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

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Archives for July 2010

Dell Adamo XPS Unboxing

July 22, 2010 by Shawn Collins

I just received my new Dell Adamo XPS laptop and unboxed it.

Just unboxed my new Dell Adamo XPS

It’s the thinnest laptop on the market at just 9.99mm thin and it weighs in at 3.2 lbs. That’s a whole lot thinner and lighter than my previous laptop, a Dell Studio XPS 13.

For what it’s worth, I liked the packaging that came with the Adamo XPS. It was simple, yet stylish and elegant. I am not sure why I am mentioning that since I tossed it in the trash after getting the goods out. I figured somebody might want to know since this is about “unboxing” it.

Some more important stuff… the guts of the machine. It’s got a 13.4-inch widescreen 16:9 HD display, 1.4GHz Intel Core 2 Duo ULV processor, 4GB of DDR3 RAM, and 128GB solid-state drive.

Not a giant drive, but it’s my travel laptop, and I carry a portable external hard drive> with 1 TB on it.

It also has a 2MP webcam and mono digital microphone, and for the input/output, it’s got DisplayPort, two USB 2.0 ports, and a headphone connector. Standard connectors via external dongle: RJ45, DVI. Optional connectors via external dongle: VGA, HDMI.

I first saw the Adamo XPS and got to play with it a little, at the recent Dell CAP (Customer Advisory Panel) Days event.

In addition to the things I like about it inside and out, one aesthetic feature that appealed to me was the raised keyboard. It just makes it easier and more comfortable for me to type.

I’m looking forward to traveling with less stress on my laptop bag carrying shoulder, and having the use of this beauty when I’m on the road.

Video: Dell Adamo XPS Unboxing

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Filed Under: Affiliate News

Search Engine Image Optimization

July 21, 2010 by Shawn Collins

I was listening to the Both Sides of the Tracks podcast earlier this week, and was interested in the discussion between Jason Rubacky and Eric Nagel on dominating image results.

I typically monitor image results for Shawn Collins in Google Images, but I haven’t paid a lot of attention to Bing and Yahoo.

When it comes to Google Images, I’ve got a decent amount of competition with an ex-NFL player, clothing designer, rapper, graphic designer, and some criminals.

Google Images Results for Shawn Collins

Even so, I account for a large share of the results in Google. I’m doing pretty well for Shawn Collins in Bing Images, too.

Yahoo is a different story. I don’t exist there in the image results.

Yahoo Image results for Shawn Collins

So, it’s time for Operation Search Engine Image Optimization.

I am working on some methods to own those results. Stay tuned.

Do you control the results for your company and/or name?

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Filed Under: Affiliate Resources

CJ PayPerCall Program Demo

July 20, 2010 by Shawn Collins

Update: the webinar has been rescheduled to Tuesday, July 27, 2010 at 11:00 AM – 11:30 AM PDT.

Commission Junction is running a pay-per-call webinar for affiliates on Wednesday, July 21 at 11 a.m. PT/2 p.m. ET.

The webinar will cover how the CJ PayPerCall Program enables affiliates to promote merchants via trackable toll-free numbers.

Over 11,000 affiliates are already taking part in this program, according to CJ.

Register at https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/196334114.

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Filed Under: Affiliate Resources

Talking Affiliate Summit with James Martell

July 19, 2010 by Shawn Collins

I chatted recently with super affiliate and long-time Affiliate Summit attendee James Martell on his Coffee Talk podcast.

James Martell and Shawn Collins

James has been coming to Affiliate Summit since the early days (see his video from Affiliate Summit 2004), and he will be speaking at the next Affiliate Summit on outsourcing.

Our conversation touched on the agenda, speakers, and exhibitors at Affiliate Summit East 2010, as well as some things to do while in New York City.

Listen to the podcast at jamesmartell.com/coffee-talk/shawn-collins-affiliate-summit-east-2010.

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Filed Under: Affiliate Summit

Conversion Rate Clinic: Persuasion Techniques that Work

July 17, 2010 by Shawn Collins

Conversion Rate Clinic: Persuasion Techniques that Work presentation from Affiliate Summit East 2007, which took place July 8-10, 2007 in Miami, FL.

  • Stephanie Agresta, CEO, Stephanie Agresta Consulting (Moderator)
  • Larry Bailin, CEO, Single Throw Internet Marketing
  • Sondra Stewart, COO, Future Now

Most websites have conversion rates of 2% or lower. The opportunity to increase sales by improving conversion is vast. Audience will submit URLs and panel will critique conversion issues on the fly.

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: Conversion Rate Clinic: Persuasion Techniques that Work

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Filed Under: Affiliate Summit

Leverage Web Analytics to Track Affiliate Programs

July 16, 2010 by Shawn Collins

Leverage Web Analytics to Track Affiliate Programs presentation from Affiliate Summit East 2007, which took place July 8-10, 2007 in Miami, FL.

  • Bill Bruno, Project Manager, Stratigent

Effectively tracking affiliate programs is integral to gaining a complete picture of your marketing strategy. This session reveals how to leverage Web analytics tools to gain accurate insight.

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: Leverage Web Analytics to Track Affiliate Programs

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Filed Under: Affiliate Summit

WordPress Plugins for Affiliate Marketers

July 15, 2010 by Shawn Collins

Q: What are the top WordPress plugins that an affiliate needs?

Shawn CollinsA: It really varies, depending on the type of affiliate you are, as some networks have plugins, but if you’re not promoting those networks, it doesn’t really matter.

There are also WordPress plugins that accomplish tasks that not every affiliate needs.

In the latest Affiliate Summit AffStat Report, affiliates were asked, “Which affiliate marketing related plugins and widgets are you currently using?”

The results were somewhat skewed towards affiliates promoting products, as 20.7% stated they used the Amazon Reloaded for WordPress plugin.

This was followed by the ShareASale Make a Widget plugin at 14.1%, the WP-Marketer plugin at 9.8%, and LinkShare accounts for 26.1% across their three plugins.

Also, there was the DataFeedFile.com Featured Product Plugin with 5.4% and the DataFeedr plugin with 2.2%.

And there is the Avantlink Widget plugin and the Simple Link Cloaker plugin. I use the Pretty Link plugin to shorten my affiliate URLs.

My suggestion would be to check the blogs of the networks you promote, because there aren’t really top plugins for all affiliates.

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Filed Under: Ask Shawn Collins

Affiliate Marketing and Social Networking

July 14, 2010 by Shawn Collins

Affiliates were asked “Does your affiliate marketing plan currently incorporate marketing on social networking sites?” for the latest Affiliate Summit AffStat Report.

The majority of respondents, at 67.5%, said yes, and the remaining 32.5% indicated they do not incorporate social networking sites into their marketing.

Marketing on social networking sites

There was a follow-up question, “If you answered YES to the above questions, which social networking sites are you currently using in your affiliate marketing efforts?”

Social networks used by affiliate marketers

Not surprisingly, Twitter topped the list with 26.9% of the vote, followed by Facebook at 25.9%.

LinkedIn, MySpace, StumbleUpon and eight others rounded out the social networks being used by affiliate marketers.

Over eleven-hundred and fifty affiliates were surveyed on their methods, preferences, and strategies for the 2010 Affiliate Summit AffStat Report.

More details on AffStat at http://affstat.com/.

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Filed Under: Affiliate Managers, Affiliate Stats

Office Essentials for Affiliate Marketers

July 13, 2010 by Shawn Collins

Q: I see you run your affiliate business from home. Can you tell me some of the products and services you use to make up your office?

A: I’ve been working from home for five or six years now. I learned quickly that I had a need for the various business machines that I had taken for granted when working in offices.

For instance, I still have a somewhat frequent need to send and receive faxes. So, I use CallWave, where I am able to get incoming faxes as a PDF via email.

When I have to sign a document and fax it to somebody, I’ll just scan the document and email it. No fax machine needed.

I have a landline for my phone, but often I want to record a call for an interview to transcribe or other needs. In those instances, I’ll use Skype with a recording program called Pamela.

Another phone related service I use is FreedomVOICE, which provides me with a toll-free number that forwards to my regular number.

And I use Google Voice for incoming phone calls, because I am able to have it ring to my office phone and two cell phones. Also, they provide a free voicemail transcription service, and those messages are sent via email.

When it comes to email, I used Microsoft Outlook in the past, and that was a burden to run with people scattered in different states. There would be times when the PST file got too big and Outlook crashed, as well as other occasional problems.

This was fixed by switching over to Google Apps accounts for Gmail. I am able to manage the email server easily and there is tons of space (25GB of email storage per employee), so that’s not an issue. Also, it integrates nicely with Google Calendar, Google Documents, etc.

I do two different things to backup my data. I have a 1 TB external hard drive that is set to automatically backup any new files nightly.

I also use a service called Jungle Disk for an online backup. This is also set to make an incremental backup each evening. Jungle Disk becomes a virtual drive on my computer(s), so I can access those files from anywhere – very convenient.

Having that redundancy makes me comfortable, but I was thinking of adding a second online backup service to be that much more comfortable. Some people might call it paranoid, but it’s a modest fee to know my data is safe.

I have a Cisco-Linksys E1000 Wireless-N Router, and had been leasing a cable modem from Comcast until recently, when I realized I could buy my own.

My current modem is a Cisco-Linksys CM100 Cable Modem, and it will pay for itself, compared with leasing from Comcast, pretty soon.

And I actually have two each of the router and the modem (plus two Comcast connections), because I had some dead spots in my house, and wanted to be able to get fast Internet access anywhere inside and outside the house.

Speaking of Internet outside your house, be sure to use the security options for your browser, so your neighbors aren’t tapping unto your connection. While you’re at it, change your SSID to something that will freak out most people. One of mine is “install-virus”.

When it comes to the mailing address, I previously used my home address, and I regret doing it. For privacy reasons, I would suggest getting a box at your local post office or UPS Store. I did the latter a couple years ago. I prefer the UPS Store over the post office, because they will accept FedEx’s for you.

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Filed Under: Ask Shawn Collins

Monetizing Communities

July 11, 2010 by Shawn Collins

Monetizing Communities presentation from Affiliate Summit East 2007, which took place July 8-10, 2007 in Miami, FL.

  • Lee Dodd, President, Zydeca Partners LP
  • Jeremy Schoemaker (ShoeMoney), President, ShoeMoney Media Group

We will discuss monetizing communities with various affiliate programs and take questions from the audience on this topic.

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: Monetizing Communities

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Filed Under: Affiliate News

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