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Learn Blogging & Affiliate Marketing with Rosalind Gardner

Affiliate Summit West 09 Highlights

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Crowded Meet Market

Going to the January Las Vegas Affiliate Summit's is always a highlight in the year, but each one has its own particular high points. Here are some of my highlights from Affiliate Summit West 09 held January 11 – 13, 2009.

Negotiating commission increases with some of my favorite merchants.

Learning about new products to promote and brand-new commissionable products that are coming to market.

Speaking with affiliates, merchants and managers during our Super Affiliate PPC Marketing Strategies session. I was also happy to hear Amit say that although arbitrage can be a highly profitable strategy, that he recognizes the need to build real review sites if affiliates want sustainable businesses over the long-term. 🙂

Exchanging copious business-enhancing tips with other Super Affiliates.

Consulting with numerous merchants and affiliate managers to help them improve their service to affiliates. Hopefully, they'll take my advice. 🙂

Finally meeting my favorite affiliate manager, Chris Reynolds (Internet Marketing Center) in person.

Having a good chat with Kris Jones (Pepperjam) shortly after arriving at the hotel.

Finally getting to meet long-time NPT readers and helpful contributors, Jake Becker and Peter Koning.

Seeing Clickbank at Affiliate Summit for the first time ever. Pretty sad however when a long-time Clickbank affiliate and merchant whose book ranked #1 in the business-to-business education category page for YEARS and is still listed on the 1st page, stops by to say hello and draws a big blank stare from the booth attendant.

Dining with the new Offeratti affiliate network team that includes Jim Lillig, Shawn Casey and his sister, Sharon. Super affiliates in attendance were Colin McDougall, Andrew Wee and Brad Waller. Nobu is my new favorite restaurant in Vegas. The food is a complete party in your mouth from the first to the last bite and everywhere in between. Thanks SO much for choosing the restaurant, Shawn!!

Enjoying a beer with my favorite Canadian affiliate network guys, JP and Steve Sauve of MaxBounty. Not only do they have great offers, but they understand the special circumstances faced by Canadian affiliates.

Hanging with industry pals Anik Singal (Affiliate Classroom), Chris Reynolds and others at the Voodoo Lounge. The music doesn't do much for me, but the view from the rooftop of the Rio at night is awesome.

Watching Lisa Picarille pedal her heart out on a tricycle during the Affiliate Triathlon.

Calling Joel Comm “Fart Man“.

Looking at Brian Littleton of (Shareasale). (I'm just old, not dead.)

Being party to Colin McDougall's first experience with Hugo Boss.

Enjoying recession deals at the Forum Shops.

Getting a chair massage at Shutter's.

Doubling my money on a penny slot and walking away 20 bucks richer.

Checking OUT of the Rio.

Of course, hearing “Thank You, Ros! Yours was the first book I bought and I'm doing great business” over and over and over again from Super Affiliate Handbook readers is always the biggest highlight of any conference.

Thank YOU to all those who stopped by to chat.

Comments on Issue 4 of FeedFront Magazine

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I downloaded issue 4 of FeedFront Magazine (the official magazine of Affiliate Summit) today and was delighted to see that the cover feature is “The Women of Affiliate Marketing” – a collection of 56 brief bios listing years of experience, a tip to new affiliates and some comment on where they see the industry one year from today.

Shawn Collins introduced the piece as follows…

“Back in the late nineties, it was not unusual to attend an affiliate marketing event (or any
online marketing event for that matter) and see very few women in the room“.

No kidding. Then again, a few of us old-timers really enjoyed being the only female in the room. 🙂

Shawn went on to say…

“Fast-forward ten years later and you'll find that the opposite is true. Affiliate marketing is overflowing with women who are leaders in their fields or bright, up-and-coming innovators“.

Melissa Salas' of Buy.com shared a great tip for new affiliates. She said, “Affiliates need to evaluate programs holistically, in terms of brand recognition, conversion, reliability, convenience, security, and guaranteed customer satisfaction.“

Lisa Riolo's honest and sage advice – “Don't give up too soon. The learning curve is deceptively steep. Consistent, predictable success takes time. If you understand this, you'll have realistic expectations and sufficient patience to get to the fun part.“

I really liked Deborah Carney's take on the future … “I see affiliate marketing evolving away from mega mall sites into more review sites and interactive sites. More retail and less lead generation as the economy changes the way people shop plus the regulatory agencies jumping in and restricting tactics that people are finding intrusive or misleading.“

I agree wholeheartedly.

How could I not? It's a model that worked exceptionally well when I started in this business, works even better now and is what I've been preaching since I started teaching.

By the way, of the 56 women profiled, only 2 of us claimed 11 years experience – Linda Woods and I – and as of January 1st, I'm in my 12th year as an affiliate marketer.

Moreover, I'm still going strong… with review sites. 🙂

FeedFront

How to Make Money from New Year’s Resolutions

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The New Year is looming large and it's time to think about how best to profit from all the New Years resolutions that will be made — and eventually mostly broken so you can profit from them again next year. 🙂

Here are the top 10 resolutions along with corresponding affiliate programs and Clickbank best-sellers that you can promote.

1. Spend More Time with Family & Friends

Polls indicate that more than 50% of those surveyed make a promise to spend more time with family and friends in the coming year. Help people do that with programs like:

2. Get Fit

Nothing does as much good for a body as a regular fitness program. Exercise extends life expectancy, lowers blood pressure, improves your mood and even reduces the risk of some cancers. Too, one of the fastest-growing trends in the fitness industry is involving children in exercise. Great online fitness programs and ebooks include:

3. Lose Weight

More than two thirds of Americans are either overweight or obese, so it's not surprising that one of the most popular New Year's resolutions is to lose weight. Programs to help folks shed those extra pounds include:

  • Fat Loss 4 Idiots ($30.37/sale – Clickbank)
  • eDiets (up to $50/sale – CJ)
  • Drugstore.com (10.00% commission – Linkshare)

4. Quit Smoking

The average smoker trys and fails 4 times before they quite for good. Help them kick the smoking habit for good this year with:

5. Enjoy Life More

Considering the pressures of a bad economy, job uncertainty and all the other stressors facing the average person today, it's no wonder that “enjoying life more” has become a popular resolution in recent years. Help them do just that by introducing them to a new hobby or leisure time pursuit, i.e. scrapbooking or photography; or engaging in current pursuits like travelling more and listening to music. Even better is when you can help them find a great deal!

  • Hotwire.com (2% commissions – Linkshare)
  • 500 Scrapbooking Sketches ($/sale: $12.79)
  • iTunes (5% commission – Linkshare)

6. Quit Drinking or Drink Less

Alchoholism is rampant in our stressed-out societies. If you want to help prevent some of the incredible damage that alchoholism wreaks on individuals and their families, share your knowledge and support with others to help them overcome this devastating condition… or just convince them to drink less while opting for BETTER quality.

  • HypnoBusters (50% commissions – Ejunkie)
  • My Way Out (15% commissions – Independent)
  • Wine.com (5 – 20% commissions – Linkshare)

7. Get Out of Debt

With the economy falling apart at the seams, people losing their jobs everyday by the tens of thousands, more and more folks are realizing the need to free themselves from the burden of debt. You can help them with programs such as:

  • Leo Quinn's “How to Own Your Paycheck Again” (up to 50% commissions – Independent)
  • Ultimate Debt Relief Guide ($22.60 per sale – Clickbank)

8. Education – Self-Improvement

Once again, a weakened economy is forcing many to look farther afield to improve their educational standings, and as in any typical year there are others who just seek self-improvement.

9. Volunteerism & Charities

In good economic times, many people commit to helping others. In tough times when many are out of work, volunteering is a good route to finding gainful employment.

10. Get Organized

This is one of those resolutions that I have every year… check out this blog post and you'll see why. 🙂 Help people like me reduce the clutter and get organized with

As always, you can search for programs and information related to these and other topics on the major affiliate networks, such as Clickbank, Commission Junction, Linkshare and Google.

Jobs, Jobs and MORE Jobs…

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Find a jobWhat? Me say that dirty word – J.O.B. – not once, but THREE times?

I know, I know, but what with the Big 3 bailout on its last legs today (unless the White House steps in), my guess is that more than just a few NPT readers will be among the 1.6 million workers affected by the fallout – not to mention those of you who are already looking for work or have concerns that your job may be in jeopardy.

Seen in that light, ‘job' isn't such a bad word and I thought you should know that there are PLENTY of jobs in the affiliate marketing industry. Here's a screenshot taken today of Monster.com returns for a search for ‘affiliate marketing'.

Note that there were 396 job listings just in the States, posted by companies such as Amazon, Commission Junction, Google and Netflix. A search of the U.K. site resulted in 76 returns and the Canadian site returned another 16 job listings, including postings by our friends at EcomAccess / ShareResults and MaxBounty had posted a full-time entry-level affiliate manager's position.

If you – already having some knowledge of affiliate marketing – think that you're not qualified to be an affiliate manager, I'd like you to read the following list from MaxBounty's listing:

We are looking for people with the ability to:

  • Learn the INs and OUTs of Internet advertising
  • Accomplish tasks with initiative and little supervision
  • Develop strong friendly relationships with our clients
  • Utilize the Internet for research and prospect development (email, browsing, instant messaging)
  • Converse well in the English language (oral or written)

If that didn't convince you of your potential to qualify for an affiliate manager's position, here's another snippet from their ad:

We can't emphasize strongly enough that finding the right type of person is far more important than finding someone with experience.

MaxBounty wasn't the only company willing to provide affiliate manager training, however most DO expect some experience and/or training.

So, can you translate your experience as an affiliate marketer into a job as an affiliate manager? Well, let's just say that you stand a much better chance of doing so than someone who doesn't know the meaning of affiliate marketing. And there are ways that you can improve your chances of landing a job in the affiliate marketing industry.

  1. First, you have to start looking. Search the industry job listings on Monster and other job sites. Is there anything that interests you and are qualified for? Apply.

  2. Don't automatically reject those listings for which you don't qualify. Take note of the skills and experience that they are seeking. Now, think about your own experience. Perhaps the 2 – 5 years that you spent in offline retail sales or managing a small office IS helpful.

  3. Now, dust off your resume. Emphasize your online experience by adding “Expertise in website development, online marketing strategy, email marketing, affiliate marketing strategies and search engine optimization” for starters. Hint: Use the wording in job postings to guide your resume preparation. If you don't have a resume or need help with preparing a new resume, consider letting a professional resume writer customize your resume for that job.

Affiliate marketing is one of the few industry's that is forecast to grow in the coming years… so, NOW is the time to start looking for that job or set yourself to be in a position to land that job when the position opens… because guaranteed, there's going to be a ton of competition for all available spaces.

And one more thing to consider – many affiliate managers do enjoy the luxury of working from home!!

Comments, questions or suggestions? Please leave a comment below!

Cheers,

Ros

Video: My Predictions for Affiliate Marketing in 2009

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If you're concerned about how the economic crisis might affect your affiliate business prospects in 2009, you'll want to watch this video. In it I discuss a primary indicator that bodes well for the industry, and on the downside, which affiliates will have to scale up or expand their marketing efforts.

I also give clues that point to some potentially lucrative markets.

Have a point to contribute or a question to ask? Please share your comments below… just no comments about my bad hair day, please. It was the lighting, I swear! 🙂

The Super Affiliate HandbookWant to learn affiliate marketing methods that I've used successfully for the past 10 years and which produce conversion rates much higher than industry averages?

Then get your copy of the Super Affiliate Handbook today!

Video: How to Link Directly to a Clickbank Product Order Page

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In this video, I show you how to construct an affiliate link that goes directly to a Clickbank merchant's product order page… along with rationale for why you'd want to do that.

Here is how to construct the basic link:

http://clickbank.net/sell.cgi?YOURAFFILIATEID_MERCHANTID/PRODUCT#/ITEM#

Be sure to watch the video for additional important suggestions.

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