Shawn Collins' Blog

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

Archives for February 2011

Getting Started as an Affiliate Marketing Newbie

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Q: I am just a newbie in affiliate marketing. I am one of the persons who have not earned even a cent online but dreaming of earning at least a few hundred bucks online for now. I know many affiliate programs and method is simple – Give them sales and they will give you money. But that i cannot get how to generate those sales. Please guide me.

Shawn CollinsA: I am not sure how long you have been at it, but it can take some time to see your first sale or lead as an affiliate.

I was at it for months before I made a penny.

Gradually, I figured things out. I did a lot of testing over time, and scaled up the number of sites I had.

There are a lot of ways to do it. Personally, I was just churning out a lot of original content.

But you could also use paid search, blogs, podcasts, videos, pay-per-call, etc. Any methods available for marketing online can be adapted by affiliates.

The reality is that some affiliates will figure it out fairly quick and begin generating revenue, while others never earn a cent, because they are unable to draw an audience.

Sit down and think about why people should want to visit your site – be sure you’ve got some unique value proposition for them.

And then you’ve also got to market your site. It’s an ongoing two-step process: give people a reason to go to your site, and then promote it.

Submit for an Affiliate Site Review

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I will be moderating a panel at PubCon Austin 2011 where we will be providing live site reviews for affiliate sites.

The panelists are Peter Hamilton (VP, Marketing, HasOffers), Roger Montti (Founder and Owner, martinibuster.com), and Adam Riemer (President, Adam Riemer Marketing, LLC.).

PubCon Austin 2011 is taking place March 8-9, 2011, and this session will be at 4:15pm on March 8.

This must be your site and you must be attending PubCon, so we can give you the feedback.

And on the night of March 8, I’ll be teaming up with PubCon founder Brett Tabke to speak at the Internet Marketing Party in Austin, TX on how we’ve both grown our businesses with Twitter. There is limited space, so be sure to RSVP.

Don’t miss Site Review – Focus on Affiliates at PubCon Austin 2011.

Advertising Tax Impact, Accomplishments and the Future

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Advertising Tax Impact, Accomplishments and the Future panel from Affiliate Summit East 2009, which took place August 9-11, 2009 in New York, NY.

Speakers:

Discussion on the Advertising Tax by industry leaders that have played a key role in organizing industry advocates and educating legislators on the impact of state tax nexus legislation

Presentation: http://www.slideshare.net/affsum/advertising-tax-impact-accomplishments-and-the-future

More details on Affiliate Summit at http://www.affiliatesummit.com/

Note: the company(ies) and position(s) listed above were current as of the time of the conference. Some of this information may have changed since then.

Video: Advertising Tax Impact, Accomplishments and the Future

Marketers Need to Preach to the Choir

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I think some of the best sources and reinforcements for marketing inspiration come from music.

Have you ever noticed how so many popular songs are anthems for a target audience? It seems like a basic, but so many marketers completely miss connecting with their target.

A good example of putting out an anthem was “Graduation (Friends Forever)” from Vitamin C. This song so perfectly captured the feeling of graduating high school seniors that it was their anthem for many years after being released in 2000.

The song still resonates with people moving on. When my oldest daughter graduated from elementary school in 2010, “Graduation (Friends Forever)” was in heavy rotation with her and her friends. Check to see if it rises again on the iTunes charts in June.

I like country music, so examples there jump out at me more. Brad Paisley does a good job with the anthems, too. Do you think it was a surprise to him that his song, “This Is Country Music” was given a slot for a live performance at the CMA Awards last November – a month before it was released?

It was written to be there.

It’s such an anthem for country fans, and it’s reached #3 on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Songs since being released in December 2010.

Another country artist that reliably puts out anthems is Kenny Chesney. One of his most recent was “The Boys of Fall“, an ode to playing high school football.

The song reached #1 on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Songs and the video on YouTube has had more than five million views.

Stop writing clever copy – write anthems. Preach to your choir.

Personal Branding 2.0

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Personal Branding 2.0 panel from Affiliate Summit East 2009, which took place August 9-11, 2009 in New York, NY.

Speakers:

  • Stephanie Agresta, EVP, Porter Novelli
  • Sarah Austin, Founder & CEO, Pop17

Everyone knows the power Twitter, Facebook, and social networks have in today’s online marketplace. How can building your own personal brand help you increase traffic and exposure?

Note: the company(ies) and position(s) listed above were current as of the time of the conference. Some of this information may have changed since then.

Guide to Creating Online Videos

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Jim Kukral put out the Online Video Toolkit, a guide to making high-quality Web videos on a budget, a few years back for free.

It was a great resource at the time, but it’s a bit dated now.

So, Jim has come out with version 2 of his Online Video Toolkit, which is comprised of 20+ video tutorials that show how to make powerful Web videos.

If you’re not familiar with Jim, he knows his stuff when it comes to video. I’ve learned a whole lot from him as he broke new ground with online video.

This new, paid version will help aspiring Web video folks..

  • How to drive sales, leads, and publicity
  • Which equipment to buy
  • How to create screencasts
  • The top tools and resources
  • How to generate traffic to your videos

Get the Online Video Toolkit.

Jon Spoelstra to Keynote Affiliate Summit East 2011

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Jon Spoelstra will be the keynote speaker at Affiliate Summit East 2011 on Monday, August 22, 2011 at the Hilton New York.

He has been general manager of the Portland Trail Blazers, president of the New Jersey Nets, and president of Mandalay Baseball Properties.

Author of the non-fiction Ice to the Eskimos and Success is Just One Wish Away–and Red Chaser, a historical mystery, Jon is now a writer, speaker and consultant.

Jon Spoelstra is also the author of the best-seller, Marketing Outrageously, which is one of my favorite books. Read my review of Marketing Outrageously from several years ago.

An updated version of the book, Marketing Outrageously Redux, Revised Edition: How to Increase Your Revenue by Staggering Amounts, just came out on February 16, 2011

More details soon on Affiliate Summit East 2011 at http://www.affiliatesummit.com.

Creating Lasting Publisher and Advertiser Relationships

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Creating Lasting Publisher and Advertiser Relationships panel from Affiliate Summit East 2009, which took place August 9-11, 2009 in New York, NY.

Speakers:

Results are what matter in performance marketing. These industry leaders will discuss how they work together to create long-term partnerships. It will explore communication, commission, policies & more.

More details on Affiliate Summit at http://www.affiliatesummit.com/

Note: the company(ies) and position(s) listed above were current as of the time of the conference. Some of this information may have changed since then.

Video: Creating Lasting Publisher and Advertiser Relationships

The Road To Affiliate Summit with ShoeMoney

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Jeremy “ShoeMoney” Schoemaker was followed before, during and after Affiliate Summit West 2011 by a documentary crew.

The film follows Jeremy and his frenzied schedule of presentations, meeting with people, raising money for charity, launching Link Control and more.

Jeremy Schoemaker

It’s neat to see Affiliate Summit from Jeremy’s perspective. I’m exhausted just watching it.

Watch the Road to Affiliate Summit at http://www.shoemoney.com/road-to-affiliate-summit-the-movie/.

Succeeding in Affiliate Marketing as a Non-US Citizen

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Q: I just started looking into affiliate marketing (AM) a week ago, and I must say it’s pretty scary stuff. I have a look at ClickBank which is supposedly the best and user friendly for newbies like me, but the stuff they promote…….do people really buy those stuff? Or is it in affiliate marketing the products are just secondary to what the real deal is? I’m really confused now but not willing to give up yet soon. I only have 1 question for you, and your site has provided a very insideful detail on AM which I really enjoy reading and will be beneficial to AM rookies like me.

My question – Do I stand a chance to make it to where you are today as a non-US citizen in affiliate marketing? OK maybe a few notches or several notches below, nevermind about how long it’s going to take me. I have the time and I intend to make this the last leg of my money making stunt. I’m 50 now and I live and work in a little place call Singapore all my life.

Shawn CollinsA: There are many opportunities on Clickbank for affiliates, as well as a lot of other affiliate networks.

The thing you have to determine is which niche you wish to promote. Is there is certain topic that is exciting to you that you’d like to make a site around?

Otherwise, you could pick popular subjects and create sites about those areas of interest.

After you have determined the focus of your site(s), you will then seek out the relevant products or services that have affiliate programs.

If information products make sense for your audience, then Clickbank is the way to go for you. Alternately, if you think your visitors would be more interested in hard goods, such as electronics or clothing, then you will end up working with other affiliate networks.

The first step is to determine which product/service you hope to sell. After you’ve gotten started, be sure to test all the time to figure out what your audience wants.