Feedfront Magazine Issue 33

Affiliate Summit East 2016 in Las Vegas: January 18-20

4 LESSONS Walking Dead Can Teach Affiliates

By Missy Ward - Page 2

Rules for Evolved Adults

By Shawn Collins - Page 5

No More Duck Lips or Blurry Dogs!

By Michelle Held - Page 14

Affiliate Summit West 2016 Agenda Page 35

Issue 33 ― January 2016

Issue 33 · January 2016

Table of Contents

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

2

Editor’s Note: 4 Lessons Walking Dead Can Teach Affiliates

3

5 Reasons Your Affiliate Application Wasn’t Approved

5

6 Rules for Evolved Adults

6

5 New “Team Members” Changed Everything

7

Building Your List for Free with Udemy

8

Growing Through Peer Collaboration

By Choots Humphries

9

Seller Beware – The Terms that Bind

By Rachel Hirsch

10

The Amazon Effect

11

3 Top-Ranking SEO Tips for 2016

12

5 Ways to Improve Lead Gen Performance

14

No More Duck Lips or Blurry Dogs!

By Missy Ward

By Steve Root

By Shawn Collins

By Jessica Celenza

By Sam Dey

By Paul Schroader

By Shannon Steffen

By Alex Kreek

By Michelle Held

15

It Might Be Time to Outsource

16

Are Affiliate Paid Placements Worth the Cash?

By Stephanie Harris

17

RITS Approach to Activating Affiliates

By Geno Prussakov

18

6 Survival Tips to a Vegas Conference

By Dustin Howes

20

Got Client or Customer Conflict Dread?

By Brian Secrist

21

The Affiliate Management Wall

22

5 Ways to Excel in Mobile Marketing

23

5 Little-Known Strategies To Build Your List

24

5 Reasons to Create an Affiliate Program

25

3 Ninja Tactics Secures Websites from Hackers

26

7 Steps to Buzz-worthy Contests for SEO

By Priest Willis, Sr.

By Greg Hoffman

By John Toskey

By Candis Lynn Hidalgo

By Victoria Galperina

By Jason Ciment

By Stephan Spencer

27

Mobile Marketing: Trends and Tools for 2016

29

Switching Product Categories - Before and After

30

Effectiveness of CPC Email in Performance Marketing

31

7 Tips to Recruit Affiliates Directly

32

Going Global: Prep for Success

By Kim Salvino

33

Future of Marketing Homeopathic Remedies in Doubt

By Slade Cutter

34

Eliminate Cross-Border Shipping Hassles for Canadian Success

By Steven Page

35

Affiliate Summit West 2016 Show Agenda

52

Kerri Pollard Keynote Bio

53

Greg Gifford Keynote Bio

54

Affiliate Summit West 2016 - Other Speaker Bios

66

Thank You Affiliate Summit West 2016 Top Sponsors!

67

Paris Las Vegas Map

Contributing Writers

Dale Carr, Jessica Celenza, Jason Ciment, Shawn Collins, Slade Cutter, Sam Dey, Teodora Dobjanschi, Victoria Galperina, Stephanie Harris, Michelle Held, Candis Lynn Hidalgo, Rachel Hirsch, Greg Hoffman, Dustin Howes, Choots Humphries, Alex Kreek, Yancy Naughton, Steven Page, Jennifer Parker, Geno Prussakov, Steve Root, Kim Salvino, Paul Schroader, Brian Secrist, Stephan Spencer, Shannon K. Steffen, John Toskey, Missy Ward and Priest Willis Sr.

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

By Dale Carr

By Jennifer Parker

By Yancy Naughton

By Teodora Dobjanschi

Affiliate Summit 9532 Liberia Avenue, #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 © 2016 Affiliate Summit, Inc. and Individual Authors.

· Issue 33 · January 2016

Editor’s Note

4 Lessons

Walking Dead Can Teach Affiliates

by Missy Ward

Missy Ward

I

am DEADicated fan of the apocalyptic and post-apoca-

Was Michonne always a deadly, katana-swinging defend-

lyptic genres. Something about societies in the midst of

er of her group of survivors? Nope. While she did take a few

crumbling or seeing how people change after a cataclys-

fencing classes back in college, she was your everyday work-

mic event is relaxing to me. Don’t judge.

ing mother who enjoyed watching football on TV.

The “undead” sub-genre, especially zombie-related, has

Being a successful affiliate marketer requires that you

been my favorite since I first watched Dawn of the Dead back

constantly learn new skills and adapt to new situations and

in the late ‘70’s. Since 2010, my Sunday nights have been spent

technologies. Learning to roll with the punches will help your

watching The Walking Dead, when new episodes are airing.

business thrive.

Recently, I noticed that TWD not only teaches us the many ways to take out a Walker, it also provides some important, non-zombified lessons for affiliate marketers.

Plan Your Attack The survivors keep from going crazy by setting small goals.

They go on supply runs to keep everyone fed and healthy. They

Quitters Make Great Zombie Chum In the very first episode, Deputy Sheriff Rick Grimes emerges from a coma into a world overrun by Walkers that

fortified a prison to make it a safe place for survivors. They attempt to relocate a mega-herd headed towards the Alexandria Safe-Zone. It’s easy to track their wins and epic fails.

think human flesh is pretty darn tasty. Did Rick use his service

To know what you’re aiming for, you need to set track-

revolver to end his life, rather than living in a zombie-infested

able goals and learn from your successes and flops. Without

world? Of course not.

a plan, you’ll wind up like Father Gabriel, aimlessly wandering

Instead, he heads off in a police cruiser, then steals a

around a forest, without weapons and zero survival skills.

horse and narrowly escapes a horde of Walkers all to find his family, who may or may not be at a refugee camp in Atlanta.

Fan Favorites Usually Live

When your affiliate efforts aren’t working as you expect-

In November, TWD experienced a 10% drop in ratings

ed, it can feel a bit overwhelming when deciding to continue.

from last season at the same time. I believe it’s due to loyal

Surviving is tough, but worth it.

fans (myself included) upset with the non-answers concerning the fate of long-term survivor Glenn Rhee.

Adapt or Die

Just as the writers have made Glenn’s character en-

Had Hershel operated on humans before the zombie inva-

dearing to their fans, your customers need to love you. Just

sion? Of course not. He was a veterinarian. But Hershel helped

slapping up affiliate links can kill your business. By providing

Carl, after he was shot, and performed other medical proce-

valuable information and offering great customer service, you

dures as needed.

may just survive.

2

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

tl;dr – Understanding five basic reasons why your affiliate program application wasn’t approved.

· Issue 33 · January 2016

5 Reasons Your Affiliate Application

Wasn’t Approved

by Steve Root

H

Steve Root

aving been in the affiliate industry for over eight years, it still amazes me how poorly some affiliates represent themselves when applying to join a program. Applying

to an affiliate program is akin to applying for a job.

build a site, create useful content, and then – after you start seeing traffic – apply to the relevant programs.

Just like a job application, affiliates must present themselves in a way that demonstrates they understand the needs of the program while also showing they’re qualified to deliver positive results for it.

Here are five common reasons why affiliates aren’t approved by program managers.

Does the Affiliate Add Value to the Program?

This is a question affiliate program managers ask themselves when approving new affiliates. Even if an affiliate has a relevant site with good traffic, they still must show they can add value. Remember, applying to an affiliate program is like applying for a job. Show the program manager your site is rel-

No URL Listed This seems basic, but I decline applications almost daily

evant, why you believe it’s a good fit for the program, and how you plan to promote the advertiser’s products or services.

because there’s no URL listed with the affiliate’s application.

Be sure to always list your site’s URL within your network

Being Unresponsive and not Being Transparent

profile or program application. Missing this essential item of

Many times while approving new affiliates, I’ll reach out

information will always result in your application to an affiliate

with a question or ask for more information. If the affiliate

program being declined.

doesn’t respond, or their response indicates a lack of transparency over how they’ll promote the program, it’s an automatic

URL Provided Isn’t Relevant to the Program

decline. Just as an employer seeks a qualified, engaged, and

Taking point 1 to the next level, be sure your site is relevant to

proactive employee, program managers are seeking qualified,

the program for which you’re applying. Even if you’re already a

engaged, and transparent affiliate partners. Affiliates certainly

seasoned affiliate marketer with solid performance metrics in a

aren’t employees, but they’re vetted similarly to how potential

network, be sure you add the appropriate URL for the program.

employees are vetted.

Just because you’ve had success in one vertical doesn’t mean

If you want to be assured of being approved, treat the

the program manager will assume you’ll have success in another.

affiliate program application process like applying for a job.

Show you understand the needs of the program, demonstrate

Site Under Construction No matter how great your site is going to be, or how much quality traffic it might send, a site under construction will never get approved. Best practice within the affiliate industry is to

you’ve got the experience to get the job done, and always be proactive and transparent.

Keep these five tips in mind when applying to affiliate programs and you shouldn’t have any issues getting approved.

Steve Root is an eight-year affiliate industry veteran and the Affiliate Program Manager at Xero.

3

tl;dr – You are probably guilty of one or more of these jerky behaviors, so get it together.

· Issue 33 · January 2016

6 Rules

for Evolved Adults

by Shawn Collins

B

usiness and personal relationships can turn sour over the smallest actions or cues, so it’s important to follow some simple rules.

These might seem basic to you. If so, congratulations,

because your parents taught you how to do things. For everybody else, get your act together.

Shawn Collins

Never Arrive Empty Handed You’ve been invited over somebody’s home, and there is no clear indication that you should bring something, right?

Wrong, you always bring something… a bottle of wine, dessert,

story. Don’t forget to put things in your calendar. Don’t procrastinate. Don’t look for scapegoats to get you off the hook.

Say what you mean and do what you say.

a small gift that shows you put thought into it.

Something! You are thanking your host for their hospital-

Be Reciprocal

ity. Oh, and if the plate of brownies or case of beer you brought

I knew a person once who joked that they were a much

are not all gone, you still don’t touch them, you savage. You

better guest than a host, so they didn’t bother hosting. The

don’t take some of your thank you back.

punchline was that they were also a lousy guest – the late, empty handed kind who may or may not show up when they

Be on Time

say they will.

Are you one of those people that is perpetually late, and

After a while, I noticed that they were not being invited to

you like to play it off as being a thing you can’t help? That’s not

social functions anymore. And just for the record, it does not

charming or cute – it is jackass behavior. You don’t have to

take any special skill to host. It takes effort, care, and consid-

miss flights, hold up meetings, keep lunch companions wait-

eration.

ing, or show up late to work.

The secret solution here is to leave earlier. Wasn’t that easy?

Meet Deadlines If you agree to have something done by February 1, there

Respond to People

are two times that are acceptable to finish, and they are by

An email or a text comes in, or maybe an invite. Don’t ig-

the deadline or before it. Don’t turn your lack of planning into

nore it. That’s obnoxious and careless. Acknowledge when

somebody else’s emergency. Instead, plan out how long

somebody reaches out to you. Feeling overwhelmed? Work

something will take, and prioritize it.

some efficiencies into your day, so you are on top of things.

You are not too busy to do it. You’re too selfish.

Deadlines make the world go around. Failure to meet them is a personal failure.

The good news is that it’s the start of the new year. You

Honor Your Word You made a commitment to do something, be somewhere, handle a task, or whatever. Do it. That’s the end of the

can pretend these are resolutions or whatever nonsense you want to call them. The important thing is that you cut out your bad habits and get yourself right.

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

5

tl;dr – Use personas to educate your company on affiliate marketing and why it’s great

· Issue 33 · January 2016

5 New “Team Members”

Changed Everything

by Jessica Celenza Jessica Celenza

Q

»» Who is their audience?

VC, the world’s leading video and ecommerce retail-

»» What is their intent?

er, is an $8.8 billion business that continues to grow

»» How can we engage them?

worldwide. With broadcast operations in the US, Ja-

»» Which promotions work on their site?

pan, Germany, UK, Italy, France and a joint venture in China, QVC reaches approximately 350 million homes worldwide.

»» Which brands and product types make sense for them?

To date, we’ve presented our affiliate personas to the Cus-

There’s a lot going on all of the time. As a member of the

tomer Marketing team, eCommerce partners across all prod-

affiliate marketing team in the U.S., our challenge is not just

uct categories, the Social Marketing team, Corporate Commu-

getting heard, but figuring out how to communicate what ex-

nications, Public Relations, and Brand Initiatives.

actly it is that we do for this global company. We decided that the solution was education.

We have seen great results from the initial presentations.

Cross-functional meetings have been developed to include

Everyone at QVC is familiar with our core customer. Lis-

the affiliate team in any and all efforts to work with influenc-

tening in around the company you can expect to hear phrases

ers. Our eCommerce partners are presenting new opportuni-

such as “She’ll love that!” or “I’m not sure that’s right for her.”

ties for our personas and supporting our requests for exclu-

We modify our copy, design, TV programming, social activity,

sives.

and products based on this personified, fictitious, yet repre-

Our Brand Initiatives team now understands that coupon

sentative version of the unifying driving force behind every-

sites don’t take away from the value of our brand, rather they

thing we do – our customer.

introduce our brand to a whole new audience. The Vendor

So, I thought, if the company can wrap its head around a

Marketing Team is using our guidance to educate our vendors

personified customer, why not personify our affiliate partners?

on how the affiliate program can support promotions and to

Meet Katherine, Lily, Brian, Gabi, and David.

explain why vendors should fund those initiatives.

Those are the names we created to educate other teams

If you’re having a hard time gaining support from other ar-

and departments about our affiliate partners. Each persona

eas of your business, I’d highly recommend creating your own

has likes and dislikes, wants and needs, preferences and non-

personas and distributing them throughout the company. It’s

negotiables. We all know that affiliates in each category are

an easy way to elevate your program and be front of mind for

indeed unique, but these personas help to provide a high-level

promotional opportunities. At the very least, awareness will be

view of how they are fundamentally different. The goal was to

created for the affiliate program and in any company, that is

define the following:

extremely powerful.

6

Jessica Celenza is the Affiliate Marketing Manager at QVC.

tl;dr – How you can optimize your Udemy course to generate targeted email list subscribers.

· Issue 33 · January 2016

Building Your List

for Free with Udemy

by Sam Dey

U

demy is a fast-growing online education platform

Sam Dey

with an estimated eight million plus students enrolled in over 32,000 courses. The sheer volume of

active students using Udemy creates a massive opportunity for content creators to provide value to a mass audience in

written, or a particular section of the course. Of course, doing

return for either monetary gain or access to thousands of

so will bring the students back to your content.

potential leads.

Educational Announcements Optimize Your Content for Leads

On Udemy, you are allowed to send four educational an-

Keep your course as concise and engaging as possible.

nouncements per month to your students. Students receive

This will encourage your students to complete the course

these announcements in their email inbox. This is a chance

and increase the likelihood of your students converting into

for you to send educational links to your website, as long as

leads for you.

they are relevant to your course topic.

You are allowed to use a few seconds at the beginning

These announcements are a great way to engage with

and end of each lecture for self-promotion, as long as it only

students who have previously been inactive in your commu-

appears briefly. You should use this segment of video to pro-

nity on Udemy. This announcement will also encourage active

mote a squeeze page that provides the course slides to your

students to become subscribers to your mailing list.

students as a lead magnet to increase conversations. Also,

Entice your students by mentioning that you only post

remember to keep your lead magnet highly relevant to the

one announcement per week on Udemy, and if they want

content of your course.

more; they must complete the form on the sidebar of the post you send them.

Email Your Active Students As a Udemy instructor, you have access to detailed

Bonus Section

analytics, which will show you exactly who has started your

At the end of your course, you are allowed to add a bonus

course, and the stage of your course for each student. Once

section. In this section, you can promote anything you wish. If

you identify your active students, send each of them an email

a student gets to this bonus section, it is usually because they

saying something like ‘Hey John, I noticed you have recently

have completed your course on Udemy.

enrolled in my marketing course here on Udemy, is there anything, in particular, you would like to learn?’

Depending on the nature of their response, it may be relevant for you to reply with a link to an article that you have

As a result, they are more likely to convert from students into opt-ins for you. You should create a video specifically for your bonus section, which promotes your lead magnet and sends your students to your squeeze page.

Sam Dey is an ecommerce and digital marketing publisher and blogs at DeyTips.com.

7

· Issue 33 · January 2016

tl;dr – Peer collaboration could be your biggest asset in 2016.

Growing Through

Peer Collaboration

by Choots Humphries

Certainly, one would expect cooperation and collaboChoots Humphries

F

ration from multiple partners serving a single client (e.g., a network and an OPM working to support an advertiser or

riends and family often ask me what I like most about

affiliate). And, the challenges presented by customers are of-

my job. My answer is easy—I am surrounded by smart,

ten a rich source of innovation or technological change. But,

driven people. Our industry is one started and fueled

competition can be one of the greatest sources of inspira-

by entrepreneurs. And, entrepreneurs are a special breed.

tion—not to beat your competition, but to view the industry

Problem solvers built and continue to advance the af-

from a different perspective. To learn and broaden your view

filiate marketing industry with innovative thinking and early

of both limitations and opportunities in our industry, discus-

adoption of new technologies. These people are consumed

sion and potential collaboration with competition is often the

every day by thoughts of how to accomplish something in

best method for accomplishing such.

a better or more productive way. And often, these thoughts start with a peer conversation.

I strongly encourage you to engage more in 2016. Affiliate Summit is a great place to start—meet as many people as you

There are many moving parts in our industry. From ad-

can talk to at the conference. Join the Performance Market-

vertisers and affiliates to networks and outsourced program

ing Association and sign up to participate in one of the many

managers (OPMs)—each has a unique set of problems and

outstanding councils. Buy a drink for your competitor and sit

solutions to better work with one another. And, because our in-

down and get to know them and their business better. And,

dustry relies so heavily on technology, Gordon E. Moore’s pre-

more importantly, share more about you and your business.

diction of the driving force of technological change (Moore’s

Becoming an industry thought leader starts with talking

Law) also greatly and accurately describes how fluid affiliate

to the current leaders who are generally more than willing to

marketing is. The key is how this rapid technological change

have an intellectual discussion that could potentially advance

is applied to our industry to continue advancing.

our industry. As your perspective broadens, so too will your

Normally, we can rely on competition to ensure technol-

opportunities.

ogy is best applied to providing an industry’s customers with the solution that appropriately meets their needs. But, needs

Note: There is a great case study on the PMA website

vary tremendously in our industry; one that is young and ever

(www.thePMA.org) titled Co-Opetition that offers a

evolving. This opens the door more for discussion and col-

deeper look into the benefits of working with your

laboration—even among competitors.

competitors.

8

Choots Humphries is the Co-Founder and Co-President of LinkConnector Corporation.

· Issue 33 · January 2016

tl;dr – Key provisions of online terms and conditions.

Seller Beware:

The Terms that Bind

by Rachel Hirsch

Rachel Hirsch

I

t today’s digital age, communicating with your customers

preme Court ruled in AT&T Mobility v. Concepcion, 563 U.S. 321

has become easier than ever. Yet, with all the ease that

(2011), that (well-written) arbitration clauses with class action

comes with today’s technology, is your message really

waivers preclude consumers from ganging up together and

coming across to customers, and more importantly, do your customers understand that message?

suing businesses in large groups.

The enforceability of arbitration provisions, however, has

Whether your website is one-way information only, allows

been called into doubt by some courts, which require that the

user-generated content, or sells goods or services online, you

arbitration agreement, like any other contract, be supported

will need a set of terms and conditions that will create a bind-

by valid consideration. In other words, the arbitration provision

ing contract with your customers while balancing against the

itself, regardless of the larger contract, must be supported by

need for a good user experience.

an explicit mutual exchange of promises to arbitrate.

The exact provisions to include in terms and conditions

Also, calling into question the validity of arbitration claus-

can vary by individual business, but there are certain key pro-

es is the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), which

visions that online marketers should consider:

recently announced it is considering proposing rules that would ban consumer financial companies from using “free

»» General Disclaimers/Website-Specific Disclaimers - depending on the underlying nature of the website; »» Applicable Payment Terms - including methods for canceling accounts and obtaining refunds; »» Limitations of Liability – indicating that services or goods are being provided “as is;” »» Dispute Resolution Terms – including choice of law and venue provisions determining site and governing law of potential litigation; »» Digital Millennium Copyright Act Safe Harbor Language – if you are allowing users to post content »» Copyright and Trademark Ownership Terms – protecting your intellectual property from infringement; and »» Terms Governing Submission of User Content – including prohibitions against infringing or defamatory posts

pass” arbitration clauses to block consumers from suing as class actions and thereby avoiding big refunds while continuing to pursue profitable practices that violate the law.

Regardless of what provisions you include, your terms and conditions only make a difference if your customers actually read and understand them. Therefore, the placement and prominence of your terms and conditions are equally important, if not more so, than their actual content.

The best way of ensuring that your terms will be enforced is through evidence that the website user had notice of the agreement. Accordingly, when possible, online marketers should use scrollwrap agreements, giving their customers a realistic opportunity to review the terms, scroll through them, and affirmatively assent by clicking an “I Agree” button.

Do not simply copy and paste another website’s terms and conditions. Rather, retain qualified legal counsel to tailor

Many online marketers also include mandatory arbitration clauses in their terms and conditions, because the SuRachel Hirsch is a Senior Associate at Ifrah PLLC, a law firm in Washington, D.C.

your terms based on the specific goods or services you are providing.

9

· Issue 33 · January 2016

tl;dr – The importance of having a comprehensive Amazon strategy.

The Amazon Effect

by Paul Schroader Amazon Gets It Amazon is an amazing example of how to do things right in online retailing. At a recent online marketing conference, I heard

Paul Schroader

I

a keynote speaker affectionately call Jeff Bezos a “gangster”. f you’re a merchant who’s thought you could simply ignore

He went on to say that Bezos gets friction and understands

Amazon, think again. Knowing that nearly half of all product

how to not only solve customers’ problems but he also “de-

searches starts on Amazon should tell you how important

lights” them.

a comprehensive Amazon strategy is.

Amazing Statistics Too Big to Neglect

Look closely at some of Amazon’s high-level statistics and

Some merchants may convince themselves that their

you’ll practically drool with envy. Depending on where you get

dealer channel or other retailers can manage Amazon for them.

your data, you’ll find that up to 44% of all online product search-

Some even simply decide to ship their products to Amazon and

es start at Amazon, their site accounts for 23%-26% of all U.S.

have them take care of everything. This is a big mistake. Giving

e-commerce sales, and they have 40 Million U.S. consumers in

up control inevitably leads to MAP (Minimum Advertised Price)

their Prime loyalty program.

violation problems with Amazon itself or other dealers. It can

On top of that, Prime customers have a 74% conversion

cause price erosion and have a negative impact on your brand.

rate and for non-Prime members, it’s 13%.

Take Control

Amazon as Affiliate

You can control content images, descriptions, titles, bul-

If you truly take control of the Amazon channel, you can

let points, and pricing through brand registry. And if you work

provide customers with the experience you want while manag-

with a clever firm you may be able to control who is selling your

ing product pricing and brand image. Utilizing Amazon’s FBA

product on Amazon, as well. If it’s already on there, which it

seller program (Fulfilled by Amazon) allows you to treat Ama-

most likely is, make sure your product is represented properly

zon as an affiliate. This forces them to play by the rules while

to customers

providing the bonus of housing your inventory and sending it to

Joseph Hansen of Buy Box Experts, a consulting firm

them on your behalf.

that helps sellers and brands manage their Amazon presence, says, “Controlling your product content on Amazon

Impact on Traditional Affiliates

was historically impossible to do until Amazon created the

Are Amazon’s prices affecting affiliates? Of course, they

brand registry process. Unfortunately, more than 95% of sell-

are. Price erosion on Amazon can cannibalize both affiliate and

ers miss the crucial, last step in the brand registry process of

merchant sales. You need to control the Amazon channel to

resubmitting their product feeds with their Brand Registra-

help your affiliates and your own website sales, as well as your

tion ID numbers (aka GCIDs),”

retail partnerships.

10

Paul is Founder and President of PS Web Solutions specializing in affiliate program management.

tl;dr – The three less known factors that will affect your search engine rankings in the New Year.

· Issue 33 · January 2016

3 Top-Ranking

SEO Tips for 2016

by Shannon K. Steffen

I

t used to be that all you needed was quality content and some links to rank high in the search engines. Search engine programming is changing every few days, and it’s im-

possible to keep up unless all you do is search engine optimization (SEO).

Shannon K. Steffen

My friends, SEO has changed to become smarter, faster, and more agile. Of course, that is great for those searching, but what about for those businesses, bloggers, and affiliate marketers that want to get found online? Not to worry, I’m going to

search engines understand that you are in it for the long haul

help you with sharing three less-known SEO tips for 2016.

and that you plan to stay around.

The easy fix is to sign your lease – or renew your domain

The Location of Your Website’s Server The location of your website’s server tells the search

– for a few years ahead of time. This shows that you plan to grow and add quality to the World Wide Web.

engines where your business is located and uses this information to display your website to those searching. So, if your

Your Social Media Reputation

business is in the USA and your webhost is using a server in

I have to laugh at this one, because so many people still

India, the search engines think your business is in India and

place SEO and social media in separate containers. Sure, they

will rank your website higher in the search engine results for

had completely separate online strategies a while ago, but as

people searching your keyword terms in India. See how this

the Google, Yahoo, and Bing get smarter, social media reputa-

can cause a problem?

tion is having a greater influence on search engine rankings

To fix this, contact your webhosting company and verify

(SERs).

where your server is located. If it is not in the same country

To take advantage of this opportunity, you need to add

then you will either need to request that they move your web-

quality to the Internet and share your knowledge with others.

site to one of their servers in your country or you will need to

Becoming part of the conversation, instead of standing on the

move to another webhost.

sidelines, adds weight to your authority online and increases your reputation in the eyes of the search engines.

The Longevity of Your Website’s Domain

Of course, there are many other SEO factors that can help

If you are only purchasing your domain in 1-year inter-

you increase your search engine rankings in 2016. However,

vals, the search engines may view your website has a “fly-by-

if you follow these 3 simple tips given, you will be that much

night” website meaning that it is here today and gone tomor-

closer to getting in front of your target audience and increase

row. When you purchase the domain for 10 years though, the

your potential for website conversion.

Shannon is a twenty-year SEO veteran, award-winning independent Human SEO strategist, and Founder of daymarkdigital.com.

11

· Issue 33 · January 2016

tl;dr – Five surefire ways to improve your lead gen performance.

5 Ways to Improve Alex Kreek

E

Lead Gen Performance

by Alex Kreek

veryone manages the lead gen process differently. As lead generation marketers, we’ve all been in situations

Analyze Duplication Windows

lacking enough data, but what we really want is more

Most organizations have 30-60-day “dupe” policies. While

opportunities to convert pre-qualified prospects—even better,

it’s OK to return duplicate inquiries, it’s more important to cre-

more opportunities without the extra spend.

ate notification protocols to revisit inquiries meeting duplicate

We’ll explore five strategies any industry can implement, that have been successful in the education sector, to get more lead volume and improve performance.

criteria. Cycle dupes up to the department head for quality control (QC).

Why are these prospects considered duplicates? How was their customer experience? Why didn’t they move through

Stop Returning for Returns Sake Just because your organization’s representative couldn’t get a hold of a prospect on the phone, when the inquiry ap-

the process? Your motive behind this “Dupe QC” is to answer the real question: Why are prospects having to re-contact the organization in the first place?

peared on their screen, doesn’t mean this lead should be returned. Prospects with invalid phone numbers may want to be

Drip Drop

targeted in a less invasive way, such as email, text or direct mail.

A “drip” campaign, or “remarketing/stitch-in’’ campaign

Marketers should approach this subject not as a question

can help engage current and prospective customers. Lower

of getting paid for delivered leads, but as an effort to improve

the attrition rate from enrollment to start with cost-effective

a client’s lead conversion rates—or start rates in EDU.

methods including text, email, direct mail, social media, and general invites to organization events.

Implement Call-Auditing Returns

The industry average for higher education is approxi-

By developing a “three contacts in five days” strategy,

mately 32%, meaning out of 100 enrollments, 68 will start

we’ve seen client returns drop an average of 45%, and conver-

class. Sample College’s attrition rate went down 7% by add-

sions increase 2%. Alternate your contact methods, but don’t

ing a drip campaign. On an annual start goal of 350, that 7%

go past five days, because you’ll miss opportunities convert-

translates to 25 additional starts for the year.

ing additional valid inquiries if you wait to scrub or invalidate

Lastly, Has Anyone Seen a Referral Lately?

at month end.

A weekly scrub minimum will help maximize your bud-

Make referrals part of your marketing plan. Ask customers

get. Here’s how that played out with an institution we’ll call

for three people who may be interested in your service. Make it

“Sample College”:

a part of your script for those prospects that enroll. Heck, some

»» Monthly Scrubbing: 112 valid inquiries, two starts – 23.5% scrub rate »» Weekly Scrubbing: 171 valid inquiries, four starts – 15% scrub rate

12

schools have started a “bring a friend to school” day.

Referrals are free and convert on an average of 18% to start. After all, it’s better to get more opportunities without extra spend.

Alex Kreek is TDM’s Marketing Manager connecting people and products through technology for 10+ years.

· Issue 33 · January 2016

tl;dr – You are not making the best impression when your photos are not optimized.

No More

Duck Lips or Blurry Dogs!

by Michelle Held Michelle Held

W

e all know someone who uses their pet’s picture as a social media profile photo. I am con-

consumers say the quality of an ecommerce site’s product

nected on Facebook with acquaintances of “real

images is very important to selecting and purchasing a prod-

friends”, and it can be years before we ever meet in person. I

uct. An amazing 63% of consumers feel that the quality of a

always thought this one guy was actually a dog until we finally

product’s image is more important than product specifica-

met up at a conference.

tions and description.

Ok, not really! On Facebook, his profile photo is a sable

Not only does the quality of your online images matter to

and white, rough coat Collie. On LinkedIn, he uses a place-

potential buyers, but your images are also a way to encourage

holder avatar (a human silhouette, not a Collie). So, why does

your readers to share your offerings on social media. Using

it matter what he looks like?

images in social posts increases user engagement. Twit-

Many job seekers have a LinkedIn profile that includes an

ter states that tweets with photos average a 35% increase

irrelevant, ugly, or blurry photo accompanied by an outdated

in retweets. Tweets that contain videos get a 28% boost in

bio. According to CareerBuilder, more than half of hiring man-

retweets.

agers review a candidate’s social profile before making a hir-

On Facebook, posts with photos also get more user en-

ing decision. You are not making the best impression when

gagement. Kissmetrics data shows that Facebook posts

your profiles aren’t looking ideal. That means those duck-lip

with photos get 53% more likes, 104% more comments, and

selfies need to be replaced with a clear, quality headshot.

84% more click-throughs than posts that only contain text. Of

One connection of mine has a dark photo of a stage as his LinkedIn profile photo. Although he is in the entertainment

course, page owners need to carefully choose relevant, quality images that readers will want to share!

industry, he is not a bio-human collection of scaffolding and

The importance of images in social media is evidenced

lighting. No matter who you are: a DJ, public speaker, a start-

by the rise of highly visual social platforms like Pinterest and

up seeking funding, freelancer, or ecommerce site, branding

Instagram. Snapchat’s video views are closing in on Face-

should be important to you. Your online photos are critical to

book, having more than tripled in the last six months. Snap-

your public perception.

chat gets about 6 billion video views a day.

The image cleanup doesn’t just apply to social profile

Join me at Affiliate Summit West 2016 in Las Vegas, on

photos; it’s important for website product shots to look good

January 10th where I’ll be talking about images in my session,

as well. According to the National Retail Federation, 67% of

“How to Optimize Images for Social Media Sharing”.

14

Michelle is an author and digital agency owner who blogs on metrony.com and pintalk.net.

tl;dr – Extend your marketing team quickly, efficiently and cost effectively through outsourcing.

· Issue 33 · January 2016

It Might Be

Time to Outsource

by Priest Willis, Sr.

T

he Rolling Stones have a song called ‘Time is on My

Priest Willis, Sr.

Side’, and sometimes it just doesn’t feel like it. You have KPI targets to set and execute for all of your

digital marketing efforts. Did I mention that it’s just you in the digital marketing “department?” Where do you turn for help?

In recent times, the trend of outsourcing digital marketing has caught fire, as more businesses are inclined to out-

Upwork for various tasks, especially for the editing of my podcast and have been happy with the work. Another site to consider, that’s worked well for me is Freelancer.com.

source their work. In many professions, from digital marketing to customer service, outsourcing has become the saving grace for many.

Budget Matters If it doesn’t make money, it doesn’t make sense - or cents.

I’ve run different businesses, including side businesses,

(Sorry, I’m getting carried away.) The idea of outsourcing is to

since 1998 and along the way, I’ve leveraged outsourced sup-

save time, but also the focus should be on saving money. In

port even before there was a Fiverr. However, with competi-

most cases, you’re not paying the overhead with internal sup-

tion increasing online every year, it’s easier to find the support

port such as insurance, 401k, etc.

you need to grow your business.

The global economy is developing, and you can leverage it at a fraction of the cost. If you’re working on a large

Results Driven or Driving You Crazy?

data task, it’s easy to negotiate to fill in pertinent data

We’re all guilty of trying to be everything to everyone in

by line for pennies vs. paying someone an hourly wage

our businesses, from the accountant to the person who ships

for the same work. A company I’ve worked with on this is

the product. I get it, you take pride in your work, but also real-

3alphadataentry.com.

ize that time = value. So, what is your time worth?

I’m an advocate for finding and developing local talent,

While I’m pretty good at math and Excel, I don’t want to

which I continue to do, but I also work with skilled developers

handle my taxes. Frankly, I make more money doing other

and other professionals in the Philippines and India. I save

tasks, so I use a company called Merritt Booking for all of my

thousands of dollars a year doing this, which I can re-invest

bookkeeping online at a reasonable cost.

into my business and other projects. It’s just good business sense.

Experience and Skill Speak for Themselves

The Internet has leveled the playing field for small busi-

Another reason to outsource: you can find qualified tal-

nesses, and it’s time to be more strategic about how to scale

ent quickly. I’ve had work done through Fiverr, and it’s been

your business and get the help you need for the office. Your

hit-or-miss, with more misses in recent memory. I like to use

time is your most valuable commodity.

Priest Willis, Sr. is Founder and CEO of AffiliateMission.com. Find him at @priestwillis or @affiliatemisson.

15

tl;dr – Affiliate paid placements can be lucrative if timing, costs, and offers are appropriately leveraged.

· Issue 33 · January 2016

Are Affiliate Paid Placements

Worth the Cash?

by Stephanie Harris This is a good method to “pre-test” whether or not buying a placement with that affiliate would be lucrative.

Stephanie Harris

A

Flat bounty placements will often give you the biggest re-

ffiliate program management is a time-intensive

turn. This is in line with the “more risk, more reward” model.

process that requires constant recruitment, opti-

These are often leveraged during the holiday season to help

mization, and maintenance of the program. For a

stand out from the competitors, push great deals, or get in a

program to be well managed, an affiliate manager must have

coveted “Buyer’s Guide”. In our agency experience, the highest

a solid sense of prioritization and know what will work, what

cost placements have proven to generate the most revenue.

might work, and what won’t work.

When it comes to affiliate placements, is it worth the time

Merchant Offer

spent on research and negotiations, and ultimately, the cash?

While the burden of the placement’s success relies heav-

Our data indicates a successful ROI will come down to a few

ily on the affiliate’s influence on their traffic, it’s important for

key factors.

the merchant to help with the conversion piece of the puzzle.

Merchants should be prepared to provide a top-converting,

Timing

best-of-web offer.

In a pure, short-term ROI analysis from Q4, the best place-

In most cases, when arranging the placement, the affili-

ments are in October. We see an average 12% cost-to-revenue

ate will request an exclusive offer, semi-exclusive offer, or van-

ratio, with November and December at 14% and 15%, respec-

ity code. These will mean nothing if the offers won’t convert

tively. The cost of placements tends to go up in November and

on the merchant site.

December given consumer spend behavior on the two peak shopping days, Black Friday and Cyber Monday.

Therefore, from an ROI perspective, the ratio increases

If the merchant cannot offer one of these, passing to the affiliate a choice from the top three converting banners will ensure an asset that best resonates with the intended audience.

slightly. If a merchant is not retail-focused, Q4 may not be

Like any other marketing initiative, affiliate paid place-

the best time to leverage these pricier placements just for the

ments require testing and reporting. Keep analytics on the

peak shopping exposure.

performance and costs of all of the placements and work to determine the highest value opportunities. Then, budget 80%

Placement Cost

toward placements that have previously performed, and 20%

Cost negotiation depends on the appetite for risk. To limit the potential downside, try to negotiate for a temporary

toward new opportunity testing for a fresh, data-driven paid placement strategy.

increase in affiliate commission in return for additional expo-

Regularly re-evaluate the landscape of opportunities and

sure. This allows the merchant to stay within the CPA bound-

how your particular program performs to ensure you’re al-

aries and often doesn’t require additional budget approval.

ways getting the best bang for your paid placement buck.

16

Stephanie Harris is CEO of Schaaf-PartnerCentric, a premier affiliate program management agency.

· Issue 33 · January 2016

tl;dr – The key elements of making affiliate activation/integration easy are resources (to educate), incentives (to motivate), tools (to equip), and support.

RITS Approach to

Activating Affiliates

by Geno Prussakov

Geno Prussakov

M

any advertisers complain that the vast majority

time, Checks Unlimited, a top affiliate program on ShareASale,

of their affiliates are inactive, yet very few put the

used to offer a $5 incentive for affiliates to put up links to them.

time and effort into making activation easy.

Over the years, as I have observed and audited various

Tools (to equip)

affiliate programs, I couldn’t help but notice a characteristic

Whatever you can do to make things easier for them, do

shared by the more successful ones – the ease of integration

it. Walmart, for instance, created a WordPress plugin that ana-

for affiliates to enjoy.

lyzes affiliate’s blog post and when it finds “text that match-

There are four key elements to this, and they can be lev-

es a set pattern, it” converts it “to a paid Walmart.com link.”

eraged in any affiliate program. These elements are easiest to

Overstock.com empowers developers by offering them API

remember as an acronym – RITS. Here’s how it breaks down:

access to their product catalog. Amazon offers both “Product Advertising API” and also makes their affiliate program attrac-

Resources (to educate) Even before an affiliate joins Walmart.com’s affiliate pro-

tive to mobile app and game developers via their “Mobile Associates” API.

gram, they are able to dive into it via “Walmart Affiliate Link”, which provides prospects with access to the latest blog posts

Support

about the program, shows them the creatives they’d get ac-

The main challenge that affiliate program managers face

cess to, and explains (via FAQs and TOS) how exactly this

boils down to this: marketing (their program) to marketers.

relationship would be structured. MOO does the same, addi-

You can succeed by (a) building relationships and (b) sup-

tionally providing handy video User guides, where, in a “how

porting a constant and consistent communication channel.

to” format, they show how to join their affiliate program and

In 2009, responding to Econsultancy’s Affiliate Census, 64%

activate your account.

of affiliates expressed their unhappiness with the way advertisers handled communication with them. 12% complained

Incentives (to motivate)

about the lack of communication, 18% said they only get “indi-

A classic example is Amazon’s volume-based commission

rect communication through a network,” and 34% character-

scale. Everyone starts at 4% payout, but once an affiliate refers

ized communication as “limited.” In 2013 AffiliateBenchmarks

seven orders in any given month, their commission is increased

discovered that affiliates’ top-preferred method of communi-

50% (from 4% to 6%). Zappos, on the other hand, while not offer-

cation, chosen by over 62% of respondents, is “direct personal

ing a sliding commission scale, incentivizes incremental busi-

email.” Additionally, AffStat 2015 discovered that more than a

ness by compensating affiliates five times higher when they re-

third of affiliates deem relationships “crucial” in their choice

fer a new customer: 5% commission for return customers, but

regarding affiliate programs to “join, promote” or “terminate.”

25% for new customers. Besides your performance incentives, do consider offering activation-geared incentives. For a long

Go on now – reevaluate your own affiliate activation strategy against the RITS mnemonic.

Prussakov runs AM Navigator affiliate management agency, chairs Affiliate Management Days, speaks, writes, blogs, consults.

17

tl;dr – How to survive a Las Vegas conference without embarrassing yourself or your company.

· Issue 33 · January 2016

6 Survival Tips

to a Vegas Conference

by Dustin Howes the alcoholics you work with. If you can drink like a fish, keep Dustin Howes

E

in mind that you are probably drunker than you think. Don’t be that person who licks the ice sculpture.

very time I come to an Affiliate Summit West conference I inevitably hear “what happens in Vegas, stays in

Hang Out With People You Trust

Vegas.” Well, it turns out the person that came up with

Good friends and coworkers will keep you safe. Listen

that cliché wasn’t speaking to me or you. A more appropri-

when they cut you off. Act cool and get back to your hotel

ate slogan for a Vegas conference would be “what happens

room ASAP. There is no shame in asking for help back to your

in Vegas, will live in infamy with all your coworkers back at the

hotel room to sleep it off. Don’t be that person who wanders

office.” This doesn’t have to be you.

off and throws up on the dance floor.

There is free booze around every corner, which inevitably leads to overdrinking. Before you start drinking like the world is going to end, here are a few tips on how you can avoid embarrassing yourself or your company.

Avoid Situations If you have passionate feelings for someone, whether it be disgust or lust, it’s probably best to stay away from them while you are drinking. Same goes with clients or partners.

Stay Focused

Things can get real awkward, real quick. Don’t be that person

The affiliate world is known for the “work hard, play hard”

who slurs “I’m kind of a big deal.”

mindset. But playing too hard will affect your performance to create business deals. When you are out gambling and drink-

One Beer, One Water

ing until 3am, no amount of caffeine will bring your mind back

Conferences can have long periods of standing time and

to full capacity. Go have fun after work is done, but make sure

it’s easy to forget how much energy you expel. When Happy

you are on time for your meeting in the morning. Don’t be that

Hour rolls around, make sure to take down water between

person who forgets you are there for work.

cocktails. Don’t be that person sitting in the booth on day two.

Know Your Limits

Carry Mints, Gum and Eye Drops

Free alcohol is not an excuse to act a fool. I can’t tell you

When you ignore all the other tips above, this tip is your

how many times I’ve heard the phrase “did you hear what Pat

best chance to mask your humility. Your dragon breath the

did last night?” This story has the same equation every time:

day after boozing isn’t going to close deals. Your bloodshot

got too drunk > acted a fool > was reprimanded or even fired.

eyes will exude immaturity to your potential partners.

If you know you are a light weight, don’t go drink for drink with

18

Don’t be that person who ignores all of these tips.

Dustin manages the affiliate program at WP Engine, the leader in WordPress Hosting.

tl;dr – How to guide for removing stress with client or customer conflict.

· Issue 33 · January 2016

Got Client or Customer

Conflict Dread?

by Brian Secrist

Brian Secrist

A

nyone who has been in a professional business en-

Accept that the chips will fall where they may. But inside

vironment has at one time or another felt this way.

you will know that you are creating the environment that you

You have a meeting with a client coming up, and

want, regardless of external factors. I can’t understate this

you know it’s going to be a tough one. The client is not happy about the progress and has no problem telling you about it.

first point enough; it is the key to this change.

Now that (hopefully) you have this outlook for the upcom-

They could already be contentious personalities, or may-

ing call, you can start working on why the client may be upset

be even just not very nice in general. The stress of the upcom-

or contentious. Ask yourself some questions. Do they keep

ing meeting could even be affecting your other work, loss of

repeating themselves? Are they frustrated with performance?

sleep the night before, and your overall mood in general.

If the answer is yes to either or both of those, then they likely

This situation sound familiar? You are not alone. As a manager myself years ago, I had some moments where I felt

don’t feel they are being heard and are expecting something that they are not getting.

this way. And I see that same stress affecting other new man-

Plan for the call. Keep calm, create a positive environ-

agers. It does not happen often, but those instances can have

ment, regardless of what they say. Don’t speak, let them talk

widespread effects on morale and company culture.

(the more they talk, the better they will feel after). If they are

Long ago, I decided that was enough. I am no longer go-

upset, empathize, make sure they feel they are being listened

ing to feel that way and was ready to do something about it.

to, and focus on those complaints. Do they have goals or ex-

And by solving this for myself, I have been able to coach oth-

pectations that were not shared or agreed upon? Great time to

ers to do the same.

unpack that on the call and get to a consensus.

There are a number of simple steps that can go a long

All the empathy and listening skills will only come if you

way in helping. The first thing I tell people is to adjust your

can do the first part. Create the call you want. Come at with

perspective. Rather than think of all the terrible things that

nothing but positivity. Do that, and watch your reality change.

COULD happen in the call/meeting, think of what you can do

I love contentious calls now. Even look forward to them. They

to create the call or meeting that YOU want.

are more opportunities to make our clients love us.

20

Brian Secrist is Director of Accounts at JEBCommerce.

tl;dr – Best practices for merchants to understand how to grow their affiliate programs.

· Issue 33 · January 2016

The Affiliate

Management Wall

by Greg Hoffman

I

Greg Hoffman

n each and every affiliate program, there exists a wall, sep-

while being flexible enough to work with new information as

arating the merchant from long-term growth. The wall is

it comes in. The program strategy determines the profitability

mighty. The wall is real. But it can be conquered.

of the merchant and the success of the affiliates.

The tools you will need include, but are not limited to,

Learning more about what category each affiliate fits

the following: patience, tenacity, communication skills, un-

into and how they promote merchants will take the program

derstanding, technical support, effort, resources, efficiency,

to the next level. Not all affiliates are equal, and the manager

hustle, experimentation, luck, and some failure.

has to determine which ones to nurture. If they cater to cou-

There are some fantastically managed programs, but

pons and loyalty sites, especially ones with toolbars, they will

there are also thousands of dead or dying programs on all the

most likely lose sight of the rich content partners that bring

networks because the wrong strategies were followed—or no

new customers. It takes more work to find 100 content af-

strategy at all was followed.

filiates than one coupon affiliate, but finding the balance is

If you have ever heard an Affiliate Summit keynote or ses-

worth it in the long run.

sion by Tim Ash, you will understand that conversion is every-

If a program isn’t attractive as affiliates are window shop-

thing. Many merchants look to the affiliate marketing world as

ping, it’s losing out on great relationships. The program de-

the savior to their growth needs. But if their site doesn’t con-

scription, newsletters, and statistics need to show a vibrant

vert on its own, how do they expect affiliate traffic to convert?

and well-manicured foundation. Affiliates can easily tell if a

Testing to improve conversion on all landing pages should be

program has potential without even joining. They also talk to

an everlasting task. The steps to climb that wall are built with

other affiliates and don’t want to miss out on good opportuni-

every conversion percentage increase.

ties. Make sure the program is competitive in the marketplace

The right person for the affiliate manager job needs to

and test different promotions and incentives each month.

fully embrace the channel and learn from others. Bob from

Finally, do whatever it takes to get on the good side of the

Accounting probably isn’t the right person; neither is the CEO.

programmer. Bribes are always encouraged. The program-

Anyone can be a manager, but they need to understand the

mer needs to make sure tracking never fails, and the program

job evolves over time.

structure can expand when necessary. Advanced commis-

The manager has to understand the needs of the merchant and the affiliates while finding a balance between the two sides. They have to be consistent and firm with decisions Greg Hoffman is an outsourced program manager.

sion rules, cleaner data feeds, and custom reporting are all tasks easily accomplished by a good programmer.

The view on the other side of the wall is spectacular.

21

tl;dr – Take your mobile marketing to the next level with these tips to deepen engagement and increase earnings.

· Issue 33 · January 2016

5 Ways to Excel in

Mobile Marketing

by John Toskey

S

John Toskey

martphones and tablets have changed the way people shop online, with more opportunities for the entire

Dig into to your data We know that customers behave differently on mobile de-

ecommerce industry, including affiliate marketers.

vices than they do on desktops, so how do you know what’s

And with 30% of ecommerce sales driven through mobile,

working where? In addition to looking at your own website an-

according to Internet Retailer, affiliates can deepen engage-

alytics, partner with merchants or networks that break down

ment and increase earnings by reaching visitors anytime, any

your clicks, transactions and conversion rates for desktop,

place. If you’re looking to take your mobile marketing to the

app and mobile web traffic.

next level, start here.

Analyze, test and refine your processes, using data to drive your decisions.

Optimize your website Whether you’re using a responsive design or a dedicated

Don’t neglect mobile apps

mobile site, deliver an experience that’s optimized across all

According to comScore, 88% of consumer mobile inter-

screens. Several basic guidelines define a good mobile experi-

net time is spent in apps, so think about how you can provide

ence: avoid using software like Flash that isn’t typically used

your visitors with a seamless experience in their preferred en-

on mobile devices. Make sure your text is a readable size, and

vironment.

that your content is sized to the screen, so users don’t have

Some merchants offer deep mobile app linking, which au-

to scroll or zoom. Space links out so that the correct one can

tomatically directs mobile visitors to a page within their mo-

easily be selected.

bile app if the user has that app installed. Customers receive a

Test to make sure your visitors can easily navigate your

richer, more engaging experience, leading to a greater chance

site, no matter what device or operating system they’re using.

of conversions and earnings for affiliates.

Deliver a cohesive experience

Partner with mobile leaders

While a mobile-friendly website is the basic building block

Take a look at what types of items resonate with your au-

of a mobile strategy, there are many other touch points be-

dience, and are also likely to be purchased via mobile. Accord-

tween you and your audience. Think about mobile compatibili-

ing to BI Intelligence, this includes digital content, clothing,

ty across your entire funnel, including search engine optimiza-

tickets, daily deals, gift certificates, and electronics.

tion and social media, as well as email marketing campaigns.

Do your research to discover who is investing in mobile

On your website, pay attention to the type of affiliate ads

ecommerce to make it easier for shoppers and, in turn, af-

or links you’re using, and determine which convert well for mo-

filiate marketers. With the rates of mobile browsing and shop-

bile visitors. Take a look at the mobile checkout process for

ping constantly climbing, you’ll stay on the cutting edge by

your affiliate partners to make sure you’re not directing your

partnering with merchants and networks that offer items that

visitors to a frustrating sales experience.

are known to convert in mobile.

22

John Toskey is the Global Director of eBay Partner Network.

tl;dr – Five strategies to increase your subscribers starting today (that most people don’t know about).

· Issue 33 · January 2016

5 Little-Known Strategies To

Build Your List

by Candis Lynn Hidalgo

I

n an online world filled to the brim with marketing blogs, tips, and programs, it can seem like we’ve heard the same list-building advice a thousand times. For a fresh approach

Candis Lynn Hidalgo

that too few marketers are using, try these little-known strategies to win more subscribers to your list.

What you’re looking for are videos from channels that have

The Facebook Piggyback

a large subscriber base. Then, simply reach out to them and

Find a Facebook Group with members who are your tar-

ask them if they would be interested in sharing your free offer

get audience. Build rapport with the group by posting helpful

(lead magnet) with their subscribers via email or video. You

comments at least 3-5 times per week. Then, once a month,

could offer the publisher a commission on any signups you

post a link to your own article or landing page asking the

receive or just pay them an agreed upon dollar amount up-

group for feedback. Not only will you get new subscribers this

front. Many YouTubers, even if they have a lot of subscribers,

way, but also stay on the pulse of what your audience wants.

are making little or no money, so your offer has a great chance of getting accepted.

The Share Bonus Turn every new subscriber into a free and credible word-

The Expert Mashup

of-mouth advertiser for you. Upon sign-up, simply offer them

I saved the best for last (aren’t you glad you kept read-

an extra valuable bonus if they share your page on social me-

ing?). Write a detailed article that delivers high value to your

dia. The bonus could be an entry into a giveaway or a down-

readers, making sure to use top influencers in your niche as

loadable PDF that will give them a quick win and help them

success examples throughout. Once published, share it on

reach a goal.

social media tagging the influencers in the post. For example, you could tweet something like this:

The Content Gate Review old posts on your blog that still get a steady flow

“How These 5 Moms Are Making 6-Figures Online”

of traffic. Keep the title and first teaser paragraph viewable,

bit.ly/5moms6figures featuring @AmyPorterfield, @

and then hide the rest behind a gated content wall and require

RebekahRadice and more

an email sign up to unlock it. To bump signups even more, you can also group these posts under a “Free Resources” menu tab or sidebar image.

The influencers will get pinged from your mention and likely share it with their (huge) audience. After all, everyone likes a compliment. Just make sure to put a sign-up call-to-

The YouTube Reach Search YouTube using the same key phrases that you audience uses when looking for answers to their problems.

action somewhere in your post.

Challenge Time! Take action on at least one of these strategies this week to build your list.

Candis Lynn is a mama of three helping other moms make money online at CandisLynn.com.

23

tl;dr Business travel can be an outstanding investment in the affiliate marketing industry, here –are tl;dr Set a few up your top reasons own affiliate to travel. program to help your business take off

· Issue 33 · January 2016

5 Reasons to

Create an Affiliate Program

by Victoria Galperina Victoria Galperina

Outsourced Marketing There are many types of affiliates out there, and a lot of

S

them are professionals at what they do, so by recruiting them, o you finally decided to turn a new leaf in your life, and

you are basically outsourcing your marketing activities, letting

you set up your own online business. You’ve got the

the experts grow your business.

product or service figured out, and you’re even get-

ting the long-last clients that you worked so hard on getting.

Being in control

You’ve joined a couple of affiliate programs or even net-

By having your own program, you have total control over

works to monetize your website, and all seems to be going well.

what and how is being promoted. It is up to you to create the

You are successfully converting traffic to buyers, but you are

message, which your affiliates will then spread around the

just not seeing the amount of traffic you want and monetary

globe for you. Each affiliate has their own promotional style,

results you are looking for.

so it’s also important to give them some freedom of choice.

So why not set up your own affiliate program? Here is how

Cross-marketing activities

having your own affiliate program will help you:

If you are working with multiple traffic acquisition chan-

Free Traffic

nels, your affiliate program can become a source of cross-

It’s an excellent opportunity to attract thousands of people

marketing promotions. This will allow you to collaborate with

to your website. Think of it as word of mouth tactic, but online.

your affiliates on mutually beneficial levels that don’t involve

If you get your current subscribers or buyers to spread the word

commissions, such as publishing an interview with your af-

about you to their friends, you’ll already gain new traffic from

filiates on your blog, inviting them to participate in webinars

curious people and the more people you get to join the program

and your social media activities, like Twitter chats. Your affili-

and participate, the more traffic you will receive.

ates will get exposure, and you will get their audience to get involved with your product or service.

Sales boost

The key concept to remember, when setting up your own

No matter what it is you are selling, you only have to pay

affiliate program, is that every affiliate is your partner and if you

your affiliates for results, so if the result is selling your product

treat them as such, your affiliate program will become one of

or service, you’ll just have to share the profit that you got from

your top revenue sources.

the recommendation of your affiliate with that affiliate in the form of commission. It is a win-win situation for both of you.

24

So what are you still waiting for? Start making the most from your business right now.

Travis is PeerFly’s Director of Business Victoria Development, Galperina you is the can Head follow of Affiliate him @TravisPeerFly Marketing aton SEMrush.

Twitter.

tl;dr – Stop website hackers with three free security tactics that protect you from intruders.

· Issue 33 · January 2016

3 Ninja Tactics

Secures Websites from Hackers

by Jason Ciment

I

n December 2014, Sucuri.net revealed that 100,000+

Jason Ciment

WordPress sites were hacked, because of one plugin exploit. In 2013, Forbes published that 30,000 websites per

day were being hacked. There are now YouTube videos that

to /donut and someone who has not been whitelisted gets

teach people how to hack WordPress websites. Things are

to that page on a computer or mobile device, they will get a

not getting any better with more plugins to protect and more

page not found error.

hackers to block.

Know that this tactic is cumbersome. If you are traveling

How can you be protected from malicious virtual wood-

and you go to an Internet cafe, you can’t login without first

peckers that peck away to find website vulnerabilities? Let

adding the IP of the cafe to your whitelist. And that might be

me be up front about something. This article is not going to

too complicated to accomplish remotely.

give you standard suggestions like using long alphanumeric

Fortunately, there is an alternative solution, from a com-

passwords and changing access privileges regularly. You can

pany called www.sekur.me, from technology wizard Jack

Google phrases like “WordPress secure my site” and you’ll

Bicer. His mobile security application works on iOS and An-

find plenty of compelling tips from companies also promoting

droid. For WordPress, your login page displays a Sekur.me

their security product offerings.

logo with a QR code. You log in to the Sekur.me app on your

I don’t have a lottery ticket to sell you because my digital marketing firm doesn’t offer any product to help you secure

phone, hold up your phone so that it can “see” the QR code and it logs you in.

your site. But we do host a bunch of clients’ sites, and I have

No typing of username or password. If any computer has

learned a few ninja techniques below that can help protect

a keylogger capturing keystrokes, you are protected there, too.

your website.

I run Sekur.me with the whitelist solution because we are over-

First, change your admin login URL address. Don’t use

protective for our SEO clients.

“admin” or “login” or “signin”. Shake things up. Go unexpected

The last tactic is to monitor your third party software (i.e.

without simply combining words. For a WordPress site, get

plugins). Set up a Google Alert for your plugins to see if news

iThemes Security. It’s free and has other features to optimize

is published or updates are released. We have seen many

your site performance.

hacked sites get compromised through plugins.

Let’s go a little deeper though to lock things down fur-

The whitelist option cannot protect from plugin vulner-

ther. Add an IP whitelist (check with your hosting company)

abilities. There are ecommerce platforms, like Adrecom, Ma-

where you create a list of IP addresses that have privileges

gento Enterprise, or NetSuite, that don’t allow third party pl-

to log in to an admin page. Let’s say you set your login page

ugins for this reason.

Jason Ciment provides SEO, PPC and social marketing for professional service firms, manufacturers, and businesses.

25

tl;dr – Contests that follow these seven steps can generate great link authority and top rankings.

· Issue 33 · January 2016

7 Steps to Buzz-worthy

Contests for SEO

by Stephan Spencer

Stephan Spencer

C

ontests can be a fantastic addition to your content marketing and your SEO. Simply assemble the right ingredients in the right order, and voilà: authoritative

links and top Google rankings. It’s a tried and true strategy.

When Jeremy Shoemaker, founder of Shoemoney Media

Promote the heck out of the contest yourself, too.

and super blogger at Shoemoney.com, wrote the foreword for

Don’t just rely on your partners to do it for you. We

my recent book, Social eCommerce, he brought up a contest

reached out to a bunch of design sites, and they greeted us

I dreamed up years ago and ran on his site for my client Over-

with enthusiasm. Their readers (“creatives”) love contests

nightPrints.com. I crushed it for the client, taking them from

because winning them, or even just being selected a “final-

nowhere in Google for “business cards” to the top of page one

ist”, looks stellar on a resume.

at #2.

The premise: design Jeremy’s new business card and

Host the contest page on your site.

you could win free business cards for life. The winning entry,

Not on your partner’s. You want the link authority flow-

to this day, looks awesome. And yes, the strategy, if well-ex-

ing directly to your site. As you might guess, the contest en-

ecuted, still works, even with Google’s latest algorithms like

try page was on OvernightPrints.com, not Shoemoney.com.

RankBrain.

Let’s peel back some of the layers to deconstruct how we did this so you can replicate it:

Make it relevant to your business and keywords.

It wouldn’t have made any sense for OvernightPrints. com to run a contest where you write a letter to the Presi-

The prize needs to sound impressive.

In general, a “lifetime supply” of anything sounds impressive. Choose an inexpensive prize that a winner won’t

dent and win a trip to Washington DC. Their money term was “business cards”, so being on page one in Google for that was worth big bucks.

gorge on daily. Run a chain of spas? Offer free manicures for a year. You can use the fine print to put limits on it, like OvernightPrints.com did, at 1,000 business cards per year for a maximum of 20 years.

Keep it simple.

People online are lazy and impatient, so lower the barriers to entry. Long entry forms and complex rules kill participation.

Get a partner with name recognition who’s willing to promote your contest.

Involve the community.

This is crucial. Like I partnered OvernightPrints.com with

Successful contests are participatory. Have the part-

Jeremy, one partner can provide the prize and the other can

ner’s community get in on the judging to select finalists.

provide the fan base and thus the reach. Leverage the influ-

Contestants will invariably enroll family, friends and follow-

encer’s brand by enlisting their help in spreading the word

ers in voting; might as well encourage it. Final say on the

via social. Jeremy posted on his blog, Twitter, and YouTube.

winner should always be yours, however.

26

Stephan Spencer is a renowned SEO expert, three-time O’Reilly author, and acclaimed professional speaker.

· Issue 33 · January 2016

tl;dr – Five innovations that will have an impact on mobile in 2016.

Mobile Marketing:

Trends and Tools for 2016

by Dale Carr

T

his forecast prepares marketers to take advantage of the Dale Carr

latest mobile tech and feature developments to create high-performance campaigns.

wider market. While it’s attractive to reach an audience (of

2015 brought notable innovations that will change the

primarily avid athletes and tech lovers) in this highly intimate

way people use apps, and bring new opportunities for adver-

method, there are some risks to advertisers. If you’re too

tisers to engage mobile users in the year ahead:

intrusive, it could backfire. Also, ads are tiny.

3D Touch

Ad Blockers

3D Touch was perhaps the most compelling feature

In a move designed to make your mobile web experi-

born of the Apple iOS 9 release. iOS 9 devices are now sensi-

ence better (faster, streamlined, etc.), iOS 9 introduced sup-

tive to the pressure of touch applied to the screen, enabling

port for ad-blocking for Safari’s mobile browsers. There’s

all kinds of layered experiences for marketers. By pressing

far more strategy to their decision, but in short, ad blocking

screens slightly harder, for example, users may be able to

does not impact apps. In fact, Apple encourages app usage

peek at a snippet of content that “pops-up”; Pressing deeply

and wants marketers to utilize its service, iAd. Whichever ad

might allow users to jump directly into an action. Advertisers

platform or partner you choose, advertising in-app is a good

are urged to find creative and advantageous ways to apply

idea for this simple fact: Users spend more time in apps than

3D Touch technology into their campaigns.

they do using mobile web.

Haptic Technology

Consider Advertising in Utility and Music Apps

This familiar vibration technology (already used for mo-

Games are great for reaching audiences but don’t forget

bile alerts with incoming messages) can range from low to

utility apps and music apps. The Utilities category offers ad-

high, slow to fast, and can be strung together to create cus-

vertisers undeniable advantages to reach a global audience

tom, nuanced tones and feelings, like a sensory song. Think

and align their brand with our most trusted and useful tools.

thumps, zooms, beats. As haptic innovations advance, mar-

Utilities apps have universal appeal, are more likely to be

keters can add this experiential and immersive element to

used on a daily basis, and their popularity and usage is grow-

video ads. The vibrational tracks add depth of feeling and

ing exponentially in emerging markets, all of which provide

emotion, lending the ad to more connected, and completed

exciting opportunities for advertisers.

views and higher recall.

Music apps like Spotify and Pandora are now dominating the top-grossing charts of app stores. As streaming mu-

Apple Watch Wearables are tempting for 2016 but tread lightly. Keep an eye on smart watches as they evolve and appeal to a

sic apps continue to climb in popularity, they offer marketers a lucrative audience and can be great vehicles for cleverly designed native ads.

Dale Carr is founder and CEO of Leadbolt, an award-winning high-performance mobile advertising platform.

27

tl;dr – Things to consider when contemplating changing product categories with your affiliate network.

· Issue 33 · January 2016

Switching Product Categories:

Before and After

by Jennifer Parker

C

Jennifer Parker

oming into a field as diverse and complicated as affiliate marketing as a newb advertiser can, at times,

There’s so much information being transferred

be overwhelming. Affiliate marketing, like most in-

when you’re signing up with a network that it

dustries, employs a special language. So while you’re trying

can be easy to overlook even something as

to decipher what CPC (Cost Per Click), DOI (Double Opt-In)

significant as advertising category.

and EPC (Earnings Per Click) are, you still have to do the grunt

For networks, in which you have much more input, make

work of getting your program up and running. Switching prod-

sure you pay attention to what category you choose. If you’re

uct categories is not generally recommended, but it can be

not sure, ask your contact what advertisers similar to you

necessary. I found myself in that situation.

have done. For the less transparent network, have your con-

Here’s what I learned:

tact explain in detail how they will be promoting your offer.

Different networks have varying degrees of

On networks where it is permitted, sign up as an

transparency.

affiliate.

A network might ask you about your model for creating

ShareASale is one network that encourages you to sign

conversions (in the case of lead generation) or the types of

up as an affiliate. This information has been invaluable to

products you sell and then serve up your banners and ads to

me. It has shown me where I stack up with the other adver-

the affiliates of their choosing. This kind of faith-based rela-

tisers in my category. I can see if my offer is competitive, or

tionship should be monitored closely months after launch,

if I need to tweak it.

and audited routinely thereafter.

I prefer the most transparent networks, where you can fill out your own information that will be accessed and viewed by potential affiliates.

You have to ask to change categories.

Don’t do what I did and search through my account settings for an hour. Send an email to your contact or the network’s help desk and ask to switch to a more appropriate

Product categories can range from pretty vague—General Web Services—to specific such as Clothing.

category.

Before switching from the disastrous (for us!) General Web Services category, the only affiliates in our program

Whether it was user error or a setting default, our pro-

were ones that had been specifically invited to our program.

gram ended up in the General Web Services category, com-

Once I noticed the error and requested to be moved to the

pletely inappropriate for our lead gen campaign that promot-

Freebies, Free Stuff, and Rewards Program category, re-

ed membership to our consumer survey panel.

quests from appropriate affiliates began pouring in.

Jennifer Parker is a Panel Administrator and Affiliate Marketing Manager at Decision Analyst.

29

tl;dr – Buying and selling clicks to increase your profits and sustainability with CPC email.

· Issue 33 · January 2016

Effectiveness of CPC Email in

Performance Marketing

by Yancy Naughton Yancy Naughton

O

pt-in email has long been one of the most effective traffic channels in performance marketing. If a con-

CPC for Advertisers

sumer opens an email and clicks on it, they are prob-

Advertisers like CPA, because they feel all the risk of per-

ably interested in the offer. CPM (cost per thousand impres-

formance is on the publishers. But most advertisers spend a

sions) was initially the model favored by publishers who would

lot of their time and money trying to attract the best publish-

simply charge per 1,000 emails.

ers to their offers; trying to get noticed in a sea of similar per-

CPA (action) and CPL (lead) are preferred by advertisers

formance based offers.

largely because in the CPM model advertisers often found

CPA is paying per ‘action’, but think of all the ‘actions’

they were paying for drops that did not click. CPC (cost per

required to create a click, and you will understand why pubs

click) is an excellent meeting point for advertisers and publish-

want to know they are getting paid for them. An email click is

ers to meet to produce effective and sustainable campaigns.

one of the best clicks available, so it is worth a budget on the part of the recipient.

CPC for Publishers

When you think in terms of what publishers have to do to

CPC is very attractive for publishers because they are

get the visitor to your page, and how much control they have

guaranteed a click price. If they manage to acquire an opt-in

after they send the visitor, you will understand why they do not

email, build and upload a new campaign, get through the com-

want to do all that work and let you decide whether you will

mercial filters, get inbox, opened, read, clicked, and redirected

pay for the lead or action, or not.

to the landing page, they should be paid.

Watch CPC campaigns closely, and check quality and

Publishers realize at that point that clicks have to still perform to get future orders, but should get paid the part of the funnel they control. Pubs can try more new campaigns on CPC.

price per click. A good network will manage your conversions and back them into your desired KPIs or conversion metrics.

In short, all traffic is performance based, because advertisers do not buy traffic for very long that loses money. Com-

And since variation is the essence of sustainable email,

pliant email clicks are worth acquiring, so look to CPC as a

CPC keeps the ball rolling. Running the same offers to the

viable meeting point between publisher and advertiser’s KPIs.

same subscribers will not sustain. Publishers must constant-

Publishers look at eCPM (rev/1,000 emails) and advertis-

ly test, but with CPA all the risk is put on the pubs. CPC allows

ers look at CPA (cost per action). CPC is a fair meeting of KPIs

for shared risk and allows pubs to test earlier and more often.

of the two necessary parties.

30

Yancy Naughton is the founder of HasTraffic, WantsTraffic and The CPC Email Exchange.

tl;dr – Regardless of each industry particularities, there are seven tips any vendor can use to recruit affiliates without outsourcing the job.

· Issue 33 · January 2016

7 Tips to

Recruit Affiliates Directly

by Teodora Dobjanschi

Teodora Dobjanschi

Focus on identifying the right affiliates.

Now that you know your ideal affiliate profile, you can use the data to start searching for the right affiliates. Use relevant

A

keywords for your industry to manually search and select the ffiliate recruitment is a very important part of the

top affiliates for each relevant segment.

development of an affiliate program. Whether you already have an established affiliate program or have

just launched one, here are seven simple tips that you can use to recruit affiliates directly:

Contact affiliates directly.

14% of affiliates find out about a new program when the affiliate managers contact them directly (2015 AffStat Report, affstat.com). For a good response rate, usecall to action mes-

Make sure you have an optimized affiliate sign-

sages and include sign-up links. You can either offer a higher

up page on your website.

commission, extend the cookie lifetime, lower the threshold,

Many vendors focus so much on nurturing and managing affiliates; they forget to optimize their affiliate sign-up page to

or offer a hybrid attribution model, to motivate affiliates to take action.

include a program description, commission structure, and a sign-up button. This is important, as, according to the 2015 AffStat Report (affstat.com), 24% of the affiliates find out about new affiliate programs from the merchant’s website.

Recruit new affiliates within the network.

Each network offers recruitment solutions to their vendors, and I suggest using this feature. It would be best if you

Invest in PPC (Pay Per Click) recruitment campaigns.

would work with a niche network as this will increase your

Create targeted campaigns to reach potential affiliates,

chances to get in contact with industry’s affiliates.

as 22% of the affiliates search for new affiliate programs on search engines (2015 AffStat Report, affstat.com). You can

Run contests and special campaigns.

start with a test budget to see bid amounts and results for the

You can run contests to engage existing affiliates to drive

relevant keywords in your industry, and then optimize these

more sales or activate dormant affiliates, but also to recruit

campaigns.

new affiliates. New affiliates can be engaged into raffles so that they have a fair chance to win. To accelerate the activa-

Use segmentation to find your ideal affiliate

tion process, ask the newcomers to perform a specific action

profile.

after creating their account (start promoting a minimum of

You can do this by affiliate category (coupon sites, review sites, content, etc.) or by geo-targeting (select the top 10 sell-

products or generate a minimum of one order, etc.) to be included into the raffle.

ing countries or choose countries by the languages supported

These actions should be included in the development

on your website, etc.). Select the categories that best fit your

strategy of virtually any affiliate program to generate new

program and keep these in mind for your future actions.

business, fresh traffic, and conversions.

Teodora Dobjanschi is Senior Affiliate Recruiter at Avangate.

31

tl;dr – Going international? Ensure you proactively avoid these common pitfalls and mistakes before you launch your global affiliate program.

· Issue 33 · January 2016

Going Global:

Prep for Success

by Kim Salvino

What are the Legal Considerations by Region?

Kim Salvino

G

Research on the latest tax law, privacy law, trademark oing global, much like going mobile, is an initiative

law, etc. isn’t just a great idea – it’s a requirement. Looping in

that continues to spike in popularity. Your site is

your legal team early on and getting the clarity on important

ready for international e-commerce, but does that

issues prevents launch delay and lots of wasted time.

automatically translate to successful affiliate channel sales?

The short answer is no. Hastily thrown together plans

Are You Equipped for In-Language Support?

and lack of realistic expectations make for a poor experience

You can utilize Google translate for some communica-

where, in the affiliate world, you get only one chance to make

tions, but sending publisher newsletters, creating text links

a lasting impression. Please consider the below points prior to

and other creative materials, and drafting the Terms and

installing those extra pixels and activating your sign up pages.

Conditions are going to require someone fluent in the local language. You’ll also want to ensure those vetting potential

Is Your Brand Globally Recognized?

How big is your presence outside of your most successful market region? How does that success translate to potential

publisher sites can do so effectively, ensuring the sites approved for the program are operating within the terms of your agreement.

affiliate sales according to global market trends? If customers aren’t actively seeking out your brand in a specific region,

Set Internal Expectations

affiliate marketing isn’t going to offer the solution you seek.

All affiliate programs require ramp time. Anyone selling

It’s your job to market your brand and create a respected, well-

you on the fact that a launch will immediately lead to large

received presence, worthy of publisher traffic.

profits is quantity and not quality focused. This will ultimately lead to disaster. Expectations should be communicated up

Scrutinize Your Network of Choice Don’t be afraid to ask the tough questions of reporting

front to dispel any confusion. An affiliate program presence will not immediately translate to instant revenue spikes.

solution providers and perform a full competitive analysis be-

Creating an international affiliate marketing program is a

fore signing on the dotted line. Spell out your requirements

viable way to increase revenue for globally recognized brands

for reporting, invoicing, publisher payments, and any other

with the proper network, management, and in-language sup-

important criteria. Get the costs IN WRITING and ensure the

port. Recognizing that the process will require research, legal

contract contains clear legal language, specifying service lev-

clarification and commitment over time will be your best in-

els by region if necessary.

vestment.

32

Kim Salvino, Client Services Director for Performance Horizon, has been optimizing programs since 2005.

tl;dr – Recent FTC and FDA activity suggests imminent changes in how homeopathic remedies can be marketed.

· Issue 33 · January 2016

Future of Marketing

Homeopathic Remedies in Doubt

Slade Cutter

by Slade Cutter

H

omeopathy is a controversial form of alternative med-

The Federal Drug Administration (FDA) requires ho-

icine that has faced intense criticism from the scien-

meopathic marketers to follow the 1988 “Compliance Policy

tific community for years. The practice is based on

Guide,” which does not require over-the-counter (OTC) homeo-

the idea that a substance known to cause certain symptoms

pathic drugs to be approved by the FDA as safe and effec-

in healthy people can be used to relieve those symptoms when

tive, as long as they satisfy certain conditions, including that

given in a sufficiently minute dose to sick people.

the product’s label must contain an “indication for use” (i.e., a

Indeed, homeopaths typically dilute doses to the point

claim that the drug is effective for specific uses). But the FDA

that they no longer contain any detectable amount of the ac-

does not require marketers to have any evidence supporting

tive ingredient, theorizing that the hyper-diluted solution car-

the specified use.

ries a “memory” of the active ingredient’s “electromagnetic signature.”

If you’re scratching your head, you’re in good company.

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has noted on multiple

Although some early studies appeared to support the effi-

occasions that the FDA’s requirement that homeopathic mar-

cacy of homeopathy, these initial findings have been thoroughly

keters specify an indication for use even when there’s no sup-

refuted in a wide range of scientifically-controlled clinical studies.

porting evidence for that use conflicts with the FTC’s com-

The most recent of these was a meta-study completed

monsense requirement that all health claims be substantiated

last year by the Australian National Health and Medical Re-

by competent and reliable scientific evidence.

search Council. This study rigorously examined the proce-

This interagency regulatory disconnect, along with the re-

dures and results of 1,800 other studies and concluded that

cent rapid growth in the homeopathic industry, has prompted

homeopathic remedies are no more effective than placebos,

the agencies to work together to find a solution. To that end,

and the theory of “water memory” has no basis in science.

the FTC held a workshop on homeopathic marketing in Sep-

Despite this scientific smackdown, homeopathic medi-

tember 2015, and the FDA closed an extensive public com-

cine has grown into a multi-billion dollar industry in the US,

ment period regarding the regulatory framework for homeo-

with significant sales driven through affiliate marketing. This

pathic medicines in November 2015.

has been possible because the Senate sponsor of the 1938

There are a number of ways the agencies might address

federal law governing manufacture and marketing of drugs

the regulatory question, but preserving the status quo is very

was a prominent New York homeopathic physician who spe-

unlikely. Consequently, any marketers relying on revenue from

cifically exempted homeopathic remedies from many of the

homeopathic products should stay tuned because there are

rules regulating other drugs.

big changes coming soon.

Slade Cutter is a digital advertising lawyer at Wittliff Cutter, PLLC in Austin, Texas.

33

tl;dr – Three easy-to-follow strategies to slash shipping costs and eliminate cross-border hassles to successfully sell in Canada.

· Issue 33 · January 2016

Eliminate Cross-Border Shipping Hassles

for Canadian Success

by Steven Page

Steven Page

A

1.

Local In-Country Fulfillment. This is the most efficient

s a marketer, you understand the intensity with

way to get products to consumers within two to four

which your business can grow at any given moment.

days, and includes full tracking information. You can

PayPal estimates that, by 2018, nearly 130 million

store your product in Canada, either at your own facility

shoppers will place orders outside of their borders, spending

or a local fulfillment warehouse. This method will reduce

over $300 billion a year.

your international shipping costs because the product is geographically closer to the customer who will automati-

Canada’s market has various advantages that make it a

cally receive Canadian shipping rates.

practical option for cross-border sales. Canada and the U.S. share a lengthy border, a common language, and not to forget,

2. Turnkey Cross-Border Logistics. If you do not want to

the North American Free Trade Agreement. Most importantly,

store product in Canada, and prefer to use your current

sixty percent of Canadians already make purchases from

U.S. distribution center, you can still work with a Cana-

American web merchants, according to cross-border transac-

dian logistics company that provides cross-border con-

tion processor Payvision; and online research firm, eMarketer,

solidated shipping services. Consolidated shipping will

reports that Canadians purchased $22.97 billion worth of

allow for cost-effective shipping directly from the U.S. to

goods online in 2014.

Canada and avoid cross-border delays and hassles.

Canada is a great international market to enter, as long as

3.

Flat-Rate Shipping. With the right high volume logistics

you keep in mind the involvement of duties, sales tax, regulations

partner, you will have the ability to provide your custom-

for health and beauty products, and customs clearance proto-

ers with flat-rate shipping. High volume shippers receive

cols. Unexpected challenges can arise especially when your

the lowest rates through Canada Post and can reach

business grows faster than anticipated, and consumers start

your consumers in a shorter amount of time than if you

purchasing before you have a Canada-specific logistics plan.

were to ship directly from the U.S.

When not handled correctly, customers may experience

Although Canada presents some traditional problems,

shipping delays, high shipping costs, and surprise fees. By

having a Canadian logistics partner that can manage every-

working with the right people in Canada, who can help you

thing on the back-end ensures that your Canadian custom-

seamlessly navigate each step, you can ensure that your Ca-

ers receive their orders with the same hassle-free service that

nadian customers are satisfied with their purchase and your

your U.S. customers get.

business.

This allows you to focus on what made you a successful

To determine the method that works best for you and

marketer in the first place: sales and marketing that doesn’t

your product category, consider one of these three strategies

get you caught up with trying to become an international lo-

to help your business grow and succeed in Canada:

gistics expert.

34

Steven Page is Founder & President of Stalco, a Canadian-based logistics and fulfillment company.

· Issue 33 · January 2016

Day 0 Saturday, January 9

Meet Market Table Setup Time: 9:00 am - 12:00 pm Location: Concorde

Early Attendee Check-In

Meet Market Exhibitors may set up their tables during this time.

Time: 12:00 pm - 8:00 pm Location: Paris Foyer

Exhibitor or Sponsor Ribbon Required

Come by Saturday evening to pick up your badge and attendee bag so you can enter immediately on Sunday when the show opens!

First Timer Orientation Time: 10:00 am - 10:30 am Location: Champagne Ballroom 1

Day 1 Sunday, January 10

Shawn Collins, Co-Founder, Affiliate Summit All first-time attendees are welcome to join Affiliate Summit Co-Founder Shawn Collins for tips and advice for getting

Attendee Check-In Time: 8:00 am - 6:00 pm

the most out of your time at Affiliate Summit.

Experience Level: Beginner

Location: Paris Foyer

Target Audience: Affiliate/Publisher, Merchant/

Pick up your conference badge and attendee bag, and get

Niche/Vertical: Networking

started with Affiliate Summit.

Exhibit Hall Booth Setup Time: 8:00 am - 6:00 pm

Advertiser, Network Open to All Pass Holders

Speaker Ready Room Time: 10:00 am - 5:00 pm

Location: Rivoli Ballroom

Location: Bordeaux

Exhibitors may set up their booth at this time.

This is a space where speakers can find some quiet, and

Exhibitor or Sponsor Ribbon Required

it goes smoothly during their sessions.

run through their presentations one last time to ensure that

Speaker Ribbon Required

Refuel, Rendezvous & Refresh Room Time: 8:00 am - 6:00 pm Location: Vendome A All attendees are welcome to take advantage of the tables and WiFi to have meetings, catch up on work, or simply take a break. Coffee and Tea available to those with Refresh Drink Tickets.

Session 1a - Six Figure Blogging: Ask the Experts & Secrets Revealed Time: 11:00 am - 12:00 pm Location: Champagne Ballroom 1 »» Syed Balkhi, Founder, WPBeginner »» John Chow, Titles Are For Wimps, John Chow dot Com

Open to All Pass Holders

»» Zac Johnson, CEO, MoneyReign Inc »» John Rampton, President, Adogy

35

· Issue 33 · January 2016

A panel of four six figure bloggers share the secrets to their success, while also answering Q&A to help grow your blogs, brands and business in the process.

Experience Level: Intermediate Target Audience: Affiliate/Publisher Niche/Vertical: Blogging Networking Plus or Networking (Session Tickets Required), VIP & All Access Pass Holders

Meet Market Time: 12:00 pm - 6:00 pm Location: Concorde The Meet Market at Affiliate Summit is an extended session of structured, face to face networking. Affiliate programs and networks have tables set to meet with affiliates to discuss their offers and cut deals.

Open to All Pass Holders

Session 1b - Blogger Outreach Strategies That Don’t Suck (Time or Money) Time: 11:00 am - 12:00 pm Location: Champagne Ballroom 4 »» Ciaran Blumenfeld, CMO, Hashtracking »» Debbie Bookstaber, Owner, Element Associates »» Kelby Carr, CEO, Type-A Parent »» Anne Parris, Managing Partner, Midlife Boulevard

Press Room Time: 12:00 pm - 6:00 pm Location: Burgundy The Press Room is an area reserved for credentialed Press only to grab some desk space, blog, interview, relax, and network.

Press Ribbons Required

If you’re pitching bloggers and not seeing a strong ROI, you won’t want to miss this panel. We will cover tools that save time and outline questions you need to ask to identify the right influencers.

Experience Level: Advanced Target Audience: Merchant/Advertiser Niche/Vertical: Blogger Outreach Networking Plus or Networking (Session Tickets Required), VIP & All Access Pass Holders

Session 2a - Chill the F**k Out: You’re Killing Yourself Time: 12:15 pm - 12:45 pm Location: Champagne Ballroom 1 »» Sean Steinmarc, Founder, Steinmarc.com Proud of your ‘work all the time, make all the $$$’ lifestyle?

So was I-until I disconnected for a week and saw incredible improvements in my life & productivity. Learn to do more by

Session 1c - Live SEO & Monetization Site Reviews

connecting less.

Time: 11:00 am - 12:00 pm

Experience Level: Intermediate

Location: Versailles 1-2

Target Audience: Affiliate/Publisher, Merchant/

»» Kenny Hyder, Founder, Hyder Media »» Scott Polk, Founder / CEO, Marketing Nomads »» Adam Riemer, President, Adam Riemer Marketing

Advertiser, Network Niche/Vertical: Productivity Networking Plus or Networking (Session Tickets Required), VIP & All Access Pass Holders

Have your website reviewed by industry experts and learn to rank better in Google as well as how to make more money.

Experience Level: Intermediate Target Audience: Affiliate/Publisher, Merchant/ Advertiser, Network Niche/Vertical: SEO Networking Plus or Networking (Session Tickets Required), VIP & All Access Pass Holders

36

Session 2b - Buying and Selling Websites Time: 12:15 pm - 12:45 pm Location: Champagne Ballroom 4 »» Chuck Mullins, President, Cash For Your Site

· Issue 33 · January 2016

Expanding your affiliate business through website acquisitions and sales? Our experts will provide detailed strategies for buying and selling websites guaranteed to maximize your revenue potential.

Experience Level: Intermediate Target Audience: Affiliate/Publisher, Merchant/ Advertiser, Network Niche/Vertical: Monetization Networking Plus or Networking (Session Tickets Required), VIP & All Access Pass Holders

Session 2c - How to Optimize Images for Social Media Sharing Time: 12:15 pm - 12:45 pm Location: Versailles 1-2 »» Michelle Held, Owner, Metrony, LLC Posts that include images get more engagement. Do your images look good on all social platforms? How to optimize images for social posting and drive traffic!

Experience Level: Intermediate Target Audience: Affiliate/Publisher Niche/Vertical: PPC Networking Plus or Networking (Session Tickets Required), VIP & All Access Pass Holders

Session 3b - Humanize Marketing to Drive Brand and SEO Time: 1:00 pm – 1:30 pm Location: Champagne Ballroom 4 »» Jackie Bates, Director of Marketing, LinkConnector »» Helen Fang, General Manager, Ecommerce, Coupons.com Humanize your marketing to reach a hyper-connected audience. Through social listening and strategic content marketing, escalate your search visibility and drive brand awareness.

Session 3a - Optimize WordPress

Experience Level: Intermediate

Like a Super Affiliate

Target Audience: Affiliate/Publisher, Merchant/

Time: 1:00 pm – 1:30 pm Location: Champagne Ballroom 1 »» David Vogelpohl, Vice President of Web Strategy, WP

Advertiser Niche/Vertical: SEO Networking Plus or Networking (Session Tickets Required), VIP & All Access Pass Holders

Engine Learn how to use WordPress to boost commissions and

Session 3c - Leveraging Technology

deliver an amazing experience to your visitors. Great tips on

to Enhance Your Program

WordPress management and effectively promoting offers

Time: 1:00 pm – 1:30 pm

from your merchants.

Experience Level: Beginner Target Audience: Affiliate/Publisher Niche/Vertical: Wordpress Networking Plus or Networking (Session Tickets Required), VIP & All Access Pass Holders

Location: Versailles 1-2 »» Tom Rathbone, Head of Technology, SchaafPartnerCentric A look into a few different ways that merchants and agencies are using tracking platforms and network features to align company goals with the affiliate program.

37

· Issue 33 · January 2016

Experience Level: Intermediate Target Audience: Merchant/Advertiser Niche/Vertical: Technology

Niche/Vertical: Recruitment Networking Plus or Networking (Session Tickets Required), VIP & All Access Pass Holders

Networking Plus or Networking (Session Tickets Required), VIP & All Access Pass Holders

Session 4c - Whoomp! There it Is VIP & All Access Snack Break Time: 1:00 pm - 3:00 pm Location: Vendome B Take a break from the networking and education for some snacks and drinks in a relaxed networking environment.

(Snack Tickets are also required.)

VIP & All Access Pass Holders with Meal Tickets Only

Disclosures, Disclosures, Disclosures Time: 1:45 pm – 2:15 pm Location: Versailles 1-2 »» Rachel Hirsch, Attorney, Ifrah PLLC What does “clear and conspicuous” disclosures mean given the advancement of technology? Navigate effective disclosures in digital advertising according to the FTC’s .com Disclosure Guidelines.

Experience Level: Intermediate

Session 4a - Ad Blocking and the

Target Audience: Affiliate/Publisher, Merchant/

Future of Digital Advertising

Advertiser, Network

Time: 1:45 pm – 2:15 pm Location: Champagne Ballroom 1

Niche/Vertical: Disclosures Networking Plus or Networking (Session Tickets Required), VIP & All Access Pass Holders

»» Hanna Kassis, CEO, OAREX Capital Markets, Inc. This session will explore recent developments in the ad

RevShare Roundup

blocking dilemma facing the digital advertising world and

Time: 2:00 pm – 5:00 pm

how the online ecosystem will (should) adapt in response.

Location: Champagne Ballroom 2&3

Experience Level: Intermediate Target Audience: Affiliate/Publisher, Network Niche/Vertical: Profitability Networking Plus or Networking (Session Tickets Required), VIP & All Access Pass Holders

»» Kim Rowley, Founder, Key Internet Marketing, Inc. The Affiliate Summit RevShare Roundup debuts with a broad range of revenue share affiliate programs to discover.

This event was designed to facilitate discussions between the revenue share programs represented and affiliates/

Session 4b - Up-and-Comers: Recruiting & Engaging with Smaller Affiliates Time: 1:45 pm – 2:15 pm Location: Champagne Ballroom 4

publishers/bloggers looking for new revenue share programs to drive traffic to. Unrelated conversations will not be entertained during this 3-hour event.

Only the following attendee badge types will have access to all the RevShare Roundup: Affiliate, Advertiser, Affiliate Management, OPM/ Agency and Network.

»» Rick Gardiner, CEO, iAffiliate Management Techniques and tools to recruit bloggers and small-to-me-

Session 5a - You Oughta Be on YouTube!

dium size affiliates into your program. We’ll share proven

Time: 2:30 pm – 3:00 pm

methods to nurture those partnerships into profitable affili-

Location: Champagne Ballroom 1

ate partnerships.

Experience Level: Intermediate Target Audience: Merchant/Advertiser

38

»» Dave Taylor, Editorial Director, AskDaveTaylor

· Issue 33 · January 2016

Video has become a MUST for online marketing, so where are your videos? How’s your YouTube channel doing? I’ll show you how to make quick and dirty videos and upload

Niche/Vertical: China Networking Plus or Networking (Session Tickets Required), VIP & All Access Pass Holders

them for maximum benefit!

Experience Level: Beginner Target Audience: Affiliate/Publisher Niche/Vertical: Video Networking Plus or Networking (Session Tickets Required), VIP & All Access Pass Holders

Session 6a - Success Not Secrets: Social Media Brand Building Time: 3:15 pm – 3:45 pm Location: Champagne Ballroom 1 »» Karen Garcia, Co-founder, Lab 6 Media

Session 5b - Scaling the Great Wall: Performance Marketing in China Time: 2:30 pm – 3:00 pm Location: Champagne Ballroom 4 »» Patrick Hearon, Director of Sales, HasOffers by TUNE Patrick will share advice on the key issues you’ll need to be aware of before entering the Chinese market. He’ll touch on the Great Firewall, transparency, privacy, and more.

Experience Level: Intermediate

Learn the art of nurturing real relationships on social media to grow your business and brand. Discover fresh, actionable content to boost your communications and build your online community.

Experience Level: Intermediate Target Audience: Affiliate/Publisher, Merchant/ Advertiser Niche/Vertical: Social Media Networking Plus or Networking (Session Tickets Required), VIP & All Access Pass Holders

Target Audience: Affiliate/Publisher, Merchant/ Advertiser, Network

39

· Issue 33 · January 2016

Session 6b - Conversion Optimization: Optimize or Die Time: 3:15 pm – 3:45 pm Location: Champagne Ballroom 4 »» Shannon MacLeod, Senior Director, Conversion Optimization, Avangate If you’re not optimizing your website, you are leaking revenue. Learn best practices for CRO, design principles for conversion, and A/B testing methodologies to improve your landing pages.

Experience Level: Beginner Target Audience: Affiliate/Publisher, Merchant/ Advertiser Niche/Vertical: Conversion Networking Plus or Networking (Session Tickets Required), VIP & All Access Pass Holders

40

Session 6c - Boost ROI on Mobile Media: Affiliates, Advertisers & Brands Time: 3:15 pm – 3:45 pm Location: Versailles 1-2 »» Apoorv Soni, Managing Director, MobiVisits Learn the new trends and adapt advanced strategies to make most out of mobile traffic. Includes some of the best kept secrets and several ways to convert your losing campaigns into winners in 2016.

Experience Level: Beginner Target Audience: Affiliate/Publisher, Merchant/ Advertiser Niche/Vertical: Mobile Media Buying Networking Plus or Networking (Session Tickets Required), VIP & All Access Pass Holders

· Issue 33 · January 2016

Session 7a - Out of the Box SEO

Experience Level: Intermediate

Tactics that Will Blow Your Mind

Target Audience: Affiliate/Publisher, Merchant/

Time: 4:00 pm – 4:30 pm Location: Champagne Ballroom 1 »» Ariel Hochstadt, Co-Founder, HostAdvice.com

Advertiser, Network Niche/Vertical: Optimization Networking Plus or Networking (Session Tickets Required), VIP & All Access Pass Holders

Tweak Linkedin to promote your site for free, make any page on your site the most bookmarked compare to competitors, reverse engineer google analytics in your favor, X7 the times your site is shared.

Experience Level: Advanced Target Audience: Affiliate/Publisher, Merchant/ Advertiser Niche/Vertical: SEO Networking Plus or Networking (Session Tickets Required), VIP & All Access Pass Holders

Newcomer Program Meetup Time: 6:30 pm - 7:30 pm Location: Bordeaux The Affiliate Summit Newcomer Program helps connect first-time attendees with Affiliate Summit veterans. Conference veterans volunteer their time to share their past experience 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. (You must be enrolled in the Affiliate Summit New-

Session 7b - Average Affiliate Channel Stats & KPIs- How Do You Stack Up?

comer Program to participate in this event.)

Newcomer Program Participants Only

Time: Time: 4:00 pm – 4:30 pm Location: Champagne Ballroom 4 »» Chad Waite, Marketing Manager, AvantLink Get network-level insight into performance averages on af-

Monday, January 11

Day 2

filiate and program KPIs like AOV, conversion rates, mobile sales, and many more. Find out where you excel and where you can improve.

Experience Level: Beginner Target Audience: Affiliate/Publisher, Merchant/ Advertiser Niche/Vertical: Statistics

Attendee Check-In Time: 7:30 am - 5:00 pm Location: Paris Foyer Pick up your conference badge and attendee bag, and get started with Affiliate Summit.

Networking Plus or Networking (Session Tickets Required), VIP & All Access Pass Holders

Refuel, Rendezvous & Refresh Room Session 7c - Applying Optimization Fundamentals For Major Gains

Time: 7:30 am - 5:00 pm Location: Vendome A

Time: 4:00 pm – 4:30 pm

All attendees are welcome to take advantage of the tables

Location: Versailles 1-2

and WiFi to have meetings, catch up on work, or simply

»» Justin Rondeau, Optimization Manager, Digital Marketer CRO is about research and process, not tactics and hacks.

In this session, you’ll learn the tools and what it takes to

take a break. Coffee and Tea available to those with Refresh Drink Tickets.

Open to All Pass Holders

evaluate campaigns & come up with clever solutions that impact the bottom line.

41

· Issue 33 · January 2016

Press Room Time: 8:30 am - 6:00 pm Location: Burgundy The Press Room is an area reserved for credentialed Press only to grab some desk space, blog, interview, relax, and network.

Press Ribbon Required

Discussing how to implement strategies to dominate a particular niche or industry online. Whether you are a merchant, advertising or affiliate, this session will guide your overall digital strategies.

Experience Level: Intermediate Target Audience: Affiliate/Publisher, Merchant/ Advertiser, Network Niche/Vertical: Marketing Networking Plus or Networking (Session Tickets Required), VIP & All Access Pass Holders

Exhibit Hall Refresh Time: 9:00 am - 10:00 am Location: Rivoli Ballroom Exhibitors may use this time to refresh their booth, catch up with their employees and enjoy a selection of morning pastries and coffee before the Exhibit Hall opens.

Session 8b - SEO: Ask Me Anything Time: 10:00 am – 11:00 am Location: Champagne Ballroom 4 »» Bruce Clay, President, Bruce Clay Inc »» Duane Forrester, VP, Organic Search Operations,

Exhibitor or Sponsor Ribbon Required

Bruce Clay, Inc. »» Stephan Spencer, Co-Author, The Art of SEO

Buffet Breakfast

A combined 50+ years of SEO experience stand on one

Time: 9:00 am - 10:00 am

stage at Affiliate Summit. Bing’s longtime spokesperson

Location: Concorde

Duane Forrester, godfather of SEO Bruce Clay and co-

Buffet Breakfast is open to VIP and All Access pass holders with breakfast tickets only.

author of “The Art of SEO” Stephan Spencer answer your every SEO question.

Experience Level: Intermediate

VIP & All Access Pass Holders with Meal Tickets Only

Target Audience: Affiliate/Publisher, Merchant/ Advertiser, Network Niche/Vertical: SEO

Speaker Ready Room Time: 9:00 am - 5:00 pm

Networking Plus or Networking (Session Tickets Required), VIP & All Access Pass Holders

Location: Bordeaux This is a space where speakers can find some quiet, and

Session 8c - The Chemistry of the

run through their presentations one last time to ensure that

Landing Page with Live Critiques

it goes smoothly during their sessions.

Speaker Ribbon Required

Time: 10:00 am – 11:00 am Location: Versailles 3-4 »» Brian Massey, Conversion Scientist, Conversion Sciences LLC

Session 8a - How to Dominate Any Industry Through Digital Marketing Time: 10:00 am – 11:00 am Location: Champagne Ballroom 1 »» Evan Weber, CEO, Experience Advertising

42

There is a chemical formula for landing pages. Brian Massey identifies the elements and catalysts must be present to create a high-converting landing page, then evaluates your examples LIVE. Experience Level: Intermediate

· Issue 33 · January 2016

Target Audience: Affiliate/Publisher, Merchant/ Advertiser Niche/Vertical: Landing Pages Networking Plus or Networking (Session Tickets Required), VIP & All Access Pass Holders

Opening Remarks & Keynote Time: 11:15 am - 12:15 pm Location: Champagne Ballroom 2&3 »» Kim Rowley, Founder, Key Internet Marketing, Inc. »» Kerri Pollard, Former President and Current Advisor, CJ Affiliate by Conversant

Exhibit Hall Open

Open to All Pass Holders

Time: 10:00 am - 5:00 pm Location: Rivoli Ballroom Meet with a wide selection of affiliate programs, networks, affiliate program managers, and vendors. All attendees are welcome.

Open to All Pass Holders

Luncheon Buffet Time: 12:30 pm - 1:45 pm Location: Concorde Lunch is open to VIP and All Access pass holders with lunch tickets only.

VIP & All Access Pass Holders with Meal Tickets Only

43

· Issue 33 · January 2016

Session 9a - Affiliate Activation: 20 Ways to Get Them Cranking

Networking Plus or Networking (Session Tickets Required), VIP & All Access Pass Holders

Time: 2:00 pm – 2:30 pm Location: Champagne Ballroom 1 »» Geno Prussakov, CEO & Founder, AM Navigator LLC Let’s face it; the vast majority of your affiliates are inactive.

It’s paradoxical. You didn’t make them sign up. Discover proven techniques to excite and activate idle affiliates. Q&A

Session 10a - Amazon: Friend or Foe? Amazon’s Role in Affiliate Marketing Time: 2:45 pm – 3:15 pm Location: Champagne Ballroom 1 »» Paul Schroader, President, PS Web Solutions, Inc.

time at the end.

Experience Level: Intermediate Target Audience: Merchant/Advertiser, Network Niche/Vertical: Affiliate Management Networking Plus or Networking (Session Tickets Required), VIP & All Access Pass Holders

With at least 1 in 3 product searches originating on Amazon.com, it simply can’t be ignored. We will discuss the impact Amazon has on Retailers’ online strategy, particularly Affiliate Management.

Experience Level: Intermediate Target Audience: Merchant/Advertiser

Session 9b - Affiliate Adventures in Mobile Commerce Time: 2:00 pm – 2:30 pm

Niche/Vertical: Amazon Networking Plus or Networking (Session Tickets Required), VIP & All Access Pass Holders

Location: Champagne Ballroom 4 »» John Toskey, Global Director, eBay Partner Network Learn about the latest trends and opportunities driving mobile ecommerce growth, how advertisers and networks are maneuvering, and what affiliates can do to make sure they aren’t left in the dust.

Experience Level: Intermediate Target Audience: Affiliate/Publisher Niche/Vertical: Mobile Networking Plus or Networking (Session Tickets Required), VIP & All Access Pass Holders

Session 9c - Digital Marketer’s Legal Tool Kit Time: 10:00 am – 10:30am Location: Versailles 3-4 »» Slade Cutter, Member, Wittliff Cutter

Session 10b - Best Practices for Managing a Virtual Workforce Time: 2:45 pm – 3:15 pm Location: Champagne Ballroom 4 »» Rachel Honoway, CEO, FMTC Let’s talk about the challenges you face in managing a team of people scattered around the globe. I’ll share my successes and failures and offer you advice on what might work for your unique business.

Experience Level: Intermediate Target Audience: Affiliate/Publisher, Merchant/ Advertiser, Network Niche/Vertical: Operations Networking Plus or Networking (Session Tickets Required), VIP & All Access Pass Holders

A high-impact overview of the law of advertising as it relates to digital marketers. Session attendees will receive an in-depth advertising law reference booklet.

Experience Level: Beginner Target Audience: Affiliate/Publisher, Merchant/ Advertiser, Network Niche/Vertical: Legal

44

Session 10c - Processes & Techniques for Managing a FTC & CFPB Program Time: 2:45 pm – 3:15 pm Location: Versailles 3-4 »» Dave Naffziger, CEO, BrandVerity

· Issue 33 · January 2016

Marketing a financial service—be it a bank, a loan, or a credit

ney of user experience from an SEO’s viewpoint and leave

card—is never straightforward. Learn some best practices

you with an action plan.

around managing a FTC and CFPB program in this informative talk.

Experience Level: Intermediate Target Audience: Affiliate/Publisher, Merchant/

Experience Level: Beginner

Advertiser, Network

Target Audience: Merchant/Advertiser

Niche/Vertical: SEO

Niche/Vertical: Compliance Networking Plus or Networking (Session Tickets Required), VIP & All Access Pass Holders

Networking Plus or Networking (Session Tickets Required), VIP & All Access Pass Holders

Session 11b - How to Use Social Media to Session 11a - A Human’s Guide to the Insane World of SEO Time: 3:30 pm – 4:00 pm Location: Champagne Ballroom 1 »» Shannon K. Steffen, Founder & CEO, Daymark Digital

Achieve Expert Fame in Any Niche Time: 3:30 pm – 4:00 pm Location: Champagne Ballroom 4 »» E. Brian Rose, Founder, JVZoo E. Brian Rose shares proven techniques on how anyone can

Find yourself arguing whether or not human influence is im-

achieve Expert Fame in a short time. Whether you are an

portant to SEO? Shannon will talk through a strategic jour-

affiliate or product creator, this talk shows you how to gain authority in any niche.

45

· Issue 33 · January 2016

Experience Level: Intermediate Target Audience: Affiliate/Publisher, Merchant/ Advertiser Niche/Vertical: Social Media Networking Plus or Networking (Session Tickets Required), VIP & All Access Pass Holders

Session 11c - Using Data to Improve Your Recruiting Strategies Time: 3:30 pm – 4:00 pm Location: Versailles 3-4 »» Van Chappell, Founder/CEO, 5IQ Learn how to use data to improve your recruiting. Topics covered will include using competitor, network and category data to find affiliates. The session will conclude with a case study using real world data to help you craft your own

46

recruiting strategy.

Experience Level: Intermediate Target Audience: Merchant/Advertiser, Network Niche/Vertical: Recruiting Networking Plus or Networking (Session Tickets Required), VIP & All Access Pass Holders

Session 12a - Ways to Increase Email Open Rates With Segmentation Time: 4:15 pm – 4:45 pm Location: Champagne Ballroom 1 »» Matthew Wolosz, VP of Sales, XVerify Strategic segmentation guarantees email marketers to increase open rates and gross more revenues; while delivering better content, less opt outs, and a better user experience to subscribers.

· Issue 33 · January 2016

Experience Level: Intermediate Target Audience: Affiliate/Publisher, Merchant/ Advertiser, Network Niche/Vertical: Email Networking Plus or Networking (Session Tickets Required), VIP & All Access Pass Holders

Ask the Experts Roundtables Time: 5:00 pm - 6:00 pm Location: Champagne Ballroom 2&3 »» Kim Rowley, Founder, Key Internet Marketing, Inc. »» Todd Boullion, GM, UnsubCentral »» Deborah Carney, Consultant, BookGoodies/Team Loxly »» Daryl Colwell, SVP, Matomy Media Group

Session 12b - Why Your Affiliate Program Is Obsolete & How to Fix It Time: 4:15 pm – 4:45 pm Location: Champagne Ballroom 4 »» Robert Glazer, Founder & Managing Director, Acceleration

»» Christoph H. Hermes, Founder & CEO, Global Rhapsody GmbH »» Cristian Miculi, Senior Manager, Allliances, Avangate »» Vinny O’Hare, President, Vincent O’Hare Consulting »» Stephanie Robbins, CEO, Robbins Interactive »» Jace Vernon, Owner, YINC

Partners »» 8 Ways to Use Your Content Again to Drive New Traffic Merchants often operate costly programs full of fraud and off-brand promotion that fail to capitalize on new opportunities in mobile and attribution. Learn how to take your pro-

»» Building, Buying, Maintaining and Segmenting Your Email Data »» How to Choose an Email Affiliate in Four Steps

gram to the next level.

Experience Level: Intermediate Target Audience: Merchant/Advertiser Niche/Vertical: Program Management Networking Plus or Networking (Session Tickets Required), VIP & All Access Pass Holders

Session 12c - 7 Ways to Double Your Affiliate Sales Next Month Time: 4:15 pm – 4:45 pm Location: Versailles 3-4 »» Dush Ramachandran, President & CEO, The Net Momentum Dush outlines seven simple practical and actionable steps any product owner can take today to double affiliate sales in the next 30 days – a must for any product owner with an affiliate program.

Experience Level: Intermediate Target Audience: Merchant/Advertiser Niche/Vertical: Affiliates Networking Plus or Networking (Session Tickets Required), VIP & All Access Pass Holders

47

· Issue 33 · January 2016

»» Tweaking Affiliate Programs for Maximum Torque »» How Video Marketing Can Drive Traffic, Leads, And Customers »» The Mobile Revolution 2.0 »» 10 Things To Do With Your Blog Post After Writing It. »» Best Blogger Tools for Affiliate Conversions Networking Plus or Networking (Session Tickets Required), VIP & All Access Pass Holders

Day 3 Tuesday, January 12

Exhibit Hall Refresh Time: 9:00 am - 10:00 am Location: Rivoli Ballroom Exhibitors may use this time to refresh their booth, catch up with their employees and enjoy a selection of morning pastries and coffee before the Exhibit Hall opens.

Exhibitor or Sponsor Ribbon Required

Buffet Breakfast Time: 9:00 am - 10:00 am Location: Concorde

Attendee Check-In Time: 8:00 am - 3:00 pm Location: Paris Foyer

Buffet Breakfast is open to VIP and All Access pass holders with breakfast tickets only.

VIP & All Access Pass Holders with Meal Tickets Only

Pick up your conference badge and attendee bag, and get started with Affiliate Summit.

Open to All Pass Holders

Speaker Ready Room Time: 9:00 am - 2:00 pm Location: Bordeaux

Refuel, Rendezvous & Refresh Room Time: 8:00 am - 4:00 pm Location: Vendome A All attendees are welcome to take advantage of the tables

This is a space where speakers can find some quiet, and run through their presentations one last time to ensure that it goes smoothly during their sessions.

Speaker Ribbon Required

and WiFi to have meetings, catch up on work, or simply take a break. Coffee and Tea available to those with Refresh Drink Tickets.

Session 13a - How to Leverage Incrementally in the Affiliate Channel

Open to All Pass Holders

Time: 10:00 am – 11:00 am Location: Champagne Ballroom 1

Press Room Time: 8:30 am - 4:00 pm Location: Burgundy The Press Room is an area reserved for credentialed Press

»» Todd Crawford, VP, Impact Radius »» Courtney Pearson, Sr. Manager, Affiliate Marketing, Ovative Group »» Steven Tazic, Director of Media, Rise Interactive, Inc. »» Christopher Weston, Affiliate Manager, Cabela’s

only to grab some desk space, blog, interview, relax, and network.

Panel will discuss how advertisers can determine what in-

Press Ribbon Required

crementally means to them and how to leverage the data to

48

demonstrate value and add growth in the affiliate channel.

· Issue 33 · January 2016

Experience Level: Advanced

Experience Level: Intermediate

Target Audience: Affiliate/Publisher, Merchant/

Target Audience: Affiliate/Publisher, Merchant/

Advertiser

Advertiser

Niche/Vertical: Incrementally

Niche/Vertical: Collaboration

Networking Plus or Networking (Session Tickets Required), VIP & All Access Pass Holders

Networking Plus or Networking (Session Tickets Required), VIP & All Access Pass Holders

Session 13b - Affiliates & Affiliate

Session 13c - Managing Blogger Expectations:

Managers: Partners or Adversaries?

Impressions vs. Conversions

Time: 10:00 am – 11:00am

Time: 10:00 am – 11:00am

Location: Champagne Ballroom 4

Location: Versailles 3-4

»» Cindy Ballard, VP of Operations, Greg Hoffman Consulting »» Tricia Meyer, Owner, Sunshine Rewards

»» Christen Moynihan, Editorial and Accounts Manager, The Broke-Ass Bride »» Trisha Lyn Fawver, Affiliate Program Manager, Snow

How can affiliate managers and affiliates work together but also maintain the necessary boundaries? Where do their interests overlap and where do they diverge? What does each have to offer the other?

Consulting, Inc. »» Mindy Marzec, Owner, Mindy Joy Media »» Carolyn West, Campaign Leader/Blogger, This Talk Ain’t Cheap

49

· Issue 33 · January 2016

Affiliate Managers & Brand Managers all want to work with bloggers - but they want different things! Learn how to best work with brands & affiliate programs to optimize your monetization strategy.

Experience Level: Intermediate Target Audience: Affiliate/Publisher Niche/Vertical: Bloggers Networking Plus or Networking (Session Tickets Required), VIP & All Access Pass Holders

Pinnacle Awards, Opening Remarks & Keynote Time: 11:15 am - 12:15 pm Location: Champagne Ballroom 2&3 »» Kim Rowley, Founder, Key Internet Marketing, Inc. »» Shawn Collins, Co-Founder, Affiliate Summit »» Missy Ward, Co-Founder & President, Affiliate Summit »» Greg Gifford, Director of Search and Social, DealerOn The tenth annual Affiliate Summit Pinnacle Awards will be presented. These awards recognize exceptional perfor-

Exhibit Hall Open Time: 10:00 am - 4:00 pm

mance in affiliate marketing.

Open to All Pass Holders

Location: Rivoli Ballroom Meet with a wide selection of affiliate programs, networks, affiliate program managers, and vendors. All attendees are

Luncheon Buffet

welcome.

Time: 12:30 pm - 1:45 pm

Open to All Pass Holders

Location: Concorde

50

· Issue 33 · January 2016

Lunch is open to VIP and All Access pass holders with

Session 14c - 10 Useful Affiliate

lunch tickets only.

Recruitment Strategies That Work

VIP & All Access Pass Holders with Meal Tickets Only

Time: 2:00 pm – 2:30 pm Location: Versailles 3-4 »» Sarah Bundy, Founder & CEO, All Inclusive Marketing

Session 14a - 5 Musts For Mobile Ad Campaign Success Time: 2:00 pm – 2:30 pm Location: Champagne Ballroom 1 »» Dale Carr, Founder & CEO, Leadbolt These tips from the front-lines are proven strategies that marketers can practice to ensure their mobile ad campaigns are set up for success.

Finding good affiliate partners can be a challenge. Learn 10 recruitment strategies, tools & tactics that reach, engage & convert partners for more profitable & sustainable affiliate program growth.

Experience Level: Intermediate Target Audience: Merchant/Advertisers Niche/Vertical: Affiliate Managment Networking Plus or Networking (Session Tickets Required), VIP & All Access Pass Holders

Experience Level: Intermediate Target Audience: Affiliate/Publisher, Merchant/ Advertiser Niche/Vertical: Mobile Networking Plus or Networking (Session Tickets Required), VIP & All Access Pass Holders

Networking Pub Crawl Time: 2:00 pm - 4:00 pm Location: Rivoli Ballroom Refer to your Pub Crawl map of participating sponsors and visit each one for great networking opportunities and, of

Session 14b - The Case for CPC in Email Publishing and Advertising Time: 2:00 pm – 2:30 pm

course, free beer. All attendees welcome.

Open to All Pass Holders

Location: Champagne Ballroom 4 »» Yancy Naughton, Founder, HasTraffic WantsTraffic

1 on 1 Speaker Q&A Time: 2:00 pm - 4:00 pm

Find out why more and more publishers and advertisers are buying and selling their email traffic through CPC model, as opposed to the legacy CPA model.

Experience Level: Intermediate Target Audience: Affiliate/Publisher, Merchant/ Advertiser, Network Niche/Vertical: Traffic Networking Plus or Networking (Session Tickets Required), VIP & All Access Pass Holders

Location: Vendome B »» Kim Rowley, Founder, Key Internet Marketing, Inc. Speakers from the three days of the conference will be available for ten minute meetings on a first-come firstserved basis.

Networking Plus or Networking (Session Tickets Required), VIP & All Access Pass Holders

51

· Issue 33 · January 2016

Keynote Bio Kerri Pollard

J

oining affiliate marketing company, Be Free, in 1999,

eventual merger with CJ in 2003, Kerri assumed the helm of the

Kerri possesses sixteen years of industry experience.

combined companies in 2007. Under Kerri’s leadership as Presi-

Having started her affiliate marketing career as a cli-

dent, the CJ Marketplace grew to over 3,000 advertisers, 70,000

ent account manager, she found her passion with publishers

active publishers, and according to Internet Retailer, is the num-

in the creation of the CJ Performer solution, the industry’s first

ber one affiliate marketing provider “by a long shot.” At the onset

publisher development and recognition program. Following Be

of 2015, Kerri made the difficult decision to step down as CJ’s

Free’s acquisition by Conversant (fka, ValueClick) in 2002 and

President and currently operates in an advisory capacity.

52

· Issue 33 · January 2016

Keynote Bio Greg Gifford

G

reg Gifford is the Director of Search and Social at

to show up higher in local search rankings. Greg also spends

DealerOn, a software company that provides web-

his time doing freelance website design and SEO for local

sites and online marketing to new car dealers all

businesses. He graduated from Southern Methodist Univer-

over the country. He’s got over 16 years of online marketing

sity with a BA in Cinema and Communications, and has an

and web design experience, and he speaks internationally at

obscure movie quote for just about any situation. He currently

both automotive and SEO conferences, teaching thousands

serves as a member of the Board of Directors for the DF-

of small business owners and marketers how to get their sites

WSEM, an organization dedicated to promoting search engine marketing through best practices.

53

· Issue 33 · January 2016

Speaker Bios Syed Balkhi

Syed Balkhi is the founder of WPBeginner and List25

an extremely popular entertainment site with over 1 million subscribers and 150 Million video views. Syed’s work

Moms in Social Media” by Working Mother Magazine. You can follower her on Twitter at @momfluential.

Debbie Bookstaber

Debbie Bookstaber is the President of Element As-

has been featured in NYTimes, HuffingtonPost, Yahoo

sociates, where she leads integrated social media, affili-

Small Business, Wired, Mashable, and countless other

ate marketing, PR and blogger outreach campaign for her

well-reputed online magazines.

clients. Debbie brings a unique perspective to projects

Cindy Ballard

based on her experience as both an affiliate manager and

Cindy Ballard is VP of Operations for Greg Hoffman

com and Bloganthropy.org, Debbie was recognized as

Consulting. She received her Certified Affiliate Manager

one of the “Top 25 Parent Bloggers Who Are Changing

certification in 2011 and has been with Greg Hoffman

the World” by Babble.com in 2012 and as a “Best of the

Consulting since 2010. Prior to her position at GHC she

Net” Blogger by Working Mother Magazine in 2013. Deb-

was the Marketing Specialist for Sunshine Rewards

bie has over a dozen years of marketing experience at

where she started her affiliate marketing career. She is

brands such as Expedia and Travelocity. She has man-

also an avid blogger for her own blog sites oldfartlife.com

aged online marketing programs responsible for several

and her rescue site adoptapet.com/pawesomevillage.

hundred million dollars in annual sales. Debbie has ad-

She has two daughters, seven grandchildren, and a house

vised PR firms and Fortune 500 companies on blogger

full of dogs, cats, and horses.

relations and effective social media strategies, and she

Jackie Bates

serves as the Director of Social Media for Child’s Play

keting leadership experience at LinkConnector. She’s

Todd Boullion

Jackie is a zealous marketer with nine years of mar-

been with the company since they opened doors in 2004, loyal to the power of LC’s visionary technology like online

a successful blogger. As the blogger behind Mamanista.

Communications in New York, NY. Follow her on Twitter @buzzmommy.

Todd is currently the president of UnsubCentral,

attribution and coupon compliance capabilities. As Direc-

which is a software solutions company that helps For-

tor of Marketing, she drives PR and marketing strategy

tune 1000 advertisers comply with federal anti-spam

for new LC technologies and features and also works di-

laws. Prior to Todd’s role at UnsubCentral, he spent over

rectly with key LC customers to maximize their growth

10 years at Dell in functions spanning finance, online,

using LC’s platform. Jackie has a background and love

product marketing, communications, product manage-

of all things content, search and social. She has broad

ment and global operations. His first role was the busi-

experience in activating and energizing brand awareness.

ness analyst on Dell’s pioneering E-Business team, where

Jackie holds a B.A. in Journalism and Mass Communica-

they generated over $50MM in revenue a day via online

tion from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

channels. His last role was leading a Global Commercial

Offline, she teaches Hot Hatha yoga and loves rough-

Marketing team co-located in the US & EU, responsible

housing with her two sons.

for creating and executing worldwide plans to drive mar-

Ciaran Blumenfeld

ket share across all commercial offerings. Prior to Dell,

Ciaran Blumenfeld is the co-founder of http://Hash-

ated magna cum laude with a B.B.A. in Finance from the

tracking.com and Publisher at http://Momfluential.Net.

M.J. Neeley School of Business at Texas Christian Univer-

She has been named as one of the “15 Most Powerful

sity and has a minor in Political Science.

54

Todd had a career in commercial banking. Todd gradu-

· Issue 33 · January 2016

Sarah Bundy

bolt was also named “Most Innovative Company of the

strategist, performance marketing specialist, consultant,

Kelby Carr

Sarah Bundy is an award winning digital marketing

trainer & author. She is founder & CEO of All Inclusive Marketing, a full service performance marketing agency

Year” by Best in Biz International, and accepted the Gold Stevie Award for “Technology Company of the Year”.

Kelby Carr is the founder and publisher of Type-A

delivering innovative, experience driven results. She is

Parent. She also is the organizer of the Type-A Parent

ranked in the Top 40 Digital Marketing Strategists of 2012

Conference. She is the author of Pinterest For Dummies

and Top 25 Affiliate Marketing Bloggers of 2012. Sarah’s

and Pinterest Marketing For Dummies. You can follow her

clients range from e-commerce startups to billion dol-

on Twitter at @typeamom.

lar global corporations such as Best Buy, Sea World and

Van Chappell

Sandals Resorts. She has won over a dozen awards, is an international speaker and contributes to periodicals such

Van Chappell is the founder of 5IQ, a platform for re-

as FeedFront Magazine, Small Business Trends and Reve-

cruiting affiliates. 5IQ is used by merchants and agencies

news.com. Sarah actively contributes to several boards

to help them recruit great affiliates. Van first began work-

and advisory councils and is considered a thought leader

ing in Affiliate Marketing in 2009 when he joined Brand-

amongst her peers. She teaches at the Online Marketing

Verity as the VP of Sales. Prior to Affiliate Marketing, Van

Institute and The School of Internet Marketing, and is in

spent a number of years in the US Navy and working in

the process of publishing her first book entitled “The Art

the Healthcare IT industry. He has 3 children and a beau-

of Performance Marketing”.

tiful wife. The family calls Seattle home.

Deborah Carney

John Chow

Affiliate Management & Consulting and BookGoodies.

munity, Ultimate Fighting Championship contestant,

com. A successful Outsourced Program Manager, past in-

member of the Save the Whales Foundation, the man

house affiliate manager & consultant for many networks

who controls the black market on baby seal pelts and

& companies, Deborah’s experiences have brought her to

member of the “probably yo’ daddy” foundation.

Deborah Carney is founder of Team Loxly Outsourced

John Chow, a damn fine person, friend of the com-

a point to start sharing new information with affiliates to help them repurpose their content into books that teach or entertain & generate new traffic for their sites. Deborah founded BookGoodies.com where writers can connect with readers & learn to create successful books plus market those books. This successful community is growing rapidly to enable authors to collaborate, brainstorm & grow their audience.

Dale Carr

Dale Carr is the founder and CEO of Leadbolt, the

next generation mobile marketing platform delivering high-performance advertising for premium advertisers and app developers. Recently named by Ernst & Young as Australian “Entrepreneur of the Year” for Technology, he is a recognized industry expert and has been a leader in the technology, mobile and digital advertising industries for over 15 years. Today Leadbolt serves 10 billion mobile ads a month, across 65,000 apps in 165 countries. Leadbolt’s Direct Deals Marketplace was recently named “Best New Product” by The Australian Business Association. Lead-

55

· Issue 33 · January 2016

Bruce Clay

Todd Crawford

Inc., a global Internet marketing optimization firm provid-

President, Strategic Initiatives. He has been instrumen-

ing search engine optimization, pay per click manage-

tal in forging and managing relationships with many of

ment, social media marketing, conversion rate optimiza-

the company’s flagship advertisers, agencies, and media

tion, SEO-friendly web design and architecture, content

partners. Todd evangelizes a multi-channel approach to

development, and SEO tools and education. As an indus-

the performance model, and is a frequent speaker at key

try thought leader, he is an accomplished speaker, author

industry events. Previously, Todd was VP Business Devel-

and educator. He hosts a weekly podcast, SEM Synergy,

opment at Digital River’s affiliate network, OneNetwork-

covering search marketing news and analysis for digital

Direct, where he guided strategic initiatives and industry

marketers. His book “Search Engine Optimization All-In-

relations. In the late 1990’s, Todd helped birth the modern

One For Dummies,” published by Wiley, is now in its third

affiliate marketing industry as co-founder and VP Busi-

edition.

ness Development of Commission Junction. Todd won

Shawn Collins

the 2007 Affiliate Marketing Legend award. Todd holds a

1997. He is a Co-founder of Affiliate Summit, the leading

Slade Cutter

Bruce Clay is founder and president of Bruce Clay,

Shawn Collins has been an affiliate marketer since

global conference and tradeshow for the affiliate marketing industry, and Co-Editor-in-Chief of FeedFront Maga-

Todd is a co-founder of Impact Radius and Vice

bachelor of arts degree from the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities.

Slade Cutter is a veteran digital marketing attorney

zine. He has authored the books “Affiliate Manager Boot

who has represented large online advertising networks

Camp“, “Extra Money Answer“, “How to Get the Most from

(desktop and mobile), website and mobile app developers,

Exhibiting at Conferences”, “How to Get the Most Out of

affiliates, agencies, publishers, and technology providers.

Attending a Conference”, and “Successful Affiliate Mar-

Among other things, Slade frequently drafts and negoti-

keting for Merchants“. Also, he co-publishes the annual

ates network advertising agreements, software licensing

AffStat affiliate marketing benchmark reports. Shawn

agreements, and content distribution agreements. Slade

blogs daily on affiliate marketing at AffiliateTip.com, and

is also a Certified Information Privacy Professional (CIPP)

hosts the weekly podcast, 7 Minutes in Affiliate Heaven,

and recognized expert in privacy matters.

on GeekCast.fm. Additionally, Shawn has been quoted

Helen Fang

in numerous publications, including Entrepreneur Magazine, Internet Retailer, Inc. Magazine, the New York Times,

Helen Fang is well-versed marketer with a back-

and the Wall Street Journal.

ground and passion for SEO, affiliate, and content for both

Daryl Colwell

B2B and B2C companies. She’s on a mission to create,

Daryl Colwell is senior vice president of business

the way we shop. Helen’s been a part of the affiliate com-

development and sales at Matomy Media Group. Adver-

munity since 2007, when she helped launched a coupon

tiser partnerships he secured for Matomy include blue-

and deal site as a “side project” for Vendio, a company

chip marketers American Express, HSBC and Nielsen.

acquired by Alibaba.com. She’s been hooked ever since

He joined Matomy in January 2013 following the acqui-

and remains a huge advocate for the power of the coupon

sition of performance media agency MediaWhiz, where

site. At Coupons.com, Helen serves as General Manager,

he served in a similar capacity. Previously, he held senior

responsible for leading the business strategy and market-

management and sales roles at Relevance-X, the online

ing for in-store and online initiatives helping Specialty Re-

behavioral and life-stage targeting division of Acxiom,

tailers on Coupons.com expose their offers to over 17MM

and digital advertising agency SilverCarrot. Daryl earned

unique visitors each month. Helen is a proud Cal Bear,

a BA in psychology at the University of Texas.

mom to two rescued pups, and can’t decide whether her

build, and market consumer web products to improve

best social media moment was when Dave Mathews or Matt Cutts tweeted at her.

56

· Issue 33 · January 2016

Trisha Lyn Fawver

Rick Gardiner

2006 at PsPrint.com and grew their affiliate program

an affiliate management agency that helps companies

exponentially. She then moved on to the life of an out-

increase revenue and improve their return on ad spend

sourced program manager to grow several affiliate pro-

through strategic affiliate partnerships. Rick has over

grams to six and seven figure status. Trisha has spoken

10 years of performance marketing and eCommerce ex-

at essential conferences such as Affiliate Summit, Social

perience and is responsible for finding and developing

Media Marketing Summit, and Affiliate Convention. She

partners that align with client needs and the agencies

has given back to the Affiliate Marketing community in

core values. Prior to iAffiliate Management, Rick worked

the form of mentoring programs, mastermind groups,

on the network side and was instrumental in growing

podcasts, contribution to books, and articles appearing

oneNetworkDirect—Digital River’s flagship affiliate net-

on Marketing Pilgrim and in FeedFront Magazine. Fawver

work. His tenure there enabled him to work with brands

graduated from Humboldt State University in 2003 with

like Symantec, Microsoft Store, Uniblue, PC Tools, avast!,

a BA in Theatre Arts (Dramatic Writing Emphasis) and a

Targus, Roxio, Logitech, and Trend Micro. Rick holds a

minor in Media Studies. She uses these super powers to

B.S. in Communications and Marketing from the Univer-

win costume contests.

sity of Minnesota where he was a member of the Univer-

Duane Forrester

sity of Minnesota men’s swim team and Pi Kappa Alpha

Trisha began as an in-house affiliate manager in

Duane Forrester is the Vice President of Organic

Search Operations, overseeing SEO work, content and social media. Prior to moving to Bruce Clay, Inc., Duane was

Rick Gardiner is the CEO of iAffiliate Management,

fraternity

Robert Glazer

Robert Glazer, founder and managing director of Ac-

a Sr. Product Manager with Bing’s Webmaster Program

celeration Partners, is a customer acquisition specialist

and the inhouse SEM running the SEO program for MSN

with an exceptional track record in growing revenue and

in the US & Americas earlier in his Microsoft career. He’s

profits for fast-growing consumer products and services

also the founding co-chair of SEMPO’s In-House SEM

companies. His clients include Adidas, eBay, ModCloth,

Committee, was formerly on the Board of Directors for

Warby Parker, the Honest Company, Reebok, Shutterfly,

SEMPO, founded the SEMPO Salary Survey and is the au-

Target, Gymboree, Tiny Prints, and many other consumer

thor of two books: How To Make Money With Your Blog &

brands. In 2014, Acceleration Partners drove more than

Turn Clicks Into Customers. He’s written for publications

$500 million in online revenue for its clients and ranked

ranging from SearchEngineLand and DuctTape Market-

#486 on the prestigious 2015 Inc. 500 list. The company

ing, to Entrepreneur Magazine, the New York Times and

is also the 2015 recipient of the Affiliate Summit Pinnacle

Inc. He actively advises startups and large corporations,

Award for Agency of the Year and is a past recipient for

and even spent time advising the staff who maintain the

Affiliate Program of the Year. In addition to speaking at

White House’s websites.

industry events like ad:tech, Affiliate Summit, DMA, IRCE,

Karen Garcia

and Shop.org, he has published over seventy-five articles

Karen Garcia has sixteen years of experience in e-

commerce and marketing. Since 1999, she has consulted on and profitably managed dozens of affiliate programs

on marketing, strategy, leadership, and entrepreneurship.

Patrick Hearon

As Director of Sales at HasOffers, Patrick is passion-

on many different network platforms ranging from large

ate about encouraging people and driving growth. Patrick

national brands to niche merchants. She was awarded

is responsible for the innovative and exceptional busi-

the 2009 ShareASale “Pay It Forward” Award for Industry

ness development that leads the performance tracking

Advocate for her work, speaks often at conferences, and

industry. He joined the TUNE team in 2009, coming from

has many published industry articles. She also served on

a background in technology sales as well as a stint cast-

the Board of Directors for the Performance Marketing As-

ing reality TV shows. Patrick is a Puyallup, Washington

sociation for three terms as an officer.

native, he holds an MBA from California Lutheran Univer-

57

· Issue 33 · January 2016

sity with an emphasis in Organizational Development and

lishers, and software and data providers, and her practice

Leadership and a Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology from

covers all federal and state consumer protection and pri-

Pacific Lutheran University.

vacy laws and regulations. Ms. Hirsch focuses her prac-

Michelle Held

tice counseling clients on how to implement measures

Michelle is an entrepreneur, author and philanthro-

against the government, Ms. Hirsch and Ifrah PLLC have

pist involved in digital marketing for over 18 years. She

achieved a string of victories for their clients in federal

earned a Bachelor’s degree in Engineering from Rensse-

and state enforcement actions. Ms. Hirsch is a regular

laer Polytechnic Institute. Her company, MetroNY, LLC,

contributor to her firm’s blog, www.ftcbeat.com, where

specializes in customized web programming, search

she writes about issues affecting online marketers.

engine optimization and social media services. Michelle

Ariel Hochstadt

serves as a consultant to clients on topics such as digital marketing and project management. As a speaker,

to reduce their exposure to liability. Often litigating cases

Ariel Hochstadt, Ex-Googler - former Gmail Market-

she conducts seminars and training sessions on online

ing Manager globally and Regional Marketing Manager for

marketing and web technologies. Michelle was recently a

Israel, Greece and South Africa. Today, Hochstadt is the

featured speaker at the NY NOW Gift Show, Pubcon, and

co-founder of hostadvice.com, a web hosting comparison

Affiliate Summit East. She is the author of “Pinterest Tu-

site in over 30 languages. Ariel is a successful internation-

torial” and the upcoming “Build Your Business Presence

al speaker and has spoken in more than 15 countries for

Online.” Follow Michelle on her blogs, metrony.com and

Google and independently as SEO Expert. Ariel will reveal

pintalk.net. Connect with Michelle on Twitter (@metrony

the secrets he is using to promote his own ventures, and

or @pintalknet).

the tactics that are still rarely used by SEO experts.

Christoph Hermes

Rachel Honoway

ing Partner of Global Rhapsody, has more than fifteen

datafeed and tool provider and growing business that

years of experience in the telecommunication and mobile

operates as a 100% virtual company. She is a member

Internet market. Christoph has been a welcomed speaker

of the PMA Board of Directors and has been in the in-

and moderator of panels at several international affiliate,

dustry since the late 90’s helping merchants launch new

entertainment, and telecommunication shows in Europe

programs, assisting affiliates in starting their businesses

and the USA during this years to share his experience in

and has been a part of developing technologies that help

the market. The topics of that contents mostly themes

both sides maximize their results from the channel.

within the mobile industry like where is the mobile indus-

Kenny Hyder

Mr. Christoph Hermes (45), Founder, CEO & Manag-

try developing in - mobile traffic and its chances; changes in the mobile world, from featured phones and black and

Rachel is the CEO of FMTC, a premier affiliate

Kenny Hyder has been helping businesses with their

white to multifunctional and always on; and services and

online and SEO strategies since 2004. Originally starting

success in the mobile industry - is it all the same? Mobile

as an in-house SEO, Kenny eventually branched out to

around the globe. He graduated with a university degree

start his own internet marketing business. His first busi-

in business management and economics at the Univer-

ness was eventually bought out by a much larger internet

sity of Applied Sciences (FH) in Düsseldorf, Germany and

marketing firm. Today he runs Hyder Media, servicing cli-

The Nottingham Trend University - Business School in

ents in the areas of: SEO, social media & ORM. His experi-

Nottingham, England.

ence has led him to work with some of the largest brands

Rachel Hirsch

online, including several Fortune 500 companies – help-

Rachel Hirsch is an attorney at the Washington

also a speaker at some of the largest internet marketing

D.C.-based law firm of Ifrah PLLC. Ms. Hirsch is an ex-

conferences including: Pubcon, SMX, Blogworld, Affiliate

perienced litigator, counseling clients on compliance with

Summit, & DMA.

federal and state consumer regulations. Her clients include, among others, affiliate networks, advertisers, pub-

58

ing them with their search marketing strategies. Kenny is

· Issue 33 · January 2016

Zac Johnson

30% for several clients. Before joining Avangate, she man-

online designing web site banners for $1 each. A self-

tems and AVG Technologies.

taught entrepreneur, Zac’s been making money online

Mindy Marzec

At the age of 15, Zac Johnson began making money

for nearly 20 years and has been involved in nearly every facet of affiliate and online marketing. One of Zac’s many

aged eCommerce, Affiliate Marketing and CRO programs for software companies Absolute Software, ACD Sys-

Mindy is a blogger, freelance writer, and social media

successes includes his story of “How I Made $860,538.38

consultant at Mindy Joy Media. She is a lifelong Disney

Profit in 4 Months!” from one web site, which can be

junkie and decided to turn that passion into a career be-

read at his blog at ZacJohnson.com. Zac continues to

cause, why not? She writes about Disney themed wed-

focus on his blog, where he provides readers with first-

dings, parties, fashion, and breaking news at Inspired-

hand accounts of his experiences, successes & failures.

ByDis.com, and whatever else seems interesting at the

In addition to his own success stories, Zac reviews af-

moment at BudgetFairyTale.com. When she’s not at Dis-

filiate networks and informs readers how & where they

neyland, Mindy enjoys yoga and eating (but not necessar-

should be making new money. Zac’s social reach and site

ily in that order). Feel free to buy her a drink if you see her.

traffic is now over 100,000 strong and has referred over

Brian Massey

$5,000,000 in new business to his advertisers and network partners. You can also listen to Zac’s new podcast

Brian Massey is a Conversion Scientist™ and he has

“Rise of the Entrepreneur” on iTunes and connect with

the lab coat to prove it. He is the founder of website op-

Zac through his new online training community at Blog-

timization company Conversion Sciences and author of

ging.org.

the book “Your Customer Creation Equation: Unexpected

Hanna Kassis

Website Formulas of The Conversion Scientist.” His rare

Hanna Kassis is the founder and CEO of OAREX Cap-

developed over 20 years as a, computer programmer,

ital Markets, Inc., a financing institution that funds major

corporate marketer and entrepreneur. He appears in his

web publishers by advancing them their digital advertis-

trademark lab coat when speaking to corporations, uni-

ing receivables. OAREX - “Online Advertising Revenue

versities, and conference attendees around the world.

Exchange” - has grown to 3 employees and has funded

Tricia Meyer

over 30 web publishers in the US and Canada. Prior to OAREX, Kassis worked as campaign manager and po-

combination of interests, experience and neuroses was

Tricia Meyer (@sunshinetricia) is the Owner of Sun-

litical fundraiser for a US Congressman, taught university

shine Rewards, Helping Moms Connect, and other niche

level economics as an adjunct professor at Youngstown

sites. She frequently speaks and writes about affiliate

State University, worked as a financial analyst at a foreign

marketing topics such as monetizing blogs, affiliate and

stock exchange and published and monetized several

affiliate manager relationships, and the basics of affili-

websites as a hobby. Kassis is a licensed CPA and attor-

ate marketing. She serves on the Board of Directors for

ney, holds a master’s degree in financial economics and

the Performance Marketing Association. She is also a

founded OAREX while attending The John Marshall Law

partner in WineClubGroup.com. Tricia has been a finalist

School in downtown Chicago, IL. He believes that com-

for the Pinnacle Awards for Industry Advocate and was

panies should exist for both profits and social purpose

awarded the Pinnacle Awards for Best Blogger in 2012

and is currently teaching himself coding language Python

and Affiliate of the Year in 2015.

during his down time.

Cristian Miculi

Shannon MacLeod

Cristian is a seasoned professional in the digital

Shannon is the Senior Director of Conversion Opti-

landscape since 2005. He has been in charge with the

mization at Avangate, a modern digital commerce com-

Avangate Affiliate Network since 2008, coordinating its

pany. A digital marketer with 20 years of experience, she

development and growing it many fold both in terms of af-

has grown revenues by boosting conversion rates by over

filiates joining the network as well as the software & SaaS

59

· Issue 33 · January 2016

product catalog. With hands-on experience in affiliate program management, Cristian is currently focused on developing alliances with technology and digital agency

Yancy Naughton

Yancy has been in multi-channel advertising for over

partners in order to maximize the customer lifetime value

20 years, dating back to his founding of NSRS of PA in

that the Avangate clients see. In his spare time, Cristian

1992. He also was the founder and editor of Golfer Mag-

enjoys traveling and playing the piano.

azines and Services, a golf advertising and travel firm

Christen Moynihan

anchored by two print publications. In 2003 he founded

Christen Moynihan (@brokeasschris10) is the Edi-

tant, restructuring the sales strategies of established

torial and Accounts Manager for The Broke-Ass Bride,

companies such as The Real Estate Book, Moose Inter-

a sassy, savvy award-winning wedding blog that helps

national and DFS. In 2009, he expanded Definite Article

brides use their creativity as currency to rock a badass

Publications to Europe and participated in the successful

wedding without breaking the bank. And she’s really good

launches of two Direct Navigation traffic platforms, Ele-

at high-fives.

phant Traffic and ZeroPark. In 2012 he launched his most

Chuck Mullins

successful project to date, HasTraffic.com as true Multi

the internet, built his first profitable website in 1996 at 18

place for Entrepreneurs.

years of age. In college he studied computer software en-

Vinny O’Hare

Chuck, a serial entrepreneur and early pioneer of

gineering which taught him the skills to analyze search results and implement strategies that take advantage of

Definite Article Publications and worked as a consul-

Channel Traffic Exchange. Most recently he acquired a majority stake in Namerific.com a domain brand market-

Vinny O’Hare is the founder of Vincent O’Hare Con-

the observations he makes. Throughout his career of cre-

sulting, (VinnyOHare.com) an internet marketing service

ating, managing, and consulting for dozens of internet-

that provides information on how to make money online

based companies, Chuck has been instrumental in de-

with affiliate programs and optimizing websites. Starting

veloping strategies that lead to growth and profitability.

on the internet in 1999 selling on EBay that lead to making

Among people he works with, Chuck is regarded as “the

websites for other products. Moved on to building niche

idea guy.” He is known for his ability to spot opportunities,

content websites when everyone else was building sexy

create a plan, and execute. After seeing an opportunity

datafeed cookie cutter websites which were hit hard dur-

to leverage his time by acquiring under-performing sites,

ing the Google Florida update. He currently runs around

he has participated in several million dollars’ worth of ac-

30 content filled websites that rank high on search en-

quisitions, which have all shown significant growth and

gines for the niche topic of the websites. The “Prince of

returns.

Content” is a long suffering Atlanta Falcons fan living in

Dave Naffziger

New York City He also enjoys photography and practicing

David Naffziger is CEO of BrandVerity, a firm that pro-

vides technology solutions to affiliate managers to combat trademark abuse and advertising fraud. BrandVerity’s

SEO.

Anne Parris

Anne Parris is a partner in MidlifeBoulevard.com, an

services monitor paid search for abuse by affiliates. Affili-

on-line lifestyle magazine for women over 40. Anne also

ate managers, agencies and networks use BrandVerity’s

manages a community of over a thousand midlife writ-

services to monitor and protect thousands of brands.

ers and bloggers, coordinates blogger/brand campaigns,

Prior to BrandVerity, David was VP of Engineering at Ju-

and is planning the first conference for midlife bloggers. A

dy’s Book, a Seattle-based local search company. Prior to

southern girl to the core, Anne lives in Richmond, Virginia,

Judy’s Book, David co-founded and was Director of Re-

with her family between blogging conferences.

search at Quova prior to its acquisition by Neustar, Inc.

Courtney Pearson

(NYSE: NSR). David received his BS from MIT.

Before joining Ovative/group, Courtney spent time

at LightInTheBox, Sears Holdings, and Google with positions in Business Development and Affiliate Marketing.

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· Issue 33 · January 2016

She has significant experience with launching and optimizing Affiliate campaigns across multiple verticals and is passionate about what Affiliate Marketing can do for

Dush Ramachandran

Dush Ramachandran is President and CEO of The

a Marketing program. Courtney graduated from Western

Net Momentum Corporation, the leading affiliate man-

Illinois University with a degree in Journalism.

agement company and a sought after speaker, author,

Scott Polk

radio show host and regular contributor to a number of

Scott Polk has built his expertise as a knowledge-

Dush served as Vice President of Sales and Business

able and experienced Search Engine Optimization/Inter-

Development at ClickBank where he was responsible

net Marketing strategist for more than 16 years. He con-

for growing the revenues of the company substantially

centrates his resourcefulness and skills on the diversified

in under 6 years. During his time spearheading the sales

aspects of Search Engine Optimization for clients, where

function at ClickBank payouts to ClickBank vendors and

he’s earned the distinction of consistent top rankings in

affiliates reached $1.0 Billion and doubled to $2.0 Billion

all major search engines. Scott is consistently involved

in three years. He is a vocal and active participant in the

in technologies that maximize Conversion, Usability and

Internet marketing industry and has served on the advi-

Accessibility when optimizing & developing large web

sory boards of a number of industry organizations such

sites as well as identifying problems/solutions that result

as Affiliate Summit, and A4U Expo in Europe.

in major cost saving strategies. Highly successful and

John Rampton

respected within the SEO industry, Scott Polk has consulted and been employed by successful internet compa-

publications on entrepreneurial topics. Most recently

Best known as an entrepreneur and connector, John

nies such as: Bruce Clay, Edmunds.com, AT&T Wireless,

was recently listed at #3 on the Top 50 Online Influenc-

ABC News, PGA.com & PGATour.com, Sports Illustrated,

ers in the World by Entrepreneur Magazine, as well as a

Toyota.com, Direct Brands, and numerous others.

blogging expert by Forbes. He was also awarded as one

Geno Prussakov

of the Top 10 Most Influential PPC Experts in the World

Cambridge. He is the CEO & Founder of AM Navigator –

Tom Rathbone

Geno Prussakov is a graduate of the University of

an award-winning OPM agency. As an affiliate program manager and consultant he has contributed to the online

for the past three years. John currently advises several companies in the bay area.

Tom oversees all of Schaaf-PartnerCentric’s new cli-

marketing success of Forbes, Nokia, Hallmark, Warner

ent integrations, program migrations, tracking projects,

Music, Skype, Forex Club, and hundreds of small busi-

and technical strategy. He has overseen more than 150

nesses. Geno authored four books – “A Practical Guide

program launches across all major platforms (any many

to Affiliate Marketing” (2007), “Online Shopping Through

minor ones).

Consumers’ Eyes” (2008), “Affiliate Program Manage-

Adam Riemer

ment: An Hour a Day” (2011), and “A Quick Start Guide to Affiliate Marketing” (2013) – which were translated

Adam is the founder of Adam Riemer Marketing, LLC.

into other languages, and are used as textbooks in nu-

(ARM). Adam has over 10 years of online marketing expe-

merous MBA programs around the world. In 2012 Geno

rience and is the trusted source for strategy, campaign

launched Affiliate Management Days, a conference dedi-

creation & execution for companies from the Fortune

cated to maximizing online marketing efforts via affiliate

500 to mom & pop shops. Adam has spoken and been

programs. In 2013 his “Hour a Day” book received a Small

booked on panels internationally at various conferenc-

Business Books award in the “Classics” category, while

es & events. Some of the topics he has spoken on, and

in 2014 he was named one of North America’s Top 100

some of the services he can offer your company include;

small business influencers.

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

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· Issue 33 · January 2016

& 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

Kim Rowley

Kim Rowley has been in the affiliate marketing space

contact him at adamr (at) adamriemer (dot) me if he can

since 1998 and is the founder of Key Internet Marketing,

help with your marketing.

Inc. What originally began with a hobby of a coupon code

Stephanie Robbins

site has grown into a multitude of websites and niche

Stephanie Robbins connects brands to niche online

com, and ShoeaholicsAnonymous.com. Her expertise

influencers to incrementally grow revenue through affili-

in performance-based marketing has been expanded to

ate programs – without cannibalizing existing sales. She

consult merchants, businesses and publishers on affili-

brings over 20 years of online marketing experience to

ate management options as well. Ms. Rowley has been

the table, including leading the interactive division for a

featured in several publications including USA Today and

nationally acclaimed digital agency. Stephanie is known

Revenue Magazine, and has presented on specific topics

for representing a select few brands that she can au-

of ecommerce entrepreneurship, content creation and

thentically promote, treating each brand like it is her own.

monetization strategies at such events as Affiliate Sum-

She has spent the past 8 years developing relationships

mit, BlogWorld New Media Expo, and Infotec. Kim is also

with over a thousand content affiliates and is passionate

an Adjunct Professor for the University of San Francisco

about helping them create a flexible lifestyle through pas-

teaching Advanced Affiliate Marketing Techniques. Kim

sive income. A known subject matter expert, Stephanie

volunteers her time as a SCORE counselor to share her

has been interviewed on NBC Business Talk Radio, pub-

marketing expertise, and serves as a member of the Affili-

lished in Feedfront Magazine, and spoke at Affiliate Man-

ate Summit Advisory Board, as well as several local civic

agement Days.

organizations. Kim proudly displays her Affiliate Market-

Justin Rondeau

ing Legend Award Trophy that she won at the 2012 Af-

at Digital Marketer. He is a domestic and international

Paul Schroader

Justin is the Conversion Rate Optimization Manager

optimization speaker, works closely with Boston-based ecommerce companies, and has provided hands on

blogs, including ShoppingKim.com, WorkInMyPajamas.

filiate Summit Pinnacle Awards in her home office in the middle of nowhere, aka Nebraska.

Paul has been in Interactive Marketing since 1995

training for several fortune 500 companies. A trainer who

and he has spent the last 15 years focusing on Affiliate

executes hands-on testing and conversion optimization

Marketing. Since founding PS Web Solutions in 2001,

in both B2B and ecommerce, Justin’s goal is to inspire

some of the clients Paul has built successful affiliate pro-

and educate more marketers to optimize their email cam-

grams for include Oreck, Blue Man Group, Wise Company,

paigns, social campaigns and web sites via analysis and

Inc, Temp-tations LLC and Bay Alarm Medical. Paul has

testing. He has analyzed 3,000+ tests across virtually ev-

worked with brands both big and small in pursuit of inte-

ery industry.

grating efficient online advertising techniques into exist-

E. Brian Rose

ing marketing plans. He has helped build very profitable

E. Brian Rose is an expert in the art of self-promotion.

works to stay on top of developing trends. As the Presi-

He is the founder of JVZoo.com, one of the world’s largest

dent and Founder of the Rocky Mountain Affiliate Mar-

affiliate networks, and teaches thousands of students how

keting Association (RMAMA), Paul has helped affiliate

to grow an online following using social media and other

managers and affiliates stay current on industry issues

free resources. Rose has authored two books, Millionaire

by providing a forum for networking since 2003. Paul rec-

Within and Expert Fame, both being released this year by

ognizes affiliate marketing as a tremendous opportunity

Morgan-James Publishing.

for clients and marketers, allowing for an extensive online

online programs for numerous clients and constantly

presence within a set marketing cost structure.

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· Issue 33 · January 2016

Apoorv Soni

Sean Steinmarc

over 6 years. He has been a super affiliate generating mil-

help brands solve digital marketing challenges through a

lions in monthly revenue for some of the top merchants.

combination of games & cause marketing, Sean decided

He has been focused on mobile marketing since 2011

to use the skills he learned for good. An avid social-en-

and he’s an authority on the same. He is the director of

trepreneur, Sean sits on the steering committee for the

MobiVisits (Self-Advertising Platform), a leading Mobile

Wharton Social Impact Initiative, and is currently a mem-

Advertising & Consulting company that caters services

ber of Goodnik and AlleyNYC. A graduate of The Wharton

to several Merchants, Agencies and Brands. Earlier to

School at the University of Pennsylvania, Sean spent the

MobiVisits, he’s headed a highly profitable performance

first eight years of his career in financial services leader-

marketing agency for 5 years.

ship roles across a Top 5 global bank and a Fortune 100

Stephan Spencer

company. His primary roles were converging technology

Stephan is an internationally recognized SEO expert

cesses. Recognizing gaps in traditional digital market-

and bestselling author. He is the author of Google Power

ing, Sean applies the latest trends to helping companies

Search, co-author of Social eCommerce, and co-author

grow. In his free time, Sean enjoys finding new recipes to

of the The Art of SEO, now in its 3rd edition and consid-

further his cooking skills, playing kickball, and whiskey.

Apoorv has been into Internet Marketing industry for

After launching award-winning startup psGive to

& business strategies, and improving operational pro-

ered THE bible on SEO. Stephan founded Netconcepts in 1995 and grew it into a multi-national SEO agency before selling it in 2010 to Covario. Stephan continued as a sought-after SEO and digital strategy consultant. His clients post-acquisition have included Zappos, Sony Store, Quiksilver, Best Buy Canada, Bed Bath & Beyond, and Chanel. Stephan speaks at many Internet marketing events, including SES, SMX, PubCon, Internet Retailer, Shop.org, etc. He’s contributed to Huffington Post, Search Engine Land, DM News and MarketingProfs, among others.

Stephan is the creator of Traffic Control, a 3-day seminar on SEO, co-creator of the 3-day professional development seminar Passions into Profits with Kris Jones, and the host of 2 podcasts, The Optimized Geek and Marketing Speak.

Shannon K. Steffen

Shannon K. Steffen started in Global eCommerce in

2004 when she created an online organ donation awareness gift shop. Both were successful, but the problem was that she didn’t have an $8M marketing budget like her competitor. She immediately took her 15 years of IT experience and focused her expertise on search engine optimization (SEO) and digital marketing. Since then, she has built a number of successful niche eCommerce sites, consults for global small businesses to Fortune 50 companies, has written a bestselling book, and created a SEO online learning platform. She is now Founder & CEO of Daymark Digital, a full-service Human SEO and Digital Marketing strategy agency with a twist.

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· Issue 33 · January 2016

Dave Taylor

Dave Taylor has been involved with the online world

since 1980 and is recognized globally as an expert on both technical and business issues. He has been pub-

hiking, biking and skiing, and hopes to one day fulfill his dream of becoming a sommelier.

Jace Vernon

Started many companies, two of which are heavily

lished over a thousand times, launched four Internet-

involved in video production and video marketing. Ydraw

related startup companies, written twenty business and

started the whole whiteboard animation industry 4 years

technical books and holds both an MBA and MS Ed. He’s

ago. The day our first video hit YouTube we became prof-

a columnist for the Boulder Daily Camera and Linux Jour-

itable and quickly grew into a multi-million dollar busi-

nal and frequently appears in other publications both

ness. I was raised in a small farm town in Utah, where my

online and in print. Based in beautiful Boulder, Colorado,

parents gave me an excellent start in my life. We learned

Dave is an award-winning speaker, sought after confer-

to work and I acquired a lot of great skills. At age 19, I was

ence and workshop participant and frequent guest on

shipped off to El Salvador, where I learned about sowing

radio and podcast programs, as well as active member of

and reaping, and picked up a few more skills that have

his community and busy single father to three.

helped me in business. Got my Master’s degree and start-

Steven Tazic

ed a company. I would generate leads and customers by

With a focus on Interactive Investment Management

and knock doors to let people know about my service.

(IIM), Steven leads all traffic generation teams at Rise

It was old school and I discovered that online marketing

Interactive. He has played an instrumental role in build-

was much more effective. I have never looked back.

ing out technology and processes to make client cam-

David Vogelpohl

paigns more efficient and relevant with target audiences.

Steven’s background also includes extensive experience

cold calling every morning, and I would oftentimes go out

David Vogelpohl is the Vice President of Web Strat-

managing online business on the client side. Prior to join-

egy at WP Engine, a premium managed WordPress host

ing Rise, he held e-commerce roles at Abt Electronics,

designed for speed and reliability. David’s team at WP

Design Toscano and Blue Sky Marketing. Steven holds

Engine focuses on affiliate marketing, web development,

a Master of Science degree in management information

advanced analytics, and online advertising. Since 1996,

systems from the University of Illinois at Chicago and a

David has been managing affiliate marketing campaigns,

Bachelor of Arts degree in computer science and busi-

online marketing, and web development efforts in sup-

ness administration from the University of St. Thomas in

port of a wide range of websites and monetization mod-

St. Paul, Minn. He currently leads daily potty training sem-

els. Through his speaking at national events like Affiliate

inars in his home, for a captive two-year-old audience.

Summit and WordCamp, David is an avid contributor to

John Toskey

the community and expert at using WordPress to drive

John Toskey is the Global Director of eBay Partner

Network, responsible for leading strategic growth across eBay’s largest paid marketing channel. With nearly 20

affiliate revenue.

Chad Waite

Chad Waite is the Marketing Manager for Avant-

years of experience in online merchandising and affiliate

Link, a veteran in the affiliate space and student of all

marketing with leading online retailers, he truly knows the

things digital marketing. When not working, he can be

industry inside out. His experiences as both an affiliate

found mountain biking, training for mountain marathons,

publisher and affiliate program manager provide John

spending time with his wife and son, and patiently waiting

with a balanced perspective on key issues, and his pro-

for the next Star Wars movie to be released.

active attitude, people skills and bias for action have led

Missy Ward

him to become a well-respected member of the affiliate marketing community. He is a thought leader who enjoys

Missy Ward has been an affiliate marketer since

helping others learn from his experiences by speaking at

1999. She is the Co-founder of Affiliate Summit Inc., a

events, writing for publications, and serving on advisory

privately-held media company that produces the Affiliate

boards. John is an avid Seattle Sounders fan who enjoys

Summit Conference & Tradeshow Series, Performance

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· Issue 33 · January 2016

Marketing Summit, FeedFront Magazine, GeekCast.fm,

working with brands. Last year she Co-Founded Social

AffStat.com and ReveNews.com. She is also the Found-

Elements Media, a SM firm specializing in small, lo-

er of AffiliateMarketersGiveBack.com and own multiple

cally owned businesses. For the past two years she has

niche affiliate websites including EasyGlutenFree.reci-

worked as a Campaign Leader with Collective Bias work-

pes, itsaWAHMthing.com and SpecialNeedsGifts.com, to

ing with bloggers on national brand campaigns. Previous

name a few. Missy is a WAHM, wine-enthusiast, die-hard

speaking engagements include the ENMN Conference,

AC/DC fan, and a New York Jets, Rangers, and Yankees

ConnectHER, and the Manhattan Beach Women in Busi-

addict. She is also an active fundraiser for charities that

ness Conference. She has been blogging personally for

support breast cancer research, treatment, and commu-

the past 8 years at her lifestyle blog, This Talk Ain’t Cheap.

nity programs. She hates cold weather, flavored coffee,

Christopher Weston

gluten, and meat. Check out her affiliate marketing blog, MissyWard.com.

Chris Weston has been involved in online marketing

Evan Weber

for more than 7 years. During that time he has been in-

Evan Weber is a seasoned digital marketing expert

ing affiliate, comparison shopping engines, social media,

with more than 17 years of experience in ecommerce

search engine optimization, paid search, email, and dis-

and digital marketing. He is well versed in the following

play marketing. He has worked for Netflix, Harry & David

online marketing channels: SEO, paid search marketing,

and currently works for Cabela’s. Chris currently lives in

affiliate marketing, social media management, Facebook

Denver Colorado with his wife and two kids (2 year old

advertising, Twitter advertising, Linkedin advertising, con-

boy and 7 month old girl) and enjoys fishing, hunting,

version rate optimization, content marketing, email mar-

camping, snowboarding, and mountain biking.

keting, and more. Evan is known as the ultimate affiliate

Matthew Wolosz

manager and educator to affiliate marketers of all types.

He has personally counseled 1000’s of affiliate market-

volved in almost every online marketing channel includ-

Matthew Wolosz has nearly a decade of experience

ers over the past 12 years through free phone consulta-

in the performance marketing space. He has achieved

tions. He is one of the most popular speakers at Affiliate

President Club and Achievers Club recognition at some of

Summit and always gets rave reviews. Evan is very ap-

largest online media companies, such as Yahoo! He has

proachable and is dedicated to imparting knowledge and

sold to, managed, and optimized his client’s campaigns

practical strategies to all types of marketers and web

to consistently exceed their expectations. Matthew’s ex-

publishers. He is well-regarded in the digital marketing in-

perience ranges from working with multi-million dollar

dustry and has a large following through social networks.

budgets with the largest fortune 500 companies to indi-

He has owned his digital agency for 8+ years.

vidual affiliates. His experience in both search marketing

Carolyn West

and display advertising, has allowed him to bring an ana-

Carolyn West is the Co-Founder of SoCal Lady

and understanding of all the details that go into data man-

Bloggers, a support and networking group for over 800

agement and email optimization, has allowed him to be a

women in Southern California. She has run educational

strategic partner for his clients. Matthew’s approach with

workshops for the past several years on topics ranging

his clients is simple; listen more, talk less, and always get

from social media platforms to promoting your blog and

in the Inbox.

lytical approach to the email space. His deep knowledge

65