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Archives for August 2006

Ask Shawn Collins: Affiliate Insurance

August 19, 2006 by Shawn Collins

Is there insurance I should take out as an affiliate? I have heard of Cyber Liability insurance, but I am having difficulty getting information on it.

Let me preface this by saying IANAL (I am not a lawyer), nor am I an insurance professional. Your should consult with a lawyer and insurance agent about the best options to limit your company’s liability.

That said, I have never heard of Cyber Liability insurance. I searched around a bit and found a handful of articles on the subject, but they were mostly from 2000 or so.

I found a definition for the term in Google Answers:

“Generic term coined in the late 1990s for various types of legal liability arising from business use of the Internet and e-mail including cyberlibel (q.v.), copyright infringement, breach of confidence, negligent virus transmission, inadvertent contracts, computer hacking, etc.”

Personally, I carry a professional liability insurance policy, but I really couldn’t tell you if it is necessary or useful in my affiliate relationships. I have the insurance for client relationships.

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Ask Shawn Collins: Salary for an Affiliate Manager

August 18, 2006 by Shawn Collins

Q: What would you expect a affiliate manager with 2-3 years experience to make?

Shawn CollinsA: There are a number of variables that will dictate the relative worth of any given affiliate manager. Things to consider include geographic location, track record as an affiliate manager, brands they’ve represented, who they know, etc.

If you’re located near New York City or San Francisco, you’ll generally merit a higher salary because a good portion of the affiliate marketing industry resides in those areas, and the cost of living is high.

Your experience as an affiliate manager will factor in. Some affiliate managers have been doing the job for 2-3 years, but their accomplishments speak more than their length of time there. Have they been meeting and exceeding the goals?

And where were you previously as an affiliate manager? There are many types of affiliate programs (pay per lead, percentage of sale, etc) and the size of the brand, or lack thereof, will mean something.

Also, who do you know? Is your Rolodex filled with the sort of affiliates that will make merchants salivate? Affiliate marketing is all about relationships, and without a list of prominent relationships, your stock will go down.

As far as real numbers, I gathered data from affiliate managers for my AffStat 2006 Report and the salaries averaged from feedback by nearly 200 affiliate managers broke out as follows:

  • > $120k – 6%
  • $110 to $120k – 1%
  • $100 to $110k – 4%
  • $90 to $100k – 1%
  • $80 to $90k – 4%
  • $70 to $80k – 14%
  • $60 to $70k – 14%
  • $50 to $60k – 13%
  • $40 to $50k – 22%
  • < $40k - 21%

Note that these numbers are averaged for all affiliate managers. Also, some affiliate managers receive bonuses and incentives as part of their salary and this compensation is included.

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Filed Under: Ask Shawn Collins

CJ LMI DOA?

August 17, 2006 by Shawn Collins

I was just logging into Commission Junction and read an announcement that seems to indicate that CJ’s controversial and much derided Link Management Initiative (LMI) isn’t going to happen.

The announcement, titled “Upcoming Changes in Getting Links,” reads as follows:

On August 30, 2006 publishers will notice changes in getting links in the CJ Account Manager. This change will make it easier for publishers to choose either HTML or JavaScript links. To reiterate there are no plans to remove support for HTML links (bold is mine).

However, advertisers will have the option to designate a link as JavaScript-only (with the exception of keyword links), if they deem it necessary. Commission Junction encourages its advertisers to support both HTML and JavaScript link formats, to meet the varied needs of publishers.

It looks like the grassroots efforts to stop LMI were successful.

Speaking with my affiliate hat on, I am glad to see this compromise (offering both HTML and JavaScript link code, rather than mandating JavaScript).

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Filed Under: Affiliate News

Affiliate Summit Video: Wil Reynolds on SEO

August 17, 2006 by Shawn Collins

Straight Talk on Search Engine Optimization, a session presented by Wil Reynolds at Affiliate Summit 2006 East, is now available to watch on video.

Video thumbnail for youtube video Affiliate Summit Video: Wil Reynolds on SEO -Wil is the founder of SEER Interactive, a Philadelphia-based SEO firm. The SEER team assists clients in maximizing their ranking and ROI with search engines.

Session description: Brief presentation on Search Engine Optimization with a heavy focus on Q&A. A very open, honest and straight to the point discussion about search engines that covers some common myths and will leave you with some information and action items as it relates to search and your business.

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Filed Under: Affiliate Resources

Affiliate Marketing 101: Protect Your Brand

August 16, 2006 by Shawn Collins

I was reading Page Six in the New York Post this past weekend and couldn’t help but chuckle at a piece, “P.R. pirate in site snookery.”

WOW

The bit of gossip discussed how the CEO of public relations firm 5WPR, Ronn Torossian, has been cybersquatting on domain names of his competitors.

Some examples of domains directing to 5WPR.com are those purportedly for Dan Klores (danklorespr.com), Howard Rubenstein (howardrubenstein.com), and Susan Blond (susanblondpr.com).

The real sites are dkcnews.com, rubenstein.com, susanblondinc.com, respectively.

According to the Strumpette blog, Susan Blond “went ballistic” upon finding out about the domain trickery.

Anyhow, I’m surprised that these well known companies didn’t better protect their online identities. Buying domain typos for your business is basic stuff for any company using the Internet.

Another key domain for companies to purchase is a version with no dot after the www (i.e. wwwdomain.com).

As I am writing this, all three PR firms mentioned above have neglected to grab this typo for their domains. Ironically, somebody did pick up www5WPR.com, and it doesn’t look like it was Torossian.

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Filed Under: Affiliate News

Affiliate Marketing Matures in Japan

August 15, 2006 by Shawn Collins

There is an interesting article in The Japan Times about the state of affiliate marketing in Japan.

I was surprised to read that ValueCommerce Co. President, Brian Nelson, says “People have only understood affiliate marketing over the last two years (in Japan).”

But he should know, because ValueCommerce is considered a pioneer in affiliate marketing in Japan with a 25 percent market share.

As the affiliate marketing space matures in Japan, some exciting figures emerge:

“According to Nomura Securities Financial & Economic Research Center, the affiliate marketing industry in Japan has grown nearly eightfold in the last three years, from 5 billion yen in 2002 to 39 billion yen in 2005. It forecasts sales of 76 billion yen by 2007.”

While the affiliate marketing industry in Japan is still young, compared with the United States and Europe, they are leading the way in some respects.

For instance, ValueCommerce and six other major affiliate marketing companies set up the Japan Affiliate Service Kyokai in May. Kyokai is Japanese for an association or society.

The association will be drawing up guidelines for affiliate marketing business practices by fall, monitor unethical behavior and educate the public about the industry.

I think it’s time for a U.S. equivalent of the Japan Affiliate Service Kyokai.

Read the complete article at http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nb20060815a1.html.

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Filed Under: Affiliate News

Join the Affiliate Summit Advisory Board

August 14, 2006 by Shawn Collins

Affiliate Summit is organizing an advisory board of a representative group of people in the affiliate marketing industry.

The purpose of this group is to collect candid feedback on aspects of the conference, including types of sessions to hold, content to cover, speakers to feature, etc.

Members of the Affiliate Summit Advisory Board will be required to actively participate in a private discussion list, as well as occasional conference calls.

In return, members of the Advisory Board will receive a free pass to the Affiliate Summit conference. This pass is not transferable.

Please complete the form at http://www.affiliatesummit.com/advisory-board.shtml to apply to the Affiliate Summit Advisory Board. We will be in touch shortly to let you know if you’ve been accepted to the group.

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Filed Under: Affiliate News

Ask Shawn Collins: Affiliate Message Sites

August 13, 2006 by Shawn Collins

Q: I want to begin building some sites that will include affiliate marketing. I have a “chicken and egg” question, do I need to build a site, and then apply to affiliate partners… or can I apply, and then build a site?

Shawn CollinsA: If an affiliate manager is manually reviewing affiliate applications, you’ve got a few seconds to get their attention.

The attributes an affiliate manager looks for in a prospective affiliate will vary for each affiliate program, but one standard reason for rejection is no site submitted or a site that is under construction.

One technique you could consider to get past this hurdle is to apply with the domain you intend to use, and just put up a simple message on the site that reads something like:

Please do not reject my application – I want to build a site dedicated to your affiliate program. If you have any questions, feel free to e-mail me at email@email.com or call 212-555-1212.

Thanks a lot, Joe Smith

This sort of message site for an affiliate is frequently used by paid search affiliates.

Just to give you the affiliate manager perspective on this issue – many companies are wary of allowing an affiliate into their affiliate program if there is no site to review.

Reasons for this include being protective of their brands and reputations, as well as fighting fraud.

If you apply without a site and get rejected, try picking up the phone to explain to the affiliate manager what you plan to do to promote their company.

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Filed Under: Ask Shawn Collins

Ask Shawn Collins – The Right Affiliate Software

August 10, 2006 by Shawn Collins

Q: I’m using a template based hosting service called CityMax. com for my website and I really like what it offers. The one missing link in its shopping cart is an affiliate program. I just bought 1shoppingcart.com which seems to have one of the best affiliate program technologies, but I’ve just been told that I can’t use it on my CityMax site because it is Cold Fusion and CityMax is JavaScript. My obvious choice is to change hosting providers (which would be a big deal for a number of reasons) or to find another affiliate program technology that I can integrate with my site at CityMax.com. Do you have any suggestions for me? Something that is a stand-alone product that doesn’t cost thousands of $$.

Shawn CollinsA: I was just looking at CityMax and noticed that they have their own affiliate program. Have you asked them if they have a home grown technology they are planning to roll out, or are they powered by a third party?

Anyhow, I see on the CityMax page about Shopping Cart Conversion Tracking Pixels that they mention the following:

Affiliate Conversion Tracking Code: You can use various third parties that just require that you insert code on the payment completion page.

Though you’ve requested advice on “a stand-alone product that doesn’t cost thousands of $$,” it sounds like you’ll have to go with an ASP.

The CityMax system appears to easily integrate ASP affiliate tracking, but server side tracking could be tricky.

Some tracking solutions I would recommend (combination of quality and attractive pricing) that you consider are Affiliate Clicks, FusionQuest, and ShareASale.

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Ask Shawn Collins: Affiliate Program Innovations

August 9, 2006 by Shawn Collins

What do you feel is the most innovative technology solution for affiliates?

Shawn CollinsThe answer to this question will be different from week to week or month to month as new things emerge in the affiliate marketing space.

Also, it depends on your technical know-how. As far as newbies, I would say the various tools that simplify the display of data feeds are useful. These include DataFeedFile.com, FeedShare, GoldenCAN, and Product Showcase Creator.

And then for those affiliates that get Web Services, I’d say Amazon is a good example of Affiliate 2.0 with Amazon Web Services.

Jeff Barr, the Web Services Evangelist for Amazon, spoke about Amazon’s Web Services Initiative at Affiliate Summit 2006 West this past January.

—–

Got an affiliate marketing question? Ask it anonymously at http://www.askshawncollins.com and I’ll answer it for you in my blog.

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