Shawn Collins' Blog

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

Archives for January 2009

WidgetBucks Launches YieldSense Ad Optimization Technology

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The WidgetBucks ad network has launched a new ad optimization technology called YieldSense to help publishers maximize their earnings.

YieldSense will auto-analyze the highest earning WidgetBucks ad content for an affiliate’s site so they don’t have to worry about testing. The technology has been in beta for three months and WidgetBucks reports an average of a 60% increase in the CPC eCPM for affiliates testing it.

More details on YieldSense at http://www.widgetbucks.com/yieldsense.

In other WidgetBucks news, their vertical ad network is increasing their referral program payout to 15% This percentage covers the amount affiliate referrals earn over 12 months from time they sign up.

Internet Predictions for 2009 from J.P. Morgan

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J.P. Morgan published a report earlier this month titled Nothing But Net, which was a “2009 Internet Investment Guide.”

It’s a bit of a monster that clocks in at 340 pages, but they cover tons of areas, including ad networks, e-commerce, social networks, cloud computing, and more.

A little peek into the report…

  1. Potential search deal likely between Yahoo! and Microsoft
  2. Net Neutrality should become an important mainstream issue
  3. Performance-driven advertising should continue to rise
  4. Challenges in monetizing video advertising should persist
  5. Mobile usage should continue its strong growth momentum, but mobile advertising will likely be challenging this year
  6. Amazon’s low pricing strategy should continue to bring value seeking customers
  7. Possible bankruptcies in brick-and-mortar retail should create opportunities for e-Commerce companies
  8. CPMs should remain under pressure
  9. Consolidation activities could potentially resume during 2H’09
  10. Promotional activity in the OTA space should increase

Hat tip to Brian Littleton of ShareASale for the heads up on this report.

Read Nothing But Net.

By the way, am I the only one that thinks of Boiler Room and J.T. Marlin whenever J.P. Morgan comes up?

Affiliate Fatblogging, Part Deux

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I am taking a step back to a section of my blog I was maintaining up until about a year ago… affiliate fatblogging.

In late 2007 and early 2008, this was a regular installment where I would chronicle efforts to get healthier after so many years of being planted behind my desk for much of the day.

I suffer from the curse of many affiliate marketers, in that I lead a fairly sedentary lifestyle, and sometimes go days without leaving the house, because I am absorbed in a project.

Anyhow, last time I had a lot of success with my affiliate fatblogging efforts – eating better and exercising. But over time, I slipped back into old, bad habits and undid my progress.

I had been in denial about it until recently. I was checking out pictures on Facebook where I was tagged from Affiliate Summit West 2009, and I ended up untagging a bunch of shots that were unflattering to me.

Then I had a gut check, so to speak. I realized the reason those pictures were unflattering was that they camera captured angles I didn’t want to see. Damn cameras.

So, I’m back to the gym regularly, eating well, and drinking lots of water.

One geek tie in that excites me is an application on my iPod Touch that syncs with a little transmitter on my sneaker to track exercise with time, distance, pace and calories burned.

Unfortunately, it doesn’t work on elipticals and other machines at the gym, and it’s been below freezing and icy since I got on this kick. But, as soon as we get above freezing, I’ll be using this thing again and have the little widget on my blog to display the exercise progress.

Nike + iPod Sport Kit

Another effort I will revisit is to try and get into the Weight Watchers affiliate program on CJ. I am going by the WW system with my affiliate fatblogging and an advocate of what they are doing.

But they don’t seem to want me. I just checked and I’ve been rejected for the 4th time in two years.

Anybody else want to join in and do some affiliate fatblogging from their own blog? I’ll link out to anybody who is doing a similar effort.

LinkShare Symposium in NYC in June 2009

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LinkShare Symposium East is taking place on Tuesday, June 23 in New York City. And the annual Golden Links Award dinner is the night before – Monday, June 22.

This has been a “must attend” event to me for many years. LinkShare always brings in quality speakers and they provide lots of networking opportunities.

LinkShare Symposium 2008 Lunch

Keep an eye on the LinkShare blog for more details.

Check out a recap of LinkShare Symposium West, which took place last week in San Francisco.

LinkShare Coins the “Recession Shopper”

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The recently concluded LinkShare Symposium West revealed a recent study on a new online consumer personality, the “recession shopper.”

This type of shopper has emerged as the country’s economic outlook continues to be bleak. According to the study, these shoppers have said they will spend more money online, compared with their online spending last year, should their economic situations deteriorate.

And according to study results, to engage these consumers, retailers need to offer special promotions and coupons, as they are heavily influenced, and even swayed, by these tools.

In its research, Penn, Schoen & Berland Associates, Inc. (PSB) found that hardcore online shoppers, termed “weekly shoppers”, can be influenced by coupons and discounts, but so, too, can a new consumer segment PSB discovered called “recession shoppers” – those who will shop more online if their personal economic circumstances deteriorate. Specifically, the study found that:

  • 68 percent of “recession shoppers” (and 79 percent of “weekly shoppers”) purchased something online they wouldn’t have otherwise because of a coupon or discount.
  • 64 percent of “recession shoppers” (and 70 percent of “weekly shoppers”) said they purchased something from a particular online retailer they wouldn’t have otherwise because of a coupon or discount.

More on “recession shoppers” in LinkShare’s press release.

Affiliate Summit East 2009 Keynotes: Chris Brogan and Peter Shankman

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I am excited to announce the keynote speakers for Affiliate Summit East 2009, taking place August 9th-11th in New York City: Chris Brogan and Peter Shankman.

Peter Shankman and Chris BroganChris Brogan (Twitter @chrisbrogan) is President of New Marketing Labs, a social media agency and events organization. He is a ten year veteran of using social media and technology to build digital relationships for businesses, organizations, and individuals. Chris speaks, blogs, writes articles, and makes media of all kinds at chrisbrogan.com, a blog in the top 10 of the Advertising Age Power150, and in the top 100 on Technorati. He is co-founder of PodCamp, the international new media conference series. Chris won the Mass High Tech All Stars award for thought leaders for 2008. He has been quoted in US News & World Report, The Montreal Gazette, Newsweek, and some other places.

Peter Shankman (Twitter @skydiver) 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 re-launched as TripLife. He is the author of “Can We Do That?! Outrageous PR Stunts That Work and Why Your Company Needs Them.”

Chris will be delivering his keynote on Monday, August 10, and Peter is speaking on Tuesday, August 11. More details on Affiliate Summit at http://www.affiliatesummit.com.

Affiliate Convention

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Q: What is the best affiliate marketing convention that I could attend to learn the most about the business?

Shawn CollinsA: I am not sure how objective I can be, since I am a Co-Founder of Affiliate Summit. I’d suggest having a look at the agenda for the latest Affiliate Summit, as well as past conferences, to see the topics covered and speakers featured.

Also, you can watch years of past Affiliate Summit sessions on YouTube.

Additionally, there are affiliate conventions run by the various networks. There are events from Commission Junction, Google Affiliate Network, LinkShare, ShareASale and others.

Check out whether the affiliate networks you promote are having any sort of convention, seminar, etc.

Then there are a number of other events that are not specifically focused on affiliate marketing, but they often have one or more sessions dedicated to the topic, such as ad:tech, Blog World Expo, PubCon, SES and SMX.

And if you are in Europe, there is the a4uexpo.

Affiliate TwitterBot from @WhoIsHosting

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WhoIsHostingThis.com has launched a TwitterBot that provides people with information on the host for any given domain, and the link to the host is an affiliate link.

Twitterbots let you perform ‘command line’-style operations in Twitter. You typically send a message, and get back a response via direct message (DM) or an @reply with the information requested.

Queries on domain hosts can be sent as an @reply to @WhoIsHosting or a direct message to the same address, followed by a domain.

A couple of minutes later, you’ll get a direct message back with the answer and a link for more information.

Neat combination of a useful service and affiliate links.

More details at http://blog.whoishostingthis.com/2009/01/19/whoishosting-twitterbot/.

Free Affiliate Manager Training Course

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Q: Where do I find a solid resource, course or product to give to my newbie affiliate manager who needs to be trained on how to run a successful affiliate program? She currently has all heart with a willingness to learn, and become good at affiliate marketing.

Shawn CollinsA: There are a lot of different opportunities to learn about managing affiliate programs, such as training sessions at conferences, online courses, ebooks, etc.

But I’ve got something for you at a far more attractive price point… free.

I created a series of videos to update the chapters of my book, Successful Affiliate Marketing for Merchants, because it was published in 2001 and much of the content is now dated.

The book is still available in bookstores, and I think it’s still a useful reference for the price (< $20), but if you're looking for a quick overview with tips and advice on running an affiliate program, the videos run about an hour total. Give these videos a try before spending money, and they should provide a decent background on affiliate management.