In SEMcast #22 Kelly discusses the new AdWords Social Extensions for Google+ and offers advice on prioritization and time management when running search engine marketing programs.

As promised in the podcast, a link to set up your brand’s Google+ page.

Follow Kelly on twitter or check out her blog on in -house search engine marketing.

Send in your search engine marketing questions via a tweet, a blog comment, a youtube link or a good old fashioned email and they will be answered in a future show!

This week on the Affiliate Thing podcast Lisa Picarille was joined by Todd Farmer and Vinny O’Hare. Shawn Collins was taking a little (and well-deserved) vacation with the family.

We talked about a wide range of topics including Vinny and Todd’s respective sessions at Affiliate Summit West 2012 and what I learned from each of them. We also gave a shout out to fellow birthday gals Trisha Lyn Fawver and Melanie Seery; chatted about Super Bowl ads and work schedules.

Show Links
The growing need for affiliate education
Team Loxly
VideoGameKid.com
My Content Pro
Pinterest
Affiliate Summit Meetups
Affiliate Summit Central
The Dreaded C-word

Subscribe to the Affiliate Thing RSS feed or listen on iTunes. You can also send a blank e-mail to affiliatething@aweber.com to get each podcast delivered by e-mail.

Wade Tonkin officially made his debut as the new co-host for the Affiliate Juice Podcast. Wade is the Affiliate Manager for Fanatics.com, the biggest seller of licensed merchandise online.

We did a quick recap of our session at Affiliate Summit West with Jeremy Palmer. Wade and I were blown away by the detail and the overall awesomeness of Jeremy’s strategy on choosing which merchant to work with at any given point. Download the Merchant Scorecard here. Wade and I will be using this document frequently forever! Let us know what you think.

The second half of the podcast is a surprise inspection. We discussed the pros and cons of the following new launches on ShareASale:

Velodyne Acoustics, Inc. – High EPC, should be a winner
Buckle That Belt – Greg is personally interested in belt buckles
Botach Tactical – Average sale is good but commission is low
Rack and Sack – No sales, small shop
Bike Shop Liquidators – 10,000 products but no Datafeed in the network?

We are actively looking for merchants and managers to interview for this podcast. If you are interested, please let us know.

This week, I interviewed Shawn Collins, Co-Founder of AffiliateSummit.com. Since we have interviewed affiliates from all levels of experience, I figured it was time to interview one that has been at all levels of the industry. Shawn and Missy Ward started Affiliate Summit out of frustration with the lack of education in the industry. Shawn takes us back to the Dark Ages of affiliate marketing and gives a good history lesson.

We discussed a possible “un-conference” type of affiliate cruise with loosely organized networking. What do you think about that type of cruise sometime next year?

Other topics discussed:
Affiliate Summit Central in Austin
ShareASale Think Tank
The history of outsourced affiliate program management
Shawn’s big move to Austin last year
Affiliate Summit Meetups
Pinterest and why all merchants should have a profile
The future of affiliate marketing

If you want to be on the Affiliate Voices Podcast and share your vast (or limited) experience with affiliate marketing, let us know.

In which Daniel, Drew and Greg mull over the next generation, the history of blogging, Gentlemint.com, Drew’s new recording setup, and the travesty that is the grocery store toy aisle.

Todd Farmer recently said, “at what point will kids have no idea what “caught on tape” means?” – probably now. The three of us talked about how kids will not have the same touchstones we have, especially when it comes to language. We agreed though, that phrases can take on a life of their own, beyond their literal meaning. This is one that will probably linger.

Speaking of language, the AP Style Guide has issued a decree: it’s spelled “email”. No hyphen. [Here's the thing - someone on Twitter linked to this story, and I assumed it was current. In writing the show notes, I discovered this change was made 10 months ago. Oops. What does the AP say about doing proper research for a story?]

Next, we transitioned into the history of blogging and general internet evolution. Greg keeps up with rebeccablood.net, one of the earliest blogs – and it shows. It’s an example of an old school blog, from a time some considered blogging “pure”. The layout is minimalist, which reminds me of Sam Harrelson’s new site as well as Devin Tonhaeuser’s - two old school looking sites in 2012. Minimalist. Focused on content.

Are you using Pinterest? Are you a guy? Are you wondering how your super macho, manly interests fit into the predominantly female, DIY aesthetic at Pinterest? Wonder no more, now there’s Gentlemint.com. If you have an interest in sports car shaped caskets, giant pizza tacos, motorcycles, grilling or beer, this might be right up your alley. Speaking of Pinterest, Drew brought up an interesting thing…

Drew’s got a new microphone! He’s rocking the Blue Yeti microphone, an excellent choice. His audio is 1000% better… now we just need a more reliable Skype and all his problems are solved! Several podcasters I know are using the Yeti (or its cousin, the Snowball) with great results. If you’re talking into your laptop’s internal microphone or you’re using a cheap headset (itself a better choice than the internal mic) upgrading to a Yeti is a great move.

Next, I talked briefly about buying toys at the grocery store. Overpriced? Yeah, a smidge. The branded toys – Star Wars, Marvel Superheroes, that kind of stuff, were nearly ten bucks for the little 3″ action figures. Generic action figures, without the big licensing deals, were like, a buck. Moral of the story? When your 3 year old says he wants a toy at the grocery store, just say no. Yikes.

Lastly, our friend Tricia Meyer is running a contest. Ladies, this one’s for you, and Dads (or husbands or boyfriends), this is a big chance to be a Great Guy™. Enter the drawing, then go get on Twitter and spread the word:

RT @sunshinetricia Share your mean mom story and win a gift to pamper yourself www.themeanmom.com/contest

All this and more – thanks for listening! We’d love to hear your thoughts. Leave us a voice mail at 281-241-QAQN(7276). Also, you can email us at feedback@qaqn.com.

In this edition of the Affiliate Buzz audio newsletter James Martell, successful publisher, speaker and author talks with Affiliate Marketing Specialist and Internet Marketing Strategist Sarah Bundy on how to run an extremely successful affiliate program.

So what does it take to implement an affiliate program management system that brings success to both the merchant and the affiliate? James discusses some of the keys to success he has found necessary as an affiliate. One of the biggest barriers he has found is the inability to reach an affiliate manager to get his questions asked and find the support he needs to properly promote a given product.

Sara takes an even closer look at areas of improvement merchants can strive to make on a daily basis with their affiliate program. She shares that she saw a real need for a support and training program targeted for the merchant and new affiliate managers, a place where they could go to find answers, recommendations and mentoring from beginning to full on affiliate marketing success.

She explains what a day in the life of an affiliate manager is like from being available to affiliates, monitoring the reliability of their program, offering creatives that convert and so much more. Beyond the desk their is a need for continued recruiting, researching potential affiliate sites and making sure the program runs without a hitch. Trying to learn it all on your own, and on the go often results in overwhelm and a poorly implemented plan.

With affiliate marketing being a proven business model Sara designed her training services to accommodate the new and old merchants alike with a variety of options including the ability for affiliates to nominate merchants for their program.

Listen to this edition of the Affiliate Buzz as James and Sara talk about:

• What it takes to run a successful affiliate program
• Training services available for the merchant and new affiliate manager
• Upcoming conferences targeted for the merchant
• Where to learn more on running affiliate programs

Merchants don’t have to jump into affiliate programs blind. They can find support services that will teach them what it takes to succeed in the affiliate industry as well as find mentoring services that be available for as long as the merchant desires. Listen in to learn more.

And if you are…

Ready To Get Serious About Affiliate Marketing?

If you are ready to get serious about succeeding online and earning a full or part-living with affiliate programs — I invite you to check out my Affiliate Marketers SUPER BootCamp Homestudy Program.

This week on the Affiliate Thing podcast, Shawn Collins and Lisa Picarille talk about buying goofy stuff on Fiverr, a controversial ad promoting the return of Mad Med, Super Bowl commercials, and the increasing talk about Pinterest.

They also talked about the Meet Market selling out for Affiliate Summit Central 2012, affiliate nexus tax news, meetups, and how to get a free booth at Affiliate Summit East 2012.

Show Links

• Affiliate Summit Feeds Homeless Cats
• Squeezebox Hero Sez Go to Affiliate Summit Central 2012
• New Mad Men Poster Sparks 9/11 Controversy: Is the Ad Insensitive?
• The Bark Side: 2012 Volkswagen Game Day Commercial Teaser
• Official 2012 Honda CR-V Game Day Commercial – “Matthew’s Day Off” Extended Version
• Pinterest Becomes Top Traffic Driver for Retailers
• Meet Market is Sold Out for Affiliate Summit Central 2012
• Affiliate Nexus Tax on Hold Until September in Pennsylvania
• Any Merchants Want Free Tradeshow Space at Affiliate Summit East 2012?
• Highlights from Affiliate Summit West 2012
• Want to Contribute to Issue 18 of FeedFront Magazine?
• Affiliate Summit Meetups
• Examples of Direct Mail to Recruit Affiliates
• rapportive
• Internet Marketing Party

Subscribe to the Affiliate Thing RSS feed or listen on iTunes. You can also send a blank e-mail to affiliatething@aweber.com to get each podcast delivered by e-mail.

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!

In which Daniel, Drew and Greg talk about a few things revolving around Affiliate Summit in some way or another. Plus, Game of Thrones, which was saved for the end in case people want to avoid spoilers and talk of taboo subject matter.

We started with a catch-up with the guys since last week. Drew’s getting settled with the new house, the new baby and all that domestic goodness. Greg went on a comic book shop tour in the Atlanta area, visiting six shops. He used a site called Comic Shop Locator to find them, and some of the places he went to were pretty funny.

Next, an update on Affiliate Improv!, the new monthly webinar series that kicks off this Saturday, January 28th, at 2pm Eastern. It’s an extension of the three-time Affiliate Summit session that I’ve helmed, and it’s totally free to attend. We demonstrate effective brainstorming and show the process of going from idea to action list. Plus, attendees get inside info on the sites, services and techniques we use on our own sites to blow them up and attract attention. Come check us out and spread the word, won’t you?

We covered Affiliate Summit Central, coming up in May. I’ll be there, Greg will be there, Drew is on the ‘maybe’ list. The Emcee for #ASC12 was announced today  and she seems like an awesome choice. Her name is Heather Romiti. None of us know her yet, but going by her bio and the trust that Shawn & Missy have placed in her, we’re sure she’s fantastic.

One of the more popular and well received sessions at Affiliate Summit West 2012 was Mastermind Groups Exposed: Success in Affiliate Marketing by Eric Nagel, Todd Farmer and Tricia Meyer. I recently got an invitation to join a mastermind group, and thought I’d bring up mastermind groups as a segment. I didn’t realize Greg would have so much to say on the matter! (Sidebar: you know what I just realized as I was typing these show notes? All three of them are Pinnacle Award winners now that Tricia won her award at West 2012. How cool is that?)

We finished up with a discussion of Game of Thrones, the enormously popular HBO series. Tune in to hear Drew and I ramble about how awesome it is and butcher the pronunciation of a few names. Warning: the segment is full of spoilers. Also, full of talk about what makes the show so controversial – the sex and violence. That’s why we held it til the end of the show, so listeners could drop out if they felt they needed to.

All this and more – thanks for listening! We’d love to hear your thoughts. Leave us a voice mail at 281-241-QAQN(7276). Also, you can email us at feedback@qaqn.com.

In this edition of the Affiliate Buzz audio newsletter James Martell, successful publisher, speaker and author talks with wife and cohost Arlene Martell take the opportunity to answer Buzz listener’s questions that have come through email.

To begin on listener shares the challenges he is facing with navigating the Nichebot tutorials for keyword research in choosing a topic that is right for you. With an ever growing industry James shares the classic problem of outdated tutorials and the challenge of keeping up with the times.

Moving on to the next question one listener wants to know how to effectively check backlinks on competitor sites using site:http://website.com in Yahoo search. You’ll hear how this outdated technique has been blocked by search engines all around and what options are available to you today.

Another question that came through addresses bringing traffic to a brand new website. They wanted to know how many PAD articles they needed to aim for, rules on duplicate anchor text and what they can expect to pay for quality articles through Elance.

Determining the number of backlinks you’ll need is a simple process. James not only shares how many you typically need but also discusses what a quality article is, how to put together your research and what you can expect from your hired writers.

Arlene shares tips on using Google Docs for your outsourced content as a practical way for keeping everything organized, together and accessible online by everyone on the project.

Listen to this edition to learn about:

• Checking backlinks on Yahoo & Google
• Growing traffic to a new site – how many backlinks will it take
• Duplicate anchor text
• Upcoming LIVE BootCamp

To wrap up this edition of the Affiliate Buzz James and Arlene discuss the upcoming LIVE BootCamp offered at AffiliateMarketersBootCamp.com. For just $47 a month you can build your website in tandem with James and Arlene as they walk you step by step from choosing a topic, to ordering content and adding products as you get your business off the ground.

And if you are…

Ready To Get Serious About Affiliate Marketing?

If you are ready to get serious about succeeding online and earning a full or part-living with affiliate programs — I invite you to check out my Affiliate Marketers BootCamp.