Another Amazing Affiliate Summit East 2014
Last week I attended another amazing Affiliate Summit East 2014 – big thanks up front to Shawn Collins & Missy Ward for their tireless organization of a terrific conference. I was very excited to return to New York again after missing Affiliate Summit East 2013 in Philadelphia. This was my 15th Affiliate Summit, and as usual I got more out of it than I ever thought I would.
Read MoreCJU Course: It’s a TAXing Debate: Don’t Cut Me Off
So many states have implemented affiliate nexus tax laws. What does this mean to you as a publisher? What does this mean to you if you are an advertiser who does not have a store in the state? Come listen to our panel to hear how others are managing the challenge. The panel consisted of:
- Jennifer Lovette, Vice President, Client Development, CJ (Moderator)
- Rebecca Madigan, Executive Director, Performance Marketing Association
This was a very informative discussion, even for someone like me who tries to keep abreast of what’s going on in an effort to help however I can. I should note that since CJ (since this info is about a month stale) that the Governor of CA has signed the deal with Amazon and many merchants have welcomed CA affiliates back into their programs.
Personally, I only accepted a few that I really liked before and declined the pushed offers from the others as I already did my link removal on my sites, but I’m the lowest level of affiliate in terms of how much I personally make, so it’s the bigger affiliates who can really make a difference in leveraging their income figures in this fight!
Bullet Point Review!
- Do we want to fight this on a state by state level or on a national level.
- Publishers aren’t mad at the advertisers, they’re mad at the legislature.
- On average affiliates lose 25-45% of their revenue, the state loses income tax revenue, and never collect the sales tax.
- There are a lot of names, which are confusing, but we’ve chosen affiliate nexus law as a general catchall phrase.
- Quill Corp v. North Dakota: advertising does not constitute physical presence or nexus. It became a constitutional issue.
- Passed: California, New York, North Carolina, Rhode Island, Illinois, Connecticut, Arkansas.
- Big box retailers banded together this year to support this tax to try to get Amazon to pay tax. Rumor is they spent 11 million.
- The PMA surveyed California affiliates after the budget bill was signed here:
- 32% are moving out of state or plan to.
- 20% decided to shut down their affiliate marketing efforts altogether
- 35% of lost over half their income when the law passed.
- Amazon & CA have come to an agreement that will eliminate this tax for 1 year – we need to look at it more long term.
- They want to get a federal sales tax solution in place by July 2012. If they’re not successful, the law gets reinstated September 15, 2012.
- Streamline Sales Tax Project. 24 states have agreed to this. Main street fairness act needs to pass to allow SSTP. The chance of this happening isn’t very high.
- Amazon just cut a deal with the state that benefits their own business, so now all these other advertisers who haven’t been involved in the fight or the opposition will be forced to collect tax. Now is the time to fight for yourself & promote the federal solution.
- Board of directors of the PMA are new and still determining whether to fight nationally or state level.
- What can you do?
- Think before you act.
- Make Your Case
- Simplify actions
- Measure twice, cut once. Advertisers need to make sure you’re doing what’s best for your business before making a knee jerk decision to cut affiliates. Talk to a lawyer if you have to.
- There are ways to work together, identify your threshold of risk.
- Taxes will always exist, think long term when making decisions that are going to affect your business.
- No matter what side you’re on, WE can make a difference
- Things change quickly so don’t give up!
If you were an attendee of CJU and registered for their (awesome!) CJUniverse network, you can download a PDF of Jennifer’s slides here.
Read MoreThinkTank Remix 2011: Quinn’s Tax Law & FTC Compliance
You might be asking yourself “Wasn’t ThinkTank, like, 6 months ago?” Well, yes, almost… ThinkTank did take place at the end of May. I’d taken these notes, but never got around to posting them. So, now that I’m rededicating myself to the blog, here they are for your enjoyment!
- We’re pissing off Walmart as they’ve made it their goal to “take down Amazon”.
- Sacramento bill sponsors had a press conference Wednesday as a direct result of our meetings on Tuesday. They’re scared.
- The PMA blog is all facts, no opinion or speculation because we’re being watched.
- It definitely helps to make a relationship with your state reps. It will help us win the war.
- There’s a waiver if an affiliate signs an affidavit that they only advertise online. NY affiliates can give ShareASale their docs to assist getting into programs.
- In other states there’s no compromise, but that’s okay for Rhode Island & North Carolina as we’re aiming for repeal.
- There are stories from North Carolina about the state going after people under the laws.
- ShareASale is attempting to keep their merchants in the loop but there’s always the chance they may be late to the game.
- In Arkansas they included language to apply the law to the previous 12 months.
- In some states you can trip nexus just by sending staff to conferences for a specific number of hours or exhibiting with a booth at a trade show.
- You’re not going to give them an idea… They already know, so go take them on.
- Some states are in support of a federal streamline tax but that’s been in the works for 10 years & isn’t necessarily close to anything.
- It’s different in certain verticals, but generally it’s supported when a merchant decides to just charge tax.
- Merchants doing local deal stuff create nexus under existing laws as they accept money & act as a sales agent.
- As an affiliate, you need to state that you’re getting paid.
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
Thanks for Nothing, Jerry Brown
Gov. Jerry Brown signed the budget today, which included affiliate nexus language. So, there goes a substantial part of the income of 25,000 small business in California. The Performance Marketing Association reported it earlier today. Executive Director Rebecca Madigan is in Sacramento today attempting to do what she can to benefit Affiliates.
Unfortunately one of the bills that was included also included very vague language about even doing business with California based vendors, hosting companies, etc, so effectively this affects not just the affiliate marketing industry in California, but all small businesses.
Way to go, Jerry, shoot California in the foot.
Luckily for me, I do not make the bulk of my income from being an affiliate. My ventures into acting as an affiliate have been mostly for the learning experience and to try to offset the costs of domains and hosting for my various web-based hobbies.
This does impact my husband’s site, RailroadRedux.com, as he has a large Amazon widget recommending different model railroading books, and impacts my site GirlScoutGuide.com as Fabric.com exclusively carries Girl Scout licensed fabric.
Affiliate Programs Dropping CA Affiliates (Updated As Of 12:45 PM PDT 7/26/11)
- 6pm.com
- 1-800-PetMeds
- Adorama
- Amazon.com
- Amerimark
- Backcountry
- Bag.com
- BagsBuy.com
- Bargain Catalog Outlet
- Barware.com
- BedBathStore
- B&H Photo
- Boden
- BookCloseouts.com
- BrickHouse Electronics
- Brylane Home
- BuildDirect.com
- Cabela’s
- Calvin Klein Jeans
- Camp Saver
- Candelabras.com
- CD Universe
- ChristmasCardsDirect.com
- CKU
- Collections Etc.
- Compact Appliance
- Costume Craze
- CreateForLess.com
- CSN Stores
- Cymax
- Dermadoctor
- Dr. Leonard’s
- Endless.com
- Eurosport
- Fabric.com
- Fingerhut
- FootSmart
- GAIAM
- Garden.com
- Gardeners Supply
- Gettington
- HalloweenCostumes.com
- Hayneedle Stores
- Herroom
- Jessica London
- KingSize Direct
- K. Jordan
- Luggage Online
- Maryland Square
- MetroKitchen
- Movies Unlimited
- MyFavorite Shoe Store
- OneStopPlus
- Overstock.com
- Overstock International
- PC Connection
- PhotoCardsDirect.com
- Potpourri Group
- Powells.com
- Roaman’s
- Shindigz
- Shoe.com
- ShoeBacca
- ShoeBuy.com
- ShopBop.com
- ShoppersChoice.com
- Silkpalms.com
- SmartBargains.com
- Spiritline
- StumpParty
- TABcom
- theWineEnthusiast
- ThinkGeek
- TimeForMeCatalog
- Total Gym
- Woman Within
- Woot.com
- Zappos.com
I’ll keep this list up to date, so if you are a CA affiliate and get dropped by a merchant not on this list, please let me know.
Edited to add: when my husband came home and I told him to remove his Amazon widget, he decided to not just remove it, but to replace it with a message to his site’s visitors telling them why his book recommendations were removed and urging people not to shop with Amazon.com in support.
Read MoreDue to recent changes in California law which negatively affect affiliates, and the fact that Amazon dropped all affiliates who reside in California, I will no longer be featuring deals from Amazon.com. I strongly recommend that you no longer use Amazon.com or any of their services due to the poor way they treat the people that advertise for them.
ad:tech San Francisco: Affiliate Marketing – The Big Challenges
Session Description: As the affiliate marketing industry grows, it continues to encounter challenges on multiple fronts. One front burner issue for brands and advertisers remains affiliate legislation. From New York to California to Texas, the nuances of tax collection in each state are still being worked out and, in many cases, litigated. With this vital issue still in flux, what are brands and marketers doing to move forward? How can advertisers keep track of the state-by-state laws, and how can they develop strategies for today and for the future? Trademark legislation is also a key issue for affiliate marketing and we’ll explore how brands walk the fine line between protecting their brand and getting wider exposure. Finally, we’ll tackle how affiliate legislation in various states will impact all online retailers.
This session took place Wednesday, April 13, 2011. The speakers:
- Carolyn Tang Kmet, Director of Affiliate Marketing, Groupon (Moderator)
- Angel Djambazov, OPM, KEEN Footwear
- Rebecca Madigan, Executive Director, Performance Marketing Association
- Brian Looney, Senior Director of Business Development, CitizenHawk, Inc.
- Seana Montgomery, Senior Paralegal, McAfee
Impression comment
Bullet Point Review!
- Affiliate marketing has become a legitimate marketing channel.
- Ad Tax, aka Amazon Tax
- Lots of spin going on from the pro side.
- No physical presence – not required to collect sales tax.
- Reality is that there’s no money involved
- What does it mean for merchants?
- If you have an affiliate program in states where this passes, you must now collect sales tax for all purchases made into the state, Or
- Terminate affiliates (obviously the feared option).
- What happens when it passes?
- 25-35% loss of income to affiliates.
- Lay offs, downsizing, some companies may close entirely.
- People move out-of-state.
- Income tax decreases.
- Legislation has been beaten back 25 times.
- Passed in 5 states.
- 8 states in play in 2011.
- Brand Protection is Important.
- Typosquatting relies on typos in URLs.
- Bad spelling is as prevalent as the common cold.
- Typing too fast, fat fingers, old keyboards that stick, small keyboards on mobile devices.
- More than 20% of all Internet traffic is typed in.
- 15-30% of the time the URLs are misspelled.
- Companies often classify this as a legal issue instead of a marketing or traffic issue.
- Defending yourself against a typosquatter is expensive when you get lawyers involved.
- URDP – uniform domain name dispute resolution policy.
- Trademark infringement considered anything confusingly similar. Typos don’t count but content does. $1500 to file a complaint in court.
- You’re not filing against the domain name, you’re filing against the domain owners.
- Turn trademark enforcement into a profit center.
- Laws are international, but more enforceable on .com & .net.
- Marketing channels are business tools. Each should be employed for a specific purpose.
- You’re obligated to police your brand – your trademark can get canceled if you don’t prove you’re actively policing infringements.
- Learning from KEEN Footwear.
- Be sure your affiliates understand what affiliate marketing is.
- Affiliate publisher joined, tried selling his own brand of shoes thinking affiliate meant an endorsement similarly to the definition of “affiliate” in the TV world. Eventually showed up at the corporate offices demanding Keen CEO do more to leverage their partnership in trying to sell is shoe related product.
- Not all publishers understand what the channel is. Educate them.
- Be sure to clearly define all legal aspects.
- 20% of your affiliates are driving the majority of the revenue.
- What can you do to measure impact of amazon tax:
- Monitor legislation in states crucial to your success.
- Join the PMA to help.
- Stay informed through geekcast.fm, ReveNews.com, PMA blog.
- Create a contingency plans with a different payment or advertising model to not loose these valuable partners.
- Garbage can bills popping up including more junk trying to get out-of-state retailers to collect sales tax. Just says “don’t do business in our state”.
