Shawn Collins' Blog

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

Archives for June 2012

SEO Site Review/Clinic

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This was a conference session titled SEO Site Review/Clinic from Affiliate Summit East 2010, which took place August 15-17, 2010 in New York City.

Speakers:

  • Rae Hoffman, CEO, Outspoken Media (Moderator)
  • Michael Gray, President, Atlas Web

Session description: Live Q&A, site audits and suggestions on how to help the internal site structure, as well as ideas how to build a better site for organic rankings.

Experience level: Intermediate
Target audience: Merchants/Advertisers
Niche/vertical: SEO

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

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: SEO Site Review/Clinic

If you liked this video, be sure to register for the next Affiliate Summit. The session videos aren’t made public until a year or more after each conference.

Steps to Get Started in Affiliate Marketing

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Q: I haven’t read so much since coming across your work 2 days ago. You provide great useful information.

Shawn CollinsMy Question: Virtually all of the “How Too” information on affiliate marketing that I have read has been written by people whose product is information about affiliate marketing. Their niche is selling information about affiliate marketing.

I have already decided on a group of related products, but need information on how to actually join an affiliate program. I am not looking to become a blogger or how to author, I am just looking to sell consumers products.

Are there any successful people out there, say selling stained glass products, without the how to information?

A: If you’re just trying to get started as an affiliate, I’ve created a free resource site called Extra Money Answer at http://www.extramoneyanswer.com/.

I take you through every step in getting started with an affiliate site.

The site details everything from getting a domain name and hosting to driving traffic and then monetizing the site.

Each section is meant to stand alone, so you can skip to whatever point you are in getting your site going.

Don’t pay anything for any system or program that promises secrets and success.

I created this site to provide an alternative to the bad, costly advice out there.

Video: Steps to Get Started in Affiliate Marketing

Ask Shawn Collins your affiliate marketing question and it will be added on the affiliate blog.

Mastering ROI with Google Analytics

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David Vogelpohl, CEO of Marketing Clique, talked about using Google Analytics to track conversions at the Affiliate Summit Meetup in Austin, TX on June 26, 2012.

June 2012 Affiliate Summit meetup in Austin

This was the biggest crowd to date for the meetup with nearly 100 people jammed in the room.

The crowd loved hearing about using Google Analytics to track conversions like sales, leads, phone calls, opt-ins, and more, as well as using weighted goal tracking to determine the true value of online marketing campaigns.

Thanks a lot to David and everybody that came out for some lunch and shop talk.

About David

David Vogelpohl is the founder and CEO of Marketing Clique, an agency which helps clients build websites, develop mobile apps and market their service online. David has nearly 15 years of online marketing experience, including managing and promoting complex affiliate programs across a variety of platforms.

Presentation: Mastering ROI with Google Analytics

Google Analytics and Affiliates

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Q: I recently read an article about sub id’s in FeedFront magazine. Any software recommendations for affiliate conversion tracking? Which one do you use?

Shawn CollinsA: Unfortunately, since you, as an affiliate, do not control the merchant/advertiser site, you are not able to place a tracking pixel there to follow the transaction from start to finish.

You can track activity from your site, as far as clicks and exit pages, but you have to rely on the affiliate program or affiliate network after that point.

As far as the data on your site, I would recommend getting Google Analytics for overall intelligence about your site.

Also, this will help you to see the number of clicks counted on your end vs. the data reported by the program or network.

You can get started with Google Analytics from within your existing Google account (assuming you have one – if not, get one).

Here is that sub ID article: Making the Most of Sub ID Tracking

Donate to the Affiliate Marketers Give Back Silent Auction

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The Affiliate Marketers Give Back Silent Auction is back, and it starts the week of July 8th, 2012 at AffiliateMarketersGiveBack.com.

So far, we have have raised a little more than half of the Affiliate Marketers Give Back team goal of $80,000 for this year’s Avon Walk for Breast Cancer, and are working really hard to raise the other half.

Here is how you come into play – we are asking individuals and companies to consider donating an item or service for the silent auction.

Donated items will be listed on the Affiliate Marketers Give Back site with information on the donor, as well as a link back to their site.

Winners will be announced after the auction ends, and they will also receive a link back to their site.

Donate to the Silent Auction

Submit details of your donation. Donations will be accepted through Saturday, June 30th, 2012.

Please help us reach our fundraising goal by donating an item to the silent auction.

It’s a great way to get your name and services out in front of the masses, plus you’ll be helping raise money to fight breast cancer.

Android Affiliate Mobile Marketing

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This was a conference session titled Android Affiliate Mobile Marketing from Affiliate Summit East 2010, which took place August 15-17, 2010 in New York City.

Speaker:

  • Michael Martin, Owner, Mobile Martin

Session description: How best to integrate your affiliate program for the mobile web & applications along with mobile advertising & marketing options for all devices including the fastest growing mobile platform, Android.

Experience level: Intermediate
Target audience: Affiliates/Publishers
Niche/vertical: Mobile Marketing/SEO

Slides: http://www.slideshare.net/affsum/android-affiliate-mobile-marketing

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

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: Android Affiliate Mobile Marketing

If you liked this video, be sure to register for the next Affiliate Summit. The session videos aren’t made public until a year or more after each conference.

Mobile Commerce White Paper from Affiliate Window

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Affiliate Window has released the second edition of their mobile commerce white paper, which features mobile growth trends, mobile sales and traffic, the importance of affiliate tracking, and opportunities through the performance channel.

Some key stats from the white paper, M-Commerce: The Complete Picture:

  • 7.85% of all sales were through mobile devices (including tablets)
  • 10.94% of traffic is now mobile (including tablets)
  • Mobile traffic is converting at 3.1%

They also have a section that breaks down their mobile traffic by sector to give an indication of performance across mobile devices.

Interesting reading and a wake-up call to any affiliate marketers who haven’t gotten started in mobile.

Affiliate Summit East 2012 Has Raised $14,824 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 through the challenge, is running through 7/31/2012.

Affiliate Summit East 2012There are currently 60 folks involved in the challenge, and the top ten competitors have already accumulated 9,073 miles.

Overall, there have been 14,824 miles tallied by all of the participants, so it’s $14,824 raised.

I am at #8 right now (see my dailymile profile) with 647 miles, but it’s getting really tough to stay in the top ten. I am trying to transition back to running after an injury last fall, but I’ll have to keep up some cycling miles, too.

Here are the top ten affiliate marketing exercisers, as of June 20, 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.

Know When to Scrap a Project

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I’m always brainstorming for new affiliate site ideas, and most end shortly after the purchase of a domain name.

I’ve got something around 175 domains now, and maybe 20 are actually live.

When an idea gets beyond that point, and then I’ve set up the web hosting with WP Engine, AWeber, Twitter, Facebook, WordPress, etc., it’s always been a stage where I would finish the site.

Sometimes it would later die, but it would have a launch.

But that sequence changed today.

I got a domain I liked a lot a few months ago, and I was going to setup a niche daily deals site on it.

I later decided to change it into a directory, and was going to use a WordPress theme from Woo Themes.

About two weeks ago, I started having second thoughts about the time investment and eventual ROI for the site, but I was not going to let it fade, because I’d already put in too much time.

Plus, I had dropped $200 on the theme, and didn’t want it to go to waste.

But the more I got to thinking about it, I realized my stubborn insistence on finishing the project was taking away time and money from better ideas.

So I’ve evolved and bailed on this site. Maybe it’s reinvented next year, but for now it’s dark, and I feel relieved.

Booths and Tables Nearly Sold Out for Affiliate Summit East 2012

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Booths and Meet Market tables are selling fast for Affiliate Summit East 2012, and we are nearly sold out.

There are about 10 Meet Market tables and a dozen 10×10 booths remaining, so time is getting short to have a presence at the conference.

Affiliate Summit East 2011 Meet Market

Book your table or booth online now at http://www.affiliatesummit.com/12e-exhibitors/.