Shawn Collins' Blog

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

Archives for September 2008

Affiliate Dinner World Tour

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Affiliate Dinner, run by Schaaf Consulting, has scheduled affiliate marketing networking dinners around the world over the next couple months.

The next four Affiliate Dinners are taking place in New Jersey, London, Prague, and Malta.

This series is branded at Frequent Flirters affiliate dinners (Frequent Flirters is a new social network specifically for Internet dating affiliates).

20080809-DSC_1049

More details at http://affiliatedinner.com/.

See pictures from the Affiiate Dinner in Boston last month (day before Affiliate Summit).

Free Google AdWords Editor Guide

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Google has released a new AdWords Editor, which is an application for managing your ad campaigns.

You can use it to download your account, update your campaigns with editing tools, and upload your changes to AdWords.

The AdWords Editor is available for Windows 2000/XP/Vista and Mac OS X(10.4+).

More information at http://www.google.com/intl/en/adwordseditor/.

Affiliate Commission When Paying by Check?

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I was making an order for nearly $1,000 at Spreadshirt earlier and was sort of stunned when I got to the page to make my payment.

The text indicated that I should choose a payment method, but the only option was to pay by check.

Spread Shirt payment option(s).

I wanted to make the purchase there and then, so I called up customer service. They indicated that I was pushed to that payment page because of the amount of my transaction.

I asked what amount is the maximum to pay by credit card, and they said they thought it was $500, but that they could enter it manually for me.

They instructed me to click to pay by check and proceed, which I did. Then after the next step, I was supposed to give them my order number, so they could process the credit card transaction.

The confirmation page didn’t have an order number, but they were able to find my order.

It was annoying that I would not have been able to close the transaction if I was making the order at midnight, and even having to be on hold briefly and giving the payment information the old fashioned way was a hassle.

Anyhow, it got me wondering if affiliates are getting credit for big orders, since the process is being interrupted.

I’m not sure, since I didn’t go through an affiliate link, but I sure hope so.

New Features for Video Affiliates from Magnify.net

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Magnify.net, where affiliates can create and monetize video communities, has released a bunch of new features.

One thing they just rolled out is a newly updated color palette page that allows real time adjustment of page colors, and has a much more granular color picker.

Also, there are five new color templates that give sites some new clean lines and design alternatives. Check them out at Magnify.net.

And the Magnify Mascot, Magnus, went on a world tour over the summer.

Magnify Mascot World Tour

Read his blog at http://worldtourblog.magnify.net/.

Affiliates Should Test Sites on Google Chrome

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Google launched their new browser, Chrome, today and it’s available to download.

I’d suggest all affiliates download Google Chrome and check out how their sites look with the browser.

I installed it for that purpose, but I like it a lot, and might switch to using it. I like the features, like when you type in the address bar, you get suggestions for both search and web pages, as well as one-click access to thumbnails of my top sites, and shortcuts for my apps.

Google Chrome

Currently, Chrome is only available for Windows users (XP and Vista) – sorry Mac and Linux people.

I was hoping to find an option to earn commission on referred downloads of Chrome in AdSense, but didn’t see it. Maybe in the future or through the Google Affiliate Network?

Want to Cover Affiliate Summit Social Media in NYC?

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Affiliate Summit Social Media 2008 is taking place October 5 in New York City, and there are a limited number of passes available for bloggers to cover the event.

This Affiliate Summit is a single day event with a maximum crowd size of 300 people and a focus on using social media in affiliate marketing.

The keynote address will be delivered by Don Crowther, social media and blogging expert.

In Don’s presentation you’ll hear the facts behind social marketing, how it really works, and most importantly, a set of specific strategies you can start using right away to increase your search engine rankings, website traffic, profits, and reputation in the online world.

Request a press pass at http://www.affiliatesummit.com/presspass.php.