Affiliate Marketing Fanatics 31: Interviewing Joe Stepniewski
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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!
We’re continuing our series of interviews with some speakers at Affiliate Summit East 2010, coming up in just a month in New York City. This time, we talk to Joe Stepniewski about his origins in affiliate marketing & his presentation “Innovate! New Exciting Applications of Affiliate Marketing”. Joe is still working on his presentation, so you’ll have to listen to know how to help him address your questions! In this episode we discuss:
- Joe’s origin story and work with Skimlinks.
- Their shiny new Golden Link Award for Technology Genius!
- Help Joe put together his presentation with questions on Twitter – @DigiJoe.
Want to catch up with us & ask questions for the next show? Find us on Twitter: @AMF_Podcast, @MikeBuechele & @TrishaLyn. Like us on Facebook! You can also ask Trisha questions through FormSpring.me. Or leave us a comment!
Read MoreWhy Was My Affiliate Application Declined?
I hear a lot of affiliates ask this question, wondering why their applications to some affiliate programs are declined. As an affiliate manager, there’s a lot of reasons why I might decline an affiliate application. I’m a very responsive affiliate manager, and will always answer this question when asked, however I know there are many managers out there that are, shall we say, less than stellar in the communications department. In an effort to bridge this gap, here are some things affiliates should consider when they come to ask an affiliate manager, “Why was my affiliate application declined?”
Are my website URLs correct?
I’ve seen instances where affiliates have misspelled their domain names accidentally, added an extra http://, left off the extension (.com? .net?). Many affiliate managers are, of course, savvy enough to just omit the extra http:// or try adding the .com to see if a website comes up, but I know some are not so diligent, so it’s best that you make checking your websites as easy as possible for the affiliate manager.
Have I been declined a lot?
There may be a bigger issue at hand, like your website’s hosting company being down or your pages not loading correctly. If you’re having your affiliate application declined a lot, you should check to ensure that all your sites are up and running and displaying properly. Try viewing your website in different browsers (Firefox, Internet Explorer, Chrome, etc) to see if something isn’t loading correctly. Some affiliate programs are very sensitive to the content and look of a site where their advertisements will potentially be seen.
Do I have any unprofessional or questionable content on my website?
Some brands are much more sensitive when it comes to the content on a website where their ad will appear. For example, the Apple Store has very strict guidelines relating to website content and where you can and cannot place the banner advertisements for the Apple Store. Larger brands tend to have more guidelines regarding their advertising, and may choose to decline you if your websites do not convey a likewise professional image that is on par with the brand. You can consider changing your website, removing the possibly unprofessional content, or finding an alternative merchant with more lenient standards on the website content.
Are all my websites listed in my profile?
Of course, some networks like LinkShare and Google Affiliate Network give you a separate profile to apply per website, so this isn’t necessarily a blanket issue. But in other networks, this may be a detriment not to list all your sites. Often affiliate managers are checking the affiliate’s websites and looking for a good niche or category fit. If you’re applying for a sports gear affiliate program and only have your knitting website listed, the affiliate manager may not see a good fit and choose to decline you. Having all your websites listed shows the affiliate manager that you work in different verticals and they can see more potential for appropriate promotions. Personally, I don’t know why an affiliate would ever not list a website unless it was less than ethical, but please comment if you have a good reason for not listing all websites.
I’m sure there are hundreds of other individual reasons why you might be declined. Some affiliate managers really check content for a good niche fit, while others allow multiple categories in. It all ultimately depends on the merchant and if their product would appeal to a wider audience or a more narrow audience of customer. Always attempt to reach out to the affiliate manager if you’ve been declined for a program you really want to promote. Most of the time you should receive some kind of response, either explaining why you were declined or giving you a chance to promote the program.
Read MoreURGENT! California AB178 is BACK!
As forewarned, the “affiliate nexus” language has been added to the state’s budget in an effort to generate more revenue for California. So, we need support again! LinkShare sent out a letter to all affiliates on behalf of the PMA, and Commission Junction sent out one of their own. In part, the PMA email read:
You may remember the grass-roots campaign we waged in April, to defeat an anti-affiliate tax bill that would have a detrimental effect on affiliate programs. Even though we defeated that bill, it has been revived, in a desperate hope to help California’s budget crisis. The bill was originally defeated thanks to the affiliate community in California, who was responsible for convincing the sponsoring committee that this bill was a bad idea. Now it is time to repeat that stellar effort, because we have a few more people to convince.
So we need your assistance again! Below is a list of important California officials that need to hear from you that this is a BAD idea! Also below is the copy you can feel free to paste into the email you send to them! Some folks are going back to Sacramento today to do what they can, and unfortunately I won’t be able to join them this time. So I sent emails. I checked these against the website and they all seem accurate even though several of mine bounced back, so I’m also including a link to their website’s contact form. Note, however, that some won’t accept correspondence from an address outside their district, which I think is complete fail of the system, but that’s just me.
- Senator Lois Wolk – Senator.Wolk@senate.ca.gov – Contact Form
- Senator Darrell Steinberg – senator.steinberg@sen.ca.gov – Contact Form
- Senator Elaine Alquist – senator.alquist@sen.ca.gov – Contact Form
- Senator Roderick Wright – Senator.Wright@senate.ca.gov – Contact Form
- Senator Ronald Calderon – senator.calderon@sen.ca.gov – Contact Form
- Senator Gloria Negrete McLeod – senator.mcleod@sen.ca.gov – Contact Form
- Senator Lou Correa – senator.correa@sen.ca.gov – Contact Form
- Senator Denise Ducheny – Senator.Ducheny@senate.ca.gov – Contact Form
- Jennifer Kent (Gov. Schwarzenegger’s tax adviser; please address as “Ms. Kent”) – Jennifer.Kent@gov.ca.gov
Here is the email copy you can paste into the email. Remember to edit the parts I’ve italicized in red below. Commission Junction’s template can be found here.
Subject: OPPOSITION to Sales/Use Tax Nexus Bill (AB 178 Skinner)
Dear Senator [Insert Last Name]
I am a small business owner with a website, and I am in strong opposition to Sales/Use Tax Nexus Bill (AB 178 Skinner), which would require retailers that receive referrals from advertising on websites, such as mine, to collect sales tax in California.
I am opposed to this bill because it would substantially harm my small business by reducing a large source of revenue that I depend on to survive. This revenue results from providing advertising on my website on behalf of out-of-state retailers. [Describe briefly how your business model is set-up and what you contribute to the local economy.]
If retailers believe that doing business with me will result in their having to collect sales tax on all California sales, they likely will sever ties with my business, putting the viability of my business at risk. Such was the case in New York State where Overstock dismantled its affiliates program and hundreds of other business followed Overstock’s example. This left thousands of small and medium-sized affiliate businesses with a 50% loss of income.
Unfortunately, this bill is futile. If enacted, retailers will drop me as a partner, California won’t collect sales tax as a result – and my business will be devastated in the process.
For these reasons, I respectfully oppose this legislation.
Sincerely,
[Your Name]
Please be sure to spread the word to your fellow affiliates potentially affected by this bill!
Read MoreRecap of Lobby Day Against CA AB 178
Yesterday I had the privilege of accompanying 9 of my fellow affiliate marketers to the California State Capitol building in Sacramento to help lobby legislators against the passage of California Assembly Bill 178.
I have to say on a personal level, this was my first trip to the Capitol, and the most involved I’ve ever gotten with politics in general. It was a pleasant experience overall. And yes, I got a little “star struck” for lack of a better term walking by Gov. Schwarzenegger’s office. I had to fight the urge to knock on the door and demand court!
Back to business. 10 of us were able to make it up, some coming from Southern California. We had appointments set for almost all day, so we split into two groups so we wouldn’t run the risk of running late or overcrowding offices. Our group had a few lack luster meetings with staff that really didn’t understand what we were talking about or weren’t really familiar enough with the bill to care yet. But we also had some good meetings with other staff members who were incredibly receptive to our message and offered us a lot of advice regarding how to go about the lobbying that we’re doing. Some even went so far as to call other offices we didn’t already have appointments with and help to make us appointments.
It was equal parts optimistic and pessimistic. While it looks like it’s going to be incredibly difficult to outright kill the bill because of the eagerness of the state to collect any income possible. Focusing on the message that it’s best to keep the bill as broad as possible in the definition keeps it as fair as possible. In a perfect situation the Streamlined Sales Tax Project to require the collection of sales tax across every state would make the playing field as fair as possible, but that’s already been in the works for almost a decade and doesn’t look promising to be enacted any time soon. So in the meantime, we do what we can.
You can still do what you can. Now that we’ve taken meetings at the capitol, feel free next week to take meetings in your district in California. The members will be on vacation and potentially available at their district offices. Staff will not be on vacation and will still be in Sacramento working, so if you weren’t able to join us under such short notice, feel free to schedule your own appointments and talk to the Assembly Members on the committee for Revenue and Taxation. The meetings were generally short, 15-20 minutes of a staff members’ time. We were able to leave behind the letter that Linkshare wrote in opposition along with the opposition letter from the Performance Marketing Alliance, co-signed by over 300 affiliates.
If you’d like copies of these documents for your own leave behinds materials and have the intention of taking a meeting either in the district offices or in Sacramento, please leave a comment and I’ll see how we can get those materials to you. Here’s information on the committee members to reach out to. If you live in their district, all the better (they prefer to hear from constituents whenever possible).
- The Committee for Revenue and Taxation: (916) 319-2098
- Charles M. Calderon (Chair) – Dem. 58th District
- Sacramento Office: State Capitol, P.O. Box 942849, Sacramento, CA 94249-0058, Phone (916) 319-2058
- District Office: 13181 N. Crossroads Pkwy, Suite 160, City of Industry, CA 91746, Phone (562) 692-5858
- Chuck DeVore (Vice Chair) – Rep. 70th District
- Sacramento Office: State Capitol Room #4102, Sacramento, CA 95814, Phone (916) 319-2070
- District Office: 3 Park Plaza, Suite 275, Irvine, CA 92614, Phone (949) 863-7070
- Jim Beall, Jr. – Dem. 24th District
- Sacramento Office: State Capitol, P.O. Box 942849, Sacramento, CA 94249-0024, Phone (916) 319-2024
- District Office: 100 Paseo De San Antonio, Suite 300, San Jose, CA 95113, Phone (408) 282-8920
- Joe Coto – Dem. 23rd District
- Sacramento Office: State Capitol, P.O. Box 942849, Sacramento, CA 94249-0023, Phone (916) 319-2023
- District Office: 100 Paseo De San Antonio, Suite 319, San Jose, CA 95113, Phone (408) 277-1220
- Diane L. Harkey – Rep. 73rd District
- Sacramento Office: State Capitol Room #4177, Sacramento, CA 95814, Phone (916) 319-2073
- District Office #1: 29122 Rancho Viejo Rd., Suite 111, San Juan Capistrano, CA 92675, Phone (949) 347-7301
- District Office #2: 300 N. Coast Hwy, Oceanside, CA 92054, Phone (760) 757-8084
- Fiona Ma – Dem. 12th District
- Sacramento Office: State Capitol, P.O. Box 942849, Sacramento, CA 94249-0012, Phone (916) 319-2012
- District Office: 455 Golden Gate Ave., Suite 14600, San Francisco, CA 94102, Phone (415) 557-2312
- Jim Nielsen – Rep. 2nd District
- Sacramento Office: State Capitol Room #6031, Sacramento, CA 95814, Phone (916) 319-2002
- District Office #1: 280 Hemsted Dr., Suite 110, Redding, CA 96002, Phone (530) 223-6300
- District Office #2: 1527 Starr Dr., Suite U, Yuba City, CA 95993, Phone (530) 751-8351
- Anthony J. Portantino – Dem. 44th District
- Sacramento Office: State Capitol, P.O. Box 942849, Sacramento, CA 94249-0044, Phone (916) 319-2044
- District Office: 215 N. Marengo Ave, Suite 115, Pasadena, CA 91101, Phone (626) 577-9944
- Lori Saldaña – Dem. 76th District
- Sacramento Office: State Capitol, P.O. Box 942849, Sacramento, CA 94249-0076, Phone (916) 319 – 2076
- District Office: 1557 Columbia St., San Diego, CA 92101, Phone (619) 645-3090
Online Marketing Glossary: Affiliate Network
Affiliate Network:
- An intermediary between an affiliate and merchant. For merchants, it offers tracking technology, reporting tools, payment processing and access to affiliates. For affiliates, it offers a one-click application to merchants, reporting tools and payment aggregation.
The big networks out there are Commission Junction, Rakuten LinkShare, and ShareASale. Most affiliates are members of more than one network to gain access to the best deals and a variety of merchants. Merchants typically stick to one network with some exceptions in the interest of simplicity.
____
Glossary Definition From ABC’s of Online Marketing by Alexandra Wharton, Issue 22, Revenue Magazine
Days 2 and 3 of Affiliate Summit East 2008
Well, while I’d intended to recap each day… that didn’t exactly happen as you can tell. I do intend to post the notes I took from the sessions and the impressions to help everyone learn the great stuff I learned. Some of the more hot button sessions can’t be covered in mere bullet points, so it will take me a day or so longer to get my thoughts together for those.
I covered Saturday & Sunday (mostly… the ShareASale party was nice although I didn’t stay long), so let’s jump right into Monday & Tuesday, the busiest days of the conference.
Day 2 – Divide & Conquer
- In many ways this is the day that the summit starts. In the past the breakout sessions have only been on Monday & Tuesday, however this year they were extended to Sunday. Regardless, the keynote was given on Monday by Newark, NJ Mayor Cory Booker. If you didn’t want to jump up ready to go, you didn’t listen to what Mayor Booker had to say. It was a great speech, and I already posted my thoughts about it.
- The blogger’s lounge helped save my sanity. It was nice to be able to go in there in the 30 minute breaks between sessions & chat with people and do a little bit of work. Had the wifi worked out better for me (not sure if it was my ancient laptop or the actual connection that was the issue) I would have been able to get more posts up during the actual conference. I hope to have a better laptop by the next show I go to so I can just live blog it!
- Of the 3 sessions I attended, the best was Content That Kills. It was informative, had great tips and information, and there were good questions asked by the audience. I may be biased being a writer by heart, but it was good stuff.
- The other sessions I attended that day were the Performance Marketing Alliance Q&A, which turned more into a witch hunt filled with personal issues unfortunately, and How is Social Media Changing Affiliate Marketing, which apparently it isn’t because that question was never really answered. More on those in their own posts.
- The Great Affiliate Road Rally was a slaughterhouse win! With just three cars in it this time, the first place car took off like a shot and left the others in their dust! Congrats to them & to the others? Well remember the entry fee went to charity & you won’t feel so bad 🙂
- Monday night I had dinner with a lovely group of new friends & colleagues and then headed over to the LinkShare event at Tia’s. The event was a whole new group of people to talk to and had a great time talking some shop and reminiscing over Police Academy flicks with Wil Reynolds & Jim Kukral.
- Oh no, that wasn’t the end! After that we headed back to the hotel where we shut down the bar there and moved across the street to a small bar by the water & had a great time chatting with people and generally schmoozing before rolling into bed.
Day 3 – Epic Games
- It was a matter of sleep vs. sessions I wasn’t overly excited about attending, so I missed the Ask the Experts table discussions & The Future of Affiliate Marketing to sleep in & get refreshed for the Copywriting Clinic, which I very much wanted to attend. I hear I didn’t miss much.
- Speaking of the Copywriting Clinic, Lisa Riolo did an excellent job moderating and the panelists were excellent. I took 3 full pages of notes on this session, so you’re in for a huge post later on!
- The Ethical Issues in Affiliate Marketing session turned into the biggest fail session of the conference for me. The moderator Haiko de Poel Jr was doing a pretty bad job… usually when you’re the moderator of a panel of “experts” your job is to pass questions to the best suited panel member, not challenge the question back to the audience member who asked it. I have much more to say, so I’ll save it for later.
- The un-keynote was very relaxed and I actually got up & talked…which was big for me knowing that it was being video taped! I just hope when I look back at it that I don’t look like a fool lol.
- Luckily I was able to attend the Red Sox vs. Rangers game at Fenway with some fellow baseball loving conference attendees. Being a moderate baseball fan I was really thrilled to be there & the game was crazy! The Red Sox almost blew a 10-0 lead in the 1st but came back in the last inning to tie it up and then ultimately overtake the Rangers with an epic score of 17-19 Red Sox. We only spent a few innings in the stands before the rain started, but I got some great pictures and we continued watching the game from inside near the concessions so it wasn’t a waste.
- More bar shenanigans, then some piano playing until late kept me up long enough to decide not to go to bed before my early flight out of town. Overall what a great end to a great conference.
Final Thought – Springer Style
Overall I had the best time at this conference – not just because it was fun and I met a lot of terrific people who I’ve had the chance to get to know online and now have had the opportunity to meet in person – but because I just learned so much that I “get it” now. I remember back in February going to the Affiliate Summit West and having a conversation with my husband that I was actually starting to understand more and more about the industry and that I really felt like this was an industry I could get excited about.
And I have… and this reinforced so much for me how much I really like this industry! I’m back to the “real world” here and ready to conquer it!
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