Ask any guru in the affiliate universe what ValueClick's acquisition of Commission Junction means, and you'll get more answers (and more pitches) than you can imagine.Is it consolidation? "Yes and maybe." Does it matter? "Perhaps, but let me tell you why it won't matter to my business." Is it changing the nature of the affiliate industry? "No, but it reflects the changes."It's … [Read more...]
Win Or Lose
In a lot of ways, Cynthia Fanshaw is just another star in the affiliate marketing universe. With a specialty in search engine marketing, she works hard to drive traffic to her company's site and then to convert visitors to customers. She's anxious to learn new tricks that give her an edge over competitors, and glad to share a few tips with newbies. But there's one thing that … [Read more...]
Hot Profits
The marketing of adult entertainment is a lot like any other segment of the affiliate industry, except that it is nothing like any other. The business model and best practices are the same, with skills that easily translate to this sector. But the content makes this a world apart. X-rated sites commercialize one of the deepest human drives, one that's idealized, demonized, … [Read more...]
Snake Eyes
Five'll get you 10 that online gambling is here to stay. Cyber casinos already take wagers from around the globe on everything from five-card stud to the first race at Belmont. Even the industry's harshest critics concede online gambling revenue has soared tenfold in the past six years to about $4.2 billion.With generous payout packages and surging demand, it's no surprise that … [Read more...]
Side Effects
Affiliates promoting pharmaceuticals online can earn lifetime commissions and five-figure paychecks while helping consumers purchase the drugs they need for a fraction of what they would pay at the corner drugstore. But the price also can be unacceptably high. It certainly was for Ryan Haight. Using a debit card his parents gave him to buy baseball cards, the 18-year-old honor … [Read more...]
Been There Done That: Q & A with Shawn Collins
It's very difficult to find anyone in affiliate marketing better known than Shawn Collins, who earned his first commissions more than seven years ago.Wearing his newest hat, as president/CEO of Shawn Collins Consulting, he provides outsourced affiliate program management. But he is, perhaps, better known as a co-founder of Affiliate Summit, as the author of the top-selling book … [Read more...]
Bad Guerrillas
The biggest mistake of all is launching an affiliate marketing program without knowing perception from reality.THE PERCEPTION is that you've been running your affiliate program earnestly and professionally. That's why you have lots of affiliates. You don't feel you've got to be very aggressive with your marketing because all the affiliates already know about you.THE REALITY is … [Read more...]
Wanted: Affiliate Manager
Here in the midst of the fearsome jobless recovery, one job remains hard to fill: affiliate manager. And nobody seems surprised. After all, online affiliate marketing is still a relatively new field. While thousands of corporations have established affiliate programs, many still haven't figured out the skills required to manage the programs well, much less what they're … [Read more...]
The Spam Jam
What a mess. Jim Gordon is hell-bent on collecting some of the $600,000 or so he thinks Commonwealth Marketing Group owes him for sending more than 1,500 emails advertising credit cards. He says the emails had inadequate subject lines and the transmission paths - the list of computers that passed along the email - had been doctored. Gordon, who runs an online health and … [Read more...]
Next Year Is Here
Right around now, the sun is shining, the days are getting longer, the garden is looking so great. And the dreaded tax deadline is behind you. The last thing you want to be thinking about is next year's taxes.Sorry, but you really shouldn't let taxes off your mind. Especially now, while you have a chance to do everything right in the year ahead instead of making the same … [Read more...]
Setting the Data Table
The last issue of Revenue gave an overview of databases and how they can be used. Let's delve a little deeper into how you, as manager of an affiliate program, can use a database to improve your service and provide customized information for all of your affiliates.When creating a database, the first step is to understand what information you want to record, and the important … [Read more...]
Wooing the Lonely Hearts
With thousands of dating sites on the Web, it can be as hard for surfers to find the right site as it is to find the right mate. Affiliates are the matchmakers of the online dating world, bringing lonely hearts to dating service merchants who can light the path to true love, or at least some warm companionship. In a space Jupiter Research projects will more than double to … [Read more...]
Searching for Your Site
Unfortunately, many folks create a Web site and then sit back and wait for the orders to start pouring in. That strategy doesn't work in the field of Internet marketing any more than it does in the offline world. With millions of new Web sites being added to the Internet every month, the old days of hanging out your shingle and waiting for customers to beat a path to your door … [Read more...]
The Pay Per Click Dance
A few years ago, if your site wasn't listed in Yahoo you might as well have given up. Yahoo was practically the only game in town, being the search engine of choice 75 percent of the time. There were all sorts of secret ways to get a better listing, and you had to know these and implement them or your site was invisible. Then, along came a little company called GoTo.com with … [Read more...]
First Impressions and Beyond
What's worse than a poor shopping experience? Rank it down there next to a really bad haircut, or waiting in line at the bank on Saturday morning. It's not fun.Affiliates and merchants should take note. Just because you have a Web site instead of a retail storefront, doesn't mean that you have it easy. In fact, some would argue it's more difficult to sell online than offline. … [Read more...]