FeedFront Magazine, Issue #27

The Official Magazine of Affiliate Summit

Issue 27 ― August 2014

4 Essentials for My Sanity and Productivity

By Missy Ward Page 2

By Shawn Collins Page 5

B ac k

By Rachel Honoway Page 15

015 y2

Making Affiliate Marketing Attractive to Bloggers

Vegas in s a L Ja s ir nu a

ar

to P

Succeed in Spite of Your Disability

Affiliate Summit East 2014 Agenda Page 35

Issue 27 · August 2014

Table of Contents 2

Editor’s Note: Succeed in Spite of Your Disability (continue on page 22)

3

Affiliates: What Your Advertisers Want

4

Affiliate Strategies for Being Championed by Networks

5

4 Essentials for My Sanity and Productivity

6

Leveraging Blogger Product Reviews to Improve Conversions

7

Tips for Picking the Right Niche Affiliate Managers Need to Network

8

Six Essentials of Creative from Advertisers

10

By Missy Ward

By Travis Glenn

By Tara McCommons

By Shawn Collins

By Michael Pomposello

By Nadia Tatlow

By Greg Hoffman

By Kim Salvino

11

10 LinkedIn Connection Strategies

12

Look Up at Conferences

13

Are Scammers Flooding Your Affiliate Network?

By Derek Smyth

14

Multitasking -- Not As Useful As You Think

By Kenneth Vogt

15

Making Affiliate Marketing Attractive to Bloggers

16

Dos and Don’ts for Conference Exhibitors

17

10 Steps to Successful Sweepstakes Campaigns

18

Thinking of Expanding Your Affiliate Program Internationally?

19

Six Ways Pinterest Helps Your SEO Strategy

Talk to Me: Your Voice Sells

20

By Jay Berkowitz

By David Lewis

By Rachel Honoway

By Amy Rodriguez

By Erin Walsh

By Preston Holland

By Michelle Held

By Nick Loper

21

Tips for Building a Better Affiliate Program

22

Succeed in Spite of Your Disability (continued from page 2)

24

Understanding and Reducing Your Website’s Risk

By Alexander D. Boyd

25

Does Your Affiliate Program Support Your Brand?

By Meghan Schwartz-Joseph

By Natalie Mauro

By Missy Ward

26

Is Affiliate an Outdated Name for Us?

27

3 Characteristics of a Great Affiliate

By Casey Pavlick

28

5 Tips to Capitalize on Hot Markets

By Wade Tonkin

29

Creating a Robust Multi-Market Ecosystem

30

Mobile Optimization Begins With the Customer Experience

31

Engaging and Recruiting Affiliates Through Social Media

32

3 Keys to Earning the Highest Payouts

33

Direct Mail is Not Dead

34

Eliminating Wasted Ad Dollars with Competitive Intelligence

35

Affiliate Summit East 2014 Show Agenda

51

Keynote Rich Salgado Bio

52

Keynote Julie Gurner Bio

53

Other Speaker Bios

66

People to Follow on Twitter

68

Thank You Metal Sponsors!

69

New York Marriott Marquis Map

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

Contributing Writers

Jay Berkowitz, Alexander D. Boyd, Shawn Collins, Brad Dobbins, Danielle Forget, Travis Glenn, Michelle Held, Greg Hoffman, Preston Holland, Rachel Honoway, David Lewis, Nick Loper, Natalie Mauro, Tara McCommons, Casey Pavlick, John Pirroni, Michael Pomposello, Tom Rathbone, Lisa Riolo, Amy Rodriguez, Kim Salvino, Meghan Schwartz-Joseph, Steven Shnayder, Derek Smyth, Nadia Tatlow, Donika Todorova, Wade Tonkin, Kenneth Vogt, Erin Walsh, Missy Ward

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

By Donika Todorova

By Tom Rathbone

By Lisa Riolo

By Steven Shnayder

By Brad Dobbins

By John Pirroni

By Danielle Forget

Affiliate Summit 9532 Liberia Ave. #127 Manassas, VA 20110 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 © 2014 Affiliate Summit, Inc. and Individual Authors.

Missy Ward

· Issue 27 · August 2014

Editor’s Note

Succeed

in Spite of Your Disability

by Missy Ward As I got older, things became more difficult, as the mandatory curriculum became increasingly boring to me. I grew impatient, which led me to become impulsive and I’d talk over everyone that was speaking to me. My grades started

W

slipping and I constantly heard from my teachers that I was hat do Sir Richard Branson (founder of Vir-

“not living up to my potential”.

gin Airlines), Paul Orfalea (founder of Kinkos),

Juxtapose to the persistent pattern of inattention,

David Neeleman (founder of JetBlue Airways),

there were times where I could sit and work on a project

and Ingvar Kamprad (founder of IKEA) have in common?

for hours on end -- forgoing everything else around me. I

Well, besides the undisputed fact that they are incredibly

couldn’t figure out for the life of me why I wasn’t able to be

successful entrepreneurs, all of them have ADD (Atten-

“in the zone” all the time.

tion Deficit Disorder) or ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder).

To say that I felt out of step with just about everyone around me is an understatement.

I have the latter.

According to the Americans with Disabilities Act, ADHD

Harnessing Your Disability’s Powers

is classified as a disability. It is also one of the most com-

In my late 20’s, I finally landed at a company that over-

monly studied and diagnosed psychiatric disorders, yet sci-

looked my tardiness when it came to arriving at work each

entists still don’t understand its cause.

day, attending meetings, or hitting deadlines. They also pro-

Unfortunately, 40+ years ago when I was in elementary

vided me with staff that managed my calendar and helped

school, ADD and ADHD did not exist. In fact, it wasn’t un-

me along with projects that I couldn’t seem to finish on time

til 1980 that ADD and ADHD were officially introduced into

or completed sloppily. I was told on more than one occasion

the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. If

that my ability to come up with great ideas or see a more

parents, teachers and doctors were as in tune with it as they

direct route to overcome a business obstacle made up for

are today, life would have probably been a whole lot easier

my “poor work habits”.

for me and millions of other children.

It wasn’t until later in life that I decided to see a psy-

All through my childhood, even though I was labeled

chiatrist to see if there was something wrong with my brain.

as an “achiever”, and received straight A’s, I was always in

After a thorough evaluation, I received a diagnosis of ADHD

trouble with my teachers for talking too much, being ab-

and the doctor explained a few different ways to treat it. I

sent-minded, daydreaming, annoying classmates with my

was so excited to finally have a name for my “quirkiness”.

bouncing leg and my inability to stay in my seat, not being

When I began sharing my diagnosis with family and

able to finish assigned projects, work on a team, keep my

friends, it seemed that the only person that was surprised

desk clean, or follow instructions.

2

Continue on page 22.

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

· Issue 27 · August 2014

tl;dr - Affiliates must give the advertisers what they want or fail in the long run.

Affiliates:

Travis Glenn

What Your Advertisers Want

by Travis Glenn

D

o you know what the advertiser wants? You should, or you will fail in the long run, every single time.

When I use the word advertiser, I’m referring pri-

marily to the company that owns the product/service/website that you are promoting.

Sometimes we refer to them as merchants, clients, or other industry-specific terms. Most campaigns that you

mal threshold. The sales you generate could end up costing the company far more than the profits earned.

You may need to take some additional steps to

promote from an affiliate program or affiliate network will

find out what the advertiser wants. Reach out to your affili-

list a description, as well as restricted and allowed promo-

ate manager and see if they have additional details. Many

tion methods.

times you can do your own research and find statistics on-

Following the methods listed is an obvious first step in giving the advertiser what they want, but I want you to think a lot deeper than that.

line that will provide demographic information for certain products or industries.

Do you want to find out the age range, interests, politi-

What action does the advertiser want? This seems

cal affiliation, and geographic information of people likely to

like one of the easier things to determine. In affiliate mar-

buy Social Security Disability Insurance? A quick web search

keting, the desired action is typically going to be a sale or

can provide you with all kinds of data to use in planning your

lead. Sometimes, they can be other actions like app installs,

campaigns.

registrations, or downloads.

Reach out to colleagues, friends, mentors, or other con-

When the conversion point on an insurance lead-gen

tacts in the industry for input as well. Put yourself in the

campaign is first page lead form submit, the advertiser may

advertisers position. If you were paying for sales or leads,

actually want more than that. You could send the advertiser

what would it take to make you happy with the results?

500 completed lead form submissions. If there are zero new

When you decide on having a long-term approach

policies (paying customers) generated from those leads,

to marketing, develop a strategy of giving the advertiser

they will be dissatisfied with the results.

what they are looking for. By all means, your campaigns

The same goes on a sale campaign. Just getting the

should be appealing to potential customers. Make sure that

sale is not enough. Sales generated from poor quality traffic

you are not taking shortcuts to give you better results ini-

sources or from high pressure tactics may result in a high

tially at the expense of providing value to the advertiser.

number of cancellations, refunds, and chargebacks.

Advertisers can be charged enormous fees from their credit card processors when chargebacks are over the nor-

The companies that I have had the pleasure to do business with appreciate it when they know their affiliates are focused on the bigger picture.

Travis is PeerFly’s Director of Business Development, you can follow him @TravisPeerFly on Twitter.

3

· Issue 27 · August 2014

Tara McCommons

tl;dr - Five strategies affiliates should consider that will pave the way to becoming a successful, promising partner within their affiliate networks.

Affiliate Strategies

for Being Championed

by Networks

by Tara McCommons be very interested in accommodating your requirements that advance your earning potential.

G

aining inroads to relevant, high performing mer-

4. Communicate Merchant and Network Wish-List Items:

chant campaigns can represent pivotal moments

Networks want to know what is important to you in

in an affiliate’s career. Identifying those compatible

determining which merchant campaigns you choose

merchant campaigns that develop and prosper long-term is a

to promote and how you choose to continue promot-

challenge for which affiliate networks have strong expertise.

ing. What do you need to provide merchants with a

Here are five strategies affiliates should consider which

competitive advantage? Do you wish you had a van-

may help you to better stand out and be championed as a

ity coupon code, campaign EPC by promotion type,

promising partner within your networks.

or consideration of an increased payout in exchange

1.

Respond to Outreach: When you receive direct out-

for greater exposure opportunities? Would you like to

reach from a network representative, chances are it is

have a regular scheduled conference call with your top

because you have been noticed. Whether it is an inquiry

performing merchants? Or, would you value an in-per-

about your current or past performance, your promo-

son merchant meeting at Affiliate Summit? Share these

tional methods or your website niche; responding in a

requests with your network representative so they can

timely manner to such outreaches may very well open

work on your behalf to grant your wishes.

the door to new (and long-term) revenue opportunities.

5.

Commit to the Partnership: We all know relationships

2. Empower Your Network Representative: Network rep-

take time and effort to develop and unfold. The old ad-

resentatives are on the front lines; constantly recom-

age of ‘you only get out of something what you put into

mending affiliates for top performing merchant cam-

it’ is ever so true when it comes to affiliate marketing.

paigns. Arming them with knowledge of your proven

If you have taken the time to deploy any of the afore-

success will help them become your in-network advo-

mentioned strategies, please don’t stop there. Commit

cate for cultivating merchant relationships. Make your

yourself to the long run and be willing to test campaigns

network representative aware of your areas of exper-

recommended by your network. Make the time to strat-

tise and preferred campaign attributes. If applicable,

egize with your network representative and in turn, your

provide them with a white paper encapsulating the

network will be committed to helping you flourish!

benefits of your marketing abilities for merchants.

Affiliates have many choices when it comes to network

3. Educate Networks of Your Technological Needs: Net-

partnerships. Affiliate relationships are critical to all net-

works recognize that many affiliates have unique inte-

works and each should dedicate their very best to enabling

gration requirements—large or small. Never be afraid

your success. First though, you must engage your network

to express your technological needs. Networks should

to let them know how best they can help you triumph.

4

Tara McCommons is the Vice President of Sales and Marketing at LinkConnector.

tl;dr - My work days are broken down into four types of things I look forward to doing.

4 Essentials

for My Sanity and Productivity

Shawn Collins

· Issue 27 · August 2014

by Shawn Collins

Everything I need to know I learned from the Dead Milkmen. As guitarist Joe Geraro (aka Joe Jack Talcum) once sang on the song, The Secret to Life, “The secret to life is no secret at all.”

Well, it has been sort of a secret, but I’m going to let you in on it right now. It’s all about setting up little milestones in

the exercise time to shake off stress and start my work day

your day to look forward to doing.

clean. Plus, when I am on the treadmill desk, I get work done.

I’ve got four things I like to do on each work day to maintain my productivity and a sense of sanity.

Re-charging In order to get the most out of my day, I need to step

Energy

away and not work for periods of time. One of my favor-

I like a nice sit-down breakfast of eggs, home fries, ba-

ite breaks is to take a nap in the late morning or early af-

con, and all of that good stuff, but I usually can only manage

ternoon. I am ridiculously refreshed after I nap without an

to make that happen on the weekends.

alarm, whether it’s 20 minutes or two hours.

So, I settle for liquid energy to start most work days. It’s

Another out of the office thing I like to do is to meet

typically an Atkins shake and Diet Dr. Pepper or Rock Star

friends or family for lunch. It can be a quick half hour or

sugar free energy drink. Later on, I mix in a banana here

whatever.

and a cheese stick there. Plus, lots more Diet Dr. Pepper and occasionally coffee.

Other days, when I am caught up and anxious for some sun, I’ll get out on a boat (with my iPhone to stay up on

Is this ideal? No, but I like it and it gets me going. So

emergencies). All of these breaks help to reboot me, so I

don’t go and send me a link on Facebook to some article

can start fresh into my work the next time I am at my desk.

about how bad artificial sweeteners are for me.

Bonding Exercise I make it a point to start most days of the week with some exercise. I’ll typically run, hike, or cycle. But occasionally, when I am crushed for time, I will use the treadmill desk that I set up in my garage.

I get in no less than 30 minutes of exercise 5-6 days per week, and it really sets the tone for my day. I count on

My schedule is crazy from time to time, but there is one constant on most any work day, and that’s sitting around the dinner table with my family.

I really value this time to catch up, decompress, and goof around with my wife and kids. When I’m camped in front of a computer for much of the day, this people time is so important, too.

Shawn is Co-founder of Affiliate Summit and Co-Editor-in-Chief of FeedFront Magazine, and blogs at affiliatetip.com.

5

· Issue 27 · August 2014

tl;dr - You should identify relevant bloggers to provide real reviews of your product or service to help conversions.

Michael Pomposello

Leveraging

Blogger Product Reviews

to Improve Conversions

by Michael Pomposello

Y

What if you can drive the potential buyer to your site ou have the best product on the market, but no one

after your brand was endorsed by an honest and trusted

is buying, now what? Merchants invest heavily into

voice in your niche?

a great looking site, and that often includes having

One way to accomplish both of these objectives is to

positive reviews from previous buyers on the page to help

partner with major bloggers who speak directly to your

conversions.

target market. These publishers are trusted by anywhere

However, the fact is many consumers will not trust a

between thousands and millions of people. Reaching out to

brand site alone to make a purchase. According to the GE

them to see if they would be interested in giving an honest

Capital Retailer Shopper Survey, 81% of consumers will do

review of your product on their blog may be time consum-

research online before making any major purchase and can

ing, but in the end can yield massive dividends.

spend an average of 79 days searching.

These blog post reviews can be used as landing pages

Nielsen’s 2013 Trust in Advertising report concluded

when you drive paid traffic to your product, so people who

that shoppers trust a recommendation from family and

click your ad read a trusted endorsement of your product

friends more than a brand’s site and highly value other

before clicking through to buy.

consumers opinions posted online. When your potential

Always keep in mind that bloggers are legally required

customers search the web for reviews or your product or

to disclose if they received the product for free or were

service, will they be reading people endorsing your brand or

compensated in any other way for the review in accordance

horror stories encouraging them to steer clear?

with FTC guidelines. Bloggers often have a strong SEO pres-

Do you remember, not too long ago, when many affili-

ence, so, in addition to making great pre-sell pages, their

ates promoted diet products by creating a fake news article

review of your product can be found in search results when

about the diet supplement on a landing page that looked

people search for “your product name + review.”

like a news site? These pages used quotes from celebrities

If you follow bloggers, you already know how many of

like Dr. Oz and Oprah. Although we can all agree this is a

them review products. Assuming you have a quality prod-

highly deceptive form of advertising, any affiliate who pro-

uct, putting the time and effort in to have bloggers review

moted this type of landing page can tell you how well the

it can be one of the best investments in online media you

traffic converted, even for suspicious products.

can spend.

6

Michael Pomposello is co-founder of Influencer Connect and blogs for “The Connection” at influencerconnect.com.

· Issue 27 · August 2014

tl;dr - How to find your niche and make more money.

Nadia Tatlow

Tips for Picking the

Right Niche

by Nadia Tatlow

E

veryone likes to keep their options open, but when it comes to the fast paced nature of the media landscape, honing in on a niche is essential to scaling

your campaigns.

So, how can you forecast scalability? What indicates potential and how can you invest intelligently, set realistic goals, and make more money?

To start, you need to do your research (yeah, I know,

Within the download space, here’s an example of the information you could collect: a) Audience could be exclusive to PC, Mac or mobile

boring), but any niche worth pursuing should have: a) A large (and growing) audience

(or all encompassing) b) Many traffic sources work well with downloads

b) Versatility, and sub-niches

from display and PPV to search or mobile. Sub

c)

niches range from software optimization and se-

Proven ROI potential

For each niche, look into these variables, as well as the

curity to games, wallpapers… the list goes on.

key players (or future competitors). Who’s buying the clicks,

c)

and where? Are there a few dominant publishers, or many

Regardless of which niche you decide to get into, dig

smaller ones?

Networking events, targeted forums, and account managers can all help you get a handle on these. Set up calls with potential advertisers, and ask them questions beyond their typical pitch.

How long has their longest publisher been with them?

What was their highest volume day to date? How big is the

ROI targets are typically 100 percent

deep to find all of these answers, as well as specifics about the benchmarks top players are targeting. Once you’ve got this under control, pick two to test and take the plunge.

You will also need to select a catch-all network that can help you with both at the same time (ROI includes your time as well). Set a budget and keep it as simple as possible: one will perform outperform the other very soon.

advertiser and how quickly has their company grown in the

Take your winner, zero in and put a little more on the

last year? The answers could surprise you, and will give you

line. At this point, it’s critical that whoever you partner with

serious insight into the niche, and who you could one day be

has a proven track record; specialty networks on popping

working with very closely.

up everywhere, so get a good referral and go with one of

Narrowing down your niche must be strategic, and you

them.

should have a firm grasp on it before you spend a cent.

Now, you’re off to the races! As a media buyer, you need

Gathering information shouldn’t be too challenging, but you

to be quick and nimble; ready to take on new and relevant

will need to make contact with people who know the space

opportunities as they arise.

and will be honest with you.

Nadia is an Account Manager at Air Installer.

So, above all, make sure your niche can do the same.

7

· Issue 27 · August 2014

tl;dr - Affiliate managers cannot live in a bubble - they need the expertise and guidance from other managers to grow professionally.

Affiliate Managers

Greg Hoffman

Need to Network

H

by Greg Hoffman

ing banners this morning? And we have many simple topics ow do affiliate managers improve their skills? One

with sometimes-heated discussions.

of the best ways is to network with other managers.

About half of our interactions are related to relevant ar-

Don’t be afraid to talk with colleagues or com-

ticles from the industry, including new posts from the Per-

petitors about the simple things. Without giving away strat-

formance Marketing Association, posts from affiliates and

egy or brand secrets, managers can easily ask each other

other managers, Panda updates, and job opportunities.

for help. Affiliates do this all the time.

We have collected each other over the years at confer-

Everyone has a different perspective. The only way you

ences like Affiliate Summit and ShareASale ThinkTank. We’ve

will grow professionally is to hear different opinions and de-

had breakfast together, attended sessions led by each oth-

cipher for yourself which way to take your program. If you

er, and stayed out into the wee hours of the morning at ran-

live in a bubble, and think your way is the right way, your

dom karaoke parties. At one point we were simply competi-

program may never realize its full potential.

tors, but now we are friends and trusted colleagues.

Besides debates with my employees and affiliates, net-

That doesn’t mean we share numbers from our pro-

working with other managers has greatly helped my opinion

grams or trade affiliate databases. We respect our affiliates

evolve on major topics in recent years. I think I’m a better

and the companies that pay our bills. But we have a com-

manager today than I was last year, because I have sur-

mon bond to always learn more about affiliate program

rounded myself with friendly in-house managers and other

management, and how to grow our programs.

OPMs (outsourced program managers).

If you can attend a conference, introduce yourself to a

I’ve collected friends that are senior affiliate managers

manager speaking at one of the sessions, or hunt them down

and a growing group of young managers with completely

during breakfast, lunch, or snacks. If you know who you want

different outlooks. Together we share information that

to meet, whether in your vertical or not, set up times before

makes us, and the industry, better.

the conference, just like you would with affiliates.

While I can’t go into specifics about my fight club, I can

One of my good friends in the industry was a direct

give you some sample questions that have been asked

competitor of mine in 2007. We walked by each other in the

lately. What project management solution do you use?

hallway at Affiliate Summit in Miami and laughed because

What sizes of creative are you rolling out there for mobile

we had both done our research and knew what the other

devices? Have you worked with this affiliate? What do you

looked like. We didn’t talk specifics but we sure have learned

think about that network? Are you having problems load-

a lot from each other since then.

8

Greg Hoffman, OPM/Agency of the Year, Affiliate Summit Pinnacle Awards 2014.

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· Issue 27 · August 2014

tl;dr - Advertisers must focus on diversity, size, deep linking, call to action, customer appeal, and ease of use with creative.

Six Essentials Kim Salvino

of Creative from Advertisers

by Kim Salvino and text if not carefully considered. While all creative needs compelling call to action copy, “Click here” is not as success-

A

ful as “Book Now”, “Download Now”, “Get Your Free Quote”, lthough considered one of many important fac-

or other specific directives.

tors, creative offerings are often overlooked. While performing audits, launching new programs or re-

cruiting, I see too many getting this essential part wrong.

If affiliates can’t find what they are looking for to promote your brand, they’ll move on to the competition.

Customer Appeal Flashing, obnoxious creative may catch the eye, but can also place distaste in the mouths of your consumers.

Clean, consistent branding appeals best. Verify that your mobile consumers receive a mobile optimized experience.

Diversity Affiliates come in all shapes, sizes, and vertical specialties.

Responsive web design should be a prioritized initiative for all ecommerce sites, if it isn’t already one of yours.

Promotional methods vary from content to display, email to mobile, and offline, so your creative suite must contain variety.

Ease of Use Ease of use should pertain to the consumer, affiliates,

Size

and the affiliate manager.

The typical 120x90, 468x60, 728x90 sizes have evolved

For the consumer, video, search boxes, and widgets

to include 88x31, 250x250, 240x400, 336x280, 300x100,

personalize the experience and engage the consumer, ulti-

234x60, 120x60, 120x240, 125x125, 120x600, 180x150,

mately leading to increased conversions.

160x600 and 300x600. Mobile has its own requirements,

For affiliate managers, your network or SAAS (software

with popularly requested sizes including 300x250, 300x50,

as a service) should provide tools to simplify the process for

320x50, 120x20, 168x28 and 46x36.

you. Gone are the days of individually loading creative as they have been replaced with bulk upload, API access, and

Deep Linking Consumers will be frustrated to find themselves arriv-

set-it-and-forget-it-features. Your affiliates will appreciate not being bogged down with constant updates.

ing on an advertiser’s home page. The search for the prod-

I’m most excited by container tag creative. With these,

uct that originally sparked their interest must begin again,

multiple images and landing URLs can be specified and au-

placing more required clicks in the way of conversion. Your

to-update according to start and end dates. For example,

creative landing URLs should be deep linked to relevant

if a sale ends and the dedicated landing page expires, you

pages within your site.

can set a replacement image and landing URL to activate immediately based on your end date setting.

Call to Action Banner ads and text copy can be overlooked as images

10

This means less work for affiliates and promotional compliance for the affiliate program. What a win!

Kim Salvino is Client Services Director for Performance Horizon.

· Issue 27 · August 2014

tl;dr - Here are 10 ethical strategies to stay on the radar of LinkedIn connections.

10 LinkedIn Connection Strategies

L

Jay Berkowitz

by Jay Berkowitz

inkedIn offers many strategies to stay top-of-mind with your connections. If we met at Affiliate Summit Miami in 2007, and you haven’t thought about me

since then, you likely won’t recommend me for any business opportunities.

Here are 10 ethical strategies to use LinkedIn to stay on the radar.

1.

Link with People You Meet. Take all of those

business cards you collected at the last Affiliate Summit,

7.

Change Your Picture. It is probably time to re-

find their LinkedIn profile, and send a customized note. Hi

fresh that picture you took with your first smart phone

Jay, it was great to meet you at the party at in Las Vegas,

in 2003. Upload a nice professional head shot; when you

we both share a passion for internet marketing and tennis,

change your picture, everyone gets notified. You’ll probably

please connect.

get a few compliments.

2. Update Your Profile. Whenever you change

8. Ask for a Connection. At the heart of LinkedIn

your LinkedIn profile, all of your connections get notified, by

is a professional connection network. A few years ago I flew

email, or when they log in.

to Affiliate Summit in Las Vegas, and when we landed, I had

3. Endorse and Recommend. LinkedIn now offers

an email from LinkedIn. One of my connections had been

1 click endorsements, and when you endorse someone

contacted by his LinkedIn friend who wanted to meet me

they will be notified. A recommendation is a short para-

because I was speaking at the conference. I responded and

graph or two, and when you recommend someone, Linke-

he joined a group of us for dinner that night.

dIn asks them if they’d like to recommend you.

9.

Join a Group and Be Active. There are LinkedIn

4. Make an Update. An update is LinkedIn’s version

groups for everything, including over 2,000 groups with the

of a tweet or Facebook post. LinkedIn now shows us ‘Who’s

word affiliate -- LinkedInAffiliate has over 9,000 members.

viewed your updates’ so you can see who saw your news.

An advanced strategy is to create your own group, you’ll be

5. Make New Connections. LinkedIn will guide you through “linking in” with everyone in your contact list, and they have a great feature that suggests people you may know based on who you’re already connected to.

the one to approve new members and send notices to the group.

10. Say Hi. A friend of mine owns a successful ad agency, and he is the master of staying in touch. Every 3 or

6. Look at Other People’s Profiles. Spend a few

4 months I’ll get a LinkedIn note or an email just saying hello,

minutes each time you are on LinkedIn going through your

and every 6 or 12 months, he’ll extend the invitation to grab

connections. LinkedIn now reports who viewed your profile,

a lunch. Go through your LinkedIn contacts and send a few

so they’ll see that you stopped by.

shout outs today.

Jay Berkowitz is an author, internet marketer, tennis player and the CEO of TenGoldenRules.com

11

· Issue 27 · August 2014

tl;dr - When you wander the halls of ASE14, don’t look at your phone. Look up.

David Lewis

Look Up

at Conferences

by David Lewis

T

his isn’t a new age article about improving your at-

Make eye contact. Have a personal connection with ev-

titude and feeling good. Although there are stud-

eryone you pass, whether you know them or not. Maybe

ies that show smiling and having better posture do

you’ll get a chance to look at their badge for a second after.

make you more positive. No, this is quite literally a recom-

Maybe you’ll see them later and you’ll have a connection

mendation for you to look up instead of down while you’re

because of that earlier eye contact.

at Affiliate Summit East 2014, and everywhere else in life.

There was a company on my target list and I almost

It was difficult at Affiliate Summit West 2014 in Las Ve-

missed talking to them because I made eye contact and

gas last January to dodge all of the people with yellow name

only saw their name badges after we passed in the exhibit

badges who were walking around while staring at their

hall. I was a full five feet past them when I realized and made

phones. It’s as annoying as dodging tourists on New York

the bold move to stop them from behind. We now have a

sidewalks, or the bike path in Santa Monica. There are rules

successful business relationship. It works.

of sidewalk dynamics that apply wherever large numbers of people move about.

If you catch yourself looking at your phone, ask yourself if it’s more important than meeting someone else who may

What was so important that they were missing the best networking opportunities of the week? Personally, I had

change your life. Yes, my life has changed for the better because of meeting random people at Affiliate Summit.

scheduled more meetings than for any conference (and I’ve

Can that e-mail wait? Do you have to check Facebook

been to every ASW), but some of my best meetings hap-

right now? I didn’t take out my laptop the 4 days I was at

pened because I looked up and spent a few minutes talking

ASW and don’t think I’ll take it to ASE. I go to talk to people…

to someone in an open area of Paris Las Vegas, or an aisle

and to look them in the eyes as we pass in the halls.

of the exhibit hall or Meet Market.

Have you heard of FOMO? That’s Fear of Missing Out.

Look up, as in looking directly into people’s eyes. I’m as

You can miss out on the unimportant things on your phone

guilty as the next affiliate marketer of staring at those bright

or you can miss out on the people around you. The choice

yellow name badges… only to be embarrassed that it’s

is yours.

someone I’ve known for years who is looking at me laughing because of where my eyes went.

12

Look up and I bet Affiliate Summit East 2014 will look up to you.

David Lewis is CEO and Co-founder of Prycing. He’s been around affiliate marketing for a long time.

· Issue 27 · August 2014

tl;dr - Tips and tricks for affiliate networks and lead gen campaigns to boost trust and fight rising fraud.

Are Scammers

Flooding

Derek Smyth

Your Affiliate Network?

by Derek Smyth

A

re you the victim of fraud right now? If you are in affiliate marketing or lead generation, there are

That insurance lead you thought you had? It’s a guy in

countless players looking to scam you, and the

his garage tapping away like a lab rat, making pennies per

numbers are not in your favor.

Fraud is out there and you could be getting ripped off right this moment. There are as many scams as stars in the

click. Amazon’s Mechanical Turk is an example of a generally legit human sourcing site, and then there are hundreds of others that are not so legit.

sky. Here are the most common ones, with tips for affiliate networks and lead gen campaigns to boost trust and fight rising fraud.

Bots, Bots, Everywhere Just like people, there are good bots and bad bots.

Fierce Mobile IT recently reported that bad bot mobile traf-

The Spoof is On You Know the actual location of the traffic. Chances are you want customers in the same country as your business op-

fic is up 1000 percent. Bots are automated programs that scan the net for all kinds of data, including revenue generating opportunities.

erations, especially for verticals like education, insurance,

Got a lead form that was filled out in seconds? That

automotive and mortgage. Affiliate and lead gen scammers

brief duration is probably a bot. But it’s a data arms race out

know this and do whatever it takes to make an impression,

there. Programmers now know you’re going to disqualify a

click or form fill appear to originate domestically.

lead that was generated too quickly, so they’re a step ahead

But traffic could be spoofed, coming from anywhere in the world and funneled through a domestic IP address. Set up a method to monitor the hops your traffic takes to get to the true origin of your visitors.

of you, instructing bots to take time, slow down, and fill out leads at a more human speed.

Are you fooled? No, because there’s another way to root out form filling bots, and that’s by checking cadence.

Humans type in a start-and-stop, irregular fashion. It’s even

Paid to Hoodwink

possible to track mouse movements.

“At NeoBux, you get paid just for browsing our advertis-

Know the facts about your site visitors’ identity by tak-

ers’ websites,” reads the come on. You want real human traf-

ing advantage of tools available to affiliate and lead gen

fic, but an actual human clicking doesn’t make it legit. Want

marketers. Definitively identify operating system, browser,

proof? Do a search and check out all the Paid to Click web-

device and IP address.

sites that build massive armies whose sole job is to build

You can weed out bots by limiting duration and other

traffic stats for affiliates and lead generators, quite possibly

telling parameters. You can cut fraud out of your system

unbeknownst to workers.

now and keep it out, once and for all.

Derek Smyth is the Director of Business Development at LeadiD.

13

· Issue 27 · August 2014

tl;dr - Multitasking is not good for you, and you’re not even good at it.

Kenneth Vogt

Multitasking

Not As Useful As You Think

by Kenneth Vogt Let’s look at a favorite multitasking scenario: taking a phone call while driving. You would hope driving would be the primary task, while the phone call would be the distraction. Alas, in practice the phone call becomes the primary

A

activity with driving becoming the call’s distraction. Since re you a multitasker? People take pride in their

common sense is clearly not prevailing in the world, laws

multitasking excellence. But consider this: Stanford

have to be passed to stop these misguided multitaskers

University says not only is multitasking not good

from harming themselves or others.

for you, but you’re not even good at it.

A study entitled “Cognitive control in media multitaskers” finds our intuition about multitasking is significantly out of alignment with reality.

If you are thinking that maybe you’re special and these results don’t apply to you, think again.

Look at all the characteristics that didn’t alter the results: intelligence, psychological health, introversion/ex-

The study zeroes in on three key components: »» Filtering

traversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, creativity, openness, and not even the big one, gender.

»» Memory management »» Task switching

That’s right guys and gals, you are equally bad at multitasking.

Many people have problems with one or more of these

What about age? While Gen Xers and Yers might be

abilities. But get this: chronic multitaskers are routinely bad

prone to attempt multitasking, they get no better results

at all three.

than the more resistant baby boomers. Motivation doesn’t

You might think habitual multitaskers must be excel-

help, and neither does peer pressure.

lent at filtering and focusing. Not so. Rather, the study found

While it’s true the youngsters may work their smart-

high multitaskers are the worst suckers for distractions.

phones better, when it comes to actual results, technologi-

They adore the irrelevant. In fact, the more the irrelevance,

cal superiority does not trump the fact that our brains oper-

the more they’re attracted.

ate basically the same, whether we are 25 or 55.

High multitaskers also are much worse at compartmen-

So, now what? How do you get off the multitasking merry

talizing information and they are slower to recall informa-

go round? It’s time to embrace a new approach: monotask-

tion. Once again, non-multitaskers have them beat.

ing. It’s all about completion of tasks rather than juggling. So

Finally, the study finds multitaskers are slower at switch-

close down all the inputs. Don’t have Facebook AND Twit-

ing from one task to another, plus they have a harder time

ter AND LinkedIn open at once. Close browser windows by

making the transition.

default, any page will be there to open again. Don’t surf the

The study made an interesting observation that gives us a hint why multitasking is so problematic. It finds it is common for the multitasker to disregard proper priorities in managing their concurrent tasks.

14

Web and watch TV at the same time. Give each task your full, undivided attention in short but concentrated bursts.

The less you multitask, the more you will accomplish.

And accomplishment can become habit forming.

Kenneth Vogt coaches successful entrepreneurs who are stuck, overwhelmed or spinning their wheels at VeraClaritas.com.

· Issue 27 · August 2014

tl;dr - 3 principles that managers, networks and solution providers should keep in mind when trying to attract bloggers.

Rachel Honoway

Making Affiliate Marketing

Attractive to Bloggers

by Rachel Honoway

A

sk any affiliate manager, network or solution provider what their goals are for the coming year, and you’re guaranteed to hear “bloggers” in their an-

1.

Respect the relationship they have built with

swer. Some will have a specific goal of recruiting more blog-

their readers.

gers, while others have sales or performance targets to hit,

Bloggers work hard to create the relationships they have

and will be looking to bloggers to meet the mark.

This ever-growing crop of publishers represents a huge opportunity for our industry. These people are writ-

with their readers. Don’t expect them to say something or promote a product just to earn a commission – the relationships are more important to them than the commissions.

ing unique content… about products, services, brands and

Learn from their example. Build a relationship with

stores… that is read and shared by thousands of adoring

them, and work on promotions that are relevant to their au-

fans each day… online… where they can easily insert affili-

dience and natural for them to talk about.

ate links… it’s a landscape ripe for affiliate marketing in it’s

2. Be aware of the demand for their attention.

purest form!

It’s no wonder that bloggers are at the center of conversations, strategies, and promotions across our industry.

Bloggers are a coveted bunch in the affiliate marketing community, and in the search markets, and in the CPM space... and so on. Everyone wants a piece of them.

But – why aren’t they jumping at the opportunity? I

Don’t be surprised if your emails go unanswered or

mean, c’mon, we’re all dying to give them money in exchange

your offers are ignored. You are one of hundreds of voices

for a few simple links in content that they are already writ-

clamoring for their attention. Again, learn from their exam-

ing. Don’t they get it?

ples. Follow their blogs and see how they are connecting

Here’s the deal: they DO get it. The problem is, WE don’t.

with readers – and connect with them in the same way.

Before bloggers will trust us and want to work with us,

3. Appreciate their ability to “just say no”.

we’ve got to lay the foundation for them – not by flashing higher commission rates that wooed EPC-driven publishers of the past – but by developing an understanding of who these bloggers are and what really matters to them.

See point #2. You’re not the only one trying to throw money at this crowd.

Affiliate marketing needs to stand out. If we all work together approaching this group with these three principles

So, here are 3 principles that managers, networks and

in mind, we can show bloggers that this community offers

solution providers should keep in mind when trying to at-

them a variety of choices in long-term partners - not just

tract bloggers:

another set of ads to run next month.

Rachel is the CEO of FMTC, a provider of tools for affiliates and bloggers.

15

· Issue 27 · August 2014

Amy Rodriguez

tl;dr - What to do and not to do when exhibiting at a conference.

Dos and Don’ts for

E

Conference Exhibitors

by Amy Rodriguez

xhibiting at conferences isn’t solely about ordering electricity or handing out that perfect trinket. Grooming and training your exhibit staff is critical, too.

Your company has spent many hours preparing and

thousands of dollars to be at any given conference (renting space, creating new graphics, booking travel, etc.).

Don’ts: »» Eat and Chew Gum. Take turns going on break, or, if that’s not possible, be subtle and eat quickly in the

Therefore, it’s essential to execute that same level of pro-

back of the booth. You don’t want to scare off poten-

fessionalism throughout your show plan. As you’re prepping

tial business by seeming unapproachable. Also, don’t

your team members, here are some quick tips to follow.

chew gum. It looks unprofessional. However, it’s fine to discreetly have a mint in your mouth. Fresh breath is

Dos:

definitely encouraged!

»» Be Prepared. Have pre-show team meetings to go

»» Be Glued to your Phone. Emails, texts, and Candy

over goals, expectations, and your onsite game plan.

Crush can wait. Put the phone away to avoid tempta-

Create qualifying questions beforehand so you’re

tion. You’re there to actually talk and be around real

ready to have meaningful conversations.

people. Don’t squander these opportunities by being

»» Pitch Perfect. Memorize your company’s 30 second el-

on your phone.

evator pitch -it will show that you’re all on the same page.

»» Desert your Exhibit Space. You’ll never know what

»» Have Welcoming Body Language. Making eye

business opportunities you lost by not having 100%

contact, unfolding your arms, keeping your head up,

coverage. Exhibiting by yourself? Hire local temporary

standing up straight, and smiling will show you’re ready

staff to handle traffic overflow and breaks.

to talk shop.

»» Be Pack Animals. Huddling together like penguins

»» Show Interest. Industry talk aside, also ask questions

keeping warm will seem intimidating to attendees. If

about them, where are they from, if they’re doing any-

it’s slow, tell your team to go to lunch or walk around

thing fun while in town, and then write the answers

for a bit. Plus, you see these people all the time. You’re

down on the back of their business card, along with

there to network and create new business, so focus on

other pertinent follow up business. Include that infor-

the task at hand.

mation in your follow up. It will show you listened to them and make you stand out. »» Be and Look Professional. Have everyone wear a com-

16

»» Pack Up Early. Usually, this is against the exhibitor agreement, but it also sends the message that you’re closed for potential business, and you can’t wait to get

pany shirt. It shows you’re a team and that the extra ef-

out of there.

fort was made to make everyone presentable. Keep your

Invest time training your staff to maximize your show

badge facing forward, show appreciation for stopping by,

presence. By being professional onsite, your business will

and be the first to stick out your hand in gratitude.

stand out and leave a great impression all around.

Amy Rodriguez is the Conference Director at Affiliate Summit, Inc.

· Issue 27 · August 2014

tl;dr - 10 things we do to get the best results in our sweepstakes.

10

Erin Walsh

Steps to Successful Sweepstakes Campaigns

by Erin Walsh

A

re you considering a social media sweepstakes

6. Cover Your Butt – Post rules on your website and link

campaign? Since we started our US-based sweep-

to them. Read T&Cs of paid apps; they should follow

stakes, we have gathered over 537,000 entries in

social platform rules and protect you. If you have a

40 giveaways.

co-sponsor, an agreement that relieves you of any re-

Considering every entry equals an action in social me-

sponsibility for their portion of the prizes is helpful. At

dia, the response can be unbelievable . . . but it’s not magic.

Boost, we only allow US participants over the age of

Here are ten steps to optimize your next sweepstakes.

18, because participation is heavily regulated in many

1.

Pick Your Prize – Find something that represents

countries. In fact, laws in Australia, UK, and Ireland are

your brand. Try not to be generic and stand out with a

very different from ours and may even require a trade

high quality photo and theme. Stay away from alcohol,

promotion lottery permit, as they may be considered a

tobacco, firearms, and unnecessary risks. Multiple win-

form of gambling.

ners or high dollar prizes may require you to register

7.

prizes or file tax reports in certain states.

Writing Posts – Ask entrants to participate with questions about your products. You’ll find that sweepers

2. Know Your Goals – If you don’t identify the pur-

love to give opinions. Your post can have a lot of things,

pose, you can’t measure success. Common rea-

but it will need to have the rules clearly stated, releas-

sons for starting sweepstakes are gathering leads, re-

ing Facebook of any responsibility. You must include

marketing, retargeting registered emails on Facebook,

the starting and ending dates in the announcement.

product awareness and brand loyalty, increased web-

8. Follow Up – Mom bloggers will get the word out for

site visits, and increased engagement in social media.

a small fee. Joining communities—especially “sweeper”

3. Launching – Will you use an app (i.e., Rafflecopter, Woo-

communities—are free and effective. Be polite, not

box) or run it from your timeline? Apps have advantag-

spammy, and they will welcome you. Follow-up posts

es—you have a wider reach on multi-platforms such as

must link to the terms on the original post.

Twitter, FaceBook, Pinterest, blog comments, and more.

9.

End the Sweepstakes – Announce the winner on

4. Follow the Rules on Each Platform! – Twitter, Face-

time. Most apps will randomly choose winners for you

book, and Pinterest all have specific rules; read them

or record how you chose the winner with screenshots.

straight from the source. If you’re thinking about

Winners should sign a release, especially if you are

Google+, just don’t. You WILL be shut down.

publicly announcing them.

5. Length of Contest – We’ve discovered that 25-day

10. Keep Records – Keep meticulous records and screen-

contests have the highest success rates. Every now

shots and hold on to them in case anything happens

and we run 24-hour blitzes to keep things exciting.

later on.

Erin Walsh is the Associate Director of Marketing for Boost Software, INC, the makers of PC optimization software.

17

· Issue 27 · August 2014

tl;dr - Important things to consider when looking to take an affiliate program international.

Preston Holland

Thinking of Expanding Your Affiliate Program

Internationally?

by Preston Holland enforcing those rules internationally—will help maintain brand image and integrity abroad.

Unfamiliar languages can also add a layer of complex-

I

ity to brand monitoring. While most brand names remain s your affiliate program international, or are you consid-

the same internationally, the native-language words used to

ering international expansion? If so, what role should

search for your brand can vary greatly. If you plan to moni-

your affiliates play when it comes to paid search?

tor non-brand keywords in paid search, remember that a

Broadening the reach of your affiliate program will

open new markets, expose your brand to new customers,

popular search term in your home country may have little to no search volume abroad.

and generate new sources of revenue. Unfortunately, it

It’s also important to gauge which portion of your affiliate

can also expose your program to additional risks of affili-

sales are generated internationally, so that you can allocate

ate non-compliance.

your time appropriately. From our experience, we tend to see

But with a thoughtful expansion strategy in place, you

less paid search ad volume abroad. So, while it’s important

can mitigate these risks while realizing the benefits of an

to manage international affiliate compliance, your process

international program. So, what are some important con-

may differ depending on the country. For example, if your

siderations to take into account?

affiliate paid search program prohibits affiliates from bidding

The first one is fairly obvious: bad actors do not want to be caught. Even within your native country, you may have

on branded keywords, you may already monitor those keywords within your home country on a regular basis.

experienced publishers hiding their PPC campaigns by geo-

While this can be a great practice to employ abroad, re-

targeting or day-parting their ad campaigns. Expanding

member to focus your efforts appropriately. Perhaps less

your program to new countries provides a greater range of

frequent monitoring, or monitoring a smaller set of brand-

regions to geo-target.

ed keywords could provide sufficient international coverage

At BrandVerity, we’ve seen many instances of bad ac-

while also respecting your time and resources.

tors advertising in only a small subset of a merchant’s to-

In summary, expanding your affiliate program can

tal countries. If monitoring for paid search compliance is a

greatly improve your reach into international markets, but

component of your affiliate program (which we highly rec-

can also expose you to additional risk. When entering a new

ommend doing!), make sure that you keep an eye on all re-

market, or reevaluating your current international affiliate

gions in which your affiliates advertise.

programs, it’s important to identify and take steps to miti-

Remember that affiliates can be major brand ambas-

gate these risks.

sadors in international markets. This can be a great way for

The key is to allocate your time appropriately. Focus your

your brand to connect well with other cultures. But requir-

efforts on home and/or top-producing countries first, but

ing affiliates to advertise within program guidelines—and

don’t forget to keep an eye on your brand internationally.

18

Preston Holland is the Sales Manager at BrandVerity, we help clients keep advertising abuse out of customer acquisition channels.

· Issue 27 · August 2014

tl;dr - Six ways you can benefit your SEO by working with social network Pinterest.

Six Ways

Michelle G. Held

Pinterest Helps Your SEO Strategy

by Michelle G. Held

P

interest, the four year-old image-based social net-

Images are searchable, too. Rename image filenames to

work, can aid your search engine optimization (SEO)

a keyword instead of using the default name from the cam-

efforts when you cultivate your presence with key-

era. This holds true for your website. Use clear, pinnable im-

words, quality images, and hashtags.

ages with keyword rich content and social share buttons.

Pinterest is one of the most trafficked social networks in the United States. Every day, its 70 million monthly ac-

Social Signals

tive users engage on 750 million boards and 30 billion pins.

In October 2013, Bing added Pinterest images to its

Businesses not only look to connect with Pinterest’s affluent

SERPs. Pinterest related boards show up in Bing SERPs right

female audience, but to wield Pinterest as another weapon

alongside regular search results. At SMX West 2014 Duane

in their SEO arsenal.

Forrester, Sr. Product Manager at Bing, noted that social sig-

There are several ways to leverage Pinterest in your

nals do influence overall rankings.

SEO strategy.

Backlinks Convert to a business account

Links from your bio description and all pins are “nofol-

Verify your website as a business account and net a back-

low” links. Inbound links from Pinterest pins count as back-

link in your bio. Converting to a business account also gives

links. Even though they don’t pass along any SEO juice, they

you free analytics that serve as a helpful guide for SEO work.

are listed in Google Webmaster tools.

Boost your rank on YouTube, it’s a search engine, too.

Turn privacy off

Pinterest recently allowed users to pin videos from TED

In your profile settings, set your search privacy to “No,”

Talks, Vimeo, and YouTube. Pinning your videos gives them

to allow your Pinterest account to be found by search en-

extra visibility, leading to more subscribers and comments.

gines. Add keyword rich boards, pins, and images. An optimized board can rank well in search queries. Don’t miss this opportunity for extra visibility in search engine results pages (SERPs).

Local SEO In addition to listing your location on Google local and Yelp, use Pinterest Place Pins. Place Pins have a map and location associated with them. Location-based social net-

Optimize pins The Pinterest pin is the equivalent of the Facebook post and is composed of an image and a description. It is

work, Foursquare, powers these pins. Four Seasons Hotel chain uses Place Pins to highlight each location and give users another way to find them.

grouped onto boards and assigned a category. All of which

Pinterest continues to position itself not only as a social

can be optimized for SEO. Use keywords in board titles and

network, but also as a visual search engine. This is some-

descriptions as well as the 500 character pin text area. De-

thing Google does not do as well as Bing. Maybe there is a

velop your own hashtag and use it in pins.

collaborative effort or merger coming in the future.

Michelle is an entrepreneur who blogs on metrony.com and is the author of Pinterest Tutorial.

19

· Issue 27 · August 2014

tl;dr - Three ways to use your voice to build trust and confidence with visitors, and earn more affiliate sales.

Nick Loper

Talk to Me: Your Voice

Sells

by Nick Loper

A

ffiliates have a lot of tools at their disposal to try and

expert in your field, your personal recommendations can

influence sales and turn browsers into buyers. Com-

give a visitor the confidence they need to move forward. Of

pelling copywriting, Pinterest-worthy product im-

course, be sure to disclose any affiliate relationships.

ages, and trustworthy testimonials can all help seal the deal.

But one tool is often overlooked: your own voice.

2. Start a Podcast A podcast listener is much more highly engaged than a

People do business with those they know, like, and

blog reader. While it may take 5-10 minutes to read a blog

trust, right? It’s increasingly difficult to get customers to pull

post, a podcast listener is spending 30-60 minutes with

out their wallets if the trust-factor is missing.

your voice in their earbuds.

A personal connection with you and your voice can

Over time, that naturally develops into a very trusting

mean the difference between, “Sorry, see you later,” and,

relationship where the listener feels like they know you. It’s

“Sign me up!”

a bigger investment in time and resources than just taking

There are 3 primary ways affiliates can use their voice to

quick phone meetings, but it also has a much wider scale.

help build stronger connections and make sales – and none

You can potentially reach hundreds or thousands of people

of these involve getting in front of a video camera, in case

at a time with a podcast.

you’re camera shy.

The most prominent example of this strategy is Pat Fly-

1. Offer Phone Support

nn’s Smart Passive Income Podcast. He can drop spoken af-

Getting on the phone with your prospective custom-

filiate link references into his shows, and his legions of loyal

ers, especially for complex purchases or big-ticket items,

listeners are primed to take action.

can help visitors clarify their needs and feel more confident

3. Join Clarity.fm

in their purchase decision.

Clarity.fm may be the best of both worlds, because peo-

Consider eHealthInsurance, a leading health insurance

ple can pay upfront to talk to you for your expertise, and

directory that earns income referring visitors to sign up for

you can recommend relevant affiliate products or services

new insurance plans. They prominently display their phone

during the call. Again, always be upfront and disclose any

number at the top of the site to encourage visitors to call in

affiliate relationships.

with any questions.

How it works is you set your per-minute rate (starting at

Since the purchase decision is several hundred dollars, at a minimum, it makes sense both from a financial standpoint and a conversion standpoint to be able to jump on a quick phone call.

uling voice calls as visitors request them.

All of these methods can add a powerful personal touch to your sales arsenal and help drive affiliate revenue

Smaller affiliates can play the same game. If you’re an

20

$1), embed the Clarity widget on your site, and begin sched-

to new heights.

Nick Loper is an author, online entrepreneur, and Chief Side Hustler at SideHustleNation.com.

tl;dr - An advertiser’s perspective on growing business by building a better affiliate program.

Tips for Building a

Better Affiliate Program

Natalie Mauro

· Issue 27 · August 2014

by Natalie Mauro As an advertiser in the affiliate industry, our main goals are to enhance the experience our affiliates have with our program and constantly grow their and our business. To

that we work with has a unique business model. If an af-

stay abreast of the latest affiliate trends, we focus on culti-

filiate network can match their traffic sources to the adver-

vating long-term relationships with our current partners, in

tiser’s target audience, then it’s a win on both sides!

addition to prospecting for new affiliates.

In reality, it takes some effort to find that perfect match.

It’s important to continue expanding and improving

For example, some of the target KPI’s for the Publishers Clear-

the program through our existing affiliate base. In order to

ing House program are age (adults 45+) and email engage-

achieve this goal and be able to scale, there are some tips

ment. We work closely with our affiliates to optimize place-

that we constantly follow that have helped contribute to the

ments and improve the targeting of leads they provide us.

success of the program.

When this happens, we tend to see an increase in ROI and an increase in the CPA we pay to our partners. As part

Create an Open and Two-Way

of that optimization discussion, we work to move younger

Communication with Your Partners

sources of traffic to our partner’s offers that can better

One of the key elements to a successful program is accessibility. An open dialogue and two-way communication

monetize that traffic. Traffic optimization should be a key focus for your program.

will only benefit your partners and your business. Whether it’s troubleshooting a pixel, checking on a payment or pitching a new creative, staying in touch with affiliates is a big factor for success.

The speed at which you respond to all issues ensures quick resolutions and a continual flow of lead volume. Listening to your partners’ ideas is also important. So be sure to keep the lines of communication open at all time.

Expand Channels from Each Partner Having direct communication with partners will allow you to gain a better understanding of what advertising options are available in every channel. This may vary from display to co-registration to email.

From our perspective, this knowledge helps to expand the business we conduct with each of our partners. If we

TIP: You may even want to consider a monthly newslet-

can buy media across multiple channels, we can increase

ter, which can be a great outlet to share current events and

the number of leads acquired from our already existing

announcements with your partners.

partners. Therefore, it is important for our creative team to develop assets that can be used across a variety of media

Work on Optimizing Traffic Sources Lead quality optimization should always be an important part of any program. As we all know, each advertiser

placements. Our recommendation is to look beyond your current channels to see what other outlets can help drive more business for you and your affiliates.

Natalie Mauro manages the Publishers Clearing House Affiliate program at PCHaffiliate.com

21

· Issue 27 · August 2014

Editor’s Note

Succeed

in Spite of Your Disability Continued from page 2

by Missy Ward

Birds of a Feather Flock Together For the last 12 years, Affiliate Summit has released their annual AffStat report, shedding light on the folks that make their living in the affiliate marketing industry. Each year, I eagerly await the results to compare and contrast against my demographics, my marketing techniques, trends I see, etc.

by it was me. I had never suspected that I had ADHD, be-

What I’ve noticed is that my answers are very much the

cause I erroneously believed that people that had it couldn’t

same as the majority of the respondents. Naturally, my ADHD

get anything done and were relatively unsuccessful.

brain had to consider the implications of those results and de-

I was completely wrong. Fortunately for me, somewhere along the line, I figured out some ways to compensate for

cided to survey affiliate marketers who were diagnosed with ADHD or believe they may have it, but not have been tested.

some deficits without even knowing I was doing that. I also

While the results of the survey are not scientific, there

landed into an industry where I am able to leverage some of

were 187 voluntary respondents who identified themselves

ADHD’s characteristics such as creativity, multi-tasking, risk-

as fitting the abovementioned criteria.

taking, and the inability to not let go of a stimulating project until it is completed or loses its sparkle.

It was interesting to see that a lot of us ADHD’ers have found a home in the affiliate marketing industry. I was also

While I will be managing ADHD for the rest of my life, I

pleased to see that although disabilities can be difficult to

have figured out a way to harness my ability to focus with

manage, they don’t necessarily impact a person’s chances

laser-like intensity and have become successful in spite of

of success.

my disability.

22

Here are the results of the survey.

路 Issue 27 路 August 2014

23

· Issue 27 · August 2014

Alexander D. Boyd

tl;dr - Concepts for reducing the risk of running an affiliate website.

Understanding and Reducing Your

Website’s Risk

by Alexander D. Boyd

Content is still protected even if it is posted on the internet. Check with your advertiser, network, or other source of the content before posting it on your own website. If other

I

people are posting content to your website, consider regisn an ideal world, we could operate affiliate websites that

tering under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA)

are both profitable and risk free. In reality, successful

for some protection.

websites face a variety of risks in the form of regulations,

One of the more difficult areas for many affiliates is

intellectual property claims, and consumer complaints, to

complying with the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC’s)

name a few.

guidelines for online advertising. Understanding the basic

The goal for successful affiliates is to reduce risk with-

concepts is the first step to compliance. The FTC’s overarch-

out reducing conversions. The first step in this balancing

ing task is to make sure businesses of all kinds are not de-

act is understanding the concepts behind these risks and

ceiving consumers.

potential solutions. Once you understand the risk, you can better decide how to address it.

Ask yourself, “What would a reasonable person think when looking at my website?” If they are likely to miss im-

Some risk is inherent in any business, including the

portant information or be misled, then you may need to

risk that comes with daily customer transactions and con-

rearrange your website, add disclosures, or revise your of-

tracts. The goal is to limit liability and make sure both you

fer or claims.

and your user understand your relationship. It is often a

In its pursuit of deception, the FTC has issued spe-

good idea to form an entity (LLC or corporation) to reduce

cific rules and guidance in many areas relevant to affiliate

your personal liability.

marketers. All claims must be substantiated by reasonable

For websites, the next step is to create clear terms of

evidence. Continuity programs and “free” offers must dis-

service governing the customer’s use of your website. Fi-

close certain terms. Any necessary disclaimers must be

nally, posting a privacy policy places your users on notice

easy to see and understand. If you provide clear terms

that you may collect and use their information in certain

and disclaimers, and provide truthful information, you will

ways. Always make sure to follow your own terms and pri-

greatly increase your level of compliance. However, you

vacy policy.

may want to seek advice on the FTC’s specific rules rel-

Another area of concern for many affiliates is intellec-

evant to your area.

tual property, like copyrights or trademarks. The risk arises

Reducing risk does not necessarily mean reducing

when you use pictures, articles, or logos that you did not

conversions. While websites face many types of risk, un-

create. Generally, if your content came from somewhere

derstanding the risk and solutions allows you to make an

else, you need to make sure you have the right to use it.

informed decision and a more successful business.

24

Alex Boyd is an internet law attorney at Fraser Stryker PC, LLO in Omaha, Nebraska.

· Issue 27 · August 2014

Does Your

Affiliate Program Support Your Brand ?

by Meghan Schwartz-Joseph

H

Meghan Schwartz-Joseph

tl;dr - It’s critical that affiliate programs support, rather than detract, from the brands they represent.

ow often have we seen affiliates promoting brands with products clearly from last season (winter coat banner ad posted in July?), out of date logos, or of-

with their affiliates. Affiliates are representing your brand.

fers that expired months ago? The list of ways that affiliate

Take the time to visit their sites, understand their target

programs can damage customers’ perceptions of brands

market, and develop a relationship with them.

could fill this entire article.

Be sure that your affiliates reach the types of consumers

Instead, we’ll focus on how you can ensure that your af-

your brand is targeting. The best affiliate programs are those

filiate program supports your company’s brand and overall

with active and engaged affiliates who understand the com-

marketing strategy.

pany’s goals. You’re better off with a smaller number of these types of affiliates than with a program full of affiliates who

Your Affiliate Program Should

do your brand a disservice and won’t communicate with you.

Look Like Your Brand Branding experts tell us that consistency is key to building a successful brand. This point is particularly important

Your Affiliate Marketing Calendar Follows Your Company’s Marketing Calendar

in affiliate marketing, because external sites are represent-

Make it easy for affiliates to support your company’s

ing your brand. Be sure that your brand is clear in each

marketing strategies by regularly communicating what’s

touch point with affiliates.

important in your marketing plan. So often, affiliates only

How do you do that? The affiliate program join page

receive coupon codes for product lines that aren’t moving.

looks like the company’s website. Affiliate newsletters mir-

Instead of giving affiliates the scraps, engage them

ror customer-facing newsletters. The copy has the same

in what’s hot from the company’s perspective. Tell them

brand voice as the website and social media.

about new product launches, interesting industry trends,

Anytime brand elements like the logo or colors are up-

sneak peeks to what’s coming up, your brand in the news,

dated, those components are updated within the affiliate

and of course promotions and times of year that are sure

program, too. Creative is always current—not just with up

to drive sales.

to date brand standards, but also seasonality. If banners, lo-

Engaging affiliates at this level demonstrates that you

gos, and text links are regularly updated for affiliates, you’ve

view them as trusted partners and also ensures that the

made huge progress towards ensuring that your affiliate

messages you most want to be delivered are in fact being

program is a seamless extension of your brand.

disseminated through your affiliates.

When an affiliate program is well integrated into a com-

Work With the Right Partners

pany’s overall marketing and branding strategy, the results

Would you hire a sales rep without knowing anything

are not only increased revenue but also an affiliate program

about him to go out and start selling your product? Of

that is a positive and supportive extension of the company’s

course not, and yet this is the tactic many companies take

brand and marketing goals.

Meghan Joseph runs the Affiliate Marketing practice as VP, Performance Marketing at Acceleration Partners.

25

· Issue 27 · August 2014

tl;dr - Is the term “affiliate” outdated as a term to describe the industry, and should we search for alternative concepts?

Donika Todorova

Is Affiliate an

O

nline advertising is now divided in different segments: native, content, retargeting, social media,

Outdated Name for Us?

by Donika Todorova

and search advertising, to name a few. Another

trend—programmatic buying—is on the rise. Where is affiliate marketing? It’s everywhere.

The history of affiliate marketing started about 20 years ago. That’s old for today’s standards. It resonates as out-

We span through all digital platforms, across all media.

dated. Programmatic buying, to come to it again, still has to

The affiliate industry has evolved tremendously through the

prove it’s a viable advertising method. Nonetheless, there’s

years. But the word “affiliate” remains synonymous with the

excitement and talks of it being the future of advertising.

past. In a way, it’s a worn out term for a digital world that is

Even if that’s true, affiliate will not disappear from the scene.

constantly changing. It might be time to rebrand in order to

It’s a big part of the future of advertising.

remain attractive.

Take content strategy as another example. The concept

A search for the word “affiliate” on a website such as Ad-

wasn’t around 20 years ago, but through affiliate marketing

week shows that the mentions of “affiliate” in articles are a

it was in fact happening. Brands created advertisements for

lot less than the mentions of “programmatic”. There’s more

solicitation, but they invested in affiliate marketing to attract

news about programmatic. To define it simply, program-

readers of third-party content to become their customers.

matic means using technology and algorithms to choose

Yet content strategy marketers today distinguish them-

and buy inventory for online display advertising and secure

selves from affiliate advertising.

large amounts of guaranteed audiences.

Our affiliate partners are content creators. They are

Meanwhile, the affiliate industry remains a multibillion

the bosses of their own content. Why not call them “con-

dollar one, and it’s advancing. No big advertiser can afford

tent partners” instead of “affiliates”? They are a part of our

to bypass it. Smaller advertisers can rely on it to hook up

brands’ content strategies. They provide native, social me-

with friendly partners and attract loyal customers. Tech

dia advertising, and advertorials. They are brand advocates.

start-ups are born that bring the industry forward. But

Some of them have great SEO and therefore are inevita-

who’s interested in “affiliate” news apart from those directly

bly part of our brands’ search strategies. They use key links

involved in it?

like content marketers use key words. Take cash-back and

The industry itself is blooming, yet hearing “affiliate”

coupon sites—why not call them “e-commerce partners”

makes new advertising trendsetters uneasy (or uninter-

instead of “affiliates”? We could borrow from math and call

ested). Unfortunately, the new technology frenzy makes ev-

our field Parallel Marketing or Tangent Advertising or Trig

erybody allergic to anything that is “old”. And unfortunately,

Promotion (stemming from the three dimensions of adver-

“affiliate” is still very much associated with search fraud,

tiser, publisher and reader/customer). These are just some

useless banners, and questionable tracking.

ideas. Let’s open the discussion.

26

Donika Todorova is an Affiliate Account Manager at Adorama, electronics retailer headquartered in New York.

· Issue 27 · August 2014

3 Great

Characteristics of a

Casey Pavlick

tl;dr - Affiliates must give the advertisers what they want or fail in the long run.

Affiliate

by Casey Pavlick

W

orking at a company that manages a large affiliate program, I have been able to see firsthand what it takes to separate the good affiliates

from the great.

While walking the floor of any affiliate show, there are dozens of booths promising “highest payouts”, “best traffic”, “top publishers”, etc… but as we all know these big numbers only work when a win-win situation is able to be created.

Below are 3 characteristics I believe define strong affiliate programs that are great:

2. Transparency & Trust 1. Communication & Availability

Keep it simple. What do you really bring to the table?

Affiliate marketing is almost entirely based on relation-

What separates you from every other affiliate network

ships; it is all about who you know and what they can bring

on the floor? There’s a reason those who drive the clean

to the table. Communication is key to building the founda-

traffic and pay out the best, also work with the best. It is

tion of affiliate-advertiser relationships, and even more im-

is no coincidence they end up with the best offers from

portant if you want these relationships to last.

advertisers.

With the constant evolution of the internet and all that goes with it, the affiliate world has become one of the

3. Don’t chase the shiny penny

fastest changing industries to work in. Because of this, it

Long lasting relationships don’t chase the shiny penny.

is critical for both affiliates and advertisers to be readily

Highest yield doesn’t always mean long term success. Of-

available to make changes to a campaign, caps, creative,

fers don’t work, payouts have to change, exclusivity can be

payouts, etc.

lost, inventory issues happen… at the end of the day, we all

Since every affiliate, advertiser and publisher is using

want to drive traffic and make money.

some type of messaging service and social media network,

The ability to be able to be flexible—to take a situation,

as well as the traditional methods of communication such

make a decision and press forward even if it means having

as email and phone, it is possible to be available at nearly all

to change the way something was previously being done—

times with little to no effort.

is what success in this space is all about.

Casey Pavlick is the Email Marketing Supervisor at Atlantic Coast Media Group.

27

· Issue 27 · August 2014

tl;dr - 5 steps to success in short term, event fueled affiliate opportunities.

5 Tips

Wade Tonkin

to Capitalize on

Hot Markets

by Wade Tonkin

Every affiliate would love the chance to make a lot of money in a short time window. Hot markets give affiliates this opportunity. A hot market, by my definition, is a particu-

in list. Facebook Pages have taken a bit of a hit with

lar event that can be leveraged to drive a burst of sales over

algorithm updates, but can still be a big part of your

a few hours or a few days.

marketing mix. Make sure your audience is engaged

In sports, we’re talking a World Series, College National

and trusts you.

Championship, or Super Bowl win. And in non-sports verti-

»» Identify Affiliate Programs and Build Relation-

cals, maybe it’s a big movie release with an accompanying

ships with Affiliate Managers - Find the affiliate pro-

press and merchandising push, or the release of a celebrity

grams that provide the best combination of inventory,

fashion line.

payout and cookie length terms, low return rate, and

Here’s what affiliates need to do to make the most of these opportunities.

immediate access to targeted creative. An experienced affiliate manager is your best friend, as they will provide

»» Identify the Hot Market Events – The great thing

great tools and have good tips on what works.

about most of the big sports hot markets is that you

»» Plan – Write your blog content, social media posts,

know when they occur. The major sports leagues pub-

and email newsletters, and have them ready to roll

lish their calendars in advance. Do some research on

out when the time comes. When it’s money time, you

which teams are most likely to be involved. In enter-

should just be publishing content and pushing “send”

tainment or fashion release dates are available well in

on your email campaigns.

advance and with a little homework you can build out

»» Execute – When your team wins the big game, or when

a marketing calendar with all of the important dates in

that big Hollywood Blockbuster is released, ride the

your niche.

excitement by pushing creative hard and fast. In the

»» Build Out Your Sites, Social Media, and Email Lists –

last four years, I have pushed creative live as late as

If you’re lucky, the team that you have a site/social pres-

1:30 AM after a game ended. The affiliates who stayed

ence for will make it to the big game. I’d hedge my bets

up with me and did the same made money overnight,

by making sure your properties account for the top five

while the ones who waited lost out.

or six teams most likely to be in the final mix. Email is

With some research, planning and a focus on execution,

still really important, as it gives you a great way to reach

you can score some great commissions in addition to your

out when it matters, so don’t overlook building an opt-

normal affiliate income.

28

Wade Tonkin runs the Fanatics Affiliate Team, overseeing affiliate programs including Fanatics.com and NFLShop.com.

· Issue 27 · August 2014

Creating a Robust

Multi-Market

Tom Rathbone

tl;dr - Tips for creating a robust multi-market ecosystem when you’re expanding internationally.

Ecosystem

by Tom Rathbone

E

xpanding internationally is an exciting business decision. With it comes certain technical challenges.

You’ll have to rely on international affiliate networks

and their respective technology to do it effectively. The main challenge is: How do I minimize the risk of my international

Plan for Business Needs

expansion coming to a halt during the integration phase?

Payment processing might place customers on different order success pages. Ensure you have tracking installed for all

Establish a Scalable Foundation Advertisers may build out a business plan and sign with a network without fully exploring the technical require-

pages. If processing occurs offsite, bring the customer back to your site for the order success page. Besides, landing them back on your domain is better for customer experience!

ments. By anticipating ways this can go wrong, we can bake in requirements for future integrations.

Some U.S. networks allow marketers to manage commission groups in their interfaces. This is not the case

Start with a container pixel that can deploy pixels based

worldwide. You may need to fire an entirely separate pixel

off your business needs. Make sure it can track in a multi-

per commission group, which would typically require your

tude of ways. You want as many inflow pipes as possible.

tech team to accommodate. By building a core of commis-

The container must be flexible enough to allow for com-

sion group parameters into the tracking, you have the flex-

pletely customized coding. You’ll need those outflow pipes

ibility to utilize the work that’s been done by your tech team

to deploy tracking for multiple networks.

and adapt it into what’s needed by the new integration. You may not use commission groups now but you should plan

Anticipate Technical Needs

for the possibility.

Not all networks can convert currency. If you are using a conversion rate internally, you’ll need to pass along those

Provide Data for Analytical Needs.

conversion rates in the pixel. If order processing references

New vs. returning customers, registered vs. guest cus-

a third party exchange rate in real time, your pixels will need

tomers, discount amounts if applicable, etc. These tracking

to do the same. You cannot pass along pre-converted cur-

technologies are advanced, but there is data they cannot

rency unless you have multiple amount parameters.

capture. Provide it.

You may find the need to fire pixels dependent upon

Lastly, think of things that I haven’t. Your business and

the most granular of parameters - any parameter may need

its future are unique. Think about what business decisions

its own pixel. We’ve even implemented tracking that re-

you are likely to make, if your current technology supports

quires a pixel for each item in the cart. Prepare for this by

it, or what changes will be required of your technology. Lay

passing along all needed data in the tracking!

the foundation for the future.

Tom Rathbone is Senior Technical Solutions Specialist at Schaaf-PartnerCentric.

29

· Issue 27 · August 2014

tl;dr - Mobile optimization starts with the customer experience and supporting customer preference.

Lisa Riolo

Mobile Optimization Begins With the

Customer Experience

by Lisa Riolo

convenience that may be eliminating a linear, predictable customer journey.

F

Potentially, people are engaging with businesses in rom predictions like mobile search overtaking desk-

multiple sessions, using more than one device. They have

top in 2015 to statistics that reveal major shifts in con-

the ability to move from online (search) to offline (a phone

sumer behavior (Did you hear that over half of emails

call) and back online (a shopping cart purchase).

are now opened on a mobile device?), there’s one clear mes-

And perhaps most importantly: customer preference

sage for every marketer thinking about improving results:

may be influencing behaviors in a way that will require savvy

optimize for mobile.

businesses to accommodate diverse range of choices.

But what does mobile optimization really mean?

Much of the advice on this topic focuses on responsive design and trying to recreate a great desktop experience on

For example, online restaurant reservations typically occur two days prior to a meal. In other words, the customer is planning. On mobile, the call occurs two minutes ahead.

a smaller screen. It’s a narrow, specialized perspective. And

Understanding which ad and which landing page re-

if designers are optimizing for the device, then what’s hap-

sults in more online forms is important. It just isn’t enough.

pening within other groups in the marketing organization?

Without also having mobile ads that included a phone num-

The media team is turning to technology companies to

ber -- the restaurant customer may be sitting down with a

help them understand attribution. Demand generation is

competitor down the street. The marketing team needs to

nurturing leads and developing content. Search is optimiz-

be thinking about both journeys, providing personalization

ing landing pages and managing ROI. The affiliate channel is

and multiple options for engagement.

focused on conversions.

Which marketing professional is thinking about the customer experience?

Creating an optimal customer experience is more challenging than ever. Consumers seem more distracted.

Mobile technology is creating the kind of flexibility and

30

Mobile optimization should take a marketer beyond screen size and thinking about chat + phone calls + push notifications and paths that may alternates between online and off.

An optimized customer experience, which includes mobile, is a win-win for the marketer and customer alike.

Lisa Riolo is the Vice President of Services and Customer Success at Invoca.

tl;dr - Facebook and Twitter should be used as an additional way to communicate with affiliates.

Engaging and Recruiting

Steven Shnayder

· Issue 27 · August 2014

Affiliates

Through Social Media

by Steven Shnayder

A

commission for connecting with us on a social network. This s an affiliate manager, I spend a lot of my time

got us a few dozen followers.

thinking of creative ways to communicate with my

Another way to gain followers is to share interesting

company’s existing affiliates, and how to recruit

content. It doesn’t matter if you or someone else writes it;

new affiliates into our program.

people appreciate useful information. Including your Twit-

With the daily barrage of email and other offers that most

ter handle and Facebook page in your signature is also a

Internet marketers receive, it’s easy to see why maintaining

good way to let affiliates know that they can find you on so-

a two-way stream of communication with affiliates can be

cial media. Again, the purpose of growing your audience on

such a monumental task. That doesn’t mean you should stop

social media is to have another way to reach people.

sending out newsletters—timely and relevant emails are an important part of any communication strategy.

Engaging Affiliates

But it makes sense to diversify your efforts across mul-

Social media can also be a good way to ensure that your

tiple channels, and we found that social media can be an

affiliates don’t fall by the wayside. Having been both a pub-

effective strategy for increasing overall engagement and

lisher and an affiliate manager, I know how easy it is to get

responsiveness.

discouraged when first getting started in affiliate marketing.

Throwing social media into the mix not only increases

There are so many questions involving hosting, website set-

the odds that your message will be seen by existing affili-

up, links, content, and more. Being there for your affiliates

ates, but it also helps spread the word about your compa-

when they need you most is a great way to build a lasting

ny’s affiliate program to people who may have never even

relationship.

heard of affiliate marketing.

One approach that has worked well for my company was to send this weekly tweet: “Anyone interested in a pri-

Getting Followers One challenge we initially faced was getting our affiliates

vate 5 minute Skype session with an experienced affiliate manager with any questions about affiliate marketing?”

to “like’ us on Facebook or “follow” us on Twitter. Let’s face it;

A bunch of affiliates took us up on our offer, and we

if you can’t get your affiliates to follow you on social media, it

both came away with new insights. An added bonus was

will not be a very effective strategy for your company.

that we received a few inquiries from non-affiliates about

At first we thought about just sending out an email let-

the program.

ting everyone know we were now officially “social”. However,

The bottom line is that, if done correctly, social media

knowing what motivates affiliate marketers, naturally, we

can be an extremely useful tool for connecting with your

decided to offer them an incentive bonus: a $0.50 bump in

affiliates.

Steven Shnayder is an affiliate manager and digital marketing analyst at GovernmentAuctions.org.

31

· Issue 27 · August 2014

tl;dr - Tip to ensure you earn the highest payouts on your campaign.

3 Keys

to Earning the Brad Dobbins

Highest Payouts

W

by Brad Dobbins

hat do you look for in a campaign? The landing

2. Align with the Right Partners. When you are

page, when pixels fire, eCPM? At the end of the

working with an established network, you can generally ex-

day, no matter what you look for, the payout is

pect that they are built on long lasting relationships. The

always on top of the list.

best networks have high standards for both themselves

Any network can claim to have top payouts, but what does

and their partners. Their longevity and strength comes

it take to ensure you will actually earn the highest payouts on

from working with companies who are equally invested in

your campaigns?

long term goals, success, and relationships.

Here are 3 keys to consider to help guarantee you the highest payouts possible on your campaigns: 1.

Just as you want to align yourself with the right people in your life, it’s essential to work with the right network. A net-

Look for Network Stability. Focus on the estab-

work run by people you trust, and a history of strong relation-

lished networks. The networks with many years of industry

ships. This is the type of network that has direct relationships

experience, who have never missed a payment, and who

with advertisers, and can follow through in delivering the high-

can demonstrate years of quality results for their partners,

est payouts possible on a campaign.

are your best bet.

3. Don’t Negotiate or Haggle. In affiliate market-

Networks that pop up out of nowhere can just as easily

ing, time is money. A network that negotiates or haggles

disappear, and have no reason to keep promises made to their

with you on payouts is wasting your time and losing you

clients. There is no established history or loyalty with a fly-by-

money.

the-night network.

People want to receive the absolute best they can get

On the other hand, if you are working with a network that

from day one, no questions asked. Spending hours at a car

does have history, consider the quality of that history. Can

dealership, just to get the price you know the salesman could

you trust them? Are you confident you will be getting paid? No

have given you immediately, is not only annoying, it’s a waste

matter what they claim about having the highest payouts, it

of time. Networks that play the same games with payouts are

doesn’t matter if they aren’t cutting checks.

no better than the car salesman.

32

Brad Dobbins is the Vice President of Affiliates at Clickbooth.com.

Direct Mail

tl;dr - Harness direct mail for campaign synergy that targets your existing database of student inquiries to convert leads into enrollments.

John Pirroni

· Issue 27 · August 2014

is Not Dead

by John Pirroni

T

he Direct Mail Association (DMA) released its 2014 Statistical Report that indicated many sectors of di-

smartphones while the older age group is more apt to re-

rect mail are working. Some marketers may argue

spond through traditional media. In either case, the pre-

that paper is dead. But before you form a conclusion, I en-

cipitating event for the response was direct mail, so I would

courage you to take 39 seconds and view a funny YouTube

not interpret this statistic to decrease mailing to younger

commercial from a French brand, Le Trefle, appropriately

people.

titled “Paper Is Not Dead.”

All jokes aside, the bottom line is technology cannot entirely replace the role of real paper or direct mail. Integrat-

The implication of this statistic is to emphasize response through traditional media for older groups while using web-based methods for younger groups.

ing digital marketing tactics such as: online media, landing pages, QR codes, personalized URLs, and coordinated email blasts is a necessary practice with direct mail.

Social Media Usage: According to the Noel-Levitz 2014 E-Recruiting Prac-

The DMA report found direct mail volume rose to 87

tices Report, more than 71% of two-year and four-year col-

billion in 2013 and a reported 44.9 billion in US dollars was

leges now use social media for recruitment. The study also

spent in 2013—which was an increase from previous years.

found direct mail and view books were used by 100% of the

These key findings prove direct mail remains the unique

institutions surveyed, 90% of the colleges stated that they

vehicle that places your message literally in the hands of

were very effective in recruitment.

your prospects with an indelible impression that lingers

Before implementing direct mail with digital recruit-

around the home much longer than lightning speed of mas-

ment efforts, institutions must understand which online

sive emails (which readers delete most of the day).

platform prospective students are using most often. The

There is still value in many sectors of direct mail and

Noel-Levitz 2014 E-Expectations Report found that high

additional key factors of recent industry reports are below.

school seniors use social media in the following order: Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat, Google+, Vine

Responsive Age Groups:

and Pinterest.

The report indicates responses for recipients age 18-

In summary, the key to the continuing growth of direct

24 decreased while ages 25-27 increased. This statistic may

mail is its integration with emerging technologies, not its

be misleading, as the younger group had the option to re-

elimination. The role of paper is not dead and neither is di-

spond through the business reply slip and/or the web land-

rect mail.

ing page.

It would appear that younger respondents are accustomed to getting their information through the web and

For further information on what is working in direct mail, I encourage you to get the 2014 DMA Statistical Fact Book available at the DMA website.

John Pirroni is the President of Target Direct Marketing, LLC, specializing in generating EDU inquiries and enrollments for over 20 years.

33

· Issue 27 · August 2014

tl;dr - Three ways advertisers can eliminate wasted ad dollars.

Danielle Forget

Eliminating Wasted Ad Dollars with Competitive Intelligence

by Danielle Forget

T

he most overused quote in marketing is “Half the money I spend on advertising is wasted; the trouble is I don’t know which half.”

Over 100 years later, advertisers still aren’t clear on

which half is working.

Pay special attention to what colors they are using, the look of their ads, the copy and especially the call to action.

Online advertising was said to be the answer to this

For example, after looking through the advertising

ongoing dilemma. With the power of data and tracking, the

profile of the online dating site Match.com using Wha-

modern marketers is able to clearly see what is and what

tRunsWhere’s display ad tool, it was very clear that the use

isn’t working.

of real people’s faces (opposed to stock images) was a vital

This is the power of competitive intelligence and here are 3 ways advertisers can use it to eliminate wasted ad dollars…

1.

factor to their ads.

As well, the majority of their top ads very much resem-

Uncover Their Best Traffic Sources

bled popular social networking platforms.

One thing’s for sure – no competent advertiser is going

3. Use Your Landing Page to Seal The Deal

to continue placing ads on a traffic sources that isn’t per-

The best ad placement available online won’t do you

forming. Using competitive intelligence, you can uncover

any good if your landing page isn’t optimized to meet your

optimal traffic sources to see where your competition (or

conversion goal. Far too many advertisers spend effort fo-

other advertisers targeting the same niche) have been run-

cusing on the click and not nearly enough on where the lead

ning their ads the longest.

lands after the click.

To save even more ad dollars, opt for purchasing your

On the other hand, there are plenty of advertisers

ad placement directly from these traffic sources.

spending lots of time and money figuring out what to test,

2. Learn From Their Testing

change, and eliminate.

Advertisers are constantly testing and optimizing

Take full advantage of this by monitoring how long their

campaigns. Be sure to steer clear of what didn’t work for

landing page is, how much copy is used, the types of images

them. There is no sense in wasting more money testing it

and call-to-action. Even the smallest changes can dramati-

for yourself.

cally affect conversion rates.

34

Danielle is the Marketing Coordinator at WhatRunsWhere, a competitive intelligence platform that gives you the power to buy media intelligently.

· Issue 27 · August 2014

Day 0 Saturday, August 9

First Timers Guide for Affiliate Summit @ Astor Ballroom 10:00 am – 10:45 am

Affiliate Marketing For Bloggers Event @ Empire Complex 12:30pm - 5:00pm

Join Affiliate Summit Co-Founder Shawn Collins for tips and advice for getting the most out of your time at Affiliate Summit.

Experience level: Beginner

Affiliate Summit will be hosting a half-day event for blog-

Target audience: Affiliate/Publisher, Merchant/

gers who want to learn how to integrate affiliate market-

Advertiser, Network

ing techniques into the revenue strategy for their blog.

Niche/vertical: Networking

(This event requires a separate registration. Please visit affiliatesummit. com/ase14blogger for more information)

»» Shawn Collins, Co-founder, Affiliate Summit (Twitter @affiliatetip) (This Session is Open to all Pass Holders)

Early Check-In @ Broadway Ballroom Foyer 4:00 pm – 8:00 pm Come by Saturday evening to pick up your badge and attendee bag so you can enter immediately on Sunday when the show opens!

Session 1a – The Super Affiliate Toolkit for WordPress @ Astor Ballroom 11:00 am – 12:00 pm David and Jeremy share their best high-powered tips for using WordPress to crank out high quality content and increase commissions. Publish like a super affiliate with

Day 1 Sunday, August 10

the WordPress toolkit!

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

Booth Setup @ Westside Ballroom 8:00 am – 6:00 pm Companies with booths in the exhibit hall on the Monday and Tuesday of Affiliate Summit can setup their booths during this period.

Conference Check-In @ Broadway Ballroom Foyer 8:00 am – 6:00 pm Pick up your conference badge and attendee bag, and get started with Affiliate Summit.

»» Jeremy Palmer, Founding Partner, Growing Digital, LLC. (Twitter @jeremypalmer) »» David Vogelpohl, CEO, Marketing Clique (Twitter @davidvmc) (This session is open to Networking Plus, VIP, and All Access pass holders only)

Session 1b – Monetizing Your Site – Missed Opportunities & Live Reviews @ SoHo Complex 11:00 am – 12:00 pm Learn how to find missed places and ways to monetize your site. You’d be surprised what you may be missing, tools you could be using & have your site reviewed if you’d like.

35

· Issue 27 · August 2014

Experience level: Beginner Target audience: Affiliate/Publisher Niche/vertical: Monetization »» Adam Riemer, President, Adam Riemer Marketing (Twitter @rollerblader) (This session is open to Networking Plus, VIP, and All Access pass holders only)

Meet Market @ Broadway Ballroom North & South 12:00 pm – 6:00 pm (exhibitors may begin setting up at 9:00 am) 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

Session 1c – Become the Publisher Merchants Want You to Be @ Majestic Complex 11:00 am – 12:00 pm

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.

8 proven principles on becoming the publisher merchants want you to be to allow for growth in your business and generate more sales.

Experience level: Beginner Target audience: Affiliate/Publisher Niche/vertical: Publisher Advancement »» Jesse Morgan, Affiliate Marketing Manager, Magazines. com (Twitter @jc_morgan) – Moderator »» Joan Alpogianis, Senior Manager, Client Services,

Press Room @ Duffy 12:00 pm – 6:00 pm The Press Room is an area reserved for credentialed press to grab some desk space, blog, interview, relax, and network. Heather Diamani will head up the Affiliate Summit Press Room, where she will be acting as liaison between Affiliate Summit and the press attending the show.

Rakuten LinkShare (Twitter @LinkShareBlog) »» Gabe Carreras, Director, Merchant Development, Cartera Commerce (Twitter @CarteraCommerce)

»» Heather Diamani, Owner, BlendHappy (Twitter @blendhappy)

(This session is open to Networking Plus, VIP, and All Access pass holders only)

Session 2a -Six-Figure Mastery: The Cure for the Session 1d – Affiliate Storefronts and the Future of Digital Fundraising @ Shubert Complex

Common Blog @ Astor Ballroom 12:30 pm – 1:30 pm

11:00 am – 12:00 pm

This session will break down what it takes to go from an

Storefronts are revolutionizing both affiliate marketing

ity and trusted brand. Also covering affiliate marketing,

and fundraising, letting merchants connect with non-

building brands and monetization.

traditional affiliates and giving nonprofits a robust new digital channel to raise money.

Experience level: Intermediate Target audience: Merchant/Advertiser Niche/vertical: Affiliate Storefronts »» Robert Glazer, Owner, Acceleration Partners (Twitter @accelerationpar) (This session is open to Networking Plus, VIP, and All Access pass holders only)

average blogger to building yourself up as an author-

Experience level: Intermediate Target audience: Affiliate/Publisher Niche/vertical: Blogging »» John Chow, Titles Are For Wimps, John Chow dot Com (Twitter @johnchow) – Moderator »» Syed Balkhi, Founder, WPBeginner (Twitter @wpbeginner) »» Zac Johnson, President, MoneyReign Inc (Twitter @zacjohnson) »» John Rampton, President, Adogy (Twitter @johnrampton) (This session is open to VIP and All Access pass holders only)

36

· Issue 27 · August 2014

»» Scott Jangro, President & Co-Founder, Shareist, Inc

Session 2b – Link Building Reboot – Hot Strategies

(Twitter @jangro)

for More Traffic @ SoHo Complex

(This session is open to VIP and All Access pass holders only)

12:30 pm – 1:30 pm Overview of cutting edge link building tactics. How to leverage current events & trending topics, reverse content marketing, publisher relationship building and a discussion of pitfalls to avoid.

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

VIP & All Access Snack Break @ Empire Complex 1:00 pm – 3:00 pm Take a break from the networking and education for some snacks and drinks in a relaxed networking environment.

(This Event is Open to VIP and All Access Pass Holders with Snack Tickets Only)

»» Roger Montti, Owner, Martinibuster.com (Twitter @martinibuster) – Moderator »» Scott Polk, President, ObsidianEdge (Twitter @scottpolk) (This session is open to VIP and All Access pass holders only)

Session 3a – SEO, Link Building, Authorship, & Surviving Google Updates @ Astor Ballroom 2:00 pm – 3:00 pm

Session 2c – Driving Revenue with Gamification @ Majestic Complex

SEO is changing, link building is changing… and if you’re still using yesterdays methods, or if you’re a thin affiliate, then you’re bound to get hit by a Google update.

12:30 pm – 1:30 pm Learn how to use contests, promotions, and game theory to improve customer loyalty, boost traffic, and increase sales. We’ll walk through specific case studies and analyze what does & does not work.

Experience level: Intermediate Target audience: Merchant/Advertiser Niche/vertical: Gamification »» Sean Steinmarc, Founder, psGive (Twitter @steinmarc) (This session is open to VIP and All Access pass holders only)

Session 2d – Successful Content Marketing in 30 Minutes a Day @ Shubert Complex 12:30 pm – 1:30 pm Content is king. Coming up with great stuff share and write about every day is hard. Learn how to keep your social media, blogs, and newsletters active with great content, for you and your clients.

Experience level: Intermediate Target audience: General Niche/vertical: Content

37

· Issue 27 · August 2014

Experience level: Intermediate Target audience: Affiliates / Merchants Niche/vertical: Facebook »» Nathan Smith, President, Zynali Marketing Solutions (Twitter @CoffeeNate) – Moderator »» Ashley Coombe, Marketing Director, Prosperent (Twitter @ashleybcoombe) »» Shannon Vogel, Owner, The Be Scene (Twitter @thebescene) (This session is open to VIP and All Access pass holders only)

Session 3d – Rethinking Today’s Hot Issues Affecting Affiliate Programs @ Shubert Complex Experience level: Intermediate

2:00 pm – 3:00 pm

Target audience: Affiliate/Publisher

Reduced coupon site payouts, toolbars, click attribution

Niche/vertical: SEO

– have you evaluated these choices for your program

»» Jim Boykin, CEO, Internet Marketing Ninjas (Twitter @jimboykin) (This session is open to VIP and All Access pass holders only)

lately? This diverse experienced panel discusses the pros & cons of today’s tough issues.

Experience level: Intermediate Target audience: Merchant/Advertiser Niche/vertical: Affiliate Program Structure

Session 3b – How to Build a Successful Blog @ SoHo Complex 2:00 pm – 3:00 pm I will take you by the hand & show you how to build a successful blog step by step. The lively no holds barred presentation will reveal all of my personal secrets, tricks and tips over my shoulder.

Experience level: Intermediate

»» Jeannine Crooks, Senior Account Manager, Affiliate Window (Twitter @Jeannine_Crooks) – Moderator »» Rick Gardiner, CEO, iAffiliate Management (Twitter @rickgardiner) »» John LoBrutto, Director of Affiliate Partnerships, 1&1 Internet, Inc (Twitter @1and1affiliate) »» Alan Rapoport, Director of Merchant Management, DealTaker.com (Twitter @ bigalrap) (This session is open to VIP and All Access pass holders only)

Target audience: Affiliate/Publisher Niche/vertical: Blogging »» Matthew Woodward, Blogger, MatthewWoodward.co.uk (Twitter @mattwoodwarduk) (This session is open to VIP and All Access pass holders only)

Session 4a – YouTube Video Optimization @ Astor Ballroom 3:30 pm – 3:48 pm How to make professional cost effective videos, optimize your videos so they will appear on the top of the search

Session 3c – How to Leverage Facebook Advertising to Grow Your Business @ Majestic Complex 2:00 pm – 3:00 pm Attendees to this session will leave knowing how to use Facebook ads to grow their following, increase engage-

engines, and use YouTube built-in features.

Experience level: Beginner Target audience: Affiliate/Publisher Niche/vertical: YouTube »» Akiva Ben-Ezra, CEO, BenEzra Marketing (Twitter

ment, build a list, retarget site visitors on Facebook, and

@akivabenezra)

increase affiliate sales.

(This session is open to VIP and All Access pass holders only)

38

· Issue 27 · August 2014

»» Cristian Miculi, Sr. Affiliate Marketing Manager, Avangate

Session 4b – The Next Generation of Data for New

(Twitter @affiliatedoc)

Levels of Optimization @ SoHo Complex

(This session is open to VIP and All Access pass holders only)

3:30 pm – 3:48 pm Data is abundantly available for online transactions. So,

Opening Remarks & Elevator Pitches @ Astor

why aren’t many in our industry using data beyond EPC

Ballroom

to optimize? Learn about new levels of optimization with the next generation of data.

Experience level: Intermediate Target audience: Affiliate/Publisher

4:30 pm – 5:30 pm Step up on stage to let the crowd know what you’re looking for (leads, affiliates, certain types of affiliate program).

Niche/vertical: Optimization »» Choots Humphries, Co-President, LinkConnector (Twitter @LinkConnector) (This session is open to VIP and All Access pass holders only)

Session 4c – 3 Tips for Optimizing Conversions Using Math, Not Feelings @ Majestic Complex

»» Rachel Honoway, CEO, For Me To Coupon (Twitter @rachelhonoway) (This session is open to All Pass Holders)

Newcomer Program Meetup @ Empire Complex 6:30 pm – 7:30 pm

3:30 pm – 3:48 pm

The Affiliate Summit Newcomer Program helps connect

We’ll talk about 3 specific tactics for optimizing your con-

ference veterans volunteer their time to share their past

version funnel using actual statistics. We’ll cover two entry points: Facebook and Google. We’ll then talk about on-site optimization.

Experience level: Intermediate Target audience: Merchant/Advertiser Niche/vertical: Conversions »» James Thompson, Co-Founder, Daft Labs, LLC (Twitter @jtgraphic)

first time attendees with Affiliate Summit veterans. Conexperience ideas and information to help newcomers optimize their time at the conference. This is an opportunity for those first time attendees and conference veterans to meet. »» Heather Diamani, Owner, BlendHappy (Twitter @blendhappy) (Open to all attendees enrolled in the Affiliate Summit Newcomer Program)

(This session is open to VIP and All Access pass holders only)

Session 4d – How-To Guide on Affiliate Retention

Monday, August 11

Day 2

Techniques @ Shubert Complex 3:30 pm – 3:48 pm Understand what drives affiliate migration between merchants and see the best proven ways to turn that around.

See how to pump energy to inactive affiliates and make them sell.

Conference Check-In @ Broadway Ballroom Foyer 7:30 am – 5:00 pm Pick up your conference badge and attendee bag, and get started with Affiliate Summit.

Experience level: Beginner Target audience: Merchant/Advertiser Niche/vertical: Affiliate Retention

39

· Issue 27 · August 2014

Press Room @ Duffy

Exhibit Hall @ Westside Ballroom

8:30 am – 6:00 pm

10:00 am – 5:00 pm

The Press Room is an area reserved for credentialed

Meet with a wide selection of affiliate programs, net-

press to grab some desk space, blog, interview, relax, and

works, affiliate program managers, and vendors.

network. Heather Diamani will head up the Affiliate Summit Press Room, where she will be acting as liaison be-

(Exhibitors may set up beginning at 9:00 am.)

tween Affiliate Summit and the press attending the show. »» Heather Diamani, Owner, BlendHappy (Twitter @blendhappy)

Session 5a – Surviving the SEO Evolution @ Astor Ballroom 10:00 am – 11:00 am

Buffet Breakfast @ Broadway Ballroom North &

SEO is dead? Not even close. It’s evolved. This session will

South

take a look at what’s changed, what’s stayed the same

9:00 am – 10:00 am (Breakfast is open to VIP and All Access pass holders with breakfast tickets only)

& how merchants & affiliates alike can not only survive those changes, but thrive.

Experience level: Intermediate Target audience: Affiliate/Publisher, Merchant/ Advertiser

Coffee Service @ Broadway Ballroom North & South 10:00 am – 11:00 am

Niche/vertical: SEO »» Rae Hoffman, CEO, Sugarrae (Twitter @sugarrae) (This session is open to Networking Plus, VIP, and All Access pass holders only)

Get some caffeine and take advantage of the tables and WiFi to have meetings or catch up on work.

Session 5b – Live Affiliate Program Reviews – 2 Managers, 2 Affiliates @ SoHo Complex 10:00 am – 11:00 am Affiliates will learn how to evaluate new programs. Merchants will learn how to window dress for recruitment.

We will look at commissions, cookies, datafeeds, creative, deals, landing pages, etc.

Experience level: Beginner Target audience: Network Niche/vertical: Affiliate Program Reviews »» Greg Hoffman, President, Greg Hoffman Consulting (Twitter @akagorilla) – Moderator »» Mike Buechele, Owner, Adalytical (Twitter @mikebuechele) »» Christen Moynihan, Editorial and Accounts Manager, Broke-Ass Media (Twitter @brokeasschris10) »» Jennifer Myers Ward, CEO, ebove & beyond, inc. (Twitter @jenmyersward) (This session is open to Networking Plus, VIP, and All Access pass holders only)

40

· Issue 27 · August 2014

Session 5c – 5 Foundational Pillars of Affiliate Program’s Success @ Majestic Complex 10:00 am – 11:00 am Affiliate program management entails 5 major processes: affiliate recruitment, activation, policing, communication, and optimization. Geno will equip you with knowledge to effectively handle all five.

Experience level: Intermediate Target audience: Merchant/Advertiser Niche/vertical: Affiliate Management

»» Rich Salgado, Founder, Coastal Advisors (Twitter @CoastalAdvisors) (This session is open to all pass holders)

»» Geno Prussakov, CEO & Founder, AM Navigator LLC (Twitter @ePrussakov) (This session is open to Networking Plus, VIP, and All Access pass holders only)

Luncheon Buffet @ Broadway Ballroom North & South 12:30 pm – 1:45 pm (Lunch is open to VIP and All Access pass holders with lunch tickets only)

Session 5d – Dynamic Affiliate Payouts – When to Increase and When to Cut @ Shubert Complex 10:00 am – 11:00 am Discussion on a merchants’ need to focus on long-term customer acquisition goals through direct e-commerce sales and understand which payouts make the most sense for which affiliate models.

Coffee Service @ Broadway Ballroom North & South 2:00 pm – 6:00 pm Get some caffeine and take advantage of the tables and WiFi to have meetings or catch up on work.

Experience level: Intermediate Target audience: Merchant/Advertiser Niche/vertical: Payouts »» Paul Schroader, President, PS Web Solutions, Inc. (Twitter @pswebs) – Moderator »» Joseph Hansen, Owner, Evolved Group (Twitter @Entremarketer) »» Chris Kramer, Partner, House of Kaizen (Twitter @chrismkramer) (This session is open to Networking Plus, VIP, and All Access pass holders only)

Session 6a – Blueprint to Hit 7 Figures in 12 Months on Facebook @ Astor Ballroom 2:00 pm – 3:00 pm How to go from 0 to 7 figures in 6 to 12 months with Facebook, affiliate marketing, and owning your own products.

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

Opening Remarks & Broadway Ballroom North & South @ Broadway Ballroom North & South

»» Bryant Hussey, Director of Online Marketing, Atlantic Coast Media Group (Twitter @BRY237) – Moderator

11:15 am – 12:15 pm

»» JJ Alan, CEO/Owner, Creative Ventures Media (Twitter

Get an overview of the day ahead, as well as hearing the

»» Ian Fernando, Boss, Jersey Consolidated, LLC (Twitter

keynote address.

@TheJJAlan) @ianternet) »» Derek Lester, CEO, 4th Gear Media (Twitter

»» Rachel Honoway, CEO, For Me To Coupon (Twitter @rachelhonoway)

@4thgearmedia) (This session is open to VIP and All Access pass holders only)

41

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· Issue 27 · August 2014

Experience level: Intermediate

Session 6b – Content-Driven Commerce: Affiliate Marketing Gets a Makeover @ SoHo Complex 2:00 pm – 3:00 pm Content-driven commerce has changed the affiliate landscape, bringing a new class of influence to merchants.

Target audience: Merchant/Advertiser Niche/vertical: Best Practices »» Sarah Beeskow Blay, Director of Client Services, ShareASale.com, Inc (Twitter @sarah_bees) (This session is open to VIP and All Access pass holders only)

Hear how content creators, merchants, and tech are working together to drive performance.

Experience level: Beginner Target audience: Affiliate/Publisher, Merchant/ Advertiser, Network Niche/vertical: Content-Driven Commerce »» Todd Crawford, VP Strategic Initiatives, Impact Radius (Twitter @toddcrawford) »» Vladimir Dusil, COO, PurseBlog.com (Twitter @purseblog) »» Oliver Roup, CEO and Founder, VigLink (Twitter @ORoup) (This session is open to VIP and All Access pass holders only)

Session 7a – Full Speed Ahead: Accelerating Your Program @ Astor Ballroom 3:30 pm – 4:30 pm Sustained growth for large programs requires focus, discipline and creativity. How do you steam forward to build and maintain your competitive edge while avoiding the headwinds and other obstacles?

Experience level: Intermediate Target audience: Affiliate/Publisher Niche/vertical: Growth »» Brian Marcus, Director, eBay Partner Network, eBay

Session 6c – Advertisers: Why Commission Segmentation Matters to You @ Majestic Complex

(Twitter @eBayPartnerNet) (This session is open to VIP and All Access pass holders only)

2:00 pm – 3:00 pm Attribution analytics have made it possible to design

Session 7b – 21 Advanced Paid Search Tips You Can

commission segmentation strategies that cut costs while

Implement Today @ SoHo Complex

rewarding publishers who drive quality results.

Experience level: Intermediate Target audience: Merchant/Advertiser Niche/vertical: Savings »» Brook Schaaf, CEO, Schaaf-PartnerCentric (Twitter @schaafpc) (This session is open to VIP and All Access pass holders only)

3:30 pm – 4:30 pm Improve your current paid search campaigns in Google & Bing by implementing these advanced tips and techniques. Take home checklist provided.

Experience level: Advanced Target audience: Affiliate/Publisher, Merchant/ Advertiser Niche/vertical: Paid Search

Session 6d – From the Vault: The Best of the Best @ Shubert Complex

»» Don Batsford, Jr., Director, MAQQ (Twitter @batsford) (This session is open to VIP and All Access pass holders only)

2:00 pm – 3:00 pm Tried and true program strategies that work! This session

Session 7c – Data – the Lifeblood of the Affiliate

will provide examples and tactics for creatives, newslet-

Marketing industry @ Majestic Complex

ters, coupons, and promotions that we have seen to be most effective for merchants.

Aug 11 @ 3:30 pm – 4:30 pm Like it or not, you’re in the ‘big data’ industry. I will discuss best practices, privacy concerns, and avoiding legal liabil-

43

· Issue 27 · August 2014

ity while maximizing opportunities when handling this precious commodity.

Experience level: Intermediate Target audience: Merchant/Advertiser, Network Niche/vertical: Data »» Gary Kibel, Partner, Davis & Gilbert LLP (Twitter @GaryKibel_law) (This session is open to VIP and All Access pass holders only)

Session 8a – CPC vs. CPM and How Run Your Campaigns on Each Model @ Astor Ballroom 4:40 pm – 4:58 pm CPC and CPM are two dominant ways that traffic sources sell their traffic. Learn how to maximize campaign gains and minimize losses by learning the pros and cons of each model.

Experience level: Intermediate Target audience: Affiliate/Publisher

Session 7d – Getting the Most Out of Networking: Best Practices Revealed @ Shubert Complex 3:30 pm – 4:30 pm

Niche/vertical: CPC »» Benjamin Louie, Advertising Manager, PlentyOfFish Media (Twitter @benpof) (This session is open to VIP and All Access pass holders only)

Affiliates and merchants know that networking is important but are likely not doing enough of it. Learn the benefits networking can give you plus concrete methods you should start using today.

Experience level: Intermediate Target audience: Affiliate/Publisher Niche/vertical: Networking »» Vanessa Branco, Founder, Versa9 (Twitter @VanBranc) »» Tricia Meyer, Owner, Sunshine Rewards (Twitter @sunshinetricia) »» Eric Nagel, President, Eric Nagel & Associates, Inc. (Twitter @ericnagel) (This session is open to VIP and All Access pass holders only)

Session 8b – Generate a Content Strategy to Create Rabid Fans and Buyers @ SoHo Complex 4:40 pm – 4:58 pm Success through content marketing requires a powerful content strategy. I’ll teach you how to build user personas, optimize your content sales funnel and organize an expert content marketing team.

Experience level: Intermediate Target audience: Affiliate/Publisher Niche/vertical: Content »» Corey Post, Founder, Agile Leverage (Twitter @coreypost) (This session is open to VIP and All Access pass holders only)

44

· Issue 27 · August 2014

Session 8c – So, You Tried Mobile RTB and It Didn’t Work. Find Out Why! @ Majestic Complex 4:40 pm – 4:58 pm Mobile RTB traffic is powerful for performance marketing, but many affiliates have tried and failed. Those that are “in-the-know” understand the tricks to the trade.

Come learn the tips you need!

Experience level: Intermediate Target audience: Affiliate/Publisher Niche/vertical: Mobile »» Tom Desaulniers, President, Go2mobi (Twitter @Go2mobi) (This session is open to VIP and All Access pass holders only)

»» Brainstorming for Success: Shannon Weidemann, Owner, Marketingelf (Twitter @marketingelf) »» Branding, Marketing, and Beating the S@%T Out of YouTube: Jared Polin, CEO FRO, FroKnowsPhoto (Twitter @FroKnowsPhoto) »» Consider… Before You Discount: Vinayak Ahuja, Business Development Director, JungleMedia (Twitter @Jungle_Media) »» Creating an Affiliate Program that Attracts a Global Audience: Alan Ezeir, Co-founder & President, Global Domains International, Inc. (Twitter @GDICorporate) »» Google Shopping – Stand Out for the Crowd: Linda Bateman, General Manager, Vertical Rail (Twitter @verticalrail)

Session 8d – Stop Leaking Leads. Get More Leads Without Spending More. @ Shubert Complex 4:40 pm – 4:58 pm Most affiliates and advertisers are leaking leads because of simple mistakes. By fixing common mistakes affiliates and advertisers can boost their ROI and increase revenue without increasing spending.

Experience level: Beginner Target audience: Affiliate/Publisher Niche/vertical: Leaked Leads »» Frank Kasimov, Co-founder, LeadsMarket.com (Twitter @leadsmarketcom) (This session is open to VIP and All Access pass holders only)

»» How Affiliates Can Profit with Pay Per Call Marketing: Mike Williams, Network Manager, Ring Partner Inc. (Twitter @mwilliams20) »» How to Use Pay-Per-Call to Mix Old and New Media: Daryl Colwell, Senior Vice President, Matomy USA (Twitter @dhcolwell) »» Income Tax and Internet Business: Robert Kottke, Tax Consultant, Oregon Tax Services, LTD (Twitter @businesstaxman) »» Leverage Intelligent Contact Data to Strengthen Lead Quality: Alex Algard, CEO, WhitePages PRO (Twitter @whitepagespro) »» No Time to Blog? I Made 15k Posts Last Year & Built a House: Vinny O’Hare, President, Vincent O’Hare Consulting (Twitter @vinnyohare)

Ask the Experts Roundtables @ Broadway Ballroom North & South 5:00 pm – 6:00 pm Ask the Experts will be an opportunity for merchants, networks and affiliates to ask questions about various specialties and issues.

Handpicked experts will handle topics in their specialty, and conduct chats, answer questions and share opinions during this networking and education session. »» Battle Royale: Choosing the Best Campaign Analytics Tools: Jeff Reitzen, SVP Sales, DR, CPXi (Twitter @cpxsalesguy)

»» Not All Affiliates Are Created Equal: Sal Conca, Founder, Streamline-Marketing.com (Twitter @salconca) »» Optimizing Lead Generation Campaigns for Maximum ROI: Robert Camhe, Director of Performance Marketing, ReviMedia (Twitter @ReviMedia) »» Our Success Story: A Psychic Affiliate Program!?: Maryanne Fiedler, Director of Marketing and Brand Management, Voice Systems Engineering, Inc. (Twitter @maryannefiedler) »» Tales of Growing an Affiliate Program to 7-digits: Barbara DeHart, VP Desktop, Telestream, Inc. (Twitter @telestream)

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»» Utilizing Affiliate Manager Relationships: Trisha Lyn Fawver, Affiliate Program Manager, Snow Consulting, Inc. (Twitter @TrishaLyn) »» Why Facebook is the New MySpace: Stephanie Lichtenstein Ramos, President, Micro Media Marketing (Twitter @microsteph)

Coffee Service @ Broadway Ballroom North & South 10:00 am – 11:00 am Get some caffeine and take advantage of the tables and WiFi to have meetings or catch up on work.

»» Working Remotely: Making it Work for You and Your Employer: Ryan Zimmerman, Director of Business Development, BlueKeel LLC (Twitter @ryanzonline) (This session is open to all pass holders)

Exhibit Hall @ Westside Ballroom 10:00 am – 4:00 pm

Day 3

Tuesday, August 12

Meet with a wide selection of affiliate programs, networks, affiliate program managers, and vendors.

(Exhibitors may set up beginning at 9:00 am.)

Conference Check-In @ Broadway Ballroom Foyer 8:00 am – 3:00 pm Pick up your conference badge and attendee bag, and get started with Affiliate Summit.

Session 9a – Content + Context = Cash: The Power of Original Content @ Astor Ballroom 10:00 am – 11:00 am Learn how advertisers and publishers are generating heaps of revenue with original content. No need to be a

Press Room @ Duffy 8:30 am – 4:00 pm

literary scholar, I’ll show you how anyone can can create and leverage compelling content.

Experience level: Intermediate

The Press Room is an area reserved for credentialed

Target audience: Affiliate/Publisher

press to grab some desk space, blog, interview, relax, and

Niche/vertical: Content

network. Heather Diamani will head up the Affiliate Summit Press Room, where she will be acting as liaison between Affiliate Summit and the press attending the show. »» Heather Diamani, Owner, BlendHappy (Twitter

»» David Palmer, General Manager, Dedicated Media (Twitter @DedicatedMedia) (This session is open to Networking Plus, VIP, and All Access pass holders only)

@blendhappy)

Session 9b – How to Become a Digital Marketing Buffet Breakfast @ Broadway Ballroom North & South 9:00 am – 10:00 am (Breakfast is open to VIP and All Access pass holders with breakfast tickets only)

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and Social Media Expert @ SoHo Complex 10:00 am – 11:00 am This session will review strategies, techniques, tips, and tools to become very well-versed in online marketing, ecommerce, and social media.

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Session 9d – Finding A Perfect Fit: Selecting The Best Affiliate Program @ Shubert Complex 10:00 am – 11:00 am 3 seasoned affiliate managers & an experienced affiliate share the top criteria for choosing best performing affiliate programs. Program types will include CPA, CPC and CPL in a variety of verticals.

Experience level: Beginner Target audience: Affiliate/Publisher Niche/vertical: Affiliate Programs »» Karen McMahon, Affiliate Marketing Strategist , The Affiliate Whisperer (Twitter @Aff_whisperer) – Moderator »» Amy Ely, Sr. Manager, Ecommerce Marketing, Canada, Under Armour (Twitter @aely) »» Kim Salvino, Client Services Director, Performance Horizon Group (Twitter @kim_salvino) »» Elizabeth Silvermaster, Director of Affiliate Marketing, LeadQual (Twitter @leadqual) (This session is open to Networking Plus, VIP, and All Access pass holders only)

Experience level: Intermediate Target audience: Affiliate/Publisher, Merchant/ Advertiser, Network Niche/vertical: Marketing »» Evan Weber, CEO, Experience Advertising (Twitter @experienceads) (This session is open to Networking Plus, VIP, and All Access pass holders only)

Session 9c – Mo Money, Mo Problems – Scrutinizing FTC Settlements @ Majestic Complex 10:00 am – 11:00 am Ever wonder why the FTC seems to always “win?” This session will explore common pitfalls that subject marketers to FTC scrutiny and how marketers can mitigate their liability before a case is filed.

Experience level: Intermediate Target audience: Affiliate/Publisher, Agency, Merchant/Advertiser, Network, Vendor Niche/vertical: FTC »» Rachel Hirsch, Attorney, Ifrah PLLC (Twitter @ifrahlaw) (This session is open to Networking Plus, VIP, and All Access pass holders only)

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Networking Pub Crawl @ Westside Ballroom 2:00 pm – 4:00 pm Refer to your Pub Crawl map of participating sponsors and visit each one for great networking opportunities and, of course, free beer.

Session 10a – Beat the Competition With the Right Intelligence Tools @ Astor Ballroom 2:00 pm – 3:00 pm How merchants can provide affiliates with the same competitive intelligence smarts that top marketers deploy on paid / organic search and display ads, plus the impact of PLA’s on affiliate page rank.

Experience level: Intermediate Target audience: Affiliate/Publisher, Merchant/

Opening Remarks & Keynote @ Broadway Ballroom North & South

Advertiser Niche/vertical: Competitive Intelligence

11:15 am – 12:15 pm

»» Greg Shepard, CEO, AffiliateTraction (Twitter

Get an overview of the day ahead, as well as hearing the

»» Max Teitelbaum, COO, WhatRunsWhere (Twitter

keynote address.

@afftraction) – Moderator @maxteitelbaum) »» Lori Weiman, CEO, The Search Monitor (Twitter

»» Rachel Honoway, CEO, For Me To Coupon (Twitter @rachelhonoway)

@searchmonitor) (This session is open to VIP and All Access pass holders only)

»» Julie Gurner, Doctor of Clinical Psychology, DrGurner. com (Twitter @drgurner) (This session is open to all pass holders)

Session 10b – Blurred Lines: Affiliate Marketing and Public Relations @ SoHo Complex

Luncheon Buffet @ Broadway Ballroom North & South 12:30 pm – 1:45 pm (Lunch is open to VIP and All Access pass holders with lunch tickets only)

2:00 pm – 3:00 pm The lines between editorial and ad coverage are blurred.

Affiliate marketing can be an effective PR tool with the right recruitment and compensation models. Hint: lastclick attribution doesn’t work.

Experience level: Intermediate

Coffee Service @ Broadway Ballroom North & South 2:00 pm – 4:00 pm

Target audience: Affiliate/Publisher, Merchant/ Advertiser, Network Niche/vertical: Public Relations »» Debbie Bookstaber, Owner, Element Associates (Twitter

Get some caffeine and take advantage of the tables and

@buzzmommy)

WiFi to have meetings or catch up on work.

(This session is open to VIP and All Access pass holders only)

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Experience level: Intermediate

Session 10c – The Top 20 Legal Mistakes Affiliate Businesses Make @ Majestic Complex

Target audience: Affiliate/Publisher Niche/vertical: SEO

2:00 pm – 3:00 pm

»» Ben Cook, Director of Organic Channels, Evolve Digital

The session will focus on building a legally compliant af-

»» Kenny Hyder, Founder, Hyder Media (Twitter @kennyhyder)

filiate business from the ground up through examining 20 common legal mistakes affiliates and networks make using real world examples.

Experience level: Intermediate

Labs (Twitter @Skitzzo) »» Michael Gray, President, Atlas Web (Twitter @Graywolf) »» Troy Redington, Founder, SEOTroy.com (Twitter @troyredington) (This session is open to VIP and All Access pass holders only)

Target audience: Affiliate/Publisher Niche/vertical: Compliance »» Eric Crusius, Partner, Centre Law Group (Twitter @internetbizlaw) (This session is open to VIP and All Access pass holders only)

Session 11a – The Confidence Factor for Women in Business @ Astor Ballroom 3:10 pm – 3:28 pm The Confidence Factor was developed following a focus group where women discussed the challenges they face

Session 10d – SEO Website Reviews and Q&A @

in attempting to compete in a male industry and feeling

Shubert Complex

out-placed by the market.

2:00 pm – 3:00 pm Get your website analyzed live by a panel of SEO experts.

Identify problems with your website and get recommendations on how to maximize your SEO strategy. Get your SEO questions answered by experts!

Experience level: Advanced Target audience: Affiliate/Publisher, Merchant/ Advertiser, Network Niche/vertical: Leadership »» Carol Sankar, Owner, CSE (Twitter @carolsankar) (This session is open to VIP and All Access pass holders only)

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Session 11b – The Secrets of Slickdeals Revealed @ SoHo Complex 3:10 pm – 3:28 pm Find out how we became a top 150 site in the nation with 10M+ unique views per month without paid marketing.

Experience level: Intermediate Target audience: Network Niche/vertical: Social Commerce »» Gregory Kim, Chief Revenue Officer, Slickdeals, LLC (Twitter @gmoney75) (This session is open to VIP and All Access pass holders only)

Experience level: Intermediate

Session 11c – Connecting European and North

Target audience: Affiliate/Publisher

American Affiliate Markets @ Majestic Complex

Niche/vertical: Europe

3:10 pm – 3:28 pm This session is geared towards North American affiliates, educating them on the benefits of avoiding rev share/CPS

»» Kenny Howell, Network Director, Neverblue (Twitter @Neverblue) (This session is open to VIP and All Access pass holders only)

restrictions through connecting with European advertisers.

Session 11d – Turn Up the Heat: Engage and Activate Ice Cold Affiliates @ Shubert Complex 3:10 pm – 3:28 pm This presentation will show you how to re-engage dormant affiliates to become successful members of your program through outreach strategies, engagement techniques and methods for activation.

Experience level: Intermediate Target audience: Merchant/Advertiser Niche/vertical: Activation »» Jon Levine, Director of eCommerce, All Inclusive Marketing (Twitter @itsjonlevine) (This session is open to VIP and All Access pass holders only)

Closing Cocktail Reception @ Broadway Ballroom North & South 3:45 pm – 4:45 pm Come to network at the closing cocktail reception – have a couple drinks and meet with new and old Affiliate Summit friends for one last chat before everybody goes on their way.

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Keynote Bio: Rich Salgado

R

ich “Big Daddy” Salgado has been in the insurance business for more than a decade, founding Coastal Advisors, in 1998, but he has seen and experienced

more than ten times that to drive home his point to athletes: You need disability insurance now, because you never know what tomorrow will bring. As an example to all the athletes he works with, he tells his own personal story. In 2008, Rich complained of a painful earache while at dinner with Thomas Dimitroff, GM of the Atlanta Falcons, ESPN’s Adam Schefter and NFL VP Ray Anderson. Later that night, he checked into the hospital for emergency surgery for a brain aneurysm, which doctors were thankfully able to remove. He now has a 19-inch scar as a daily reminder that anything can happen to anyone, regardless of their amount of fame or the size of their paycheck.

Rich SalgadoAthletes of all ranks are getting smarter about disability and career ending insurance since Rich has gotten into to the ears of most GM’s, and many NFL, NHL, MLB draft picks and veterans. In the last five years alone, he has seen a huge increase in insuring college players in their se-

sure you sit down with Big Daddy.” If you want to be pro-

nior year, a concrete example of the changing trends towards

tected, you need to talk to Coastal Advisors.

more informed players. In the last five years, he has insured

In the past five years Rich has become a staple in the

more than 60 1st Round NFL picks for disability, career ending

world of sports business media, becoming a regular on

insurance, as well as life insurance and estate planning. Not to

the FOX News and FOX Business Channels while also hav-

mention, the flip side of the coin, when Rich insures the teams

ing his business covered in the pages of Sports Illustrated,

and the contracts they offer the players. Everyone is smarter

Wall Street Journal and making appearances on ESPN, FOX

due to Rich’s hard work and unmatched networking skills.

Sports, NFL Network and Bloomberg News.

While it seems accidents, injuries and deaths can be

In addition to his tireless work ethic and constant net-

around every corner, Rich is trying to “one-up” fate, travel-

working, Rich has found the time to give back and support

ling more than half the year, attending more sporting events

charities both within his hometown area of New York City

that you could dream of, and seemingly everywhere. An

and nationwide supporting his clients philanthropic efforts.

average day includes, texting Justin Tuck, Larry Fitzgerald,

Rich can be seen hosting his annual “Big Daddy Celebrity

Reggie Bush and Michael Strahan, having pregame rituals

Golf Classic” every June in Long Island to support The North

with NFL owners like The Giants’ John Mara and travelling

Shore LIJ Health System which he credits with saving his life

with Scott Gomez to name a few. There is a growing saying

in 2008 and supporting Justin Tuck’s R.U.S.H. for Literacy

among NFL locker rooms that “when you get to NY, make

and The Health & Humanitarian Aid Foundation.

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· Issue 27 · August 2014

Keynote Bio: Julie Gurner

D

r. Gurner has made it a mission to unlock human potential and understand why we work the way we do. A speaker and consultant at the intersection

of psychology and technology, she applies cutting-edge research and psychological principles to the technological space and enhancing the way people operate. She has appeared in such media outlets as NBCNews.com, Men’s Health Magazine, and The Huffington Post for her knowledge of the brain, psychology, and technology and currently serves on the Board of Advisors for SquareOneMail and Progress.ly.

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· Issue 27 · August 2014

Speaker Bios Vinayak Ahuja

I have been in the affiliate space for over 5 years, attending Linkshare, CJ, and Affiliate Summit events for the past three. I received my start in the affiliate space with Empower Benefits, now Core Stream, were I was in complete charge of their power shopping portal. In a span of 3 years, I grew their business by 300% and their audience by 1000%. I had an opportunity to work directly with the marketing teams at a number of high-end brands including DirecTV, Wyndham Hotels, Lenovo, Dell, Best Buy, Pearsons Publishing, and more.

The experience gave me great insight and perspective on the challenges between advertiser and affiliate challenge, the nature of “content” and “service” to a user, and finding the best partnerships.

JJ Alan

What began as an idea in JJ Alan’s entrepreneurial mind 16 years ago, laid the groundwork for his innovative and creative journey online. JJ Alan is a successful marketer, who has exploded into the affiliate marketing scene and is known for his “Scared Money Don’t Make Money” motto. His aggressive approach to online advertising and creative strategies is what really sets him apart from the pack. Armed with creativity and passion, JJ Alan offers entrepreneurs advice to make money online.

Alex Algard

Alex Algard is Founder and CEO of WhitePages, the largest online and mobile provider of contact information for people and businesses in North America. In addition to the company’s consumer facing business, Alex leads the strategic direction of WhitePages PRO, an API and Web based solution that leverages proprietary data to reduce fraud. By providing access to North America’s most comprehensive set of contact data, WhitePages PRO helps businesses quickly identify new and existing customers to improve efficiency, verify identities

to predict and prevent fraud and improve contact data to enhance customer interactions. In 2007 Alex was selected as the Software Entrepreneur of the Year, Pacific Northwest by Ernst & Young and as a finalist for Inc. magazine’s Entrepreneur of the Year. Alex holds a BA in Economics and a MS in Engineering, both from Stanford University.

Joan Alpogianis

Joan Alpogianis, is a proven marketing strategist with 20+ years in digital marketing, the last several years focused on affiliate marketing. She is the senior client services manager at Rakuten Linskhare where she optimizes client performance and partnerships to promote their brand. Currently she resides in Glencoe, IL with her husband, George and has two amazing children, Michael and Katy.

Syed Balkhi

Syed Balkhi is a killer online marketer with design & development experience. He’s the founder of WPBeginner, List25, and many other sites. His work has been featured in: New York Times, Wired Magazine, Business Insider, Huffington Post, and others. Syed has been working online since he was 12 years old, and has a very successful online business.

Linda Bateman

A 15+ year veteran of search engine optimization and pay per click advertising, Linda began her marketing career in the remote “Internet wilds” of Alaska tourism… making her a true Internet pioneer. While honing her optimization and strategy development skills, she found her true calling in ecommerce marketing. She has worked in both agency and in-house capacities, and has an innovative understanding of how to overcome search marketing obstacles to find success. She identified the industry need for a specialized form of shopping channel marketing, then together with Andrew Arenson, formed the e-commerce marketing company Vertical Rail. Linda currently serves as the General Manager and

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· Issue 27 · August 2014

Lead Strategist of Vertical Rail. She manages a staff of 13 and oversees a growing client list that combines for over $600 million in online sales annually in wide ranging industries.

Don Batsford, Jr

million dollars in annual sales. Debbie has advised PR firms and Fortune 500 companies on blogger relations and effective social media strategies, and she serves as the Director of Social Media for Child’s Play Communications in New York, NY. Follow her on Twitter @buzzmommy.

Don Batsford, Jr. has been a full time online marketer since 1999. He is the Founder and Managing Director of MAQQ, an online advertising agency, specializing in paid search, social and mobile marketing campaigns. Previously, Don was a Founder of 31 Media, a customer acquisition and consulting firm, marketing online campaigns for companies ranging from Fortune 500 firms to entrepreneurial endeavors. Don was also in Business Development at Commission Junction, a ValueClick company. In addition, Don was also the Co-Founder of AskFor, a shopping technology and data management start-up. Don received his Masters of Business Administration from Clarkson University and Bachelor of Sci-

Jim Boykin

ence in Business Administration from Saint Michael’s College.

influences at his company, including: Kris Jones (former CEO of Pepperjam) is the Chairman, Chris Boggs (Chairman of SEMPO) is the COO, Ann Smarty, Joe Hall, Kim Krause Berg, Gab Goldenberg, Tamar Weinberg, and more.

Sarah Beeskow Blay

Sarah Beeskow Blay is the Director of Client Services for ShareASale.com. She joined ShareASale in 2005 and is responsible for providing strategic guidance and educational resources to Merchants & Affiliates that can be used to grow their accounts. Sarah served as emcee for Affiliate Summit West 2012 and has contributed to industry publications: FeedFront magazine and MarketingLand.com. Prior to joining ShareASale Sarah spent seven years at the Michigan Association of Broadcasters as Director of Member Services and Broadcast Coordinator for the implementation of Michigan’s Amber Alert program. She holds a Bachelor degree in Interpersonal Communication and a Master degree in Organizational Communication from Michigan State University.

Akiva Ben-Ezra

Akiva Ben-Ezra is the owner of Israel-based Ben-Ezra Marketing, which helps small to medium businesses, both in the US and worldwide, to gain market share worldwide. As a speaker and panelist at international Internet marketing conferences and through webinars, he teaches non-experts how to understand difficult web concepts and methods and put them to work building revenues and sales.

Debbie Bookstaber

Debbie Bookstaber is the President of Element Associates, where she leads integrated social media, affiliate marketing, PR and blogger outreach campaign for her clients. Debbie brings a unique perspective to projects based on her experience as both an affiliate manager and a successful blogger.

As the blogger behind Mamanista.com and Bloganthropy.org, Debbie was recognized as one of the “Top 25 Parent Bloggers Who Are Changing the World” by Babble.com in 2012 and as a “Best of the Net” Blogger by Working Mother Magazine in 2013. Debbie has over a dozen years of marketing experience at brands such as Expedia and Travelocity. She has managed online marketing programs responsible for several hundred

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Jim Boykin is the founder and CEO of Internet Marketing Ninjas, a full service online marketing company based in upstate New York. Jim started his SEO business in 1999, and today Ninjas has grown to about 100 full time, in-house marketing experts. Jim has also purchased several online internet marketing communities including: WebmasterWorld. com, Cre8asiteForums.com, SEOChat.com, DevShed.com, ThreadWatch.org and more. To date Jim has added over 100 free tools to these communities. As CEO of Internet Marketing Ninjas, Jim has also surrounded himself with many industry

Vanessa Branco

Vanessa Branco is an accomplished online marketer with a decade of experience in affiliate marketing, creative optimization, traffic growth, customer retention, and new customer acquisition. As head of online advertising for a NASDAQ traded DR brand, Vanessa grew the affiliate program from 3 to 9,000 plus affiliates in less than three years, 15 million unique visitors monthly, and generated a 40%+ margin for the company. Vanessa was responsible for all new customer acquisitions, website visits, as well as growing the “word-of-mouth” customer through new and innovative downloadable products. Vanessa formed an online marketing company, Versa9, in 2008. Through Versa9, she handles the digital marketing for companies with yearly online budgets ranging from $250k to over $18 million. Vanessa is responsible for building and overseeing affiliate programs, creative optimization, and display advertising on cpm, rev share and CPA basis.

Mike Buechele

Mike Buechele (@mikebuechele) has been in the online advertising industry since the late 1990′s, working with the biggest companies in adserving and digital media, including DoubleClick and ADTECH. He’s a frequent podcast guest in the industry and loves networking. He’s currently building a consultant and performance marketing business.

Robert Camhe

Robert Camhe is an online marketing expert with more than 10 years of experience in affiliate marketing and online lead generation. In management positions at Epic Media Group and MediaWhiz, Robert was responsible for managing affiliate marketing divisions, structuring deals and overseeing distribution channels. A deal-maker who truly understands affiliate-advertiser relationships, he further developed his

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customer acquisition skills as VP of Sales&Marketing for Opes Media where he managed the affiliate network and distribution of products. Being an expert in tracking and optimizing campaigns, he went on to serve as the director of East Coast Operations for leading affiliate network Ads4Dough, contributing to annual 7-figure revenues. In 2013, he joined lead generation company ReviMedia as Senior Publisher Manager. His unique affiliate marketing insights and close client relationships have resulted in high lead ROIs for ReviMedia’s clients and an increase in revenue of over 500%.

with over 13 years of experience. and an MBA in Marketing from Hofstra University Zarb School of Business. Sal has a proven track record of growing business for advertisers such as Audible.com, Hot Topic, Torrid, Total Gym, Red Roof Inn and Puritan’s Pride. His expertise is in relationship management and media planning with a focus on data and insights. Sal has had the privilege of managing and training a team of media managers while working across multiple online marketing channels such as affiliate marketing, SEO, display advertising including RTB, social media and content marketing.

Gabe Carreras is a results driven marketing leader with 10+ years in affiliate marketing. He is the senior online advertising manager at Cartera Commerce, Inc. Here he manages 150+ key partners and is known for his tireless work ethic, energetic presentation and hands-on approach to strategy.

I was told once the key to writing a great bio was to write from the perspective of your mother. I decided to go a step further and have her actually write it for me. Enjoy! As a fulltime college student, Ben Cook started working as an SEO for Proquest Technologies. It turned out to be something he was

Gabe Carreras

Currently he lives in Austin, TX with his wife Natalie and three beautiful children, Christian, Madelyn, and Emma.

John Chow

John Chow, a damn fine person, friend of the community, Ultimate Fighting Championship contestant, member of the Save the Whales Foundation, the man who controls the black market on baby seal pelts and member of the “probably yo’ daddy” foundation.

Shawn Collins

Shawn Collins has been an affiliate marketer since 1997.

He is a Co-founder of Affiliate Summit, the leading global conference and tradeshow for the affiliate marketing industry, and Co-Editor-in-Chief of FeedFront Magazine.

He has authored the books “Affiliate Manager Boot Camp“, “Extra Money Answer“, “How to Get the Most from Exhibiting at Conferences”, “How to Get the Most Out of Attending a Conference”, and “Successful Affiliate Marketing for Merchants“. Also, he co-publishes the annual AffStat affiliate marketing benchmark reports.

Shawn blogs daily on affiliate marketing at AffiliateTip. com, and hosts the weekly podcast, 7 Minutes in Affiliate Heaven, 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.

Daryl Colwell

Daryl Colwell manages client procurement efforts for Matomy Media Group’s North American business units. Advertiser partnerships he has forged for the company include such blue-chip marketers as American Express, HSBC, Nielsen and The Home Depot.

Sal Conca

Sal is a Managing Partner at Streamline-Marketing.com that was founded in early 2014 with Jon Claydon and Samantha Peterson. Sal is an industry veteran and marketing geek

Ben Cook

good at and enjoyed. So, instead of completing his BA in history, like some of us thought he should, Ben worked fulltime on SEO (an acronym he repeatedly explained to me). He kept at it, running an SEO forum, becoming SEO manager for Network Solutions, discussing his web sites on local radio and TV blurbs, presenting at BlueGlass, BlogWorld, and multiple Pubcons. In 2010 he founded Direct Match Media and this year he launched SEOcoaches.com to help small businesses market online. His business is growing (he even convinced his dad to come work for him), and I couldn’t be prouder, although you could mention to him that it’s always good to have that diploma to fall back on…

Ashley Coombe

Ashley Coombe started in Internet Marketing in 2006 when she purchased a baby gifts e-commerce site. After two months of zero sales, she set off to learn everything about search engine and conversion optimization and got hooked.

Since then, she has built a number of niche affiliate sites, consulted local business in traffic and lead generation with SEO & SEM, as well as increasing customer engagement and sales through social media management. She recently joined Prosperent, an affiliate tools vendor, as their Marketing Director.

She continues to work with content marketing platform, Shareist, as their Content Marketing Evangelist. Ashley is a frequent speaker at Affiliate Summit and has been sought out by publications such as Forbes and the Shark Tank blog for her social media expertise.

Todd Crawford

As a co-founder, Todd Crawford evangelizes the opportunities presented by a multi-channel 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.

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· Issue 27 · August 2014

Jeannine Crooks

Jeannine began her career in affiliate marketing in 1999 by creating a program for a motorcycle parts company, and her love of the industry began immediately. Now, as a Senior Account Manager with Affiliate Window US, she is responsible for optimizing program performance for powerful merchants like 1&1 Internet, Lonely Planet, Agoda.com, and ProBikeKit as well as working closely with numerous large affiliates. She is also the organizer of the Denver Affiliate Marketing Meetup, and is a frequent speaker at numerous events, including Affiliate Summit, Blog World Expo, and Bloggy Con. Jeannine is a prominent affiliate advocate in the fight against the affiliate nexus tax, and continues to testify and lobby against legislation in Colorado and assist in other states. Jeannine believes that the most important take-away from any session is truly actionable information – so that every attendee leaves with ideas to make their programs perform better quickly.

Eric Crusius

Eric, a Partner at Centre, was recently named a Virginia Super Lawyers’ Rising Star again; an honor given to only the top 2.5% of attorneys by Super Lawyers Magazine. Besides having extensive experience helping affiliates, Eric has also recently been quoted in Investor’s Business Daily and the Washington Business Journal concerning internet and technology issues. In addition, Eric has been quoted in and his cases have appeared in Newsweek, NPR. 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, The Government Security Conference and Expo, 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.

Barbara DeHart

Barb leads the Desktop Business for Telestream, the makers of popular digital video software that enables many of the world’s most demanding media and entertainment companies including YouTube, Ustream.tv, NBC Universal and The BBC to streamline operations, reach broader audiences and generate more revenue from their media. Telestream products span the entire digital media ecosystem, including video capture; encoding; captioning and live streaming. Telestream’s software products are distributed via an e-commerce model where an effective Affiliate Program is critical. Telestream has utilized both stand-alone affiliate models as well as those integrated into their e-commerce platforms. A recent in depth restructure of the Telestream affiliate program is providing a significant improvement in the quality of affiliates, the company brand and revenue.

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Tom Desaulniers

Tom Desaulniers is the President and Co-Founder of Go2mobi, one of the leading mobile real-time bidding DSPs and ad networks. Go2mobi is specialized in mobile lead generation, direct response campaigns and app installs. Since 2011, Go2mobi has delivered millions of profitable actions for some of the mobile web’s largest advertisers. In his position, Tom leads a team of media and tech professionals in creating some of the most leading edge mobile ad technologies in the affiliate space. As an industry veteran who has been employed at major affiliate networks and large performance advertisers, Tom brings a wealth of hands-on knowledge to both the performance and the mobile aspect of the business. Go2mobi’s RTB platform is focused on helping affiliates take advantage of the super-optimization that is only available through RTB.

Heather Diamani

Heather Diamani is an Iraq war veteran turned affiliate marketer and nutritional wellness coach who created Blendhappy to inspire optimal health. Through her blog and YouTube channel she has gained a lot of attention and opportunities. Her passion, enthusiasm, and ambition for knowledge and entrepreneurship have her creating more businesses online including a product line and an organization. Heather is the Brand Ambassador at Affiliate Summit.

Vladimir Dusil

Vlad Dusil is the Co-Founder and Chief Operating Officer of PurseBlog Network. As the Internet’s largest, most popular sources of news and information on designer handbags and accessories, PurseBlog and PurseForum play host to millions of readers per month. Vlad’s near-obsessive passion for affiliate marketing began in 1999 as a student-athlete at The Ohio State University where he majored in Computer and Electrical Engineering. After years of marketing across different verticals, in 2004 he found himself working in this unlikely niche upon meeting his now-wife, bag lover and business partner, Meaghan. In addition to affiliate marketing, he is also a professional photographer who has worked with luxury brands including Gucci, Chanel, Oscar de la Renta, and others. Vlad has never had a Twitter account.

Amy Ely

Amy Ely manages the Canada affiliate program for Under Armour, one of the world’s most technical performance apparel, footwear and accessories brands. Her role at Under Armour included growing program performance across multiple markets and her efforts contributed to UA receiving the 2013 Pinnacle Award for Exceptional Merchant of the Year. Actively involved in the affiliate community since 2006, Amy also managed US marketing operations for buy.at, a leading global affiliate network, where 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

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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 participates in ABCs podcasts to share best practice knowledge and advice.

Alan Ezeir

Since 1997 I have been in the domain registration business. In that time, initially promoting .com, .net and .org and then launching .cc and currently marketing the .ws registry we have signed up over 2 million affiliates. Our goal was not only to get domain users but was to show how a domain name could be the initial calling card to any affiliate worldwide. Currently active in over 200 countries, the .ws registry continues to educate new affiliates around the world. Soon (launch July 2014) a new program that will continue the history of joining affiliates with domain names. I graduated from UCLA in 1991 and have been a serial entrepreneur for my whole life. Operating in all aspects of every business I have been apart of and fortunate enough to have constructed a great team that assists me in all the new ventures we enter into.

Trisha Lyn Fawver

Trisha began as an in-house affiliate manager in 2006 at PsPrint.com and grew their affiliate program exponentially. She then moved on to the life of an outsourced program manager to grow several affiliate programs to six and seven figure status. Trisha has spoken at essential conferences such as Affiliate Summit, Social Media Marketing Summit, and Affiliate Convention. She has given back to the Affiliate Marketing community in the form of mentoring programs, mastermind groups, podcasts, contribution to books, and articles appearing on Marketing Pilgrim and in FeedFront Magazine. Fawver graduated from Humboldt State University in 2003 with a BA in Theatre Arts (Dramatic Writing Emphasis) and a minor in Media Studies. She uses these super powers to win costume contests.

Ian Fernando

Ian Fernando is an influential blogger and affiliate marketer. His views and insights have been seen all over the Internet as he provides useful tools and tips on online marketing, affiliate marketing, blogging, and related topics. His blog, IanFernando.com, is geared to providing substantive advice to the up and coming online entrepreneur. Ian is an aggressive Internet marketer. He has utilize the power of the internet to become an influential and respected blogger and affiliate marketer. Ian is an ‘out of the box’ thinker and is an example of a successful entrepreneur that has made and continuous to make money online.

Maryanne Fiedler

Maryanne Fiedler, the Director of Marketing for VSE Inc., has been an enthusiastic marketing professional for over 25 years. Before her work at VSE, Maryanne worked in marketing leadership positions for The Wall Music, Camelot Music

Holdings, CDNOW Online, and BMG Music. And that’s not all… she’s also a certified dog trainer and owns her own business, The Proper Pup. But Mare’s far from “all work and no play.”

She loves to sing, and even has her own CD, “Think Twice.”

She brings the perfect mix of lighthearted fun and results-oriented business strategy to VSE’s affiliate program. With Maryanne’s guidance, they grew from 231 affiliates to 4,700 since 2005, accounting for over $21 million—insanely impressive for a telephone psychic company. Maryanne’s eager to share how her team overcame the obstacles in the psychic industry and how those tactics can apply to any business.

Rick Gardiner

Rick Gardiner is the CEO of iAffiliate Management, a leading affiliate management agency for software and consumer technology brands. Rick has over 10 years of performance marketing and eCommerce experience and is responsible for finding and developing partners that align with client needs and the agencies core values. Prior to founding iAffiliate Management, Rick worked on the network side and was instrumental in growing oneNetworkDirect—Digital River’s flagship affiliate network. His tenure there enabled him to work with brands like Symantec, Microsoft Store, Uniblue, PC Tools, avast!, Targus, Roxio, Logitech, and Trend Micro. When unplugged, Rick enjoys spending time with his family in their Minneapolis home. He and his wife enjoy cooking and discovering new restaurants with their two sons. Rick holds a B.S. in Communications and Marketing from the University of Minnesota, where he was a member of the University of Minnesota men’s swim team and Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity.

Michael Gray

Michael Gray has worked in the internet world since 1998, when he became Webmaster for a major retailer in New York. He developed their website strategy and grew their online sales from $100,000 to over $25 million in annual website sales. Michael then moved into affiliate marketing and started his own consulting firm. Michael has worked with many businesses to develop and implement their Social Media Strategy.

He also specializes in blog development and Search Engine Optimizations for businesses of all sizes. Michael has been a speaker at Search Engine Strategies, PubCon, SEOClass and SMX. He is also moderator at Sphinn and Webmaster World.

Michael is President of Atlas Web Service, located in Long Island, New York.

Robert Glazer

Robert Glazer is a customer acquisition specialist with an exceptional track record in growing revenue and profits for fast-growing consumer product and services companies.

In demand by top consumer brands and investment firms, Bob and his team have launched and managed several of the industry’s most recognized new customer acquisition programs. Clients include adidas, eBay, Reebok, Shutterfly, Target, Tea Collection, Tiny Prints, zulily and more. Over the past five years, Acceleration Partners has driven more than

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$300m in online revenue for its clients, was awarded the Affiliate Summit Pinnacle Award for the industry’s top affiliate program, and was named to the Inc. 500 list of fastest growing companies.

Joseph Hansen

Since 2007, Joseph Hansen has founded and sold several e-commerce companies. He has extensive merchant and retail experience in the e-commerce space. Joseph has developed a focused, yet comprehensive, online marketing program for his companies including, but not limited to: search engine optimization, affiliate marketing, social media, conversion optimization, backend site automation, visitor retargeting, sequenced email campaigns, multi-site delineation, landing page customization for specified lead targeting, referral based partnerships with gift registries, blog review sites, banner ad networks, and national daily deal companies. He is the founder and current CEO of Evolved Group, an internet marketing business specializing in Marketplace Optimization (MPO) and e-commerce sales. He is also the managing partner of Elucent Capital, a venture capital firm based in Lehi, Utah.

Rachel Hirsch

Rachel Hirsch is an attorney at the Washington, D.C.-based law firm of Ifrah PLLC. Ms. Hirsch advises clients on compliance with FTC and state consumer regulations. Her clients include, among others, a variety of networks, advertisers, publishers, software and data providers, and her practice covers all federal and state consumer protection and privacy laws and regulations. Ms. Hirsch focuses her practice counseling clients on how to implement measures to reduce their exposure to liability. Often litigating cases against the government, Ms. Hirsch and Ifrah PLLC have achieved a string of victories for their clients in federal and state enforcement actions. Ms. Hirsch is a regular contributor to her firm’s blog, www.ftcbeat.com, where she writes about issues affecting online marketers.

Greg Hoffman

Greg Hoffman (@akagorilla) is President of GregHoffmanConsulting.com, an agency specializing in affiliate program management, public relations and social media. GHC was nominated for a Pinnacle Award for Best OPM/Agency at ASW13. His team has been voted Best OPM by ABestWeb for three years in a row. Greg is a vinyl record lover, a tropical fishkeeper, a comic book collector and he writes with pencil to annoy his digital minded colleagues. Greg is the author of the 8-year-old Marketing Gorilla blog, which serves as a resource to his affiliates.

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

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most well known voices in the affiliate landscape and organic search engine optimization. Today, her current area of research is site auditing and advanced organic link development techniques relating to all of the major engines. Ms. Hoffman is Co-Founder and CEO of PushFire. Known widely in the online marketing community as Sugarrae, she is also the author of the often controversial Sugarrae blog.

Rachel Honoway

Rachel is the CEO of For Me To Coupon, a premier affiliate datafeed and tool provider. She’s an affiliate marketing veteran who got her start in the space as it was beginning back in the late 90′s. With previous roles as an executive at KowaBunga!/ Think Partnership and at Lurn, Inc, Rachel has had a wellrounded experience in the industry. She has helped merchants launch new programs, assisted affiliates in starting their businesses and has been a part of developing technologies that help both sides maximize their results from the channel.

Kenny Howell

Kenny Howell serves as Network Director for Neverblue’s European office in London. Since starting with Neverblue four years ago, Kenny has led various sales teams and has worked with some of the world’s largest publishers and advertisers.

Kenny has been in the online marketing industry for ten years and is an expert in profitable creativity. Kenny is passionate about people and originally from Birmingham, England.

Choots Humphries

Choots Humphries, a co-founder and co-president of LinkConnector, has been involved in the technology industry for two decades. As an entrepreneur, he has co-founded and successfully operated two separate companies—LinkConnector Corporation and DotCom Corporation. LinkConnector is currently reshaping the Affiliate Marketing industry as one of the fastest growing Affiliate Marketing Networks. DotCom was a multi-million dollar company that operated several large Internet portals and was profitable every year until it was sold in 2005. An early adapter, Choots played a key role in developing one of the industry’s most recent and innovative tools— Naked Link Technology. Choots has been a featured speaker at several entrepreneurial, leadership and affiliate marketing events, and is a recognized expert in online marketing. Previously, Choots served in the U.S. Navy as navigator on two naval warships, and managed worldwide staffing requirements for approximately 75,000 enlisted personnel.

Bryant Hussey

Bryant Hussey is an online marketing professional with 16+ years of experience in e-commerce, SEO, SEM, media buying, email marketing and performance based marketing. Bryant got his start working for companies such as VitaminShoppe. com and Quality Health. He is now the Marketing Director and manages Online Acquisition and Partnership for Atlantic Coast Media Group – An International beauty company that builds iconic beauty brands through its multi—channel platform.

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Kenny Hyder

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 areas 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.

Scott Jangro

Scott Jangro is the president and co-founder of Shareist.

com, a content marketing platform service that helps individuals and teams efficiently create content, publish, and share.

He’s also the president of MechMedia, a firm specializing in performance and search engine marketing since 2004. Prior, Scott served as a Director of Product Management at Be Free, Inc. and later Commission Junction, both divisions of ValueClick. Scott is best known as an active and vocal member of the affiliate marketing community through his blogging, writing, and advocacy efforts. He served three years on the Performance Marketing Association board of directors, and the founding advisory board. Scott has been honored with multiple industry awards including the Affiliate Summit Affiliate Marketing Legend Award, the Best Blogger Pinnacle Award, as well as awards from ShareASale and Linkshare. Scott’s a Boston sports fan, a bad golfer, and an obsessed cyclist.

Zac Johnson

At the age of 15, Zac Johnson began making money online designing web site banners for $1 each. A self taught entrepreneur, Zac’s been making money online for nearly 20 years and has been involved in nearly every facet of affiliate and online marketing. One of Zac’s many successes includes his story of “How I Made $860,538.38 Profit in 4 Months!” from one web site, which can be read at his blog at ZacJohnson.com. Zac continues to focus on his blog, where he provides readers with firsthand accounts of his experiences, successes & failures. In addition to his own success stories, Zac reviews affiliate networks and informs readers how & where they should be making new money.

Zac’s social reach and site traffic is now over 100,000 strong and has referred over $5,000,000 in new business to his advertisers and network partners. You can also listen to Zac’s new podcast “Rise of the Entrepreneur” on iTunes and connect with Zac through his new online training community at Blogging.org.

Frank Kasimov

Frank Kasimov is a co-founder of LeadsMarket.com. Many marketing methods created by Frank still remain a proprietary secret of LeadsMarket.com. Only affiliates that join LeadsMarket.com get to access to secret white papers written by Frank.

Gary Kibel

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 regularly counsels clients with respect to issues such as interactive advertising, search marketing, affiliate marketing, enterprise technology implementations, behavioral advertising, social media, privacy and data security, gaming, mobile marketing, 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.

Gary is also General Counsel to the Performance Marketing Association. Prior to becoming an attorney, Gary was an Information Systems Analyst with Merrill Lynch.

Gregory Kim

Greg currently serves as the Chief Revenue Officer at Slickdeals, the nation’s largest and #1 rated social commerce site and mobile app curating the best deals and coupons on the web for 9 million users per month. Slickdeals is consistently ranked within the Top 150 most visited sites in the US

by Alexa and helps advertisers drive nearly $1 billion in annual sales. Prior to Slickdeals, Greg held senior executive roles at three hyper-growth Internet startups: LowerMyBills.com, People Media and Savings.com. At each of these companies, Greg led various initiatives associated with scale and helped all three companies successfully exit to strategic buyers including Experian, IAC/Match.com and Cox Enterprises. Prior to entering the startup arena, Greg served as an investment banker with Houlihan Lokey. Greg earned his M.B.A. in Entrepreneurial Studies and Finance from The Anderson School at UCLA and graduated from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.

Robert Kottke

Robert M. Kottke LTC (Licensed Tax Consultant) 1505 has more than three decades of tax and accounting experience as a businessman, educator, consultant, and speaker. Impeccably knowledgeable in all areas of income tax preparation, Robert takes his motto “taxes are fun!” seriously. He is founder and CEO of oregontaxservicesltd.com, an on-line tax consulting service providing individuals, small businesses, and organizations valuable tax advice to help them save money, and grow their business. Robert owned and operated his first tax consulting business in 1986, Oregon Tax Services, LTD, and spent many years teaching advanced income tax classes. He was certified through the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to teach classes for the IRS and the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA). Active in the Oregon Association of Tax Consultants, Robert is vigilant in staying abreast of current tax laws. Robert is an active Mason and Shriner and volunteers with many youth groups.

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Chris Kramer

Chris Kramer is Head of Operations at House of Kaizen, an end-to-end digital performance marketing agency which focuses on continuous conversion optimization. Chris runs the global operations, finance and human resources for the agency, and considers his most important task to be creating a better work environment. Chris began his digital media career in 1998 with agencies such as i-traffic, Agency.com and NetX. Throughout his agency career Chris worked on some of the worlds biggest brands including Conde Nast, The New York Times and American Express. He has also held operations and sales positions for Eddie Bauer and Disney Home Video.

Jon Levine

Jon Levine is a 14-year veteran of the online marketing industry and current Director of eCommerce for All Inclusive Marketing. Throughout the last decade, Mr. Levine has held the position of Director of Marketing for companies in industries such as luxury motor yachts, retail e-commerce, and GSA-contracted federal government sales. Jon has also been the founder of several online startups, such as TheBuzzNYC and AfterLock.com. Jon studied communications at the University of South Florida where he held various leadership positions in on-campus organizations. After college, Mr. Levine spent several years in the broadcast news business, having served as both a producer and on-air talent. In the last few years, Jon has been a featured speaker and panelist at ShareASale ThinkTank!, SFIMA, and Affiliate Management Days conferences and events.

Stephanie Lichtenstein Ramos

Stephanie Lichtenstein Ramos is the President of Micro Media Marketing, a boutique social media agency. Stephanie’s passion for social media is contagious, it has led her to work with Fortune 500 and Internet Retailer Top 500 companies.

She is a bold social media entrepreneur, speaker, instructor and author.

John LoBrutto

John P. LoBrutto is the Director of Affiliate Partnerships in North America for 1&1 Internet, Inc., the world’s largest hosting & web services company. 1&1 offers domains, a full suite of hosting products and the MyWebsite web builder. John’s previous positions include; Head of Global Distribution for AllHotels, Sales Director for Holiday Autos USA (both divisions of Travelocity, LLP), President of Pencils Plus, and Technology Director for Sabre Travel Network. John has over 15 years experience in the travel, retail & technology sales channels and has managed affiliate programs for the last 5 years. He specializes in developing new programs with a focus on emerging markets, and recently launched the first rev-share affiliate program in Mexico for 1&1. He believes, “the best approach to affiliate marketing is to keep things smart, creative and out

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of box, whenever possible.” John is married with two children and is based in New York.

Benjamin Louie

Benjamin Louie is the Advertising Manager for the World’s Largest Dating Website, PlentyOfFish.com. Benjamin is the primary contact for those wanting to buy media on PlentyOfFish and has helped thousands of affiliates achieve their revenue goals. Also, Benjamin acts as a large scale media buyer on various traffic sources to expand the PlentyOfFish brand internationally, conquering Brazil in 2012 and focusing on Spain and France in 2014. Benjamin has delivered presentations on topics related to affiliate marketing in Europe, Asia and North America. His blog is available at https://blog.ads. pof.com.

Brian Marcus

Brian Marcus is the Director, Global eBay Partner Network (ePN), where he leads one of eBay’s most important and valuable sources of quality traffic. eBay’s affiliate program was established in 2001, and has steadily grown to include more than 300k global partner websites. Brian has more than a decade of experience in various sectors of affiliate marketing, including his previous role as the head of account management for Google Affiliate Network. Here, his team was responsible for the growth and retention of thousands of multi-channel online retailers and credit card issuers. Brian previously led ecommerce at a niche online automotive direct marketer, driving internet marketing customer acquisition programs in the affiliate, search, comparison shopping and e-mail channels.

Prior careers in consulting, marketing management, and marcom have contributed to his unique perspective on integrated marketing, brand building and marketing operations.

Karen McMahon

Karen McMahon is “The Affiliate Whisperer,” providing strategic planning, in-house evaluation and coaching to guide advertisers to make the most of their affiliate programs. Karen has worked as an affiliate publisher for the last nine years, heading up a successful loyalty model affiliate program. In addition, she has worked as a high growth affiliate manager for over seven years. Karen began her career in advocacy and politics before joining her husband’s family business, helping to build it into a nationwide multi-million dollar company. Karen’s wide range of business experience, think out-of-the-box ideas and natural intuition direct her to successfully meet the needs of her clients.

Tricia Meyer

Tricia Meyer (@sunshinetricia) is the owner of Sunshine Rewards, Helping Moms Connect, and other niche sites. She frequently speaks and writes about affiliate marketing topics such as monetizing blogs, affiliate and affiliate manager relationships, and the basics of affiliate marketing. She serves on the Board of Directors for the Performance Marketing Association. She is also a partner in WineClubGroup.com and con-

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sults in Business Development for the Traetelo Marketplace.

Tricia has been a finalist for the Pinnacle Awards for Industry Advocate and Affiliate of the Year and was awarded the Pinnacle Award for Best Blogger in 2012.

Cristian Miculi

Cristian is a seasoned professional in the digital landscape since 2005. He has been in charge with the Avangate Affiliate Network since 2008, coordinating its development and growing it many fold both in terms of affiliates joining the network as well as the software & SaaS product catalog. With hands-on experience in affiliate program management, Cristian is currently focused on growing merchants’ affiliate channel using internal resources and through outsourced program manager partners. In his spare time, Cristian enjoys traveling and playing the piano.

Roger Montti

Roger Montti is an independent web publisher, a founder of a popular web community and a winner of a BusinessWeek Magazine Best of the Web Award. He is well known as the Link Development Moderator at WebmasterWorld.com since 2003 and over the past ten years has become widely acknowledged as a leading thinker in the search optimization industry. Mr. Montti consults for businesses worldwide, from Fortune 500 software and and B2B companies to medium sized B2C businesses on issues related to link building, site reviews and Internet Marketing strategies. Roger produces a popular Advanced Link Building Newsletter available at MartiniBuster.com.

Jesse Morgan

Jesse Morgan, marketing maven and leo by birth. She is the affiliate marketing manager at Magazines.com. Here she embraces the day-to-day challenges optimizing promotional opportunities and advancing the Magazines.com online brand. What distinguishes her from others in her field of expertise is her upbeat personality and hands-on approach to partner management. She was recognized and won in 2013 the Affiliate Marketing Manager of the Year, Rakuten Linkshare. Currently she lives in Nashville, TN with her husband, John, two children, Ella and Ethan and three fur babies.

Christen Moynihan

Christen Moynihan (@brokeasschris10) is the Editorial and Accounts Manager for The Broke-Ass Bride, a sassy, savvy award-winning wedding blog that helps brides use their creativity as currency to rock a badass wedding without breaking the bank. When not wrangling unicorns for the blog, Christen is exploring whatever new city she’s living in, stuffing her face with the best food around and and enjoying every last sip of whiskey in her glass (on the rocks). And she’s really good at high-fives.

Jennifer Myers Ward

Jennifer Myers Ward brings over 15 years of online business and marketing experience. She has helped dozens of clients grow their online business using tools such as affiliate

marketing, email marketing and website usability. She has shown proven success by increasing site conversion rates up to 4 percentage points and doubling online revenue. Before starting ebove & beyond, Jennifer was responsible for building Palm Beach Jewelry’s online business from the ground up. Under her direction, the website grew at an amazing rate boasting strong traffic numbers and record sales. Prior to working at Palm Beach Jewelry, Jennifer served as the Partnership Development Manager for Amazon.com’s UK division, Amazon. co.uk. She headed up their strategic partnership program and brought in top accounts such as Virgin, BBC and Disney, and was presented with Amazon’s prestigious Door Desk Award.

Jennifer holds a BA degree from The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Eric Nagel

Eric Nagel is an award-winning, entrepreneurial, dynamic, and self-directed Web expert with more than 14 years of solid experience in Internet programming, marketing and service.

He delivers key solutions to corporate marketing challenges.

Eric’s specialties include PHP Programming, Affiliate Marketing, Search Engine Optimization, Web Analytics, Strategic Planning, Blogging, 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.

Vinny O’Hare

Vinny O’Hare is the founder of Vincent O’Hare Consulting, (VinnyOHare.com) an internet marketing service that provides information on how to make money online with affiliate programs and optimizing websites. Started on the internet in 1999 selling on EBay and that lead to making websites for other products. Moved on to building niche content websites when everyone else was building sexy datafeed cookie cutter websites which were hit hard during the Google Florida update. He currently runs around 30 content filled websites that rank high on search engines for the niche topic of the websites. The “Prince of Content” is a long suffering Atlanta Falcons fan living in New York City He also enjoys photography and practicing SEO.

David Palmer

I’ve been having fun with computers since 64k of RAM was all the memory you could ever need. I’ve been working in advertising and marketing throughout my whole career, starting in advertising sales for Europe’s largest publisher then transitioning to be heavily involved in the online space back in 1997. My career has been split between startups and billion dollar companies, and at one point I worked for a startup that turned into a $580 million company. I love the online space, specifically the marriage of response metrics, optimization, and the creative process. I try to bring the latest and greatest technology to bear on the industry problems we face which keeps me learning and engaged.

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Jeremy Palmer

Jeremy Palmer is an experienced digital 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.

Jared Polin

Jared Polin, aka the FRO from FroKnowsPhoto, has created a huge and global following that spans various social platforms, not just one. With close to 300,000 YouTube subscribers, FroKnowsPhoto is ranked in the top 2500 YouTube Channels for subscribers. His channel has more than 38,000,000 views and generates an amazing amount of free Traffic day in and day out. His following has been built on free, consistent, quality content to the tune of 1,500 videos. But there is more, much more to the FRO than just a YouTube following. He has monetized his FRO Brand by creating his own line of custom merchandise that generates a quarter of a million dollars a year. He has now ventured into releasing and selling long form video content that can be found on ClickBank. In under four years, the FRO has created and cultivated his brand always living by one statement: to create fun and informative content that keeps people coming back for more.

Scott Polk

consulting work at LegalZoom and ReachLocal, the latter of which went public in 2010. Corey holds an MBA from the University of Virginia’s Darden Graduate School of Business Administration, where he was awarded a full tuition scholarship for achievements in media. Connect with Corey on Twitter (@coreypost) or at ContentAndContests.com to learn more about content marketing.

Geno Prussakov

Geno Prussakov is a graduate of the University of Cambridge. He is the CEO & Founder of AM Navigator – an awardwinning 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).

John Rampton

John Rampton is an entrepreneur, blogger and tech enthusiast. He is also the founder of PPC.org and Blogging.org.

Scott Polk has built his expertise as a knowledgeable and experienced Search Engine Optimization/Internet Marketing strategist for more than a decade. He concentrates his resourcefulness and skills on the diversified aspects of Search Engine Optimization for clients, where he’s earned the distinction of consistent top rankings in all major search engines.

Scott is consistently involved in technologies that maximize Conversion, Usability and Accessibility when optimizing & developing large web sites as well as identifying problems/solutions that result in major cost saving strategies. Highly successful and respected within the SEO industry, Scott Polk has consulted and been employed by successful internet companies such as: Bruce Clay, Edmunds.com, AT&T Wireless, ABC News, PGA.com & PGATour.com, Sports Illustrated, Toyota. com, Direct Brands, and numerous others.

Alan Rapoport

Corey Post is the founder of digital consulting firm Agile Leverage. Most recently, he was the VP of Marketing at Shoeboxed. With over a decade of experience in content marketing, Corey has served as the Director of Online Marketing at Cornerstone on Demand, a California-based SaaS company that went public in 2011. Prior to Cornerstone, Corey held director level roles at leading companies such as IAC and Landmark Communications. His resume also includes social media

Jeff Reitzen

Corey Post

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Alan Rapoport is co-owner and Director of Merchant Management at DealTaker.com and has over 10 years of experience with affiliate marketing. Alan earned degrees in Accounting, Finance and Math from the University of Arizona and spent over 10 years working as an Actuary and Accountant until he decided to try out affiliate marketing. Alan’s brother started DealTaker.com in 2004 as a place for his friends and other bargain hunters to exchange ideas on how and where to save money and Alan was on board. After growing the company for four years they sold the company, then four years later they purchased the company back and have been running it ever since. Over the last 10 years Alan has helped grow DealTaker.com to a premier deal site by developing and nurturing affiliate relationships with affiliate networks, outsourced program managers, and directly with merchants.

Jeff Reitzen knows direct response advertising. He has been developing successful ROI-focused direct response strategies for brand and niche marketers since 2002. Jeff’s intuitive understanding of the needs of direct marketers, combined with his more than 10 years of experience optimizing every kind of online advertising campaign to back into ROI-fo-

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cused CPA metrics, has helped thousands of advertisers drive millions of conversions across every imaginable platform.

Jeff’s particular strength is his comprehensive knowledge of Affiture’s proprietary mix of advertisers and affiliate partners and his almost uncanny understanding of what will convert across our network.

Adam Riemer

Adam is the founder of Adam Riemer Marketing, LLC. (ARM). Adam has over 10 years of online marketing experience and is the trusted source for strategy, campaign creation & execution for companies from the Fortune 500 to mom & pop shops. Adam has spoken and been booked on panels internationally at various conferences & events. Some of the topics he has spoken on, and some of the services he can offer your company include; affiliate marketing, PPC, SEO, CSEs, email optimization, channel development, sales funneling, online strategy, user experience & conversion rate optimization & more. Prior to starting ARM, Adam worked in house at various Inc. 500 companies. He played a key role in the strategy & the implementation of their campaigns helping them grow into multi-million dollar corporations. Adam would like to invite you to join his managed programs as well as contact him at adamr (at) adamriemer (dot) me if he can help with your marketing.

Oliver Roup

After 15 years of software experience, most recently as a Director at Microsoft in charge of various media properties including XBOX Live Video Marketplace, Oliver founded VigLink. A tech executive who understands the power of native monetization like few others, Oliver is a board member of the Performance Marketing Association and chair of the PMA’s Content Monetization Council. Oliver received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in computer science from MIT and his MBA from the Harvard Business School and holds issued and pending patents covering micro-transactions, media and metadata. For more, check out @ORoup and @VigLink.

Kim Salvino

Kim has been an active member of the affiliate community since 2005. Her experience includes in-house program management, network program management, client support, network publisher development, agency relationship management and more. As Performance Horizon’s Client Services Director, she takes great pride in providing clients with world class service. 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.

Carol Sankar

Carol Sankar is an internationally renowned success entrepreneurship consultant & real estate investment expert who focuses on strategic implementation strategies to assist today’s start-up and mid-level entrepreneur become success-

ful. Mrs. Sankars’ business and wealth tips have been featured in publications in Finland, Australia, Germany, the United Kingdom and the USVI. Her international client-base range from aspiring entrepreneurs to seasoned veterans who are seeking new and innovative methods to up-level their businesses. In addition, Mrs. Sankar is considered an expert in the field of marketing and branding. Carol hosts a variety of training workshops, live and virtual events world-wide on a variety of topics relating to success, marketing and entrepreneurship.

She has been featured in numerous magazines, radio shows, articles and webinars; including a recent features in Madame Noire, LearnVest, EBONY Magazine, The Steve Harvey Show, CNNMoney.com and Essence Magazine.

Brook Schaaf

Brook Schaaf has been in the performance marketing industry since 2000. He is CEO of Schaaf-PartnerCentric, an outsourced affiliate program management agency. He has been the Affiliate Program Manager for multi-million dollar programs at Zappos.com, Shoes.com, and Edmunds.com, growing one from $25,000 to over $1,000,000 in monthly sales in less than two years. Brook has spoken at Commission Junction University, Affiliate Summit, Affiliate Convention, Google Affiliate Network Summit, ad:tech’s Content Revenue Strategies, and DOMAINfest. In 2003 he was recognized with the Commission Junction Horizon Award for Communications.

He was featured as the Affiliate Marketing Guru at the DMA 2011 Conference. Brook is the past president of the board of the Performance Marketing Association.

Paul Schroader

Paul has been in Interactive Marketing since 1995 and he has spent the last 14 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 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.

Greg Shepard

Greg Shepard, the founder and CEO of AffiliateTraction the largest multi-national affiliate marketing agency with offices in US, UK, CA, AU. Greg is has contributed to Revenue Magazine, ReveNews, DMNews, DMConfidential, ThoughtShapers, MThink, PerformanceIN, and the American Marketing Association. Greg has spoken at the University of Southeastern

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· Issue 27 · August 2014

Louisiana, PerformanceIN, The Online Marketing Summit, Affiliate Management Days, AvantExpo and contributed to WebMasterRadio; and serves as a WebAward judge.

Elizabeth Silvermaster

Elizabeth Silvermaster started her career at a major platform, and while there explored many areas of affiliate marketing to get a strong understanding of everything it takes to develop an affiliate program. Elizabeth then decided to work for an agency, where she was tasked with building an affiliate department and was successful in securing many Fortune 500 brands. Recently she developed her own affiliate marketing consulting business, Silvermaster Consulting. She continues to deliver dedicated affiliate management services with expertise in business development, CPL/ CPA/CPS programs, publisher development, fraud prevention, multi-platform knowledge, and multi-client management.

Nathan Smith

A bottomless pool of creative marketing ideas, Nathan is a student of social media, and a specialist in the realm of online community building. He has successfully created and implemented several social media strategies for both local and international brands, as well as government agencies.

Nathan enjoys all aspects of online marketing, blogging, and web site development, but his passion is creating connections between businesses and the people they serve.

Sean Steinmarc

Sean is CEO & founder of psGive, helping brands solve digital marketing challenges through a combination of games & cause marketing. An avid social-entrepreneur, Sean sits on the steering committee for the Wharton Social Impact Initiative, and is currently a member of Goodnik and AlleyNYC. A graduate of The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, Sean spent the first eight years of his career in financial services leadership roles across a Top 5 global bank and a Fortune 100 company. His primary roles were converging technology & business strategies, and improving operational processes. From there, Sean was asked to join the executive team for a leading student financing company, where he overhauled their marketing efforts and extended their reach into new markets. Recognizing gaps in traditional digital marketing, Sean started psGive to solve those issues. In his free time, Sean enjoys finding new recipes to further his cooking skills, playing kickball, and whiskey.

Max Teitelbaum

Max has been working in the online advertising industry since he was 15 years old. He made millions before he was 20 as an affiliate promoting offers via media buys. He is now the Co-Founder and COO of WhatRunsWhere.com a company that helps people buy media more effectively by providing data on competitors and verticals within the online advertising space.

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James Thompson

James Thompson (@jtgraphic), from Brooklyn, NY, is the co-founder of Daft Labs and Passive Metrics, a tool for managing social media analytics for brands. He started building websites in 1996 as a hobby and became a part of the affiliate industry in 2005. Most of his affiliate websites were focused on building free tools to add value to available offers. Since 2005, he’s made a migration from singular affiliate to merchant as he started charging for his tools. Now he operates on the other side of the table, employing affiliates of his own. James has built over 300 enterprise scale websites, been a partner in a real estate company as well as a popular online magazine, and done successful exits from 3 of his companies. Because of those experiences, he has learned how to build and manage highly effective business and tech teams.

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 CEO of Marketing Clique, a full service agency which helps clients build websites, create applications and manage online marketing campaigns.

David has been leading teams in web development, online marketing and affiliate marketing since 1996. David’s team at Marketing Clique provides advanced WordPress solutions for large enterprise customers around the world. David is a leader in the WordPress community, speaker at multiple WordCamps and speaker at national online marketing conferences about WordPress optimization. With a 17 year background in affiliate marketing, David provides a unique perspective on how publishers can effectively use WordPress to deploy massive amounts of content to increase traffic and add revenue to their bottom line. More information about David can be found at http://www.marketingclique.com/.

Evan Weber

I absolutely love working with my agency’s clients and delivering top-notch results. I have been in the online marketing industry since the late 1990′s. I spent 6 years as Marketing Director for an eCommerce portal in the health industry prior to launching my digital marketing agency in 2007. I’m well-versed in all types of internet marketing disciples including affiliate, SEO, paid search, organic traffic building, partnership market-

· Issue 27 · August 2014

ing, conversion rate boosters, email marketing, and just about everything else in internet marketing.

companies get more for less by creating effective and efficient online marketing campaigns.

Shannon Weidemann has been working in the Affiliate Marketing space since 2002 when a friend introduced her to the industry. She is the owner of Marketingelf where she writes about being a work at home Mom and affiliate marketing. She has been published in Feedfront magazine and is a regular contributor at ItsaWAHMThing.com.

Matthew Woodward is an award winning internet marketer and blogger known for his highly detailed tutorials and case studies recently winning the Affiliate Summit ‘Best Affiliate Blog’ of 2013 award. Matthew started his online career when he was 13 years old writing games reviews for a website which lead him to build his first website when competitive gamers needed a place to share their videos before YouTube existed. He gave up the corporate lifestyle nearly 5 years ago to focus on building out his own empire of sites one page at a time – In his professional career he has led international brands to success with his creative and out of the box internet marketing strategies. The award winning blog was born out of an SEO experiment to see if it was possible to rank a website without any link building, purely focusing on creating high quality content.

The experiment was a great success and the blog has gone on to win a number of awards quickly growing to a 6 figure blog.

Shannon Weidemann

Lori Weiman

Lori Weiman is the CEO and Co-Founder of The Search Monitor, a leading provider of market research intelligence for search and shopping and affiliate/brand compliance. Lori has been a speaker at SES, SMX, Affiliate Summit, and AMDays, and writes a column for Search Engine Land.

Mike Williams

Mike has been an online marketer since 2004 and has a wealth of experience in lead generation, search engine marketing, landing page optimization, web marketing strategy, email marketing and social media marketing. Prior to RingPartner Mike held various roles at prominent performance marketing companies and he has experience in email marketing, pay per click marketing, lead generation, and social media. Mike has a passion for online marketing and loves to help

Matthew Woodward

Ryan Zimmerman

Ryan Zimmerman has been in the affiliate marketing and lead gen space for roughly 12 years now. He’s been everything from an affiliate manager to marketing director and continues to develop new skills and meet new people. His profile was in the top 1% of viewed profiles in LinkedIn last year and he attributes it to his persistency and drive.

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People to follow on Vinayak Ahuja

Sal Conca

Julie Gurner

JJ Alan

Ashley Coombe

Joseph Hansen

Alex Algard

Ben Cook

Rachel Hirsch

Joan Alpogianis

Todd Crawford

Greg Hoffman

Syed Balkhi

Jeannine Crooks

Rae Hoffman

Linda Bateman

Eric Crusius

Rachel Honoway

Don Batsford, Jr.

Barbara DeHart

Kenny Howell

Sarah Beeskow Blay

Tom Desaulniers

Choots Humphries

Akiva Ben-Ezra

Heather Diamani

Bryant Hussey

Debbie Bookstaber

Vladimir Dusil

Kenny Hyder

Jim Boykin

Amy Ely

Scott Jangro

Vanessa Branco

Alan Ezeir

Zac Johnson

Mike Buechele

Trisha Lyn Fawver

Frank Kasimov

Robert Camhe

Ian Fernando

Gary Kibel

Gabe Carreras

Maryanne Fiedler

Gregory Kim

John Chow

Rick Gardiner

Robert Kottke

Shawn Collins

Robert Glazer

Chris Kramer

Daryl Colwell

Michael Gray

Derek Lester

http://twitter.com/Jungle_Media http://twitter.com/TheJJAlan http://twitter.com/whitepagespro http://twitter.com/LinkShareBlog http://twitter.com/wpbeginner http://twitter.com/verticalrail http://twitter.com/batsford http://twitter.com/sarah_bees http://twitter.com/akivabenezra http://twitter.com/buzzmommy http://twitter.com/jimboykin http://twitter.com/VanBranc http://twitter.com/mikebuechele http://twitter.com/ReviMedia http://twitter.com/CarteraCommerce http://twitter.com/johnchow http://twitter.com/affiliatetip http://twitter.com/dhcolwell

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http://twitter.com/salconca http://twitter.com/ashleybcoombe http://twitter.com/Skitzzo http://twitter.com/toddcrawford http://twitter.com/Jeannine_Crooks http://twitter.com/internetbizlaw http://twitter.com/telestream http://twitter.com/Go2mobi http://twitter.com/blendhappy http://twitter.com/purseblog http://twitter.com/aely http://twitter.com/GDICorporate http://twitter.com/TrishaLyn http://twitter.com/ianternet http://twitter.com/maryannefiedler http://twitter.com/rickgardiner http://twitter.com/accelerationpar http://twitter.com/graywolf

http://twitter.com/drgurner http://twitter.com/Entremarketer http://twitter.com/ifrahlaw http://twitter.com/akagorilla http://twitter.com/sugarrae http://twitter.com/rachelhonoway http://twitter.com/Neverblue http://twitter.com/LinkConnector http://twitter.com/BRY237 http://twitter.com/kennyhyder http://twitter.com/jangro http://twitter.com/moneyreign http://twitter.com/leadsmarketcom http://twitter.com/GaryKibel_law http://twitter.com/gmoney75 http://twitter.com/businesstaxman http://twitter.com/chrismkramer http://twitter.com/4thgearmedia

· Issue 27 · August 2014

Jon Levine

Corey Post

James Thompson

Stephanie Lichtenstein Ramos

Geno Prussakov

Shannon Vogel

John Lobrutto

John Rampton

David Vogelpohl

Benjamin Louie

Alan Rapoport

Evan Weber

Brian Marcus

Troy Redington

Shannon Weidemann

Karen McMahon

Jeff Reitzen

Lori Weiman

Tricia Meyer

Adam Riemer

Mike Williams

Cristian Miculi

Oliver Roup

Matthew Woodward

Roger Montti

Rich Salgado

Ryan Zimmerman

Jesse Morgan

Kim Salvino

Christen Moynihan

Carol Sankar

Jennifer Myers Ward

Brook Schaaf

Eric Nagel

Paul Schroader

Affiliate Summit related Twitter Accounts

Vinny O’Hare

Greg Shepard

Affiliate Summit

David Palmer

Elizabeth Silvermaster

FeedFront Magazine

Jeremy Palmer

Nathan Smith

GeekCast.fm

Jared Polin

Sean Steinmarc

Shawn Collins

Scott Polk

Max Teitelbaum

Missy Ward

http://twitter.com/itsjonlevine http://twitter.com/microsteph

http://twitter.com/1and1affiliate http://twitter.com/benpof http://twitter.com/eBayPartnerNet http://twitter.com/Aff_Whisperer http://twitter.com/sunshinetricia http://twitter.com/affiliatedoc http://twitter.com/martinibuster http://twitter.com/jc_morgan http://twitter.com/brokeasschris10 http://twitter.com/jenmyersward http://twitter.com/ericnagel http://twitter.com/vinnyohare http://twitter.com/DedicatedMedia http://twitter.com/jeremypalmer http://twitter.com/FroKnowsPhoto http://twitter.com/scottpolk

http://twitter.com/coreypost http://twitter.com/ePrussakov http://twitter.com/JohnRampton http://twitter.com/bigalrap http://twitter.com/troyredington http://twitter.com/cpxsalesguy http://twitter.com/rollerblader http://twitter.com/ORoup http://twitter.com/CoastalAdvisors

http://twitter.com/jtgraphic http://twitter.com/thebescene http://twitter.com/davidvmc http://twitter.com/experienceads http://twitter.com/marketingelf http://twitter.com/searchmonitor http://twitter.com/mwilliams20 http://twitter.com/mattwoodwarduk http://twitter.com/ryanzonline

http://twitter.com/kim_salvino http://twitter.com/carolsankar http://twitter.com/schaafpc http://twitter.com/pswebs http://twitter.com/afftraction http://twitter.com/leadqual

http://twitter.com/CoffeeNate http://twitter.com/steinmarc http://twitter.com/maxteitelbaum

http://twitter.com/affiliatesummit http://twitter.com/feedfront http://twitter.com/geekcast

http://twitter.com/affiliatetip http://twitter.com/missyward

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路 Issue 27 路 August 2014

Affiliate Summit East 2014

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