FeedFront Magazine, Issue 21

The Official Magazine of Affiliate Summit

Issue 21 · January 2013

Declare Your Independence at Affiliate Summit in Philadelphia August 18-20, 2013

Resolve to Become a Fierce Competitor

by Missy Ward · Page 2

Finding Office Space on Craig's List

by Shawn Collins · Page 10

Ten Steps to Audit Your Affiliate Program

by Sarah Bundy · Page 30

Affiliate Summit West 2013 Agenda Page 33

Meet ShareASale. Real people, real solutions.

· Issue 21 · January 2013

The Official Magazine of Affiliate Summit · Issue 21 · January 2013

Table of Contents Missy Ward

2

Editor's Note

3

Stop Building Affiliate Sites

4

Seven Forgotten Things in Your Affiliate Program

Karen Garcia

6

From Affiliate to Manager

Jill Swartwout

7

Coupon Code Compliance in Affiliate Marketing

8

Unleash Affiliates: Take Advantage of their Creativity!

9

Ensuring Affiliate Program Success in 2013

Jeremy Palmer

Andrew McCaffrey Travis Jacobson Jamie Birch

10

Finding Office Space on Craig’s List

Shawn Collins

11

Do Coupons Add Value to Your Business?

Blair De Jong

12

Compelling Copy Captures Conversions

Nicholas Cote

14

Maintain Trust by Minimizing Poor User Experience

15

Six Degrees of Affiliate Summit

16

Why Mobile Should Be Your Top Priority

17

Travel Tips for Work at Home Parents

18

Unique Testing Needed for Each PPC Engine

20

Ten Steps to Audit Your Affiliate Program

21

Work Places of Affiliate Marketers

22

Boost Your Bottom Line with Valuable Tools

23

Performance Marketing Summit in NYC

Shawn Collins

24

Ring Up the Right Mobile Ad Unit

Jason Spievak

25

Social Media: Context is King

Nathan Smith

27

The 7 Deadly Sins of Datafeeds

Nick Loper

28

Affiliate Marketers Give Back Raises over $86,000

29

Methods Affiliates Use to Drive Traffic

30

Creative Marketing: Going Beyond Written Content

31

Get to Know the Performance Marketing Association

33

Affiliate Summit West 2013 Agenda

49

Daniel “Rudy” Ruettiger Bio

50

Julie Clark Bio

51

Tim Ash Bio

52

Speaker Bios

66

People To Follow On Twitter

68

Caesar’s Palace Map

STAFF Co-Editors in Chief Missy Ward, Shawn Collins Co-Publishers Missy Ward, Shawn Collins

Contributing Writers

Kush Abdulloev, Jamie Birch, Sarah Bundy, Shawn Collins, Nicholas Cote, Bonnie D'Amico Rogers, Blair De Jong, Alek Flekel, Karen Garcia, Travis Jacobson, Nick Loper, Andrew McCaffrey, Jeremy Palmer, Heather Romiti, Nathan Smith, Jason Spievak, Jill Swartwout, James Thompson, Missy Ward

Graphic Design Logan Gattis Designs www.logangattis.com Magazine Coordinator Amy Rodriguez

Bonnie D’Amico Rogers Shawn Collins Kush Abdulloev Missy Ward Alek Flekel Sarah Bundy Shawn Collins James Thompson

Missy Ward Shawn Collins Heather Romiti Missy Ward

Affiliate Summit 522 Hunt Club Blvd. #411 Apopka, FL 32703 tel (417)-2summit (278-6648) fax (908) 364-4627

Articles in FeedFront Magazine are the opinions of the author and may not necessarily reflect the views of the magazine, or its owners. FeedFront Magazine always welcomes opinions of an opposite nature. For more information, visit: www.FeedFront.com Interested in advertising? Please visit http://feedfront.com/advertising/ or email us at: feedfront@affiliatesummit.com

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© 2013 Affiliate Summit, Inc. and Individual Authors.

· Issue 21 · January 2013

Become a Fierce Competitor Editor’s Note

Resolve to

by Missy Ward

Missy Ward

A

s the curtain is drawn on the holiday shopping season, merchants and affiliates are faced

Do You Have What It Takes To Be Fierce?

with discovering new techniques to keep up with

Almost everyone knows the story of Daniel “Rudy” Ru-

ways in which consumers discover, consume and engage about

ettiger, who became the inspiration for millions in the movie,

products and services.

“Rudy” depicting his journey as a Notre Dame football player.

Couple that with the challenge of marketing in an eco-

Those attending Affiliate Summit West 2013, will get to hear

nomic state of uncertainty; the inherent affiliate marketing in-

Rudy tell his story first-hand during his keynote address on

dustry issues such as Affiliate Nexus Tax, multi-channel attri-

Monday, January 14th.

bution and nefarious marketing tactics; and you have a recipe for a potentially frightening 2013.

Struggling companies will see it that way, but not fierce competitors.

His is a story focused on a series of triumphs over seemingly insurmountable odds; or as I like to call it, “Any given day in the life of an affiliate marketer.”

Rudy believes that people are not born with more heart,

Fierce competitors see these challenges as a way to empow-

more drive, and more passion to accomplish their dreams than

er their companies to find innovative ways to stand out as a

the next guy. But rather, one must find their drive and passion

leader in their category, even on reduced marketing budgets.

one step at a time by growing up, making mistakes, learning

Fierce competitors compete strongly by remaining visible.

from them and pushing forward.

They reassess their marketing strategy to optimize every dollar

To become fierce, you must learn how to pick a goal and

spent. They evaluate their brand to determine their relevance

keep your eye on the prize at all times. You must train to be-

in current market conditions.

come better, surround yourself with like-minded people that

They aggressively pursue the underserved customers of their competitors and engage their own apathetic customers to make them brand-loyal. They forge partnerships, hire previously unattainable talent, get rid of dead weight and nurture great employees. They out-innovate their competition and go after market share.

tough and reward yourself when you deserve it.

In 2013, I challenge you to win more of the business that is out there waiting for you.

Dream bigger. Make strategic marketing decisions. Summon your “Inner Rudy” to push forward.

Fierce competitors don’t play it safe.

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will help you reach your goal, stick it out when things get

Get fierce.

Missy Ward is the Co-Founder of Affiliate Summit, FeedFront Magazine Co-Editor-in-Chief and blogs on MissyWard.com. ☜

· Issue 21 · January 2013

Stop Building

Affiliate Sites

by Jeremy Palmer

I

’ve built a lot of affiliate sites over the last 10 years. I started with a simple online dating site back in 2003. After some

Jeremy Palmer

initial success with the site, I branched out and launched

several more niche dating sites. The formula worked well.

By 2005 I had between 50-60 dating sites. I had built ver-

tical dating sites for each of the 50 states, and a few additional dating categories. Most of these sites performed well in both paid and organic search. The conversion rate on these sites was high… most of the content was focused around an offer. The model was fast, cheap, and easy to scale.

After achieving some success in online dating, I exported this business model to other categories, including: webhost-

The sites that made it through the storms weren’t affiliate sites. They were sites that established brand-level recognition in their respective categories. They served a purpose and added value, independent of the offers running on the site.

ing, consumer electronics, phone offers, and other online ser-

As obvious as this sounds, I still run into people every

vices. By 2006 I had over 100 affiliate sites, and hundreds of ad-

month who are looking to make money from an affiliate site.

ditional domains queued up for development.

The problem with this is that they have the wrong mindset.

Each site had a finite shelf life. The life expectancy of one of these sites was anywhere from a few weeks to a few years. It

Affiliate marketing is simply a monetization path; it’s not a type of site.

didn’t really matter when a particular site died, because there was always another site ready to take its place.

Over time this model became unsustainable. It was no longer practical to stay ahead of search engine algorithm up-

People who build affiliate sites are simply looking for a way to make money, and build a user experience around that.

Unfortunately, your visitors and search engines don’t care whether or not you make money.

dates and changes to Google AdWords editorial policies. At

Sites that get linked to, talked about, and consequently

some point, nearly every affiliate site I built suffered from the

rank well, offer value that can’t be found anywhere else. They

ever-changing landscape.

tend to be one of just a few top brands in their industry.

Fortunately, a handful of sites survived. As I surveyed

When you plan your next site, ask yourself how you can

the damage, one thing became clear: 100% of the sites that

build real value, and what it’s going to take to establish your-

failed were affiliate sites. In other words, websites built around

self as brand leader in your space. Don’t build an affiliate site.

offers.

Build a brand.

☞ Jeremy Palmer is an experienced performance marketer, speaker, and industry advocate.

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· Issue 21 · January 2013

Seven

Forgotten Things

in Your Affiliate Program

by Karen Garcia

Karen Garcia

Programs with datafeeds should ensure they are updated

A

regularly and reviewed from an affiliate perspective, even if you s a longtime outsourced affiliate manager, I’ve

have automated the process. I would encourage you to down-

had the pleasure of managing and consulting with

load your own feed as an affiliate to see what they actually see.

many companies about their affiliate programs.

You might be unpleasantly surprised to find out that a da-

It never fails to surprise me that sometimes even the largest

tabase table has changed and your feed is now pulling an enor-

brands forget that the details can be so very important to the

mous image for your thumbnail.

Another slipup I commonly see is a complete absence of

success of their affiliate programs.

One mistake I see many affiliate programs make is using

communication from managers. I’m not a fan of sending a

the default network contact emails. First impressions mean

newsletter just to send one, but if you haven’t emailed your af-

a lot when it comes to application emails and, while not ev-

filiates in six months (or years), now is the time to start. Pro-

ery network allows for customization, when it’s available you

vide your affiliates with useful and actionable content, not just

should take advantage of it.

marketing fluff.

There are three emails that are affiliate facing that you

Managers should also keep tabs on the financial pulse of

should customize: the application response, the approval, and

their programs. Maintaining a positive escrow balance is vital

the decline.

as many networks will shut off your program and automati-

Auto approval is often touted as a time saver, however not

cally notify your affiliates exactly why the program is offline. If

vetting your affiliates opens the lid to a Pandora’s Box of po-

this is the only communication they are receiving about your

tential hazards. Fraud, trademark bid violations, tax ramifica-

program, affiliates are not going to stick around.

tions, FTC repercussions, etc. I guarantee these will take a lot more of your time than processing approvals manually.

Finally, one of the most overlooked items I’ve seen is the affiliate agreement. Don’t rely on just the network agreements,

Often, when I review underperforming programs, one

as they fail to take into consideration social media, coupons,

of the glaring oversights is creatives. Programs often will only

PPC policies, loyalty and rebate programs, FTC guidelines, tax

provide a single kind of creative, like text links. Sometimes,

nexus, and so much more.

programs will provide banners, but they are in an array of

Providing a clear and concise affiliate agreement will make enforcing compliance easier and lets affiliates see you are seri-

non-standard sizes.

Quality is a common issue, as well as outdated holiday

ous about the channel.

links. Review your creatives for sizing, consistency, typos and

Reviewing your program for these seven simple, but of-

relevancy, and don’t restrict your affiliates by the one-type-fits

ten forgotten, things and correcting them can generate great

all strategy.

rewards in your program down the line.

4

Karen is the CEO of the affiliate management agency GTOManagement.com and loves rehabilitating affiliate programs. ☜

· Issue 21 · January 2013

From

Affiliate To Manager

by Jill Swartwout

Jill Swartwout

»» Learning how to build websites gave me practical

“T

experience with some of the software and platforms hose that can’t do, teach.” That is a

that my affiliates would be using, so I would have

well-known cliché, but not one that is ideal

an easier time explaining to newbies exactly how to

to live by.

do [even] elementary things, like add banners and

While I was working in the education system, principals

text links.

were required to have at least three years of classroom experi-

»» Building successful affiliate sites and becoming fa-

ence before they could become a principal. Logically, a princi-

miliar with other affiliate sites helped me to learn

pal needs to know what it is that teachers do in order to be able

what a worthwhile affiliate entails, enabled me know

to effectively manage them within a school.

what to look for when doing affiliate approvals.

The concept of “doing” before managing is common in

»» Being an affiliate first, and hearing what is impor-

many endeavors. Even retail managers put in time doing, or at

tant with respect to morals and ethics in the indus-

least observing, various job positions in their store so they un-

try, readied me to monitor my affiliates’ activities to

derstand the challenges of their staff.

ensure they were doing the “right thing.”

When I became an affiliate manager, I was thankful that

»» Learning the affiliate side of various network plat-

I had first spent six years working part time as an affiliate, so

forms prepared me by being able to explain exact-

that I would be better prepared and know exactly what it was

ly how and where to find things (links, various re-

the affiliates I managed were doing.

ports, etc.) to those affiliates new to the network

While working with my father, he gave me a small site to

environment.

practice with before he would let me work on our primary af-

»» Meeting people at industry conferences, and devel-

filiate sites. I was able to develop a skill set which provided me

oping relationships with them, helps build a strong

the confidence and the ability to effectively manage big sites.

base of peers from whom to learn, confer with on is-

Here’s how that time spent as an affiliate helped me in affiliate management:

sues, and get advice/support.

An industry friend of mine, David Benson, worded it

»» Becoming an affiliate first helped me to learn exact-

perfectly when he said, “Being an affiliate first lets you under-

ly what affiliate marketing is! Many people with-

stand the challenges, and difficulties that affiliates face and

out industry experience have a difficult time “get-

helps you serve them better. By being an affiliate first, you’re

ting it” unless they are given a tutorial or learn by

an experienced coach that has played the game and knows how

trial-and-error.

to win.”

6

Jill is president of the Beaches and Towns Network, Inc. and head of www.GirlyChecks.com. ☜

· Issue 21 · January 2013

Coupon Code Compliance In Affiliate Marketing

Andrew McCaffrey

by Andrew McCaffrey

C

oupons are a great tool for merchants to drive

Many merchants withhold these types of coupons for fear

online sales, and the affiliate channel is an effective

that the coupons wind up being shared on the web or appear

way to promote those coupons. By closely monitor-

on an affiliate website. Active coupon code monitoring helps

ing where coupons appear, merchants can use coupons strate-

a merchant ensure that these codes remain offline. Merchants

gically across their business and improve the profitability of

can quickly and easily identify when a consumer posts a code

coupon incentivized sales.

to a website and then reach out to the website owner to request

Active monitoring of coupons enables merchants to re-

removal of the code.

move expired coupons, distribute vanity codes and special coupons to affiliates, and ensure that non-affiliate coupons re-

One-Time Use Coupons/

main outside the affiliate channel.

Discounts or Expired Coupons

Affiliate Vanity Codes

vice, but were enticed back with a discount, you probably have

If you have ever called in to return an item or cancel a serMany merchants provide unique coupons, to select affili-

been given some form of a retention coupon. These discounts,

ates, in exchange for premium placement, special features in

typically provided on an individual basis, are only intended for

newsletters, and as rewards for great performance. These cou-

one use. However, just like a “Friends & Family” discount, these

pons can benefit both parties and can help foster strong affil-

can occasionally find their way to a user-submitted affiliate site.

iate-merchant relationships. However, the benefits of a vanity

Expired or one-time use coupons can create poor custom-

code become diluted when someone other than the affiliate it

er experiences and may result in an unhappy support request

was created for showcases it.

on the merchant’s website. Monitoring for these one-off reten-

By tracking and controlling the placement of these vanity codes, merchants and affiliates can work together to ensure that each affiliate will have a unique coupon/experience to promote.

tion coupons or expired/invalid coupons helps merchants ensure a positive customer experience.

It’s not only helpful for the experiences of the consumer and merchant, but affiliate sites will continue to have the trust

Non-Affiliate Coupons Every consumer loves getting an email with the subject,

of consumers who can confidently come to affiliate sites and know that any coupon they find will be valid.

“Friends and Family Sale.” Usually it means big discounts and

Through active coupon monitoring, merchants are able to

the opportunity to buy goods from their favorite retailer at

create a situation where they can support their consumers’ ex-

steep discounts. Merchants love this too, as they are able to re-

perience on their website, support their affiliates and maintain

ward their best customers with killer deals.

coupon segmentation between different marketing channels.

☞ Andrew is the Sales Manager at BrandVerity.

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· Issue 21 · January 2013

Unleash Affiliates:

Take Advantage

of their Creativity!

by Travis Jacobson

Travis Jacobson

Affiliates provide a different voice that can persuade consum-

“T

ers to make a purchase. Rather than always hearing the same hink left and think right and think

messaging from merchants, consumers are looking for other

low and think high. Oh, the thinks you can

avenues to tell them why they should complete their purchase.

think up if only you try”.

These words are from the Dr. Seuss’ book, “Oh, the

Thinks You Can Think”.

Affiliates, when allowed to be creative, will be that voice that helps persuade the consumer in a way that merchants can’t.

A scripted sales pitch that matches the same copy found

My primary goal as an affiliate manager is to “think left

on the merchant’s website is less likely to persuade a consum-

and think right and think low and think high” for new ways

er than if they feel they are reading an objective review from

to help affiliates increase revenue for the programs I manage.

a third party.

Whenever I receive a call from an affiliate asking if I can

Affiliates and affiliate managers will find the most success

provide them with copy for their promotions, I cringe. I can

when they work together. It is the responsibility of the affil-

certainly write copy and provide it to affiliates, but I would

iate manager to provide affiliates with high converting ban-

rather work with the affiliate to think of new ways to generate

ners, text links, product images, product specifications, prod-

sales through their creativity.

uct details and anything else affiliates need to build a creative

There is a reason some affiliates are successful. Top affili-

campaign.

ates don’t achieve success because someone told them what to

It is the affiliate’s responsibility to take assets provided by

do. I have never sent a commission check to an affiliate that

the affiliate manager and turn them into creative campaigns

asked me to write their content for them.

that generate revenue for the merchant. Affiliates can be ex-

Successful affiliates have attained status because they

tremely creative, and when their creativity is applied to a cam-

know how to work hard and their campaigns are infused with

paign, it can be very influential in persuading consumers to

their creativity.

complete their purchase.

I have heard of several merchants asking their affiliate

In my experience, the benefits of allowing affiliates free-

managers to reach out to particular affiliates asking them to

dom in their campaigns outweigh the risks of limiting their

change their copy. If the copy violates policies or contains in-

creativity by scripting copy for them.

correct information it is important to reach out to the affiliate and work with them to make the necessary changes.

However, it is important for merchants to understand the real value and benefit of having affiliates promote their brand.

8

Make sure affiliates stay within the specified terms and conditions, provide them with everything they need to be successful, and then step back and watch what a creative affiliate can do to build your brand and increase revenue.

Travis Jacobson is an Affiliate Manager for affiliateCREW. ☜

· Issue 21 · January 2013

Affiliate Program Success In 2013 Ensuring

Jamie Birch

by Jamie Birch

S

uccess doesn’t come easily. It doesn’t come by

Planning. Once you have the right data and insights,

happenstance, and it doesn’t come because of luck.

you can begin to construct your plan. We include the follow-

Good plans, hard work, consistent execution, and the

ing elements into every plan for every client:

ability to review your work, make changes, and adapt all lead to

»» Analysis

success – not just in affiliate marketing, but in all that you do.

»» Competitive Standing

But let’s talk about affiliate marketing. How do you en-

»» Commission/Payout Recommendations

sure your affiliate program is going to be successful in 2013?

»» Merchandise Calendar (what to sell and when)

Intelligence. Planning. Execution.

»» Promotion Schedule (consumer and affiliate)

Intelligence. Prior to developing an executable plan,

»» Activation Strategy

you need data. Here are some things our team collects prior to

»» Recruitment Strategy

developing our plans:

»» Top Partner Development

»» Active Affiliates – Who are the affiliates current-

»» Second Tier Partner Development

ly sending you traffic, revenue, orders, etc.? Any

»» Affiliate Creative and Tools

surprises?

»» And more…

»» Inactive Affiliates – We break this down into several

A solid plan allows you to outline tactics and daily activi-

categories, depending on the client. Who was active

ties to ensure your goals are met. It is also the benchmark used

last year, but fell off the map? Why? Can we get them

to measure your progress against each month. Remember, he

back into the game? Compare Q4 ’12 to Q4 ’11 and

who fails to plan, plans to fail.

back further if possible. »» Top Performing Offers/Promotions – What worked in 2012? Can we replicate it in 2013? »» Tanked Promotions – What offers tanked last year?

Why?

Execution. This is probably the simplest to define, yet hardest to complete. I’ve always felt that the difference between great success and epic failure is the ability to be consistent. Each and every day you need to review your plan, determine the tasks needed to execute it, and put them into motion.

»» Competition – What is our competition doing,

A personal commitment to completing the task(s) at hand

what did they do? Where did they blow us out of the

is needed for success. And it’s a commitment that needs to be

water and how can we stop that from happening?

set into motion each day. Execution of the plan you and your

Where do we soundly beat them?

team worked hard to create will only achieve the success you

»» Affiliate Feedback – What are our partners saying?

What do they want? How can we improve?

and your client desire through consistent, daily execution.

Simple right? Most of the concepts I teach my staff and

Good intelligence is a major portion of the battle. You

our clients are not unique to affiliate marketing nor incredibly

also need good insight, but having good intelligence makes it

complex. Success is all about doing the little things well con-

easier to answer the “why” and “how” questions.

sistently over time.

☞ Jamie Birch is the CEO of JEBCommerce, 2012 Rakuten Linkshare Affiliate Agency of the Year.

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· Issue 21 · January 2013

Finding

Office Space on Craig’s List

by Shawn Collins

Shawn Collins

L

ike 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.

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

10

the volume of options in my area, and they were exponentially larger if I was willing to travel a little more.

Shawn is a Co-founder of Affiliate Summit and Co-Editor-in-Chief of FeedFront Magazine, and you can follow him @affiliatetip on Twitter. ☜

· Issue 21 · January 2013

Do Coupons

Add Value to Your Business?

by Blair de Jong

C

Blair de Jong

oupons, discounts, vouchers, promo codes – whatever you call them, we all use them as part of

coupon. Additionally, as these customers purchased twice the

our everyday shopping.

average order value, they were eight times more valuable.

Who doesn’t want to find the best deal when making an

online purchase?

But, as coupons have become more and more a way of do-

Do Coupons Provide a Negative Brand Perception?

ing business, there is increasing pressure as merchants try to

The argument here was that coupons “cheapen” the brand

justify the incremental value coupons and coupon affiliates

and turn away customers. However, we demonstrated how

add to the business.

our competitors were using coupons as a tool to retain loy-

Earlier in 2012, we had seen tremendous 300% annu-

al customers. We feared that if we did not have a presence on

al growth with the iStockphoto/Getty Images affiliate pro-

popular coupon affiliate sites, we would simply be handing

gram, predominantly from coupon affiliates. Yet, there were

over our customers to the competition.

too many naysayers from the business challenging us, claiming that coupons and coupon affiliates were not adding incremental value to the business.

Here are the tough questions we faced and how we responded.

Would Customers Buy Without a Coupon?

The only way to truly test this theory would be to turn off coupons completely. But, with affiliates contributing more than 10% of our online business, we weren’t prepared to take that chance.

Do Customers Spend Less With a Coupon?

Instead, we experimented with different discount levels

Some argued that by giving away a discount, customers

to see if offering a higher or lower discount would impact reve-

would buy just as much, but at a lower price. We showed this

nues. We found that raising or lowering the discount level had

to be the complete opposite. People took advantage of the dis-

minimal, if any, impact to overall revenues. This suggests that

count savings available to them by spending two and a half

while the discount percentage may not be as relevant, the fact

times more on average per order than those without a coupon.

that people perceive there to be a deal is what motivates them to buy.

Are Customers Who Use a Coupon Less Profitable?

By giving away a coupon or discount on the first order, there was the thought that we would not attract loyal, “sticky”

Based on our findings, we have established that coupons do add incremental value to the business and are, in fact, necessary to acquire new customers and retain loyal, existing customers.

customers. But after looking at these customers a year later,

We continue to use coupons in our affiliate program

we found that these new customers acquired through a cou-

and will continue to experiment with different offers to fuel

pon purchased four times more often than those without a

growth for our business.

☞ Blair de Jong is the Affiliate Manager for iStockphoto and Getty Images.

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· Issue 21 · January 2013

Compelling

Copy Captures

Conversions

by Nicholas Cote Nicholas Cote

of your audience. Using geo-targeting is essential to reaching your target market with its ability to pinpoint and create con-

W

nections with consumers. Be mindful that using geo-targeting hether you’re an independent media

in your ad can lengthen copy and affect character limits en-

buyer or working with a few networks, your

forced by ad networks.

success comes down to the effectiveness of

your ad copy. Copy affects all statistical categories of your

Make Your Creative Stand Out

campaigns from conversions to C TR (click-through rate) and

If your campaigns are banners or photo-text ads, be sure to

developing engaging ad copy can establish you as a leader in

select an eye-catching image. A picture of the product usually

the space.

isn’t the best option. Show the product being used or the results

You don’t have to be a professional copywriter to write great copy, but these simple points can help give your stats a boost.

it can produce. Customers want to know what their money is going to buy them. Creating intrigue and instilling confidence in the products are great ways to help generate clicks.

Capture Attention and Establish Value In this competitive market, your ad copy goal is to capture

Include a Call to Action

audience attention to initiate the offer process. Use your head-

Now that you’ve captured attention and established value

line to provide information about the offer that differenti-

you need to help the reader understand what actions they need

ates the campaign from competitors’. When developing these

to take and how. Guide consumers to the next step by includ-

headlines and ad descriptions, keep it believable. Over-the-top

ing a C TA (call to action). A good call to action contains two

or unsubstantiated claims hurt everyone’s credibility.

things; a statement of what the reader needs to do and a reason

Think like a consumer. You purchase products that provide the most value to you. Value can vary from features to

to act. A descriptive hook such as “Subscribe Now for Members-Only Deals” is better than a simple “Buy Now”.

product availability, but is most commonly equated to price.

Selling a discounted product? Get specific - rather than dis-

Test, Test, Test

playing “Huge Discounts on Electronics”, try “Save 50% on a

The ad copy you use today might not produce the same re-

New Laptop”. This outlines and quantifies the value you can

sults a month from now. Constantly test new copies and cre-

deliver to the customer.

atives to figure out what performs best. Split testing is a great tool available to many marketers that allows you to determine

Utilize Geo-Targeting

which copies produce higher conversion rates. If your stats

The ability to target users living in specific geographical areas is an important tool that creates a granular landscape

12

start trending down, switch it up. You’ll never know what copies perform well if you don’t test.

Nicholas Cote is a Campaign Optimization Specialist at Clickbooth and University of Miami graduate. ☜

· Issue 21 · January 2013

Maintain Trust by

Minimizing Poor User Experience

by Bonnie D’Amico Rogers Bonnie D’Amico Rogers

V

alue is created through marketing. It is vital

receive a “special” 40% off discount offer and several new

that every customer’s exposure to the brand sup-

windows open in rapid succession – none including the

ports the customer concept of value. This is espe-

40% offer as promised.

cially true for brands that rely upon “trust”.

If your product is trust, you are selling a feeling. Brands

2.

Potential customer is presented with an ad for a well-

that collect sensitive data like social security numbers, birth

known software company. They click through and sign up

dates or addresses, and services like banking or web security

for a free trial. What they didn’t notice was that this was

software, need trust to survive.

not the official brand page but a trademark abuser and mis-

Brands that rely heavily upon trust include financial insti-

takenly signed up at the wrong site. Spam then bombards

tutions, personal security tools, and credit monitoring servic-

their inbox. Some even unknowingly sign up for costly ser-

es, and legal services.

vices that are then charged on their next phone bill.

Each interaction must create and reinforce brand value while maintaining trust. Affiliate programs pose unique chal-

The list of brand abuses, as a result of program manage-

lenges, because interactions take place on websites outside the

ment neglect, include actions such as cookie stuffing, unau-

direct control of the company.

thorized incentive schemes, forced clicks, bait and switch of-

It is vital that, at a minimum, the interactions that take place on these third party sites do not create damage to brand value.

fers, and the very frustrating malware and adware issues.

Although it’s not possible to catch every brand abuse, you should aim to. Use tools to monitor paid search ads, social me-

Managers must not mortgage brand equity for short-term exposure or sales.

dia mentions, and even coupon feeds. Get to know your publishers and their properties. Check out any surges of impres-

Here are a few unsavory examples of poor potential customer user experiences on the web that may be encountered in a neglected affiliate program:

sions or traffic and learn more about what’s behind it.

If you aren’t sure what guidelines you should set for the brand you are managing just ask yourself, is this a positive user experience for a potential customer?

1.

Potential customer conducts research on a brand and decides to make their first purchase with them. They click to

14

If it’s honest and aligns with the brands message and values, then yes, you should.

Bonnie has been a web marketing professional since 2003. Learn more about her at about.me/bonnierogers ☜

· Issue 21 · January 2013

Shawn Collins

Six Degrees of

Affiliate Summit

by Shawn Collins

F

olks who have attended Affiliate Summit key-

the point when the President started meeting with winning

note addresses over the years have been close to Presi-

sports teams, but there is a chance Bouton met with John F.

dents of the United States in a Six Degrees of Separa-

Kennedy back then.

tion sort of way.

Off the top of my head, Cory Booker, Ntiedo (NT) Etuk,

And our upcoming Affiliate Summit West 2013 keynote, Daniel “Rudy” Ruettiger, watched a private screening of the

Frank Luntz, and Peter Shank-

move “Rudy” with President

man have met President Obama.

Clinton.

I am pretty sure Frank

Another Affiliate Summit

Luntz also met George W. Bush.

West 2013 keynote, Julie Clark,

Michael Sanchez met Bill

was mentioned in the State of

Clinton. I passed Bill Clinton in

the Union address by President

the hallway at Caesars Palace at

George W. Bush in 2007.

Affiliate Summit West 2012, but that doesn’t really count.

Back in 1962, Jim Bouton, who was a pitcher for the New York Yankees, won the World Series. I haven’t been able to find

This all makes me feel like Marcia Brady after she met Davy Jones. My right hand has shaken the hands of lots of people who have shaken the hand of a President of the United States.

☞ Shawn is a Co-founder of Affiliate Summit and Co-Editor-in-Chief of FeedFront Magazine, and you can follow him @affiliatetip on Twitter.

15

· Issue 21 · January 2013

Why

Mobile Should Be Your Top Priority

by Kush Abdulloev

Kush Abdulloev

A

s you set goals for a new year, mobile strategy

According to an Intuit survey, 26% of retailers expect mo-

and mobile commerce optimization should be at

bile sales to make up more than 15% of their overall sales with-

the top of your list.

in the next couple of years. Some online retailers, like Fab.

Considering the fact that almost 40% of US population

now owns smartphones, there has never been a better time to optimize and generate revenue from mobile sales.

com, expect more than 40% of their revenue to come from mobile devices already this year.

Further, Comscore states that over 234 million Ameri-

Regretfully, there are plenty of merchants and affiliates

cans use mobile devices, and more than half of those devices

who are still not taking advantage of this lucrative channel.

are smartphones capable of completing an online transaction.

The fact that 80% of brands don’t have mobile sites, according

Are you ready to cater to that huge mass of an audience?

to Econsultancy, is staggering.

If you haven’t already, shouldn’t you start building out mobile

Those who keep up with industry trends are well aware of

friendly sites?

the fact that global mobile traffic is growing rapidly. Accord-

With the upcoming wave of transaction capable mobile

ing to TechCrunch, mobile now accounts for 10% of all inter-

devices, both retailers and affiliates must prepare to take ad-

net traffic. In fact, Pew Internet reports that almost 1 out of 5

vantage of the trend or lose out on the opportunity to convert

people in the US use their smartphones exclusively to browse

visitors into buyers.

the web.

On a parting note, optimizing our website for mobile re-

Mobile traffic is poised to become a significant source of revenue and content consumption. Today about $1 of every

sulted in 40% increase in mobile user engagement and 100%+ increase in conversion within the first three months.

$10 of discretionary spending in US takes place online, and

Don’t leave money on the table. Go out and learn about

Javelin Strategy and Research reports that about 10% of that

responsive design, and look into making your website mobile

spending takes place on mobile devices.

friendly with clear call to action buttons.

16

Kush Abdulloev is the Affilliate Program Manager & Marketing Strategist at VMInnovations.com. ☜

· Issue 21 · January 2013

Travel Tips for at

Work Home Parents

by Missy Ward

E

Missy Ward

ven though I work from home, I travel frequently

3. C reate a task schedule. Create a list of daily

to attend and speak at different industry conferences

or weekly tasks, assign them to the appropriate people,

and to meet with clients. My family is used to it now,

and have them check off completed tasks. If your kids

but it wasn’t always easy. I dealt with a lot of anxiety leaving

are computer savvy, you can even create a Google cal-

my family behind.

endar schedule that allows you to see this process in ac-

Here are four business travel tips for work at home parents

tion. If you have older children, this trip might prove

that can make the situation less stressful for everyone:

an ideal opportunity to nudge them into the world of

1.

Get your childcare system in place. If

domestic responsibilities. Take some time before you

your kids attend daycare, make sure your spouse un-

leave to show them how to run a load of laundry with-

derstands the daily drop-off and pickup schedule. If

out dyeing all the clothes pink, how to keep floors and

you’re a single parent, consider hiring a professional

carpets clean and how to feed Fido. Most importantly,

care provider instead of relying on a friend or family

show them where the emergency phone numbers are

member. BrightStar Care, for example, offers a “Kid-

and instruct them on how and when to dial 911.

Care” program that includes transportation to and

4. Help your kids cope. Despite your best efforts

from activities among its sitter, nanny and pediatric

to explain, your little ones may not understand why

care services.

you need to travel, and they may even worry whether

2. Separate work finances from home fi-

you’re coming back. Julie Weed, writing in the New

nances. I know from first-hand experience that

York Times, notes several little touches working par-

there’s nothing more frustrating than trying to sift

ents can employ to relieve these anxieties. Placing a

through a Hefty bag filled with receipts at tax time. Al-

big calendar on the wall or refrigerator door, with the

lowing your business and home expenses to intermin-

dates of your departure and return clearly marked, lets

gle will inevitably play havoc with your home and busi-

your kids see exactly when you’ll be back and cross off

ness budgets. Fortunately, your trusty smartphone can

the days until you return. Emailing photos back home

help simplify matters tremendously. ExpenseDocs, for

for your children to see is also helpful. As for commu-

instance, enables you to input expenses on the fly into

nication, a video-ready smartphone or Skype-enabled

categorized documents. Additionally, if you’ve been

laptop provides an extra degree of reassurance over a

putting off setting up a dedicated business checking ac-

phone call, but just the sound of your voice will help

count or taking out a credit card for your company, this

your child (and you) cope with the separation.

trip might serve as the perfect reason to do it.

Have a safe journey!

☞ Missy Ward is a Co-Founder of Affiilate Summit, FeedFront Magazine Co-Editor-in-Chief and blogs on MissyWard.com.

17

· Issue 21 · January 2013

Unique

Testing Needed

for Each PPC Engine

by Alek Flekel Alek Flekel

The trend indicates that the engine using branded ads attracts people that are further along in the buying cycle, while in the other they are more in research mode.

I

This may be due to the different demographics of the enn our journey through cyberspace, we come across

gines or that people using that engine tend not to research and

different decision points. One of these points focuses on

buy based on gut feelings or brands. Making one ad and using

testing. Testing is crucial in developing a successful web-

it on both would not be wise. When doing a competitor analy-

site that will lead to more conversions.

Testing can be done in different forms, whether it’s A/B or

sis, don’t assume that if something works for them it will work for you, be original and creative.

multi-variant. A/B testing is best described as an experiment

At the end of the day it’s all about the money and every-

of two content changes on the same ad and measuring which

one wants to make more of it. Testing is paramount in increas-

one outperforms the other.

ing conversions. Being innovative and coming up with your

Multi-variant testing is running multiple A/B tests, not

own tests is what really makes you stand out.

limited to one single ad but set over many different ads and

There are different things you run tests on, landing pag-

platforms. The difference is that A/B limits your testing abil-

es, search boxes, ad titles, etc. The “fun” thing about testing is

ity, while multi-variant broadens it, resulting richer data.

that it’s all trial and error.

Every marketer needs to figure out which PPC (pay-per-

To be a successful tester you have to be patient and com-

click) engine to run their ad campaigns. Of course, the tier one

mitted to constantly improving. If you have these attributes

engines get priority, since they get the most audience exposure.

you already have your foot in the door and are on the path to

However don’t treat every engine equally.

improving your site and generating sales.

Take into account that every campaign you initiate needs

Never limit yourself to just PPC engines. There are plenty

to be unique and specific to the platform you are using. Re-

of other traffic sources and media buys to consider. The same

member that just because you have a successful campaign on

concept applies to these as well; never assume you can use the

one engine does not mean you should apply it throughout all

same content universally. Your main goal is to reach as many

engines and reap the same benefits.

people as possible using an array of different traffic sources.

For example, let’s use the phrase, “32 inch T V”, on one en-

Testing is a continuous process that will help you develop

gine you will find mostly branded ads while on the other you

the perfect marketing mix and maximize your PPC utilization

will find a mix of brand and comparison sites.

while generating more conversions.

18

Alek Flekel is a Marketing Associate with InfoPay Affiliate Network. ☜

· Issue 21 · January 2013

Ten Steps to

Audit

Your Affiliate Program

Sarah Bundy

A

by Sarah Bundy

n affiliate program with a solid founda-

Internal Communications

tion is primed for continued growth. Here are ten

Send segmented newsletters monthly. Touch base with your

things to look at in auditing your affiliate program

top performing affiliates. Include your name, phone number, and

for continued success.

email everywhere. Use Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn for out-

Application Process

reach. Communicate clearly, frequently, and respectfully.

Affiliates who apply for your program should not have to

Contact Details

wait to get approved. If you have many pending applications,

Check all touch points to ensure affiliates can find your

address them. If set on auto-approve, switch to manual and review

name, phone number, and email address, as a minimum. Sky-

daily. Make sure you’re processing applications frequently, so affil-

pe, Twitter, and Facebook details are also recommended.

iates who are interested in your program can get started right away.

Auto-Deposit

Optimized Auto Responders

Make sure your program is set to “auto-deposit”. You

The acceptance email an affiliate receives should include

don’t ever want to go “offline” and not pay affiliates when you

your company information, best-selling products, hottest cre-

need to. Setting your program to auto-deposit will prevent

atives (with affiliate links included), available promotions, and

this from happening.

your contact details. It’s also a good idea to offer an activation

Affiliate Diversity

bonus within this email to get things kick-started quickly.

Relevant Creatives

In order to maintain a healthy affiliate program, it’s important to have active affiliates from all walks of life. Content

Check your banners to ensure they are current, relevant

writers, social networks, PPC affiliates, coupon, daily deal sites,

and effective. Outdated, irrelevant banners are a turn-off for af-

reward sites, email marketers, bloggers, mobile app develop-

filiates. Check to make sure your datafeed is formatted correct-

ers. Even radio stations and newspapers are examples of poten-

ly, as a dysfunctional datafeed could mean significant lost sales.

tial affiliates you could work with to diversify your portfolio.

Relevant Reporting Metrics

4 Ps: Product, Price, Promotion

Your reporting sheets should include the most essential

and Placement

metrics for affiliate program optimization. Assessing affiliate

The 4 Ps need to be reviewed as part of your overall mar-

EPC s, conversion rates, impressions, activity rates, transaction

keting mix. Are the products you’re putting out there best sell-

rates, growth rates, click rates and your own reversal and payout

ers? Are your prices (and commission payouts) in line with

rates will help you build a stronger program and affiliate team.

your competitors? Do you have promotional schedules ready?

Activation Processes

Are you promoting your program in all the right places so af-

Take a look at how affiliates are getting active. Optimize

filiates can find you?

your auto-responders. Reach out to inactive affiliates. Offer ac-

By reviewing these ten areas quarterly you will have a

tivation bonuses. Offer opportunities for training and learn-

more active and profitable affiliate program positioned for

ing. Be available. This will ensure continued growth.

continued success.

20

Sarah Bundy is founder & CEO of AllInclusiveMarketing.com, AffiliateManagementTrainers.com and Affiligate.org. ☜

· Issue 21 · January 2013

Work Places of

Affiliate Marketers

by Shawn Collins

A

ffiliates were asked “Do you currently

Shawn Collins

work from home or commute to an office?” for the 2012 Affiliate Summit AffStat Report.

The majority of affiliate marketers, at 55.7%, work from

home all the time.

26.1% of affiliate marketers are commuting to an office;

Productivity was taking a hit when kids were off school for

18.2% work from home, as well as an office, depending on the day.

breaks, holidays, etc., so I’ve found it well worth the investment.

I fall into the last category, as I have an office for when I

Over fourteen-hundred affiliates were surveyed on their

need to get out of the house and concentrate.

I’ve been working from home since 2004, and this is the first year I’ve had an office outside of the house, too.

methods, preferences, and strategies for the 2012 Affiliate Summit AffStat Report.

More details on AffStat at AffStat.com.

☞ Shawn is a Co-founder of Affiliate Summit and Co-Editor-in-Chief of FeedFront Magazine, and you can follow him @affiliatetip on Twitter.

21

· Issue 21 · January 2013

Boost Your

Bottom Line with Valuable Tools

by James Thompson

James Thompson

T

he tools we use every day are an investment in

tools vs. their cost. Oftentimes the hard work has already been

our productivity. Without them we would still be

done for you. You just need to find it. I like to use this Google

cavemen. Make sure you surround yourself with

search: “productivity benchmark <some tool>”. Get creative.

the tools that provide the best value for your situation.

It is most definitely worth your time.

I use the word “value” because I don’t think that a tool

Be cautiously optimistic. Don’t be afraid to invest in

has to be either expensive or cheap to be valuable. Many amaz-

things, but also don’t always believe information you find,

ing tools are “free”. Be cautious though, as free doesn’t always

especially with digital products. Be sure to really look into

mean free of cost.

the facts yourself and make sure you’re comfortable with the

The value something provides should include time as a

decision.

factor. In my experience, the largest cost to a business is labor,

Check the results. Don’t forget to close the loop. You need

usually in the form of salaries. Even if you work for yourself,

to reflect on your investment and know whether you’ve made

you have a salary.

a good decision. If you’re satisfied with your results, contin-

Ultimately, those costs can be boiled down into some con-

ue on your current path, but if you’re not satisfied, pivot and

crete number over some unit of time. Low quality tools inevi-

try to rectify the situation. If at any point you feel like you’re

tably increase the time it takes to complete work. Expensive

just wasting resources regularly, consult friends and colleagues

tools may be high quality, but the math for the return on in-

you can trust and ask for guidance.

vestment often doesn’t work out.

Ignorance is no excuse. Not knowing that better tools

The best tools automate tasks, reduce wait time, increase

are available to help you is your fault and nobody else’s. You

visibility, or filter noise. Photoshop can batch modify hun-

should always know about what other people are doing to stay

dreds or thousands of photos extremely fast. Upgrading your

on their game in your industry. This is why we have conferenc-

computer could reduce the amount of time you wait. A larger

es like Affiliate Summit. You want to always be asking ques-

computer screen can help you see the bigger picture. Good ad

tions and evaluating your situation.

tracking software can help you quickly find the clicks that generate the most revenue.

team, invest in great tools that give a great return on invest-

Do the math. Do the research. Take a very real look at the productivity increases you’ll gain from investing in great

22

Whether you’re a lone affiliate or managing an entire ment. If you work for someone, nothing makes the argument for better equipment like math instead of feelings.

James Thompson is a Senior Engineer at updater.com, blogs at jtgraphic.net. Twitter @jtgraphic. ☜

· Issue 21 · January 2013

Performance

Marketing Summit in NYC

by Shawn Collins Shawn Collins

T

he inaugural Performance Marketing Sum-

variety of folks in the industry on tactics, resources,

mit is taking place March 12, 2013 in New York City.

ideas, and success.

This one day conference will take place at the

»» No exhibit hall or Meet Market, either. Everybody

Baruch College Vertical Campus (site of Affiliate Summit So-

will be together in one room for a powerful, produc-

cial Media in 2008 and the first Affiliate Summit in 2003).

tive day.

»» Space will be limited to 200 people. »» Performance Marketing Summit is an Affiliate Summit event. »» The focus will be on learning and networking. »» No panels – only short, 20 minute talks from a

Affiliate Summit was founded by Missy Ward and Shawn Collins in 2003 for the purpose of providing educational sessions on the latest industry issues and fostering a productive networking environment for performance marketers.

Get details at PerformanceMarketingSummit.com.

☞ Shawn is a Co-founder of Affiliate Summit and Co-Editor-in-Chief of FeedFront Magazine, and you can follow him @affiliatetip on Twitter.

23

· Issue 21 · January 2013

Ring Up the

Right Mobile Ad Unit

by Jason Spievak

Jason Spievak

toward native, content-based advertising. Think of in-game

M

advertising and sponsored video. And, as a result, the right ad obile is the hottest thing in advertising

unit for mobile isn’t always a click; often it’s a call.

right now, and will be for years to come. You

There are nearly 30 billion calls from consumers to busi-

know it. I know it. Your 70-year-old grandma

nesses in the US each year. That number is growing by billions

with an iPhone knows it. We’re all carrying phones in our

a year, according to BIA/Kelsey, due to huge trends like smart-

pockets, and according to Forrester nearly half of those are

phone penetration, location-aware technologies, and the rapid

smartphones.

growth of mobile search.

Apple sold over $100 billion of iPhones and iPads in 2012.

According to the US Census Bureau, nearly 5% of US em-

And those are two products that didn’t even exist six years ago.

ployment is in call centers. Advertisers don’t maintain those

So then why are online advertising leaders like Google

massive call centers both in the US and overseas because they

and Facebook struggling with it? Because the display adver-

enjoy the expense of a massive call center. They have them be-

tising upon which they’ve built their massive revenue streams

cause that’s how consumers choose to interact with advertisers

doesn’t perform well at all on the small screen.

for bigger ticket products and services.

Until Apple invents real-time, interactive, holographic

We shop online, but we purchase offline. Most of us will

heads-up displays of Kim Kardashian (which I hear is com-

spend half an hour configuring our new laptop or research-

ing with the iPhone 7), there are really just five different mo-

ing our vacation plans online, but when it comes time to pull

bile ad formats today: search, display, video, text message, and

the trigger, we have questions. So, we pick up the phone and

phone calls.

end up ordering that way. No surprise then, as Forrester re-

Facebook and others are still trying to shoehorn the display ad model, which increasingly now relies on rich, engaging content to get your attention, on to the much smaller mobile screen.

ports, that phone calls convert into customers 10x-20x better than clicks do.

Phone calls are here to stay. Tens of billions of them. Far from going away, they’re increasing by billions a year. Adver-

The problem is that an effective display ad on your com-

tisers want those calls because they convert so well. Some con-

puter only takes up about 5% of the screen space. On mobile,

sumers want to call because they’re more comfortable pur-

that same engagement could easily take up half the screen. Not

chasing that way.

a great way to interact with your content.

Maybe it’s because they’ve got the ad unit wrong. Because of the screen size limitations, mobile advertising is evolving

24

So it’s not clicks or calls. It’s clicks and calls. Google, Facebook and the rest just need to get the ad unit right. Opportunity is ringing.

Jason Spievak is the CEO of RingRevenue. ☜

· Issue 21 · January 2013

Social Media:

Context Is King

by Nathan Smith

Nathan Smith

S

uccessful marketing via social media requires

time you view your news feed, you learn that she has built a

being mindful of the context in which you are deliv-

chicken coop or some other accomplishment that is mean-

ering your message. When a visitor navigates to your

ingless to you. What do you do? Either you hide all Farmville

website, they are lenient about how you choose to market to them, because they understand it’s your house.

posts, or all posts from the offending person.

How much more likely would a user mute a brand page

Contrast that to a social network interface, which the user

for annoying posts? 52% of users report having “unliked” a

considers to be their domain. Just as if you were entering their

Facebook page, because they found the posts to be annoying

actual house, they expect you to act a certain way.

or repetitive (SMI 4/2012). I advise clients to limit Facebook

Here are a few examples of common indiscretions, as well as alternative strategies to effectively leverage social media, without alienating users.

posts to twice per day. If your time to post is limited, consider using the scheduling feature.

Do this… link Facebook to Twitter

Don’t do this… use contrived Twitter auto direct messages

Since Twitter users are acclimated to multiple posts, cross-

We’ve all seen a DM similar to, “Connect with me on Face-

post your Facebook content to Twitter. It offers links back to

book facebook.com/blahblah, and visit my website tiny.url/ blahblah!”

Do this… craft a DM that doesn’t appear automated.

your Facebook profile, and doesn’t upset users.

Don’t do this… direct Facebook promoted posts to the default setting of, “friends of those who like your page”.

Consider something like, “I’m curious, what is your fa-

Facebook’s has a more personal tone than Twitter. If a

vorite method for brewing coffee?” By asking an open-end-

brand is not invited into the user’s news feed, that user will per-

ed question, I am coaxing a response from the user. While I

ceive your message as intrusive, which may increase the amount

didn’t provide a link for them to follow, I disarmed them by

of negative feedback, causing an EdgeRank algorithm penalty.

composing a genuine message.

Don’t do this… link Twitter to Facebook

Do this… target promoted posts to the optional, “People who like your page”

Twitter users are accustomed to seeing multiple, daily

You will get the same overall reach, but your message will

tweets from the same source, while Facebook users will toler-

only display to those who have previously “liked” your page.

ate a limited number of posts from any single profile.

This gives you an opportunity to recapture the fans that are no

Think about your family member, who is playing Farmville, and sending you requests for nails. Additionally, every ☞ Nathan is founder of Zynali Marketing Solutions and zynali.com.

longer seeing your content in their news feed, while also giving your content priority positioning on the page.

25

· Issue 21 · January 2013

Seven Deadly Sins

The

of Datafeeds

Nick Loper

by Nick Loper

D

atafeeds may not be the sexiest part of af-

4. Poor Categorization

filiate marketing, but they are a critical part of a

(or Worse, No Categorization at All)

merchant’s program and a powerful tool for driv-

ing sales.

In the 2011 AffStat report, 10% of affiliates named

datafeeds their preferred linking method.

The 2012 Affiliate Benchmarks survey indicated that 16.2% said datafeeds were one of the “most valuable” methods of promot-

Create detailed and usable categorization and sub-categorization. Those fields aren’t just there for decoration; use them.

What level of detail is appropriate? If you run a department store, maybe “Electronics” is sufficient, but if you run an electronics store, “Electronics” seems at once painfully obvious and woefully vague.

ing a program. Of those surveyed, 7.9% said the datafeed was a deciding factor when considering joining a new merchant program.

5. Poor Product Descriptions

Unfortunately, too many merchant feeds suffer from mis-

Put yourself in your customer’s shoes. Are they getting

understanding and neglect. Take the time to avoid these seven

any value from your template-driven, keyword-stuffing, ge-

deadly datafeed sins and you’ll reap the rewards for years to come.

neric non-descriptive descriptions?

1. Not Having a Datafeed

6. Not Using Both Price Columns

By not having a feed, even if you sell just one product, you’re closing the door on entire channel of potential affiliate partners.

(Retail Price/Sale Price) Accurate pricing is a must, but accurate pricing has to be applied across both price fields. When given both the current

2. Not Keeping It Up-To-Date Nothing upsets customers faster than inaccurate pricing or sold out inventory presented as “in stock.” Keep the feed

sales price and the regular price, affiliates can do all sorts of fun operations, like determine which products are “on sale”, and which have the deepest discounts.

current to keep affiliates and customers happy.

7. Not Breaking Up Large Files by Vertical 3. Going “SKU-Based”, With No Alternative If you have multiple records of each product for no dis-

It’s a niche world we live in, so I’m surprised we haven’t seen more large retailers break up their feeds by vertical.

cernible reason, you probably have a SKU-based feed. There’s

If an affiliate has a niche site about dogs, they might like

no excuse to hog the bandwidth and processing resources

to include some dog beds from Overstock. Unfortunately that

needed to churn through 20 duplicate entries for each product.

would entail churning through the entire massive Overstock

The worst offender I’ve seen sent 240 identical rows of one

feed and weeding out probably 99% of the data.

product. Same product name, same image, same description,

Here’s a rule of thumb: If your feed is big enough to crash

same price, same everything.. Every time I see a SKU-Based

an affiliate’s laptop, it’s time to consider offering category-spe-

feed I want to cry.

cific feeds.

☞ Nick Loper is a veteran affiliate marketer and is the Datafeed guy at ShoeSniper.com.

27

· Issue 21 · January 2013

Affiliate Marketers

Give Back Raises over $86,000

by Missy Ward

Missy Ward

A

t approximately 2pm ET on Sunday, October 21, 2012, Team Affiliate Marketers Give Back crossed the 39.3 mile finish line of the 2012 Avon

Walk for Breast Cancer New York City.

Our team raised $86,688.36 and a total of $8.3 million was

raised for this walk to advance access to care and find a cure for breast cancer.

This brings the total amount of money raised by Affiliate Marketers Give Back to nearly $500,000 since 2007 in support of Susan G. Komen for the Cure, Avon Walk for Breast Cancer and the National Breast Cancer Foundation, through various fundraising efforts.

We were also thrilled to find out that Team Affiliate Marketers Give Back was the 2nd largest fundraising team during this walk and both myself and Shawn Collins, my Co-Editorin-Chief of FeedFront Magazine, were in the top 10 of individual fundraisers.

We had an amazing, yet grueling time on the walk and a ton of fun at our team Cheering Station on Columbus Circle.

Being able to put a smile on the face of the walkers as they forged on through the last few miles was an incredibly upliftThe Avon Walk New York, the eighth of nine Avon Walks

ing experience.

this year, attracted more than 3,400 participants from 46 states

I’d like to personally thank my fellow team members, all

and Washington DC , as well as eight countries, and drew 429

of the folks that supported our fundraising efforts and our

men and 401 breast cancer survivors to raise life-saving funds

team’s sponsors. Without your help, none of this would be

and awareness for breast cancer.

possible.

Grants were awarded during closing ceremonies. It was so

To find out more information on how you can participate

exciting to see all of our fundraising being disbursed right in

in our fundraising efforts, please visit AffiliateMarketersGive-

front of us!

Back.com.

28

Missy Ward is a Co-Founder of Affiilate Summit, FeedFront Magazine Co-Editor-in-Chief and blogs on MissyWard.com. ☜

· Issue 21 · January 2013

Methods Affiliates Use

to Drive Traffic

by Shawn Collins

A

ffiliates were asked “How do you typically drive traffic to your website?” for the 2012 Affiliate

Shawn Collins

Summit AffStat Report.

Quite a variety of traffic sources for people, and the most

popular mirror my experiences.

I’m not surprised at all that SEO and social networks, as well as blogging, are ruling the day.

In my case, the traffic sources go to blogs, so the blogs themselves are not traffic sources for me. I like email and video a lot, too.

In chapter seven of Extra Money Answer (feedfront.com/ traffic), my free online book for getting started as an affiliate, I go through my eleven key sources for driving traffic to affiliate sites.

These are in no particular order, and I didn’t include organic traffic from Google, Yahoo, etc., as I would encourage you to focus on creating quality content, and the search engines will find you.

Over fourteen-hundred affiliates were surveyed on their methods, preferences, and strategies for the 2012 Affiliate Summit AffStat Report.

More details on AffStat at AffStat.com.

»» Site Scrapers and Syndicators »» NetworkedBlogs on Facebook »» Twitter Tools »» AWeber RSS to Email »» YouTube Descriptions »» Meetup.com Perks »» LinkedIn Applications »» Paper.li »» Flickr Links »» StumbleUpon »» Podcasting »» Facebook Ads

☞ Shawn is a Co-founder of Affiliate Summit and Co-Editor-in-Chief of FeedFront Magazine, and you can follow him @affiliatetip on Twitter.

29

· Issue 21 · January 2013

Creative Marketing:

Going Beyond

Heather Romiti

W

Written Content

by Heather Romiti

ritten content is a fundamental. While it is still very effective, it doesn’t have to be the only way to get noticed online. Try being cre-

ative: think beyond normal!

I’ve created my own channel, developed a loyal audience,

Audio

and increased traffic and sales through my video affiliate links.

Online audio can be shared though podcasts. I asked three audio experts how podcasts have helped them online.

Daniel Clark of QAQN said, “Podcasts have opened doors

YouTube is the second largest search engine online. It’s free, easy to use, and there are millions of users. But, it’s not the only place to upload video. Try Vimeo, Dailymotion, and Blip.T V too.

that wouldn’t otherwise have been available to me.”

Shawn Collins of Geekcast.fm said “Podcasts have enabled me to share information, tips, and resources to an audience I might not otherwise reach. I believe that it is essential that we

Webinars Webinars can be used to teach and/or promote. They can be free or paid.

provide our content in as many formats as possible, because

Justin Rondeau of WhichTestWon said “Webinars give

we’re more likely to reach people if the content is in the format

me a way to present complex information to people outside of

they want, rather than in the format we want them to use.”

my immediate location. I am able to get some of the top guest

Srinivas Rao of Blogcast.fm said, “Podcasting has given

speakers without the burden of travel/expenses. Some topics are

me a very captive medium. There’s a big difference between

more evergreen than others, and in the case of this type of con-

reading somebody’s words and hearing their voice. 95% of

tent ‘On-Demand’ recordings give more content to share for

communication is non-verbal and podcasting enables you to

people who can’t fit the webinar date into their busy schedule.”

tap into that. The byproduct has been an incredibly loyal lis-

Important Factors

tener base. Because the content can be consumed on the go,

for any Marketing Method

you become a daily part of people’s lives.”

Variety. Don’t always put out the same content. Switch it

Infographics

up, have fun with it!

Infographics are easy to make, read, share, and are visual-

Think in their terms. Think in terms of what your audi-

ly appealing. They can represent information that will attract

ence wants, not just what you want. Engage your audience and

people to you and help build your following.

provide for them.

If you’re skilled enough you can create an infographic or

Be genuine and authentic. Most people can generally

you can outsource at Visual.ly, Fiverr, or Killer Infographics.

sense when someone is being real or not. No one is perfect: so

Video

don’t try to be.

Personally, video is my favorite method to produce content as it has resulting in a lot of opportunities for me.

30

Keep a positive mind. Anything is possible. Great opportunities arise when you least expect them.

Heather Romiti is a health and wellness coach, affiliate marketer and creator of Blendhappy.com. ☜

· Issue 21 · January 2013

Get to Know the

Performance Marketing Association

by Missy Ward

T

Missy Ward

Additionally, great strides towards a federal solution that will put the Affiliate Nexus Tax issue to bed once and for all,

he Performance Marketing Association

were made in Washington DC due in part to the PMA’s repre-

(PMA), our industry’s not-for-profit trade associ-

sentation of our industry in crucial state battles.

ation, was founded in 2008 by people within the

performance marketing industry.

Staying Affiliate Strong

The goal of the PMA is to represent and advance the inter-

While the PMA is making a difference in the lives of af-

ests of performance marketers by providing them with uni-

filiate marketers across the country, there is still a long road

fied voice to address issues and challenges facing the industry.

in front of them. New legislation and reincarnations of once-

Most recently, the PMA announced their new 2012-2013

thought-dead bills keep popping up, whack-a-mole-style.

Board: »» Brian Littleton – C EO, ShareASale, Inc. (incoming

These fights are best addressed by an industry organization and the PMA needs your help to make it happen.

Here are three things that you can do to help the PMA

Board President) »» Karen Garcia – C EO, GTO Management

continue to fight to ensure the livelihoods of the folks that

»» Robert Glazer – Founder and Managing Director,

make a living in our industry.

Acceleration Partners

1.

Donate to the fight. For affiliate marketers

»» Patrick Grady – C EO, RhinoFish Media

who want to help but don’t have the time to do that,

»» Peter Hamilton – C EO, HasOffers

the PMA needs you to donate funds that will fund the

»» Mike Nunez – C EO, AffiliateManager.com

lawyers, briefings, etc. needed to help fight the lawsuits

»» Tony Pantano – C EO, Imwave

and negotiate the victories for our industry. Every con-

»» Craig O’Neill – Merchant Support, Savings.com

tribution helps. Visit feedfront.com/pma-contribute

»» Oliver Roup, C EO, VigLink

to make a donation.

»» Isabelle Meyer Stapf – Senior Director, Advertiser Development, Commission Junction »» and myself, Missy Ward – Co-Founder, Affiliate Summit, Inc.

2. Get involved. Register to volunteer as a possible helper in your state. If the PMA needs grassroots help in your state, they will reach out to you when the time comes.

3. Spread the word. Use your influence to let others know how important it is that we have an industry or-

Fighting the Good Fight

ganization to represent us when needed.

2011 and 2012 proved to be a difficult time for the affiliate

As smart, innovative and successful affiliate marketers,

marketing industry as we faced the “Affiliate Nexus” tax fight.

we must use our resources to give back to an industry that sup-

The PMA fought hard for the industry and was instrumental

ports us. I encourage you to check out feedfront.com/pma for

in key negotiations and lawsuits; enabling affiliate marketers

more information and to keep abreast on legislation that can

to stay in business in California, Illinois and Minnesota.

affect your pocket directly.

☞ Missy Ward is a Co-Founder of Affiilate Summit, FeedFront Magazine Co-Editor-in-Chief and blogs on MissyWard.com.

31

路 Issue 21 路 January 2013

Thank You

Affiliate Summit West 2013 Top Sponsors Titanium Sponsor

Platinum Sponsor

Gold Sponsor

Silver Sponsor

Bronze Sponsor

32

· Issue 21 · January 2013

Day 0 Saturday, January 12 Early Registration

Location: Registration Area Time: 4:00pm – 8:00pm Come by Saturday evening to pick up your badge and attendee bag so you can enter immediately at noon on Sunday when the show opens!

First Timers Orientation for Affiliate Summit

Location: Florentine 1 & 2 Time: 10:00am – 10:45am Advice for people attending the Affiliate Summit conference for the first time. »» Shawn Collins, Co-founder, Affiliate Summit (Twitter @affiliatetip) (This Session is Open to all Pass Holders)

Developing a Money Making Website for Beginners

Day 1

Sunday, January 13 Booth Setup

Location: Octavius Ballroom Exhibitor Move In: 8:00am – 6:00pm

Registration

Location: Registration Area Time: 8:00am – 6:00pm

Session 1a Location: Florentine 1 & 2 Time: 11:00am-12:00pm Details of 8 components of a winning website, 5 tips for choosing profitable topics, 5 traffic building strategies, and 10 tips to get on the fast track and much more.

Experience level: Beginner Target audience: Affiliate/Publisher Niche/vertical: Coupons »» James Martell, Instructor, Clearbrook Web Services Inc. (Twitter @JamesMartell) (This Session is Open to Networking Plus, VIP, and All Access Pass Holders Only)

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· Issue 21 · January 2013

Coupons, Deals, and Sales – Oh My!

Live Social Media Campaign Reviews

Session 1b Location: Florentine 3 & 4 Time: 11:00am-12:00pm

Session 1d Location: Emperors II Time: 11:00am-12:00pm

From coupons and coupon codes to deals and vouchers, saving money is hot. This session will cover current trends, as well as the differences and opportunities they each provide.

Is your social media ROI what you expected? You may just need a few tweaks. Let this panel of social media expert users review your Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest activities live.

Experience level: Intermediate Target audience: Merchant/Advertiser Niche/vertical: Coupons »» Steve Schaffer, C EO, Vertive, LLC (This Session is Open to Networking Plus, VIP, and All Access Pass Holders Only)

Increase Traffic and Sales with Video Marketing

Session 1c Location: Emperors I Time: 11:00am-12:00pm Learn the advantages and the latest video marketing tips and tools for creating, syndicating, ranking, and monetizing your videos. Drive more traffic, more sales, and have fun doing it!

Experience level: Beginner Target audience: Affiliate/Publisher Niche/vertical: Video »» Heather Romiti, Owner, Blendhappy (Twitter @blendhappy) (This Session is Open to Networking Plus, VIP, and All Access Pass Holders Only)

34

Experience level: Beginner Target audience: Affiliate/Publisher Niche/vertical: Social Media »» Dina Riccobono, Senior Affiliate Manager, Crush Ads (Twitter @DinaRiccs) (Moderator) »» Mike Allen, President, Shopping-Bargains (Twitter @mta1) »» Shannon Vogel, Owner, The Be Scene (Twitter @thebescene) (This Session is Open to Networking Plus, VIP, and All Access Pass Holders Only)

Meet Market

Location: Octavius Ballroom 12-24 Time: 12:00pm – 6:00pm Exhibitor Move In: 9:00am – 12:00pm Affiliate Summit kicks off with an extended session of structured, face to face networking. Merchants will have tables set to meet with affiliates to discuss their affiliate programs and cut deals. Vendors that cater to affiliates and merchants will also have tables to share information about their products and services. Each table is a meeting spot for teaching, learning, closing deals, creating partnerships and finding new opportunities.

· Issue 21 · January 2013

Optimizing WordPress for Speed and Conversions

Session 2a Location: Florentine 1 & 2 Time: 12:30pm-1:30pm Optimizing WordPress for speed and conversions can have an immediate impact on your bottom line. Learn how to turn WordPress into a supercharged revenue driving machine.

Experience level: Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced Target audience: Affiliate/Publisher Niche/vertical: WordPress »» Ben Metcalfe, Co-Founder, W P Engine (Twitter @dotBen) »» David Vogelpohl, C EO, Marketing Clique (Twitter @davidvmc) (This Session is Open to VIP and All Access Pass Holders Only)

Affiliate Strategies for a Post-Penguin World

Session 2b Location: Florentine 3 & 4 Time: 12:30pm-1:30pm Learn which types of affiliate sites convert, and apply the same principles into your efforts to generate more sales/ leads. High ROI affiliate marketing tactics that work in a post Penguin world.

Experience level: Intermediate, Advanced Target audience: Affiliate/Publisher Niche/vertical: Affiliate/Publisher »» Kush Abdulloev, Affiliate Program Manager, VMInnovations.com (Twitter @khushbaht) (Moderator) »» Sarah Bundy, C EO, All Inclusive Marketing Inc. (Twitter @svbundy) »» Jared Saunders, Affiliate Program Manager, Jenson USA (Twitter @TurboJared) (This Session is Open to VIP and All Access Pass Holders Only)

Stop Wasting Time and Become More Productive

Session 2c Location: Emperors I Time: 12:30pm-1:30pm Learn tools and techniques to identify and reduce repetitive problems in your work processes. Thus, allowing you

to spend less time band-aiding the problem and spend more time being productive.

Experience level: Intermediate Target audience: Affiliate/Publisher Niche/vertical: Productivity »» Bhavik Modi, Owner, Inkdatabase.com (Twitter @bhavik_modi) (This Session is Open to VIP and All Access Pass Holders Only)

Mapping and the Future of Local Advertising

Session 2d Location: Emperors II Time: 12:30pm-1:30pm Google lowered maps API pricing, Apple launched a proprietary mapping solution, and Nokia inked a deal with Oracle for the Nokia Location Platform. Profit from this paradigm shift in advertising.

Experience level: Intermediate, Advanced Target audience: Affiliate/Publisher, Merchant/ Advertiser, Network, Other Niche/vertical: Mobile »» Joel Ownby, SVP Internet Marketing, InterFAC E (This Session is Open to VIP and All Access Pass Holders Only)

Is Bigger Always Better?

Session 3a Location: Florentine 1 & 2 Time: 2:00pm-3:00pm Large affiliates dominate but there’s still room for smaller affiliates. Get expert tips to show your value to merchants; do what the big guys can’t; leverage your smaller size to deliver a big bang.

Experience level: Intermediate Target audience: Affiliate/Publisher Niche/vertical: Affiliate Marketing »» Lisa Picarille, Content Director, Performance Marketing Association (Twitter @lisap) (Moderator) »» Jeremy Palmer, Chief Marketing Officer, CouponPal (Twitter @jeremypalmer) »» Kim Rowley, Owner, Key Internet Marketing, Inc. (Twitter @kimarketing)

35

· Issue 21 · January 2013

»» Joe Sousa, Affiliate Manager, Snow Consulting (Twitter @drcool73) (This Session is Open to VIP and All Access Pass Holders Only)

Publisher Segmentation Ideas

Session 3b Location: Florentine 3 & 4 Time: 2:00pm-3:00pm Kristin Hall leads Google’s publisher development efforts.

She’ll provide insight into how to tailor communications and optimization strategies to effectively reach the right publisher partners.

Experience level: Intermediate Target audience: Affiliate/Publisher Niche/vertical: Affiliate Management »» Kristin Hall, Head of Publisher Development, Google, Inc (Twitter @googleaffiliate) (This Session is Open to VIP and All Access Pass Holders Only)

M-commerce in Affiliate Marketing – The Complete Picture

Session 3c Location: Emperors I Time: 2:00pm-3:00pm Mobile trends including traffic from individual devices – including tablets, conversion rates, challenges, how incentivization is shaping the channel, how mobile isn’t one channel – it’s multi-channel.

Experience level: Intermediate Target audience: Merchant/Advertiser Niche/vertical: Local »» Kevin Edwards, Strategy Director, Affiliate Window (Twitter @AWin_Strategy) (This Session is Open to VIP and All Access Pass Holders Only)

SEO for Beginning Bloggers and Affiliate Marketers

Session 3d Location: Emperors II Time: 2:00pm-3:00pm This session will focus on SEO through unique content and sound on page site structure, keyword targeting, social media strategies, WordPress tools, and overall best practices.

Experience level: Beginner Target audience: Affiliate/Publisher Niche/vertical: Blogging »» John Carcutt, Director of SEO and Social Media, Advance Digital Inc. (Twitter @johncarcutt) (Moderator) »» Stephanie Lichtenstein, President, Micro Media Marketing (Twitter @MicroSteph) »» Rob Merlino, Blogger/Affiliate Marketer, SEBlogger LLC (Twitter @hotdogman1964) (This Session is Open to VIP and All Access Pass Holders Only)

Buying and Selling Websites

Session 4a Location: Florentine 1 & 2 Time: 3:30pm-4:30pm Expanding your affiliate business through website acquisitions and sales? Our experts will provide detailed strategies for buying and selling websites guaranteed to maximize your revenue potential.

Experience level: Intermediate Target audience: Affiliate/Publisher Niche/vertical: Buying/Selling Websites »» Chuck Mullins, C EO, CashForYourSite.com (Twitter @chuckiii33) (Moderator) »» David Gass, Owner, Vision Group Management, LLC (Twitter @davidgass) »» Kyle Wakefield, Founder, Themeco (Twitter @jkwake) »» Jason Yelowitz, Senior Website Broker, Quiet Light Brokerage (Twitter @BRMillionaire) (This Session is Open to VIP and All Access Pass Holders Only)

Coping with Affiliate Marketing Challenges

Session 4b Location: Florentine 3 & 4 Time: 3:30pm-4:30pm Solutions to top challenges affiliate marketers face to stay in business and grow. Using quality, analytics and diversification to fight traffic drops, competition, low conversions and other problems.

Experience level: Intermediate Target audience: Affiliate/Publisher Niche/vertical: Affiliates

37

· Issue 21 · January 2013

»» Sandrine Thompson, Strategic Insights Director, Commission Junction »» Cindy Ballard, Affiliate Director, Greg Hoffman Consulting (Twitter @cingroomer) »» Todd Farmer, C EO, Performstreet Media (Twitter @toddfarmer) »» Tricia Meyer, Owner, Sunshine Rewards (Twitter @sunshinetricia) (This Session is Open to VIP and All Access Pass Holders Only)

Live Whiteboarding

Session 4c Location: Emperors I Time: 3:30pm-4:30pm Bring your sites to this open session and get advice on usability, SEO, conversions and revenue streams.

Experience level: Beginner Target audience: Affiliate/Publisher Niche/vertical: Consulting »» Eric Nagel, President, Eric Nagel & Associates, Inc. (Twitter @ericnagel) (This Session is Open to VIP and All Access Pass Holders Only)

Social Media Strategy – Branding and Community Building

Session 4d Location: Emperors II Time: 3:30pm-4:30pm Join us as we discuss effective social media strategies and how they apply to your branding and community building initiatives. Provide valuable content. Build trust. Convert.

Repeat. #socialchokehold

Experience level: Intermediate Target audience: Affiliate/Publisher, Merchant/ Advertiser, Network Niche/vertical: Social Media »» Wade Tonkin, Affiliate Manager – League Stores, Fanatics (Twitter @affile8warrior) (Moderator) »» Jaxon Lam, Affiliate & Search Specialist, HootSuite Media Inc (Twitter @hootninja) »» Jason Rubacky, Affiliate Development Manager, ShareASale (Twitter @jasonrubacky) (This Session is Open to VIP and All Access Pass Holders Only)

Opening Remarks & Keynote Panel

Location: Augustus Ballroom Time: 5:00pm-6:00pm »» Todd Farmer, C EO, Performstreet Media (Twitter @toddfarmer) Affiliate to C EO from Guys Who’ve BTDT

Sit in on a conversation with affiliates who have grown from traffic arbitrage into building well-recognized, very successful businesses. »» Amanda Orson, Managing Partner, Lacuna Group LLC (Twitter @phillian) (Moderator) »» Brandon Adcock, Co-Founder, Direct Digital (Twitter @majorbta) »» Jason Akatiff, President, A4D (Twitter @smaxor) »» Mike Cojanu, C EO, WhatRunsWhere (Twitter @slightlyshady) »» Cyrus Lohrasbpour, Founder and C EO, LeanMarket (Twitter @Cyrus) (This Session is Open to All Pass Holders)

38

· Issue 21 · January 2013

Affiliate Summit Newcomer Program Meetup

Location: Emperors II Time: 6:30pm – 7:30pm

Registration

Location: Registration Area Time: 7:30am – 5:00pm

(Open to all attendees enrolled in the Affiliate Summit Newcomer Program)

Blogger Room

Day 2

Monday, January 14 Continental Breakfast

Location: Octavius Ballroom 12-24 Time: 9:00am-10:00am (Breakfast is Open to VIP and All Access Pass Holders with Breakfast Tickets Only)

Location: Blogger Room Time: 8:30am – 6:00pm The Blogger’s Lounge is an area reserved for credentialed bloggers/press to grab some desk space, blog, interview, relax and network. Heather Smith will be the BlogMistress of the Affiliate Summit Blogger’s Lounge, where she’ll be acting as liaison between Affiliate Summit and the press and bloggers attending the show. »» Heather Smith, Blogger, Beautiful British Columbia (Twitter @heatherinbc)

Coffee Service

Location: Octavius Ballroom 12-24 Time: 10:00am-12:30pm and 2:00pm-6:00pm

39

· Issue 21 · January 2013

Exhibit Hall

Location: Octavius Ballroom Time: 10:00am – 5:00pm (Exhibitors may set up beginning at 9:00am.)

Opening Remarks & Keynote

Location: Augustus Ballroom Time: 9:45am – 10:45am »» Todd Farmer, C EO, Performstreet Media (Twitter @toddfarmer) »» Daniel “Rudy” Ruettiger (This Session is Open to All Pass Holders)

2013 Trends in Big Brand Online Marketing

Session 5a Location: Florentine 1 & 2 Time: 11:30am-12:30pm We will hear from the trenches of large multi-channel retailers as to what considerations are being made or were made when it comes to their 2013 marketing budgets.

Experience level: Intermediate Target audience: Affiliate/Publisher Niche/vertical: Marketing »» Erik Hom, Business Development, Nextag / Wize Commerce (Twitter @route53) (Moderator) »» Caroline Sheu, VP, Global Marketing, Disney Interactive (This Session is Open to Networking Plus, VIP, and All Access Pass Holders Only)

Mobile is Mainstream: Start Making Money Already!

Session 5b Location: Florentine 3 & 4 Time: 11:30am-12:30pm Mobile is now. If you’re not doing it, you’re leaving money on the table. Learn how to get started in just minutes, plus must-have tools from optimized mobile landing pages to top conversion tactics.

Experience level: Beginner Target audience: Affiliate/Publisher Niche/vertical: Mobile

40

»» Jason Spievak, C EO, RingRevenue, Inc. (Twitter @ringrevenue) (Moderator) »» Sunil Baliga, C EO, Atmio (Twitter @Atmio) »» Justin Elenburg, Member, Mobile Fused LLC »» Russell Peachman, Vice President, Customer Acquisition Network, Rakuten LinkShare (This Session is Open to Networking Plus, VIP, and All Access Pass Holders Only)

B2B Affiliate Coupons – Cohort Analysis Results

Session 5c Location: Emperors I Time: 11:30am-12:30pm I aim to dispel the myths that coupons are a brand damaging tactic and that they add real value to our business with increased AOV’s, conversion and Year time value vs. the total online business.

Experience level: Intermediate Target audience: Affiliate/Publisher Niche/vertical: B2B »» Blair de Jong, Affiliate Marketing Manager, Getty Images (Twitter @blairdejong) (This Session is Open to Networking Plus, VIP, and All Access Pass Holders Only)

How Are Websites Making Money?

Session 5d Location: Emperors II Time: 11:30am-12:30pm Flippa has over 3 years of comprehensive data that shows how websites make money. We’ll use this to answer questions such as “what is a visit worth?” and how niche and monetization methods impact website value.

Experience level: Intermediate Target audience: Affiliate/Publisher Niche/vertical: Monetization »» Andrew Knibbe, Operations Manager, Flippa.com (This Session is Open to Networking Plus, VIP, and All Access Pass Holders Only)

· Issue 21 · January 2013

Luncheon

Location: Octavius Ballroom 12-24 Time: 12:30pm-1:45pm (Lunch is Open to VIP and All Access Pass Holders With Lunch Tickets Only)

SEO Q&A

Session 6a Location: Florentine 1 & 2 Time: 2:00pm-3:00pm The panel will help you get your SEO questions answered and search engine optimization strategy, as an affiliate or a merchant, formed.

Experience level: Beginner, Intermediate Target audience: Affiliate/Publisher Niche/vertical: SEO »» Rae Hoffman, C EO, PushFire (Twitter @sugarrae) (Moderator) »» Kenny Hyder, Founder, Hyder Media (Twitter @kennyhyder) »» Michael Martin, SEO Manager, Covario (Twitter @mobile__martin) (This Session is Open to VIP and All Access Pass Holders Only)

Attribution and Affiliate Marketing

Session 6b Location: Florentine 3 & 4 Time: 2:00pm-3:00pm This panel will discuss the concepts of attribution and why it matters to affiliate marketers. We’ll cover attribution models, conversion path analysis and data interpretation’s impact on affiliates.

Experience level: Intermediate Target audience: Merchant/Advertiser Niche/vertical: Attribution »» Paul Schroader, President, PS Web Solutions, Inc. (Twitter @pswebs) (Moderator) »» Todd Crawford, Co-Founder, Impact Radius (Twitter @toddcrawford) »» Chris Kramer, Founding Partner, NetX (Twitter @ChrismKramer)

»» Scott Kalbach, C EO, AvantLink.com (Twitter @scottkalbach) (This Session is Open to VIP and All Access Pass Holders Only)

Compliance Mastery: Tips For Legal Landing Pages

Session 6c Location: Emperors I Time: 2:00pm-3:00pm A comprehensive overview of the ever-changing world of compliance governing affiliate marketing, including a live review of a landing page and sales page.

Experience level: Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced Target audience: Affiliate/Publisher Niche/vertical: FTC »» Amber Paul, Vice President, Business Development, Globalwide Media (Twitter @ambspaul) (Moderator) »» Sarah Cabello, Attorney, S. Cabello, PLLC »» Sarah de Diego, Attorney, De Diego Law »» Aaron Kelly, Attorney, Kelly / Warner, PLLC (Twitter @aaronklaw) »» C J Montgomery, Attorney at Law, Online Legal Group (This Session is Open to VIP and All Access Pass Holders Only)

Managing the Affiliate-Network-Marketer Relationship

Session 6d Location: Emperors II Time: 2:00pm-3:00pm This session will explore the relationship with respect to issues such as fees, contracts, advertising content, liability, data, tracking, compliance and other key issues.

41

· Issue 21 · January 2013

Experience level: Intermediate Target audience: Affiliate/Publisher Niche/vertical: Business »» Gary Kibel, Partner, Davis & Gilbert LLP (Twitter @GaryKibel_law) (This Session is Open to VIP and All Access Pass Holders Only)

Hyper-Local Marketing

Session 7a Location: Florentine 1 & 2 Time: 3:30pm-4:30pm How can you apply affiliate marketing strategies for marketing SMBs in a connected, hyper-local environment? The power of building an online reputation with daily deals can help your SMB stand out.

Experience level: Intermediate Target audience: Merchant/Advertiser Niche/vertical: Hyper-Local Marketing »» Gene Mikhov, C EO, XVIO (Twitter @genemikhov) (This Session is Open to VIP and All Access Pass Holders Only)

Affiliate Pivot – What’s Your Brevenue?

Session 7b Location: Florentine 3 & 4 Time: 3:30pm-4:30pm How do you connect the worlds of social and mobile with affiliate marketing ROI? By connecting your customer at multi-touch points through the new marketing conversion called brevenue.

Experience level: Intermediate Target audience: Merchant/Advertiser Niche/vertical: Lead Generation »» Declan Dunn, Managing Partner, Dunn Direct Media (Twitter @declandunn) (This Session is Open to VIP and All Access Pass Holders Only)

Affiliate Program Management: Launch & Maintenance

Session 7c Location: Emperors I Time: 3:30pm-4:30pm

42

Join us as we highlight important topics regarding affiliate program launch and maintenance. We encourage you to bring questions.

Experience level: Beginner Target audience: Merchant/Advertiser Niche/vertical: Affiliate Management »» Geno Prussakov, Founder & C EO, AM Navigator LLC (Twitter @ePrussakov) (Moderator) »» Amy Ely, Ecommerce Acquisition Manager, Under Armour (Twitter @aely) »» Karen Garcia, C EO, GTO Management (Twitter @karengarcia) »» Kim Salvino, Director of Publisher Development, Chateau 20, LLC (Twitter @kim_salvino) (This Session is Open to VIP and All Access Pass Holders Only)

Secondary Offer Networks: The Insider’s Guide

Session 7d Location: Emperors II Time: 3:30pm-4:30pm Find out how your peers are already creating new revenue from secondary offer networks, as well as best practices for getting started.

Experience level: Advanced Target audience: Affiliate/Publisher Niche/vertical: Search »» Dave McCarthy, SVP/GM, Tightrope Interactive (Twitter @davem12203) (Moderator) »» Jasmine Moadel, SVP Marketing, Paltalk »» Andrew Moers, President, Ask Partner Network »» Baglan Nurhan Rhymes, Vice President, Revenue & AdOps, Anchorfree INC (Twitter @HotspotShield) (This Session is Open to VIP and All Access Pass Holders Only)

4 M’s of Effective Affiliate Marketing Management

Session 8a Location: Florentine 1 & 2 Time: 4:40pm-5:00pm Sylvia will share her experiences and accomplishments in the implementation of the core 4 M’s of effective affiliate marketing management values.

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Experience level: Beginner, Intermediate Target audience: Merchant/Advertiser Niche/vertical: Affiliate Management »» Sylvia Cintrón, Digital Media Director, AREA203 Digital (Twitter @sylviacintron) (This Session is Open to VIP and All Access Pass Holders Only)

Facts and Fiction Using Video for Affiliates

Session 8b Location: Florentine 3 & 4 Time: 4:40pm-5:00pm We’ll cover topics like when and where calls to action work on your videos; is video on social networks effective; and can you drive leads from your videos?

Experience level: Beginner Target audience: Affiliate/Publisher Niche/vertical: Video »» Jonathan Stefansky, C EO, Viewbix (Twitter @jstefansky) (This Session is Open to VIP and All Access Pass Holders Only)

Video Lead Generation

Session 8c Location: Emperors I Time: 4:40pm-5:00pm I will discuss what I’ve learned after creating over 1,000 videos to market my business over the last 6 years, the results, and how to achieve similar with your own video marketing.

Experience level: Beginner, Intermediate Target audience: Affiliate/Publisher Niche/vertical: Video »» Tim Jones, Owner, Destinations To Explore, Inc. (Twitter @TheRealTimJones) (This Session is Open to VIP and All Access Pass Holders Only)

Top 5 Mistakes in Mobile Affiliate Marketing

Session 8d Location: Emperors II Time: 4:40pm-5:00pm The mobile space is exploding and affiliates need to avoid mistakes and move quickly to generate revenue. Discuss

practical case studies and learn from our real-life client examples.

Experience level: Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced Target audience: Affiliate/Publisher, Merchant/ Advertiser Niche/vertical: Mobile »» Jeff Stevens, Director of Sales, DirectTrack (Twitter @jstevnz ) (This Session is Open to VIP and All Access Pass Holders Only)

Ask the Experts

Location: Networking Space Time: 5:00 pm-6:00pm (This Session is Open to All Pass Holders)

Ask the Experts will be an opportunity for merchants, networks and affiliates to ask questions about various specialties and issues.

Hand picked experts will handle topics in their specialty, and conduct chats, answer questions and share opinions during this networking and education session. »» $10,000 Worth of Outsourcing Mistakes: Nick Loper, Founder, ShoeSniper.com (Twitter @nloper) »» Display Is Broken: Dave Zinman, C EO, Infolinks (Twitter @davebehappy) »» Is Your Email List Dirty?: Craig Swerdloff, C EO, LeadSpend, Inc. »» Legal Issues: William Rothbard, Attorney, Law Offices of William I. Rothbard »» Legal Trends 2013: Privacy, Social & Mobile: Ken Dreifach, Counsel, ZwillGen, PLLC (Twitter @zwillgen) »» Leveraging YouTube PPC for Direct Response Advertising: Purna Virji, Online Marketing Manager, Stroll (Twitter @purnavirji) »» No Click Left Behind!: Michael Herrera, VP, Affiliate Marketing, Citi (Twitter @mikefherrera) »» Pay-Per-Call: The Good and Bad: Jason Wells, C EO, ContactPoint (Twitter @jasonrwells) »» The Science of Affiliate Payments: Chen Amit, C EO, Tipalti Solutions Ltd. »» Tap Into Billions of Remnant Google Clicks: Greg Davis, President, Super Affiliate Rockstar (Twitter @gregorydavis) »» US Affiliate Space is Ripe for Disintermediation: Brandon Keenen, Vice President, Performance Horizon Group (Twitter @bkeenen)

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Day 3

Tuesday, January 15 Continental Breakfast

Location: Octavius Ballroom 12-24 Time: 9:00am-10:00am (Breakfast is Open to VIP and All Access Pass Holders with Breakfast Tickets Only)

The seventh annual Affiliate Summit Pinnacle Awards will be presented prior to the keynote.

These awards recognize exceptional performance in affiliate marketing. »» Todd Farmer, C EO, Performstreet Media (Twitter @toddfarmer) »» Julie Clark (This Session is Open to All Pass Holders)

The Future of Affiliate Marketing Coffee Service

Location: Octavius Ballroom 12-24 Time: 10:00am-12:30pm and 2:00pm-4:30pm

Registration

Location: Registration Area Time: 8:00am – 3:00pm

Blogger Room

Location: Blogger Room Time: 8:30am – 4:00pm The Blogger’s Lounge is an area reserved for credentialed bloggers/press to grab some desk space, blog, interview, relax and network. Heather Smith will be the BlogMistress of the Affiliate Summit Blogger’s Lounge, where she’ll be acting as liaison between Affiliate Summit and the press and bloggers attending the show.

Session 9a Location: Florentine 1 & 2 Time: 11:30am-12:30pm This session will share predictions on where we’re headed, what challenges we’ll encounter and what tools will become essential to success, so that you can begin preparing for the future right now.

Experience level: Beginner Target audience: Affiliate/Publisher Niche/vertical: Projections »» Marty Fahncke, Director – Strategic Aggregation Marketing, Gragg Advertising (Twitter @fawnkey) (Moderator) »» Ben Kiblinger, President and US / Canada Operations, Coull »» Peter Hamilton, C EO, HasOffers (Twitter @peterhamilton) »» Jonathan Mendez, C EO, Yieldbot Inc. (Twitter @jonathanmendez) »» Oliver Roup, C EO, VigLink (Twitter @viglink) (This Session is Open to Networking Plus, VIP, and All Access Pass Holders Only)

»» Heather Smith, Blogger, Beautiful British Columbia (Twitter @heatherinbc) 7 Legal Pitfalls Affiliate Marketers Should Avoid Exhibit Hall

Location: Octavius Ballroom Time: 10:00am – 4:00pm (Exhibitors may set up beginning at 9:00am.)

Opening Remarks, Pinnacle Awards & Keynote

Location: Augustus Ballroom Time: 10:00am – 11:15am

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Session 9b Location: Florentine 3 & 4 Time: 11:30am-12:30pm Affiliate marketers face countless legal pitfalls, often without acting until it’s too late. This is a practical guide against the most common legal issues all internet marketers should be aware of.

Experience level: Beginner Target audience: Affiliate/Publisher Niche/vertical: Legal

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»» Troy Meyerson, Partner, Fraser Stryker PC LLO (Twitter @InternetAttys) (This Session is Open to Networking Plus, VIP, and All Access Pass Holders Only)

Affiliate Program K PI’s Optimization Crash Course

Session 9c Location: Emperors I Time: 11:30am-12:30pm Understand your affiliate program’s health indicators and what influences them. Learn how to drive the program to reach your revenue and exposure goals.

Experience level: Beginner Target audience: Affiliate/Publisher, Merchant/ Advertiser Niche/vertical: Optimization »» Cristian Miculi, Affiliate Network Coordinator, Avangate Inc (Twitter @affiliatedoc)

Minimizing Affiliate Fraud in Lead Generation Programs

Session 9d Location: Emperors II Time: 11:30am-12:30pm Three industry veterans provide insight into cost per lead performance and some of the tools we utilize to address affiliate fraud.

Experience level: Intermediate Target audience: Merchant/Advertiser Niche/vertical: Fraud »» Robert Adler, President, The Link Builders, LLC (Twitter @Bofu2U) (Moderator) »» Eric Ewe, Senior eMarketing Manager, The SC OOTER Store (Twitter @EricEwe) »» Melissa Filipkowski, Director of Strategic Accounts, Clickbooth.com, (Twitter @MelClickbooth) »» David Sendroff, President, C PA Detective (This Session is Open to Networking Plus, VIP, and All Access Pass Holders Only)

(This Session is Open to Networking Plus, VIP, and All Access Pass Holders Only)

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Luncheon

Location: Octavius Ballroom 12-24 Time: 12:30pm-1:45pm (Lunch is Open to VIP and All Access Pass Holders With Lunch Tickets Only)

Is Affiliate SEO Dead?

Session 10a Location: Florentine 1 & 2 Time: 2:00pm-3:00pm Can you still make money as an affiliate through SEO? Google’s Panda and Penguin updates have hit affiliate sites hard. Learn steps to compete in SEO as an affiliate in 2013 and beyond.

Experience level: Advanced Target audience: Affiliate/Publisher Niche/vertical: SEO »» Scott Krager, Founder, SERPs.com (Twitter @scottkrager) (This Session is Open to VIP and All Access Pass Holders Only)

How Affiliate Marketers Can Avoid Legal Pitfalls

Session 10b Location: Florentine 3 & 4 Time: 2:00pm-3:00pm The session will provide an overview of the legal landscape affiliate marketers face, including the common pitfalls that can threaten every business.

Experience level: Beginner Target audience: Network Niche/vertical: Compliance »» Eric Crusius, Senior Attorney, Centre Law Group (Twitter @InternetBizLaw) (This Session is Open to VIP and All Access Pass Holders Only)

Managing Your Brand in Affiliate Marketing

Session 10c Location: Emperors I Time: 2:00pm-3:00pm Five actions every affiliate program needs to take to protect and monitor their brand in affiliate marketing and beyond.

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Experience level: Advanced Target audience: Merchant/Advertiser Niche/vertical: Brand »» Mike Nunez, C EO, AffiliateManager.com (Twitter @MikeNunez) (This Session is Open to VIP and All Access Pass Holders Only)

Understanding Performance Marketing in Asia

Session 10d Location: Emperors II Time: 2:00pm-3:00pm This session is focused on helping marketers’ gain deeper understanding of the Asian market.

Experience level: Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced Target audience: Affiliate/Publisher, Merchant/ Advertiser, Network, Other Niche/vertical: Asia »» Eric Gerritsen, VP, Sales & Business Development, Neverblue Media Co

Integrated Marketing: Managing Multiple Channels

Session 11a Location: Florentine 1 & 2 Time: 3:10pm-3:30pm This session will provide tips to help you determine which channels to focus on and which to avoid, as well as how to integrate each channel into an integrated marketing mix.

Experience level: Intermediate, Advanced Target audience: Merchant/Advertiser Niche/vertical: Marketing »» Sharon Mostyn, Ecommerce, RoamRight (Twitter @sharonmostyn) (This Session is Open to VIP and All Access Pass Holders Only)

Making the Jump From Affiliate to Advertiser

Session 11b Location: Florentine 3 & 4 Time: 3:10pm-3:30pm

(This Session is Open to VIP and All Access Pass Holders Only)

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Bridging the gap and moving from being an affiliate to advertiser isn’t easy, and can take a lot of resources. Learn the pitfalls to avoid and tips to make the transition profitable and painless.

Experience level: Intermediate Target audience: Affiliate/Publisher Niche/vertical: Expansion »» John Monarch, C EO, Connexus Inc. (Twitter @papajohn56) (This Session is Open to VIP and All Access Pass Holders Only)

Tips and Tricks to Working From Home

Session 11c Location: Emperors I Time: 3:10pm-3:30pm Working from home can be a challenge and this session will have the tips you need to be a successful work at home marketer.

Experience level: Beginner Target audience: Affiliate/Publisher Niche/vertical: Home Office »» Deborah Carney, Boss, ABC sPlus/NightFire Publications (Twitter @loxly) (This Session is Open to VIP and All Access Pass Holders Only)

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Mining Affiliate Data for Untapped Opportunity

Session 11d Location: Emperors II Time: 3:10pm-3:30pm Affiliate marketers are often overwhelmed by product catalogs. In this session Martin will look at ways to analyze data for opportunities in search, and how you can focus your marketing efforts.

Experience level: Intermediate Target audience: Affiliate/Publisher Niche/vertical: Retail/Travel »» Martin MacDonald, Inbound Marketing Director, Expedia Affiliate Networks (Twitter @searchmartin) (This Session is Open to VIP and All Access Pass Holders Only)

Closing Keynote

Location: Augustus Ballroom Time: 3:30pm-4:30pm »» Todd Farmer, C EO, Performstreet Media (Twitter @toddfarmer) »» Tim Ash (This Session is Open to All Pass Holders)

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☞Keynote Bios☜  Da n i e l “Ru dy ” Ru et t ig e r

D

aniel “Rudy” Ruettiger carved his name into history books at the University of Notre Dame in just twenty seven seconds. The son of an oil refin-

ery worker and third of 14 children, Rudy rose from valleys of discouragement and despair to the pinnacles of success It took years of fierce determination to overcome obstacles and criticisms, yet Rudy achieved his first dream – to attend Notre Dame and play football for the Fighting Irish.

As fans cheered RU-DY, RU-DY, he sacked the quarterback in the last 27 seconds of the only play in the only game of his college football career.

He is the only player in the school’s history to be carried off the field on his teammates’ shoulders.

In 1993, Tristar Productions immortalized his life story with the blockbuster film, Rudy. The critically acclaimed film received “Two Thumbs Up” from Siskel and Ebert and continues to inspire millions worldwide.

Rudy has co-authored several books, including Rudy’s Insights for Winning in Life, Rudy’s Lessons for Young Champions, and Rudy: My Story, which was published in September 2012.

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· Issue 21 · January 2013

☞Keynote Bios☜  Julie Clar k with Regis and Kelly, and The View. She has been featured in USA Today, The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, Time Magazine, People Magazine, Entrepreneur, and Working Mother. In 2008, Julie was honored by President Bush at his State of the Union Address.

Julie’s new venture is a return to familiar territory — creating and incubating new brands. Aigner Clark Creative combines her love of the creative process with her commitment to charitable-giving. The first brand developed by Aigner Clark Creative — The Safe Side — was launched in May 2005 and benefits The National Center For Missing & Exploited Children (www.missingkids.com). The Safe Side’s first home video — Stranger Safety — was awarded three Emmys and named Video of the Year by Parenting Magazine. To date, The Safe

J

Side has donated over $250,000 to NC MEC . ulie C lark, a former English and art teacher, found-

Julie is a two-time breast cancer survivor, and recently au-

ed The Baby Einstein Company in 1996. Her goal was to

thored a children’s book called Your Love is the Best Medi-

provide fun, interactive ways to expose babies and moms

cine, which helps parents explain cancer treatment to their

to the arts and humanities. Julie’s first two videos — Baby Ein-

children. The book, published by Harper Collins in Septem-

stein and Baby Mozart — were filmed in her basement using

ber of 2010, provides support for breast cancer research at The

borrowed equipment, and edited on a home computer.

Jonsson Comprehensive Canter Center at UC LA.

Five years, 10 videos and 30 children’s books later, Julie

Julie is the recipient of Ernst & Young’s “Entrepreneur of

sold Baby Einstein to The Walt Disney Company for an un-

the Year Award,” as well as Working Mother’s “Entrepreneur

disclosed sum. In 2001, the year of acquisition, the company’s

of the Year Award” in three categories — Most Philanthropic

sales exceeded $20 million, and Baby Einstein-branded prod-

Company, Most Innovative Business and Best Small Compa-

ucts could be found at retailers worldwide.

ny. Julie received The Distinguished Alumni Award from The

Prior to the Disney sale, Julie and the story of Baby Einstein were covered extensively by the national media, including appearances on Oprah, Entertainment Tonight, Live!

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College of Arts and Letters at Michigan State University.

Julie presently lives in Colorado with her husband, two daughters, and a menagerie of rescued animals.

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☞Keynote Bios☜  Ti m A s h

T

im Ash is author of the bestselling book Landing Page Optimization, and C EO ofSiteTuners, a firm that specializes in improving website conversion

rates through landing page diagnosis and redesign, conversion consulting, a/b-split and multivariate test plan creation, and client training/mentoring. Since 2002, SiteTuners has improved conversion rates for over 1,000 clients large and small, including Canon, Google, Expedia, C BS, Sony Music, Facebook, Nestle, Verizon Wireless, Texas Instruments, Cisco, and Coach. Tim is a highly-regarded keynote and conference presenter, and the chairperson of Conversion Conference – the first worldwide conference series focused on improving online conversions. He has published hundreds of articles about website usability, best practices in landing page design, tactics to improve website conversion rates, and is the host of the Landing Page Optimization podcast on WebmasterRadio.fm.

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Speaker Bios  Kush Abdulloev Khushbaht (Kush) Abdulloev is the Affiliate Program Manager at VMInnovations, a Lincoln, NE based online retailer that has served over a million customers since 2005. Under Kush’s management VMInnovations affiliate program has reached ShareASale’s Top 30 PowerRank and is experiencing consistent exponential growth. In addition to managing VMInnovations affiliate program, Kush is a passionate marketing strategist who specializes in increasing VMInnovation’s websites online visibility, brand awareness and sales by implementing and improving search engine optimization, online advertising and social media operations.

Brandon Adcock Brandon Adcock is the Co-Founder of Direct Digital, which is a leading marketer of nutritional supplements. Direct Digital employs a unique distribution platform where it’s nutritional brands are available internationally direct-to-consumers and also available in many leading retailers in more than 15 countries. Adcock is a proud graduate and supporter of Appalachian State University where he sits on the boards for the Center of Entrepreneurship and the Appalachian Foundation.

Robert Adler Robert Adler is a link building individual from Baltimore, MD that has been in the affiliate space for about 6 years. He runs campaigns organically for C PA, C PS, and eCommerce.

Jason Akatiff Jason Akatiff AK A Smaxor got started in this industry 6 years ago after buying a bizopp software package on Black Hat SEO. But it wasn’t what was in the package that was the springboard for him into the industry, rather, it was what was lacking. He quickly realized that the majority of prepackaged software lacked the content & systems needed in order to get to the next level, so he created his own! He self taught himself PHP in order to build out his own cutting edge systems and fill the void he saw in the space. Over the next few months, he began assembling and training a team around him to build economies of scale and help lessen the work burden. With this new found time, he quickly and aggressively moved into large scale media buying with his primary focus being in the C PA space. Today Jason owns and operates Ads4Dough C PA Network, manages the internal media buying team, continues to run both online and offline marketing campaigns, and is building out quite a bit of technology.

Mike Allen Mike Allen founded Shopping-Bargains.com in February 1999 and currently serves as President and “Chief Executive Shopper.” Designed to be everything you need to save money online, Shopping-Bargains.com

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was a finalist for the LinkShare Golden Link Merchant’s Choice Award in 2005 and the LinkShare Golden Link Advertiser’s Choice Award in 2008.

Mike received the Affiliate of the Year award at the 3rd Annual Affiliate Summit Pinnacle Awards in 2009. In addition, Shopping-Bargains was inducted into the Mississippi BBB’s Business Integrity Circle of Honor in 2007. Mike attends most affiliate marketing industry conferences and has presented at Affiliate Summit, BlogWorld and several affiliate network conferences. Mike has served on a variety of industry and business advisory boards and in 2010 was elected to a two-year term on the Commission Junction Publisher Advisory Board. He also blogs and periodically writes for various print publications.

Chen Amit Chen is a veteran high tech executive and a repeat entrepreneur.

Prior to Tipalti Chen was C EO of Atrica, the innovator in the Carrier Ethernet market. Atrica was sold Nokia-Siemens. Prior to Atrica Chen was co-founder and C EO of Verix, a provider of business intelligence software. At EC I Telecom, Chen founded, led the sales and marketing and was General Manager of the ADSL business unit, leading it from inception to $100M/yr. Chen holds a BSc from the Technion, Israel Institute of Technology, and an MBA from INSE AD in France.

Sunil Baliga Sunil Baliga is Co-Founder and C EO of Atmio, a mobile landing page technology company headquartered in Silicon Valley. He has extensive experience in the mobile industry, with mobile advertising software and with cell phone handsets. Prior to Atmio, Sunil was VP of Worldwide Sales for inSilica, a semiconductor supplier, selling camera chips for cell phone handsets. He has a B.S. EE & C S from the University of Colorado, Boulder and a MBA from Georgetown University.

Cindy Ballard Cindy Ballard is the Affiliate Director for Greg Hoffman Consulting. She received her Certified Affiliate Manager certification in 2011 and has been with Greg Hoffman Consulting since 2010. Prior to her position at GHC she was the Marketing Specialist for Sunshine Rewards where she started her affiliate marketing career. She is also an avid blogger for YouPet as well as her own blog site www.oldfartlife.com. She is the co founder of Affiliate Voices and currently the co host of Gorilla Radio.

She has two daughters, 6 grandchildren and a house full of dogs, cats, horses and chickens.

Sarah Bundy Sarah Bundy is the founder and C EO of All Inclusive Marketing, Affiliate Management Trainers, and Affiligate.org. Her passion lies in

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teaching advertisers how to get more out of their performance marketing programs through innovation, profitable strategies and high value affiliate partnerships. Sarah has won over a dozen awards throughout her career, speaks at industry events such as Affiliate Summit, Online Marketing Summit and Affiliate Management Days. She contributes to periodicals such as Feedfront Magazine, Small Business Trends and Revenews.com and teaches at both the Online Marketing Institute and the School of Internet Marketing. Sarah is a contributing member of the PMA’s Industry Advancement Council, and her blog, SarahBundy.com has been nominated for this year’s Pinnacle Award and is ranked in the Top 25 Affiliate Marketing Blogs of 2012.

Sarah Cabello Sarah Cabello has been an Associate Attorney with Wong, Cabello, Lutsch, Rutherford & Brucculeri, LLP from October 2007 to the present.

Her practice primarily consists of patent and copyright litigation, as well as trademark and copyright prosecution. In addition to being admitted to practice in Texas since April 2006, she is also admitted to practice in the U.S. Federal Courts in the Southern District of Texas and the Eastern District of Texas. She is a member of the Houston Intellectual Property Law Association (HIPLA). Miss Cabello is also a member of the Houston Bar Association (HBA) and actively serves on the HBA’s Houston Alumni and Youth (H AY) Center committee and prom sub-committee. Miss Cabello is a graduate of Pepperdine University School of Law. She earned her undergraduate degree in Economics and Managerial Studies from Rice University. In addition to her law practice, she is a licensed Texas real estate salesperson, primarily engaged in residential transactions.

John Carcutt John Carcutt is a 12 Year SEO veteran who started working as an In-House SEO and moved to agency management. He worked as the previous Director of Natural Search for MoreVisibility and is currently the SEO Manager for MediaWhiz Holdings, the parent company of TextLink-Ads and others. He is a guest author on numerous industry sites including the Search Engine Journal, and the Co-host of SEO101 on WebmasterRadio.fm. He also speaks at various industry trade shows.

Deborah Carney Deborah Carney is the well-known host of the popular ABC series of podcasts, which includes AffiliateABC s.com, BloggingABC s.com, MerchantABC s.com, BookGoodies.com and WAHM-WAHD.com, which can all be found on Geekcast.fm. With all the great content from those podcasts, Deborah has become a best-selling author of Kindle ebooks.

Recently Deborah has been interviewing successful Work At Home Parents and has amassed a great deal of tips and tricks to help other Work At Home Parents. Plus as a successful affiliate and a successful Outsourced Program Manager, past in-house affiliate manager and consultant for many networks and companies, Deborah’s experiences have brought her to a point to start sharing new information with affiliates to help them repurpose their content into books that teach and generate new traffic for their sites. Deborah is also the Administrator of the Affiliate Summit Networking forum, which is a great place to network between Affiliate Summit events.

Sylvia Cintrón Originally from San Juan, Puerto Rico, Sylvia is a seasoned marketing professional with over 15 years’ experience. She has proven herself to be both a competent manager and strategist, dealing with complex, multitiered teams and formulating long-term strategic account plans for business-to-business, business-to-consumer, and non-profit organizations.

She currently oversees the MediaTeam at ARE A203, going above and beyond to position the Agency as one of the highest-ranked Digital Marketing firms nationwide. Sylvia recently led a well-received panel on The Importance of Communication Flow at the Affiliate Summit West 2012, focusing on the value of building and maintaining relationships through positive, consistent communication in the digital marketing landscape.

She firmly stands by The Four ‘M’s, her very own breakdown of the definition of successful relationships: Monitor, Motivate, Manage, and Mentor.

Mike Cojanu Michael Cojanu is a co-founder and the C EO of WhatRunsWhere.

Prior to founding the company he was a successful performance marketer with experience in both SEO and paid advertising. He is an expert at all things ad data related and is helping redefine the boundries of advertising intelligence.

Shawn Collins Shawn Collins has been an affiliate marketer since 1997 with a number of active affiliate projects, and a decade of affiliate management under his belt. He is a Co-founder of Affiliate Summit, the leading global conference and tradeshow for the affiliate marketing industry and CoEditor-in-Chief of FeedFront Magazine. He authored the book Successful Affiliate Marketing for Merchants, and was an editor and contributor to Internet Marketing from the Real Experts. Also, he publishes the annualAffStat affiliate marketing benchmark reports. Shawn blogs daily on affiliate marketing at Affiliate Tip and co-hosts the weeklyAffiliate Thing podcast on GeekCast.fm. Additionally, Shawn has been quoted in numerous publications, including Entrepreneur Magazine, Internet Retailer, Inc. Magazine, the New York Times, and the Wall Street Journal.

Todd Crawford A recognizable veteran, Todd Crawford brings to Impact Radius a passion for performance advertising and a commitment to its growth.

As a co-founder, he evangelizes the opportunities presented by a multichannel approach to the performance model. Prior to Impact Radius, he served as vice president of sales and business development for Digital River’s affiliate network, oneNetworkDirect. Todd also contributed to the founding team at Commission Junction in 1998 and led its business and sales development efforts as vice president for more than seven years.

In 2007, Todd won the Affiliate Marketing Legend Award at the Affiliate Summit Pinnacle Awards in Las Vegas. He holds a bachelor of arts at the University of Minnesota, Twin-Cities.

Eric Crusius Eric, a Senior Attorney at Centre, was recently named a Virginia Super Lawyers’ Rising Star; an honor given to only the top 2.5% of attorneys

by Super Lawyers Magazine. Eric has also recently been quoted in Investor’s Business Daily and the Washington Business Journal concerning internet and technology issues. In addition, Eric’s cases have appeared in

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· Issue 21 · January 2013

the Washington Business Journal and the New York Daily News, among others. Besides litigating landmark cases, Eric is a frequent lecturer on internet and technology issues, having appeared before the American Bar Association, industry groups such as the National Contract Management Association, and government agencies. Eric also recently obtained one of the largest state court verdicts in Virginia in a case thought to be so unwinnable that the opposing party did not offer one penny to settle.

Greg Davis In hopes of escaping corporate America and achieving financial freedom, Greg discovered affiliate marketing and started a part-time business in 2000. After trying a plethora of traffic generation techniques, from SEO to safelists to bulk email, Greg decided to focus on Google Adwords in 2006. After receiving mentoring from an affiliate manager, he was able to turn his business around from losing $100 per day to generating over $100,000 per month. Greg quit his sales job in January of 2007 to pursue affiliate marketing full time. In 2009, Greg surfaced from the affiliate marketing underground to start the Super Affiliate Rockstar private coaching program, and his clients have generated upwards of $100K per day in affiliate commissions. He is widely regarded as a specialist in generating massive traffic.

Sarah de Diego Sarah de Diego is an experienced Internet attorney and founder of De Diego Law. She represents networks, advertisers, publishers, software and data providers and many other companies involved in affiliate marketing. Her practice focuses on helping her clients maintain compliance with the constantly changing laws and regulations that impact affiliate marketing. Among other things, her time is spent reviewing and approving creative materials and landing pages, drafting and negotiating contracts, defending against regulatory action and civil litigation and assisting with general business matters. She is an active member of the Performance Marketing Association and chairs the PMA Attorney Special Interest Group. She is vice-chair of the California State Bar Cyberspace Law Committee and is a member of the legislative sub-committee. Ms. de Diego is licensed to practice law in the State and Federal courts of California, Colorado and Nevada.

Blair de Jong Blair de Jong is the North America Affiliate Marketing Manager for Getty Images – a popular choice among affiliates, bloggers and designers looking for stock photos from brands like Getty Images, iStockphoto, Thinkstock and Photos.com. Blair got his start in affiliate marketing in 2008, where he cut his teeth building a few niche affiliate sites and learning how drive traffic through email, link building, PPC , SEO and social media. After joining iStockphoto as their dedicated Affiliate Manager, he grew their affiliate program exponentially in a relatively short time and moved on to take responsibility for the entire North American affiliate program across the Getty Images brand portfolio. He shares his adventures in online marketing and entrepreneurship over at The Bootstrapped Entrepreneur.

Ken Dreifach Ken Dreifach advises clients in advertising, marketing and privacy law, ranging from major online platforms, retailers and ESPs to innova-

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tive start-ups, helping each assess risk and devise effective, creative compliance solutions. Before joining ZwillGen, an Internet law boutique, he was General Counsel to a data marketing company and Chief of the New York Attorney General’s Internet Bureau, where he prosecuted consumer law violations. Ken has expertise in privacy laws such as C OPPA, C ANSPAM, FC R A and state consumer laws, and self-regulatory codes such as those of the DMA, NAI and WOMMA. He regularly engages with regulators, lawmakers and trade groups, serving, for instance, on DMA committees on data usage. Ken earned a law degree from NYU School of Law, and began his career as a judicial clerk for Hon. Phyllis Kravitch of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit.

Declan Dunn Declan Dunn is C EO of DunnDirectMedia, a pioneer of affiliate programs, and also the founder of one of the first educational, social networks n in 1995, recognized by Adobe for its Social Impact in Media. He was C EO of his own direct marketing agency, ADNet International, for 6 years, helping launch American Express, MyPoints, and Network Solutions Partner Programs. It’s this wealth of robust expertise in the trenches and in the Fortune 500 that gives Declan his wide-ranging, pragmatic perspective on business. Today he helps companies move towards acquisition and IPO through growing their audience, building data assets that add value, and integrating social and mobile connections into the traditional Internet business model. Often called on to activate business development and recommend key paths for growth, Declan’s been a pioneering insider in the fields of online education, corporate performance enhancement and affiliate marketing.

Kevin Edwards Kevin Edwards has over nine years experience working for affiliate networks. Since joining Affiliate Window in 2006, Kevin has had a significant impact on the business, facilitating and deepening relationships with partners and strengthening the core management team. He heads up the Strategy team as Strategy Director with responsibility for producing research, implementing best practice and providing analysis for key clients. He’s also former Chair for IAB’s Affiliate Marketing Council.

Justin Elenburg Justin Elenburg, a mobile web marketing pioneer, has years of experience & has helped shape the future of affiliate mobile web marketing. Understanding the business needs of affiliates & advertisers, he co-founded his newest venture, Mobile Fused. Through Mobile Fused, Justin has succeeded in generating hundreds of thousands of calls per month through pay-per-call campaigns & has turned several affiliates into profitable powerhouses earning over $100,000/mo. He has achieved call-to-conversion rates upwards of 30%, driving 95% of his business on mobile phones. Justin also brings experience from other leadership roles.

As President of a large company, he managed hundreds of employees & multi-million dollar budgets. He has also been recognized for his dedication to his country numerous times while enlisted in the US Air Force.

Justin’s overall goal through Mobile Fused is to work with networks & publishers to eliminate low quality leads, creating a win-win situation for everyone.

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Amy Ely Amy Ely manages the affiliate program for Under Armour, one of the world’s most technical performance apparel, footwear and accessories brands. Her role includes growing program performance across the US, Canada and UK markets. An active member in the affiliate community since 2006, Amy is also well known for managing US marketing operations for buy.at, a leading global affiliate network. Joining the buy.at US team from day one, she designed and executed a marketing strategy to grow the company’s worldwide presence. Prior to this position, Amy spent 4+ years working for AOL as a Product Manager for Advertising. com’s Affiliate Network and as a Marketing Manager to support buy.at and Advertising.com’s Publisher Services division. Amy’s publications include articles in FeedFront Magazine, the book “Internet Marketing from the Real Experts” and she regularly participates in ABC s podcasts to share best practice knowledge and advice.

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Eric Ewe Eric Ewe is a seasoned digital marketing professional with over 14 years of experience in performance based lead generation and e-commerce verticals. Eric has proven competencies in managing complex teams, marketing programs and deploying strategic plans for Fortune 100 companies to small online retailers. He has worked for Wyndham Vacation Resorts to Golfballs.com, and was nominated for the Linkshare Golden Link Award in 2007. Eric currently works for The SC OOT ER Store and oversees the digital strategy of the company while actively managing the PPC , affiliate and email marketing. He holds an MBA and an M.S. in Telecommunication from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette.

Marty Fahncke An expert in multichannel direct response marketing for more than 25 years, Marty M. Fahncke brings a unique and proven track record of success to his audiences. Having been involved in marketing campaigns that have generated more than $1 billion in sales, Marty has seen what works … and what doesn’t. He presents to audiences across the country on topics related to internet marketing, social media, affiliate marketing, direct response television and more.

Todd Farmer Todd Farmer, an internet marketing veteran, started his first internet company, Kowabunga! Marketing, in 1996, providing Affiliate Marketing Tracking & Management Software (MyAffiliateProgram), Outsourced Affiliate Program Management (Team Affiliate), Email Marketing Software (Extractor Pro, Optin Pro), and the Affiliate Network (Kolimbo). After selling Kowabunga in 2005 and completing a 3 year employment agreement with the acquiring company, Todd started his new consulting and media firm, PerformStreet Media, where he helps companies leverage his years of experience growing his internet businesses, with high level, profitable internet marketing strategies and guidance. Todd’s current projects include MyContentPro.com, AffiliateMarketingPlan. com, and a number of B2B projects dedicated to teaching internet marketers best practices and strategies in: Affiliate Marketing, Search Engine Marketing, Email Marketing, Membership Sites, and Blogging for passion & profit.

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Melissa Filipkowski As an Advertising Director, Melissa Filipkowski successfully manages one of the largest portfolios of lead generation and cost per action advertisers at Clickbooth.com. She provides direction for her own Exclusive Marketing Partners’ strategies, and facilitates the development of Advertising Consultant’s accounts for overall team growth. Her breadth of knowledge transcends multiple verticals in the C PA space including, but not limited to, insurance, weight loss, education, debt/mortgage and skincare. She has successfully delivered proactive account management by providing business solutions to clients, as well as offering ideas/methods of increasing revenue through unique marketing programs. Melissa also acts as the advertising liaison between Advertisers and Clickbooth’s full service compliance department, the first of its kind in the C PA industry. Melissa holds a double Masters in Business Administration and International Business from the University of Florida.

Karen Garcia Karen Garcia, C EO of the affiliate program management company, GTO Management, has thirteen years of experience in e-commerce and marketing. Beginning in 1999 with the development and management of the affiliate program for Shari’s Berries as well as their e-mail and print advertisement channels and SEO and SEM campaigns, Karen has consulted on and profitably managed dozens of affiliate programs on many different network platforms ranging from large national brands such as National Geographic, MediFast and Weebly.com to niche merchants like BowlingShirt.com and OfficePlayground.com as well as the conference, Blog World/New Media Expo. In 2009, she was nominated for an Affiliate Summit Pinnacle Award for Affiliate Marketing Advocate and the

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GTO-managed BowlingShirt.com program was nominated for Exceptional Merchant against industry heavyweights Amazon and eBay. She was awarded the 2009 ShareASale “Pay It Forward” Award for Industry Advocate for her work on the Advertising Tax issue.

David Gass David Gass is a serial entrepreneur who has started businesses with $200 and grew to multi-millions. His companies have been listed on the Inc. 5000 list of fastest growing companies in the United States three years in a row. David is an entrepreneur, consultant, author, and sought after speaker on the subject of entrepreneurship, marketing, business finance and buying and selling websites. He also is an investor of websites and a buying and selling website expert. He invests in websites full-time and has a mastermind group he facilitates monthly to provide tips and opportunities for others to learn how to buy and sell websites.

Eric J. Gerritsen Eric J. Gerritsen has over 20 years of experience in growing media, software, and Internet technology companies across multiple countries, specifically in Asia. Eric was the VP of International Business for Lycos and a Board of Directors member for Lycos Europe, Korea, and Asia. His role evolved to the Senior Vice President of Global Alliances when Terra Lycos S.A. was formed. Prior to joining Neverblue, Eric ran Global Internet Advisors in Palo Alto, a boutique strategy consulting firm. Eric is passionate about strategy and leads Neverblue’s sales and business development team in establishing key partnerships in new international mar-

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kets. Eric is responsible for Neverblue’s recent office expansion in Europe (London) and Hong Kong (Asia) in 2012. Eric holds a BA in philosophy from Queen’s University and is a regular speaker at Internet, software and media industry around the world. In his spare-time, Eric is an avid cyclist who also enjoys travel in Asia.

Kristin Hall Kristin leads Google’s affiliate publisher development efforts including account management, support, acquisition and optimization.

Kristin has more than a decade of performance marketing experience and currently serves as a member of the Board of Directors for the Performance Marketing Association. Prior to assuming leadership of the publisher development team Kristin held positions at Google in network development and marketing. Kristin joined Google after the 2008 acquisition of DoubleClick Performics, where she was the Director of Affiliate Product Marketing . Prior to joining Performics, Kristin was a Principal at Corporate Technology Communications. Kristin previously spent several years as Senior Vice President of Ludgate Communications, now part of Interpublic Group. At Ludgate, Kristin led account management for the financial communications practice focused on launching international issuers in the US financial markets.

Peter Hamilton Peter was recruited to HasOffers before the product was launched in 2009. He has more than six years of experience in digital marketing, specializing in search engine optimization, reputation management, so-

· Issue 21 · January 2013

cial media strategies, technical writing, partnership development, project management, online multimedia, and digital advertising. As an entrepreneur, he began the first franchises of Clean Air Lawn Care in the Seattle area, providing low impact lawn maintenance to environmentally conscious consumers. Peter received his Bachelor’s degrees in Film and Music from the University of Texas at Austin and continues to be involved with the Seattle music community.

Michael Herrera Michael is an online marketing leader with extensive experience managing multi-channel marketing programs and strategic partnerships. Michael currently oversees online acquisitions and lead generation efforts for Citi’s Consumer Businesses across affiliate marketing and partnerships. He has been with Citi since 2007 and has worked in the digital marketing space for more than 10 years—with a diverse background in various industries including financial services, publishing, automotive and hospitality. Michael holds an M.S. in Marketing from New York University.

Rae Hoffman 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 C EO 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 Interactiveand the Co-Owner and SVP of Marketing for Speedy Incorporation Service.

Erik Hom Erik currently runs Business Development for WizeCommerce (aka Nextag) where he is responsible for partnerships, the affiliate program and new business development. With over 15 years of experience in retail and online marketing, Erik has a long history in online partner referral marketing both as an affiliate and as a merchant.Erik has worked for online start-ups such as Reel.com and Ticketweb as well as large traditional brands such as Williams-Sonoma, Gap, and Ticketmaster. Erik specializes in helping create external partnerships that supplement and complement a company’s core business. A graduateof Chicago’s Booth School of Business and Carnegie Mellon, Erik’s background spans from investment banking to strategic consulting to ice cream. An entrepreneur at heart, Erik is the proud owner of Ben & Jerry’s franchises in the San Francisco Bay Area.

eas of: SEO, social media & ORM. His experience has led him to work with some of the largest brands online, including several Fortune 500 companies – helping them with their search marketing strategies. Kenny is also a speaker at some of the largest internet marketing conferences including: Pubcon, SMX, Blogworld, Affiliate Summit, & DMA.

Tim Jones Tim Jones has been working with internet projects and affiliate marketing for the last 12 years. Tim is the co-founder and C OO of Destinations to Explore, Inc.(DestinationsInFlorida.com); a travel site that specializes in Disney World vacations. This company revolutionized the way Disney travel is sold. He authors several blogs and maintains several affiliate marketing sites.

Scott Kalbach Scott Kalbach is a founder and the C EO of AvantLink.com, an affiliate network that focuses on Cost Per Sale affiliate marketing for web retailers. Scott began developing affiliate ad technology in 2003 and developed the initial network technology for AvantLink.com in 2005. As C EO, he has continued to place a strong emphasis on developing cutting edge affiliate marketing technology. AvantLink’s latest technology innovation is called AvantMetrics, which is a pixel container and analytics platform that provides solutions to common problems like multi-network sales/ commission de-duplication as well as the ability to do advanced shared attribution payout models.

Brandon Keenen After 10 years as an entrepreneur in the US lead generation space, Brandon Keenen ventured to Europe and heavily immersed himself into the advertising technology field. As a senior executive for AOL advertising he worked with global technology teams on the advertising.com network, buy.at affiliate network and the Huffington Post. He had the opportunity to work intimately with global agencies, trading desks, Yahoo, Google, Audience Science and more. With expertise in real time bidded display, paid search, seo and lead generation he brings a vast scope of knowledge that will be invaluable to mapping the landscape into the future of the affiliate space. As an engaging and electrifying speaker Brandon has been known to speak his mind regardless of political or business aspirations.

He can invoke thought and offer an in depth look into a world that many even in the advertising space don’t know (yet).

Aaron Kelly

Kenny Hyder

Founder and Senior Partner of Kelly / Warner, PLLC , Aaron’s client list includes some of the top affiliates, websites, networks, and marketing agencies in the world. In addition to speaking engagements and being a published author, Aaron has earned one of the most prestigious awards a lawyer can receive, an AV Rating from Martindale Hubbell. In addition to his firm, Aaron also is one of the founders of SnapTerms, which has been featured on TechCrunch. Kelly / Warner has offices in Arizona, Michigan, Texas, and California with a New York Office opening soon.

Kenny Hyder has been helping businesses with their online and SEO strategies since 2004. Originally starting as an in-house SEO, Kenny eventually branched out to start his own internet marketing business.

His first business was eventually bought out by a much larger internet marketing firm. Today he runs Hyder Media, servicing clients in the ar-

Gary Kibel (gkibel@dglaw.com, Twitter/GaryKibel_law) is a partner with the law firm of Davis & Gilbert LLP (www.dglaw.com). He practices in the areas of New Media, Advertising/Marketing and IP law.

Gary Kibel

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Gary regularly counsels clients with respect to issues such as interactive advertising, search marketing, affiliate marketing, enterprise technology implementations, behavioral advertising, privacy and security, gaming, content licensing, wireless services and entertainment, joint ventures, copyrights, trademarks, corporate matters and laws affecting the Internet. Davis & Gilbert is widely regarded as the premier law firm in the U.S. representing advertising, marketing and promotions agencies, from specialized shops to the largest advertising holding companies in the world, and also represents prominent technology and entertainment companies, marketers, and advertising trade associations. Prior to becoming an attorney, Gary was an Information Systems Analyst with Merrill Lynch.

Ben Kiblinger Online marketer since 99’. Affiliate industry experience includes work as a network, an advertiser, an agency, a publisher and a network again. Passion is to help publishers and advertisers to monetize the web’s fast growing content type – video. From 99’ through ‘01 contributed to making Commission Junction the most popular global platform for affiliate marketing. As an advertiser made GoToMyPC a top 10 most-advertised product on the Internet in 2002, then co-founded Shoperion (an ad technology company) in 2006, which was acquired by Buy.com in 2007.

Co-founded RevUpNet in 2007, an agency that delivered $70M+ to clients before being acquired by Coull in 2012. Currently President of Coull US/Canada, Ben is focused on delivering incremental revenue to publishers and advertisers through contextual in-video advertising. Coull’s technology enables the integration of clickable affiliate links within video content – its network delivers that content to a large, targeted audience.

Andrew Knibbe Andrew Knibbe has held Marketing and Operations Management roles at the Flippa.com website marketplace over a tenure that has seen over $50 million in websites change hands. Andrew authored the popular Flippa Pro Guide to Buying Websites as well as the Guide to Selling Websites on Flippa. He has over 10 years of online business experience having previously held senior roles at major online marketplaces and directories.

Scott Krager Scott Krager is the founder of SERPs.com, an online dashboard for measuring SEO success. He also runs his own portfolio of websites and has been doing affiliate SEO since 2007.

Chris Kramer Chris is a Co-Founder and managing partner of NetX, a leading performance marketing agency based in New York City. Chris oversees the Marketing Intelligence group for the agency which includes reports, customer analytics and just about anything related to tracking and numbers. He’s been in the online marketing space and affiliate marketing since 1998 and has worked on clients such as The New York Times, Dick’s Sporting Goods, Audible.com, Red Roof Inn, Charity: Water, and more than 40 others.

Jaxon Lam Jaxon Lam is HootSuite’s Affiliate & Search Specialist, and has a passion for data and online marketing. A member of the HootSuite team since 2011, Jaxon successfully scales and grows HootSuite’s affiliate

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programs in the emerging Social Media Management Systems and SaaS vertical. with access to the data and strategy of the web’s biggest social media power users, Jaxon keeps himself informed to make creative marketing decisions that add value to all parties involved. And where there is value, there are increased conversions. Jaxon’s simple formula? “Keep it simple. Create cool stuff people love. Test. Optimize. Test and optimize.” #upandtotheright

Stephanie Lichtenstein Stephanie Lichtenstein is the President & Founder of Micro Media Marketing, an International Social Media Agency. Throughout her career she has worked with Internet Retailer Top 500 companies and Hispanic Brands. Stephanie has become an industry advocate, public speaker, and blogger for what matters in social media and affiliate marketing.

Cyrus Lohrasbpour Cyrus Lohrasbpour is the founder and C EO of LeanMarket.

Through his work helping clients succeed with display advertising prior to LeanMarket, Cyrus gained an insider’s view of the real-time bidding landscape. As part of founding LeanMarket, Cyrus raised funding from Y Combinator, Silicon Valley’s premiere seed-stage investment fund, and has helped LeanMarket to double revenue quarter-over-quarter. He now advises several affiliates on their transition to founding venture-funded technology startups.

Nick Loper Nick Loper is a veteran affiliate marketer and a lifelong student in the game of business. His love affair with online marketing began in 2004, and he dreamed of someday making a living online. After several years of nights and weekends, the dream became reality in 2008. He’s an avid skier, softball player, and blogger, and most days you can find him working away while walking at his makeshift treadmill desk. As an expert in outsourcing, Nick published a book on working with virtual assistants in 2012. His entrepreneurial pursuits have been marked by both success and failure, but the perks of being his own boss have made it all worthwhile. In the future, he hopes to continue writing, to help as many people as possible (which he’s learned is a key to success), and not have to get a real job.

James Martell Recognized as a leading expert in affiliate training, James the author of the top selling “Affiliate Marketers Handbook.” A sought-after speaker, James has presented at Commission Junction University, Affiliate Summit, The System Seminar, Digital River Lab, and more. He is also the host and creator of both the “Affiliate Buzz” (the 1st and longest running Affiliate Industry Podcast) and “Coffee Talk,” a series of interviews with Industry Experts. James relies on outsourcing for the creation of his websites, graphics, articles, podcasts, and video in order to streamline his business, enabling him to break away from the daily grind. He credits this “autopilot” for the success and freedom he now enjoys. His latest project, the Affiliate Marketer’s “SUPER BootCamp,” is a collection of 12 recorded lessons, hours of audio, scheduled online events-such as live Q&A sessions-and a vibrant 24/7 members only forum.

Michael Martin

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Michael Martin is the SEO Manager at Covario and owner of Mobile Martin in San Diego, Ca while also being recognized throughout the search marketing industry as one of the leading authorities on Mobile SEO. He teaches accredited SEO courses at San Diego State University, writes for Search Engine Land, and is a contributor to The Art of SEO : Mastering Search Engine Optimization published by O’Reilly. In his 10-plus years of Internet marketing experience, Michael has spearheaded online marketing campaigns for such global industry leaders as Research In Motion, Dell, T-Mobile, Samsung, IBM, SC Johnson and IGN. He has previously spoken at Affiliate Summit West, Affiliate Summit East, SMX Advanced, SMX East, SMX West, SES San Francisco, SES New York, SES Chicago, SES San Diego, WordCamp LA, several PubCons, and the PMI Project Management Institute Annual Conference.

Dave McCarthy Dave McCarthy is an SVP of Tightrope Interactive and the G M of their Download Products division. Over the past 6 years Dave has led Tightrope to becoming a leader in downloadable products distribution through their creation of Download Admin, an install management product powering the largest download sites in the world. They have also created and distribute their own toolbar, worked with all of the major downloadable advertisers and traffic sources and are themselves the owners of 20 major downloadable product sites. Prior to joining Tightrope, Dave was the SVP/GM of Advertising at ALOT and was responsible for the company’s online media planning and buying, overseeing a budget of more than $9MM/quarter. In addition, Dave was responsible for MIVA’s (ALOT parent company) consumer web properties. Dave was the founder of Spill.com and was in charge of all ad sales for MIVA Direct. Prior to joining MIVA, Dave was at Sandbox.com as East Coast Sales Manager.

Martin MacDonald Martin MacDonald is a full time online marketing specialist, with diverse experience in industries ranging from gambling to travel, ticketing to affiliate technology. During his career he has both strategised and executed marketing campaigns for companies including Expedia, Seatwave, PepsiCo, McDonald’s, Virgin and many other household name brands.

He is currently Inbound Marketing Director for Expedia E AN, the whitelabel technology division of the worlds largest travel company, regular blogger on major industry publications, and speaker at international marketing conferences. You can read more about him at http://martinmacdonald.net and follow him on http://twitter.com/searchmartin

Jonathan Mendez Jonathan is Founder and C EO of Yieldbot. Yieldbot technology creates marketplaces where advertisers buy real-time consumer intent flowing through premium publishers. Prior, Jonathan was Chief Strategy Officer of Offermatica (now Adobe Test & Target) for 2 years through its acquisition by Omniture. He has done SEM on behalf of leading brands in Auto, Finance, EDU & B2B and started his digital life as Founder and C EO of Vitaminlab.com. He has worked with over 75 businesses to better understand the intentions of their visitors and optimize digital performance including Amazon.com, Disney, Citibank, H&R Block, IBM, Intuit, Microsoft, Sears, Skype and T-Mobile.

Rob Merlino Rob Merlino has been a salesman and entrepreneur since he was 10 years old. Now he is an author, auteur, raconteur, Hotdogman, biographer to the nearly famous, prolific blogger, internet marketing entrepreneur, and all around good guy. As an active freelance writer and the content specialist for SEBlogger, LLC, he can offer insight into the benefits of creating engaging website content that both readers and search engines love.

Ben Metcalfe Ben tracks his involvement with the WordPress community way back before it was even WordPress (B2, in fact, which was the name of the former project that forked and became WordPress). As a software engineer, Ben helped build the BBC News Website. He also rolled out the BBC ’s blogging platform (sadly not WordPress) and its developer platform. Since moving State-side in 2006, Ben has worked as a technologist, strategist and entrepreneur – launching the MySpace Platform, founding various startups in the tech/media landscape and advising numerous startups – including Apture (acquired by Google) and NutShellMail (acquired by Constant Contact). After being asked to rearchitect the WordPress install for a highly successful, high-trafficed blog, Ben realized that there was a gap in the market for premium managed WordPress hosting – and the rest is history. He has blogged since 2004 on all manner of technology topics at http://benmetcalfe.com/blog/ and tweets at http://twitter.com/dotBen

Tricia Meyer Tricia Meyer is the owner of Sunshine Rewards, Helping Moms Connect, and other niche sites. She frequently speaks and writes about

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affiliate marketing topics such as monetizing blogs, affiliate and affiliate manager relationships, and the basics of affiliate marketing. She is a member writer for ItsAWahmThing.com and an Associate Member of the Performance Marketing Association. Tricia leads the Indianapolis Affiliate Summit Meetups and is a partner in WineClubGroup.com.

Troy F. Meyerson Troy F. Meyerson is an experienced Internet law attorney and the Chair of the Internet Law Group at Fraser Stryker PC LLO. Troy helps networks, advertisers, publishers, online businesses and other internet entrepreneurs navigate the complex and ever changing laws and regulations that impact e-commerce businesses generally and affiliate marketing specifically. Among other things, Troy’s time is spent on a broad range of internet law issues including drafting and negotiating contracts, advising on issues of compliance with regulatory guidelines, counseling clients regarding online trademark and infringement issues, representing clients on issues of protection of intellectual property rights and assisting his clients with general commercial matters.

Cristian Miculi Cristian has been involved in the IT&C industry since 2005. First, for 3 years as editor at IDG Publishing Group, one of the leading technology media, events, and research companies. In 2008, he joined Avangate and has since focused on the software niche. As Avangate’s Affiliate Network Coordinator, Cristian acts as the “marriage maker” between software merchants and affiliates, helping them generate more sales through the Avangate Affiliate Network. In this role, he provides custom advice and hands-on support for affiliate programs and campaigns. In his spare time, Cristian enjoys traveling and playing the piano.

Gene Mikhov Gene Mikhov is CEO and President of both GMB Direct and XVIO, two New York-based online marketing companies. He has more than ten years experience in new-customer acquisition and online media-buying for both Fortune 500 companies (e.g., Verizon Wirelessand Living Social) and New York City establishments (e.g., Club A Steakhouse and RSVP).

Mikhov’s latest business is X VIO (www.xvio.com), a full-service marketing agency which focuses on providing retailers with professional website design, reputation management, and social media/search-engine optimization. Gene’s expertise led Club A Steakhouse to gross over $750 million dollars with Living Social in just twelve months. GMB Direct (www.gmbdirect. com) has been an online-marketing industry leader for the past 11 years.

Jasmine Moadel Jasmine Moadel is the Senior Vice President of Marketing for Paltalk, the world’s largest live video chat community with millions of free and paid members in over 180 countries, where she oversees the company’s marketing, pricing and monetization strategies. For the past 7 years, Jasmine has focused on maximizing value from both free and paid users, ensuring a great experience for all users on Paltalk, improving customer conversion and retention and enabling constant growth and profitability of the business. An expert in maximizing user value, Jasmine’s achievements include optimizing Paltalk’s freemium subscription model and launching new revenue streams, including virtual gifting and games. Before coming to Paltalk, Jasmine worked at Xuppa, Inc., a digital agency

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where she specialized in media buying. Jasmine holds a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology and Economics from New York University.

Bhavik Modi Bhavik Modi has been in the affiliate marketing industry since 2010 as an affiliate. In addition to affiliate marketing, Bhavik is a process improvement consultant. He works with many organizations to reduce waste in their processes, which leads to improved quality, delivery performance, customer satisfaction and employee satisfaction. Bhavik has been consulting for over 7 years, and is a certified Six Sigma Black Belt.

Andrew Moers As President of Ask Partner Network (APN), an IAC company, Andrew Moers oversees the worldwide distribution of Ask.com search applications, with more than 100 million end-user customers through partnerships with a number of industry leaders, including Fortune 500 companies across a broad range of downloadable software and online entertainment categories. Since taking the helm in 2008, Moers has revamped APN’s business, increasing revenue substantially, scaling distribution across new industries and top tier partners such as Oracle Corp., Symantec Corp. and Electronic Arts Inc., and creating a highly customizable add-on platform that seamlessly embeds partner content and services into all major browsers and operating systems. Under Moers’s leadership, APN also launched its proprietary dynamic installer, which activates its partner footprint into a pay-for-performance offer network for advertisers looking to generate leads for free or paid apps.

John C. Monarch John C. Monarch is a specialist of all in the affiliate space, playing all roles from Affiliate, to High Risk Consultant, to Advertiser/Merchant. Using his technical background in Physics and Computer Science, he turns data into revenue, while focusing running clean and compliant.

CJ Montgomery Mr. Montgomery is one of the founding members of Wheeler, Montgomery, Sleight & Boyd Law Offices. He is a life-long resident of the Pacific Northwest, having received a Finance degree from Boise State University, and a Master’s degree in Business Administration from Washington State University. C J went on to receive his Juris Doctorate from the University of Idaho College Of Law. Mr. Montgomery worked for Idaho Legal Aid Services in Boise, working on Indian Law and Water Rights cases. Prior to joining Wheeler, Montgomery, Sleight & Boyd, he also worked with the Idaho Tax Clinic representing clients before the Internal Revenue Service. Mr. Montgomery focuses on will and estate planning, business formation, and criminal defense. Additionally, he is an author and frequent speaker in the field of Internet Law, including DMC A notices, UDRP complaints, Intellectual Property rights, and advertising and compliance issues.

Sharon Mostyn By day, Sharon is responsible for the ecommerce marketing efforts at travel insurance provider, RoamRight. Prior to joining RoamRight, Sharon served as AVP, eCommerce at 1st Mariner Bank, Ecommerce Manager at MEDE X Global Solutions, Internet Marketing Director at Custom Direct, and Integrated Marketing Manager at Brennan Re-

· Issue 21 · January 2013

sponse. During her tenure at Custom Direct, their affiliate program won Best Affiliate Program and Best Improved Affiliate Program from ABestWeb and was a finalist for the Affiliate Summit Pinnacle Awards.

Sharon’s core expertise includes ecommerce marketing (email, SEO/SEM/ PPC , affiliate, social media), website analytics, DRT V and online & offline media buying. By night, her family racks up more medical “frequent flier” miles than the average 10 families combined! To see how she relates every day events to Marketing check out her blog: Motherhood, Marketing & Medical Mayhem at http://sharonmostyn.com.

Chuck Mullins Chuck, a serial entrepreneur and early pioneer of the internet, built his first profitable website in 1996 at 18 years of age. In college he studied computer software engineering which taught him the skills to analyze search results and implement strategies that take advantage of the observations he makes. Throughout his career of creating, managing, and consulting for dozens of internet-based companies, Chuck has been instrumental in developing strategies that lead to growth and profitability.

Among people he works with, Chuck is regarded as “the idea guy.” He is known for his ability to spot opportunities, create a plan, and execute.

After seeing an opportunity to leverage his time by acquiring underperforming sites, he has participated in several million dollars worth of acquisitions, which have all shown significant growth and returns.

Eric Nagel Eric Nagel is an award-winning, entrepreneurial, dynamic, and selfdirected Web expert with more than 13 years of solid experience in Internet marketing, programming, and service. Eric is consistently successful in identifying and capitalizing on Internet marketing opportunities to drive revenue and profit growth. He delivers key solutions to corporate marketing challenges. Eric’s specialties include Affiliate Marketing, Search Engine Optimization, Web Programming with PHP, Web Analytics, Strategic Planning, Pay-per-Click Marketing, Blogging & Podcasting, Social Networking Applications, Landing Page Optimization, as well as Team Building & Training. Eric was a finalist for the Affiliate Summit Pinnacle Awards Affiliate of the Year in 2010 & 2012, and won the Best Blogger Pinnacle Award in 2011 for his blog at www.ericnagel.com.

Mike Nunez Mike Nunez began his affiliate marketing career while taking Computer Science classes at UC F. He leveraged his newfound knowledge to launch the Wyndham Vacation Ownership affiliate program, which quickly became the highest converting lead source in the company. Mike was then recruited to launch the LastMinuteTravel.com affiliate program, where sales grew to $500k in 3 months. Upon realizing that affiliate management was in high demand with a low supply of quality managers, Mike co-founded www.AffiliateManager.com. After our first year, the firm won “Best New OPM” on the most popular affiliate forum. To better serve affiliates, Mike spearheaded the creation of BounceLinks.com, a tool to monetize user-generated content as well as streamline product level link creation. Most recently, Mike launched www.AffiliateRecruitment.com, a self-service tool that allows managers to recruit relevant affiliates. Lastly, Mike has served as a member of the Linkshare and Affiliate Summit Advisory Board.

Amanda Orson Amanda Orson (@Phillian) has been in the Affiliate Marketing and Local Lead Generation space since 2008. She has developed internet marketing campaigns for everything from sustainable seafood to financial services; pet sitters to roofing leads. She lives in Philadelphia, blogs irregularly at AmandaOrson.com and in good summers gets to work as a commercial salmon fisherman in Alaska.

Joel Ownby Joel Ownby started his first sites at 16 and founded a company at 21. Some early accomplishments include a successful auction site network and the development of software to provide precious metals futures pricing back to the web (now APME X.C OM). He took a position with Joel Comm at Infomedia, Inc. in 2005 and moved with the company to Loveland Colorado in 2007 as VP of Operations. InfoMedia provided Joel the opportunity to get to work with the full internet marketing & advertising arsenal as well as a means to pursue his creative and development passions. In December 2011 Joel officially accepted an SVP Internet Marketing position at InterFAC E Holdings in New York City where he is building a new internal digital marketing division.

Jeremy Palmer Jeremy Palmer is an experienced internet marketer, who has launched dozens of successful websites. Jeremy is a vocal supporter and strong advocate of the performance marketing industry. He’s been a featured speaker and trainer at dozens of internet marketing conferences.

Jeremy’s e-books, webinars, and videos have been consumed by thousands of affiliates. In addition to training new affiliates, Jeremy has consulted with dozens of merchants and e-commerce companies about their affiliate programs.

Amber Paul Amber Paul currently operates as the Vice President of Business Development for Globalwide Media, parent company of Neverblue Media. Prior to acquisition by Neverblue in April of 2011, Amber acted as one of the managing partners for AK MG and has held roles on the executive teams of leading affiliate networks, Hydra and Bloosky Interactive.

Her areas of specialty within affiliate marketing include email, display, social and mobile advertising, in addition to comprehensive knowledge surrounding Can Spam compliance and FTC guidelines. In addition to an alumni of Chapman University, Amber is also the head organizer for Meetup202 events in Southern California including the Los Angeles, Orange County and San Diego groups which consists of over 2000 affiliate marketers.

Russell Peachman As VP, Lead Generation at Rakuten LinkShare, Russ oversees the company’s customer acquisition network, which he helped found in 2007. Rakuten’s lead generation network is today one of the premier networks in customer acquisition and pay-per-call. Prior to working at Rakuten, Russ held marketing and strategy roles at Institutional Investor, Inc. and Fusebox, Inc. In a previous life, Russ worked as a financial news reporter and editor for Institutional Investor.

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· Issue 21 · January 2013

Lisa Picarille Lisa Picarille is an online content strategist, who focuses on online marketing, branding, and social media. She is the co-founder of www. mycontentpro.com and is also currently co-authoring a book with Jim Kukral. Lisa teaches Internet marketing classes for USF Online. She also co-hosts the popular Affiliate Thing podcast with Affiliate Summit cofounder Shawn Collins. Previously, Lisa was the Publisher and Editorin-Chief of Revenue Magazine. She is a veteran journalist who began her career as a professional sports writer in Boston and has headed the news departments of major high tech news organizations including Wired. com, TechWeb.com, TechT V.com and C RN.com. Her work has also appeared in Rolling Stone, C RM Magazine, PC Week, MacWeek, Computerworld and InfoWorld. She is the 2008 winner of LinkShare’s Golden Link Award for Most Vocal Performance Marketing Advocate, winner of Affiliate Summit’s Pinnacle Award for Affiliate Marketing Advocate for 2011 and a frequent speaker at industry conferences.

Geno Prussakov Geno Prussakov is a graduate of the University of Cambridge. He is the C EO & Founder of AM Navigator – an award-winning OPM agency.

As an affiliate program manager and consultant he has contributed to the online marketing success of Forbes, Nokia, Hallmark, Warner Music, Skype, Forex Club, and hundreds of small businesses. Prussakov has authored “A Practical Guide to Affiliate Marketing” (2007) and “Affiliate Program Management: An Hour a Day” (2011) which have trained thousands of marketing professionals. In 2011 for influencing “change within the industry” LinkShare named him one of Performance Marketing’s Most Vocal Advocates, while Small Business Trends recognized him with an “honorable mention” in their 2011 Small Business Influencer initiative. In 2012 Geno has launched Affiliate Management Days conference.

He shares his knowledge through major digital marketing magazines, blogs, conference presentations, and also maintains his own blog (named Best Affiliate Blog in 2010 & 2011).

Baglan Nurhan Rhymes Baglan has extensive experience in ad operations, software engineering, process implementation and development of online & business strategies. Baglan heads up monetization of Hotspot Shield- world’s largest consumer based VPN and manages the Ad Ops teams at Anchorfree . Prior to joining Anchorfree, Baglan was the Head of Media at LSF Interactive where she has managed online strategies for a number of Gucci Group Companies; Balenciaga, Yves Saint Laurent and Stella McCartney along with Lancome Canada and Clarins. Baglan lead a number of Ad Operations groups for technology startups such as YouSendIt.com in Silicon Valley and Operative in New York, providing end -to -end solutions to manage the digital advertising business for top publishers such as iVillage and Economist.com. Baglan received her MS in Economics from Dokuz Eylul University in Izmir Turkey along with PSP and TSP degrees from Carnegie Mellon University Software Engineering Institute. Baglan is a Six Sigma Green Belt.

Dina Riccobono Dina is currently an affiliate manager with Crush Ads, but previously worked as a social media consultant with both clients and agencies.

Dina has experience engaging audiences to enhance brand loyalty and

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develop successful social strategies. Having worked with major brands including Cisco and Oracle, as well as top startup entrepreneurs, Dina offers a unique array of experience in the online marketing industry.

Heather Romiti Heather Romiti is an Iraq war veteran turned affiliate marketer and wellness coach who created Blendhappy to inspire optimal health.

She’s gained a lot of attention and opportunities through her blog and YouTube channel. Along with her passion for video marketing she’s also a freelance website developer. Heather has written and published a book and is currently writing two more. Her passion, enthusiasm, and ambition for knowledge and entrepreneurship have her creating more businesses online including a product line and an organization.

William Rothbard Bill Rothbard has over three decades of experience counseling advertising and marketing clients on all aspects of compliance with FTC and state consumer protection laws. His clients include a wide variety of online and direct response marketers. He represents clients in federal, state and self-regulatory advertising investigations and enforcement actions.

He also negotiates and prepares advertising and marketing agreements and prosecutes trademark applications. Mr. Rothbard draws on his experience as a former FTC attorney, serving in the Advertising Practices Division and as Attorney-Advisor to the FTC Chairman. He also served as Senior Counsel to the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee, Subcommittee on Antritrust, Monopolies and Business Rights. Mr. Rothbard is a graduate of The University of Michigan and the University of California Hastings College of the Law.

Oliver Roup Oliver is the Founder and C EO of VigLink, a content monetization company. He has previously served as a Director at Microsoft in charge of product for various media properties including XBOX Live Video Marketplace, Zune Marketplace and MSN Entertainment. Oliver was also an early employee at Internet Radio pioneer Echo Networks and has worked for Paul Allen at Vulcan, for iPlayer at the BBC and for the Founders Fund. Oliver has issued and pending patents covering microtransactions, media and metadata. He received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in computer science from MIT and his MBA from the Harvard Business School.

Kim Rowley Kim Rowley @K IMarketing has been in the affiliate marketing space since 1998 and is the founder of Key Internet Marketing, Inc. where she authors several niche blogs including shoe blog, ShoeaholicsAnonymous.com. She also helps people save time and money at ShoppingBookmarks.com. Ms. Rowley has been featured in several publications including USA Today and Revenue Magazine and has presented on specific topics of ecommerce entrepreneurship, content creation and affiliate marketing secrets at such events as BlogWorld New Media Expo and Infotec. Kim is also an Adjunct Professor for the University of San Francisco teaching Advanced Affiliate Marketing Techniques. Kim volunteers her time as a SC ORE counselor to share her marketing expertise and serves as a member of the Affiliate Summit Advisory Board as well as several local civic organizations.

· Issue 21 · January 2013

Jason Rubacky Starting back in 2004 as an affiliate, Jason had a number of successful coupon and sports sites before moving into affiliate management in 2007. After winning a number of awards such as “Best Affiliate Manager of 2008″ and Best Affiliate Tool 3 years in a row over Google and WordPress, Jason decided to come full circle and be a part of the ShareASale team. Now Jason’s main role is Affiliate Development and “paying it forward”.#GetSome

Kim Salvino Kim has been an active member of the affiliate community since 2005, when she began managing the 4checks affiliate program. Kim then established the foundation of the buy.at US Account Management team in 2008, growing the department to provide strategic guidance and revenue growth for 70+ clients and moving on to recruit and grow publisher relationships in her role as Head of Publishers. A self-proclaimed “Affiliate Evangelist,” she takes great pride in providing publishers with world class service and looks forward to taking Chateau 20 to new heights as their current Director of Publisher Development. An Affiliate Summit panelist, regular attendee, and 2012’s recipient of the Pinnacle Award for Affiliate Manager of the Year, Kim is a passionate advocate for affiliate marketing and a self-taught industry expert. She often speaks at Affiliate Summit and PubCon, and is a published author in FeedFront Magazine and the book “Internet Marketing from the Real Experts.”

Jared Saunders Jared Saunders (aka TurboJared) has been in the Affiliate Marketing world since 2007. In 2009 he was awarded as ShareASale’s Exceptional Affiliate Program Manager. He developed and managed Jenson USA’s program successfully placing it consistently in the top 50 programs on

ShareASale. He’s also successfully launched programs on Avantlink. In 2009 Jared began OPM work and has directly managed a dozen programs and has supplied analytics and marketing insight for over 30 individual programs. In this role he is tasked with managing affiliate marketing programs, building and maintaining relationships with their affiliate partners, growing familiarity of the brand, collaborating with vendors on marketing strategies, finding new ways to let customers interact with them, and participating on their Affiliate Training team. Outside of work, Jared is a devoted husband, father of 4, avid cyclist, and Battletch / Mechwarrior enthusiast.

Steve Schaffer Steve Schaffer, Founder and C EO of Vertive, is an Internet strategy, performance marketing and product marketing professional with a more than 20 year record of growing start-ups and established Internet and software companies. Vertive is a leading publisher of websites that save consumers money when they shop online. These premium destination websites include Offers.com, CouponCodes.com, Subscription.com, and DailyDeals.com. Vertive has been recognized with some of the leading industry awards including the 2010 Commission Junction’s Publisher of the Year Award. Vertive is a Charter Corporate Member of the Performance Marketing Association (PMA), and Steve Schaffer served as the first president of the PMA board of directors.

Paul Schroader Paul has been in Interactive Marketing since 1995 and he has spent the last 12 years focusing on Affiliate Marketing. Since founding PS Web Solutions in 2001, some of the clients Paul has worked with include TMP Worldwide (Monster.com), Oreck, Tabasco, Logoworks, Blanchard and Company, and Blue Man Group. Paul has worked with brands both big

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· Issue 21 · January 2013

and small in pursuit of integrating efficient online advertising techniques into existing marketing plans. He has helped build very profitable online programs for numerous clients and constantly works to stay on top of developing trends. As the President and Founder of the Rocky Mountain Affiliate Marketing Association (RMAMA), Paul has helped affiliate managers and affiliates stay current on industry issues by providing a forum for networking since 2003. Paul recognizes affiliate marketing as a tremendous opportunity for clients and marketers, allowing for an extensive online presence within a set marketing cost structure.

David Sendroff David Sendroff is a technologist and entrepreneur with more than 15 years of experience in the computer hardware, software, and network administration systems field. He is the founder of C PA Detective, the premier affiliate fraud detection solution for the performance marketing industry. Prior to founding C PA Detective, he became C IO at Spire Vision by earning a reputation for consistently innovating technical solutions to complex problems, driving company growth through their acquisition

by XL Marketing. Because of his expertise with combating fraud, David was invited to serve on fraud task forces for both the Performance Marketing Association and the Online Lenders Alliance. He is also a member of the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners. David holds a B.S. in Computer and Information Science from the University of Maryland.

Caroline Sheu Caroline Sheu is the VP of Global Marketing at Disney Interactive, which makes leading console games such as "Epic Mickey" & "Toy Story 3," top mobile games such as "Where's My Water" & “Temple Run: Brave,” and successful social games such as “Avenger’s Alliance!” Caroline is responsible for all aspects of marketing, including brand management and customer lifecycle management - user acquisition, retention, & monetization. Most recently, she was asked to lead the content programming for Disney’s Mobile Network, which markets and distributes mobile apps for The Walt Disney Company. Prior to Disney, Caroline held senior executive positions at Sony & Electronics Arts and held management positions at Walmart.com & Adobe Systems. Caroline has a JD/MBA from the University of Chicago, an MA in Asian Studies from UC Berkeley, and a BA in Political Science and in East Asian Studies from UCLA. She is also on the Advisory Board of iProspect, a leading global search agency.

Joe Sousa Joe has been in the SEO/Affiliate industry since 1998. He started out doing SEO for clients but transitioned into a full time affiliate and affiliate manager. Over the years Joe has built hundreds of different sites in many different niches and has experience in PPC , SEO, video, and social media.

He blogs about affiliate stuff at http://whatdoesjoethink.com.

Jason Spievak Jason Spievak, C EO, RingRevenue – Prior to founding RingRevenue®, Jason was a Director and Chief Financial Officer at CallWave, Inc. (C ALL), a voice-over-internet software and service provider. Jason led

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CallWave’s successful IPO in 2004 and was a member of the senior team that delivered 12 consecutive quarters of revenue growth, profitability and positive cash flow with more than 750,000 paid subscribers. Prior to CallWave, Jason was Vice President of technology M&A in Broadview’s Silicon Valley office, where he was the execution lead on more than $1.25 billion in successful transactions. Jason has also held product management roles with Nextel Communications and with Netopia (NT PA), where he helped the company complete its successful IPO in 1996. Jason earned his MBA from the Kellogg School at Northwestern University and his BA from UC Santa Barbara.

Jonathan Stefansky As C EO of Viewbix, Jonathan is responsible for the overall strategic direction of the company from the creation of the product to the marketing and business development plans. Jonathan co-created Viewbix from his previous success as C EO of Qoof, an interactive video ad technology that converts video advertising views into monetizable interactions. Prior to joining Qoof, Jonathan served as EVP of Sales and Marketing for IDT Global Services, a professional services firm and major call center where he increased revenue by 400% and helped grow the firm to over 900 employees in three years. Before IDT, Jonathan worked at Akamai Technologies as VP of Strategic Accounts, where he was responsible for a multi million dollar increase in new revenue. Previously, Jonathan was VP of Network Infrastructure and Architecture, where he was responsible for the company’s network deployment in more than 70 countries and for 1,000 Internet service providers. Jonathan is also a former analyst and VP of Global Internet Infrastructure at Goldman Sachs and Co.

Jeff Stevens As the Director of Sales for Direct Response Technologies (DRT), Jeff Stevens is responsible for global sales of DirectTrack®, the world’s most comprehensive affiliate tracking solution. His innovative selling approach has maximized the company’s sales efforts, increased market share, and solidified the DirectTrack brand around the world. An expert in the field of performance marketing, Jeff often consults with clients regarding business strategies and has helped some of the world’s leading brands and affiliate networks turn concepts into executable revenue generating initiatives. His extensive experience in strategic sales, performance marketing analysis, and lead generation programs make him a much sought after resource at industry conferences, client engagements, and corporate events.

Craig Swerdloff Craig Swerdloff, an entrepreneur and longtime veteran of the online media industry, founded the Hockey Ad Network and LeadSpend, an email validation service. Craig has worked for Return Path and IAC / InterActiveCorp and served as chairman of the Interactive Advertising Bureau’s Email Committee. He currently holds posts with the Performance Marketing Association and previously held posts with the Chicago Interactive Marketing Association, the Atlanta Interactive Marketing Association, and the Direct Marketing Association.

· Issue 21 · January 2013

Sandrine Thompson Sandrine Thompson is the Strategic Insights Director at the affiliate network Commission Junction, where she has worked for eight years.

Sandrine has worked closely with publishers and advertisers to help them tap into new opportunities and navigate the industry’s changing landscape. She is an experienced affiliate strategist and passionately explores the persistent questions of the affiliate channel. Sandrine is currently focused on analyzing the incrementality of affiliate sales and affiliate growth opportunities in international markets.

Wade Tonkin Wade Tonkin has been active in the affiliate industry since 1999, working as in internal affiliate manager, outsourced affiliate manager, consultant, and sales specialist with companies like Kowabunga Technologies, Forge Business, The United Sharing Network and GTO Management before joining Fanatics in November of 2010. Wade currently manages the affiliate programs the official online stores of the NHL, NASC AR, NBA, NHL and ESPN. Wade is a regular contributor to FeedFront Magazine, has spoken at Affiliate Summit, the Internet Marketing Conference and the ShareASale Think Tank and hosts the Sports AffCast on GeekCast.fm.

Purna Virji Purna Virji is the Online Marketing Manager at Stroll – an ecommerce company in the education vertical – where she heads up the search marketing efforts, integrating direct response marketing tactics into digital marketing. Purna’s core areas of focus in-house are: Paid Search, Display/Banners, SEO, Social Media, Direct Response Marketing and Web Analytics. Purna also focuses on customer lifetime value optimization strategies such as Customer Retention Marketing. She worked at an agency for several years before going in-house over two years ago. She is a contributor at Search Engine Watch and has spoken at events such as the SEOmoz in Philadelphia SearchChurch event and at SMX East 2012.

Shannon Vogel After more than 10 years in retail, Shannon Vogel changed her focus from helping people one at a time to helping business owners and executives grow their companies through social media. Her passion lies in education, teaching the use of social media to create conversations that lead to long lasting relationships and turn customers into brand ambassadors and advocates. Shannon currently works with several different industries throughout the country including consumer products, local brick and mortar businesses, and food & beverage companies, helping each to strengthen their brand awareness, as well as create and maintain a positive, productive online reputation

David Vogelpohl David Vogelpohl is the founder and C EO of Marketing Clique, an online marketing and web development agency which helps clients build custom web applications, crazy fast WordPress solutions, and metric driven online marketing campaigns. David has nearly 16 years of web development and online marketing experience including a wide variety of technologies and online marketing channels. David is a two time Affili-

ate Summit speaker, published author in Feed Front Magazine, previous WordCamp speaker and an unabashed WordPress speed junky.

Kyle Wakefield Since 2005, Kyle has been a top affiliate for many networks and marketplaces. In 2008, he expanded into buying and selling websites focusing mainly on acquisitions. To date, he has bought and/or sold more than 10 web businesses of varying sizes. Kyle has done private training for ClickBank staff and employees on topics ranging from affiliate marketing to buying and selling websites. In addition to running several web businesses, Kyle’s team currently runs Themeco (www.theme.co) the first WordPress only network catering to products and services in the WordPress ecosystem.

Jason Wells Jason Wells is the C EO of ContactPoint, makers of LogMyCalls.

LogMyCalls represents the next generation of intelligent call tracking and conversation analytics. Prior to joining ContactPoint, Jason served as the Senior Vice President of Sony Pictures, where he led the creation and international expansion of Sony’s mobile business line from London. Jason has spoken on marketing topics at SES New York, SES Toronto, SES San Francisco, Ad Tech, Digital Hollywood and is a speaker at LeadsCon 2013. He holds an MBA from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.

Jason Yelowitz Jason has been Quiet Light’s top broker for the past three years and specializes in selling web businesses valued at $500k-$5MM. Prior to becoming a broker in 2010, Jason was a Super Affiliate in the real estate lead-generation vertical and generated over $15MM in revenue with 60% net margins during a four year period while working less than 30 minutes a day. Jason is the author of The Bathrobe Millionaire, a book about his experience as a Super Affiliate. Jason has started four companies and was the creator of the first automotive affiliate program for Autoweb.com back in 1998. Jason lives in Nevada with his family and enjoys business, travel, volunteer work and outdoor activities.

Dave Zinman Dave joined Infolinks in 2012 as Chief Executive Officer. Prior to joining Infolinks, Dave was C OO for Inadco, a C PL platform for display advertising. From 2007 through 2010, Dave was VP & G M for Display Advertising at Yahoo! Dave joined Yahoo! through the acquisition of BlueLithium in 2007, where he served as SVP & G M of the company’s ad network. As a founder of AdKnowledge in 1995, Dave pioneered ad serving technology and is credited by Wikipedia as co-inventor of the ad server. The company was sold to C MGI in 1999, at which time Dave became SVP of Product Marketing for Engage, a C MGI company. Dave graduated Magna Cum Laude from Tufts University with a dual degree in Economics and Political Science and from Stanford University Graduate School of Business with a Masters in Business Administration. When he has spare time, Dave loves going on adventures with his two boys, continuing his quest to hike every trail along the SF Peninsula, and catch a Yankee game.

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路 Issue 21 路 January 2013

People to follow on

Kush Abdulloev

Ken Dreifach

Tim Jones

Brandon Adcock

Declan Dunn

Scott Kalbach

Robert Adler

Kevin Edwards

Brandon Keenen

Jason Akatiff

Amy Ely

Aaron Kelly

Mike Allen

Eric Ewe

Gary Kibel

Sunil Baliga

Marty Fahncke

Scott Krager

Cindy Ballard

Todd Farmer

Chris Kramer

Sarah Bundy

Melissa Filipkowski

Jaxon Lam

John Carcutt

Karen Garcia

Stephanie Lichtenstein

Deborah Carney

David Gass

Cyrus Lohrasbpour

Sylvia Cintr贸n

Kristin Hall

Nick Loper

Mike Cojanu

Peter Hamilton

James Martell

Todd Crawford

Michael Herrera

Michael Martin

Eric Crusius

Rae Hoffman

Dave mcCarthy

Greg Davis

Erik Hom

Martin MacDonald

Blair de Jong

Kenny Hyder

Jonathan Mendez

http://twitter.com/khushbaht http://twitter.com/majorbta http://twitter.com/Bofu2U http://twitter.com/smaxor http://twitter.com/mta1 http://twitter.com/Atmio http://twitter.com/cingroomer http://twitter.com/svbundy http://twitter.com/johncarcutt http://twitter.com/loxly http://twitter.com/sylviacintron http://twitter.com/slightlyshady http://twitter.com/toddcrawford http://twitter.com/InternetBizLaw http://twitter.com/gregorydavis http://twitter.com/blairdejong

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http://twitter.com/zwillgen http://twitter.com/declandunn http://twitter.com/AWin_Strategy http://twitter.com/aely http://twitter.com/EricEwe http://twitter.com/fawnkey http://twitter.com/toddfarmer http://twitter.com/MelClickbooth http://twitter.com/karengarcia http://twitter.com/davidgass http://twitter.com/googleaffiliate http://twitter.com/peterhamilton http://twitter.com/mikefherrera http://twitter.com/sugarrae http://twitter.com/route53 http://twitter.com/kennyhyder

http://twitter.com/TheRealTimJones http://twitter.com/scottkalbach http://twitter.com/bkeenen http://twitter.com/aaronklaw http://twitter.com/GaryKibel_law http://twitter.com/scottkrager http://twitter.com/ChrismKramer http://twitter.com/hootninja http://twitter.com/MicroSteph http://twitter.com/Cyrus

http://twitter.com/nloper http://twitter.com/JamesMartell http://twitter.com/mobile__martin http://twitter.com/davem12203 http://twitter.com/searchmartin http://twitter.com/jonathanmendez

· Issue 21 · January 2013

Rob Merlino

Geno Prussakov

Shannon Vogel

Ben Metcalfe

Baglan Nurhan Rhymes

David Vogelpohl

Tricia Meyer

Dina Riccobono

Kyle Wakefield

Troy Meyerson

Heather Romiti

Jason Wells

Cristian Miculi

Oliver Roup

Jason Yelowitz

Gene Mikhov

Kim Rowley

Dave Zinman

Bhavik Modi

Jason Rubacky

John Monarch

Kim Salvino

Sharon Mostyn

Jared Saunders

Chuck Mullins

Paul Schroader

Affiliate Summit

Eric Nagel

Joe Sousa

FeedFront Magazine

Mike Nunez

Jason Spievak

GeekCast.fm

Amanda Orson

Jonathan Stefansky

Shawn Collins

Jeremy Palmer

Jeff Stevens

Missy Ward

Amber Paul

Wade Tonkin

Lisa Picarille

Purna Virji

http://twitter.com/hotdogman1964 http://twitter.com/dotBen http://twitter.com/sunshinetricia http://twitter.com/InternetAttys http://twitter.com/affiliatedoc http://twitter.com/genemikhov http://twitter.com/bhavik_modi http://twitter.com/papajohn56 http://twitter.com/sharonmostyn http://twitter.com/chuckiii33 http://twitter.com/ericnagel http://twitter.com/MikeNunez http://twitter.com/phillian http://twitter.com/jeremypalmer http://twitter.com/ambspaul http://twitter.com/lisap

http://twitter.com/ePrussakov http://twitter.com/HotspotShield http://twitter.com/DinaRiccs http://twitter.com/blendhappy http://twitter.com/viglink http://twitter.com/kimarketing

http://twitter.com/The_Be_Scene http://twitter.com/davidvmc http://twitter.com/jkwake http://twitter.com/jasonrwells http://twitter.com/BRMillionaire http://twitter.com/davebehappy

http://twitter.com/jasonrubacky http://twitter.com/kim_salvino http://twitter.com/TurboJared http://twitter.com/pswebs http://twitter.com/drcool73 http://twitter.com/ringrevenue http://twitter.com/jstefansky http://twitter.com/jstevnz

Affiliate Summit related Twitter Accounts http://twitter.com/affiliatesummit http://twitter.com/feedfront http://twitter.com/geekcast

http://twitter.com/affiliatetip http://twitter.com/missyward

http://twitter.com/affile8warrior http://twitter.com/purnavirji

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