Shawn Collins' Blog

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

Archives for March 2012

Most Popular WordPress Themes for Affiliate Marketers

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Affiliates were asked “If you are currently using WordPress to build out affiliate sites, what is your preferred WordPress theme?” for the 2011 Affiliate Summit AffStat Report.

The most popular themes were Affiliate Theme and Thesis for WordPress.

My favorite WordPress theme has been Thesis for years. I’m running it on dozens of affiliate sites.

I like Thesis for the SEO controls and detail, intuitive UI, and extensive options.

Over fourteen-hundred affiliates were surveyed on their methods, preferences, and strategies for the 2011 Affiliate Summit AffStat Report.

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

One Big Sponsorship Left for Affiliate Summit Central 2012

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Affiliate Summit Central 2012, taking place May 15-16, 2012 at the Hilton Austin, has just one big sponsorship remaining – the Gold sponsorship.

This sponsorship includes a Meet Market table (the only one left – Meet Market tables sold out in January), an ad in the May 2012 issue of FeedFront magazine, passes to Affiliate Summit Central 2012, and more.

This will be a different kind of Affiliate Summit – rather than several thousand attendees, it will be capped at a few hundred.

The conference will be a day and a half long with two tracks of educational sessions, and a Meet Market with a couple dozen tables.

Check out the agenda for Affiliate Summit Central 2012.

There are still other sponsorships for Affiliate Summit Central 2012 available, and some include a Meet Market table.

Dollar Shave Club Affiliate Program

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Dollar Shave Club has gotten a lot of attention on Facebook and Twitter this week for their hilarious video, “DollarShaveClub.com – Our Blades Are F***ing Great.”

Dollar Shave ClubIn addition to being funny, it’s a good idea. Their “About Us” page starts…

Like most good ideas, The Dollar Shave Club started with two guys who were pissed off about something and decided to do something about it…

And they are solving a problem. Maybe not a monumental one, but I regularly find myself on my last razor and use it too long. I could buy them in bulk, but I haven’t.

So, if their razors are quality at a good price, that’s great. I’ll know soon, because I ordered the 4X from the Dollar Shave Club. That’s their mid-priced option at $6/month (including shipping and handling).

And then there is the matter of their affiliate program.

It’s not a traditional affiliate program with commission, but rather the Dollar Shave Club pays out in store credit.

Each time you refer a new member, you earn a month of razors from them.

They’re off to a good start here. Now I just need to see if I like their razors.

Affiliate Summit East 2012 Has Raised $2,526 So Far to Fight Breast Cancer

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The Race to Affiliate Summit East 2012, a dailymile challenge where Affiliate Summit will donate $1 to benefit the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer in support of Affiliate Marketers Give Back team for each mile cycled, run, swam, or walked (up to $5,000) through the challenge, is running through 7/31/2012.

Affiliate Summit East 2012There are currently 54 folks involved in the challenge, and the top ten competitors have already tallied 1,576 miles.

Overall, there have been 2,526 miles tallied by all of the participants, so it’s $2,526 raised so far.

I am at #11 right now (see my dailymile profile) with 109 miles – I’m just a fraction of a mile from #10. Grrr!

Here are the top ten runners, as of March 6, 2012.

dailymile syncs with Garmin devises, Nike+ device and iPhone app, as well as a number of iPhone and Android clients.

You can also manually enter your cycling, swimming, running, and walking efforts.

In order to participate in dailymile activities, you will need to friend me on dailymile and I will invite you to the challenge. The challenge is going through 7/31/2012.

Get more details at http://www.affiliatesummit.com/race-to-affiliate-summit-east-2012/.

Affiliate Summit East 2012 is taking place August 12-14, 2012 in New York City.

The participant with the most total miles at the end of the challenge will receive a VIP Pass to Affiliate Summit West 2013. 2nd to 5th place finishers will each receive a Networking Plus Pass to Affiliate Summit West 2013, and 6th to 10th place finishers will each receive a Networking Pass to Affiliate Summit West 2013.

Please note that all information you provide as part of the contest is public and may be used by Affiliate Summit in our marketing efforts for this event.

Affiliate Marketers and WordPress

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Affiliates were asked “Are you currently using any WordPress plugins or widgets designed for affiliate marketing efforts?” for the 2011 Affiliate Summit AffStat Report.

One third of respondants said yes, they are using affiliate marketing specific WordPress plugins or widgets.

AffStat WordPress plugins

There are a variety of WordPress plugins and widgets being used by affiliate marketers, including many created by affiliate networks and individual affiliate programs.

The most popular plugins and widgets, based on the survey, were from Amazon, ClickBank, Commission Junction, and LinkShare.

AffStat most popular plugins and widgets

The two plugins I use most often are Datafeedr and Pretty Link.

Over fourteen-hundred affiliates were surveyed on their methods, preferences, and strategies for the 2011 Affiliate Summit AffStat Report.

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

Apply for a Scholarship to Affiliate Summit East 2012

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Once again, we will be awarding scholarships when we return to New York City for Affiliate Summit East 2012.

Affiliate Summit Pay It Forward Scholarship

We will be sponsoring up to fifty Affiliate Summit Pay it Forward Scholarships for affiliates to attend the conference.

The goal of the scholarships is to make the education and networking experience of Affiliate Summit available to affiliates who might not otherwise be able to attend.

Each recipient of the Affiliate Summit Pay it Forward Scholarships will be awarded one VIP Pass (a $1,249 value) to Affiliate Summit East 2012, taking place at the Hilton New York on August 12-14, 2012.

VIP Passes include breakfast and lunch on Monday and Tuesday; admission to the Meet Market, Exhibit Hall, Keynotes, all educational sessions on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday; participation in the Newcomer program; access to all recorded session videos; and PowerPoint presentations.

Applicants will be considered based on current participation in and future contribution to the affiliate marketing industry. All applicants must also have valid US addresses to qualify.

Interested candidates will answer one of these three questions in essay form in 300 words or less:

  1. What is something broken in affiliate marketing and how can we fix it?
  2. What do you hope to accomplish in affiliate marketing?
  3. My idea for an affiliate site is to…

All applications will be reviewed by the Affiliate Summit Advisory Board, and winners of the scholarships will be notified by Monday, June 11, 2012.

In oder to be considered for an Affiliate Summit Pay It Forward Scholarship, please complete the scholarship application. The deadline for submission is Friday, June 1, 2012.

Rapportive is a Helpful Networking Tool for Gmail Users

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Rapportive is a contact management browser plugin for Gmail that is really useful for networking online.

Missy Ward on RapportiveWhen you send or receive an email to a contact, Rapportive pops up a column on the right with details on the social networks for that person.

You can see their photo, recent Tweets, links to their Facebook and LinkedIn (who acquired Rapportive recently), and more.

I often meet people for lunch I’ve never met before, and it’s hugely helpful to get a picture of the person, as well as to be able to get more of a feel for them through their various social networks.

The same goes for meeting new people at conferences.

Sure, you could do that legwork on your own, but you might not find the correct accounts for a given name.

Also, it makes it easy to connect on these networks with the contact, and establish a rapport. Cool, free tool – check it out.