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Press Release NEW YORK (April 18, 2013) — Performance marketing agency MediaWhiz today announced the expansion of its affiliate network, MonetizeIt, as part of its cross-publishing capabilities with parent company Matomy Media Group. MediaWhiz now offers a broader selection of domestic and international affiliate marketing campaigns, including game and mobile app downloads, as well as [...]

Developing a new affiliate program can be a lengthy and sometimes complex process but all of that effort be wasted if, once launched, the program fails to attract any affiliates. It seems almost too obvious to say, but affiliates are the life-blood of any successful affiliate program and so recruitmentis of critical importance if a [...]

Affiliate marketing is a much-coveted career path in the business of online moneymaking. After all, it’s convenient, it looks easy enough and everybody’s doing it. But make no mistake: it’s a virtual jungle out there.

Top interactive agencies and affiliates share their tricks for picking the right ad network. Conservatively estimated, there are upwards of 400 ad networks globally. There is a Japanese iPhone-only ad network and the recently launched Village Voice alternative weekly New York newspaper ad network – and everything in between. For ad agencies representing top brands, and for affiliates trying to make a living in the increasingly competitive world of performance marketing, picking the right one is critical to survival. Choosing poorly spells disaster for everyone.

Top interactive agencies and affiliates share their tricks for picking the right ad network. Conservatively estimated, there are upwards of 400 ad networks globally. There is a Japanese iPhone-only ad network and the recently launched Village Voice alternative weekly New York newspaper ad network – and everything in between. For ad agencies representing top brands, and for affiliates trying to make a living in the increasingly competitive world of performance marketing, picking the right one is critical to survival. Choosing poorly spells disaster for everyone.

Whether it is for spring to begin, for Godot or for a commission check, no one likes waiting.

The 30 to 90 days that affiliates – especially those outside the U.S. – must wait for commission checks to arrive can seem like a lifetime, and waiting in line at the bank to cash it is so 20th century.

When Brent Elias began working at CSN Stores.com in 2002, the Boston-based online home furnishings retailer didn’t have an affiliate program. Elias began his career at CSN working in the advertising department on the keywords team. Like many e-tailers, CSN Stores was afraid that affiliate marketing would cannibalize sales from its main online store.

Linda Woods, CEO of PartnerCentric, an outsourced affiliate program management group, says that affiliate recruitment is the hardest thing affiliate managers have to do.

“There is no software that spits the names of affiliates out,” she says, adding that there is no easy way around the arduous process of finding, meeting and building a relationship with the appropriate affiliates.

In the May/June Affiliate’s Corner column, I wrote about the ways super-affiliates prefer to be approached by affiliate program managers and merchants for the purpose of program recruitment.

Wooing a super-affiliate over drinks and dinner with offers of exclusive landing pages, significantly higher-than-advertised commission rates, or showering them with free product samples will certainly get their attention, but it does not guarantee that you will get the heavy hitters to join your program, however.