In this episode Debbie and Vinny talked about the Books4boobies.org fundraiser where all the money from over 20 authors will go towards the Avon walk. We also discussed the local Affiliate Summit meetup in NYC and what was discusssed.

We also delved into Google Hangouts and how Vinny is using them with affiliates.

Affiliate ABCs hosts Deborah Carney and Vinny O’Hare discuss Affiliate Summit West 2012 in Las Vegas, and how this was different from past Affiliate Summit events for both of them.

Traditionally we attend Affiliate Summit representing our merchants that we manage, and spend our time discussing our programs with affiliates, talking about industry issues with our peers and meeting new people. Sometimes we have a Meet Market table, and Deborah has spoken on many panels, This time Deborah had a Meet Market table for the Affiliate Summit Networking forum to bring attention to the fact that people can network there between affiliate summit events, and Vinny was a speaker with a solo presentation. We also had more merchants actually in attendance than we have had at one time in the past.

Some links from the podcast:
Vinny’s Slide Deck from his presentation – 25 Ways To Improve Your Website
Affiliate Summit Networking Forum
Eric Thomas Keynote
Vinny O’Hare Website
Vinny on Twitter
Deborah on Twitter
Links to our Merchants

Thanks to Geekcast.fm for hosting our podcasts!

Listen to host Deborah Carney in a roundtable discussion about how affiliate marketing got started and how it has evolved with some of the people that have been in it since the beginning. Are they in the same place they were when they started? Where do they see the industry going?

Listen as panelists Todd Farmer, Todd Crawford, Connie Arnold, Scott Jangro and Brian Littleton have a lively discussion, history you probably don’t know, and as they answer some burning questions about the beginnings of our awesome industry. Our industry is so young that we want to capture the thoughts about it’s growth some of the leaders in the industry. No one currently in our industry wanted to grow up to be an affiliate or affiliate manager, the jobs didn’t exist. But now, there are many young people whose parents are in the industry and they kinda would like to do what Mom and/or Dad does.

Let us know what you think about this format! Who would you like on a future podcast in this style? Or would you just like to hear more from this crew?

Affiliate ABCs hosts Deborah Carney and Vinny O’Hare joined Kim Salvino, Amy Ely, and Jeannine Crooks of buy.at to talk about preparing for Black Friday and Cyber Monday.

Topics include:

·         Important information to ask merchants in preparation for Black Friday/Cyber Monday
·         Tips for communicating with merchants to ensure you’re not stuck with last-minute updates

Key takeaways:

·         Communicating with your merchants (or network rep) is key.  Explain why you need information in advance, make a case for why it’s in their best interest (stats, site traffic over Thanksgiving weekend, case studies), and describe how you promote (email, ppc, etc) so they can provide all the assets you need.

o    Give merchants a deadline and stick to it

·         If working through a network, think about asking to be part of a spotlight in newsletters sent to merchants, highlighting the value of your site for Black Friday / Cyber Monday deals.

·         Consider asking for a list of a merchant’s top sellers and the products they plan to promote during the holiday season so you can plan accordingly.

·         Ask merchants if gift cards are commissionable, as sales of these cards directly add revenue to their bottom line and many consumers don’t end up redeeming them.  This presents a high-profit opportunity for them and an up-front commission earning opportunity for you.

·         When asking merchants  (and/or your network) for deal details, consider asking for all of the following information:

• Offer title & details
• Official deal start date & time
• Official deal end date & time
• Specific landing page URL
• Required coupon code (if applicable)

Helpful statistics:

·         Black Friday online sales totaled $595 million in 2009 and $648 million in 2010
·         The largest online sales day in 2010 was Cyber Monday and the peak week was December 5-12^th
·         Americans are sitting on $30 billion in unused gift cards

Find us on Twitter:
Vinny O’Hare
Deborah Carney (a.k.a. Loxly)
Merchant ABCs
Geekcast.fm

Learn more about buy.at:
Visit the buy.at blog
Facebook Fan Page
Twitter: @buyatUS

Thanks to Geekcast.fm for hosting our podcasts, check them out for lots of other great podcasts about affiliate marketing and marketing in general.

Affiliate ABCs host Deborah Carney joined Kim Salvino and Amy Ely of buy.at to discuss Q4 planning and ideas to generate the greatest revenue during one of the most lucrative times of the year.

Topics include:

·         Important information to ask merchants in order to effectively promote their program in Q4
·         Great Q4 holidays (beyond Black Friday) and niche topics to consider for promotion opportunities

Key takeaways:

·         Don’t wait on the merchant – know what you need well in advance, and don’t be afraid to ask
·         Plan out a promotional calendar and the dates you’ll need relevant creative from merchants
·         Consider creating a media kit detailing your audience demographics, planned promotions, and communications channels you use (email, PPC, etc) and send to potential merchant partners
·         Ensure your content and ads aren’t displaying expired promotions
Tricia Meyer posted a great seasonality calendar – http://www.tricia.me/SeasonalityCalendar.pdf

Helpful statistics:
·         comScore 4^th quarter sales reached $39 billion in 2009 and $43 billion in 2010 – presenting a huge revenue opportunity this year
·         The largest online sales day in 2010 was Cyber Monday and the peak week was December 5-12^th

Find us on Twitter:
Deborah Carney (a.k.a. Loxly)
Affiliate ABCs
Geekcast.fm

Learn more about buy.at:
Visit the buy.at blog
Facebook Fan Page
Twitter: @buyatUS

Thanks to Geekcast.fm for hosting our podcasts, check them out for lots of other great podcasts about affiliate marketing and marketing in general.

Drew Thorne-Thomsen from Ring Revenue, joins Affiliate ABCs hosts Vinny O’Hare and Deborah Carney to discuss the Ring Revenue service. Pay per call has been around for awhile but it is getting more traction as more affiliates are looking for ways to monetize offline advertising or other untraditional types of advertising and pay per call gives affiliates, networks and merchants a way to start tracking those sales. In addition to the call tracking, there is also a corresponding link that can track.

A little background on Drew:
Drew Thorne-Thomsen, VP of Customer Development at Ring Revenue - Drew is responsible for partner development and support, as well as new business development. Prior to joining RingRevenue, he was CMO at Trident Marketing, where he was responsible for customer acquisition for several Fortune 500 brands. Drew drove millions of phone calls to their own performance call centers through traditional and non-traditional marketing strategies. Before that, he spent nearly a decade at Commission Junction, where he launched and developed CJ Media and CJ PayPerCall. Drew spent six years on the United States Alpine Ski Team and competed at the World Cup level. He has a bachelor’s degree in Business Economics from the University of California, Santa Barbara.

Some of the main points for Affiliates: 
- Affiliates are earning millions in commissions
- Combine calls AND clicks to earn more
- Phone calls convert between 30-50% (clicks 1-3%)
- Average payouts above $10 per call
- Access more high-value offers
- Visit RingRevenue sign up with networks: www.ringrevenue.com/partners

We would love for you to leave comments and let us know if you are using Pay per Call or what questions you have about it. We will be scheduling a webinar for later in the month and would love to have questions from you!

More information on Ring Revenue:
What is RingRevenue?
Publisher Get Started Video

Contact info:
Drew Thorne-Thomsen
drew@ringrevenue.com

Find us on Twitter:
RingRevenue
Vinny O’Hare
Deborah Carney (a.k.a. Loxly)
Merchant ABCs
Geekcast.fm

Thanks to Geekcast.fm for hosting our podcasts, check them out for lots of other great podcasts about affiliate marketing and marketing in general.

Today’s Affiliate ABCs podcast features the MakeBeer.net affiliate program on ShareASale. Host Deborah Carney is joined by Karen Garcia from GTO Management, the OPM managing the MakeBeer.net affiliate program.

MakeBeer.net offers a full line of Cooper’s Home Brew kits, ingredients and equipment for brewing beer at home. The Cooper’s Brewery in Australia was founded in 1862 and the MakeBeer.net product line contains eighteen varieties of beer from the Master Brewers at Coopers Brewery including popular beers such as IPAs, lagers, ales and stouts and each kit makes 6 gallons of beer. Their Cooper’s DIY Beer Kit contains all the equipment and ingredients needed to brew a full batch of beer and is very popular as a gift during the holiday season as well as Father’s Day and Valentine’s Day in addition to year-round sales.

The MakeBeer.net affiliate program is exclusively on ShareASale and offers a 15% commission and a 90 day cookie as well as a full product datafeed which is also available in PopShops. They have several video creatives available as well as a Top Sellers widget that is updated weekly.

Join the MakeBeer.net Affiliate Program

Show Links:
MakeBeer.net
GTO Management

Find us on Twitter:
Deborah Carney (a.k.a. Loxly)
Affiliate ABCs

Thanks to Geekcast.fm for hosting our podcasts, check them out for lots of other great podcasts about affiliate marketing and marketing in general.

Today’s Affiliate ABCs podcast features the OfficePlayground.com affiliate program on ShareASale. Host Deborah Carney is joined by Karen Garcia from GTO Management, the OPM managing the OfficePlayground.com affiliate program.

OfficePlayground.com carries over 1300 fun toys just for your desk and their office toys also make great gifts, party favors, and are fabulous for meetings and events. Some of their products include stress balls, slingshot flying animals, zen gardens, Hoberman spheres and Newton’s cradles. Their product line is very popular year round and their biggest holiday, Bosses Day, is coming up soon in October.

The Office Playground affiliate program is exclusively on ShareASale and offers an 8% commission and a 30 day cookie as well as a full product datafeed of over 1300 products. They have several widgets available, including a Top Sellers widget that is updated weekly, and are adding new product videos each week.

Join the OfficePlayground.com Affiliate Program

Show Links:
Office Playground
GTO Management

Find us on Twitter:
Deborah Carney (a.k.a. Loxly)
Affiliate ABCs

Thanks to Geekcast.fm for hosting our podcasts, check them out for lots of other great podcasts about affiliate marketing and marketing in general.

James Martell joins Affiliate ABCs Training Podcast hosts Vinny O’Hare and Deborah Carney to discuss why article marketing is not a viable way to build backlinks. With recent changes at the search engines, article farms are looked upon differently than article directories were looked at in the past.

From a Blogging ABCs article on the subject by James:

Matt Cutts is the fellow in charge of Google’s Webspam, and in a video he recently gave a good definition of article marketing; “… you’re writing an article and you try to include a link at the bottom and you’re hoping a bunch of other people put up copies or mirrors or duplicates of that article and that those links might flow through.”

Matt also adds the following bit of advice; “Typically, the sorts of sites that just republish these articles are not the highest quality sites.”

Considering this piece of insight, one is moved to question whether article marketing is as effective as we’ve been told, and if not, why people continue to use it.

This is a long podcast with a lot of great discussion about exactly what is wrong with the old method of article marketing and some suggestions on what to do instead. One of the reasons this podcast is so detailed is because we don’t like affiliates being caught in the trap of folks still selling article marketing courses. Forewarned is forearmed

We are planning to get this podcast transcribed, if you want to be notified when the transcript is available please go to AffiliateABCs.com and use the newsletter sign up form in the top right of the home page.

Visit James’ Affiliate Marketers Boot Camp

Find us all on Twitter:
James Martell
Vinny O’Hare
Deborah aka Loxly
Affiliate ABCs

Thanks to Geekcast.fm for hosting our podcasts. Please go visit them to hear more podcasts about internet marketing.

Blogging ABCs and AffiliateABCs hosts Deborah Carney, Liz Fogg and Tricia Meyer discuss what bloggers and affiliates can learn from Tricia’s experience being unexpectedly dropped from two networks (described in her post The Ugly Side of Affiliate Marketing). The issues discussed apply when you have problems with the Affiliate Nexus Tax, Google AdSense, merchants closing, and many other aspects of affiliate marketing.

Our Four Main Tips:

1) Diversify. Don’t put all your eggs in one basket.  Have different types of sites in different niches. Work with different merchants across different networks.

2) Separate Accounts. Use separate network accounts when you have multiple sites or especially different types of sites (incentives, coupons, gambling, etc). It will come in handy if one of your sites gets flagged or if you decide to sell a site.

3) Use link redirecting. Redirecting will help you change out links quickly if you need to. In addition, you can use shorteners so that your domain shows up instead of someone else’s when you post your links in other places.

4) Network. Meet in person with as many people as possible. Further, after you connect with them, follow up, reinforcing your connection. When you need help, those connections may be the difference between keeping and losing your business.  .

Some Resources we mention:

Pretty Link Lite

YourLS Open Source shortener that you can install on your own website

Find Us On Twitter:

Blogging ABCs
Affiliate ABCs
Loxly
SunshineTricia
TeamLoxlyLiz

Many thanks to Geekcast.fm for hosting our podcasts and many other educational and entertaining podcasts related to all things geeky.