ASW10 Tuesday Keynote Brian Clark

Entreproducer: The Affiliate Marketer as Media Mogul

Thin affiliate sites are disappearing from search engines, while social media is powered by content sharing, not sales pitches. It’s time to start thinking like a new media producer first and foremost, with affiliate relationships as just one form of monetization. The keynote was given by:

• Brian Clark, Co-Founder, DIY Themes

Brian notes that this was his first keynote, so good job on one under the belt!  It focused on creativity, which I really did connect with.  Unfortunately it did get kind of dry in the middle and I admit, I lost focus on taking notes.  But he ended on a memorable note using some music clips to illustrate some points.

Bullet Point Review!

• Focus on branded websites – better for link backs.  If you can get a keyword in, great, but that shouldn’t be the focus.
• Positioning – What’s unique about you?  How do you stand out in a competitive landscape?
• Design – Great usability of the content (presentation).
• Contact & Community – you want people to raise their hands and pay attention to you over time.
• It’s easier to make money if you’re using content to attract an audience and sell something related.
• From a mindset standpoint, realize you’re in the media business.
• Branded content started with soap operas, kinda.
• There’s nothing more powerful than being an authority figure yourself.
• Branding is really everything – it’s the story you’re trying to tell the world.
• They hear what they want and hopefully it’s what you want them to hear.
• It’s not about traffic, and it’s not just about audience, it’s about creating fans.
• You don’t have to be a rock star to the whole world, just to a group of fans.
• Your brand is a story.  If someone is saying something bad about you then it’s still branding.
• If the only thing people are saying about you is bad, at least you have feedback telling you want you are doing wrong.
• Most people that study creativity find that these people have lower associative boundaries.
• We’re socialized to put things in boxes and categories.
• Fail fast – keep trying and you’ll get a lot better at it.

Brian summarized with some clips from a group called Girl Talk that makes unlikely musical mash ups. I highly recommend going in search of this group, who has two albums out if I remember correctly.

Here’s the video provided by Affiliate Summit: