The Rogue Marketer

Affiliate Summit West to Kick off 2012

2011-12-20T21:14:30-05:00

Las Vegas promises to be the epicenter of the marketing universe from January 8 - 10, 2012 as affiliate marketers from all over the world meet to discuss 2011, the most turbulent year in marketing history. As we close on a year in which Google awoke from a long slumber and turned into a Panda, Amazon changed the face of publishing with the Kindle, and tablets became a rage, Affiliate Summit is the first conference to help marketers make sense of it all.

Spending some time at Affiliate Summit is invaluable since most attendees are hands on practitioners. For this crowd, understanding performance marketing is personal as it directly affects their livelihood. In an industry that continues to proliferate greater levels of complexity, it's the one place where marketers can piece it all together....at least for a day.

Not convinced? Let's add on the need to understand the impact of Apple iPhone's Siri, the mysteries of You Tube, the need to master social media, mobile couponing, not to mention benchmarking the performance of your affiliate program.

I'll be at the conference learning, networking and preparing to make 2012 a profitable year. Drop me a note if you are planning to go.

- Jeff

Update from Shawn Collins and Missy Ward: It looks like the final day to register for Affiliate Summit West 2012 before they reach capacity, will be Monday, December 26th.

Here Comes Siri and the Future of Organic Search

2011-11-23T20:30:22-05:00

Image via CrunchBase

For anyone that follows Apple and the recent introduction of the iPhone 4S, the most interesting feature was Siri. The platform is voice activated and is designed to provide a perfect match between a verbal request and the information or action requested.

What's interesting, is that just like brands compete for first position in organic rankings on Google (unpaid rankings), the same battle will occur for ranking in Siri. Said another way, companies like EasyCopy.com, the new online printer, will want to be the answer, when someone asks, "what is a high quality overnight online printing service," instead of a printing service such as FedEx.

It's still early on this one, but worth watching given the closed nature of the Apple universe and the disruptive nature of significant search share moving to voice. There are also several futurists that see Apple supremacy in the search world as their mobile devices and IPADs take over many of the functions that were previously dominated by PC use and the Googleverse.

The Value of SEO Optimization

2011-10-17T12:55:28-04:00

I came across these resources that can help anyone understand the revenue potential of organic keyword ranking and the on page and off page elements required to achieve high rankings. The entire process is referred to as SEO or search engine optimization. Oganic results are those website listings you see in Google, Yahoo or Bing that were not paid for by the site owner. They "organically" rank based on their value to the person doing the search.

The Value of Organic Search Click Through Rates

As you can see in this chart from Market Samurai, there is a significant difference in traffic generated based on your organic search results/keyword ranking. The distance from #2 to #1 represents a 3x increase in organic traffic!!! As an aside Market Samurai has a great tool for ranking and tracking keywords over time so that you can not only check your progress vis a vis the competition, but quickly identify those keywords that will result in the greatest revenue gain.

Organic Search Click through Rates
Source: Market Samurai

Methods for Achieving High Organic Rankings

There are many elements that go into achieving a high organic ranking. As detailed in the table, these elements roughly divide into on-page elements such as the quality and length of the content and off-page elements such as trust as expressed by inbound links and social media.

Developing a strong SEO optimization strategy ensures that all of these elements are managed to achieve the highest ranking possible. You can download the Periodic Table of SEO Ranking Factors here.

Affiliate Summit West 2012 Voting is Open

2011-10-14T13:34:04-04:00

Image via Wikipedia

Voting is on for Affiliate Summit West 2012 sessions. For those unfamiliar with the show, it's the largest annual gathering of affiliate marketers and a must attend for anyone involved in the performance marketing industry.

I've proposed a session on what to do when your merchant program is not meeting expectations. The session is called "Merchant Failure to Launch." I need your votes to make sure that it is part of the show agenda. I'll be co-hosting with Deborah Carney, one of the best known podcasters and OPM's in the industry.

Please register here, and then click here to vote for the session.

Thanks for voting and be sure to say hello at the show.

What I Learned at Startup Marketing School

2011-10-13T11:29:04-04:00

Last night I was a panelist at Startup Marketing School, an event organized by Charlie O'Donnel, a principal at First Round Capital. The goal of the school is to address the lack of customer acquisition specialists in the startup marketing community.

In a spirited discussion moderated by Rich Ullman, co-panelist Deena Bahri, VP, Marketing at Birchbox, and myself, we addressed not only the knowledge gaps in start-up marketing, but many of the lessons learned, which I'll highlight here.

Start-up Marketing is a Shared Experience

- Everyone on the panel is being asked to operate a bootstrapped marketing department with scarce resources. "Treat money like it's going through your hands like barbed wire."
- There is tremendous value is sharing best practices among marketers as the experience across organizations is remarkably similar (a surprise since Mimeo focuses on B to B and Birchbox on consumer beauty products).
- Avoidance of montly expenses and costs are paramount until ROI can be demonstrated.
- Marketers are often asked to act as magicians, you can't market when the marketing department is suffering from starvation As best put by Rich Ullman, "for Christmas my boss gave me a lottery ticket and said: this is the marketing budget."
- Lead marketers understand what needs to be done in terms of building a world class organization, but getting there is tricky given financial constraints

Measurement is Paramount

- Every CEO and marketer wants measurable results leading to exponentially expandable acquisition channels
- Startup marketing organizations cannot afford many of the needed platforms, and need to get by with lower cost options such as Google Analytics, which works well for Birchbox
- Organize your data around the best customers

Constant Testing is Needed

- Social media has mixed levels of reliability when used as the cornerstone of a "no budget" customer acquisition effort
- Best practices are easy to find, just view the email to conversion efforts of leading retailers.
- Speak to customers that have similar attributes to avoid confusing feedback, even in a small sample
- Avoid long term agency commitments until you understand the value an agency can bring. For example, don't hire a direct marketing agency to a long term contract when you are just beginning to test the medium, hire for a project instead.

Don't Discount Messaging and Value Proposition Identification

- Important building block to any marketers skill set
- Understanding the match between target audience and value proposition can help marketers avoid programs that fail
- At companies such as Birchbox, content and marketing are as "separate as church and state" in order to maintain the integrity of expert options expressed, which in this case are on beauty products and care

Manage Your Career
- Don't allow circumstance to limit your experience. Go out and develop your own websites, blogs and apply different aspects of marketing to the experience

Thank you to Cooley for providing a great venue for this free to marketers event.

It's always helpful to go back to school and share ideas. You can find information on future Startup Marketing School classes here.

Brilliant Use of QR Codes

2011-09-08T15:37:41-04:00

Image by Getty Images via @daylife

Watch this video case study on how Tesco (now named Home Plus) brought their story to consumers instead of having consumers come to the store. Great consumer insights coupled with an advanced use of technology. Wow.

The End of the GoogleSoft Era

2011-08-10T17:16:12-04:00

Image via CrunchBase

I thought I'd share this thought provoking presentation by Elevation Partners Director and Co-Founder Roger McNamee. In the presentation Ken describes the decline of Microsoft and the decline in progress of Google.

There's a few startling facts to support his arguments:

- Microsoft share of internet connected devices has declined from 95% to under 50% in 3 years.
- Google's tariff based system for searches is irrelevant on the Smart Phone platform, with Smart phones becoming the dominant internet connected device.
- HTML 5 will lead to new web experiences, where "creativity rules again."

Image via CrunchBase

He describes how the market is just starting again, and all of us have an "opportunity to be market leaders."

Better yet, he describes the era to come as belonging to those that "create." The user experience across all devices is about to change, and with HTML 5 we all have an opportunity to create new ways to engage audiences and build new brands.

Bending the Arc of History

2011-08-07T10:46:22-04:00

Image via Wikipedia

Today's New York Times has a must read article by Drew Westen titled "What Happened to Obama." It is a poignant take on the gap between our expectations of brand Obama and what is actually being delivered. It is an abject lesson in what happens when brand expectations and delivery are misaligned, and how storytelling, so critical to brand delivery, can also work to a brand's detriment when it is misaligned with promises made.

"But the arc of history does not bend toward justice through capitulation cast as compromise. It does not bend when 400 people control more of the wealth than 150 million of their fellow Americans. It does not bed when the average middle-class family has seen its income stagnate over the last 30 years while the riches 1 percent has seen its income rise astronomically. It does not bend when we cut the fixed incomes of our parents and grandparents so hedge fund managers can keep their 15 percent tax rats. it does not bend when only one side in negotiations between workers and their bosses is allowed representation. And it does not bend when, as political scientists have shown, it is the opinions of the wealthy that predict the votes of the Senate. The arc of history can bend only so far before it breaks."

Affiliate Summit East Right Around The Corner

2011-07-27T18:14:59-04:00

Image via Wikipedia

Marketing is one profession that moves at the speed of light. This year in particular, with the Google panda updates, the surge in online coupon use, smart phone proliferation and the continued growth in ecommerce, it's more important than ever to get out at least once a year and catch up on the industry.

There is no better time to do this than at Affiliate Summit East 2011 scheduled for August 21 - 23 at the New York Hilton. It's the one show I recommend to every on-line marketer.

This year promises to be even better than last year with Wil Reynolds, the seer of all things SEO keynoting the conference. Other highlights includes the Sunday afternoon meet market which provides direct access to the companies and people setting the direction of affiliate marketing.

Still not sure if you should go? it's been estimated that 20% to 30% of on line commerce moves through an affiliate channel. A good part of this total is due to the efforts of the attendees at the Summit.

Now for the sake of full disclosure, I'll be sharing the speaker podium with Affiliate Merchant ABCs Guru, CEO and Podcaster Deborah Carney (Loxly) on Monday August 22 where we'll be reviewing best practices for launching a merchant program. It's the session I wish I had when launching the Mimeo.com program. We'll start with the basics including how to sell in a program to management, network selection, OPM (outsourced program manager) selection and how to make a program successful post launch.

If you are planning to attend, be sure to say hello. Note that this show sells out every year, so be sure to register soon.

This is a business that is fuelded by ideas, Affiliate Summit is a place to refill the tank.

A Simple Proposal for Balancing the U.S. Budget

2011-07-13T16:55:44-04:00

Image via Wikipedia

Congress is at a stalemate, with the American tax payer caught in the cross hairs. Right now congress is playing a game of chicken. Republicans refuse to raise more revenue via taxes to pay our debts, while Democrats refuse to cut social service/entitlement spending and would prefer to tax the rich.

The Risk of Doing Nothing

If the government goes into technical default on the $14.3 trillion dollar debt. interest payments on government T-Bills and other forms of debt are delayed until the government pays. While there would be little doubt that the government would pay, any delay would create some doubt, which could cause bond holders to sell at a discount. For example, if China decides to sell U.S. bonds our of fear of non-payment, the price of bonds decline, including those held by U.S. Taxpayers.

Like the failure of Lehman brothers, who knows how much U.S. government debt is held by banks around the world? Banks that hold our debt or businesses that have collateralized loans with this debt would then have to write down the value of these assets. Since collateral levels are not being met, all would have to provide more collateral if they have it. If they can't, the loans are called. As loans are called, businesses can no longer function and fail, reducing employment and the downward cycle begins. Throw in fragile economies such as Greece and Italy, and the world quickly falls into recession or some type of depression.

So what do we do. Failure to act is not an option, as raising the debt ceiling will just lead to bigger deficits, higher interest payments and a problem that is even harder to solve.

The Plan for a Fair and Balanced Budget

Maybe I'm a bit naive, but perhaps the answer is to both raise revenue and reduce spending. While that is stating the obvious, the question is how. Let's also say that the complexity of both are politically charged and fairly impossible to accomplished (as demonstrated by the current impasse). With layers of subsidies, tax loopholes and social entitlement programs all developed over years of negotiations in congress, it is naive to think that any one type of spending can be cut without a fight.

So there is only one short term conclusion. Do what American's are known to do, own the problem. There is no other choice then to share the burden equally, across tax payers and those that benefit from government spending.

The Simple Plan:

1. To avoid instability, all cuts and revenue increases will be phased in over 5 to 10 years.

2. 50% of the budget gap will be closed with spending cuts, and 50% through increases in revenue.

3. All cuts and revenue raising activities will be implemented in proportion to current levels of spending or revenue/taxation.

In terms of cuts, if defense is 25% of the total U.S. budget, then defense should undergo a cut of 12.5%, representing its fair share of the cuts (25% of 50%), to be phased in over 5 to 10 years. Subsidies for farming, education etc will all be cut in the fair share percentage.

Taxpayers will have to shoulder the same, with tax increases applied based on current tax rates. Yes this will impact the poor and rich, but fair is fair.

Beyond these levels, congress can fight it out after the fair budget plan is put into place. We got ourselves into this mess, and as American's we all own the debt, Democrats and Republicans alike. And like any debt, we need to pay for it. Not through magic, not through disproportionately harming the poor, or the subsidized, but through a plan where the burden is shared by all.