Shawn Collins' Blog

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

Archives for September 2013

How Affiliates Drive Traffic to Sites in 2013

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Affiliates were asked “How do you typically drive traffic to your website?” for the 2013 Affiliate Summit AffStat Report.

The results were varied with SEO, social networks, and blogging as the most popular.

AffStat 2013 affiliate traffic sources

I was surprised that only about a quarter of the people were using email marketing. Build a list, people!

Using video or images can be a strong play, too. Of course, PPC can be very effective, but also costly.

More than sixteen-hundred affiliates were surveyed on their methods, preferences, and strategies for the 2013 Affiliate Summit AffStat Report.

More details on AffStat at AffStat.com.

I Escaped from New York by Boat on September 11

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I was working in midtown Manhattan on 9/11/01, and the date brings up such a range of emotions and memories, especially each year on the anniversary.

Cover of the New York Post on September 12, 2011In the past, I’ve shared the details of my 9/11, but I don’t have any photos or video to help tell the story.

Part of my experience was that I waited in a very long line to get on a boat from the west side of NYC to Weehawken, NJ.

So, I was fascinated to watch a short documentary called BOATLIFT that came out on the tenth anniversary of 9/11.

Tom Hanks narrates the story of the 9/11 boatlift that evacuated half a million people from Manhattan.

It’s a wonderful story of so many heroes that have gone unrecognized over the years. It was such a terrifying day, and these people bravely and anonymously helped so many of us to safety.

Thank you so much to the Captain I will never know who got me across the Hudson River in the early afternoon of 9/11.

Video: BOATLIFT – An Untold Tale of 9/11 Resilience

Affiliate Marketer Workplaces in 2013

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Affiliates were asked “Do you currently work from home or commute to an office?” for the 2013 Affiliate Summit AffStat Report.

The results broke out as 59.5% for work from home, 17.7% for commute to an office, and 22.8% for both (depending on the day).

AffStat 2013 workplace details

I fall firmly into the “work from home” crowd these days. I was working from home and an office for the past year, but I found that I preferred working from home, even with the kid and pet noise challenges.

Convenience and access to all of my stuff won out.

More than sixteen-hundred affiliates were surveyed on their methods, preferences, and strategies for the 2013 Affiliate Summit AffStat Report.

More details on AffStat at AffStat.com.

Amazon Offers New Opportunities for Mobile Affiliates

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Amazon has introduced new opportunities for affiliates with mobile-optimized websites and mobile apps.

Mobile affiliatesAffiliates have been able to earn commissions through mobile traffic to Amazon from their mobile optimized-website(s) and approved mobile app(s) since August 27, 2013.

In most cases, affiliates won’t have to do anything different to monetize their mobile-optimized websites.

They will earn the same fees and use many of the same tools to refer their mobile web users to Amazon. Unless noted, the Amazon links and banners work on mobile-optimized websites.

Mobile apps require a separate approval process and will earn commissions according to a special fee schedule.

To participate, apps must be available for purchase in the Amazon Appstore. Visit the Mobile App Distribution Portal to create a developer account and to learn more about the Mobile Associates API.

More details at Amazon Associates for Mobile.

Official Photos from Affiliate Summit East 2013

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The photos from Affiliate Summit East 2013 are now up at the Affiliate Summit Flickr page.

Affiliate Summit East 2013 Meet Market

They have been sorted out to the following categories:

Feel free to download and use these pictures on your site, but if you do so, we would appreciate if you’d link back to the Affiliate Summit site.

Please visit and tag the pictures on Flickr. And if you’re uploading any pictures to Flickr from Affiliate Summit East 2013, the tag is ASE13.

The photos were also posted in the Affiliate Summit page on Facebook. Tag away!

Cassidy Scott Photography photographed Affiliate Summit East 2013.

Also, I took some Affiliate Summit East 2013 pictures and posted them to my Flickr account.

Rakuten LinkShare Webinar for Advertisers on Preparing for Q4 2013

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Rakuten LinkShare is holding a webinar for their advertisers where they will share best practices and insights on how to successfully prepare for Q4.

Rakuten Linkshare Q4 webinar

The webinar is taking place on Wednesday, September 11 at 1:30pm ET.

Topics in the webinar will include:

  • Q4 2013 network performance and 2014 predictors
  • A portfolio of new and notable partners
  • Making the most of holiday budget with display advertising as well

Video of Randal Pinkett Keynote at Affiliate Summit East 2013

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There was a keynote presentation by Dr. Randal Pinkett, Founder, Chairman and CEO of BCT Partners, at Affiliate Summit East 2013, which took place August 18-20, 2013 at the Pennsylvania Convention Center in Philadelphia, PA.

Keynote from Randal Pinkett at Affiliate Summit East 2013

Dr. Randal Pinkett has established himself as an entrepreneur, speaker, author and scholar, and as a leading voice for his generation in business and technology. He is the founder, chairman and CEO of his fifth venture, BCT Partners, a multimillion-dollar management consulting and information technology solutions firm headquartered in Newark, NJ.

Dr. Pinkett has received numerous awards for business and technology excellence including the Information Technology Senior Management Forum’s Beacon Award, the National Society of Black Engineers’ Entrepreneur of the Year Award, and the National Urban League’s Business Excellence Award. He has been featured on nationally televised programs such as The Today Show, Live with Kelly and Michael, Nightline and CNN. In 2009, he was named to New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine’s official shortlist as a potential running mate for Lieutenant Governor of New Jersey.

Dr. Pinkett is the author of Campus CEO: The Student Entrepreneur’s Guide to Launching a Multimillion-Dollar Business and No-Money Down CEO: How to Start Your Dream Business with Little or No Cash and co-author of Black Faces in White Places: 10 Game-Changing Strategies to Achieve Success and Find Greatness, which was named one of “The Best Books of 2010.” He holds five degrees including: a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from Rutgers University, where he competed as a high jumper, long jumper, and captain of the men’s track and field team; a M.S. in Computer Science from the University of Oxford in England; and a M.S. in Electrical Engineering, MBA, and Ph.D. from MIT. Most notably, he was the first and only African-American to receive the prestigious Rhodes Scholarship at Rutgers University and was the winner of NBC’s hit reality television show, “The Apprentice”, with Donald Trump.

Born in Philadelphia and raised in New Jersey, Dr. Pinkett is a proud member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Incorporated and attends First Baptist Church in Somerset, NJ, where he resides. He is happily married to his wife, Zahara, and they are both proud parents of their daughter and two sons. Dr. Pinkett firmly believes that “for those to whom much is given, much is expected,” so throughout his endeavors, he places great emphasis on his desire to give back to the community.

More details on Affiliate Summit at AffiliateSummit.com.

Video: Dr. Randal Pinkett Keynote at Affiliate Summit East 2013

LinkTrust Provides Flexibility in Payouts

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LinkTrust has a new payout rules feature where companies can automatically create a custom affiliate payout for each click, conversion or lead following predetermined criteria for each payout.

LinkTrustAffiliate payouts can be setup based on a combination of criteria, such as Affiliate ID, Sub ID and click data.

Then, each affiliate program can be structured to give affiliates exactly what they are looking for.

More details: Dynamic Payout Rules

Video of Wil Reynolds Keynote at Affiliate Summit East 2013

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There was a keynote presentation by Wil Reynolds, Founder of SEER Interactive, at Affiliate Summit East 2013, which took place August 18-20, 2013 at the Pennsylvania Convention Center in Philadelphia, PA.

Wil Reynolds keynoting Affiliate Summit East 2013

Over the past 13 years, Wil Reynolds has dedicated himself to doing two things well: driving traffic to sites from search engines and analyzing the impact that traffic has on the bottom line of companies.

Wil’s career began at a web marketing agency in 1999, where he spearheaded the SEO strategies for companies like Barnes & Noble, Disney, Harman Kardon, Debeers, Doubleclick, Hotjobs, and Mercedes Benz USA.

For the last 6 years, Wil and the team of search professionals at SEER Interactive have been assisting clients in maximizing their visibility and sales using search engines in both SEO and SEM.

You can catch Wil speaking with anyone who wants to learn about search, whether it is in a coffee shop or a major conference, it just runs through the veins! His goal at every speaking engagement is simple: Make sure everyone walks out with at least 1 new piece of information or perspective on an SEO topic.

Slides: The Future of Search

Video: Wil Reynolds Keynote at Affiliate Summit East 2013

More details on Affiliate Summit at AffiliateSummit.com.

Video of Rae Hoffman Keynote at Affiliate Summit East 2013

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There was a keynote presentation by Rae Hoffman, CEO of PushFire, at Affiliate Summit East 2013, which took place August 18-20, 2013 at the Pennsylvania Convention Center in Philadelphia, PA.

http://sugarrae.com/entrepreneurship/11-things-my-son-taught-me-about-life-and-business/

Ten+ years ago Rae started a small website about her son and his medical condition that became one of the first international support groups and largest website in general on the topic. It earned national media coverage and helped further medical research in the field.

Investigating ways to support that site, she found affiliate marketing and became one of the most well known voices in the affiliate landscape and organic search engine optimization.

Today, her current area of research is site auditing and advanced organic link development techniques relating to all of the major engines. Ms. Hoffman is Co-Founder and CEO of PushFire.

Known widely in the online marketing community as Sugarrae, she is also the author of the often controversial Sugarrae blog and Co-Founder and Co-Owner of website publisher MFE Interactive and the Co-Owner and SVP of Marketing for Speedy Incorporation Service.

Slides: 11 Things My Son Taught Me about Life and Business

Video: Rae Hoffman Keynote at Affiliate Summit East 2013

More details on Affiliate Summit at AffiliateSummit.com.