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Sam Sim Isn’t a Guppy Anymore

Of all the recent posts I have done – I am frankly not sure where to start with this one 🙂 . From his nipple turning antics to constantly picking on his employees or eating more and working less at his office. I am honestly not sure how they get anything done business-wise with all this but he seems to be doing something right. In a recent trip to Seattle, Sam was gracious enough to pick up myself, my wife and my brother to show us his office and introduce us to his team and show us the inner workings of the aquarium aka offices of Guppy Media.

Sam was born and raised in Honolulu and LA and resides in Seattle, WA.  Currently marred to Christine, has a daughter Jessica and son Justin.  On his spare time, he plays on a club soccer team, practice kendo, plays guitar, Xbox live (at night) and heavily involved a volunteer board member at my church.  Also, active with volunteering for world missions at his local church and of course spending time with family.  His favorite sports teams include UW Huskies, Seattle Sounders FC, Seattle Seahawks, LA Dodgers, Boston and Vancouver Canucks.   Graduated from University of Washington in 1995.  Favorite foods are:  Pho, Bibimbap, Sushi and Red Mango and Bubble Tea.

Sam, tell us briefly about yourself and how you got started in this industry.
My career in affiliate marketing got started when I changed my career as a stockbroker for Smith Barney and started business development with Zango / 180Solutions (current day Pinball Network).  I knew I wanted to be on more on the ‘tech” side of the industry, as I saw that many of my clients were making much more money than I was J And particularly in the late early 2000’s with the initial dot com bust, it was a perfect transition for me, with no prior experience in tech, to start in a biz dev role at Zango, driving installs and distribution.  I had always been a top performer and receiving sales and production awards as a stockbroker and fortunately, this naturally carried me over to the interactive ad world.  My spheres of influence, contacts and relationships started in the interactive advertising and affiliate marketing world from here on out.  I owe Zango quite a bit in terms of my initial training and fundamental understandings of interactive media buying.

Do you think being an Asian in this industry has hindered or helped you achieve the level of success you currently have or anticipated?
Honestly, I feel that actually one of the positive characteristics of our industry is that is so diverse and progressive to begin with.  I believe that these two characteristics actually define our industry as a whole, as well as many other adjectives which come to mind such as “hip”, “glamorous”, “trendy”,”youthful”, “energetic”, etc.  I do feel that it is actually because of this culture of diversity, that I feel, personally, I was able to actually flourish more, in the sense of reaching my true potential from a career perspective.  So, to answer this question, I would have to say that given the environment and the surroundings which I live and breathe everyday within our industry, I would actually have to say the celebration of diversity has actually help to foster and proliferate my career.  This is actually one of the key traits about our industry (affiliate, performance marketing) which I actually admire most – cherish and encourage your diversities, uniqueness, and creativity.

What are the top 3 factors that you feel contribute to your success?
1. First and foremost is to always keep your “creativity” cap on.  In my honest opinion, creativity and novel and unique ways of marketing will allow our industry to thrive and flourish.   Innovation is the key to not only survival of a company but also ongoing success as well

2. We are in a service and relationship industry – we should never lose sight of this.  With our industry, being as competitive as it is, the only real way to stand apart from the crowd is to always place an emphasis on best possible client service, to the absolute best of your ability.  Much like the golden rule states, treat others as you would like to be treated.  This hold so true in our service and relationship oriented industry.

3. This is also somewhat related to point #1, but just like Jack in the Box say’s, we must think “outside the bun”.  Our industry, at times I believe, just tends to stick to standardized norms and processes at times and if everyone then begins to follow the same process, this could then lead to what I call “idea saturation”.  We must encourage ourselves to go against this grain and think of and develop new and innovative ways of conducting business, from an operational, marketing and relational perspective.

How important is it to you to communicate with your readers? Is there a particular message you are wanting to convey?
If there is one word of encouragement that I could communicate to my fellow peers and industry colleagues, can all be summed up in one word – “value”.  I encourage everyone, particularly as a daily reminder to myself, to always provide value in all that you do.  Value in the sense that we must give our clients a reason to work with us.

Talk to us specifically about your experience and frustrations in dealing with people in the industry.
It’s really a pet peeve when I go out of my way to do favors for fellow industry colleagues and I often stick my neck out on the line for them.  In many cases, they in turn do not return the favor; much less appreciate what I have done for them.   I do feel at times that albeit we are in an “online” world, we should always remind ourselves that we are all human beings ultimately behind the keyboard and we should all treat each other with mutual respect and courtesy, as is the natural laws of humankind and the universe.  I do believe that we shy away from the tendency to think that we are not email aliases and Skype ID’s behind our PC’s…and that if we were doing business face to face, would things be done differently?

You are well known in the industry, who has been your motivation or inspiration, in other words, who is your driving force?
First of all, I give all the credit and all blessings to God in Heaven.  Through Him all blessings flow.  Secondly, my family is my number one motivational force.  Finally, in terms of inspiration, I actually believe and admire myself.  It may sound pompous, but when I look back at my previous trials and failures and how I was able to maintain a positive attitude and continue to survive and succeed each time; it is a constant reminder and inspiration to me.

What do you think is the impact of the “new” media on today’s generation? Are they leveraging it effectively and more importantly – are they leveraging it for the betterment of our industry?
New media is the reason we are progressing as a society and is one of the few economic sectors still experiencing rapid growth and progress from the financials markets sense.   It is because of this innovation, that new jobs are created daily and I truly believe will continue to be the driving force behind the salvation and comeback of our current domestic economic situation.  Reciprocally, I would hope that with the onset and growth of “new media” that this does not preclude us from continuing to be in touch with our human side as well as the value of real interpersonal relationships and the human touch.
Being a minority myself, there are constant stereotypes that I have to overcome, have you ever experienced this?
Growing up in the south (brief time in elementary) I did experience this, but primarily living on the west coast for the good majority of my life, I have not really experienced it.

What are some effective tools and products that help you keep your life organized?
Google Docs is the only tool you need!!  I also highly recommend Basecamp for CRM as well Assembla for ticket and task management.

If you had a money tree in your back yard and could purchase anything for your business tomorrow, what would it be?
Definitely.  I always wanted to have my own 59’ lifesize “Gundam” robot – http://sneakermaniac.com/59-foot-tall-gundam-to-be-displayed-in-tokyo-park/

Any words of wisdom for my readers looking to get into this space?
Be real and genuine.  Remember you are dealing with humans and not AIM ID’s.  Always remember the golden rule and the basic laws of the Universe and you’ll be fine.  Lastly, always believe in your “inner superstar” – you just need to find the right outlet to release it and let it shine.

——

Ricky Ahuja is the CEO of Affiliate Venture Group

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8 Facebook Marketing Hacks You Should Try RIGHT NOW

So you want to learn a few marketing tips on Facebook, huh? Well, I’ll give you SEVERAL! As internet marketers, we have to be tricky and cunning with how we reach our audience. With Facebook always changing its layout and features, it’s pretty hard to keep up. Aaaaaaaaannnnnd, that’s why I’m here.

So here are the eight Facebook tips you should try RIGHT NOW.

Tag Your Friends in Status Updates

Do you have a link, video or message for your latest product? Post that link, video or message as a status update and cleverly integrate your friend’s name. The two key words here is “cleverly integrate.” Don’t make it so obvious that your friends will make it their mission to defriend you. Do this too much and you’ll be reported for spam.

Hint: Use the @ symbol followed by your friend’s name in your status. This will tag them.

Creative LoafingBecause he remembered I like Jazz, Joran told me about a Half-Off deal on a jazz club that just reopened. 

Tag Your Friends in Photos

If you have some very influential friend, this is a sure-fire winner. But if you don’t, it still works to get your brand some recognition. Whatever the picture is even if it’s not for your brand, remember not to tag them in embarrassing or compromising situations…this can be detrimental to your friendship.

Upload a photo with your brand. Add a description to promote the brand. Tag as many friends as you can in that one photo.

Not only would their names show up on your picture, but it will pop up on your friends’ profiles for all of their friends to see…that is, if they didn’t disable the public showing of their tagged photos. Even if this is the case, your friends will get notification that they’ve been tagged and of course will open it up to check out what the image is.

Missy WardMissy Ward & Clicky at Affiliate Summit West 2011 

Tag Your Friends in Notes

This is especially useful if you have a blog. What you can do is import your blog posts into Facebook so that they show up as Notes. Once the blog posts make their successful transfer, go and tag away! But remember to not be a constant tagger or you’ll be a constant spammer.

 

Comment on Your Friends’ Walls

What good are you as a friend if you don’t interact with your people? Write on their walls. Pop in every so often just to say hi and see how they’re doing. “You’re confronting the question of ‘Why is this person even in my network in the first place?’ with a logical answer. You’re reaching out. That’s pure networking,” says Peter Shankman, PR and Social Media Power Player.

Shankman’s blog post, Unfriend, Write or Die, is a must-read on this subject.

This approach is not necessarily a hack, but it is a way for you to stay in the front of your friends’ minds.

Comment on Group, Fan Page and Event Walls

Target your niche. Join groups, fan pages and events that are associated with your line of work as well as your products. Once you do that, promote your product/brand by leaving comments on its walls.

You can “kill two birds with one stone” without having to leave your homepage. Same thing with tagging friends’ names in status updates, you can tag the group, page or event by using the @ symbol before the word. It’ll not only appear on your profile, news feed and friends’ news feed, but it will also show up on the page that you tagged. Bada Bing!!!

 

Ad TechClickbooth’s Fan Page 
Ad TechAd:Tech’s Fan Page 

Like Status Updates on Friend, Fan Page and Group Walls

Here you can do one of two things. 1) You can like status updates by using your personal profile account or 2) you can create one for your brand and use that. By liking from your personal profile account, you are letting your friends know you care what they have to say. Creating a company profile or Page (Facebook has recently launched this feature to let you like a status as your page), you are now promoting your brand.

OffervaultGood one, Guys. 

Create a Group Page and Add, Add, Add

Facebook also allows you to add friends to groups without needing their permission. This is a very easy way to give your brand exposure and really quickly.

Back in October 2010, someone by the name of Jon Fisher totally owned Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Facebook, and Michael Arrington, Founder of TechCrunch, with this feature. He added “Zuck” and Arrington to a group called NAMBLA, a man-boy love group, without their permission. It created a pretty big ruckus about Facebook privacy. Eh, what’s new? Could this be THE Jon Fisher I know from WickedFire? You tell me.

So to follow Fisher’s footsteps, all you have to do to create the group is come up with a name, write some content and add all of your friends. The only way they can say no to the group is if it sucks. What is the first rule in business? Don’t Suck!

Create an Event and Invite, Invite, Invite

Create an event where you can invite all of your friends. Same thing as creating a group page. Think of a good event name. Get some content in there. Invite. My favorite attribute about this hack is that you can message everyone you’ve invited (even people who haven’t responded) and have it pop up in their message inbox. Suh-weet!

—–

Thao Tran is the Head of Social Media at Clickbooth.com

Learn also about this Crazy Affiliate Marketing Technique

 

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Affiliate PayPal Taxes & Asset Protection Strategies

As you may know, this year PayPal will start reporting the income received by many affiliates via the PayPal. While this is limited only to those who receive more than $20,000 in payment AND 200 transactions, it will affect many affiliates.  Please remember, however, while this law only requires that PayPal report these transactions, reporting all sources of income to the IRS is required by law.  This however raises a question about many affiliates method of both bookkeeping and reporting income, so I felt it was time to give some advice about bookkeeping techniques and more importantly how to save yourself a lot of money in taxes and work.

1)      Create a corporation. Seriously, if you are making more than a few dollars a month, you need to create a corporation.  I have used LegalZoom personally for all my corporations and highly recommend it. If you are going to do a corporation, the best State to incorporate in is Wyoming LLC (Limited Liability Corporation) . There are several reasons for this, but mainly because there is no state tax, no reporting requirements and even a foreign national (non US citizen) can own a Wyoming LLC.  If you set up a corporation, make sure you also get a EIN (Used for Tax reporting to the IRS) from LegalZoom.

2)      Get a bank account and do not use PayPal for receiving payments. One of the biggest issues with PayPal is that its costly for each transaction and it’s pain in the rear end to record each transaction and then the fee associated with the transaction.   The IRS will be getting a report on the total income you receive, so when you file taxes you will have to show the cost of the services.  Unless you account for each transaction and then the cost of the services in the transaction, you could be hit for additional taxes. Additionally, the more of a paper-trail that is required internally, the most risk of mistakes that will cost you money. Get people to wire or send you checks. It’s simple and you just record the payment in your books.

3)      Get QuickBooks for keeping all your books. It’s pretty simple for most affiliates, and if you use debit card for most transactions online and have a bank account, it will figure out most of your transactions, deductions and keep a great accounting. A little basic learning is required on how to use it, what categories are for what transactions and the such, but far worth your time if you don’t have a bookkeeper. If you are doing better, get a part-time bookkeeper to assist.

4)      Deduct anything you do for or related to business as a business expense. This will save you a lot of money, no doubt. This means that when you buy a computer, this is a cost directly associated with your business, as is all travel to conventions, supplies such as paper, software, you name it. Most importantly, if you are buying media, buying ads on Google this is an expense and you biggest expense (Cost of Goods Sold). You need to record everything that you do associated with your business, from lunches to travel.  A good credit card can help you keep track of this, but also so can a debit card.

While this is a short list, and definitely not all the advice that you need as an affiliate to make a business, it’s a good start. If you are making money, the worst thing you can do is to continue doing things the same way you were before making money. This is partially because the industry goes up and down – was just talking to an affiliate who now owns $2M in taxes to the IRS because he didn’t do things right.

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Five Things that Brand Media can Learn from Affiliates

One thing hasn’t changed since I started working in this industry over a decade ago: brand marketers still often look at performance marketers as if they are a crazy step-brother, locked in the basement for fear that he will get out and eat small animals. Yes, there is that part of the performance marketing industry that is a bit unsavory, filled with the gurus and the acne-faced kids who pretend to be elite hacker-wannabes on black hat forums – but there is a lot being developed in the industry that everyone needs to pay attention to, especially brand media buyers. So, without waste of time or resources, here is my concise guide to what brand media buyers can learn from performance marketers.

  1. Provide hundreds of different versions of creatives. Yes, while Microsoft Word still doesn’t believe me that “creatives” are a word, you should be using tons of them. So many media buyers still rely on a few versions of the same creative for some reason, limiting their ability to optimize. Performance marketers have become experts at creative optimization, often making hundreds of versions with slight differences for their media buys. Network buys, placement, color coordination, and even time of the day all can make a difference on how a creative performs.
  2. Discover tools. Performance marketers are crazy about different tools for optimization, content creation, and development. One of the great things about the industry is that many of these tools are actually better than tools that cost 10 times as much made for brand media buyers. Some of these tools are actually free. An example is Tracking202, which is a free media buying PPC tool for affiliate marketers that tracks multiple media buys, multiple landing pages, and gives great reports.
  3. Get people to interact immediately. Performance marketing is all about performance, the ROI, but brand marketing needs to embrace this more and more as a metric. While it might not be a product buy, there are metrics that can easily be created on all media buys. Whether it’s a “learn more” newsletter sign-up button after a presentation or a search function for realtors that carries a product, brand marketers need to start always embracing performance. Interaction is part of the Internet, and it is proven over and over again that when someone does an action, any action, they are more likely to have positive feelings about a brand.
  4. Ignore the press about what is “cool.” I know that clients read everything about the industry, and hear that the newest cool social/mobile/video product is where it’s at. All of these products will promise results, but the cost per user on most new applications is expensive and has little history or real return on its value. Jumping on the bandwagon, wasting the budget, and ignoring solutions that can show a real result is a growing problem in our industry. Yeah, it’s cool now that people can post on their Facebook page that they just got a latte at Starbucks, but in a year when everyone is annoying each other and it’s considered nothing more than spam, how will your brand think about that?
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Top 10 Reasons Why You Shouldn’t Exhibit at an Affiliate Marketing Conference

Exhibiting at a trade show can be costly, but for the world of me, I fail to understand what most companies are thinking when they bring a whole team or hire temporary “booth babes” but have absolutely no clue or a game plan what they want to accomplish. Without proper and effective training, some booth staffers may not realize how some inadvertent actions can impact an organizations reputation and potential business. Below is a Top 10 list to keep in mind before the next show.

Top 10 Reasons Why You Shouldn’t Exhibit at an Affiliate Marketing Conference

1 ) If you “ran out” of business cards on Day 1.  Time and time again I constantly hear, “Oh I am sorry, I ran out of business cards.” Really? You spend all this time and money and forget something so simple but critically important?

2 ) If the first words out of your mouth are, “Where are the parties tonight?”  While parties are a great venue to network and drum up some business, it should not be your sole motivation to attend.

3) If you find texting more exciting than the people waiting for you at your booth.  You can’t begin to imagine how many booths I visited at the Ad-tech and what % of the employees were on their phones texting. Forget the employees; I saw numerous C-level execs doing the same.

4 ) If you prefer talking on the phone while people are waiting for you at your booth.  See comments to bullet 3 above.

5 ) If you prefer eating while people are waiting for you at your booth.  We all get hungry while manning the booth – but schedule a time with your team where you get a break and go eat in a designated area.

6 ) If you prefer “passing” the card to someone not present to follow up.  This is a favorite of mine. I am at your booth, ready to give you some business but what do I hear, “email us at affiliateservices@mycompanydoesnthavethetimetotalknowandwearewaytoobusytexting.com and we will have one of our dedicated reps contact you.”

7 ) If you prefer talking to your neighbor more so then potential customers.  See point 3 above.

8 ) If you are late to your meeting appointment.  We have numerous meetings lined up at these shows and often times they run a bit longer than expects – and that is perfectly fine. But extend the courtesy of emailing, calling or texting the next appointment that you are running a bit late and let them know.

9 ) If you are more concerned about giving your pitch rather than taking the time to find out my needs.  Often times I hear companies ramble on and on about how great they are but not for a sec take a moment and ask what it is that I truly want.

10 ) If I know more about your company than YOU do.  This has to be my all time favorite. Most of the staffers have absolutely no clue what their company truly does, what their benefits are relative to their competition, how they can help me achieve my goals. If you are going to be at a booth – take the time to learn some basic concepts such as (I am sure they may be difficult for some of you): CPA, CPL, CPS, Affiliate Marketing, PPC, SEO, PPV, Co-reg, etc. See where I am going with this?

—–
Ricky Ahuja is the CEO of Affiliate Venture Group

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6 Major Mistakes in Affiliate Email Marketing

You don’t want to lose out on a cheap and effective way to manage your affiliate marketing campaigns, right? Email marketing allows you to create messages for specific niches, track interest by looking at open and click rates, and build relationships with your subscribers. While it is effective, there are also common email marketing mistakes that you need to be aware of that could prevent you from reaping the benefits. Here’s a list of things to avoid from the Folks at AWEBER.

1. Do Not Purchase Email Lists.
Effective email marketing campaigns cater to specific demographics, tastes and interests, and aren’t just blasting emails out to random groups of people. When you buy an email list, there’s no way to guarantee that those people are really interested in your messages or the business you’re advertising for, so you must avoid purchased lists. Another thing to keep in mind is that most email marketing software providers prohibit the use of purchased lists.

2. Don’t Use a “From” Name or Subject Line They Won’t Recognize.
You want to make sure subscribers recognize who the emails are coming from. Be consistent, and make sure your email campaigns use information that matches what subscribers saw when they originally signed up. Make sure your subject line clearly explains the value of the message and that you deliver what’s promised. Transparency will give you more credibility, and people will be more likely to listen to what you’re saying.

3. Don’t Forget the CAN-SPAM Act.
The CAN-SPAM Act is a U.S. law requiring that all marketing emails contain the sender’s valid physical postal address. This might sound scary if you’re operating your affiliate marketing business from home, but a post office box will work just as well, so get one and use it as the postal address in your emails. You’ll be compliant with the law and subscribers will know there is a real person they can contact with any questions.

4. Don’t Send Irrelevant or Infrequent Emails.
You might have a number of affiliate campaigns you’re running, but make sure you’re only sending each subscriber information about all the campaigns and products they specifically requested. For example, subscribers who sign up for information on weight loss programs might not want to be added to a campaign that receives tips for cooking. Sending information on other irrelevant products or services can irritate subscribers and cause them to unsubscribe or mark your emails as spam.

Also remember to keep in contact with the subscribers you have. Revisit your landing page from time to time to assess your email content and make sure it matches up with your original offer. Set expectations so that subscribers know what you’ll be sending and when they’ll be receiving it.

5. Don’t Leave Out a Call To Action.
In order to get credit for your affiliate marketing, you’re going to need the subscriber to take action. This most likely involves purchasing something or at least visiting a particular website. Remember to answer the question “What do I do next?” for your subscribers and provide clear instructions.

6. Don’t Send Without Testing.
You don’t want to send your carefully planned message with affiliate links that aren’t working. This is why you need to test messages. Make sure links are working, images can be seen, and that the message is readable. You’ll want to test the message in different email clients such as Yahoo, Gmail, AOL, Outlook, etc. to ensure it’s consistent with all programs.

If you’re already using email with your affiliate marketing, be sure you aren’t making any of these mistakes. No email campaign is perfect, but avoiding these major mistakes will get you one step closer to that goal.

—–

As a member of AWeber’s Education Marketing team, Crystal Gouldey teaches marketers how to use email to increase sales and profits. See AWeber’s blog for more email marketing tips from Crystal.

Pace Lattin Interview

 

right?

 

Email marketing allows you to create messages for specific niches, track interest by looking at open and click rates, and build relationships with your subscribers.

 

While it is effective, there are also common email marketing mistakes that you need to be aware of that could prevent you from reaping the benefits. Here’s a list of things to avoid:

 

1. Do Not Purchase Email Lists.

 

Effective email marketing campaigns cater to specific demographics, tastes and interests, and aren’t just blasting emails out to random groups of people. When you buy an email list, there’s no way to guarantee that those people are really interested in your messages or the business you’re advertising for, so you must avoid purchased lists. Another thing to keep in mind is that most email marketing software providers prohibit the use of purchased lists.

 

2. Don’t Use a “From” Name or Subject Line They Won’t Recognize.

 

You want to make sure subscribers recognize who the emails are coming from. Be consistent, and make sure your email campaigns use information that matches what subscribers saw when they originally signed up. Make sure your subject line clearly explains the value of the message and that you deliver what’s promised. Transparency will give you more credibility, and people will be more likely to listen to what you’re saying.

 

3. Don’t Forget the CAN-SPAM Act.

 

The CAN-SPAM Act is a U.S. law requiring that all marketing emails contain the sender’s valid physical postal address. This might sound scary if you’re operating your affiliate marketing business from home, but a post office box will work just as well, so get one and use it as the postal address in your emails. You’ll be compliant with the law and subscribers will know there is a real person they can contact with any questions.

 

4. Don’t Send Irrelevant or Infrequent Emails.

 

You might have a number of affiliate campaigns you’re running, but make sure you’re only sending each subscriber information about all the campaigns and products they specifically requested. For example, subscribers who sign up for information on weight loss programs might not want to be added to a campaign that receives tips for cooking. Sending information on other irrelevant products or services can irritate subscribers and cause them to unsubscribe or mark your emails as spam.

 

Also remember to keep in contact with the subscribers you have. Revisit your landing page from time to time to assess your email content and make sure it matches up with your original offer. Set expectations so that subscribers know what you’ll be sending and when they’ll be receiving it.

 

5. Don’t Leave Out a Call To Action.

 

In order to get credit for your affiliate marketing, you’re going to need the subscriber to take action. This most likely involves purchasing something or at least visiting a particular website. Remember to answer the question “What do I do next?” for your subscribers and provide clear instructions.

 

6. Don’t Send Without Testing.

 

You don’t want to send your carefully planned message with affiliate links that aren’t working. This is why you need to test messages. Make sure links are working, images can be seen, and that the message is readable. You’ll want to test the message in different email clients such as Yahoo, Gmail, AOL, Outlook, etc. to ensure it’s consistent with all programs.

 

If you’re already using email with your affiliate marketing, be sure you aren’t making any of these mistakes. No email campaign is perfect, but avoiding these major mistakes will get you one step closer to that goal.

 

About the Author

 

As a member of AWeber’s Education Marketing team, Crystal Gouldey teaches marketers how to use email to increase sales and profits. See AWeber’s blog for more email marketing tips from Crystal

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Lucas Brown is the Santa Claus of Affiliate Marketing. He Has Offers.

I have to be honest, before this interview I knew nothing about HasOffers whatsoever, except that anyone could make their own affiliate network using the system. I thought perhaps it was some low-level system that had some basic features and was nowhere a possible competition for the “major” players. After this interview and some education, it became very clear that HasOffers is a serious competitor in its own right and that Lucas Brown, the CEO of the company knows what he is doing.

What inspired you to make an affiliate tracking software?
In the fall of 2008, my twin brother and I recognized a huge need in performance marketing. Many affiliate programs and networks (including our own) were depending on legacy tracking software that was slow, unreliable and extremely costly to maintain. Since we spent the previous three years developing our own tracking technology for another company, we decided to empower others with our modern technology and make a real impact in the performance advertising industry.

Just as Salesforce.com brought about revolutionary change by providing their software as a service, we are moving the industry to a simpler, more scalable era. Traditionally, starting an affiliate network would require signing a minimum one-year contract, paying exorbitant setup fees, and then waiting for the expensive legacy solution to be installed or integrated. The alternative was to build your own solution from scratch. These very limited options prohibited many online marketers and direct advertisers from getting started with affiliate marketing and learning how to use utilize affiliates as an effective and extremely profitable advertising medium.

We realized we need to build an automated sign-up process that allows companies to create their own white-label affiliate network in minutes, with no contracts, pay-as-you-go. Shifting affiliate tracking to true software as a service vastly lowers the barrier to entry, making it easier than ever for any company to get started. As a result of fewer barriers to entry and lower levels of risk provided by HasOffers, affiliate marketing is growing explosively, increasing advertiser spend and disrupting old models of online advertising.

HasOffers has been criticized in the past for opening the floodgates so “anyone can make an affiliate program?” What do you have to say to those who think this is a bad idea?
There have always been people who were afraid to make technology and information available to the masses.  The argument is usually that some of those masses will use it for negative causes, but the real fear is that those with the illusion of power cannot hide behind expensive technology.

HasOffers is the center of innovation in an industry both run and plagued by old technology. A majority of brand advertising dollars still goes to search and display advertising. The Performance Marketing Association (PMA) suggests that a lack of transparency and education about affiliate marketing limits mainstream advertisers from participating with affiliate marketing. The only way to change this is through education and availability of proper technology for every business size.  I suppose we have a fundamental difference in ideology than most competitors.  It is that the more people involved in our industry, the more advertising spend comes in, and more benefit everyone will receive.

To those critics, I would say that this is an industry based on relationships and trust, and technology should be a standard, not a barrier.

As you know, a competitor was hit last year with the revelations that all the affiliate data of their affiliate networks were stolen and resold. What have you done to prevent this happening from you? Many companies who are now customers of HasOffers went through this stressful ordeal with DirectTrack.  It was certainly a very scary situation for all involved.  Our architecture and security programs are very different from our competitors, and though we cannot ethically discuss these on public record (in the interest of security), our dedicated system and network engineers are extremely protective of our infrastructure.  As HasOffers continues to grow, our larger clients demand extremely thorough security documentation including emergency plans, best practices, data loss prevention, and layered security models, which has also helped us develop an extremely air tight environment for our clients to do business.

What differentiates HasOffers from competitors?
HasOffers tracking technology is far more efficient than any competing platform. Proprietary ad serving and tracking technology allows a single HasOffers server to support over 2 billion requests per month. HasOffers’ efficient ad serving and tracking technology is built in C, enabling it to support 500 percent more requests per ad server than legacy technologies. Requests to ad servers built in PHP or ASP.NET require servers to load 15 MBs of data or more into memory in order to complete each request, while the HasOffers’ proprietary ad serving technology only requires 215 KBs per request. This increased capacity provides a strategic advantage, allowing HasOffers to provide the most affordable ad serving and tracking solution in the industry.  We urge anyone to test HasOffers along side any other system and let it speak for itself.

We are also the first company to provide complete fault tolerance by deploying clients’ ad servers on the Amazon Web Services’ EC2 cloud. We’ve combined this global deployment of the ad servers on the cloud with globally load-balanced DNS. This detects the location of the user making the request to the ad server and directs the user to the ad server in the facility that can respond the quickest.  A user clicking on a tracking link in Germany will be handled by an ad server in the Ireland facility or a user viewing a creative in New York will be handled by an ad server in the Virginia facility. Global deployments of the ad servers with globally load-balanced DNS, increases performance by handling a users request with ad servers that are located thousands of miles closer to them. By dramatically reducing this latency, our ad servers are also able to handle requests even faster than before.

Our team also uniquely understands the value of scalability. While competitors only power an estimated few hundred clients each, HasOffers’ scalable technology has enabled more than 7,000 companies to create and manage their own affiliate networks. Our competitors simply don’t have infrastructures to support this many clients effectively.

What are some of your most notable Customers? Do they tend to be networks or advertisers?
Zynga, AdSimilis, Living Social, Tapjoy, Flycell, Adperio, Palms, adperio, MarketHealth, and the list goes on.

In the beginning our primary customers were networks, within the past year more and more advertisers are adopting HasOffers to manage their in-house affiliate programs. About 55% of our clients are networks and 45% advertisers.

Do you recommend super affiliates to use HasOffers to track their deals?
We do have some super affiliates that user HasOffers to track their campaigns, but they are a minority. There are certainly many solutions focused on tracking the performance for affiliates across multiple networks. We find that super affiliates tend to start their own affiliate networks with us as that is often the next logical step for them.

There are a lot of mentions about your API, What makes your API unique?
Our API is the only complete two-way API, including over 400 API methods and 60 API data models. An API of this magnitude is completely unprecedented in affiliate tracking and is sure to open up vast opportunities for so many companies. The API makes it possible to develop customized applications that run on top of the HasOffers platform. No other affiliate network software has an API this powerful.

The API makes it possible for our clients to transform HasOffers to fit every possible need. Every feature in the HasOffers application is documented and available to use through the HasOffers API. Clients can build applications or customize their current HasOffers application software with the same access to integration for managing advertisers, offers, and affiliates. With the HasOffers API it is easy to create new affiliates, generate tracking codes for new affiliates, and generate any statistics and reports.

Some clients are creating a competitive advantage by implementing completely unique graphic interfaces for their HasOffers account using the API. Other clients are using the New API to build widgets that connect with CRMs and billing systems. A few clients are now building our affiliate tracking software into a gateway monetization system.

What fraud systems are built into the HasOffers System?
Our software gives our clients insight to identify and prevent fraudulent conversions. We classify fraud into two types. Affiliate profile fraud and activity fraud. Affiliate profile fraud analyzes whether the affiliate’s details are suspicious or linked to other fraudulent accounts. This allows our clients to identify potentially malicious affiliates before they are given access to offers. Activity fraud analyzes actual conversion data to identify fraudulent activity. This analyzes IP addresses, conversion times, referring domains, duplicate IPs, comparative EPCs, etc.

We’ve also spent a lot time ensuring our core tracking technology prevents fraudulent conversions. Referral domains can be enforced for conversion pixels and IP addresses enforced for server postback URLs. There are options to limit the number of conversions by IP address and date as well as identify conversions generated by proxies. Tracking links, conversions pixels and server postback URLs can be encrypted with unique hashes. The application also provides ample and filtered information in the reports to give our clients the power to investigate each conversion.

How easy would it be for a network to move to HasOffers?
HasOffers has spent a great deal of time perfecting the migration process for networks.  We realize this is the only real deterring factor for larger potential clients, especially depending on the current system they are using, so we have dedicated on-boarding specialists to help with the process. Most clients considering migrating to HasOffers reach out to us because they are already having tracking issues, frustrations with processes,  or difficulty managing affiliate data, and we realize each business model has unique struggles.  Our on-boarding specialists have not only developed smooth processes for migration across the most common platforms, but they are skilled in adapting to unique circumstances.  This should certainly not be a prohibiting factor in moving a business to a new level of technology and innovation.

Do you recommend that most people move to Server to Server Tracking and why? What are the advantages of this?
For our clients with the technical understanding, we certainly recommend implementing cookieless tracking. With HasOffers, cookieless tracking can also be implemented with iFrames or image pixels, providing a hybrid of client side and server side. This way affiliate third-party pixels can still piggy back on conversions as well. With only server to server pixels enabled affiliates have to implement a server to server pixel as well, which many affiliates don’t have the software or knowledge to accomplish.

If a user does not have cookies enabled on their browser, usually an iFrame/Image pixel will not record a conversion, but by implementing cookieless conversion tracking, users with cookies disabled will still be tracked. We do this by passing a transaction ID (tracking ID) to the advertiser’s landing page on click. Then the advertiser passes this transaction ID to the conversion pixel or server postback URL. Our ad servers look up the user’s tracking information by the transaction ID and record conversions accordingly. This is a great way to ensure conversion tracking accuracy.

What inspired your staff to get up in the morning?
Passion.  After participating in every piece and angle of online advertising, we realized that we should concentrate on the part that we really love, and believe it or not, that’s performance tracking technology.  So we surround ourselves with people who share our passion.  You might describe HasOffers as one big crazy brainstorm on the future of online advertising, and we think that’s the most exciting thing we could be doing.  You can really see the unity it brings our team.

What is your dream car?
I don’t have a dream car. Cars are not a big thing in Seattle. I’d prefer a mansion on Lake Washington.

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Reddit, a Great Source for Traffic.

If you don’t know about Reddit, then you probably either work very hard during the day, or you don’t smile enough.  Forget Facebook, forget Digg, do yourself a favor, and visit Reddit.  Not only will you find some of the most interesting articles from across the web, you will find some of the most entertaining and insightful comments on those articles.  The phrase “there’s an app for that,” has been said many times, but “there’s a reddit for that” should be equally as popular, because there really is a reddit for everything.  Whether you’re into politics, science, pics of hot chicks or kittens, there’s a “sub” reddit where you can find information about the topic.

But enough about reddit, let’s talk about advertising:

The demo of reddit skews heavily male, and most of the posts tend to be satirical in nature.  So, when it came to advertising PetFlow.com on Reddit, we first tested a fairly “comedic” approach:

The above ad got us almost no sales, and while we found the ad to be quite funny, many “redditors” did not, and we got quite a few negative comments.

We tested a few more ads, and while the response was “okay,” we really weren’t getting the response we were hoping for, until we realized something.  Reddit is not just about advertising, it’s about spurring discussion, and running an ad for just a day or two, is not the way to get reddit to work.  So, we decided to just create an ad and let it run.

The above ad ran on reddit for over 30 days, and while it generated almost no sales in the first few days, we all of a sudden started seeing sales roll in.  And the more comments that were posted, and replied to by our company, the more likely people were to buy.  If you think about it, there really aren’t that many places on the internet where you can advertise, have people discuss your product or service, and then visit your site to buy from you – and reddit allows you to do this.

So, a few pointers about advertising on reddit:

1)      Have a compelling product or service to sell – and make sure it appeals to a broad market, but predominantly males.

2)      Don’t simply expect sales right away – let your ad run, for at least 7 days.  And make sure you respond to all of the questions/comments about the product/service.

Lastly, a note on how reddit self service advertising works: It’s a little different from other places where you might be able to buy media.  It’s not CPC, it’s not CPM, it’s not even CPA.  The way reddit works is they count up the amount of media spend dedicated for a particular day, figure out what percentage of that amount was contributed by each particular advertiser, and that is the percentage of impressions that the advertiser gets.  So, if you spend $1,000 and another advertiser spends $1,000, you each get 50% of the inventory.  If, the next day, you spend $1,000 and the other advertiser spends $50, you get 95% of the impressions.  It’s a bit of a crapshoot as you don’t know how much others are spending, but it’s worked for us.

Good luck!

Alex Zhardanovsky is co-Founder of Epic Advertising (fka AzoogleAds) and has been in the online advertising space since 1999. He recently co-founded PetFlow.com, an online retailer of pet food & accessories.

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Is Facebook Social Marketing Really That Important?

Right now, perhaps the biggest “new job” in online media is the social media manager, and similarly the social media management company. Agencies all over are scrambling to create social media divisions and every major brand out there has been equally hurried to hire “experts” to assist them in this new empire of social media. All those “new media” and “affiliate marketing” experts have now become “social media” experts in order to get jobs. The pundits are constantly talking about how they engage users on Facebook, how to use it to engage clients and make new clients, how to get people to click on “like,” and so on. I honestly believe that most of this talk is not only self-serving nonsense that is created to fill the plethora of junk journals out there, but more importantly has no basis in reality. Most Facebook “social” marketing has little or no return on investment.

  1. Most people are using Facebook as a communications device between themselves, friends, colleagues, and family. Facebook works because it’s an easy way to get in touch with people you know. It’s great because you don’t have to remember someone’s e-mail address, you don’t have to remember someone’s birthday, and you don’t really have to care all that much for the people to show interest in them. People relate to others on Facebook at the most superficial levels, and that’s partially why people love Facebook.
  2. The actual engagement ratio is close to 0 percent. Here is non-scientific-based proof: I’m a member of the Starbucks group, as are 20 million other caffeine and scone addicts. On a daily basis, some 1,000 people leave short messages on Starbucks’ websites, with things like “I love you Starbucks” and “My Café Latte tasted like cat pee.” That’s approximately a .005 percent engagement ratio. The people who respond to these posts with “likes” and other actions are usually close to few or none. People aren’t involved with the Starbucks’ fan page, even though on a daily basis a large percent of them are involved with Starbucks. However, the “real” posts where there is actual feedback and involvement is close to zero.
  3. In the cases where there is engagement, there is no way to engage the users back. I’m one of the 9 million or so people who “like” the Britney Spears Facebook page. When Britney (I love you Britney!) or her manager uses Facebook to communicate, they receive at least one to two thousand responses back. There is no way they can process those comments in a way that is actually useful to them. It’s like monitoring teenage girls’ cell phone habits and trying to decode what they are saying. Half of it they’ll forget the next day, similar to comments on Facebook, so who really cares?
  4. There are too many groups on Facebook to be truly engaged. Facebook has become the flea market of online media. While everyone once in a while loves going to a flea market, no one would enjoy living in the middle of one. While in real life you can meet a group of friends, sit down for a drink, and talk about subjects that everyone likes, doing this on Facebook is like trying to have that same conversation in the middle of a rave. You’re going to try for a few minutes to have a real conversation until someone slaps you with a glow stick and gives you a hug (or “poke”). Everyone who joins Facebook at first joins the groups, “likes” all their favorite brands, and tries to engage, but eventually just starts to ignore the cornucopia of pages and groups.
  5. Facebook advertising, on the other hand, provides real and immediate results in comparison. If you want to spend money on Facebook, buy an advertisement. With the growing amount of targeting features, the enormous audience buying advertisements and sending to your own landing page seems like a much better spend. Instead of having to worry about all the management issues with having a fan page or group on Facebook, you can send people to a site that you control.

I’m not going to say that there’s no reason to have a page or group on Facebook – that recommendation would be silly indeed. It’s free advertising. However, I am saying that having a “social media” plan with a panel of experts advising you on what the page should look like, 10 full-time employees looking at the comments, and also paying some analytics company $250,000 to give you reporting on how many people responded to your “we are not open on President’s Day” message is just plain ridiculous. Please, I beg of you, don’t waste your money on these “experts” who have about as much experience in media as I have in swimsuit competitions. Most companies don’t pay people to monitor the graffiti in the boy’s bathroom, and much of Facebook is similar to that. It has little or no real-world impact on sales or brand perception. If you disagree with what I am saying, feel free to post it on your Facebook page, and I’ll “like” it.

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Five Money Making Trends in Affiliate Marketing

ADOTAS – As a publicist working predominantly in the online advertising space, a good indication I get regarding what’s happening in the industry is from the new business prospects that come my way. First of all, good things are happening in the industry, based on the quantity of leads my peers and I are receiving. Beyond this, one trend that is clearly growing is affiliate marketing.

A decade ago, the affiliate marketing industry had a reputation of being the response-based, sales-driven, “non-creative” end of the online advertising world. But as more and more established brand marketers embrace affiliate marketing, the industry’s reputation (and share of the ad budget) has improved. Add to this all of the niche-based ad opportunities which social media and the blogosphere have provided for affiliate-based advertising – where affiliate-based ads for a fast moving consumer goods products make perfect sense on a Mommy blog – and you have an industry that is gaining strength.

And here are a few trends which are contributing to the growth of affiliate marketing:

1. The rise of social networking functionality like Facebook’s new Sponsored Stories, which enable an advertiser to sponsor a users ‘Like’ OR check-in, are basically turning all of us into affiliate marketers for the brands which choose to support. Couple that with the growth of Word-of-Mouth marketing, and we’re starting to experience a new and more personalized form affiliate marketing, not unlike one envisioned by Heather Locklear in this commercial for Faberge Organics commercial from the 1980s.

2. The increased acceptance of activity-based compensation, including revenue share deals and cost per action, has made it more acceptable to work with affiliate marketers who work almost exclusively with activity-based compensation.

3. Affiliate marketing is sometimes referred to as performance marketing. After 2009, who doesn’t want a campaign that can be monitored and measured on a performance basis (well, accept for the creative director)?

4. A final trend I’m seeing which is impacting affiliate marketing is re-targeting. With re-targeting all about converting shoppers who previously visited a website, arming affiliates with the ability to retarget was a logical conclusion. Today, companies like myThings (disclosure: myThings is a client) are bringing affiliate marketing to affiliate networks and their affiliates (publishers) and merchants (advertisers).

This isn’t the death of the 30-second TV commercial (or the Internet banner ad), but affiliate marketing tactics are going to be implemented more and more in online (and offline) advertising campaigns.

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Uriah Av-Ron works for Oasis PR and is based in Tel Aviv, Israel.

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Epic FKA Azoogle to Leave Affiliate Business

In the strangest news this year, Epic Advertising Announced that they were no longer going to be in the Affiliate and Performance Marketing space, instead focusing on new revenue model based completely on their new DailyDealSite called GroupLiving.com.  Epic, formerly known as AzoogleAds, (from the French, pronounced AzoooGleeehhh) was at one time seen as the top affiliate and CPA marketing company. However, in recent times, with the departure of the Founders Alex “Meow-Meow” Zhardanovsky and Joe “Spandex” Speiser, Azoogle has taken a totally new turn in its focus. Both Joe & Alex are still close, loving, partners, having started PetHo, a new pet-porn site that was reportedly growing in leaps and bounds.

When asked about why they were shutting down their affiliate and performance marketing division, Matthew Mirman, the Director of Clickable Solutions at Epic, told us that “the company has decided that cost per performance wasn’t working– agencies weren’t happy with this solution.” One insider in the company told us that this basically meant that agencies were more interested  in, “wasting their customers money, charging for banners and impressions instead of having to prove effectiveness.”   Mirman, denied this and responded that, “I have no idea who the hell you are, but you need to leave my house now, otherwise I’m calling the police, ok?”

The folks at Neverblue,  Epic’s nearest competitor were happy to hear this news. Samantha Brachat, the Vice President of Water-Scooters & Leisure Activities told us, “Damn skippy, bitches. Those guys have been throwing parties at the Playboy Mansion, totally ruining the vibe for our parties in the Caribbean.” Both companies, originally based in Canada have been in heavy competition for years, especially after when Epic moved their HQ to New York City and were immediately branded traitors in the Canadian Press.  Brachat commented on this, “We are Canadians and proud of our Heritage, and those traitors just got up and left to NYC..eh.., claiming there was better food, better entertainment,  better business opportunities and the such. We stayed here in Canada where there is better… umm… goose hunting.”

We’d love feedback on your opinions.

*Source: Google

 

Pace Lattin

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Lessons Learned While Fighting the Affiliate Nexus Tax

Waging battles in the growing number of states proposing affiliate nexus bills that threaten affiliate marketers is a lot like the classic episode of “I Love Lucy” where Lucy and Ethel attempt to keep pace with the conveyor belt at the chocolate factory.

Staying on top of what is happening in each state is becoming more difficult yet even more critical. But as the PMA gains a deeper understanding of the affiliate nexus tax issue, its far-reaching impact and we get some hard-won political experience under our belt; many valuable lessons have been learned.

Given that three different sates (California, Connecticut and Texas) will all be holding hearings this week on proposed affiliate nexus tax bills in their respective states, we thought it might be useful to reiterate the importance of affiliate testimony.

Be Prepared
Several affiliates, who have testified in the past, emphasized that “no whining” and doing your homework to be armed with the facts is critical. Being prepared, calm, and polite goes a long way.

Get Personal
Putting a human face on small business is a great way to show lawmakers how real people and their families will be devastated by passing laws of this ilk. Affiliate marketers are a diverse group. There are stay-at-home moms, 1 to 2 person setups and larger affiliates that actually employ others. It seems to play well with lawmakers to be exposed to the wide range of affiliates. Regardless of which side the of the political fence politicians sit on, they don’t want to be seen as killing small businesses and hurting families. Tell your personal story.

Stick to the Basics
There are also arguments about fairness and the constitutionality of these bills. Cases can be made that this law unfairly single out affiliates from other forms of online advertising models. However, it’s just far too complicated to explain the nuisances of affiliate marketing and other forms of online marketing in just a few minutes of verbal testimony.

The most fundamental case to be made is that affiliates do not establish nexus for out-of- state merchants. Affiliates simply advertise offers for retailers on their website and are paid a commission if a consumer takes a specific action. But affiliates do not work for merchants. They are small businesses. They do not sell goods. They do not ship goods or handle the transaction.

These lawmakers are focused on raising additional revenue and often believe that out-of-state merchants are skirting the law and should be collecting these taxes, so getting into the nitty-gritty of affiliate marketing is not always the most productive path.

Know Your State
What may have worked as an argument in one state, may not work in another. In California, using the argument that such laws will devastate more than 25,000 affiliate businesses and affiliates will leave the state just seems to anger lawmakers. Businesses move out of California all the time. While in other states, such as Nevada, a rivalry with Utah over business development opportunities seemed to have some sway with lawmakers.

And in Illinois, legislators are very sensitive to the proximity to other states such as Michigan, Indiana and Wisconsin. In fact, those neighboring states often specifically target Illinois businesses with messages of being very business friendly. Initially the argument that affiliates will move and can easily relocate out of state seemed to resonate with lawmakers. But ultimately, the Illinois Governor signed the bill anyway, even as large affiliates threatened to move their substantial businesses out of state.

Be Consistent
It’s also important to have a consistent message from affiliates. Again, just tell your personal story. And while marketers are known to be bold and aggressive in their online efforts, taking the same tact for the affiliate nexus tax can backfire. More than a year ago, one affiliate (in a state where a nexus tax bill was proposed) put ads on his site saying something to the effect that “you don’t have to pay sales tax!” to entice consumers. Supporters of the affiliate nexus bill in that state got wind of that message before a hearing and attempted to paint affiliates as people skirting the tax laws. That was certainly not case, nor the intent of that affiliate. But now is not the time to go rogue.

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Lisa Picarille is an online content strategist. She develops online content strategies for businesses using unique and compelling written, video and audio content that is deployed across multiple platforms – including the social Web – to help businesses maximize their reach. She also consults on a variety of issues including online marketing, branding, and social media.

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Ahuja Means Make Money in Punjabi

You don’t see that many Sikh’s in affiliate marketing. Honestly, you don’t really see that many Sikhs in general, especially where I moved to, Colorado which is the Capital of the Secret WASP Society.  That being said, Ricky Ahuja has made a name for himself in this industry. Ask anyone and they will tell you that he is a very friendly, outgoing person who treats everyone with respect – something that this industry often needs.  Anywho, he’s also a great businessman who has made a good name for himself in this industry as someone who pays attention to what is going on in the industry and is always networking to learn more.

How do you personally get into Affiliate Marketing?
I have been in the space since 2001, started with a loyalty site, on to web design, seo and other lead gen businesses. The tools have changed quite a bit – but at the core it is still the same. Like every other venture, has its ups and downs but love the dynamic nature of it.

What makes Affiliate Venture Group unique and interesting?
AVG like every other network has some offers and some publishers. However, what sets us apart from most of the others is our level of access, transparency and communication. We are definitely not in it to make a quick buck as reputation to me has more value than anything else. I think we have done a good job of maintaining that.

What does Affiliate Venture Group look for in its affiliates?
Transparency, communication and honesty are probably the most important traits we look at. We do not turn away any newbies and take the time to inform and educate them best we can. Had it not been for a helpful AM back in the day, I would not have been in the space as long as I have. We are more about the person behind the affiliate cloak and their word. Take undue advantage of it, we will not be working together in the future. Work with us and you would have found a valuable resource for a long time to come.

What is the most common fraud you’ve found in the industry, and what steps does AVG take to combat that?
We have come across fraud such as use of stolen credit cards to generate leads, posting of leads, fake clicks and referrals, etc. Our core philosophy of maintaining clear lines of communication and transparency have helped greatly in combating this. We can all build tools to counteract this – but the fraudsters always manage to stay one step ahead. Having groups on the social media sites certainly help bring the issue to the forefront but we always have to remain vigilant and proactive to contain/prevent it.

You had an Affiliate Fraud Group on Facebook that was shut down, what happened? Who served you with the C&D?
We had a very promising group called the Affiliate Fraud Prevention Group with over 1400 members which was served a C&D and thus had to pull it down. Not really able to go into too many details but AVG was in its infancy stage and were somewhat blindsided and not prepared. We obviously weren’t alone as other unsuspecting networks experienced the same issues. In a weird way however, that was a good lesson for us in opening up our campaigns for publishers we were not 100% familiar with and enabled us to put certain policies and protection in place.

What he can’t tell you is that he was threatened by “IAG” a company in Florida, that was accused of not paying their bills on the Facebook group.

If you could have any wish, what tool would you like seen made for affiliates?
We work very closely with the developers of our tracking system in identifying various touch points which we feel may lend to fraudulent affiliates coming in and work towards establishing tools to counteract that. Above and beyond that my partner, Chris Kautz,  has often been called The Affiliate Slayer as he has a keen sense of weeding out the bogus pubs. One thing I would like to intimate however, for every fraudulent publisher – I can tell you one advertiser and/or a network that partakes in this same vicious practice. This is a two way street and quite honestly both sides can be at fault. This is precisely why we only work with a handful of partners on both side and that formula has worked out well for us.

What ideally would you like to teach brands about affiliate marketing?
We work with several premier brands, both on the Affiliate Venture Group side as well as the agency side of the business, Pab67Media and fortunately for us, more and more are starting to understand the true value of affiliate marketing. There are instances when however the “brands” are not set up logistically or technically to handle the traffic/sales generated or more importantly, what is converting and what is not and there is where problems typically occur.

Who is the sexiest affiliate manager that you’ve met?
I am going to have to say my wife – she plays a role of a physician by day and by night – she is Super AM. Totally keeps me on top of things and my main driving force (along with my 8 year old daughter). I feel this is the safest answer for me.

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M’thinks that Chris Trayhorn Knows Performance

A few years ago someone told me that someone was making a print magazine for the performance marketing industry. I was pretty damn sure it would fail. While blogs weren’t all the rage as they are now, as an experienced online publishers, I was pretty sure no one would want to read something in print. Luckily I was wrong, and the folks at Revenue Magazine, now Revenue Performance were correct. They understood that in our industry, people really love to get attention and putting great photos of them in a glossy magazine would guarantee distribution. Now some 8 years later, Revenue Performance is the magazine that every major company has on their coffee tables and frames in their offices. I decided to sit down with Chris Trayhorn, the Publisher of Revenue Performance and see what was going on over there.

Is this the Affiliate Industry, or the Performance Marketing Industry? Is there a reason to use one term over another?
Performance marketing. Of course. Let’s think big. Chief Marketing Officers have the shortest job lifespan in the C-suite. They’re desperate for a way to prove that they can make a difference. Performance marketing can do that for them – but they need to understand how, so education is key. Essentially, we have outgrown the term “affiliate marketing”. Performance marketing is where the action is.

What positive changes do you see happening in the next few years for the industry?
Huge growth, so long as we focus on getting the message out about what we do. I find it crazy that often when I talk to senior marketers at big multinational companies they have no clue about what can be achieved with performance marketing. As an industry, we need to be taking a message to those people that we offer a real solution to their problems.

There is a plethora of Affiliate and CPA Networks. What do you think about the increasingly low entry requirements for a network now? Is this a good or bad thing?
It’s good that the industry is dynamic and attracts new entrants, but it concerns me that so few have much of what I’d say was necessary experience and /or knowledge. How many new networks CEOs know what GRC is, for example? Governance, risk management and compliance is a recognized and integrated discipline in large enterprises but I don’t think I’ve ever even seen it discussed anywhere in the performance marketing space. If networks understood GRC better, we wouldn’t see nearly as many flameouts as we do. And that’s just one example.

We’ve had conversations about gurus in the industry, many of them who have become regular speakers at the Affiliate Conferences. What do you see as the biggest threat from the gurus to our industry?
To grow as an industry we need more publishers to build more audiences and generate more traffic. So we need quality training that new publishers can trust at a price they can afford. So-called gurus aren’t the answer because they tend to promote get-rich-quick approaches which ultimately fail for most students.

But it’s not just affiliates and publishers who need training. Advertisers and merchants need education too. Someone in the network space told me the other day, “I have lots of potential new advertisers. I just can’t train them fast enough.”

That’s nuts. Quality training is key to the growth of the industry. We need to be doing more. You’re going to see Revenue Performance taking the initiative in this area in the near future. Watch this space.

What do you think about the growing flame-wars, blogger attacks on people’s personal lives in the industry?
It sucks, but people are people. That means many of them behave badly some of the time. What are you gonna do?

Do you believe that the average person can still get into the industry, and why?
Sure, but they need to work their asses off and be smart about it. But online is still in its infancy. Mobile is just getting started. There’s lots of opportunity.

What is the biggest threat to the industry right now and why?
Personally, I’m keeping an eye on Google. I’m not the paranoid type but it sure looks to me like they’re moving towards a model where they try to direct all shopping traffic to their own properties. They’re scraping content off other publishers’ websites and then finding ways to present it so the user doesn’t need to visit the original site at all. They promote their own properties in preferred positions. They’ve just bought an affiliate site and are playing with other ways to present content and offers. They’re massive in mobile and have their own operating system. And they’re working hard to make it all work together. Other current concerns like fraud and nexus taxation will work themselves out but I’m not sure who can slow down Google.

What is your history in the Performance Marketing Industry?
My company spent 10 years working with Accenture helping them to grow their CRM practice from $1 billion to $20 billion a year. We also worked with Microsoft to help them launch Microsoft Advertising and publish their original online marketing research. Half way through that time I thought there was room for a magazine with a  trusted voice in the performance marketing industry. That’s how Revenue Performance got started. It was a big risk to launch a print magazine for an online community, but once we got the first edition out, people loved it.

Revenue Performance presents itself as a “professional” magazine in contrast to all the blogs. Why do you see the need of there being a print magazine?
We started publishing the magazine eight years ago – I think that longevity implies that it’s our readers who think we’re needed. There will always be a demand for content that advertisers and publishers feel they can trust in a format that they find useful.

Do you feel that we need an organization like the Performance Marketing Association, and why (or why not)?
I think it’s useful that we  have someone fighting the fight on Internet nexus taxes, but it’s a tough gig: trying to stop legislators bringing in new taxes when state tax incomes are at record lows. I wish them well.

What is your dream car?
It’s a dream motorbike: a KTM 950 Adventure. It’s a huge, black beast of a thing designed for fast back-road riding combined with some off-road stuff too. And it’s sitting in my garage.

If you weren’t involved in the industry, what would you be doing?
Something in online education. The internet gives us the first chance in history to provide everyone on the planet with education and opportunity. I think that’s important.