FeedFront Magazine Issue 35

Page 1

Issue 35 ― July 2016

Affiliates: Track These Metrics to Increase Profits By Eric Nagel - Page 6

Mentally Breaking Down Your Hustle By Priest Willis, Sr. - Page 31

Affiliate Summit eAst 2016 Agenda Page 33

IS

WANDERLUST IN YOUR DNA? By Missy Ward - Page 2



Issue 35 · July 2016

Table of Contents 2

Editor’s Note: Is Wanderlust in Your DNA?

3

Keys to a Good Blogger Recruitment Email

5

A Primer on Cross Device Tracking

6

Affiliates: Track These Metrics to Increase Profits

7

FEED Approach to Capturing Affiliate Attention

8

Addressing ‘Clean Fraud’ with Redefined KPIs

9

Staff Co-Editors in Chief Missy Ward, Shawn Collins Copy Editor Caitlin Collins Co-Publishers Missy Ward, Shawn Collins

Why We Don’t Have Any Affiliates

By Missy Ward By Christen Moynihan By Jeannine Crooks By Eric Nagel By Geno Prussakov By Monica Eaton-Cardone By David Vogelpohl

10

5 Ways to Monetize with Affiliate Marketing

11

Improve your LinkedIn Profile for Career Advancement

12

List Building: Get Subscribers Without Annoying Pop-Ups

By Candis Hidalgo

14

Generate Leads Using Facebook Lead Ads

By Alex F. Oliveira

15

3 Simple Strategies to Impress Advertisers

16

Loyalty Publishers Can Greatly Impact Affiliate Programs

17

Grow Your Program by Activating Latent Affiliates

18

Merchant Managers: Do You Understand Your Pixels?

20

Strategies for Managing Successful B2B Affiliate Programs

21

The Benefits of Stalking Social Media Accounts

22

Launch Success Step #1

23

3 Ways to Get Massive Content Coverage

24

The Online Tools Every Affiliate Marketer Needs

25

5 Tips to Produce Content That Sells

27

The Simple Questions Merchants Should Ask Affiliates

28

Getting Paid for Your Actual Risks

29

The Affiliate Isn’t Always Right…

30

Digital Racketeering or Consumer Protection Program?

31

Mentally Breaking Down Your Hustle

32

Look at Me! Getting a Merchant’s Attention

33

Affiliate Summit East 2016 Agenda

50

Scott Stratten Keynote Bio

51

Bruce Clay Keynote Bio

52

Duane Forrester Keynote Bio

53

Stephan Spencer Keynote Bio

54

Affiliate Summit East 2016 Speaker Bios

66

Thank You Affiliate Summit East 2016 Top Sponsors

67

New York Marriott Marquis Map

Contributing Writers

Mike Carney, Liliana Chan Ventura, Jeannine Crooks, David Dalka, Teodora Dobjanschi, Monica Eaton-Cardone, David Favor, Jessica Frick, Ed Gabrielyan, Victoria Galperina, Travis Glenn, Jonathan Goodwin, Michelle Held, Candis Hidalgo, Zac Johnson, Jennifer King, Tricia Meyer, Christen Moynihan, Eric Nagel, Alex Oliveira, Geno Prussakov, Steve Root, Abby Schaller, Christian Valdez, David Vogelpohl, Missy Ward, Priest Willis.

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

By Abby Schaller By Mike Carney

By Liliana Chan Ventura By Jonathan Goodwin By Teodora Dobjanschi By Jennifer King By Steve Root By Michelle Held By David Favor By Zac Johnson By Ed Gabrielyan By Victoria Galperina By Travis Glenn By David Dalka By Jessica Frick By Christian Valdez By Priest Willis, Sr. By Tricia Meyer

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 35 · July 2016

Editor’s Note

Is Wanderlust

in Your DNA?

by Missy Ward As I sat on the plane looking through the photos of the places I visited in Toronto; I couldn’t stop thinking about my upcoming trip to Spain. Sometimes it seems as though my thirst for travel may never be quenched, no matter how many destinations I visit. It turns out; there is a scientific explanation. Missy Ward

In 1993, a study by Jay B. Lichter et al. attributed the DRD4 gene to controlling dopamine levels in the brain and linked them

A

to motivation and behavior. lthough I’ve yet to be tested, all signs indicate that I’ve inherited the wanderlust gene.

In 2010, the first genome sequence from an extinct human became available, indicating that humans and Neanderthals in-

I’m not quite sure who I acquired it from, as my

terbred about 37,000 years ago, and a new gene in the human

parents are perfectly happy staying within a 15-minute driving

genome was formed, DRD4-7R. It was also around that time

distance from their home. Monotony gives them comfort.

that humanity started to create and sustain large civilizations.

But for me, “something different” is what excites me.

A 2011 study (Schilling, Walsh, and Yun) indicated that

I crave new places to explore, and other than having a return

20% of humans carry the DRD4-7R (aka “wanderlust gene”),

flight booked; I prefer to travel without plans. It nearly always

which is linked to risk-taking, sensation-seeking and novelty-

leads to more enjoyment.

seeking, and correlated with openness to new experiences,

Take my last trip, for example. I just got back from Toronto,

intolerance to monotony, and exploratory behavior. It was also

where my business partner, Shawn Collins, and I hosted a Per-

tied to Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder; a disorder that

formance Marketing Summit.

I’ve been diagnosed with.

The last time I visited Toronto was back in 1987 with a

I guess I can blame DRD4-7R for my business success

bunch of friends from SUNY Buffalo. We piled into my buddy’s

(and failures), my impulsivity, and my hunger to learn and see

car, filled the trunk with an assortment of cheap beer, and took

new things.

the quick drive across the border.

I can also blame it for my inability to stay on a healthy track

This time, I decided to stay an extra day to explore the city

when I travel. Wanderlust nearly always trumps my best inten-

as a grown up. I figured that whatever time I woke up was when

tions, which remain in my suitcase, along with my sneakers and

said exploration would commence.

work-out clothes.

Well, that extra day in Toronto was spent visiting two Ontario wineries, having an incredible vineyard lunch, and witnessing Moth-

But, at least now I have a real excuse to give my husband when I ask for another “hall pass” to travel.

er Nature at her best, when she produced an amazing rainbow over

“Babe, it’s in my DNA since before I even existed.”

Niagara Falls for our entire group to behold (see front cover).

Is wanderlust in your DNA?

2

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


· Issue 35 · July 2016

Keys to a Good Blogger

Recruitment Email by Christen Moynihan

T

he best way to get new bloggers into your affiliate program is to connect with them, often through

Christen Moynihan

email.

However, with bloggers facing inbox fatigue, there are a

Additionally, plainly outline your expectations of the blog-

few key things to remember when crafting your recruitment

ger for the program as well as the program terms. State in your

emails to ensure you get a new signup, rather than an email

email the commission rate, cookie length, average order value,

that lands directly in the trash.

and possibly the EPC (earnings per hundred clicks). Let it be known how you’re planning on cultivating the relationship – it’s

Get Personal Address the blogger by name -- spelled correctly -- and mention the name of their site. Bloggers like to feel special, and

important for bloggers to know you care just as much about working with them as you do the dollars coming from their audience’s pocket.

there’s no quicker way to alienate them than making them feel like they’re a dime a dozen. Know what they blog about, and

Be Relevant

mention a post or two that you are drawn to. Remember lifestyle

Pitching a wedding blogger on air conditioning filters? Good

bloggers are different from wedding bloggers are different from

luck, buddy. Bloggers see tons of recruitment emails from pro-

sports bloggers, etc., and they should be pitched accordingly.

grams that have nothing to do with their subject, by any stretch of the imagination, and those emails often include the line “ XXX

Know Your Target

is a perfect fit for your audience!” Oh, really. How so?

While blogs in any given niche may seem similar, they all

It’s one thing to think outside the box. It’s another just to

have something that makes them stand out. Know what that

throw something out there and hope it sticks. You’re wasting

something is, whether they are a wedding blog with a rural, bud-

everyone’s time with those emails.

get angle or a lifestyle blog that highlights artsy design. To make your pitch effective, follow the blogger on social

A Few Final Tips:

media to learn about their audience, and highlight a few spe-

»» Know if the blogger is already in your program. It’s go-

cific products in your recruitment email that align with what the

ing to piss them off if you send them a recruitment email

blogger regularly speaks to.

when they already drive thousands of sales to your merchant every year.

Be Clear About Expectations

»» Make your subject line interesting, but not overly salesy.

Affiliate marketing isn’t about sponsored posts or product

»» Include a link to the merchant’s website and their signup

reviews, but if there are special opportunities available after

page, or tell the affiliate where they can find the offer

consistent performance, let that be known up front. Set clear

you’ve pushed in-network.

guidelines about what needs to happen for the blogger to become eligible for those opportunities.

»» Detail who exactly the blogger will be working with – whether it’s you or a colleague.

Christen Moynihan helps bloggers and affiliate marketing fall in love at BourbonandSparkle.com.

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· Issue 35 · July 2016

A Primer on

Cross Device Tracking by Jeannine Crooks

A

ffiliate marketing is an industry based on performance – initiate a sale, earn a commission, especially if your site sourced the last click. However, with

the meteoric rise of both mobile and the number of devices a user can employ in a single day, the original technology of

Jeannine Crooks

dropping a cookie on a single device no longer ensures an affiliate will be fully credited for all of their transactions. Thus, the need for Cross Device Tracking (CDT), or following a user from initial click through purchase across multiple devices, was born.

Probabilistic – using a series of algorithms to identify a user, with accuracy ranging from 25-85%. Since affiliate marketing is based on results, the deter-

Dual device users represent 81.2% of all consumers in

ministic method is preferred to ensure that affiliates aren’t

2016 and is forecast to remain at ~80% through 2020. An

being paid, nor merchants charged, for sales which could not

estimated 126 million individuals will use both a tablet and

be completely verified, thus ensuring accuracy over volume.

smartphone regularly in 2016. Desktop usage remains fairly constant at 2.4 hours/day, mobile usage in the last five years has grown from 24 minutes

Affiliate Window launched Cross Device Tracking for merchants in 2015. Now, millions of dollars in transactions later, certain key learnings are evident.

to 2.8 hours/day, according to eMarketer. This is the incre-

Dropping a single cookie on the first device no longer

mental growth of time spent online - just another reason why

accurately tracks what’s happening. On average, 6% of total

cross-device tracking is so important.

sales are tracked cross-device for each affiliate program. This

Device usage follows one of two common paths. Sequen-

ranges from 4%-26%.

tial usage involves moving from one device to another at dif-

Sales by affiliate type may be different than originally

ferent times to accomplish a specific task, such as searching

thought. Before cross-device tracking, top performers in order

first on a smartphone, then purchasing on a laptop.

were usually cashback sites, discount code, then content sites.

Simultaneous usage consists of being on two devices at

Once CDT is implemented, both discount code and content

the same time, which then falls into two categories – multi-

sites leapfrog over cashback. PPC results also sharply increase,

tasking involving unrelated activities, i.e. playing a game while

offering special insights into the results from that activity.

researching something, or complementary usage, like search-

Cookie length matters. About 74% of sales occur within

ing the same query on both a smartphone and laptop to com-

the first 24 hours following the initial click, but that too grew

pare results.

14% with CDT. Ultimately, sales via a 30-day cookie grew by

There are two methods of tracking users across devices:

50% as well, a vital metric for content affiliates.

Deterministic – building a non-personally identifiable

The technology in affiliate marketing has changed.

profile for each user including the multiple devices they use,

Consumer behavior has changed. It’s time for tracking to

both desktop and mobile, to ensure 100% identification.

change, too.

Industry veteran Jeannine Crooks is the Client Services Manager for Baltimore-based Affiliate Window US.

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· Issue 35 · July 2016

Affiliates: Track These Metrics

to Increase Profits

by Eric Nagel Eric Nagel

A

s an affiliate, there are certain metrics which you

Average Order Value (AOV) is also controlled more by the

should track and understand. By measuring your

merchant than the publisher. If you’re receiving 12% commis-

traffic and how visitors interact with your site you

sion from two different merchants, and one upsells better than

can tweak your website to steer behavior, take action, and increase revenue.

the other, you’ll earn more from the one with a higher AOV. All affiliates know about Commission Rate, but few use

When a user comes to your website, your goal is to set the

this knowledge for negotiations. If two merchants are selling

affiliate network’s tracking cookie, which means you need to

the same product and offer two different commissions, use

get the user to click on that link and go to the merchant’s site.

that to negotiate higher commissions from the merchant.

Click Through Rate (CTR) measures how effective you are

What this all boils down to is Earnings per Visitor (EPV).

at convincing the user to click the appropriate link. Divide visits

What do you expect to earn from a user who comes to your

to a page (or impressions) by clicks to a merchant (as reported

website?

by the affiliate network) to measure your CTR. Visits can be

By increasing CTR, sending traffic to merchants with a

obtained from your own site’s analytics, while some affiliate

higher AOV, CR, and commission rate, you can boost your

networks can track impressions for you and will give you CTR.

EPV. EPV can also be increased through buying high-quality

A heatmap can be used to understand user behavior and

traffic, turning off low-quality traffic, or by increasing revenue

identify distractions, which can then be used to tweak your landing page. If all other factors remain the same, increasing

by adding paid placements, sponsored posts, or display ads. Here’s a cheat sheet to keep handy:

your CTR from 10 to 12% means your Earnings per Visitor will increase 20%. Conversion Rate (CR) is directly controlled by the merchant,

»» CTR = Impressions / Clicks »» CR = Clicks / Number of Sales

but should still be measured by the affiliate. If you’re driving the

»» AOV = Total dollar amount of sales / Total number of sales

same quality traffic to two merchants and the conversion rate

»» Commission Rate = Amount of Sale / Your commission

is vastly different, reconsider who gets your visitors.

»» EPV = Total Earnings / Website Sessions

If a merchant is running their program on two different affiliate networks, split-test the tracking links to see if one converts higher than the other (you’d be surprised).

6

Now go make a spreadsheet and start measuring these metrics. Eric is CTO at FMTC; he lives for big data and small acronyms.


· Issue 35 · July 2016

FEED Approach to Capturing

Affiliate Attention

Geno Prussakov

by Geno Prussakov Equipping Check out what “the web’s most popular and successful

T

affiliate program” (as Amazon itself calls its own) is doing. From here is no deficit of affiliate programs out there. Affili-

widgets and search boxes to aStore, which helps affiliates cre-

ates are being constantly bombarded by thousands

ate online stores “without the need for programming skills,” and

of offers to promote and programs to join. Conse-

to APIs to empower mobile app and game developers, they are

quently, just as it was with consumers gradually going “ban-

actively equipping their affiliates with a wide arsenal of tools to

ner-blind”, present-day affiliates are quickly developing what I

facilitate promotion. You may also want to share with affiliates

call “offer blindness.”

your lists of bestsellers, how-to content (warning them of dupli-

As a result, the farther we go, the harder it is for many brands to make their affiliate programs really stand out.

cate content risks, of course), and testimonials from customers who don’t mind you using them for marketing.

Over the many years of managing affiliate programs, I have seen some engagement techniques come and go,

Encouraging

while others stick around. The ones that stood the test of

Hersey and Blanchard’s situational theory suggests that

time can be clustered into four broad groups – each serving

there is no one optimal leadership style, but leaders must

a concrete purpose.

adjust their approaches to the needs and contingencies at

For better memorization, let’s call this a FEED approach,

hand. Affiliates come in all sorts of types and sizes, but re-

whereby every capital letter of the name will stand for an ad-

gardless of their level of savviness, everyone appreciates-

jective that you want to characterize your affiliate program.

motivation. From hands-on advice to performance-based incentives, aim to facilitate performance via encouragement.

Findable When asked about how they typically find new affiliate

Different

programs to join, among the top three things respondents

The legend of U.S. advertising industry, William Bernbach,

to Affiliate Summit’s AffStat 2015 survey mentioned were

was known for saying that “in advertising not to be different is

“affiliate program searches on search engines” (21.92%)

virtually suicidal.” Look at your affiliate program through the

and “affiliate network or CPA network website” (18.49%).

same prism, and stop copying what others are doing. Inno-

Whether it is search engine optimization of your program

vate, be different, and only then you will truly stand out.

support website, utilizing paid search to bid on relevant key

So, there you have it; to stand out from the myriad of other

phrases, or optimizing search keywords for your program

programs and offers, you want your affiliate program to FEED

on your affiliate network, aim to become easily findable.

– be Findable, Equipping, Encouraging, and Different.

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

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· Issue 35 · July 2016

Addressing ‘Clean Fraud’

with Redefined KPIs

by Monica Eaton-Cardone

Monica Eaton-Cardone

F

or merchants, affiliate marketing can bring life or

However, beyond the minimum, most advertisers don’t

death. Significant revenue or excessive losses. Sus-

track data or optimize outcomes. An Econsultancy report

tainable growth or unmanageable liability.

found 75% of merchants don’t translate marketing data into

How affiliate marketing impacts the bottom line is deter-

mined by how well merchants prevent and respond to fraud.

actionable insights. An unwillingness to monitor campaign profitability means advertisers limit their earning potential while allowing fraud to

Clean Fraud: A New Threat

continue unchecked.

Affiliate fraud is devastating enough, but a new genre of

To effectively mitigate affiliate fraud, merchants need

criminal activity makes mitigation efforts even more difficult.

advanced KPI tracking. This means implementing both short

Clean fraud is perpetrated with stolen credit card information

and long-term evaluations, establishing baseline controls, de-

and is nearly impossible to detect.

tecting patterns, conducting multi-layer analysis, and custom-

Criminals acquire such an extensive amount of cardholder

izing measurements.

information that they can accurately impersonate a valid cus-

»» Affiliate performance. How active is each affiliate? How

tomer and process transactions without raising red flags. These

much revenue is attributed to each affiliate? What per-

individuals know how to circumvent detection because they

centage of overall commissions goes to each affiliate

have a thorough understanding of fraud prevention systems.

compared to revenue generated?

By early 2014, members of the Merchant Risk Council

»» Lifetime customer value. Combine post-sale involvement

were already reporting clean fraud as their number one fraud

with affiliate data to determine the lifetime value of a customer.

threat. A 2016 CyberSource study shows clean fraud is also

»» Online traffic. An increase in traffic that exceeds 8% (for

the number one threat for UK merchants. Clean fraud mitigation yields four potential results. The

non-coupon sites) should be considered suspicious. »» Customer feedback. Direct communication with card-

advertiser may:

holders is an underutilized data source. Cardholders can

1.

help discern between merchant error or lack of follow-

Correctly assume the transaction is good.

2. Correctly assume the transaction is fraudulent. 3. 4.

Incorrectly assume the transaction is good, resulting in

through and illegitimate incentive fraud. »» Geolocation and device intelligence. Track consum-

a chargeback.

ers to the geographic location or device associated with

Incorrectly assume the transaction is fraudulent, turning

their account. Monitor IP addresses and other identifying

away a loyal customer.

characteristics.

Unfortunately, if merchants remain incapable of distin-

»» Chargebacks. Which genre of fraud is to blame? Which

guishing fraudsters from customers, they’ll remain at either

affiliate generates the most fraud (as evidenced by

end of the spectrum—alienating good customers or sustain-

chargeback issuances)? Which campaign generates the

ing significant losses.

most fraud? What is the correlation between commission payments and chargeback issuances?

Recognizing the Importance of KPIs

KPIs aren’t just an effective way to determine profitabil-

Affiliate marketing demands the analysis of at least some

ity. They are an essential fraud mitigation tool, because if left

KPIs (key performance indicators) since payment is deter-

unchecked, affiliate fraud will continue to rob profits and spike

mined by sale activity.

processing risk.

8

Monica Eaton-Cardone, COO of Chargebacks911, helps merchants identify risks, prevent fraud, and optimize profitability.


· Issue 35 · July 2016

Why We Don’t Have

Any Affiliates by David Vogelpohl

G

etting rid of all the affiliates in your affiliate program is a big move. In this article, I’m going to tell you how you can get rid of all your affiliates, and why it

can be one of the greatest things you’ve ever done for your affiliate program. The word “set” has 464 unique definitions in the Oxford

David Vogelpohl

English Dictionary. That’s the most of any word. I’m pretty sure if industry definitions were included, the word “affiliate” would have been crowned king. “Affiliates” can be defined by any number of things, like the types of businesses they are, monetization models, and

Once we realized that the entities in our affiliate program were actually types of businesses, we made one fundamental change to our vernacular.

verticals within which they operate. Ask a stranger at the next

We stopped referencing “affiliates” as “affiliates”. Our pub-

Affiliate Summit what they think an “affiliate” is. You’ll likely be

lishers, bloggers, tools, and agencies were called by the type

shocked by the answer.

of business they were and not a loose linguistic construct. We

So if we’re all confused, how confused is everyone else?

downplayed references to the “affiliate program” and focused

Outside of our industry, the word “affiliate” conjures up

more on words like “referrals” and “commissions” as it related

everything from a neck-beard wielding basement troll to

to the context of our partners’ businesses.

large companies working as agents for other companies.

Affiliates became more engaged and more responsive

Typically, the perception of what an “affiliate” is, is based on a

to our prospecting efforts. Our focus on their types of busi-

person’s past professional experiences and random articles

nesses helped us also identify opportunities to create custom

they have read.

tools and campaigns designed specifically around the verti-

This perception gap with reality can confuse the internal

cals of the businesses in our program. The affiliates loved it.

teams you work with, people you hire, and even the affiliates

The result in this change in mindset has helped us create

themselves. This is why we made the epic decision to get rid

one of the highest sale-active affiliate ratios in affiliate market-

of all the affiliates in our affiliate program.

ing (even with an open program), and an affiliate team that is

We started by identifying what types of businesses were

tuned into the needs of the businesses who promote us.

in our program. We had bloggers, tools, publishers, ecom-

The first step in getting rid of your affiliates is to realize

merce, membership sites, agencies, arbitrageurs, and a hand-

they’re not “affiliates” at all. They’re businesses who deserve

ful of other types of businesses. We looked long and hard, but

the respect of calling them what they are. Focus on them, and

we couldn’t find any affiliates. Step one, complete.

then they’ll focus on you.

David Vogelpohl is the VP Web Strategy, WP Engine and has over 20 years experience in the affiliate marketing industry.

9


· Issue 35 · July 2016

5 Ways to Monetize

with Affiliate Marketing by Abby Schaller

Abby Schaller

A

best on your blog. Be sure to use all resources you have availre you a blogger ready to start making money from

able, such as Google Analytics, network reports, statistics

your website? If so, I am glad you are here.

provided within MailChimp, etc. Do your research and capital-

Monetizing your blog, while building an en-

ize on what is performing well for you. Remember, what works

gaged audience, can take time. While there are hundreds of

best for you is a result of your unique voice and how that reso-

resources and tools available to teach you how to monetize

nates with your readers.

your website, I have laid out five important foundational tips to help your efforts.

4. Recycle Old Posts

1. Be Yourself

viously published. Bring popular posts back into the spotlight

Don’t be afraid to re-feature old content that you have preThere is a good chance you have heard this advice before,

via Twitter, Facebook, newsletters, etc. to get new eyes on

but for a good reason. Staying true to yourself is how you build

them. Affiliate links can live forever, which is one of the big-

loyalty and trust with your audience. Content is king, and it is

gest benefits of affiliate marketing. You can continue to earn

also a top credibility factor. Always write about what you love

commissions on posts year after year; so take advantage of

and are passionate about to build a community around your

updating new affiliate links in old posts.

blog. Then, look to the affiliate networks to fill the gaps.

5. Befriend Affiliate Program Managers 2. Weave Affiliate Links Authentically

Program managers often have their contact information

Being authentic is all about being relevant, giving ideas,

readily available. Reach out, ask questions, and keep in touch.

and making connections for your readers. Feature products

They love direct interaction with bloggers, so start a relation-

within posts that you have used, then show off how you used

ship with them as soon as you are approved for their program.

it. Include pictures of you, videos, and other links to showcase

You never know when they might be willing to increase your

a product in the best light. This will help to put your readers in

commission rate or offer you an exclusive coupon code. Re-

a buyer position. Also, remember to be timely with posts and

member that you can negotiate these items, too. The worst

be aware of any upcoming holidays or major events.

they can say is ‘no.’

3. Use Analytics

Be sure to apply these five tips when you are ready to

Monetization is often a game of trial and error. Use analytics to find out which posts, creatives, and brands are working

10

jump into affiliate marketing and start earning commissions from your blog.

Abby Schaller is ShareASale’s Blogger Liaison, a PMA council member, and blogger at SchallWeGetAway.com..


· Issue 35 · July 2016

Improve your LinkedIn Profile

for Career Advancement by Mike Carney

I

Mike Carney

get asked all the time, what is better, Mike, having a resume or a LinkedIn profile? In my opinion, it depends on what you are trying to accomplish, but if advancing your career is a

top goal of yours, then having a LinkedIn profile is incredibly

The best time to beef up your profile is always. If you

important.

get a handful of recommendations within a few weeks,

Why? Because of the hidden job market and with LinkedIn

then it will likely signal to your coworkers and boss that

having 433 Million profiles, it’s the #1 way globally of getting

you are actively looking for a better opportunity. If you

discovered by hiring managers and recruiters.

build your profile on a regular basis, then it improves the value of your profile.

Most of the time, LinkedIn is used for B2B networking purposes, but the principles of what to have in your profile for career advancement purposes are very similar.

3.

Have a quality and professionally focused photograph – LinkedIn is not a dating site. Your photograph shouldn’t

1.

To help people fine-tune their profiles for career ad-

be your application for the Sports Illustrated bikini issue

vancement purposes, I have put together my top five

or a group shot from Ibiza.

suggestions to improve your LinkedIn profile for career advancement. Make sure your profile is focused and rel-

4.

If you are actively looking, then mention in your profile that you are open to new opportunities or up for challenges.

evant - have a comprehensive list of skills listed, have a summary highlighting your expertise and value, include relevant keywords to your position, and make sure you list yourself under the correct Industry.

5.

Add multi-media to your profile – employers are trying to figure out your value and how well you could represent their company. If you have had made presentations,

2. Recommendations - make it a practice to ask and give

a video, created PDF documents, been interviewed, etc.,

recommendations and testimonials on a regular ba-

then definitely add them to showcase how you are differ-

sis. You are only as strong as your reputation in your

ent from the other 433 million people on LinkedIn.

industry and testimonials go a long way to showcase to potential employers how co-workers, past bosses, clients and business partners valued working with you.

There’s only one you, showcase you to the best of your abilities .

Mike Carney is the Founder and President of PerformanceMarketingJOBS and an Online Veteran since 1997.

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· Issue 35 · July 2016

List Building: Get Subscribers

Without Annoying Pop-Ups

Candis Hidalgo

A

s a savvy affiliate marketer or blogger, you know how important it is to grow your email list. You have opt-in forms in all the usual places on

by Candis Hidalgo

your site, but “sidebar blindness” is making it more important than ever to get clever with how you ask your visitors to sign up for your list. And even though everyone says pop-ups are among the

While it should obviously tell visitors what you’re all about,

most effective methods for capturing subscribers, you just

its more important job is to make the reader feel like they be-

can’t bring yourself to do it.

long on your site. And if you’ve accomplished that, an email

If that’s you, here are five clever ways to grow your list

opt-in form will perform great nestled right inside the page. 4. Featured Within Your Content

even if you’ve sworn off pop-ups: 1. A Welcome Mat

Speaking of nestling opt-in forms within content, do the

A “welcome mat” is simply a full-screen opt-in form that displays at the top of your site before people get access to

same for your blog posts. If someone is engrossed in your content and then presented with a relevant offer (your opt-in freebie), it’s only natu-

your content. This method acts as a sort of “landing page,” in that it has one goal (get an email opt-in), and is highly effective

ral for them to want to get in on it. You can use an on-brand image or simple feature box linking to your opt-in offer.

since it eliminates the typical distractions such as menu,

5. Under Your Comments Entry Area

sidebar, and footer.

It’s hard enough to keep readers engaged after the head-

2. Your Main Navigation

line, so if they make it all the way to the bottom and then go

Most site owners use their main navigation for links

the extra step to leave a comment, they’re seriously interested

such as “about,” “contact” and “blog” - and rightly so. It’s im-

in what you have to share. What better time than that to ask

portant for these types of pages to be easily found, espe-

for their email? You can use a plugin to add this option right under the

cially for new visitors. Know what else should be easy to find for new visitors? Yep, your opt-in form! Try placing a link to your opt-in freebie

comment box area next the comment “Submit” button. Whatever your reasons for swearing off pop-ups, there are still several ways to entice casual visitors to sign up for

right in your main menu. 3. Your About Page

your list.

If you check your Google Analytics, you’ll probably notice

These are just five that I’ve found effective, but be sure to

that your “About” page is among the most popular on your site

continually test different methods (and incentives) to get the

in terms of sheer traffic. But are you making the most of it?

best conversions for your niche and audience .

12

Candis teaches busy moms how to build a purposeful and profitable blog at SmartMomBlogger.com..



· Issue 35 · July 2016

Generate Leads

Alex F. Oliveira

D

Using Facebook Lead Ads by Alex F. Oliveira

id you know that smartphone users are looking at content for an average of three hours per day, according to eMarketer? Facebook Lead Ads can help you

How to Get Started Go to your business page or business manager page

reach those users. 1.

What Are Lead Ads?

Go to the “Publishing Tools” tab, then go down to the “Lead Ads Forms” selection on the left-hand side.

Lead ads give you another option for running lead genera-

2. Create a lookalike audience.

tion campaigns on Facebook. Lead ads give users a quick way

Using a lookalike audience will increase the quality of

to show interest in a product or service by submitting a form

your leads by reaching people who are similar to your top

in the ad. When the user clicks on a lead ad, they’re directed

customers. Add Context Cards as they pop up after the

to a Facebook form, where they can confirm their profile infor-

user clicks on the lead ad and share more details (ex: tell

mation prior to clicking the “Submit” button.

them when you’ll follow up). 3.

Why Is It Better For The User?

Entice and inform with your creative Use appealing visuals and provide direct and precise in-

Facebook’s data allow you to personalize the experi-

formation in your ad. This will help you attract the right

ence. ComScore reports that smartphone users spend 54%

people and generate better quality leads. Tell them what

of their time using an app Most users understand that if they

they’re signing up for by using video, ad copy, carrousel

go to a browser, it will take them additional clicks to accom-

or slide show format.

plish the same thing they would using an app. Mobile has

4.

Keep your form short and simple

exploded in the last ten years, but it still takes 40% longer to

Consider what information you need. As with any other

fill out a form on a mobile device vs. a desktop, according to

ad campaign, longer forms equal lower conversion. Stick

Facebook internal data.

to name, email, and phone number. You can create custom questions. However, there are already options for

Facebook Lead Ads Solve Lead Generation

questions related to the following verticals: insurance,

Challenges

auto, EDU, E-commerce, B2B, legal, and health.

Facebook Lead Ads can solve several lead generation

5.

Take action on your leads quickly

challenges, such as invalid contact information. Users will

Aim to follow up with leads within five minutes from when

start to adapt to a standardized method of sharing their con-

the information is submitted. There are three options for

tact info with advertisers. Other advantages for advertisers

obtaining your leads: download from the Ads Manager,

include the ability to acquire leads submitted from all devices,

integrate with the Facebook API, or integrate with a CRM

improved quality of lead contact info, the ability to acquire tar-

provider like MailChimp.

geted leads, and to access leads in real time.

Test and repeat!

14

Alex Oliveira is the CEO of Quotebound, an agency generating leads across twelve verticals.


· Issue 35 · July 2016

3 Simple Strategies

to Impress Advertisers by Liliana Chan Ventura

A

Liliana Chan Ventura

dvertisers are bombarded by requests and proposals every day. How do you cut through the noise to make your voice heard?

1. Know Your Numbers For new clients, investigate similar advertisers you already work with and provide an illustration of their performance. This gives clients an idea of what they can expect

Keep in mind that not all needs are verbalized or on a massive scale. Is there a pain point you could address or a task that you could take off your day-to-day clients’ plate? More often than not, they would appreciate the consideration and it could help streamline the existing process. Business needs can evolve very quickly, so remaining alert to shifting needs over time is critical.

from your partnership. For existing clients, proactively review the performance

3. Court Your Clients

of campaigns you’re running. Was there a specific placement

Relationships are the foundation of successful affiliate

that brought the highest clicks or sales? Was there a spe-

marketing. Forging lasting and productive partnerships re-

cific date or date range where traffic peaked? Examine what

quires conscious effort and deliberate commitment.

worked, what didn’t, and provide concrete suggestions for

Be responsive and engaging. Keep the communication

how to improve the next round. If a campaign fell below target,

alive. Provide numerical information while adding a personal

take the lead in providing a make-good before the client asks

touch. If there are topics that the clients are interested in, per-

for one. Use the make-good to show the potential for growth.

sonally or professionally, share relevant resources.

When presenting performance data to clients, aim to

Be innovative. Propose different payout structures. If

make it digestible. Use charts or tables as needed. Call out

there are beta tests of new features on your site(s), make your

interesting data points. Make it easy for them to make a deci-

top clients a part of this first rollout on a complimentary basis.

sion based on the information you share.

Their feedback can be useful in improving the features, and you gain goodwill by giving them access to new options with-

2. Fulfill Their Needs

out increasing their costs.

Invest time and effort to truly understand what the cli-

Be outstanding. Set a high bar and get clients in the habit

ents need. What are the overall goals of the brand and your

of expecting excellence from you and your team. Whenever

day-to-day clients? Are they focused on revenue, branding,

possible, offer more than what is regularly anticipated. If a de-

or a combination? Are they more interested in the short-term

liverable is set for next week, complete it ahead of schedule.

or the long-term? If certain revenue goals must be met, what

Remember birthdays, anniversaries, likes, dislikes, hobbies,

placements will give them the most bang for their buck? Are

and holiday plans and weave those into ongoing conversa-

there upcoming seasonal campaigns or new products that

tions. Add value wherever you can, and you will naturally stay

could be featured?

top of mind among advertisers.

Liliana Chan Ventura (@LilianaCVentura) is the Affiliate Marketing Director at Ogilvy & Mather.

15


· Issue 35 · July 2016

Loyalty Publishers Can

Jonathan Goodwin

W

Greatly Impact Affiliate Programs by Jonathan Goodwin

hen you think of all the publishers in your affiliate program, and the effect each segment of those affiliates has contributing to your bottom line,

loyalty publishers should be one of the largest revenue gener-

ating segments that contribute to your affiliate program. Typically, loyalty publishers are one of the main revenue drivers in your affiliate program, because of their unique position in the affiliate program. Coupon affiliates generate inter-

The impact and opportunity loyalty publishers can contribute to the affiliate program are significant, often resulting to anywhere from 20-40% of your total affiliate program. Optimizing loyalty publishers can enhance your affiliate program significantly.

est from consumers because of compelling promotions, GWP

Below are two proven tactics to optimize loyalty affiliates:

(gift with purchase), or free shipping offers, while loyalty pub-

»» Increase commission for a short duration – many times

lishers incentivize their consumer base by offering some form

when you increase commission, the affiliate will provide

of reward back to the consumer: either cash-back, charitable

increased brand exposure, for as long as the increase

donations, or miles/points.

commission will be. This is a great way to drive new cus-

If you’re looking to build and grow your affiliate program, you may want to start looking at ways to optimize loyalty affiliates.

tomers. »» Flat fee placements – securing prime real estate on affiliate sites can drive substantial revenue dollars and

Nowadays, consumers shopping online seek something

new customers. However, you should have a decent paid

in return. Either a great promotion with your favorite brand or

placement budget set aside to determine which place-

some form of reward. As you can imagine, shopping through a

ments will perform best. There will be placements that

loyalty site can be a rewarding experience for customers, and

don’t work and do work. Taking the time to test which

is very popular with online shoppers.

placements work will be best for your brand, and will pay

For example, Ebates generates up to 500,000 unique vis-

dividends in the long run. Utilize this method during peak

its per day. That’s a ton of traffic, and eyeballs on several dif-

seasons and you’ll see a great return.

ferent brands that are receiving great exposure.

Loyalty publishers such as Upromise, Ebates, Cartera

“Ebates has tools that can directly impact specific goals

Commerce, Mr. Rebates, GoodShop, and TopCashBack are

that an advertiser might have. For example, if raising AOV is a

highly important to any affiliate channel, and provide signifi-

target for a partner, we can send a targeted email with a spe-

cant value to your brand, by increasing your AOV, traffic, and

cific threshold offer. We have an enormous amount of options

bottom line.

like that with proven results that can focus in on a specific

When building or growing an affiliate program, loyalty

goal and help our advertisers achieve success,” says April Spi-

publishers can play an integral piece in making your channel

garelli, Sales Executive at Ebates.

successful.

16

Jonathan Goodwin is the Director of Accounts at JEBCommerce.


· Issue 35 · July 2016

Grow Your Program by

Activating Latent Affiliates by Teodora Dobjanschi

Teodora Dobjanschi

F

inding new affiliates to join your program can be difficult, costly, and time-consuming. This is why a good

2. Old affiliates that registered to your program but with no activity so far.

way to increase your business is to create special pro-

These affiliates were interested at some point to promote

grams to convert your latent affiliates into active affiliates.

your products or services but somehow got lost on the

Why?

way. Send them ready-made materials, find what they

On average, only 7% - 10% of the affiliates registered to

need, ask them to perform simple actions, such as click

a program are actually driving traffic and conversions. This

on a button to redeem a special limited time commission,

means that there are other ~90% affiliates that could become

or to log into their account, etc. Send a minimum of three

productive, and you already have their details.

emails, spaced one to two weeks apart. Prepare a special message for those that clicked or opened your email to

How?

guide them further through the process and keep them informed about new offers, new product launches, and

These latent affiliates can be segmented in three major

seasonal campaigns.

categories. Let’s take a look at each category and see what would work best for each of these to convert them into active partners:

3.

Affiliates that used to sell, but are not active anymore. These affiliates are the hardest to convert, as they had been making money with you at some point, but then

1.

New registered affiliates that didn’t start promoting or

abandoned the program. Take into consideration that

selling your products after the first three months.

they might be interested in promoting a different type of

For those that are inactive three months after the sign-

product, started to work on a different commission mod-

up, you can prepare a special increased commission

el than what you offer, or are out of business.

available for a limited time only (ex.: three months), or

Send them individual emails, take a look at what they

give them a bounty payment when they reach their first

used to do, check their website and see if they are

$100 in commissions (or a specific sales threshold) in

still active, offer them vanity coupons, customized

order to motivate them to take action. If you have many

creatives, and links so that they can easily start using

affiliates in this category, you should also take a look at

those right away.

the onboarding process and find ways of reducing the

To rebuild the relationships, communication is key - in-

time between sign-up and first click. You should prepare

troduce them to their account manager and send direct

onboarding materials (banners, links, landing pages,

personal emails, as 35% of affiliates ranked the relation-

discount coupons, etc.), and send them emails to guide

ship with the merchant as ‘crucial’ to ‘join, promote and

them through the process.

terminate programs,’ according to AffStat 2015.

Teodora Dobjanschi is Senior Affiliate Recruiter at Avangate Affiliate Network.

17


· Issue 35 · July 2016

Merchant Managers:

Jennifer King

E

Do You Understand Your Pixels? by Jennifer King

nsuring proper code implementation, to prevent duplicate crediting across multiple networks, may seem like basic account management knowledge, but that

Result: In this example the customer completed one transaction. Blogger A and Blogger B are in different networks.

isn’t always the case. Duplicate crediting is not advanced attribution where commissions are split between multiple affiliates. Instead, it

Mistakenly, you have fired both networks’ codes resulting in both Bloggers A & B receiving credit within their network.

is paying out the same full commission to multiple affiliates in different networks; a common mistake I’ve seen occur across

“I’m guilty of duplicate crediting – now what?”

the board from multi-network mom and pop merchants to in-

»» Plan

ternational brands.

»» Communicate

Proper code implementation to dynamically fire your

»» Execute

network pixel is not rocket science—by no means does an ac-

Reach out to your network account managers to start

count manager need to be a tech expert, or even have a tech-

planning a solution. Each network is different, and therefore

nical background. A little bit of knowledge can go a long way.

your plan needs to take into account the unique code require-

LinkConnector has observed that on average, 20% of af-

ments of your individual networks.

filiate events have multiple affiliate clicks involved in the same

It is also important to consider your affiliates’ traffic with-

transaction – this can lead to a substantial leakage of market-

in the existing cookie period. An error on the code implemen-

ing dollars covering the same conversion.

tation does not mean you should penalize affiliates for traffic they’ve previously sent, which could put you at risk of losing

“I’ll make sure an affiliate is only approved in one network.”

future traffic.

This is by far the most common reason why affiliate

So, implementation of the new pixel method must be add-

managers don’t believe they could possibly be paying out

ed gradually. Share each network’s feedback with your tech

duplicate commissions. While this method may prevent mer-

team to determine the best plan moving forward.

chants from paying out the same affiliate across multiple net-

Communicate with your affiliates. These are your part-

works, it does not preclude you from paying out different affili-

ners, and you should always be transparent about forthcom-

ates across multiple networks.

ing changes surrounding the relationship. Lack of communi-

An abbreviated version of this common scenario is as

cation may cause affiliates to become concerned should any unexpected trends occur (e.g., decreased conversion rates for

follows: »» CLICK 1. Customer clicks on your link from Blogger A (Network A) and a cookie is created. The customer does

the same traffic they have always sent). Once you’ve executed your plan, it is important to monitor its impact across the affiliates involved. With the successful

not complete the transaction. »» CLICK 2. Same customer clicks on your link from Blog-

elimination of duplicate commissions, your program can see

ger B (Network B), creating a cookie and completing a

an increase in revenue with a reinvestment of budget into your

transaction.

most successful relationships.

18

Jennifer King is the Director of Merchant Relations at LinkConnector Corporation.



· Issue 35 · July 2016

Strategies for Managing Steve Root

S

ince its inception in the 1990s, affiliate marketing has long been dominated by B2C (business-to-consumer) programs focused on selling products to individual

Successful B2B Affiliate Programs by Steve Root

consumers. Most of the top affiliate programs are still consumer-focused on fashion, health & beauty, and travel. But re-

3. Be Sure to Communicate

cently, B2B (business-to-business) programs focused on sell-

As with all affiliate programs – especially B2B programs

ing directly to businesses are becoming much more common.

– communicating with your affiliates is critical to suc-

Managing a B2B affiliate program requires different strat-

cess. Business products and services and their related

egies than consumer-focused programs. However, with the

sales cycles are typically more complex and take longer

right strategies, businesses can achieve success through the

to close than consumer product purchases. Be sure to

affiliate channel.

communicate regularly with your affiliates and keep

Here are five strategies to help successfully manage a B2B affiliate program:

them abreast of new product features, sales tools, and any program changes.

4. Find Those Product Experts 1. Recruit the Right Affiliates

Quite simply, product experts make great affiliates. After

Recruiting affiliates is key to any successful affiliate pro-

all, any good affiliate marketer can sell shoes or fashion

gram, but even more so with B2B programs. Since the

items – but with more complex business products, hav-

potential number of new customers for your business

ing product experts among your affiliates is invaluable.

product is considerably lower than with a consumer

Make the extra effort to educate your affiliates by pro-

product, you must focus on recruiting affiliates who are

viding regular product updates and comprehensive sales

speaking to your potential customers. Spend your valu-

material. Consider having a quarterly product webinar

able recruiting time finding and building relationships

and invite all your affiliates to attend. Include a product

with affiliates whose content relate closely to your busi-

manager or sales evangelist to cover new product fea-

ness and product.

tures and current successful sales strategies. The more

2. Align Your Commission Payouts and Customer LTV (Lifetime Value)

be able to promote it to their audience.

Unlike B2C programs where commissions are typically

20

your affiliates understand the product, the better they’ll

5. Focus on the Conversion

paid on low-dollar individual purchases, many B2B pro-

Be sure all affiliate leads are tracked in your CRM. Coor-

grams pay on a much higher individual sale amount or

dinate with your sales team to ensure appropriate follow-

recurring subscription model. When an affiliate is referring

up occurs with all affiliate leads. Always put yourself in

a new customer, make sure to align your compensation

the position of the affiliate and anticipate questions or

appropriately – in a manner that’s commensurate across

requests before they happen. A strong customer fo-

the lifetime value of the customer. Not aligning commis-

cus goes a long way to making the conversion and will

sions with LTV will create distrust among your affiliates.

strengthen your affiliate partnerships.

Steve Root is a nine-year affiliate industry veteran and Affiliate Program Manager at Xero.


· Issue 35 · July 2016

The Benefits of

Stalking Social Media Accounts by Michelle Held

C

Michelle Held

Even if you choose not to open an account on a social channel, your customers may already be there talking about you – for better or worse. At the very least, get on and monitor your brand’s reputation.

ommon questions when starting out with social me-

Depending on your sales and budget, you may be able to

dia marketing are, “Which social media channel(s)

expand to more channels to keep up or exceed the competition.

should my business be on?” followed by, “What do we

If you are posting regularly but not seeing results then it is pos-

post and when?” Perhaps your strategy is already generating sales

sible that your audience is not active on the channel, on at other times, or your content simply does not resonate with them.

through Facebook or other channels. You are confident, but

Are your followers interacting with your content through

wonder if you might sell more by expanding your efforts.

likes, shares, and follows? A look into your social media data

Maybe another social media account would lower your cus-

will show if you are losing followers, posting at the right times,

tomer support costs.

or even over-posting.

Then there are the complexities of the paid social landscape on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Pinterest, LinkedIn, and now Snapchat! Is it worth it? A thorough social media audit evaluates a brand’s activ-

Factors to consider: »» What are the demographics of your target audience? »» What channels are they on?

ity and engagement. It gives insights into what channel works

»» What content works best on each channel?

best for generating buzz and which produces conversions. An

»» When is your audience is most active to determine what

audit can help determine which channel is best for customer

is the best time to post?

service or pre-sales inquiries. Social media audits provide data about how each channel serves you best.

Enough about you

A good audit consists of three parts:

nels are they on and how often do they post? Is their content

What about your competitors? What social media chan»» An inventory of your SM channels, followers, activity, and interactions »» Competitors’ SM activity, best content, followers, and interactions »» A list of the channels you did not know you were on There may be social accounts you knew nothing about. These include abandoned accounts set up by employees, imposters posing as you brand, as well as content posted by well-meaning fans, such as Yelp reviews.

tailored per channel or just repurposed from elsewhere? How many followers do they have per channel compared to you? Look at which tracking pixels are on their websites. Stalking the competition may point out an opportunity. If your competitors have a much larger audience, don’t automatically assume there is no chance of catching up. A lack of interaction hands you an opening to build a following and engage! I’ll talk about audits at Affiliate Summit East on July 31 in New York. See you there.

Michelle is an agency owner, author, speaker, Entrepreneur.com vlogger who blogs on metrony.com and pintalk.net.

21


· Issue 35 · July 2016

Launch Success

Step #1

David Favor

W

by David Favor

hen launches fail, answering “why?”, quickly and clearly, gives essential forensics for future

umbrellas, sipping chilled, fruit juice as their foolish brethren

launch success.

hurdle over the cliffs.

In the woods, we say, “Everything looks like a nail when all

You can find your own personal Server Savant using this

you got’s a hammer.” Meaning people debug what they know

simple question…

– copy, funnel steps, list quality, open rates, conversion track-

Tell me how you’d tool a Website for a high traffic launch.

ing, etc. Rarely ever is server technology debugged.

You’re listening for responses like, “I’d use latest Ubuntu

After doing hundreds of site forensic projects since 1994,

LAMP software, out of the tested, prerelease repositories.”

my personal experience has been that most launches fail be-

Hint: Prerelease repositories are where software stages for

cause their site Stack fails.

next major Ubuntu release. Cream of the crop software – lat-

Stack – Linux, Apache, MariaDB/MySQL, PHP, WordPress, SSL (HTTP/2.0) – setup and tuning.

est speed, security and stability fixes. Also, listen for statements related to complex and ex-

#1 Simple Fix to ensure your launch can succeed:

pensive tech, unnecessary with well-tuned Stacks. Myth rid-

Pre-Launch Stack Testing – simulate intense real and at-

den statements like these are big, red flags- “For fast sites,

tack traffic spikes.

you’ll need...”

Good news. Stack testing is dirt simple. My checklist…

»» Expensive servers.

Login your site’s physical server machine using ssh.

»» Separate servers for content serving and database.

1.

2. Use ApacheBench (ab) to simulate 1,000,000 simulta-

»» SSD disks.

neous browser visits. Most sites die instantly under this

»» Hardware load balancers.

load, meaning any high traffic launch will likely fail. Ar-

»» Hardware DOS/DDOS blockers.

tificial load testing of this magnitude produces log data

»» Proxies – Varnish, NGINX, Squid, Haproxy.

which surfaces Stack bottlenecks.

»» CDNs (my experience – fast Stacks out-perform CDNs

3.

Fix bottlenecks.

4.

Rinse and repeat, till site sustains 5000+ visits/second

and avoid CDN complexities/dropouts) »» A single engagement will solve all your site speed and stability issues.

with zero connection failures. A failure rate greater than zero is unacceptable. Failure rate shows how many visitors see Apache errors, Database connection errors, and dreaded white pages of death, rather

Closing thoughts. »» Your hosting will be $100/month/machine for 1,000,000+ page views/hour. »» Your Server Savant will likely run thousands of dollars/

than content. Testing must be done on machine for correct results. External tools produce erroneous results. Ah, I can hear your wheels spinning. You’re wondering,

month to keep your Stack tuned. »» Tuning occurs real time, so your Server Savant is a key Stack component.

“Where can I find one of these elusive Server Savants?” I’ve

Your big take away…

only met a handful my entire life. They’re scarce as Purple

Pre-launch forensics set your stage for launch success,

Lemmings, the ones on the periphery, in floral shirts,under

22

curing fingernail biting and insomnia.

David Favor – Author. Speaker. Server/WordPress Savant. Fast/Stable Hosting Provider. Superfood Alchemist.


· Issue 35 · July 2016

3 Ways to Get

Massive Content Coverage by Zac Johnson

I

n the world of the internet, content is king. If you know how to produce high-quality content, you can pretty much do anything. The best content in the world ranks at the top of

the search results, converts audiences into high-value leads, and is also the foundation for some of the most success busiZac Johnson

nesses and brands in the world today. With the concept of creating great content in mind, let’s take a look at some of the best ways you can use content cre-

author details and contact info for each at the top or bottom

ation to get massive brand exposure and advertising for free.

of most articles.

Before jumping into the list, I highly recommend you get

To increase your chances for a high-profile media men-

started with a website or blog of your own. All you need is a

tion, reach out to contributing writers within your industry and

domain name, web hosting, and a quick install of WordPress.

let them you know you enjoy their work. As a follow-up, see if

There is simply no better way to establish your authority,

you can provide writers with any valuable resources or refer-

while also using it as a platform for reaching out to other op-

ences for their next article. If all goes well, you might just end

portunities like the ones featured below.

up with a mention in their next article.

1. Contribute Content to Sites in Your Niche

3. Turn Boring Data in Infographic Art

Creating content for your own sites is great, but taking

If you truly want to get your content shared to the masses

the time to participate in guest blogging and making contribu-

and picked up on major media outlets like the ones mentioned

tions to other sites is quite impactful as well. Benefits include

above, you are going to need to create something quite amaz-

getting an author bio section at the bottom of each contrib-

ing, original, or newsworthy.

uting article, potential links back to your main site and social

Creating an original infographic, based on current events,

profiles, and most importantly, getting exposure to brand new

data reports, or anything specific that might be happening

audiences.

within your industry right now, is a great way to accomplish this. In short, infographics bring boring data to life, and with a

2. Go Big with Media Mentions and Editor Outreach

little bit of outreach, your infographic might just go viral. Content creation is great, but without the necessary out-

Forbes; Entrepreneur, Inc. and HuffingtonPost... all

reach it’s just going to get lost among the other countless

names you know and may even visit on a regular basis. Did

sites on the internet. Create something amazing, and follow

you know that much of the content on these sites is produced

each of the actionable tips above to make sure your content is

through contributing authors? It’s true, and you can find the

being seen by the masses.

Zac Johnson is an entrepreneur and branding expert who blogs at ZacJohnson.com and Blogging.org.

23


¡ Issue 35 ¡ July 2016

The Online Tools

Every Affiliate Marketer Needs Ed Gabrielyan

24

by Ed Gabrielyan

Ed Gabrielyan is a Data Analyst with leading short-term loan Affiliate Network Zero Parallel (www.ZeroParallel.com).


· Issue 35 · July 2016

5 Tips to Produce

Content That Sells by Victoria Galperina

W

riting powerful copy that sells is one of the biggest challenges that every affiliate marketer faces. As a part of my job, I have been reading

affiliate posts on a daily basis for several years now, and have discovered five key factors that separate average content

Victoria Galperina

from extraordinary pieces that sell:

1. Be Original Every piece of content starts with research, but it is one

your piece will be to read. The lengthier your piece is, the more

thing to search for data that supports or contradicts your

valuable points you will need to make to ensure that your con-

views, and an entirely different thing is searching for similar

tent will be read until the very end.

posts and simply rewriting them. With so much content already published, you are at risk to fall into this trap. You should

4. Provide Visuals

remember that by copying what others say, you will never es-

Support your findings with graphs, photos, pictures, GIFs,

tablish yourself as an opinion leader. Therefore, it will be con-

or videos to better the odds that your content will be shared.

siderably more difficult for you to get people to follow or buy

We live in the social media era, and it is no longer enough to

anything from you, especially if they already follow the person

just provide powerful content. To get your content noticed,

or people who published original posts that you are rewriting.

you need to add equally compelling visuals and statistics that back up the points you make.

2. Provide Value To provide value, you need to put yourself in your audi-

5. Promote

ence’s shoes. What issues can the product or service you are

So you published a post. What’s next? You need to en-

writing about resolve? Pick the issues that your readers are

sure that your post gets noticed. Check that your social share

facing and structure your content to provide value by solving

buttons are easily discoverable, and that they work. Add a de-

their problems: share your experience, write something that

fault text and image to them to make sharing more appealing

will alleviate your readers’ problems, and they will share your

to your readers. If you are just starting out, ask authoritative

findings with their networks.

bloggers to share your post. If you produce a truly valuable piece, influential bloggers will have no trouble sharing it.

3. Be Concrete

The key takeaway here is that rewriting previously pub-

Explain your views in a clear and easily understandable

lished work might save you time, but in the long run, providing

way. Use as many words as you need to make your point, and

original content, which provides value and solves issues, is

move on to the next one. The more precise you are, the easier

how you will get people to buy what you are selling.

Victoria Galperina is the Head of Affiliate Marketing at SEMrush.

25



· Issue 35 · July 2016

The Simple Questions

Merchants Should Ask Affiliates by Travis Glenn

O

Travis Glenn

However, in this case, it’s probably not going to be as easy ver the years, I’ve had the pleasure of working with

as the affiliate network flipping a switch and delivering a flood

hundreds of merchants that were interested in us-

of traffic and sales.

ing affiliate marketing to grow their business. These

Most merchants are going to have an idea of what traf-

companies range from Fortune 500 corporations to small

fic sources and promotion methods they want their affiliates

businesses.

to use. They may want search traffic, media buyers, display

The common denominator is that they’ve heard about affiliate marketing at some point, and decided they want to see if affiliate traffic can work for them.

traffic, mailers, or bloggers. They may restrict some of those methods if they’re doing their own in-house ad buys. The question of what traffic methods are working for the

What determines if a merchant is successful with their

affiliates should not be ignored. Many times, this could help

affiliate campaign? Having a great product or service is impor-

the client discover new methods to allow that they weren’t

tant, as well as having an attractive website or sales page that

aware of.

entices people to buy or submit their information.

Other questions that can be asked early on in the process

Aside from those factors, successful merchants also have

include: What payout would entice affiliates to test the cam-

to understand the best way to work and communicate with

paign? What payment schedules are affiliates expecting? Do

affiliate networks and affiliates. Prior experience working with

the affiliates plan to utilize custom banners or creative? Do the

affiliate campaigns would be very beneficial, but what about

affiliates understand what the target demographic is?

those who are venturing into performance marketing for the first time? It can be simple if you ask the right questions. Whether going through an affiliate network or directly

After the campaign has been launched for some time, then you can lead into more advanced questions for the affiliates, such as:

working with affiliates, one of the first questions should be,

»» What banner, landing page, etc., is working best for you?

“Does your offer fit?” – do affiliates currently promote similar

»» How is the campaign performing compared to similar

campaigns, or at least target a similar demographic? Future success can most easily be predicted by past

campaigns? »» What is your volume potential, and how can we work to

performance. If your product or service type has no activity

scale up?

currently, and little to no interest from affiliates, you should

As in many areas of life, communication can help make

adjust your expectations. That’s not to say that all hope is lost.

the merchant affiliate relationship positive and strong. Asking

With some creative recruiting and good affiliate management,

the right questions can go a long way towards building great

unique new merchants can sometimes find success.

communication and a solid foundation for success.

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

27


· Issue 35 · July 2016

Getting Paid

for Your Actual Risks by David Dalka

David Dalka

Y

ou work hard generating qualified traffic for your client companies. Do they always pay you what you are worth for the risks you take? Do they even see that

»» Risks and interactions of their entire marketing channel portfolio

you take risks? If people understood that, they would understand the sig-

nificant value that you create. Only then can people fully value your efforts at what they are worth. Risks and uncertainty exist across the ecosystem:

»» Risks of marketing channel interruption with little or no notice »» Conflicts of interest that many large, leveraged professional services firms bring to the table

»» Search engines change algorithms and terms of service in uncertain ways that create risk »» Social platforms change algorithms and terms of service in uncertain ways that create risk »» Mobile carriers create unforeseen terms of service risks to users and application providers »» Internet service providers may create usage caps and unforeseen marketing channel risks »» Other members of the ecosystem can introduce risks that alter marketing channel dynamics »» Ad blocking software introduces many forms of risk into the ad serving industry

Performance marketers should be compensated for risks that they take to create value. Until companies understand the business implications of these risks, they will not take action. How do we start this journey? We can start today. Share this article with executives that would benefit from understanding these issues. When events happen that alter the quantity or quality of performance marketing, communicate it. Tell the client why this changed and reference this article again. This way you build a foundation for credibility if production drops. It is at that unlikely moment that pricing increases are likely to occur. Due to your activities, you sometimes see situations that

So, when a marketing channel becomes impaired, do

I never will. When you see a company misusing marketing

people compensate you for the risk? Usually not. For this to

channels, please feel free to share it with me. I am collecting

occur, management teams need to understand and appreci-

examples for future use. With the right intervention, we can

ate the performance marketer value created.

alter the mindset of senior management.

I talk to Chief Executive Officers, Board of Directors’

Effective performance marketing channel manage-

members and senior executives often. I am amazed at how

ment starts with the education of executives. At that point,

many executives do not understand the:

business leaders can increase the effective use of perfor-

»» Operational risks of their marketing channels

mance marketing channels. Only then can they appreciate

»» Fundamental microeconomics and cash flow dynamics

and understand your actual risk profile and pay you what

of their marketing channels

28

you are worth.

David Dalka advises on reshaping priorities about business, technology and trends at Fearless Revival (fearlessrevival.com).


· Issue 35 · July 2016

The Affiliate

Isn’t Always Right… by Jessica Frick

M

Jessica Frick

any companies operate with the ethos that the customer is always right, but everyone knows

Your program’s terms or promotional rules are no different.

that’s not actually true.

Don’t be afraid to over-communicate if you’re offering

So why do we bother keeping that phrase alive?

something that could be valuable to someone who’s never

Because excellent customer service pays back in dividends.

promoted a product as an affiliate. Make it easy for them to find and interpret your rules.

The same is true for our affiliates. When we’re managing an affiliate program, our affiliates are our direct customers. Although many of us have years of experience, many af-

2. Not every violation exposes a scammer

filiates do not. But a lack of experience is not a prerequisite for

We see this a lot.

being wrong, of course… it happens to the best of us.

Some affiliates think they have an understanding of per-

We overstep our agreements. We blur the lines of acceptability. We don’t do it on purpose. It just…happens.

formance marketing basics, but what they “know” may have come from a less-than-reputable resource. They didn’t mean to do something bad… “So-and-so said

When it happens to you, how can you respond? The affiliate isn’t always right, but they’re always the affiliate.

it was a good way to make money.” Go the extra block and dig deeper. You may have an ea-

Almost no one decides to become Captain of the Good Ship Wrongywrong on purpose. And even worse, most of the time when someone’s wrong, they have no idea.

ger affiliate who could become one of your best, provided you don’t come out with guns blazing and accuse them of being a scammer. An ounce of education could turn your misinformed fol-

If our brand is on their sails, it’s worth it to make sure they’re steering their ship right. It might take some extra time

lower into a superstar leader.

and effort, but doesn’t it benefit us to have amazing affiliates who are sailing off in the right direction? Of course it does! Where wonderful customer service is offered, loyalty will follow. Even if an affiliate has made a mistake, consider employing these perspectives to help your program flourish.

3.

Today’s noob affiliate could be your boss tomorrow Okay, maybe not your boss – you read FeedFront, so

you’re obviously a boss. ;-) But really, you get the sentiment… you may only have one chance to build up someone after they make a mistake, helping them become the affiliate they want to be.

1.

Just because they didn’t ask doesn’t mean they know It’s okay to let your affiliates know where to find links in

ShareASale when you send them your approval emails. Why? Because they might not know to ask that question.

They won’t forget the person who reached out a hand to help them learn and grow. To err is human, but to turn someone’s error into a pile of fat cash? That, my friends, is truly divine.

Jessica Frick is EVP of Operations for Rainmaker Digital and administers their five affiliate programs.

29


· Issue 35 · July 2016

Digital Racketeering or

Christian Valdez

A

re publishers and advertisers experiencing digital

Consumer Protection Program? by Christian Valdez

racketeering as ad blocking plug-in use increases? Is our freemium content model slowly going away?

The advertising and publisher ecosystem have taken a turn, in which both have to re-evaluate their business models to

seems very similar to racketeering, where you have to pay

ensure the longevity of their advertising revenue; 30% of ad-

someone to let you do what you could already do, in this case,

vertising revenue is being affected by ad blockers.

display ads to users.

Whether you are a content creator from your home of-

Publishers would argue that such business practices af-

fice, or a corporate creator that influences millions, publishers

fect everyone. Not all publishers can afford to pay to be on an

and advertisers are in the content-making business. There are

ad block whitelist, which leaves the bigger publishers to take

economics that are significant in being able to create “Free-

the majority of losses.

mium” content. If we block every ad unit on content, what will

The approach to ad blocking is a brute force approach in

be left and what authority should regulate content blocking

which all advertisements are blocked on a site. Both the ad-

and acceptance?

vertisers and publishers’ revenue streams are impacted since

Digital content is funded by advertising revenue. For example, sports teams and entertainment businesses can spend billions of dollars on licensing and promotional advertising because of the financial contribution of advertising.

the ad blocking program does not distinguish between constructive and misleading ads. Understandably, advertisements sometimes blur the lines of ethics and deception towards users, and that needs

How would sports teams and entertainment compa-

a regulatory body that is not attached to revenue or affiliation

nies survive if their content was blocked to the viewers? The

to publishers or advertisers. Consumers need to have a way

financial loss would be catastrophic. Ad blocker users have

to address inappropriate content and promote acceptable

ballooned 41% to nearly 200 million, according to a report

practices. There needs to be a balance between parties that

released by Adobe. That number translates to a total loss to

makes sense for all and eliminates monetary gain from brute

the advertiser of about $22 billion this year. The US alone has

approach tactics.

seen an increase in ad blocker usage of 48% in the last year to a total of 45 million users.

The internet is a source of community that has been built by the global community for the global community. If we kill

Are publishers and advertisers experiencing a modern

the ads where would that put our internet? Would it increase

source of extortion? Ad block will allow publishers to dis-

the cost and ease of access to one of our most precious infor-

play their content by paying to be on their whitelist. This idea

mation resources?

30

Christian is the Chief Operating Officer for Mediareps.


· Issue 35 · July 2016

Mentally Breaking Down

Your Hustle by Priest Willis, Sr.

I

’m not a doctor, and I don’t play one on TV. I’m an entrepreneur like many of you, and I’d like to share my prescription for being at peace in business. Several years ago, the word “hustle” hit the business

scene, and many grabbed onto the idea that if you’re not working, then you’re not hustling. Hustle means to force or move

Priest Willis, Sr.

hurriedly in a specified direction. Are you forcing anything? After some people have almost completely broken themselves with the notion that they have to hustle, they then want to find a “work-life balance.” What

time for family and friends, eventually distancing themselves

this ultimately did for many was create and reveal real mental

from the support network that can help them most. I recent-

health issues such as anxiety and depression.

ly read a fitting quote for entrepreneurs: “In an ironic way,

In an article in the September 2013 issue of Inc., writer Jessica Bruder described building a business as “psychologically barbarous,” yet this turmoil was “the cost so many entrepreneurs secretly spend.” Mentioning various studies and real-world cases, Bruder

workaholism is the easy way out. It takes more work to make time for other things.” My personal goal is to protect my #1 strength - my physical and mental health. You’re no good to your business if you don’t have a wellbeing of spirit and soul.

revealed that the strong emotional states an entrepreneur

Decide which responsibilities are giving you low returns

faces when launching and working in his or her business have

and consider outsourcing them if you’re not already doing so.

been linked to the negative emotional states that lead to debili-

If you are so hectic that there is no “me” time, then there is also

tating mental health issues.

no time to innovate or expand your business.

Entrepreneurs are fully invested in their businesses, with

When done right, diverting some revenue toward freeing

a short amount of time available for other things. Eating be-

up personal time may ultimately lead to more revenue and

comes an afterthought and sleep is optional, rather than

greater profitability. If you cannot effectively operate or de-

a priority. This pressure can cause the body to release high

velop your business in sixty hours a week, you need to make

levels of cortisol. This hormone causes the body to store fat

changes.

and cannibalize muscle and along with low levels of serotonin, may cause anxiety.

Whether you work out, garden, or do nothing, make the best of that dedicated time for yourself. Use it as a way to re-

When this happens, people can react in strange ways,

lease and not just another pressure system in your life. Take

but entrepreneurs often react by hurling themselves more

time to recover your spirit and your lifestyle beyond your

into their business pursuits. They allow even less quality

business.

Priest Willis, Sr. is an Entrepreneur and Global Affiliate Marketing Manager with Lenovo.

31


· Issue 35 · July 2016

Look at Me!

Getting a Merchant’s Attention by Tricia Meyer Tricia Meyer

W

see the homepage and make assumptions. It’s up to you to hether you are just starting out as an affiliate,

explain to the merchant why your site is unique compared to

run a small site, or are trying to branch out into

all of the other sites in your niche. Go beyond your traffic and

another niche, it can be difficult to get the atten-

demographic stats to demonstrate to the merchant how your

tion of a merchant. Use these tips to help you not only get ap-

site is a fit for the program. Only you know what sets your site

proved into programs but also negotiate special deals.

and your visitors apart from the thousands of other sites they review.

Do Some Investigating Before you even reach out to the merchant, do a little re-

Offer Them Something

search. Find out who is managing the program (by name, if

Many affiliates will reach out to a merchant and immedi-

possible), what network they are on, and what other affiliates

ately ask for something (a commission increase, a product to

they are already working with or running specials with. The

review, etc.). Do the opposite. Offer the merchant something

more you know about the program before you reach out, the

above and beyond what they would expect from you. Can

better you can tailor your communication to what they might

you feature them in an upcoming gift guide? Do you have a

be looking for.

place in your newsletter where you highlight new merchants or products? Show them that you are willing to give a little up

Start with Stats

front in the relationship to prove yourself.

Pull your best and most pertinent data to share with the merchant. Use just a couple of numbers that the merchant

Be Succinct

can understand. It doesn’t have to be huge volume, but could

Now take all of the advice above and figure out how to

instead be the percentage of your visitors that are in a certain

reach the merchant as fast as possible. Everyone gets too

demographic or the high open rate of your newsletters. If you

many emails, so to make yours stand out, you need to get

are starting small, it may even be your rate of growth over the

to the point in your first two paragraphs. Use bullet points to

last few months and your projection for the next few months.

convey information quickly. If you want to provide background information, move it to the end after you have gotten the key

Show How You Are Unique

facts across to the reader. Understand that you might only

Next, move on to the content. Most merchants will not take the time to explore and understand your whole site. They

32

have a few seconds to make an impression, and make the most of that time.

Tricia Meyer is the owner of Sunshine Rewards and blogs about affiliate marketing at Tricia.me.


· Issue 35 · July 2016

Affiliate Summit East 2016

Agenda Day 0

Saturday, 7/30/2016

Sunday, 7/31/2016

Early Check-In Open

Check-In Open

Day 1

Time: 12:00 pm - 8:00 pm

Time: 8:00 am - 6:00 pm

Location: Registration Area – 3rd Floor

Location: Registration Area – 3rd Floor

Come by Saturday to pick up your badge and attendee bag

Pick up your conference badge and attendee bag, and get

so you can enter immediately on Sunday when the show

started with Affiliate Summit.

opens!

Networking Lounge Open Networking for Introverts Time: 5:00 pm - 6:00 pm Location: Ziegfeld Room

Time: 8:00 am - 6:00 pm Location: Empire Complex - 7th Floor All attendees are welcome to take advantage of the tables

»» Missy Ward, Co-Founder, Affiliate Summit

and WiFi to have meetings, catch up on work, or simply

»» Shawn Collins, Co-Founder, Affiliate Summit

take a break. Coffee and Tea available to those with Refresh Drink Tickets. (The VIP area located within the Networking

Does the idea of introducing yourself to a constant series of strangers over three days make you sick to your stomach? Do you tend to enjoy quiet concentration, listen more

Lounge is open to VIP Pass Holders only.) Open to All Pass Holders

than you talk, and think before you speak? Well, come to our networking for introverts workshop for some advice and exercises to get you ready to be a more effective networker. Niche/Vertical: Introverts Target Audience: Affiliate/Publisher, First-Time

Speaker Ready Room Open Time: 8:00 am - 6:00 pm Location: Duffy 7th Floor

Attendees, Merchant/Advertiser, Network

Affiliate Summit East 2016 Speakers can utilize this room

Experience Level: Advanced, Beginner, Intermediate

to relax and run through their presentations one last time to

Open to All Pass Holders

ensure that it goes smoothly during their sessions. Speaker Ribbon Required

33


· Issue 35 · July 2016

Press Room Open

First Timer Orientation

Time: 8:00 am - 6:00 pm

Time: 10:00 am - 10:30 am

Location: Columbia – 7th Floor

Location: Astor Ballroom – 7th Floor

The Press Room is an area reserved credentialed Press only to grab some desk space, blog, interview, relax, and network. Press Ribbon Required

»» Shawn Collins, Co-Founder, Affiliate Summit All first-time attendees are encouraged to join Affiliate Summit Co-Founder, Shawn Collins for tips and advice on getting the most out of your time at Affiliate Summit. Niche/Vertical: Networking

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

Target Audience: First-Time Attendees Experience Level: Beginner Open to All Pass Holders

Location: Broadway Ballroom – 6th Floor Exhibitors may set up their booth at this time. Exhibitor or Sponsor Ribbon Required

Session 1a – Live SEO & Monetization Reviews Time: 11:00 am - 12:00 pm Location: Astor Ballroom – 7th Floor

Meet Market Table Setup Time: 9:00 am - 12:00 pm Location: Westside Ballroom – 5th Floor

»» Adam Riemer, President, Adam Riemer Marketing LLC »» Kenny Hyder, Founder, Hyder Media »» Roger Montti, Owner, MartiniBuster.com »» Scott Polk, CEO, MarketingNomads.com

Meet Market Exhibitors may set up their tables at this time. Have your website reviewed by industry experts and learn to Exhibitor or Sponsor Ribbon Required

rank better in Google as well as how to make more money. Niche/Vertical: SEO

Job and Resource Fair Time: 9:00 am – 11:00 am Location: Broadway Balcony – 7th Floor Your company needs a place to find people to find new

Target Audience: Affiliate/Publisher, Merchant/ Advertiser Experience Level: Intermediate Networking w/Session Ticket Purchase | Networking Plus w/Session Ticket Purchase | VIP

employees/contractors, business solutions and targeted traffic. You need a place to find a new career and sell your services.

Session 1b – Inside the Minds of Six Figure Bloggers: Ask the Experts

These places are actually the same place.

Time: 11:00 am - 12:00 pm

Your solution is the Affiliate Summit Job and Resource Fair.

Location: Soho Complex – 7th Floor

Participating is easy. Just locate the room area that is suited to your needs, grab a blank sign and write down what you want. Shy? Don’t worry. You can simply walk around to view the offerings and see if you’re a fit. Open to All Pass Holders

»» John Chow, Titles Are For Wimps, John Chow dot Com »» John Rampton, Founder, Due.com »» Syed Balkhi, Founder, WPBeginner »» Zac Johnson, CEO, MoneyReign, Inc Four of the industry’s most well-known and successful bloggers and online marketers come together to share their

34


· Issue 35 · July 2016

expertise, insight and knowledge on how to build a success business through blogging.

Meet Market Open

Niche/Vertical: Blogging

Time: 12:00 pm - 6:00 pm

Target Audience: Affiliate/Publisher

Location: Westside Ballroom – 5th Floor

Experience Level: Intermediate Networking w/Session Ticket Purchase | Networking Plus w/Session Ticket Purchase | VIP

The Meet Market is a showcase featuring affiliate programs, networks, and vendors. Each exhibitor table is a meeting spot for teaching, learning, closing deals, creating

Session 1c – 10 Golden Rules of Online Marketing – Version 10.0 Time: 11:00 am - 12:00 pm

partnerships and finding new opportunities. Review the Meet Market Map, to line up who you want to meet. Open to All Pass Holders

Location: Times Square – 7th Floor »» Jay Berkowitz, Founder and CEO, www.TenGoldenRules.com On the tenth anniversary of the groundbreaking 10 Golden Rules of Online Marketing we will examine the ten core strategies for successful digital marketing and 10 breakthrough case studies.

VIP Snack Break Time: 12:00 pm – 1:30 pm Location: Broadway Balcony – 7th Floor VIP Pass Holders: Fuel up and recharge with some snacks

Niche/Vertical: Marketing

and drinks in a relaxed networking environment. (Your “Sun-

Target Audience: Affiliate/Publisher, Merchant/Advertiser

day Snack” Ticket must also be presented upon arrival).

Experience Level: Intermediate Networking w/Session Ticket Purchase | Networking Plus w/Session Ticket Purchase | VIP

VIP Passes Only

35


· Issue 35 · July 2016

Niche/Vertical: Conversion Optimization

Session 2a – Pro Level Facebook Ad Optimization

Target Audience: Affiliate/Publisher

Techniques

Experience Level: Advanced

Time: 12:15 pm - 12:45 pm Location: Astor Ballroom – 7th Floor

Networking w/Session Ticket Purchase | Networking Plus w/Session Ticket Purchase | VIP

»» Dennis Yu, CTO, BlitzMetrics Dennis Yu has spent over $100MM on Facebook since 2007. He’ll log-in live to 3 Facebook ad accounts and show exactly how to build and manage conversion conversions. 6 phase process. Will share guide. Niche/Vertical: Facebook Target Audience: Merchant/Advertiser Experience Level: Advanced Networking w/Session Ticket Purchase | Networking Plus w/Session Ticket Purchase | VIP

Session 3a – Dojo: Google Updates, Link Building, Tools, and SEO Lessons Time: 1:00 pm – 1:30 pm Location: Astor Ballroom – 7th Floor »» Jim Boykin, CEO, Internet Marketing Ninjas Boykin will talk about Google updates, including Panda and Penguin, and how to survive them. Boykin will also share link building techniques and tools his own ninjas use. Niche/Vertical: Google Target Audience: Affiliate/Publisher, Merchant/

Session 2b – Elements of Incrementality in the

Advertiser

Affiliate Channel

Experience Level: Intermediate

Time: 12:15 pm - 12:45 pm Location: Soho Complex – 7th Floor

Networking w/Session Ticket Purchase | Networking Plus w/Session Ticket Purchase | VIP

»» Joe Sousa, Affiliate Coordinator, Fanatics Learn what to look for when trying to find value in the affiliate channel. Merchants: These are the sales you want. Affiliates: These are the sales you want to generate. Niche/Vertical: Incrementality Target Audience: Merchant/Advertiser Experience Level: Intermediate Networking w/Session Ticket Purchase | Networking Plus w/Session Ticket Purchase | VIP

Session 3b – Attribution and Affiliate Marketing – Learn to Make it Work Time: 1:00 pm – 1:30 pm Location: Soho Complex – 7th Floor »» Todd Crawford, VP Strategic Initiatives, Impact Radius Learn how attribution modeling and other cross channel insights can help you more intelligently manage your affiliate program and determine which affiliates are driving the highest value. Niche/Vertical: Attribution

Session 2c – Conversion Optimization: 6 Steps to

Target Audience: Merchant/Advertiser

Double Your Revenue

Experience Level: Intermediate

Time: 12:15 pm - 12:45 pm Location: Times Square – 7th Floor

Networking w/Session Ticket Purchase | Networking Plus w/Session Ticket Purchase | VIP

»» Khalid Saleh, CEO, Invesp Using several case studies, I will delve deep into the science of conversion optimization, and I will demonstrate how top affiliates applied the CRU formula to double their site.

Session 3c – How to Conduct a Social Media Audit Time: 1:00 pm – 1:30 pm Location: Times Square – 7th Floor »» Michelle Held, Owner, MetroNY, LLC

36


· Issue 35 · July 2016

Evaluate your brand’s social media efforts. What are competitors posting? Identify the social media content that resonates with your audience, which channels are effective, and how to adjust strategy. Niche/Vertical: Social Media Target Audience: Affiliate/Publisher, Merchant/Advertiser Experience Level: Intermediate Networking w/Session Ticket Purchase | Networking Plus w/Session Ticket Purchase | VIP

Session 4a – 8 Simple Revenue Boosting Hacks for WordPress Time: 1:45 pm – 2:15 pm Location: Astor Ballroom – 7th Floor »» David Vogelpohl, VP Web Strategy, WP Engine Learn 8 simple WordPress hacks to quickly increase commissions. We’ll cover powerful plugins & optimizations that can save you time, scale your business, and help increase your bottom line. Niche/Vertical: WordPress Target Audience: Affiliate/Publisher Experience Level: Beginner Networking w/Session Ticket Purchase | Networking Plus w/Session Ticket Purchase | VIP

Session 4c – Killer SEO Tactics of Yesterday Can Get You Killed Today Time: 1:45 pm – 2:15 pm Location: Times Square – 7th Floor »» Stoney deGeyter, President, Pole Position Marketing Remembering that those who don’t learn from history are doomed to repeat it, I will review SEO tactics that once worked that can now

Session 4b – Launch a Podcast to Explode Your Audience & Authority

“kill” your web marketing efforts… and what to do instead. Niche/Vertical: SEO

Time: 1:45 pm – 2:15 pm

Target Audience: Affiliate/Publisher, Merchant/Advertiser

Location: Soho Complex – 7th Floor

Experience Level: Intermediate

»» James Martell, Rainmaker, Clearbrook Web Services

Networking w/Session Ticket Purchase | Networking Plus w/Session Ticket Purchase | VIP

You will learn why podcasting is one of the highest converting sales & engagement tools, and how to get featured in iTunes w/o spending a dime on marketing. This alone generates 1000’s of listeners! Niche/Vertical: Podcasting

Revshare Roundup Exhibitor Setup Time: 2:00 pm – 2:30 pm Location: Broadway Balcony – 7th Floor

Target Audience: Affiliate/Publisher, Merchant/

Revshare Roundup Exhibitors may set up their tables at

Advertiser, Network

this time.

Experience Level: Intermediate Networking w/Session Ticket Purchase | Networking Plus w/Session Ticket Purchase | VIP

(Exhibitor Ribbons Required for admittance)

37


· Issue 35 · July 2016

»» David Naffziger, CEO, BrandVerity

Session 5a – What I Learned from My Wife’s Business Time: 2:30 pm – 3:00 pm Location: Astor Ballroom – 7th Floor »» Brook Schaaf, Husband, Prep Dish Prep Dish sells subscriptions to meal plans. We’ll look at the various SaaS and other vendors it uses including Infusionsoft, LeadPages, Memberium, WordPress, WP Curve, and Fresh Press Media.

What are the keys to effective compliance today? From people to process to technology, I’ll discuss how major brands are approaching the issue and provide takeaways for all brands—large or small. Niche/Vertical: Compliance Target Audience: Merchant/Advertiser, Network Experience Level: Intermediate Networking w/Session Ticket Purchase | Networking Plus w/Session Ticket Purchase | VIP

Niche/Vertical: Subscription Target Audience: Merchant/Advertiser

Session 5c – The Top Ways to Optimize Your Pay-Per-

Experience Level: Beginner

Call Campaigns

Networking w/Session Ticket Purchase | Networking Plus w/Session Ticket Purchase | VIP

Time: 2:30 pm – 3:00 pm Location: Times Square – 7th Floor »» Sean Geraghty, Director of Customer Success, Advisory

Session 5b – Protecting Big Brands: Compliance Lessons for Everyone

Services, Invoca Pay-per-call isn’t a set-it-and-forget-it game. Sure your cam-

Time: 2:30 pm – 3:00 pm

paigns will work, but if you want to grow your pay-per-call

Location: Soho Complex – 7th Floor

program, and your business, you’ve got to optimize, adjust, and improve. Niche/Vertical: Pay-Per-Call Target Audience: Affiliate/Publisher Experience Level: Beginner Networking w/Session Ticket Purchase | Networking Plus w/Session Ticket Purchase | VIP

Revshare Roundup Open Time: 2:30 pm – 6:00 pm Location: Broadway Balcony – 7th Floor If you are looking for new revenue share programs to drive traffic to, the Affiliate Summit Revshare Roundup showcases a variety of affiliate programs to discover. (Unrelated conversations will not be entertained during this 3-1/2 hour event.) Only the following attendee badge types will have access to all the RevShare Roundup: Affiliate, Advertiser, Affiliate Management, OPM/ Agency and Network.

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· Issue 35 · July 2016

segmentation, multi-attribution tracking and properly com-

Session 6a – Find the Right Influencers to Engage Your Audience Properly

pensating affiliates. Niche/Vertical: Attribution

Time: 3:15 pm – 3:45 pm

Target Audience: Merchant/Advertiser

Location: Astor Ballroom – 7th Floor

Experience Level: Intermediate

»» Amanda Blain, CEO, FortuneGeek Corporation »» Sean Steinmarc, Speaker, steinmarc.com Influencer marketing is one of the hottest trends right now. But what does it mean? You’ll learn how to find the right influencers, what they want from from you, & how to properly engage them. Niche/Vertical: Influence Target Audience: Merchant/Advertiser Experience Level: Intermediate Networking w/Session Ticket Purchase | Networking Plus w/Session Ticket Purchase | VIP

Networking w/Session Ticket Purchase | Networking Plus w/Session Ticket Purchase | VIP

Session 7a – Affiliate Marketing: Why Data Matters Time: 4:00 pm – 4:30 pm Location: Astor Ballroom – 7th Floor »» Dave Stewart, CTO, Cake »» Kristen Pulver, Director Performance Media, Horizon Media Affiliate marketing can generate new revenue opportunities. Explore how data provides insight into a campaigns performance and how to leverage data to make smarter

Session 6b – The Affiliate Evolution into Mega-Brands

digital investments.

Time: 3:15 pm – 3:45 pm

Niche/Vertical: Data

Location: Soho Complex – 7th Floor

Target Audience: Affiliate/Publisher

»» Ariel Rosenstein, Head of Marketing, Similar Web Many affiliates have become big brands that stand alone in

Experience Level: Beginner Networking w/Session Ticket Purchase | Networking Plus w/Session Ticket Purchase | VIP

their own right. We will deconstruct these mega-brand affiliates and the data-driven metrics that make them successful. Niche/Vertical: Market Intelligence Target Audience: Affiliate/Publisher, Merchant/ Advertiser Experience Level: Intermediate Networking w/Session Ticket Purchase | Networking Plus w/Session Ticket Purchase | VIP

Session 7b - Little Known Facebook Tips to Maximize Reach & Effectiveness Time: Time: 4:00 pm – 4:30 pm Location: Soho Complex – 7th Floor »» Nathan Smith, President, Zynali Marketing Solutions Not every Facebook change gets mass attention & tutorials from social marketing blogs. In fact, many of these tips are

Session 6c – Understanding Incremental Revenue in

under the radar of the FB “gurus.” You’ll leave with fresh,

the Affiliate Channel

actionable ideas.

Time: 3:15 pm – 3:45 pm

Niche/Vertical: Facebook

Location: Times Square – 7th Floor

Target Audience: Affiliate/Publisher, Merchant/

»» Stephanie Harris, CEO, Schaaf-PartnerCentric This session will focus on defining ‘incremental revenue’ within the affiliate channel, including determining effective

Advertiser Experience Level: Intermediate Networking w/Session Ticket Purchase | Networking Plus w/Session Ticket Purchase | VIP

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· Issue 35 · July 2016

Session 7c – Affiliate Fraud Triggers You’re Ignoring,

All attendees are welcome to take advantage of the tables

But Shouldn’t

and WiFi to have meetings, catch up on work, or simply

Time: 4:00 pm – 4:30 pm Location: Times Square – 7th Floor »» Monica Eaton, Co-Founder, COO, Chargebacks911

take a break. Coffee and Tea available to those with Refresh Drink Tickets. (The VIP area located within the Networking Lounge is open to VIP Pass Holders only.)

Affiliate fraud affects your campaigns in ways you cannot even fathom. It’s time to expose the secrets fraudsters don’t want you to know and finally put a stop to this needless revenue loss. Niche/Vertical: Chargebacks Target Audience: Merchant/Advertiser Experience Level: Advanced Networking w/Session Ticket Purchase | Networking Plus w/Session Ticket Purchase | VIP

Press Room Open Time: 7:30 am - 5:00 pm Location: Columbia – 7th Floor The Press Room is an area reserved for credentialed Press only to grab some desk space, blog, interview, relax, and network. Press Ribbon Required

Newcomer Program Meetup Time: 6:30 pm - 7:30 pm Location: Duffy – 7th Floor The Affiliate Summit Newcomer Program helps connect

Speaker Ready Room Open Time: 7:30 am - 5:00 pm Location: Duffy – 7th Floor

first-time attendees with Affiliate Summit veterans. Confer-

Affiliate Summit East 2016 Speakers can utilize this room

ence veterans volunteer their time to share their past expe-

to relax and run through their presentations one last time to

rience ideas and information to help newcomers optimize

ensure that it goes smoothly during their sessions.

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 Newcomer Program to participate in this event.)

Speaker Ribbon Required

Exhibit Hall Booth Refresh Time: 9:00 am - 10:00 am

Day 2

Monday, 8/1/2016

Location: Broadway Ballroom - 6th Floor Exhibitors may come in during this time to refresh their booth from yesterday’s setup and prep booth staff. Grab-ngo coffee, tea and pastries will be served.

Attendee Check-In Time: 7:30 am - 5:00 pm

Exhibitor or Sponsor Ribbon Required

Location: Registration Area - 3rd Floor Pick up your conference badge and attendee bag, and get started with Affiliate Summit.

VIP Buffet Breakfast Time: 9:00 am - 10:00 am Location: Westside Ballroom - 5th Floor

Networking Lounge Open Time: 7:30 am - 5:00 pm Location: Empire Complex – 7th Floor

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VIP Pass Holders: Fuel up on a hearty buffet-style breakfast in a relaxed networking environment. (Your “Monday Breakfast” Ticket must also be presented upon arrival). VIP Pass Holders Only


· Issue 35 · July 2016

Session 8a – The Affiliate Millionaire Blueprint Time: 10:00 am – 11:00am Location: Astor Ballroom - 7th Floor »» Bryant Hussey, Vice President, Online Marketing, Atlantic Coast Brands »» Ed Hong, President, OneShot Marketing »» Giancarlo Barraza, President, The Millionaire Mastermind »» JJ Alan, Executive Chairman, JJ Alan How to go from 0 to $1 million dollars in 6 – 12 months in

A rare look from a panel of state AG senior staff and attorneys into how states and the FTC decide to work together vs. “going it alone,” and what lessons can be learned from these collaborations. Niche/Vertical: FTC Target Audience: Affiliate/Publisher, Merchant/ Advertiser, Network Experience Level: Intermediate Networking w/Session Ticket Purchase | Networking Plus w/Session Ticket Purchase | VIP

performance based affiliate marketing. Learn tips and strategies from top affiliate millionaires. Niche/Vertical: Facebook Target Audience: Affiliate/Publisher Experience Level: Beginner Networking w/Session Ticket Purchase | Networking Plus w/Session Ticket Purchase | VIP

Exhibit Hall Open Time: 10:00 am - 5:00 pm Location: Broadway Ballroom - 6th Floor Affiliate Summit’s Exhibit Hall floor features a wide variety of affiliate programs, networks, outsourced program managers, agencies, technology providers, traffic sources and

Session 8b – Advanced Advertising Tactics For Local Online Marketing

other vendors. All attendees are welcome. Open to All Pass Holders

Time: 10:00 am – 11:00am Location: Soho Complex - 7th Floor »» Amanda Orson, Owner, W2PY »» Brandon Hoffman, Director of Internet Marketing, KEA Advertising, Inc Learn the newest and most cutting edge tactics to deliver local traffic/leads as well as ways to make the results tangible for small to medium sized businesses. Niche/Vertical: Local Target Audience: Affiliate/Publisher Experience Level: Intermediate Networking w/Session Ticket Purchase | Networking Plus w/Session Ticket Purchase | VIP

Session 8c – Power in Numbers: Insight Into State Ag/FTC Collaborations Time: 10:00 am – 11:00am Location: Times Square - 7th Floor »» Lori Kalani, Member, Cozen O’Connor »» Michael Turpen, Attorney, Riggs Abney Neal Turpen »» Rachel Hirsch, Attorney, Ifrah PLLC

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· Issue 35 · July 2016

Opening Remarks & Keynote Time: 11:15 am - 12:15 pm Location: Westside Ballroom - 5th Floor »» Melissa Salas, Senior Director of Marketing, Swiss Watch International »» Scott Stratten, President, UnMarketing Following opening remarks by Affiliate Summit East 2016 Emcee, Melissa Salas, Scott Stratten will present his keynote address. Open to All Pass Holders

VIP Buffet Lunch Time: 12:30 pm - 1:45 pm Location: Westside Ballroom - 5th Floor VIP Pass Holders: Fuel up on a hearty buffet-style lunch in a relaxed networking environment. (Your “Monday Lunch” Ticket must also be presented upon arrival). VIP Pass Holders Only

Session 9a – Recognizing Performance Occurring Higher in the Funnel Time: 2:00 pm – 2:30 pm Location: Astor Ballroom - 7th Floor »» Rachel Honoway, CEO, FMTC Performance events are happening higher in the funnel than the sale and lead activities that most affiliate marketers focus on. Learn the trickle down value of these earlyfunnel activities. Niche/Vertical: Influencers Target Audience: Merchant/Advertiser, Network Experience Level: Advanced Networking w/Session Ticket Purchase | Networking Plus w/Session Ticket Purchase | VIP

Session 9b – Negotiation Tactics for Affiliates and Affiliate Managers Time: 2:00 pm – 2:30 pm Location: Soho Complex - 7th Floor »» Tricia Meyer, Owner, Sunshine Rewards Learn how to apply general negotiation tactics specifically to affiliate relationships regarding placements, commissions, and promotions so that both sides come out happy. Niche/Vertical: Negotiation Target Audience: Affiliate/Publisher, Merchant/ Advertiser Experience Level: Intermediate Networking w/Session Ticket Purchase | Networking Plus w/Session Ticket Purchase | VIP

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· Issue 35 · July 2016

Session 9c – Ad Blocking: The End of Advertising as

programs and tech advances are causing major disruption.

We Know It?

Understand these trends and concrete ways to stay one

Time: 2:00 pm – 2:30 pm Location: Times Square - 7th Floor »» Jonah-Kai Hancock, Director of Marketing, TUNE With the potential to disrupt the entire economy of the Internet, ad blocking is on the rise—especially for mobile. See

step ahead. Niche/Vertical: Trends Target Audience: Affiliate/Publisher Experience Level: Intermediate Networking w/Session Ticket Purchase | Networking Plus w/Session Ticket Purchase | VIP

how marketers are getting around ad blocking and what to expect in the future. Niche/Vertical: Ad Blocking Target Audience: Affiliate/Publisher, Merchant/ Advertiser, Network Experience Level: Beginner Networking w/Session Ticket Purchase | Networking Plus w/Session Ticket Purchase | VIP

Session 10b – Advanced Program Management Tactics Time: 2:45 pm – 3:15 pm Location: Soho Complex - 7th Floor »» Greg Hoffman, President, Apogee Affiliate marketing is not a set-it-and-forget-it ecommerce channel. Managers need advanced education to make

Session 10a – Ahead of the Trends: 2016 Affiliate

their affiliate program profitable and to create sustainable

Innovation & Investment

growth for years to come.

Time: 2:45 pm – 3:15 pm

Niche/Vertical: Affiliate Management

Location: Astor Ballroom - 7th Floor

Target Audience: Merchant/Advertiser

»» Oliver Roup, Founder/CEO, VigLink Brands are investing more than ever into affiliate marketing

Experience Level: Intermediate Networking w/Session Ticket Purchase | Networking Plus w/Session Ticket Purchase | VIP

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· Issue 35 · July 2016

Niche/Vertical: Affiliate Management

Session 10c – Affiliate Marketing in a Global

Target Audience: Merchant/Advertiser

Economy

Experience Level: Intermediate

Time: 2:45 pm – 3:15 pm Location: Times Square - 7th Floor

Networking w/Session Ticket Purchase | Networking Plus w/Session Ticket Purchase | VIP

»» James Little, Group Commercial Director, TopCashBack.com Customers are buying from across the globe. Get advice on the opportunities that cross border shopping will bring and hear our experiences of growing from a UK SME to launch in the USA, China & India. Niche/Vertical: International Target Audience: Affiliate/Publisher, Merchant/ Advertiser, Network Experience Level: Intermediate Networking w/Session Ticket Purchase | Networking Plus w/Session Ticket Purchase | VIP

Session 11c – If You Track It, They Will Come: Tracking Multi-Device Users Time: 3:30 pm – 4:00 pm Location: Times Square - 7th Floor »» Ernie St. Gelais, CTO, LinkConnector 4 in 10 purchases involve multiple devices or channels. Is your program/network equipped to track affiliate conversions in a rapidly evolving, multi-device era? Turn this challenge into opportunity. Niche/Vertical: Multi-Device Target Audience: Affiliate/Publisher

Session 11a – 5 Biggest Mistakes Affiliates Make on Facebook Advertising Time: 3:30 pm – 4:00 pm

Experience Level: Intermediate Networking w/Session Ticket Purchase | Networking Plus w/Session Ticket Purchase | VIP

Location: Astor Ballroom - 7th Floor »» John Crestani, Founder, Nutryst As a network owner, and direct/internal media buyer, I will be addressing the 5 biggest mistakes I see affiliate marketers making on Facebook advertising, from targeting to ads, etc Niche/Vertical: Facebook Target Audience: Affiliate/Publisher Experience Level: Advanced Networking w/Session Ticket Purchase | Networking Plus w/Session Ticket Purchase | VIP

Session 12a – Advanced Keyword Research to Uncover Content Opportunties Time: 4:15 pm – 4:45 pm Location: Astor Ballroom - 7th Floor »» Dan Shure, Owner/Consultant, Evolving SEO This session will reveal advanced ways to find keywords/ topics with enormous SEO opportunity. You’ll learn uncommon tactics for using tools like SEM Rush, Authority Labs, Search Console & more! Niche/Vertical: Keyword Research Target Audience: Affiliate/Publisher

Session 11b – 10 Ways to Make Your Affiliate Program Stand Out Time: 3:30 pm – 4:00 pm

Experience Level: Advanced Networking w/Session Ticket Purchase | Networking Plus w/Session Ticket Purchase | VIP

Location: Soho Complex - 7th Floor »» Geno Prussakov, CEO, AM Navigator LLC Get ready to take home 10 practical tips to pull ahead of your competitors in marketing to affiliates and through them. Examples-packed presentation. Q&A at the end.

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Session 12b – A How to Guide to Avoid Becoming an Attribution Bully Time: 4:15 pm – 4:45 pm Location: Soho Complex - 7th Floor


· Issue 35 · July 2016

»» Sarah Beeskow Blay, Director of Client Services, ShareASale Are you using attribution for good vs. power? In this presentation, learn how to solidify your business partnerships and increase ROI. With the right attribution strategy, everyone comes out a winner! Niche/Vertical: Attribution Target Audience: Merchant/Advertiser Experience Level: Intermediate Networking w/Session Ticket Purchase | Networking Plus w/Session Ticket Purchase | VIP

Ask the Experts Roundtables Time: 5:00 pm - 6:00 pm Location: Broadway Balcony - 7th Floor »» Adopt Strategies for Marketing to People, Not Pixels Daryl Colwell, Senior Vice President, Fluent »» Affiliate Lifetime Value: Control Your Recruitment Budget Teodora Dobjanschi, Senior Affiliate Recruiter, Avangate »» Attract. Engage. Reward. Baiting the Hook to Get More Leads - Lisa Lantz, Director, Strategic Solutions, SCA Promotions »» Cracking the Millennials Code - Chris Capra, Marketing

Session 12c – Reputation Management and Affiliate Programs Time: 4:15 pm – 4:45 pm Location: Times Square - 7th Floor »» Tony Wright, CEO, WrightIMC In this session we will discuss how a company’s reputation can affect its affiliate program. Using references from

Consultant - U.S. Marketing, 888poker/casino »» Debunking 4 Dangerous Chargeback Myths - Srii Srinivasan, Co-Founder & CEO, Chargeback Gurus »» How to Reduce Opt-Outs & Transform Your Email Marketing - Cris Angelini, Dir Business Development, UnsubCentral »» Selling Your Website for Six or Seven Figures - Mark Daoust, CEO, Quiet Light Brokerage »» Should Your Affiliate Program Budget Include Paid

WrightIMC’s comprehensive survey “Should Your Brand

Placements - Christopher Park, Affiliate/Partnerships

Take a Stand”.

Manager, Blair.com

Niche/Vertical: ORM Target Audience: Affiliate/Publisher, Merchant/ Advertiser Experience Level: Intermediate Networking w/Session Ticket Purchase | Networking Plus w/Session Ticket Purchase | VIP

»» The Latam Market +20% growth - How to Monetize from Abroad - Rodrigo Genoveze, Regional Director Latam, Zanox »» Tips from an FTC Pro: How to Avoid an FTC Asset Freeze Bill Rothbard, Attorney, Law Offices of William I. Rothbard »» Using Cell Data to Turn Losing Call Campaigns into Winners - Jason Bennett, PSX/Malbis Media Open to All Pass Holders

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· Issue 35 · July 2016

Tuesday, 8/2/2016 Attendee Check-In Time: 8:00 am - 3:00 pm Location: Registration Area - 3rd Floor Pick up your conference badge and attendee bag, and get started with Affiliate Summit. Open to All Pass Holders

Networking Lounge Open Time: 8:00 am - 4:00 pm Location: Empire Complex – 7th Floor 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. (The VIP area located within the Networking Lounge is open to VIP Pass Holders only.) Open to All Pass Holders

Press Room Open Time: 8:00 am - 4:00 pm Location: Columbia – 7th Floor The Press Room is an area reserved for credentialed Press only to grab some desk space, blog, interview, relax, and network. Press Ribbon Required

Speaker Ready Room Open Time: 8:00 am - 4:00 pm Location: Duffy – 7th Floor Affiliate Summit East 2016 Speakers can utilize this room to relax and run through their presentations one last time to ensure that it goes smoothly during their sessions. Speaker Ribbon Required

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Day 3


· Issue 35 · July 2016

Exhibit Hall Booth Refresh Time: 9:00 am - 10:00 am Location: Broadway Ballroom - 6th Floor Exhibitors may come in during this time to refresh their booth from yesterday’s setup and prep booth staff. Grab-ngo coffee, tea and pastries will be served. Exhibitor or Sponsor Ribbon Required

Session 13b – The Chemistry of the Landing Page with Live Critiques Time: 10:00 am – 11:00am Location: Soho Complex - 7th Floor »» Brian Massey, Managing Partner, Conversion Sciences 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.

VIP Buffet Breakfast

Niche/Vertical: Landing Pages

Time: 9:00 am - 10:00 am

Target Audience: Merchant/Advertiser

Location: Westside Ballroom - 5th Floor

Experience Level: Intermediate

VIP Pass Holders: Fuel up on a hearty buffet-style breakfast in a relaxed networking environment. (Your “Tuesday Break-

Networking w/Session Ticket Purchase | Networking Plus w/Session Ticket Purchase | VIP

fast” Ticket must also be presented upon arrival). VIP Pass Holders Only

Session 13c - Africa – the Next Affiliate Marketing Frontier Time: 10:00 am – 11:00am

Session 13a – 31 Tools of the Trade for Affiliate Marketers Time: 10:00 am – 11:00am Location: Astor Ballroom - 7th Floor »» Jeannine Crooks, Senior Account Manager, Affiliate Window

Location: Times Square - 7th Floor »» Jonathan Miller, CEO, Forge Media With 600 million connected consumers, Africa is fast becoming a hotbed for online and mobile engagement, innovation, and services. Learn how to dominate this new market though affiliate marketing.

»» John LoBrutto, Director of Affiliate Solutions & Partnerships, Liquid Web, LLC »» Mike Allen, Internet Marketing Navigator, Businesswright Consulting Three affiliate marketing veterans share 31 of their favorite web apps and tools they use almost daily for social media development, site monitoring, office management, marketing, and content research. Niche/Vertical: Tools Target Audience: Affiliate/Publisher Experience Level: Beginner Networking w/Session Ticket Purchase | Networking Plus w/Session Ticket Purchase | VIP

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· Issue 35 · July 2016

Niche/Vertical: Africa Target Audience: Affiliate/Publisher, Merchant/ Advertiser, Network Experience Level: Intermediate Networking w/Session Ticket Purchase | Networking Plus w/Session Ticket Purchase | VIP

Exhibit Hall Open Time: 10:00 am - 4:00 pm Location: Broadway Ballroom - 6th Floor Affiliate Summit’s Exhibit Hall tradeshow floor features a wide selection of affiliate programs, networks, outsourced program managers, agencies, technology providers, traffic sources and other vendors. All attendees are welcome. Open to All Pass Holders

Opening Remarks & Keynote Time: 11:15 am - 12:15 pm Location: Westside Ballroom - 5th Floor »» Bruce Clay, President, Bruce Clay, Inc. »» Duane Forrester, Vice President Organic Search Operations, Bruce Clay, Inc. »» Stephan Spencer, Co-Author, The Art of SEO Following opening remarks from Affiliate Summit East 2016 Emcee, Melissa Salas, we will hear from Bruce Clay,

Session 14a – Influencer Campaigns That Don’t Suck: A How-To Guide

Duane Forrester, and Stephan Spencer in an interactive

Time: 2:00 pm – 3:00 pm

keynote panel titled “SEO: Ask Me Anything”. A combined

Location: Astor Ballroom - 7th Floor

50+ years of SEO experience stand on once stage at Affiliate Summit. This panel of experts will answer questions as they come from the audience about anything SEO. Open to All Pass Holders

VIP Buffet Lunch

»» Anne Parris, Blogger, Midlife Boulevard LLC »» Ciaran Blumenfeld, CMO, Hashtracking »» Debbie Bookstaber, Owner, Element Associates »» Kelby Carr, President, Type-A Parent Top bloggers will share case studies and outline a stepby-step game plan for implementing your influencer cam-

Time: 12:30 pm - 1:45 pm

paign. Attendees will receive a free tool kit outlining influ-

Location: Westside Ballroom – 5th Floor

encer marketing metrics.

VIP Pass Holders: Fuel up on a hearty buffet-style lunch in

Niche/Vertical: Social Media

a relaxed networking environment. (Your “Tuesday Lunch”

Target Audience: Merchant/Advertiser

Ticket must also be presented upon arrival).

Experience Level: Intermediate

VIP Pass Holders Only

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Networking w/Session Ticket Purchase | Networking Plus w/Session Ticket Purchase | VIP


· Issue 35 · July 2016

Session 14b – Livestreaming Changes How

»» Beth Kirsch, VP Marketing, Freedom Financial Network

Customers Shop Online

»» Claire Vo, CEO, Experiment Engine

Time: 2:00 pm – 3:00 pm Location: Soho Complex - 7th Floor »» Ceata Lash, Owner, PuffCuff LLC »» Lisa Picarille, Online Content Strategist, LisaPicarille.com »» Patrick Allmond, Chief Problem Solver, Focus Marketing »» Stephanie Lichtenstein Ramos, President, Micro Media Marketing Livestreaming services on Facebook and Periscope change the way we sell online. Learn how to utilize this new social media marketing platform to showcase products, gain sales, insight, and new customers. Niche/Vertical: Social Media

»» Jason Owen, VP Marketing, Credit.com »» Olivier Chaine, SVP Paid Media, The Search Agency Landing page optimization can fuel your marketing ROI and ramp you bottom. Four experts in the field discuss approaches, available technologies, myths and best practices. Niche/Vertical: Landing Page Optimization Target Audience: Affiliate/Publisher, Merchant/ Advertiser Experience Level: Intermediate Networking w/Session Ticket Purchase | Networking Plus w/Session Ticket Purchase | VIP

Target Audience: Affiliate/Publisher, Merchant/ Advertiser Experience Level: Beginner Networking w/Session Ticket Purchase | Networking Plus w/Session Ticket Purchase | VIP

Networking Pub Crawl Time: 2:00 pm - 4:00 pm Location: Broadway Ballroom - 6th Floor Refer to your Pub Crawl map of participating sponsors and

Session 14c – Turbo Charge Your Landing Pages with Best Practices Time: 2:00 pm – 3:00 pm

visit each one for great networking opportunities and, of course, free beer and wine. All attendees welcome. Open to All Pass Holders

Location: Times Square - 7th Floor

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· Issue 35 · July 2016

Keynote Bio

Scott Stratten

S

his daily rantings on Twitter and was named one of the top 5 social media influencers in the world on Forbes.com. He has written four best-selling business books, the newest being “UnSelling: The New Customer Experience” which was just named “Sales Book of the Year” by 1-800 CEOREAD. His pas-

cott Stratten is the President of Un-Marketing. He

sion comes out most when speaking on stage, preaching en-

is an expert in Viral, Social, and Authentic Market-

gagement and becoming one of the most sought-out speak-

ing which he calls Un-Marketing. Formerly a music

ers on the subject. Along with Alison Kramer, their UnPodcast

industry marketer, national sales training manager and a Pro-

has been signed by the CBS network as their premier busi-

fessor at the Sheridan College School of Business, he ran his

ness podcast to launch their new digital network. His clients’

“UnAgency” for a nearly a decade before solely focusing on

viral marketing videos have been viewed over 60 million times

speaking at events for companies like PepsiCo, Adobe, Red

and he’s recently appeared in the Wall Street Journal, Huffing-

Cross, Hard Rock Cafe, Cirque du Soleil, Saks Fifth Avenue,

ton Post, USA Today, Entrepreneur Magazine, CNN.com, Inc.

Deloitte and Fidelity Investments when they need help guid-

com and Fast Company and was named one of “America’s 10

ing their way through the viral/social media and relationship

Marketing Gurus” by Business Review USA. That plus $5 gets

marketing landscape. He now has over 175,000 people follow

him a coffee anywhere in the world.

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· Issue 35 · July 2016

Keynote Bio Bruce Clay

B

ruce Clay is founder and president of Bruce Clay, Inc., a global Internet marketing optimization firm providing search engine optimization, pay per click manage-

ment, social media marketing, conversion rate optimization, SEO-friendly web design and architecture, content development, and SEO tools and education. As an industry thought leader, he is an accomplished speaker, author and educator. He hosts a weekly podcast, SEM Synergy, covering search marketing news and analysis for digital marketers. His book “Search Engine Optimization All-In-One For Dummies,” published by Wiley, is now in its third edition.

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· Issue 35 · July 2016

Keynote Bio

Duane Forrester

D

uane Forrester is the Vice President of Organic Search

formerly on the Board of Directors for SEMPO, founded the

Operations, overseeing SEO work, content and social

SEMPO Salary Survey and is the author of two books: How

media. Prior to moving to Bruce Clay, Inc., Duane was

To Make Money With Your Blog & Turn Clicks Into Customers.

a Sr. Product Manager with Bing’s Webmaster Program and

He’s written for publications ranging from SearchEngineLand

the inhouse SEM running the SEO program for MSN in the

and DuctTape Marketing, to Entrepreneur Magazine, the New

US & Americas earlier in his Microsoft career. He’s also the

York Times and Inc. He actively advises startups and large

founding co-chair of SEMPO’s In-House SEM Committee, was

corporations, and even spent time advising the staff who maintain the White House’s websites.

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· Issue 35 · July 2016

Keynote Bio

Stephan Spencer

S

tephan is an internationally recognized SEO expert

Buy Canada, Bed Bath & Beyond, and Chanel. Stephan speaks

and bestselling author. He is the author of Google

at many Internet marketing events, including SES, SMX, Pub-

Power Search, co-author of Social eCommerce, and

Con, Internet Retailer, Shop.org, etc. He’s contributed to Huff-

co-author of the The Art of SEO, now in its 3rd edition and

ington Post, Search Engine Land, DM News and Marketing-

considered THE bible on SEO. Stephan founded Netconcepts

Profs, among others. Stephan is the creator of Traffic Control,

in 1995 and grew it into a multi-national SEO agency before

a 3-day seminar on SEO, co-creator of the 3-day professional

selling it in 2010 to Covario. Stephan continued as a sought-

development seminar Passions into Profits with Kris Jones,

after SEO and digital strategy consultant. His clients post-

and the host of 2 podcasts, The Optimized Geek and Market-

acquisition have included Zappos, Sony Store, Quiksilver, Best

ing Speak.

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· Issue 35 · July 2016

Speaker Bios JJ Alan

Choice Award in 2005 and the LinkShare Golden Link Advertiser’s

What began as an idea in JJ Alan’s entrepreneurial mind

recipient at the Affiliate Summit Pinnacle Awards. In addition,

16 years ago, laid the groundwork for his innovative and creative

Mike likes to provide solutions for online and local businesses.

journey online. JJ Alan is a successful marketer, who has ex-

In doing so, he performs affiliate program management, web-

ploded into the affiliate marketing scene and is known for his

site and social media development, and local Internet marketing

“Scared Money Don’t Make Money” motto. His aggressive ap-

services via Businesswright Consulting which he established in

proach to online advertising and creative strategies is what re-

2013. Mike has presented multiple times at Affiliate Summit as

ally sets him apart from the pack. Armed with creativity and pas-

well as Blogworld (NMX), Affiliate Management Days, CJU, and

sion, JJ Alan offers entrepreneurs advice to make money online.

several other performance marketing conferences.

Mike Allen

Patrick Allmond

1999 and is a charter member of the Performance Marketing

and creator of the “Own Your Empire” marketing system, his

Association where he serves on two councils. He is the founder

own unique structured way of achieving success in the digital

and “Chief Executive Shopper” at Shopping-Bargains® and, as

marketing world. Business owners come to Patrick to learn how

such, was a finalist for the LinkShare Golden Link Merchant’s

to be rockstar marketers in their industry using the internet for

Mike Allen has been involved in affiliate marketing since

Choice Award in 2008. Mike was the 2009 “Affiliate of the Year”

Patrick Allmond is a 17 year veteran of the business world

lead generation, digital TV, social media and email marketing. In addition to consulting he travels the country speaking at events showing people how to generate results so they don’t waste their time or money. He is a also a frequent television contributor on ABC/CBS/NBC/FOX, has a weekly web TV and radio series, and writer for SUCCESS magazine.

Cris Angelini

Cris Angelini serves as UnsubCentral’s Business Develop-

ment Director, where he consults with prospective clients to determine the best UnsubCentral services for their needs. He is an accomplished business professional with 20 years of experience in people, process, revenue growth and sales leadership. Prior to working at UnsubCentral, Cris was the Vice President of Revenue Development at Volusion, where he was responsible for working cross departmentally to help drive core product sales, revenue growth, customer service and partner recruitment.

Syed Balkhi

Syed Balkhi is a killer online marketer with design & devel-

opment experience. He’s the founder of WPBeginner, List25, and many other sites. His work has been featured in: New York Times, Wired Magazine, Business Insider, Huffington Post, and others. Syed has been working online since he was 12 years old, and has a very successful online business.

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· Issue 35 · July 2016

Giancarlo Barraza

Giancarlo Barraza aka “Coach Giani” is the Founder and

President of The Millionaire Mastermind, a results driven affiliate marketing education company with hundreds of successful stu-

was a Director of Marketing for Sprint, Coca-Cola, and McDonald’s Restaurants, and successful start-up eDiets.com.

Amanda Blain

Amanda Blain has an ever-growing fan base of millions of

dents from all over the world. After attending Butler University

followers across all social media channels. A self-confessed

on a Soccer scholarship, Giani graduated in 2001 and climbed

Geek Girl, wrapped in an extrovert’s personality, she is CEO and

the corporate ladder as a Web Developer for 7 years until one

coder of Girlfriend Social (the largest female friendship website

day he was suddenly fired from his job because the company

in the world), a speaker, a technology, vr and gaming reporter,

decided to “downsize.” Like many others during the 2008 finan-

and an enabler to the multitudes of fans reading her posts every

cial crisis, Giani found himself in a very challenging situation

day. She excels in social activities, community management,

initially struggling as an entrepreneur failing in multiple online

and passing along her experience to others with her solid repu-

ventures. Never giving up on his dreams to “crack the online

tation in social networking, technology, and monetization of on-

code,” he continued to grind and hustle sharpening his skills as

line activity. She is an expert in all things social media. Amanda

a marketer while going through a divorce, without a house, car,

lives in Toronto, Canada but travels all over North America and

and even being on welfare in 2013.

beyond for work and offline networking.

Sarah Beeskow Blay

Ciaran Blumenfeld

the performance marketing network, ShareASale.com. She

ing.com and Publisher at http://Momfluential.Net. She has been

joined ShareASale in 2005 and is currently responsible for the

named as one of the “15 Most Powerful Moms in Social Media”

Client Services Department. The Client Services team provides

by Working Mother Magazine. You can follower her on Twitter at

strategic, educational, and technical guidance to help our clients

@momfluential.

grow. Sarah regularly speaks on the topic of Affiliate Marketing,

Debbie Bookstaber

Sarah Beeskow Blay is the Director of Client Services for

has served as emcee for Affiliate Summit West 2012, and has contributed to industry publications: Feed Front magazine and

Ciaran Blumenfeld is the co-founder of http://Hashtrack-

Debbie Bookstaber is the President of Element Associates,

MarketingLand.com. Prior to joining ShareASale, Sarah was at

where she leads integrated online marketing campaigns, com-

the Michigan Association of Broadcasters as Director of Mem-

bining social media, affiliate marketing, PR, SEO, paid search,

ber Services and Broadcast Coordinator for the implementation

digital media buying, and blogger outreach to meet client ob-

of Michigan’s Amber Alert program.

jectives. Debbie has over 15 years of marketing experience at

Jason Bennett

brands such as Expedia and Travelocity. She has managed

With 15 years as a successful offline / broadcast affiliate,

lion dollars in annual sales. Debbie has advised PR firms, For-

Jason Bennett has created, managed and analyzed pay-per-call

tune 500 companies, nonprofits and government agencies on

campaigns directly responsible for nine-digit call center sales.

blogger relations and effective social media strategies. As the

When he’s not booking tv or radio for his call center clients, Ja-

blogger behind Mamanista.com and Bloganthropy.org, Debbie

son enjoys fishing and traveling to warm places.

was recognized as one of the “Top 25 Parent Bloggers Who Are

Jay Berkowitz

Changing the World” by Babble.com in 2012 and as a “Best of the

Rules.com, a performance-based digital marketing agency spe-

with a BA/MA in History. Follow her on Twitter @buzzmommy.

cialized in Pay Per Click (PPC), Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

Jim Boykin

Jay Berkowitz is the Founder and CEO of www.TenGolden-

and Social Media Marketing. Mr. Berkowitz is the author of The Ten Golden Rules of Online Marketing and 10 Free Internet Marketing

online marketing programs responsible for several hundred mil-

Net” Blogger by Working Mother Magazine in 2013. She graduated Magna Cum Laude and Phi Beta Kappa from Yale University

Jim Boykin is the founder and CEO of Internet Marketing

Strategies that went to #1 on Amazon for Small Business and En-

Ninjas, a full service online marketing company based in upstate

trepreneurship. He developed the University of San Francisco In-

New York. Jim started his SEO business in 1999, and today Nin-

ternet Marketing Course and he has been profiled in the Wall Street

jas has grown to about 60 full time, in-house marketing experts.

Journal, The Business Journals and he was interviewed on FOX

Jim has also purchased, and runs, several online internet mar-

Business TV. Prior to founding his own business, Mr. Berkowitz

keting communities including: WebmasterWorld.com, Cre8as-

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· Issue 35 · July 2016

iteForums.com, SEOChat.com, DevShed.com, ThreadWatch.

ference and tradeshow for the affiliate marketing industry, and

org and more. To date Jim has also added over 125 free tools to

Co-Editor-in-Chief of FeedFront Magazine. He has authored the

these communities. Boykin is a pioneer in the internet market-

books “Affiliate Manager Boot Camp“, “Extra Money Answer“,

ing industry, and to this day still remains the most active Ninja in

“How to Get the Most from Exhibiting at Conferences”, “How to

his company. You can find Boykin often blogging on the Ninjas

Get the Most Out of Attending a Conference”, and “Successful

website, as well as he runs a weekly marketing show (The Jim

Affiliate Marketing for Merchants“. Also, he co-publishes the

and Ann Show) with Ninja Ann Smarty.

annual AffStat affiliate marketing benchmark reports. Shawn

Chris Capra

blogs on affiliate marketing at AffiliateTip.com, and hosts the

Chris is a marketing and public relations consultant with

ally, Shawn has been quoted in numerous publications, includ-

more than 11 years experience in the online gaming market. He

ing Entrepreneur Magazine, Internet Retailer, Inc. Magazine, the

currently leads the marketing for 888poker and 888casino in NJ,

New York Times, and the Wall Street Journal.

handling online and offline advertising, social media, marketing

Daryl Colwell

events, public relations, player acquisition and affiliate relations. In his previous role as Managing Director at Emerging Media,

podcast, This is Affiliate Marketing, on GeekCast.fm. Addition-

Daryl Colwell is Senior Vice President of Sales for Fluent,

Chris developed marketing and public relations strategies for

LLC, the industry leader in people-based digital marketing and

online and offline global gaming brands that drove player acqui-

customer acquisition. An industry veteran with over 15 years of

sition, awareness and market share in the U.S. He developed and

experience, Colwell previously served as Senior Vice President

managed VIP events, concerts, and media relations campaigns

of Sales and Business Development at Matomy Media Group.

as well as product placement opportunities for online gaming in

Before Matomy, he held senior management and sales roles at

music videos and popular television shows that capitalized on

Relevance-X, the online behavioral and life-stage targeting divi-

the global poker movement. Chris has also created and man-

sion of Acxiom, and digital advertising agency SilverCarrot.

aged award-winning marketing and media campaigns.

Todd Crawford

Kelby Carr

As a co-founder, Todd Crawford evangelizes the opportunities

Kelby Carr is the founder and publisher of Type-A Parent.

presented by a multi-channel approach to the performance model.

She also is the organizer of the Type-A Parent Conference. She

Prior to Impact Radius, he served as vice president of sales and

is the author of Pinterest For Dummies and Pinterest Marketing

business development for Digital River’s affiliate network, oneNet-

For Dummies. You can follow her on Twitter at @typeamom.

workDirect. Todd also contributed to the founding team at Com-

Olivier Chaine

mission Junction in 1998 and led its business and sales develop-

Olivier Chaine is the SVP of Paid Media at The Search Agen-

cy. He has over 15 years of experience in the digital marketing space, primarily focused on the junction of user behavior and

ment efforts as vice president for more than seven years.

John Crestani

John Crestani is owner and CEO of the private nutraceuti-

customer acquisition. Before his current role, Olivier built con-

cal affiliate marketing network, Nutryst. John Crestani is known

version rate optimization firm, magnify360, from the ground up

for his entrepreneurial nature in the internet marketing world.

(acquired by TSA in 2015). Before that, he lead optimization for

He is also a husband, teacher and avid traveler. Crestani stud-

LowerMyBills.com. He is an active advisor and board member.

ied Business at Southern Methodist University and Marketing at

John Chow

California State University-Northridge. After his collegiate edu-

John Chow, a damn fine person, friend of the community,

companies as an internet marketing consultant, a search engine

Ultimate Fighting Championship contestant, member of the Save

marketing analyst, and director of online advertising. Crestani’s

the Whales Foundation, the man who controls the black market on

main skill sets are in Internet marketing and business develop-

baby seal pelts and member of the “probably yo’ daddy” foundation.

ment. He is knowledgeable and proficient in pay-per-click ad-

Shawn Collins

vertising, search engine optimization, social media marketing,

He is a Co-founder of Affiliate Summit, the leading global con-

for being self-motivated as well as wanting to motivate others.

Shawn Collins has been an affiliate marketer since 1997.

56

cation was completed in 2010, he worked for several different

Google AdWords, conversion optimization, and many more skills in this space. Outside of the internet, Crestani is known


· Issue 35 · July 2016

Jeannine Crooks

Teodora Dobjanschi

Jeannine works closely with many of their largest programs such

keting field, of which the past 3 years dedicated exclusively to

as 1&1 Internet, Lonely Planet, Agoda.com, and Ctrip.com. She is

the affiliate marketing industry. She is Senior Affiliate Recruiter

a frequent speaker at numerous events including Affiliate Man-

at Avangate, working to increase the affiliates pool of the Avan-

agement Days, Affiliate Summit and Bloggy Con, and is a regular

gate Affiliate Network and find new, innovative ways to drive

contributor to iBlog Magazine. Jeannine is a prominent affiliate

growth opportunities. Author of ‘7 tips to recruit affiliates direct-

advocate in the fight against the affiliate nexus tax both in Colo-

ly’ article published in #33 FeedFront Magazine.

rado and other states. She was honored by being voted “Best Net-

Monica Eaton

As the Client Services Manager with Affiliate Window US,

work Rep” by the members of ABestWeb for two years in a row. Jeannine believes that the most important take-away from any

Teodora Dobjanschi has 7+ years of experience in the mar-

Monica Eaton-Cardone is an international entrepreneur,

session is truly actionable information – so that every attendee

speaker and author with years of experience as an online mer-

leaves with ideas to make their programs perform better immedi-

chant. At one point, her business sustained such excessive

ately. Jeannine, her husband Brad, and their two Siberian Huskies,

amounts of fraud through affiliate marketing that she lost her

Dusty and Harley, live south of Denver. They all love sports, espe-

payment processing capabilities. Through trial and error, Mon-

cially watching hockey or football, and travel as often as they can.

ica was able to create a solution that would help protect her

Mark Daoust

business from fraud and ensure sustainable, long-term growth.

Mark is the founder of Quiet Light Brokerage, a leading

to other online merchants. This was the beginning of Charge-

website brokerage firm. Over 600 websites sold for nearly $100

backs911. Now, Monica serves as COO of Chargebacks911, pro-

million in total value. Quiet Light Brokerage advises in the ac-

viding risk mitigation and chargeback remediation services to

quisitions of more $20mm worth of websites. Mark’s expertise

online merchants. The company has become an industry leader

is regularly featured in noted publications such as Entrepreneur,

because of its dynamic solutions that are capable of evolving

Forbes, Huffington Post, Chicago Tribune, Inc Magazine, Search

with industry threats. Monica’s previous experience as an online

Engine Journal, among others. He is a regular speaker at multiple

merchant has equipped her with a unique and unrivaled under-

conferences and blogs regularly at the Quiet Light Brokerage

standing of the complications merchants face on a daily basis.

blog. The team at Quiet Light Brokerage consists entirely of In-

Rodrigo Genoveze

ternet entrepreneurs. Every member of Quiet Light Brokerage has started, built, bought, and sold significant online businesses over

After stabilizing her own business, Monica offered her services

Rodrigo Genoveze has been working in the affiliate mar-

the years. This first-hand experience gives Quiet Light advisors

keting sector since 2003 with vast experience from advertiser,

special insights into the nuances for both the buyer and the seller.

publisher and network point of view. Born in Brazil and raised in

Stoney deGeyter

the USA, Rodrigo began working out of Europe in an OTA and

Checklist, Period, loves to talk—especially about web marketing. Having

Sean Geraghty

Stoney deGeyter, author of The Best Damn Web Marketing

started Pole Position Marketing in 1998, Stoney has amassed a wealth of web marketing knowledge as he and his pit crew have helped thou-

from then moved on to working at zanox in Spain where he finally moved back to Brazil to launch zanox latam in 2011.

Meet Sean Geraghty. He has been part of the affiliate and

sands of businesses grow through strategic digital marketing strate-

lead gen space for nearly 12 years. Previous to his 4.5 years

gies. He has presented at a number of world-class search marketing

at Invoca, Sean worked for 7 years at Commission Junction

conferences such as PubCon, Search Engine Strategies, Search Mar-

where he helped launch their Value Added Services team and

keting Expo, and WordCamp, as well as marketing organizations such

successfully managed affiliate programs, advertisers and af-

as International Association of Business Communicators Cleveland

filiate relationships. Now as Director of Customer Success,

and in-house teams such as L’Oreal, and local business workshops. He

Advisory Services at Invoca, Sean helps customers maximize

is also a prolific blogger. His web marketing articles have been published

the value of Invoca’s customer ecosystem through highly cus-

by a number of industry blogs, including Search Engine Land, Marketing

tomized growth and strategic guidance plans. The end result

Land, Search Engine Journal and SEMRush. He is also the main con-

is increased customer value and an accelerated return on their

tributor at Pole Position Marketing’s E-Marketing Performance blog.

technology investment.

57


· Issue 35 · July 2016

Jonah-Kai Hancock

with FTC and state consumer regulations. Her clients include,

As Director of Marketing at HasOffers, Jonah-Kai’s main

software and data providers, and her practice covers all federal

focus is leading a team of marketers with the goal of pushing

and state consumer protection and privacy laws and regula-

the performance marketing industry forward. Our goal is to in-

tions. Ms. Hirsch focuses her practice counseling clients on

novate, educate and transform the industry globally. As a team,

how to implement measures to reduce their exposure to liability.

we develop HasOffers’ marketing strategy, showcase our brand,

Often litigating cases against the government, Ms. Hirsch and

and bring the TUNE story to life for HasOffers clients and pros-

Ifrah PLLC have achieved a string of victories for their clients

pects. Jonah-Kai has over 15 years of experience in marketing

in federal and state enforcement actions. Ms. Hirsch is a regu-

and has had the pleasure of working for some prestigious com-

lar contributor to her firm’s blog, www.ftcbeat.com, where she

panies in the Seattle area, including Weber Shandwick, Tableau

writes about issues affecting online marketers.

Software, AdReady, Razorfish and Concur.

Brandon Hoffman

Stephanie Harris

among others, a variety of networks, advertisers, publishers,

Brandon aka Ad Hustler aka B-Man, lives, breathes and

Stephanie Harris was Schaaf-PartnerCentric’s first em-

sleeps internet marketing. He’s had several successful busi-

ployee when she was hired by the founders early in 2006 at a

nesses as well as a 10+ year tenure as Director of Internet

time when the company was just taking shape. She served as

Marketing at a very busy advertising agency catering to the au-

the affiliate manager for some of our most long-standing cli-

tomotive and retail market. One thing you will never say about

ents, specializing in growth strategies for retail programs, a role

Brandon is that he’s boring. In his spare time he’s been known

she continued to fulfill even as she moved to the the position

to produce podcasts, attend 1920’s parties, partake in Freak

of Director of Affiliate Management. Fast forward 10 years later

Shows and announce Roller Derby Events.

and Stephanie now serves as CEO, working to ensure that all

Greg Hoffman

business operations are efficient and effective, that resources are properly managed and that clients and partners receive the

Greg Hoffman is President and CEO of Apogee, a Perfor-

highest level of customer service. She is deeply involved in all

mance Marketing Agency. He was the Pinnacle Award winner for

aspects of the day-to-day management of the company and in

Affiliate Marketing Advocate of the Year at ASW16. His agency,

the development of our long-term vision and values. Stephanie

formerly known as Greg Hoffman Consulting, won the Pinnacle

Harris lives in New York with her husband and three children.

Award for Best Agency/OPM in 2014. He’s been managing pro-

Michelle Held

grams for more than ten years and has been a contributor to

Michelle is an entrepreneur, author and consultant involved in

digital marketing for over 18 years. She earned a Bachelor’s degree in Engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Michelle is a video

FeedFront Magazine and Website Magazine.

Ed Hong

Since 2009, Ed Hong has been a professional affiliate mar-

partner with Entrepreneur Magazine’s YouTube channel, Entrepre-

keter. Starting with less than $5000 in his bank account, his ad

neur Network. She is the author of “Pinterest Tutorial” and the upcom-

agency OneShot Marketing LLC generated over $25MM in rev-

ing (no really, any day now!) “Build Your Business Presence Online.”

enue for his clients in 2014. Ed uses a strict philosophical ap-

Follow Michelle on her blogs, metrony.com and pintalk.net. Michelle

proach to affiliate marketing. In his private coaching programs,

serves as a consultant to clients on topics such as digital marketing

Ed stresses adherence to his set of fundamentals. Through

and project management. Her company, MetroNY, LLC, specializes

these fundamental principles, Ed teaches his students how to

in customized digital marketing strategy, social media marketing,

succeed in internet and affiliate advertising.

and search engine optimization. As a speaker, she conducts semi-

Rachel Honoway

nars and training sessions on social media and web technologies. Michelle was a featured speaker at the NY NOW Gift Show, Pubcon,

Rachel is the CEO of FMTC, a premier affiliate datafeed and

the South Florida Marketer’s Association, and Affiliate Summit West.

tool provider and the parent company of Fresh Press Media, an

Connect with Michelle on Twitter (@metrony or @pintalknet).

influencer marketplace. Rachel serves as the President of the

Rachel Hirsch

Performance Marketing Association Board of Directors. She’s

Rachel Hirsch is an attorney at the Washington, D.C.-based

it was beginning back in the late 90’s. With previous roles as

law firm of Ifrah PLLC. Ms. Hirsch advises clients on compliance

an executive at KowaBunga!/Think Partnership and at Lurn, Inc,

58

an affiliate marketing veteran who got her start in the space as


· Issue 35 · July 2016

Rachel has had a well-rounded experience in the industry. She

and varied. It started when she managed DISH Network’s federal

has been a part of developing technologies and strategies that

and state relationships as a top in-house counsel, one who took

help both sides maximize their results from the channel.

it upon herself to visit the AGs and their staff in all 50 states to

Bryant Hussey

understand how and why they worked the way they did. Strategic,

Bryant Hussey is an online marketing professional with 16+

of Lori’s clients. It is this uncommon approach that truly sets her

years of experience in e-commerce, SEO, SEM, media buying,

apart and has enabled her to successfully counsel clients through

email marketing and performance based marketing. Bryant got

business transactions, investigations and disputes with govern-

his start working for companies such as VitaminShoppe.com

ment agencies. Her business-minded approach, and extensive

and Quality Health. He is now the Marketing Director and man-

legal, political, and policy experience, allows her to serve as a

ages Online Acquisition and Partnership for Atlantic Coast Me-

trusted liaison between companies and state AGs, bridging the

dia Group – An International beauty company that builds iconic

gap between the goals of the state and the business community.

beauty brands through it’s multi—channel platform.

Beth Kirsch

Kenny Hyder

direct interaction with AGs has proven highly successful for many

Beth has been ramping high-growth digital marketing cam-

Kenny Hyder has been helping businesses with their online

paigns for the past 15 years. Beth is currently VP of Marketing at

and SEO strategies since 2004. Originally starting as an in-house

the Freedom Financial Network, which includes Bills.com. Previ-

SEO, Kenny eventually branched out to start his own internet mar-

ously, Beth was VP of Marketing at Like.com (acquired by Google),

keting business. His first business was eventually bought out by a

where she brought the product to market and grew revenue from

much larger internet marketing firm. Today he runs Hyder Media,

zero to millions. Before that, she was Director of Marketing at

servicing clients in the areas of: SEO, social media & ORM. His

LowerMyBills.com, an Experian Company, a top five Internet ad-

experience has led him to work with some of the largest brands

vertiser. She also directed customer acquisition for Audible, an

online, including several Fortune 500 companies – helping them

Amazon.com, Inc. subsidiary, during its high-growth period.

with their search marketing strategies. Kenny is also a speaker at some of the largest internet marketing conferences including: Pubcon, SMX, Blogworld, Affiliate Summit, & DMA.

Zac Johnson

At the age of 15, Zac Johnson began making money online

designing web site banners for $1 each. A self taught entrepreneur, Zac’s been making money online for nearly 20 years and has been involved in nearly every facet of affiliate and online marketing. One of Zac’s many successes includes his story of “How I Made $860,538.38 Profit in 4 Months!” from one web site, which can be read at his blog at ZacJohnson.com. Zac continues to focus on his blog, where he provides readers with firsthand accounts of his experiences, successes & failures. In addition to his own success stories, Zac reviews affiliate networks and informs readers how & where they should be making new money. Zac’s social reach and site traffic is now over 100,000 strong and has referred over $5,000,000 in new business to his advertisers and network partners. You can also listen to Zac’s new podcast “Rise of the Entrepreneur” on iTunes and connect with Zac through his new online training community at Blogging.org.

Lori Kalani

Lori Kalani is the co-chair of Cozen O’Connor’s State At-

torneys General Practice. Her path to building a unique practice area focused on AGs and regulatory agencies was self-directed

59


· Issue 35 · July 2016

Lisa Lantz

John LoBrutto

action, client service and leadership. During her last 18 years

nerships at Liquid Web, Inc., an industry leading Web Hosting com-

in Prize Promotion Marketing, she has experienced what works

pany. Liquid Web has a full suite of Managed Hosting services, in-

and what doesn’t work in consumer promotions, specifically

cluding Storm Cloud, VPS, Dedicated Servers & Word Press. John’s

geared towards lead generation. She has been actively involved

previous positions include; Director of Affiliates & Partnerships for

incorporating cutting edge technologies to enable prize promo-

1&1 Internet, Inc., Head of Global Distribution for the AllHotels, Sales

tions to run more efficient and cost effective. She is excited to

Director for Holiday Autos USA (both divisions of Travelocity, LLP),

share the lessons learned on such campaigns as the Opinion

President of Pencils Plus, and Technology Director for Sabre Travel

Square $100,000 monthly sweepstakes and Saveup $2,000,000

Network. John has over 20 years experience in the travel, retail &

jackpot.

technology sales channels and has managed affiliate programs

Ceata Lash

for the last 7 years. He specializes in developing new programs,

Entrepreneurialism is my true passion. In the fall of 2011, I

believes, “the best approach to affiliate marketing is to keep things

was blessed to have my 99 year-old grandmother come to live

fresh, be creative and always think out of box, whenever possible. “

with my family and I. She had been diagnosed with congestive

John is married with two children and is based in New York.

heart failure and death was imminent. My grandmother was my

James Martell

Lisa Lantz has established a record of innovation, creative

heart and I loved her dearly. In our quiet moments together; I often wondered, “Did she do everything she wanted to in her

John P. LoBrutto is the Director of Affiliate Solutions & Part-

optimizing for success, with a focus on entering new markets. He

James Martell is the host of the Affiliate Buzz, the first and lon-

long life? Did she pursue all her dreams?” The answer was a re-

gest running podcast in the affiliate marketing industry. He is a co-

sounding and con dant, “YES.” She was at total peace in know-

founder of jambMEDIA – the podcasting company and developer

ing her time was at hand. So I thought, “Would I be at peace

of Podcasting Mastery, his proprietary “8 Step” system for develop-

with how my life turned out if the Lord blessed me to live to her

ing a profitable podcast that’ll impress all who hear it. James is a

age?” Knowing I might not get 99 years, if I put this idea on the

long-time friend of Affiliate Summit and has an extensive track re-

shelf and left it there, I might not have the same kind of peace

cord in affiliate marketing and digital product development includ-

my grandmother had when death was likely to occur at any mo-

ing Ebooks, Podcasts, Courses and Webinars. He has taught tens

ment;. I decided I had to at least try. If I failed, it wouldn’t be for

of thousands of business owners how to market their businesses

a lack of trying. So here we are! PuffCuff LLC was launched in

online through his ebooks, podcasts, training courses, webinars

November of 2013.

and speaking engagements. James is a certifiable car nut, father of

Stephanie Lichtenstein

four grown children (and grandfather of three), and has been mar-

Marketing, Your Boutique Social Media Agency. Stephanie’s

Brian Massey

Stephanie Lichtenstein is the President of Micro Media

passion for social media is contagious, it has led her to work with Fortune 500 and Internet Retailer Top 500 companies

ried to his wife Arlene for over 30 years. He lives in White Rock, BC, a beautiful seaside suburb of Vancouver on Canada’s West Coast.

Brian Massey is a Conversion Scientist™ and he has the lab

since 2007. Stephanie is a social media entrepreneur and speak-

coat to prove it. He is the founder of website optimization com-

er specializing in social media strategy and management. Tweet

pany Conversion Sciences and author of the book “Your Cus-

your social media questions @MicroSteph.

tomer Creation Equation: Unexpected Website Formulas of The

James Little

Conversion Scientist.” His rare combination of interests, experi-

James is the group commercial director at the UK’s indus-

programmer, corporate marketer and entrepreneur. He appears

try choice of partner, Topcashback. Joining 5 years ago to setup

in his trademark lab coat when speaking to corporations, univer-

the London office the company has grown from a UK site with

sities, and conference attendees around the world.

750k members to a global audience of over 7m customers. Hav-

Tricia Meyer

ing worked in the industry for 13 years across many different verticals James could be seen as an industry veteran and he also organizes and speaks at a number of affiliate events.

60

ence and neuroses was developed over 20 years as a, computer

Tricia Meyer (@sunshinetricia) is the owner of Sunshine

Rewards, Helping Moms Connect, and other niche sites. She fre-


· Issue 35 · July 2016

quently speaks and writes about affiliate marketing topics such as monetizing blogs, affiliate and affiliate manager relationships, and the basics of affiliate marketing. She serves as the

Jason Owen

Jason Owen, Vice President of Marketing, is responsible

Executive Director for the Performance Marketing Association.

for leading, developing, and implementing the marketing strat-

She is also a partner in WineClubGroup.com. Tricia has been a

egy. His role includes overseeing digital marketing, customer

finalist for the Pinnacle Award for Industry Advocate and won

acquisition, web strategy, testing, and marketing partnerships.

Affiliate of the Year in 2014 and Best Blogger in 2012.

Most recently VP of Marketing at Vivint and VP of several of

Jonathan Miller

Red Ventures businesses, Jason is a passionate entrepreneur,

Jonathan is an African marketer and runs the #1 rated

has over fifteen-years of sales and marketing experience where

performance marketing company in South Africa. Classically

he has learned to perfect turning clicks into opportunities, using

trained in sales & marketing, he’s a self-taught software devel-

call center environments. Considered an industry leader in sales

oper with strong creative/marketing flair and a thorough under-

and marketing, Jason was most recently recognized with a Utah

standing of African digital marketing. He loves wine, traveling

Business Sales and Marketer of the Year award in 2016. Jason

& recently sold a patent on digital performance marketing to

loves the dynamic challenges of marketing, and in his own

Google.

words, “The consumer’s decision journey is more complicated

Roger Montti

today than ever before, and I enjoy figuring out how to best po-

Roger Montti is an independent web publisher, a founder

at the right time and at the right cost.” A lover of the outdoors,

of a popular web community and a winner of a BusinessWeek

Jason lives in Park City, Utah where he also enjoys biking and

Magazine Best of the Web Award. He is well known as the Link

trail running. When he’s not busy working, traveling, or training

Development Moderator at WebmasterWorld.com since 2003

for a triathlon, he’s perfecting his fish taco recipe.

and over the past ten years has become widely acknowledged

Christopher Park

as a leading thinker in the search optimization industry. Mr. Montti consults for businesses worldwide, from Fortune 500

strategic marketing thought leader, and creative thinker. Jason

sition marketing messages with the right actionable audiences

A true industry veteran, Christopher Park has been Blair.

software and and B2B companies to medium sized B2C busi-

com’s Affiliate/Partnerships Manager since January, 2001 and

nesses on issues related to link building, site reviews and Inter-

began managing the Old Pueblo Traders and Bedford Fair af-

net Marketing strategies. Roger produces a popular Advanced

filiate programs in 2013. He has been working with Blair’s paid

Link Building Newsletter available at MartiniBuster.com.

search program since September, 2004. The Blair.com affiliate

David Naffziger

program was featured in the “premier” and Sept./Oct. 2006 is-

David Naffziger is CEO of BrandVerity, a provider of enter-

articles in publications such as Multichannel Merchant and Mar-

prise technology solutions that combat online trademark abuse

keting Today. Chris is a frequent speaker at affiliate marketing

and help advertisers ensure compliant marketing programs.

events, including Affiliate Summits East & West, ACCM, and Af-

BrandVerity’s services enable clients to identify abuse and ef-

filiateFORCE. He also speaks and teaches classes at local com-

ficiently take action to resolve the issues discovered. David re-

munity colleges in Erie, PA and Jamestown, NY. When he’s not

ceived his BS from MIT.

living the dream that is affiliate marketing, Chris and his wife,

Amanda Orson

Shelley, enjoy traveling to visit their 5 grown children.

Amanda Orson is the Founder and Managing Partner of

W2PY, a media company focused on user acquisition through

sues of Revenue Magazine and Chris has been interviewed for

Anne Parris

Anne Parris is a partner in MidlifeBoulevard.com, an on-

digital advertising and creation/ acquisition of niche web prop-

line lifestyle magazine for women over 40. Anne also manages

erties. Prior to starting W2PY Amanda ran her own digital agen-

a community of over a thousand midlife writers and bloggers,

cy for six years and served as the Director of Marketing at Engi-

coordinates blogger/brand campaigns, and is planning the first

neerJobs.com (acquired in 2015). Amanda is a frequent speaker

conference for midlife bloggers. A southern girl to the core, Anne

at advertising and marketing conferences, sits on the board of

lives in Richmond, Virginia, with her family between blogging

several startups, and is a graduate of The Citadel

conferences.

61


· Issue 35 · July 2016

Lisa Picarille

Kristen Pulver

ital marketing, branding, and social media for companies in the

zon Media. She has excelled during her time with Horizon by

performance marketing space. Previously, she was the Content

refining innovative agency practices through building strong

Director for the PMA and taught Internet marketing classes for

partnerships with media vendors, data providers and industry

USF Online. An award-winning journalist, Lisa has headed the

professionals. Kristen’s diverse experience which includes time

news departments of Wired.com, TechWeb.com, TechTV.com

at EducationDynamics and Matomy Media Group, has enabled

and CRN.com. Her work has appeared in Rolling Stone, CRM

her to advance in a role where she manages a growing senior

Magazine, PCWeek, MacWeek, Computerworld and InfoWorld.

team, with the goal of providing clients with the highest level

Lisa was on the founding Board of Directors for the PMA and

of service to hit applicable KPIs. Kristen is a business school

she has won awards as an advocate for performance marketing

graduate from Rider University and has used those learnings

from LinkShare (2008), and Affiliate Summit (2011).

over her decade-long career to propel herself into a leadership

Scott Polk

role at one of the country’s leading media agencies. Her efforts

and experienced Search Engine Optimization/Internet Market-

speaking at Affiliate Summit.

ing strategist for more than a decade. He concentrates his re-

John Rampton

Lisa Picarille is an online content strategist focusing on dig-

Scott Polk has built his expertise as a knowledgeable

sourcefulness and skills on the diversified aspects of Search Engine Optimization for clients, where he’s earned the distinction

Kristen oversees the Affiliate Marketing division of Hori-

to obtain new business has earned her recognition and praise from Horizon Media’s managing partners. This is her first time

John Rampton is an entrepreneur, blogger and tech enthu-

of consistent top rankings in all major search engines. Scott is

siast. He is also the founder of PPC.org and Blogging.org.

consistently involved in technologies that maximize Conversion,

Adam Riemer

Usability and Accessibility when optimizing & developing large web sites as well as identifying problems/solutions that result in

Adam is the founder of Adam Riemer Marketing, LLC.

major cost saving strategies. Highly successful and respected

(ARM). Adam has over 10 years of online marketing experience

within the SEO industry, Scott Polk has consulted and been em-

and is the trusted source for strategy, campaign creation & ex-

ployed by successful internet companies such as: Bruce Clay,

ecution for companies from the Fortune 500 to mom & pop

Edmunds.com, AT&T Wireless, ABC News, PGA.com & PGATour.

shops. Adam has spoken and been booked on panels interna-

com, Sports Illustrated, Toyota.com, Direct Brands, and numer-

tionally at various conferences & events. Some of the topics he

ous others.

has spoken on, and some of the services he can offer your com-

Geno Prussakov

pany include; affiliate marketing, PPC, SEO, CSEs, email optimi-

Geno Prussakov, a Cambridge graduate and affiliate mar-

user experience & conversion rate optimization & more. Prior to

keting veteran, is the CEO & Founder of AM Navigator – an

starting ARM, Adam worked in house at various Inc. 500 com-

award-winning affiliate program management agency. As an af-

panies. He played a key role in the strategy & the implementation

filiate manager and consultant he contributed to the online mar-

of their campaigns helping them grow into multi-million dollar

keting success of both Forbes, Nokia, Hallmark, Warner Music,

corporations. Adam would like to invite you to join his managed

Medifast, Skype, Forex Club, and hundreds of small businesses.

programs as well as contact him at adamr (at) adamriemer (dot)

Prussakov authored 4 books, including his bestselling “Affili-

me if he can help with your marketing.

ate Program Management: An Hour a Day,” which have trained

Ariel Rosenstein

thousands of marketing professionals worldwide. In 2011 for influencing “change within the industry” Rakuten named him

zation, channel development, sales funneling, online strategy,

Ariel is the head of marketing at SimilarWeb, the leading

one of Performance Marketing’s Most Vocal Advocates, while in

global market intelligence provider. He is a marketer with over a

2014 and 2015 Small Business Trends recognized him as one of

decade’s experience in the ad-tech and affiliate markets. He pre-

North America’s Top 100 small business influencers. Geno runs

viously worked at Adquant and Kenshoo helping them to build

Affiliate Management Days conference and also contributes to

strong performance marketing brands. Ariel has an MBA from

affiliate marketing industry via his blog posts, articles, and con-

the Interdisciplinary Center and is a graduate of the University

ference presentations. His ASE16 speech marks his 15th time

of Wisconsin.

speaking at Affiliate Summits.

62


· Issue 35 · July 2016

Bill Rothbard

Ceremonies for “Future Leaders of our Community”. Born and raised in southern California, Melissa attended Long Beach

Bill Rothbard is a seasoned FTC advertising lawyer. He

State University, where she graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in

counsels direct response advertisers, online merchants and af-

Communications and minored in both Interpersonal Communi-

filiate marketers on their FTC compliance duties and represents

cation and Business Organization.

clients in federal and state deceptive advertising investigations

Khalid Saleh

and enforcement actions. He has litigated and negotiated settlements in dozens of FTC and state Attorney General cases. Bill is

Khalid Saleh is the CEO and cofounder of Invesp, a leading

a regular speaker at ad industry conferences, a regular contribu-

provider of conversion optimization software and services. His

tor to the Direct Response Marketing Alliance (DRMA) news-

Amazon.com best-selling book, “Conversion Optimization: The

letter, and author of FTCAdLaw Alert, an FTC blog published

Art and Science of Converting Prospects into Customers,” offers

at www.FTCAdLaw.com. Bill received his law degree from the

companies a methodology for capturing more customers by

University of California, Hastings College of Law in 1976. From

creating a fully integrated marketing strategy that has a lasting

1977 to 1984, Bill was an attorney with the FTC, holding posi-

impact on any organization. A recognized expert of marketing

tions as an advertising enforcement attorney and Attorney-Ad-

strategy, Khalid has been a frequent guest in key media outlets,

visor to the FTC Chairman. Bill has practiced law continuously

including CNN, BBC, SKY, France 24, MSNBC, New York Times,

since 1984, except for a two-year appointment as Counsel to the

National Public Radio, and more. He is an in-demand speaker

United States Senate Judiciary Committee in 1987-88.

who has presented at marketing conferences across the globe

Oliver Roup

including SMX, PubCon, emetrics, SES.

As Founder and CEO of VigLink, Oliver Roup understands

the power of native monetization like few others, and is passionate about powering content-driven commerce for companies like Reuters, Maxim, Women’s Health and more. Through advanced link technology, VigLink automatically enables publishers to earn revenue, at scale, directly through a publisher’s words. Prior to VigLink, Oliver served as a Director at Microsoft in charge of various media properties including XBOX Live Video Marketplace, Zune Marketplace, and MSN Entertainment. In addition to holding patents covering micro-transactions, media, and metadata, he is currently a board member of the Performance Marketing Association and chair of the PMA’s Content Monetization Council. Oliver received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Computer Science from MIT and his MBA from the Harvard Business School.

Melissa Salas

With over 12 years experience, Melissa joined Swiss Watch

International “The SWI Group”, an award winning innovator in the watch industry and one of the biggest distributors in North America. As the Senior Director of Marketing, she oversees public relations, affiliate marketing, mobile, and social marketing. Previous to Swiss Watch Intl, Melissa was the co-host for the TV show BuyTV from 2006-2013, as well as the Director of Marketing & Public Relations from 2000 to 2013. Prior to joining Buy.com, she worked at Wells Fargo Bank as a financial consultant. She takes an active role in her community and is currently a member of Affiliate Marketers Give Back and the Christian Affiliate Marketers Association, and she is the 2013 Master of

63


· Issue 35 · July 2016

Brook Schaaf

Srii Srinivasan

A graduate of the University of California, Berkeley, Brook

As a co-founder and CEO of Chargeback Gurus, Srii Srini-

Schaaf worked as an in house Affiliate Manager for Zappos.

vasan applies her deep technical knowledge and 15+ years of

com, Shoes.com, and Edmunds.com before co-founding the af-

experience to helping online merchants recover lost revenue

filiate agency (OPM) Schaaf-PartnerCentric and, later, the data

by minimizing and fighting credit card chargebacks. Srii’s ex-

services company FMTC.co. In 2015, he married Allison Ste-

pertise in online security, risk mitigation technology innovation

vens, founder of PrepDish.com. They live together in San Juan,

and payment processing solutions helps businesses world-

Puerto Rico with their cat, Lucius Tiddlypus.

wide recover up to 85% of revenue lost to chargebacks. Prior,

Dan Shure

she was a successful entrepreneur who owned a nutraceutical

Formally a full time musician and teacher, Dan Shure’s ca-

friendly fraud and fraudulent chargebacks. This resulted in her

reer in SEO began in 2007 when asked to help a few business-

co-founding Chargeback Gurus to meet the industry need for

es with their websites and presence online. Upon discovering

transaction resolution and online fraud prevention. She became

this new passion and career, he started Evolving SEO based in

a software project manager after obtaining her Bachelor of En-

Worcester, MA. Evolving SEO is now a 3 person boutique SEO

gineering degree in Computer Science. Srii is also passionate

Agency. Their clients include known consumer brands, technolo-

about promoting women in business, speaks four languages

gy companies, B2B companies and yes – affiliate based websites

and is a sought-after industry expert for media commentary.

Dan has also been a Moz Associate since April of 2012 publishing

Ernie St. Gelais

content on their Blog, answering questions in the Q&A, and spoke

company where she gained firsthand experience dealing with

at Mozcation Portsmouth. His passions and specialties with the

Ernie St. Gelais is a recognized expert in online tracking tech-

field of SEO are — keyword research, technical SEO, content strat-

nologies. He has more than 30 years of technical expertise in da-

egy & site architecture. Dan also runs Worcester Web Marketing

tabase and systems development—over 12 of which have been

on Meetup.com – a local digital marketing group with over 125

heavily focused on designing technological advancements in af-

members. Fun Fact! The VERY FIRST internet marketing event

filiate marketing. It is under Ernie’s leadership, that the LC IT team

Dan ever attended was Affiliate Summit East in 2011.

successfully developed and introduced patented Naked Link Tech-

Nathan Smith

nology and Cross Platform Tracking to the industry. Ernie gained

Nathan is moderately internet-famous in portions of rural

ming and finance while running two separate companies, LinkCon-

Michigan and northern Ontario as “CoffeeNate.” A student of so-

nector and DotCom Corporation. DotCom was a multi-million dol-

cial media and a specialist in online community building, he has

lar company, profitable every year until it was sold in 2005. Prior to

successfully created and implemented social media strategies

his corporate endeavors, Ernie earned his BS in Civil Engineering

for local and international brands, as well as government agen-

from the US Air Force Academy, and a Masters degree in Engineer-

cies. Nathan enjoys all aspects of online marketing and blogging,

ing Management from the Air Force Institute of Technology.

but his passion is creating connections between organizations

Sean Steinmarc

and the people they serve. In the affiliate space, Nate manages

an invaluable skillset in management, systems analysis, program-

online marketing for FMTC.

After launching award-winning startup psGive to help

Joe Sousa

brands solve digital marketing challenges through a combination

Joe has been in the SEO/Affiliate industry since 1998. He

learned for good. An avid social-entrepreneur, Sean sits on the

started out doing SEO for clients but transitioned into a full time

steering committee for the Wharton Social Impact Initiative, and

affiliate and affiliate manager. Over the years Joe has built hun-

is currently a member of Goodnik and AlleyNYC. A graduate of

dreds of different sites in many different niches and has experi-

The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, Sean spent

ence in PPC, SEO, video, blogging, affiliate management, and so-

the first eight years of his career in financial services leadership

cial media. Joe is currently the Affiliate Coordinator for Fanatics.

roles across a Top 5 global bank and a Fortune 100 company. His

com, FansEdge.com, NBAStore.com, NFLShop.com, shop.MLB.

primary roles were converging technology & business strategies,

com and other related properties. He blogs about affiliate stuff

and improving operational processes. Recognizing gaps in tradi-

at http://whatdoesjoethink.com.

tional digital marketing, Sean applies the latest trends to helping

64

of games & cause marketing, Sean decided to use the skills he


· Issue 35 · July 2016

companies grow. In his free time, Sean enjoys finding new recipes

line advertising. Since 1996, David has been managing affiliate

to further his cooking skills, playing kickball, and whiskey.

marketing campaigns, online marketing, and web development

Dave Stewart

efforts in support of a wide range of websites and monetization models. Through his speaking at national events like Affiliate

Dave oversees research and development for CAKE’s mar-

Summit and WordCamp, David is an avid contributor to the com-

keting technology products. In this role, he manages a talented

munity and expert at using WordPress to drive affiliate revenue.

team of engineers, in support of current customer needs as well

Missy Ward

as ongoing product innovation. Dave has spent much of the past decade architecting software and is an expert in systems archi-

Missy Ward has been an affiliate marketer since 1999. She

tecture, front-and back-end web technologies, database design

is the Co-founder of Affiliate Summit Inc., a privately-held media

and development, cloud infrastructure and complex UX design.

company that produces the Affiliate Summit Conference & Trade-

Dave joined CAKE while still an undergraduate student at the

show Series, Performance Marketing Summit, FeedFront Maga-

University of California, Irvine. He worked full-time while attend-

zine, GeekCast.fm, AffStat.com and ReveNews.com. She is also

ing school to help build CAKE from the ground up. He received a

the Founder of AffiliateMarketersGiveBack.com and own multiple

bachelor’s degree in Informatics.

niche affiliate websites including EasyGlutenFree.recipes, itsaWAH-

Michael Turpen

Mthing.comand SpecialNeedsGifts.com, to name a few. Missy is a WAHM, wine-enthusiast, die-hard AC/DC fan, and a New York Jets,

In 1982 Michael C. Turpen was elected Attorney General for

Rangers, and Yankees addict. She is also an active fundraiser for

the state of Oklahoma. He served as Muskogee County District

charities that support breast cancer research, treatment, and com-

Attorney from 1977 to 1982, and has been a partner in the law

munity programs. She hates cold weather, flavored coffee, gluten,

firm of Riggs, Abney, Neal, Turpen, Orbison & Lewis since 1987.

and meat. Check out her affiliate marketing blog, MissyWard.com.

Mr. Turpen is a nationally sought after public speaker, having key-

Tony Wright

noted conferences of the National Association of Attorneys General, the Fourth Federal Judicial Circuit, and the National Family

With more than ten years of hands-on and strategic experi-

and Juvenile Judges’ Association. He also appeared twice on

ence in interactive marketing and a background in traditional and

ABC’s “Politically Incorrect” with Bill Maher and was featured on

interactive public relations and journalism, Tony Wright, CEO and

PBS’s national documentary, “Vote for Me: Politics in America.”

Founder of WrightIMC (www.wrightimc.com) has spent his career

Mr. Turpen has received numerous awards, honors and appoint-

helping businesses of all sizes be profitable on the Web. Wright is

ments. In 2003 Mr. Turpen served as Honorary Chairman of the

a search marketing geek and also has extensive experience in on-

Urban League of Oklahoma City, and he was appointed by Presi-

line crisis communication and brand reputation strategy, includ-

dent Bill Clinton to the President’s Advisory Council on the Arts

ing corporate blogging and corporate monitoring, most notably

at the Kennedy Center in 1992. In 2010, he was inducted into the

directing the online corporate reputation management strategy

Oklahoma Hall of Fame, the state’s highest honor.

for American Airlines immediately following the events of Sep-

Claire Vo

tember 11, 2001. Wright has twice served as President of the Dallas/Ft. Worth Search Marketing Association, and is a sought

Claire Vo is the CEO and Co-Founder of Experiment Engine,

after speaker at industry events, including SMX, Search Engine

a conversion optimization platform that helps teams increase

Strategies, Pubcon and others. Find him on twitter @tonynwright

testing velocity and drives significant conversion gains for

Dennis Yu

eCommerce, LeadGen, and Media companies. Prior to launching Experiment Engine, Claire led product development for sev-

Dennis Yu is the CTO of BlitzMetrics. He is an internationally

eral startups & technology companies including Electronic Arts

recognized lecturer in Facebook marketing, having been featured

and BuildASign.com. She is a frequent speaker and expert in

in The Wall Street Journal, New York Times, LA Times, National

A/B testing, conversion analytics, and user experience.

Public Radio, TechCrunch, Fox News, and CBS Evening News. He

David Vogelpohl

is also a regular contributor for Adweek’s SocialTimes column. Dennis has held leadership positions at Yahoo! and American Air-

David Vogelpohl is the Vice President of Web Strategy at

lines. He studied Finance and Economics from Southern Method-

WP Engine, a premium managed WordPress host designed for

ist University and London School of Economics. Besides being

speed and reliability. David’s team at WP Engine focuses on af-

a Facebook data and ad geek, you can find him eating chicken

filiate marketing, web development, advanced analytics, and on-

wings or playing Ultimate Frisbee in a city near you.

65







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