CJU Course: I Wish I Had Known… #CJU2011
We’ve all had experience with 20/20 hindsight. Here’s your chance to stop looking back and start looking forward. Learn from veteran advertisers, agencies, and publishers about the most important things they wish they had known when starting out in the affiliate marketing industry. Join us to find out how to avoid marketing pitfalls in this informative session for all levels of attendees. The panel consisted of:
- Isabelle Meyer Stapf, Sr. Director, Advertiser Development West at Commission Junction (Moderator)
- Carolyn Kmet of Groupon, Phil Ayers of Hotels.com, Brook Schaaf of Schaaf-PartnerCentric, Jennifer Nissenberg of Upromise, and Mike Allen of Shopping-Bargains.com
This was a great session to kick off the conference. I always appreciate when industry veterans share what they’ve learned along their affiliate marketing careers for newbies. I think I can say I’m not a newbie anymore having been in affiliate marketing since late 2006 myself, but I still learn something new when I go to sessions like this.
Bullet Point Review!
- Do what you want, not what people expect you to do.
- You can’t always recreate success at one company with another company in the same niche.
- Mike had enough sense to get outside help, but not enough sense to evaluate that help. Don’t trust a salesperson off the bat, but do your homework and due diligence to read the fine print & make sure it’s best for you.
- Affiliate programs take time, it’s not a get rich quick.
- You can’t expect to build a business overnight, affiliate marketing isn’t a one trick pony.
- Have realistic expectations.
- Don’t put all your eggs in one basket, diversify your portfolio & traffic strategies.
- New customer acquisition isn’t the end all be all, affiliates bring more than new customers. Don’t ignore the value of repeat consumers.
- Mike would have had a better plan and been more focused on the plan. It ended up working because of persistence. Don’t ever give up.
- Really get to know who you’re working with and their business models and what’s important to them in what they want out of the relationship.
- Play the newbie card & don’t be afraid to ask for help.
- This industry is so vibrant & fun, and people are so personable and approachable and willing to share knowledge. Never be intimidated by someone just because what their brand is, they’re just a person.
- Spend more time on the things that are actually going to drive the business. Invest the time in things that are really going to grow things, not day to day stuff, delegate.
- Everyone is an expert at or passionate about some thing. Find that thing and put that energy behind the business and focus on that.
- Work on developing your relationships with your partners. It’s not just important from a business perspective but from a personal perspective & having a personal relationship goes a long way, and you’re more top of mind.
- Respect the value of your own time. Distraction is easy, so be focused but do indulge those distractions and see a pattern in your own life and really decide what you put your time into.
- If you have the inclination, you can figure something out. Anyone can find a solution. Don’t bang your head against a wall; try a different path to get there. Try a different road.
- Don’t get attracted to all the shiny marketing objects. They’re usually not a long term sustainable strategy.
- Come up with a different twist to something, don’t just try to go do what someone else is doing successfully.
Affiliate Summit East 2011 Photo Recap
I’ve been back from New York since Thursday and I can easily say I’m still not fully recovered. I’m always surprised at how exhausted I am after one of these shows, but given the fact that I work at home in relative calm and sedation, 3-4 days of getting up early, talking all day, walking all day, and going to bed late can really take it’s toll.
I finally just got all 250+ photos I took from Affiliate Summit and the surrounding events I attended up onto Flickr today. So for now, instead of writing a long recap of words, I’ll share with you a recap in pictures. You can see all the pictures in my Affiliate Summit East 2011 Set on Flickr.
Day 1
How to Pitch Your Company Panel: Tricia Meyer, Kim Rowley, Ad Hustler, & Robert Adler
Dominic Fawver at the For Me To Coupon Meet Market Table
Mike Allen on the mechanical bull at the ShareASale Barn Dance
Brook Schaaf on the mechanical bull at the ShareASale Barn Dance
Day 2
Wil Reynolds’ Keynote
Dominic & I at the For Me To Coupon Booth
The Performance Marketing Association Networking Event
Tricia Meyer & Eric Nagel Singing “Summer Lovin'” at Affiliate Karaoke
Daniel Feinberg Singing an AC/DC Song at Affiliate Karaoke
Day 3
Yankee Stadium
The Luxury Suite Seats at Yankee Stadium
Oakland Athletics’ Brandon Allen at 1st Base helping to achieve the A’s 6-5 win over the Yankees!
And one more just because it’s pretty… the friendly skies, somewhere over Chicago
If you really are in the mood to read, here’s some other good recaps that came through my Google Reader these last few days:
- Affiliate Summit East 2011 Day 1 Recap – Shawn Collins
- Affiliate Summit East 2011 Day 2 Recap – Shawn Collins
- Affiliate Summit East 2011 Day 3 Recap – Shawn Collins
- Affiliate Summit East 2011 – Quick Recap and Pictures – Geno Prussakov
- Affiliate Summit East Raves and Regrets – Tricia Meyer
- Affiliate Summit East 2011 Recap – Joe Sousa
- Affiliate Summit East 2011 Recap – Adam Riemer
Affiliate Marketing Fanatics 51: Interviewing Adam Riemer
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Affiliate Marketing Fanatics – A couple of hyper-caffeinated affiliate marketers (Mike Buechele) and (Trisha Lyn Fawver) talk about all things Affiliate Marketing. From blogging to branding, social media to search, video and more!
Mike is taking a break from podcasting for awhile to focus on his business! I’m going solo this week, still talking to conference speakers, this time chatting with Adam Riemer about his upcoming speaking gigs at PubCon South 2011 at the Norris Executive Conference Center in Austin, TX. For a quick 15 minutes we discuss:
- How Adam got started online.
- How to Start a Successful Affiliate Program – Adam will be speaking along side Chuck Hamrick, Peter Hamilton of HasOffers, Brook Schaaf of Schaaf-PartnerCentric, and Paul Schroader of PS Web Solutions.
- Site Review – Focus on Affiliates – Fellow panelists are Shawn Collins of Affiliate Summit, Peter Hamilton of HasOffers, David Favor of David Favor & Associates, and Roger Montti of MartiniBuster.com.
- What Adam’s been up to lately – working in-house managing the JobFox Affiliate Program and blogging up a storm at AdamRiemer.me, ReveNews.com, and SearchEnginePeople.com.
- We didn’t mention it in this re-record, but Adam’s been training for the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer, which he’ll be walking with Team Affiliate Marketers Give Back – Jen Goode, Missy Ward, and Angel Djambazov in Denver, CO June 25th & 26th (donate to Adam today!)
Want to catch up with us & ask questions for the next show? Find us on Twitter: @AMF_Podcast, @MikeBuechele & @TrishaLyn. Like us on Facebook! Leave us a comment!
Special thanks to GeekCast.fm for hosting Affiliate Marketing Fanatics.
Read MoreFaces & Voices behind the Affiliate Nexus Tax Mistake
Recently I was asked to come to San Francisco and participate in shooting a video to help convince legislators here in California that passing a nexus tax law similar to those passed in New York, Rhode Island, and North Carolina would be detrimental to the state economy, rather than positive. Unfortunately I fell ill at the last minute and was unable to participate, but I recently see that the video the Performance Marketing Association put together is available online and really puts some faces to the issue.
I hope this will help legislators reconsider their views on the advertising tax and consider it’s impact on 25,000 small businesses here in California. Please take a look at the video and do what you can to share it. If you’re sharing on Twitter, please use the hashtag #noadtax.
They’ve already been thanked once, but I’ll send out another big thanks to those that spared their time and opened their offices to the shooting of this short video:
- Rebecca Madigan, Performance Marketing Association
- Loren Bendele, Savings.com
- Alan Gray, Newsblaze.com
- Kevin Johnson, Ebates.com
- David Lewis, Cashbaq.com
- Lisa Picarille, LisaPicarille.com
- Eva Rosenberg, TaxMama.com
- Brook Schaaf, Schaaf-Partnercentric
One OPM Firm to Rule Them All
Okay, that’s not entirely accurate. But it’s close. Today, Schaaf Consulting announced their acquisition today of PartnerCentric, perhaps the first OPM firm launched in 2004. This merger will bring some of the top affiliate programs in the industry under the management of one roof. The press release is pretty cut and dry, but I have to give them a lot of credit for having fun with it and including this quote from Schaaf Co. client Moosejaw’s Kate Runyon:
“I have been working with Schaaf Consulting since 2007, and I haven’t been this impressed since my best friend’s boyfriend tried to kiss me at prom,” said Kate Runyon, Internet Marketing Coordinator at Moosejaw. “Maybe that didn’t come out right but you probably get it.”
Awesome.
Does this signal a new dawn in the affiliate industry of Super OPM firms akin to the mega marketing firms running traditional marketing? Perhaps, and it’s definitely an intriguing concept. Our industry is definitely big enough for this kind of expansion, but with the 21st century flexibility that affiliate marketing is known for. This is definitely a bonus for affiliates, giving them less people to have to contact when they need assistance.
The new company will be known as Schaaf-PartnerCentric and will be lead by Brook Schaaf. PartnerCentric president Linda Woods will stay on as a strategic adviser. Let me congratulate Brook & Forrest Schaaf on this venture and wish them the best of luck. Don’t worry fellas, For Me To Coupon is in good hands with me on board 🙂
Read MoreAffiliate Marketing Fanatics Episode 4: Listen to your Community
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Affiliate Marketing Fanatics – A Publisher (Mike Buechele) and an Affiliate Manager (Trisha Lyn Fawver) talk about all things Affiliate Marketing. From blogging to branding, social media to search, video and more!
This week we’re less all over the map, more focused on affiliate conferences, social media and communities, and once again our cherished shout outs. Of course our favorite topic of all time, Twitter, makes an appearance as they were in the news this week. The show comes in and just under 40 minutes for your listening pleasure.
- Social Media: Facebook caves into community pressure again, YouTube adds a Twitter Button
- Jermey Palmer uses surveys to make his affiliate marketing education products better.
- Twitter: Salesforce.com creates Twitter brand management service for companies and sells it for 1K/month, Twitter will have paid pro accounts
- Conferences: Jim Kukral organizing the monetization track for Blog World Expo Oct. 15-17, CJU dates announced Sept. 15-17, Big Omaha tech conference for midwesterners announced. Trisha will be attending Web 2.0 Expo and ad:tech SF next month.
- Shout outs: Sam Harrelson who called us Aff Marketing Maniacs, Brook Schaaf & Karen Garcia for their efforts with the Lobby Day against CA AB 178, Tim Robinson and shameless plug for Comic Book Fury
So please, go check it out and comment and let us know what you think!
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