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Archives for November 2012

10 Must Have WordPress Plugins

November 29, 2012 by Shawn Collins

I talked about the WordPress plugins that are most important to me as a marketer at the Affiliate Summit Meetup in Austin, TX on November 27, 2012.

Here is a list of those plugins, in no particular order:

  • AWeber Web Forms
  • Easyrel=authorPlugin
  • Google XML Sitemaps
  • Pretty Link Lite
  • Redirection
  • Simple Page Tester
  • WordPress Backup to Dropbox
  • Datafeedr
  • WordPress SEO
  • Video SEO for WordPress SEO by Yoast

My presentation from the meetup (link below) explains what each plugin does.

Thanks a lot to everybody that came out for some shop talk, food and drinks at the Flying Saucer in Austin.

Presentation: 10 Must Have WordPress Plugins slides

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Filed Under: Affiliate News

Continued Growth for Rakuten LinkShare in Q3 2012

November 28, 2012 by Shawn Collins

Rakuten LinkShare has reported significant growth throughout their network for the third quarter of 2012.

Rakuten LinkShareOverall same store sales in the Rakuten LinkShare network in the U.S. increased by 36 percent year-over-year (YOY) for the third quarter.

During the same period, the overall increase for online retail was 15 percent, according to comScore.

The company also signed more than 125 brands in the third quarter in the US, UK, Canada and Japan.

Additionally, the Rakuten LinkShare network in the UK experienced an increase of 28 percent year-over-year for overall same-store sales in Q3.

This compares to an overall industry increase of 16 percent in UK retail sales for the quarter, according to the Capgemini e-Retail Sales Index.

Rakuten LinkShare currently operates in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Japan and Australia with plans to expand further internationally.

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Filed Under: Affiliate News

Submit Your Performance Marketing Summit 2013 Speaking Proposal

November 28, 2012 by Shawn Collins

Speaking proposals for Performance Marketing Summit 2013, taking place March 12, 2013 in New York City, are now being accepted.

The submission deadline is December 21, 2012. Any submissions after this date will not be considered.

All sessions will be solo speakers that run 20 minutes. No panels.

Accepted speakers will be notified no later than January 4, 2012.

Due to the volume of submissions, we will not notify applicants if they have not been accepted.

Therefore, if you have not been contacted by January 4, 2012, your proposal was not accepted.

Submit your speaking proposal: Performance Marketing Summit 2013 Speakers.

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Filed Under: Affiliate Managers, Affiliate Summit

Anatomy of the Lead Generation Industry

November 25, 2012 by Shawn Collins

ReviMedia has created an infographic that covers the “Anatomy of the Lead Generation Industry”.

Anatomy of the Online Lead Gen Industry - Infographic

The infographic sums up trends and developments in the lead generation industry.

Inforgraphic: Anatomy of the Lead Generation Industry

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Filed Under: Affiliate Managers, Affiliate Resources

Affiliate Marketing in a Digital World at Affiliate Summit West 2011

November 24, 2012 by Shawn Collins

This was a conference session titled Affiliate Marketing in a Digital World from Affiliate Summit West 2011, which took place January 9-11, 2011 at Wynn Las Vegas.

Speaker

  • Brian Chapman, Manager, Affiliate Channel, Amazon.com

Session description: Affiliate marketers face challenges making money on lower priced items such as MP3’s and eBooks. We’ll present best practices and some tips and tricks that work.

Experience level: Beginner, Intermediate
Target audience: Affiliates/Publishers
Niche/vertical: Digital

Slides: Affiliate Marketing in a Digital World slides

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.

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.

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Filed Under: Affiliate Summit

Inside the Minds of Affiliates at Affiliate Summit West 2011

November 23, 2012 by Shawn Collins

This was a conference session titled Inside the Minds of Affiliates from Affiliate Summit West 2011, which took place January 9-11, 2011 at Wynn Las Vegas.

Speakers:

  • Greg Hoffman, President, Greg Hoffman Consulting (Moderator)
  • Tricia Meyer, Owner, Sunshine Rewards
  • Eric Nagel, President, Eric Nagel & Associates, Inc
  • Kim Rowley, Founder, Key Internet Marketing, Inc.

Session description: CPS affiliates discuss datafeeds, coupons, communication & incentives in a merchant’s affiliate program. Merchants and networks will learn how to engage and motivate affiliates.

Experience level: Intermediate
Target audience: Merchants/Advertisers
Niche/vertical: Affiliate Mentality

Slides: Inside the Minds of Affiliates slides

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: Inside the Minds of Affiliates video

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.

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Filed Under: Affiliate Managers, Affiliate News, Affiliate Summit

Shop Online If You Love your Family

November 22, 2012 by Shawn Collins

Black Friday has been sneaking closer and closer to Thanksgiving over the years, and now we’ve got Gray Thursday.

Best Buy line building for Black FridayThis year there are countless stores opening on Thanksgiving, including Target, Wal-Mart and Sears.

I guess it wasn’t enough that some people were skipping Thanksgiving to camp out at stores to get deals before sunrise on Friday.

This whole thing makes me sad – not only for the people who choose this over a kick-ass family holiday, but also for those who are stuck working.

That was me nearly 20 years ago. I was fresh out of college and got a job as an assistant manager at my local Blockbuster while I looked for something better.

Since I was the new guy, I got the prime time Thanksgiving shift.

My family long planned to visit relatives out of state for the holiday, so I was stuck with no one in town and working on Thanksgiving.

Long story short. I got home after midnight and celebrated with some cold KFC and Private Stock malt liquor. Having that as the meal wasn’t bad, actually.

But anyway, I get it that retailers are desperate, but don’t feed that monster in favor of your family.

Think about how counter-intuitive it is to leave your people on a family holiday where you are supposed to be thankful for what you have to go shopping for crazy, excessive gifts you can’t really afford.

The moments and relationships are more important than getting a deal on a 65 inch TV.

Instead, enjoy the day and shop online at your leisure.

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Filed Under: Affiliate Resources

New Board of Directors for the Performance Marketing Association

November 21, 2012 by Shawn Collins

The Performance Marketing Association (PMA) has announced their new Board of Directors for 2012-2013.

Performance Marketing AssociationThe PMA is a trade association, founded in 2008, by people in the performance marketing industry.

  • Brian Littleton – CEO, ShareASale, Inc. (incoming Board President)
  • Karen Garcia – CEO, GTO Management
  • Robert Glazer – Founder and Managing Director, Acceleration Partners
  • Patrick Grady – CEO, RhinoFish Media
  • Peter Hamilton – CEO, HasOffers
  • Mike Nunez – CEO, AffiliateManager.com
  • Tony Pantano – CEO, Imwave
  • Craig O’Neill – Merchant Support, Savings.com
  • Oliver Roup, CEO, VigLink
  • Isabelle Meyer Stapf – Senior Director, Advertiser Development, Commission Junction
  • Missy Ward – Co-Founder, Affiliate Summit, Inc.

I look forward to seeing where this new crop of affiliate marketers take the PMA.

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Filed Under: Affiliate News

Finding Office Space on Craig’s List

November 19, 2012 by Shawn Collins

Like many affiliate marketers, I work from home, but there are some times when it’s a little crazy around my house, and I find it hard to concentrate.

So, I decided it was time to get a non-home office for the first time since 2004.

I heard somebody mention that they found space on Craig’s List, but I was skeptical.

Then I checked it out at housing > office & commercial on Craig’s List and there were a lot of options in my area.

I found a place that had a nice rate that was pretty close to my house.

I was able to get a short term lease and it includes utilities, WiFi, etc. And I can access it anytime I need.

Plus, it has a conference room, which I figure I’ll be using for small meetups in the future.

And I’m digging the deck with lake views and fenced in yard for dogs to play (there are a handful of dogs that “work” there).

If you’re working from home and need a change of scenery once in a while, check out Craig’s List. I was surprised by the volume of options in my area, and they were exponentially larger if I was willing to travel a little more.

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Filed Under: Affiliate News

The New SEO Toolset at Affiliate Summit West 2011

November 18, 2012 by Shawn Collins

This was a conference session titled The New SEO Toolset from Affiliate Summit West 2011, which took place January 9-11, 2011 at Wynn Las Vegas.

Speaker:

  • Wil Reynolds, Founder, SEER Interactive

Session description: Fast paced – deep dive into tools for beginners through advanced SEO practitioners.

Experience level: Intermediate, Advanced
Target audience: Affiliates/Publishers, Merchants/Advertisers
Niche/vertical: SEO

Slides: The New SEO Toolset slides

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.

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Filed Under: Affiliate Summit

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