Shawn Collins' Blog

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

Archives for September 2009

Straight Talk on Search Engine Optimization

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Straight Talk on Search Engine Optimization presentation from Affiliate Summit East 2006, which took place July 9-11, 2006 in Orlando, FL.

  • Wil Reynolds, Associate, SEER Interactive

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.

Note: the companies and positions listed above were current as of the time of the conference. Some of this information may have changed since then.

Video: Straight Talk on Search Engine Optimization

Want a Pass for the GrowSmart Biz Conference in Washington, DC?

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There are lots of conferences I am attending this fall, and one I wish I didn’t have to miss: the GrowSmart Biz Conference on September 29 in Washington, DC.

The keynote is Chris Anderson, editor-in-chief of Wired magazine and author of Free: The Future of a Radical Price and The Long Tail. Plus, there is a nice roster of speakers and panels focusing on overcoming the challenges of small businesses.

GrowSmart Biz Conference

Shashi Bellamkonda of Network Solutions has shared a discount code (SHASHIB) to register for $99 (regular price is $299).

Unfortunately, I’ve got a scheduling conflict, but the good news is that I have a couple passes to give away.

If you’d like to attend the GrowSmart Biz Conference, post an @ reply to me on Twitter (@affiliatetip) with Shashi Bellamkonda’s title at Network Solutions.

The first two correct answers will get a code to register for the event.

No Room for Wet Cats in Affiliate Marketing

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Brian Littleton of ShareASale made a blog post about a cat that he thinks exemplifies skills of a successful entrepreneur and affiliate… guts, ingenuity and initiative.

The post was a point and counterpoint sort of thing where he tagged me to take the opposing view.

Point - Counterpoint on the Dumb Cat

That said, Brian, you ignorant mutt (for the kids, that’s an old Saturday Night Live reference).

Where Brian saw admirable affiliate qualities in this dopey cat, I saw the sort of affiliate beast that needs to be phased out by evolution.

According to Brian, who dubbed the cat as Chester…

The lesson from Chester: Be brave. This economy is not an obstacle that cannot be overcome. If you see an opportunity, go out there and go after it. If a cat can stick it’s head in a fountain of water just to get a drink…anything is possible. A further lesson from Chester here is to be brave while at the same time being smart. He could have jumped in a toilet, for example… but that wouldn’t have been as smart a move.

There is a fine line between bravery and stupidity, and this cat is not brave. He is a dolt repeating the same mistake over and over, despite what should be his instinct to get his head out of the water.

More from Brian…

The lesson from Chester: Adapt. If your water bowl were somehow taken away from you, would you be able to stick your head under a faucet – even if you were a cat! (Cats are notoriously afraid of water … for those non-cat lovers.)

There are some times when you need to adapt, and other times when you should evaluate your support network. If this cat were an affiliate, they’d be best served moving on to a new situation, rather than working with a “master” who is restricting their access to essentials.

If an affiliate were working with somebody who took away their computer and shot a video mocking them, that affiliate should hiss, scratch the face of the person with the camera, and dissolve all ties.

One last point from Brian…

The lesson from Chester: Persevere.

Again, Brian is wrong here with this cat. It’s not always wise to persevere. Sometimes you need to know when you’re on the wrong course. Be pragmatic and kill a failed effort. Start over from scratch and learn from your mistakes.

Now, I cannot fault Chester. It’s a cat after all. Successful affiliates should be alpha dogs. Woof.

Running to Stand Still in Affiliate Marketing

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I noted a couple weeks ago how there are some parallels between getting into affiliate marketing and becoming a runner.

My point was that you should not expect to make a million or run a marathon right after you start up.

But it makes it easier to have some guidance – so many people need help with the basics.

So anyhow, I’ve got some information for both affiliates and affiliate managers – quick, easy things to apply and get moving. No million dollar ideas, but they’ll set you in the right direction.

Back in July, I ran my first 5k and finished up with a humbling time of 34.24.

Yesterday, I ran my second 5k and improved my time to 30:09.

Compared to experienced runners, my numbers stunk both times. But I’ve made steady progress and achieved a PR (personal record).

Make it your goal to keep improving and you’ll win.

eBay Web Services for Affiliates

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eBay Web Services for Affiliates presentation from Affiliate Summit East 2006, which took place July 9-11, 2006 in Orlando, FL.

  • Alan Lewis, Technical Evangelist, eBay

As excitement around affiliate programs grows, people are constantly looking to increase the effectiveness of their offerings.

eBay has taken affiliate needs seriously and has opened their platform in ways that allow affiliates to successfully leverage the popularity of eBay.

Specifically, the eBay Developers Program allows people to join the Affiliate Tier, which gives members access to eBay’s API to create more powerful solutions that enrich their already robust business models.

In fact, the APIs can help create innovative solutions for any of the primary business models leveraged by the most successful affiliates including paid search and content sites.

Alan Lewis, Technical Evangelist with the eBay Developers Program, will help explain how affiliates can easily incorporate and utilize eBay’s API into their existing programs.

In addition, Lewis will show how affiliates who have joined the Developers Program have been able to earn greater commissions by retrieving real-time price and product information for all of eBay’s listings, optimizing search marketing practices with access to product details, and through access to other important resources.

By combining the benefits of the Affiliate and Developer Programs, eBay is putting the full force of the company’s technological resources in the hands of affiliates. Lewis will demonstrate how being an affiliate member of the eBay Developers Program can give a competitive advantage by helping keep costs low using reliable, scalable technology.

Affiliates can also learn how to expand into new, untapped markets through leveraging the eBay marketplace and moving quickly through development and testing with Developers Program resources.

Note: the companies and positions listed above were current as of the time of the conference. Some of this information may have changed since then.

Video: eBay Web Services for Affiliates

The Value of Pay Per Click Affiliates

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The Value of Pay Per Click Affiliates panel from Affiliate Summit East 2006, which took place July 9-11, 2006 in Orlando, FL.

  • Dan Murray, Internet Marketing Strategist, Ravenwood Marketing (Moderator)
  • Tim Ash, President, Epic Sky and SiteTuners
  • Adam Viener, President, Imwave, Inc.
  • Mike Jacobs, Vice President – Search Marketing, iMarketing ltd.

Panel on the pros and cons of pay per click affiliates for an affiliate program.

Note: the companies and positions listed above were current as of the time of the conference. Some of this information may have changed since then.

Video: The Value of Pay Per Click Affiliates

Commission Junction University 2009 Recap

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The annual Commission Junction University (CJU), which took place September 15-7 in Santa Barbara, California, has wrapped up and I am getting in the car soon for the drive to LAX.

I took a bunch of photos of the CJU events over the past three days. So here is a virtual trip to Santa Barbara for anybody that couldn’t make it out.

The event started off (for me – there were some sessions while I was traveling) with the Dell Welcome Reception at Godric Grove.

CJU Dell Welcome Reception at Godric Grove

This was followed by the 3rd Annual Yahoo! Bowling Invitational during CJU 2009. I managed to roll the second highest score… on my team. Sad sign of the times – I lost count of how many people said this was tougher than Wii bowling.

Jeremy Palmer rolls another strike

Kerri Pollard, general manager of Commission Junction, kicked off the second day of CJU.

Kerri Pollard Welcoming the Crowd to CJU

The keynote address was delivered by Jackie Huba, co-author of Creating Customer Evangelists: How Loyal Customers Become a Volunteer Sales Force.

Jackie Huba Keynote at CJU

Jackie Huba delivered an entertaining and informative keynote to a packed house.

CJU Crowd during Jackie Kuba Keynote

Then Kerri Pollard returned to the stage to deliver the State of Commission Junction. It was fun to hear the recollections of the early days.

State of Commission Junction from Kerri Pollard

After lunch, I was on a panel about the advertising tax with Jonathan Johnson (Overstock), David Lewis (Cashbaq) and Brook Schaaf (Schaaf Consulting), and moderated by Kerri Pollard of CJ. I’m afraid I couldn’t take a picture of this one, since I was on it.

Later in the day, CJU Connect took place outside, where affiliates and merchants matched up to work out deals.

Mike Coley connects at CJU Connect

Following the Home Depot Cocktail Hour, the CJYou Awards Dinner recognized leaders from the industry.

CJYou Awards Dinner at CJU

The final day started off with a morning Bloody Mary bar from AffiliateReporting.com, and a handful of sessions.

Bloody Mary Bar at CJU

Kerri Pollard returned to the stage to wrap everything up. Great job to all who put on CJU!

Kerri Pollard closes out CJU 2009

Check out the Twitter stream from CJU over the past few days.

How PPC is Used by Affiliates

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How PPC is Used by Affiliates panel from Affiliate Summit East 2006, which took place July 9-11, 2006 in Orlando, FL.

  • Corey Newhouse, Founder and the Chief Marketing Officer, ICG America (moderator)
  • Vinny Lingham, Chief Strategy Officer, incuBeta
  • Kevin McCormick, Owner, dresskevin.com
  • Lori Weiman, Director, KeywordMax

Interactive discussion on how affiliates leverage pay per click search engines.

Note: the companies and positions listed above were current as of the time of the conference. Some of this information may have changed since then.

Video: How PPC is Used by Affiliates

Commission Junction CJYou 2009 Award Winners

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Commission Junction held the CJYou Awards on Wednesday, September 16th in Santa Barbara, California at the annual Commission Junction University (CJU).

CJU 2009 017

The awards were given out by Kerri Pollard, general manager of Commission Junction.

Kerri Pollard announcing the CJYou Award Winners

Congratulations to the winners…

Rookie of the Year, Advertiser: Awarded to a new advertiser who has achieved the highest total revenue:

Rookie of the Year, Publisher: Awarded to a new publisher who has achieved the highest total revenue:

Advertiser of the Year: Awarded to an advertiser who has achieved the largest year-over-year increase in revenue and greatest percentage of growth:

Publisher of the Year: Awarded to a publisher who has achieved the largest year-over-year increase in revenue and greatest percentage of growth:

People’s Choice, Advertiser: Chosen by the publisher community and awarded to an advertiser who demonstrates the best partnership qualities and excellence in supporting publisher needs:

People’s Choice, Publisher: Chosen by the advertiser community and awarded to a publisher who demonstrates the best partnership qualities and excellence in delivering value to an advertiser’s affiliate program:

Innovator of the Year: Awarded to an advertiser or publisher who demonstrates the most successful use of emerging technologies:

Agency of the Year: Awarded to an agency that has excelled at fostering relationships between its clients and Commission Junction:

There was a bit of drama during the awards dinner when a biker gang crashed the party, but the interlopers were quickly subdued by Kerri Pollard and John Ardis, VP of Corporate Strategy at ValueClick.

CJU 2009 008

Thanks to Brad Waller and Missy Ward for Tweeting the winners.

Blogging Best Practices: Maximizing Your Success

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Blogging Best Practices: Maximizing Your Success presentation from Affiliate Summit East 2006, which took place July 9-11, 2006 in Orlando, FL.

  • Dave Taylor, Principal, Intuitive Systems, Inc.

Blogging guru Dave Taylor will take you on a controversial and entertaining tour of blog technologies, explain which are considered “critical” by the blogging community, and talk about the pros and cons of each. Then he’ll tell you what really works and why. Should you moderate comments? Should you allow trackbacks? Should you timestamp your entries? Do you need to even use the word “blog” to have a weblog? All this, and more, will be addressed in this session. Don’t miss it.

Note: the companies and positions listed above were current as of the time of the conference. Some of this information may have changed since then.

Video: Blogging Best Practices: Maximizing Your Success