk) the past few days and got to thinking about all the complaining by affiliates over Google changes.

As I was taking my kids on rides or to get some funnel cake, the people running the rides were toiling away at their monotonous duties without complaint.

It was hot as blazes, but they seemed to be glad for the opportunity to put in some hard work and earn money.

Like John Houseman used to say in a commercial years ago, “They make money the old fashioned way… they earn it.”

Which brings me back to Google. Lots of affiliates are besides themselves that Google would dare make changes.

Well let me break it to you – counting on Google is not a business model.

Some people will always figure out new ways to game the system, but that just cannot be sustained. Shortcuts and tricks have no long term viability.

Bring some value to the table and you won’t be crushed when others change.

Take a hint from the sweaty kids on the piers in Wildwood, NJ – earn your money through hard work.

Ask Shawn Collins: Who are Amazon’s Super Affiliates?

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Q: I’m trying to find out who the “Super Affiliates” are for Amazon.com (specifically for selling books). Any suggestions/ideas about who they are or where to find out who they are?

Shawn CollinsA: There are a number of tools for identifying and recruiting affiliates, and these can assist you in sleuthing out successful affiliates.

But there is no tried and true method to accomplish this sort of thing. After all, if there were a technique I could explain in a few paragraphs to identify the top Amazon affiliates, every affiliate manager would be hassling those folks.

Also, in order to lure those Amazon affiliates into your affiliate program, you’d better have stuff like Amazon Web Services to get the affiliates interested.

The big players aren’t putting up a couple HTML links for best sellers – they are innovators that demand cutting edge tools.

Surviving the Google AdWords Update of July 2006

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Affiliate Classroom has published a guide on How to Survive the Google AdWords Update of July 2006.

The report discusses the recent update of Google’s landing page algorithm, and the increase in bid prices with Google AdWords.

Apparently, many marketers that had been paying five or ten cents a click (or less) are now required to bid at least 50 cents to a dollar or more. There are also reports of some advertisers who have kept their bid prices, but those bids are now buying only 3rd or 4th page ad positions, where they used to buy first page positions.

The four types of sites affected by the change are:

  • One page sales letter websites
  • Squeeze pages (landing pages whose sole purpose is to gather an email address in exchange for a free report)
  • AdSense sites (particularly AdSense arbitrage sites)
  • Affiliate sites

Get the How to Survive the Google AdWords Update of July 2006 for more details on Google’s new landing page algorithm, what Google wants, and what you should do to adhere to Google’s guidelines.

Ask Shawn Collins: Exclusivity in Affiliate Marketing

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Do you have to have a different Web site for each affiliate relationship?

There was a time in the early days of affiliate marketing when some affiliate programs demanded exclusivity if you wanted to be in their affiliate program.

You had to exclude all other competing companies in their category if you wanted to run their banners.

Over times, the affiliates realized the real estate on their site was a bargaining chip and they rejected the calls for exclusivity. In some cases, affiliates would accept the requirement on the condition that they were paid some extra points for the right to be exclusive.

They were going to promote who they wanted where they wanted. And if merchants didn’t like it, they faced a thinning herd of affiliates willing to play that game.

The concept of exclusivity was pretty much gone until Google AdSense came onto the scene. Their terms of service dictate that an affiliate cannot run competing ads or services on a page with AdSense ads.

So anyway, in general you do not need a different site for each affiliate relationship. Be sure to read the affiliate agreements before promoting any affiliate program to be sure you are compliant with their rules.

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Got an affiliate marketing question? Ask it anonymously at http://www.askshawncollins.com/ and I’ll answer it for you in the AffiliateTip.com blog. Read the Ask Shawn Collins archives.

Pimp My Conference

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I was reading Linda Buquet’s 5 Star Affiliate Marketing Blog yesterday and was shocked.

Linda’s post, “Who You Callin a Traffic Pimp?,” referenced coverage of an affiliate marketing panel at the Chicago Ad-Tech show. The blogger at Ad-Tech, Carlen Lea Lesser, attributed the following quote to Jeff Molander: “It’s hard out here for a traffic pimp.”

The second I read that part, I was sure that could not have come out of Jeff’s mouth.

Jeff is a great guy with deep affiliate marketing industry insight. He’s known to stir the pot here and there, but he’s not the guy that makes a wry cultural reference (for anybody not aware, “It’s Hard Out Here for a Pimp” was a song from the movie, Hustle & Flow).

Anyhow, that was just the hook for Lesser’s Ad-Tech coverage. Jeff wrote a rebuttal/clarification to the facts and opinions in Lesser’s blog.

Lesser would be well served to read the Molander blog. After all, she professes her talent for seeing the big picture in her own blog:

Analysts need to be well-rounded people who can see the big picture and the details. I think a good analyst, not only sees the forest, but also sees the trees and the animals that live in the forest and how the weather effects it all. A good analyst can see the whole and how each piece contributes to the success of that whole.

All things considered, it appears she had a rather narrow view in the case of this panel. Pimping your own agenda, Carly?

Ask Shawn Collins: Monetize an E-mail List

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Q: I have a list of 20,000 opt-in small business owners. How much do you think could be made each month with affiliate offers?

Shawn CollinsA: There are a lot of factors that will determine the affiliate commissions you can earn monthly from a given e-mail list: how often you mail to them, open rates, age of the list, etc.

I would suggest having a look at the various affiliate and CPA networks to scout out offers that will appeal to your audience.

Also, have a look at DataOverdrive. They offer list management, list brokerage and data hygiene services.

After you’ve settled on some offers you’d like to test, try sending them out to a sample of your list – maybe 10-20% of your subscribers – to see how they respond. Don’t send new offers to your whole list.

Will Omakase Links Translate into Sayonara AdSense?

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It looks like Amazon is going hard into the contextual game with the beta release of their new Omakase Links program.

I just read about this release on Ask Dave Taylor, and Dave goes into detail about the new Amazon affiliate link option.

According to Dave, Amazon answers the big question in their FAQ: what does that name mean? Turns out it is a Japanese word meaning ‘leave it up to us’.

Amazon affiliates (associates) can get to the Omakase Links area by logging in to their account and clicking on “Build Links.”

The Omakase Links area explains that when an affiliate inserts this code into their site, Amazon will show the site’s visitors “what they’re most likely to buy based on Amazon’s unique understanding of the site, the user, and the page itself.”

Lots of options for template style and colors to match affiliate sites. I’ll be testing this out on my sites.

Ask Shawn Collins: Fast Track to Affiliate Success

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Q: I’m totally new to Internet business, so I know nothing about how to start to make earnings through affiliate programs. What is the first step I should take to enter this area?

Shawn CollinsA: The first step is to understand affiliate marketing. Check out the affiliate forums, read and ask questions. If you have the budget, attend affiliate marketing events to help give you a crash course in the industry.

Also, Affiliate Classroom is a really good place to learn the ropes. They offer step by step training on how to succeed as an affiliate.

There are some useful reading materials you should check out, too. One is Revenue Magazine, a magazine dedicated to the affiliate marketing industry.

Another is the Super Affiliate Handbook by Rosalind Gardner. She is an experienced “super affiliate” and her handbook is updated each year to account for new techniques and trends.

Good luck.

Photos from Day 1 of Affiliate Summit

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Pictures are now live from the first day of Affiliate Summit 2006 East.

Affiliate Summit, Day 1Photos from Day 1 include the exhibit hall booth setup, the Affiliate Meet Market and Vendor Showcase, and the Ice Breakers Networking Event.

Debbie “Loxly” Carney and her team of photographers captured the action.

Affiliate Summit pictures are available at Snapfish.com. Reminder: there was a card in each attendee bag for free prints from Snapfish.

Pictures from Days 2 and 3 will be up soon, too.

Affiliate Classroom Magazine – July 2006

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The July 2006 issue of Affiliate Classroom Magazine is out and this month’s issue focuses on affiliates diversifying their traffic tactics.

Businessman looking at his alarm clock in horror

According to Affiliate Classroom, one of the best ways to get ongoing targeted traffic for the long haul is to syndicate your content through online article databases. This method is known as “article marketing.”

Check the latest issue of Affiliate Classroom Magazine for a primer in article marketing best practices. This issue has advice from both expert writers and working marketers on:

  • Article marketing best practices: what works, what doesn’t, and what to avoid.
  • How to write titles and choose topics, even if you consider yourself a “non-writer.”
  • How to use PLR articles to save time – without incurring duplicate content penalties (including “before and after” examples).

Also, as part of an ongoing “Affiliates and Web 2.0” series, there is a 100% “white hat” how-to on using “tag and ping” and social bookmarking.