I’m excited to say that an article I wrote is included in the book Internet Marketing From The Real Experts, edited by Shawn Collins & Missy Ward.  This is the first book to be published under the Velocity NYC Press imprint by Morgan James Publishing.  The official author is “The Gang of 88″ as the book is a compilation of articles written for and printed in FeedFront Magazine.  The book was given out to attendees of Affiliate Summit West 2010 and boasts 3 minute lessons on affiliate marketing, email marketing, search engine optimization, social media, and much more!

My article on Affiliate Manager Communication Strategies appears on page 15.  Unfortunately since I wrote that article towards the beginning of FeedFront’s publication, it says I’m the marketing manager for PsPrint.com, which if you follow my blog you know that’s not true anymore.  Oh well!  I’m excited to be part of the gang of 88, and look forward to reading the entire book (well, the articles I haven’t already read in FeedFront).

From the back of the book:

What do Jay Berkowitz, Chris Brogan, Brian Clark, Jim Kukral, Ted Murphy, Jeremy Schoemaker, and Mari Smith have in comment?  They all walk the walk when it comes to their Internet marketing expertise.  And they also have joined dozens of innovators and thought shapers to share their ideas, advice, and insight.

Internet Marketing from the Real Experts is a collection of affiliate, email,  blogging, podcasting, video, search engine, and social network rock stars that break down the how and why of Internet marketing in a clear, easy to understand way.

Their voices, their ideas, their action items, and their lessons learned from mistakes – all for you to grow your business the day you start reading Internet Marketing from the Real Experts.

I know that all those flattering words are really meant for the caliber of people listed on the back cover, but I’m honored to be among them in print!  Better yet – all proceeds are going to the National Breast Cancer Foundation.  Maybe now I will write that book I’ve been thinking of!

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Session Description: Get off your butt and get to work. Motivational tips, tricks & strategies that can put you on the path to online success. The featured speaker was:

• Jim Kukral, President, JimKukral.com

This was a great session, a real kick in the pants to get off your ass and finish those projects you’ve put on hold.  I picked up a lot of great tips to put into action here on my site, and I think you will too.  Jim is a master motivator, without the cheese (for the most part).

Bullet Point Review!

• Doers get what they want…everyone else gets what they get.
• Be remarkable.
• Have a signature product.
• Are you a loser or a failure?
  • The failures are the ones that are successful.  Because they keep trying.
  • Learn your lessons the hard way.
• Fail hard, fail fast, and try something new.
• Negativity kills.  Remove negativity across the board.
• Everything we do online falls under two categories: solve problems or be entertained.
  • If you can combine both of those things, you can find a faster path to success.
  • It’s about having your pain taken away – find ways to take pain away from people.
• Easy always wins – solving problems is how you make money.
  • Think like Google – simple.
  • Simple, problem solving, customer oriented.
• Branding is the thick, sticky goo that a company puts on your hand – if it’s good, you’ll lick it off.  If it’s bad, you’ll go wash it off.
• You don’t sell what you think you sell.
  • e.g. Nike doesn’t sell apparel & sports equipment.  They contract spokespeople like Michael Jordan and Tiger Woods because they sell winning.
• What is it your customers REALLY need from you?
  • Lead with what you sell.
  • If you can lead with “We save you time” or “money”, great.
• Universal Internet truths
  • No one reads anymore, they scan.
    • Average attention span online is 2.7 seconds (about as long as it takes to read a tweet).
    • Resource: DontMakeMeThink.com
    • Figure out why people come to your site and get rid of the other junk.
  • No more interruptions!
    • Short attention spans.
    • There’s a million competitors out there.
    • There’s got to be a way for you to stand out and be more noticed.
      • Go back to problem solving and understanding your customers.
    • You know you need to do these things, you just need a reminder to apply it.  Go out and make it happen.
    • Where do you want to be in a year from now?  6 months from now?
  • People want bargains
    • It doesn’t matter what you sell, people will buy more often if you give them a deal, OR the perception that they’re getting a deal.
    • The truth about humans is that they want to feel like they’re getting one over on you.
    • Always have some kind of discount and put it in their face.
  • Take a chance and get creative
    • What ideas have you had that you let slip away?
    • You never know what will happen, so try it.

Most of the Q&A was just follow up on some of the examples and resources Jim talked about.  I really feel energized with this site to take it to another level. Here’s the presentation:

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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:

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