I’ve recently been speaking to Chris Bishop (biography), Online Acquisition Manager at House of Fraser. We discussed a variety of topics including his early days as an affiliate, Hotel Chocolat & House of Fraser. We also discussed advice for affiliate managers, affiliates and issues around cashback for merchants.

We discussed a range of developments at Affiliate Future including their recent recruitment drive and plans for the year ahead. We also talk about technical projects including the affiliate interface and the voucher code manager.

Just to keep things topical we also managed to fit in a chat about the credit crunch, brand bidding, cashback and few more bits and pieces.

We talked about a variety of topics including some of ASAP Ventures current projects like Fly.co.uk(this one cost £87.5k), Recycle(this one was £152,000!), Car Rentals & Self Catering Breaks. We also discussed automating and scaling an affiliate business, PPC closed groups, transparency and building relationships with merchants. All in all there is some great advice for affiliates looking to move forwards with their business.

Have a listen and leave any feedback or questions below.

It’s podcast time again at last and this time I have been speaking to Alison Guise who is General Manager Europe, Commission Junction. We talked about a variety of issues including

• Commission Junction in Europe
• Commission Junction’s profile in the UK in recent years
• CJ’s participation in forums
• Does being a US owned company make a difference?
• Affiliate Support
• Google Trademark Changes
• Brand Bidding Groups & Transparency
• Cash Back Sites

Thanks to Alison for taking the time to speak to me and thanks to Nadeem Azam for putting us in contact in the first place.

This week on the podcast I was joined by Kevin Edwards from Affiliate Window and Matt Bailey from DGM. It was a chance to explore the network position on a few common affiliates complaints and to give a bit of an insight into the issues networks face. I was delighted that both Kevin & Matt were willing to take part and it’s great that networks are willing to cooperate on a podcast which isn’t just in the interests of their employer.

In this first part we discuss a variety of issues but mostly around the issues of terms & conditions and how these are enforced. Not content with just talking about problem affiliates we talk about problem merchants and the issues of education too.

I’ll release the second part early next week as we managed to talk for a bit longer than planned

As I mentioned in a previous post we have been working on a podcast involving some affiliates who specialise in promoting merchants using discount codes. The affiliates who agreed to take part were

• Joe Connor from discountcodes.tv
• Chris Frost from discountcodes.co.uk
• Keith Bond from vouchersuk.co.uk

One podcast probably wasn’t enough time to deal with all the issues but we tried to address some of the questions that people left as comments in the previous post. We also considered some of the following issues

• Recent Bad Press For Discount Codes Sites
• Possible Technical Solutions to improve discount codes
• Advice for merchants on how to use discount codes to their full potential
• The Voucher Manager Tool From Paid on Results
• The suggestion of an affiliates4u management system
• The future of discount codes

Many thanks to all the guys for taking part in the podcast

Joe also took the time to answer the specific questions in written form as well

Ian asked:

Why do you think voucher sites are imune form the rules regarding cookie stuffing. i.e. “click here to reveal the voucher code and open the site”.Half the time, the merchant does not offer vouchers or the vouchers are out of date, but you still get your cookie dropped. If you want to show people vouchers, surely they should be listed in the open, and if they want to visit the merchant they will click a link.

On CantBarsed.com we let it all hang out but it’s not a dedicated code site.
On DiscountCodes.tv we list any codes and offers and it’s up to the user to decide if they want to [Show codes & visit site] - if there’s nothing listed we don’t try to stuff a cookie, instead we suggest alternative merchants or a visit to our cashback site Cashbackhub.com

We changed the click through wording a while back in response to the debate about cookie stuffing and although the temptation is to burn the cookie ultimately we want happy visitors that come back or sign up for updates.

Jason asked:

How do the ethical affiliates feel about the bad reputation some voucher code sites have given the sector (e.g. using iframes, cookie stuffing, forced clicks, misleading consumers etc) - has it made working with networks/merchants easier or harder - how do they perceive voucher code sites now? What steps do they think can be undertaken to repair the damage (if any).

We don’t use IFRAMES, on DiscountCodes.tv we use frames to display codes to the left with the merchant frame on the right BUT we have an alternative method which opens the merchant site in a new window for any merchant what doesn’t allow frames or uses frame-breakout coding.

The recent activities of some code sites has definitely made the everyday life of ALL affiliates more difficult - which is probably why there’s been so much abuse directed at code sites generally.

The upside is most of the networks are in discussion with code site owners and progress is being made.

Jason asked:

Do you think merchants/networks have been pro-active enough to act against affiliates who perhaps aren’t working within the ts&cs? What more could they do to make sure everyone is playing within the rules? Why do you think some affiliates seemingly can “get away” breaking the rules?

I want a level playing field for all affiliates.
I believe the key to stopping code abuse is to track all codes both on the merchant site and via the network tracking.
Put a clear policy in place which offers one commission level without a code, a reduced commission with an authorised code and no commission if an unauthorised code.
If this info shows up in the network stats the problems will quickly disappear as code site affiliates will police themselves - or they won’t make any money.

Jason asked:

How do the panel see the future of voucher codes - especially as more and more affiliates jump on the bandwagon. Is the future bright? Or will it be a fad for 2008?

I touched on this in my recent blog post about discount codes. Sites which give visitors ALL the codes they can find without worrying about legalities, merchant wishes or network T&Cs could do well six months ago but that’s no longer the case and ultimately the sites which strike the best balance between what visitors and merchants want will win out.

Jason asked:

Figleaves offer a discount based on a click via an affiliate link - no code required - why can’t other merchants take this lead and wipe out “copying exclusive codes” once and for all? Are merchants really technically capable to implement codes?

I prefer dedicated landing pages on merchants sites over dedicated code links because it makes it clear to the visitor they’re getting VIP treatment and the merchant can explain exactly what they’re offering – along with all their codes and discount offers.

Jason asked:

Paid on Results are bringing in a new voucher code system - is this a good thing? Will it cause problems? Will affiliates who once complained about being copied now encourage sites to copy them?

It’s a great system - certainly the best yet but it’s still early days. Certainly if it’s the code that decides who gets the commission I’d be happy to see my code on other sites but it won’t take long before someone starts posting those codes to the public forums which would open another can or worms.

Now the media has raised the awareness of code sites the public are naturally using them and they can’t see the distinction between marketing channels and they actively look for and publish any codes on the money saving forums which then leaves code sites looking second best so the temptation is always there for code sites to bend the rules, NOT just to make money but to offer visitors what they want.

The best way forward has to be for merchants to work with networks and affiliates to optimise their use of codes. Networks and agencies can (and should) play an active role educating merchants on the options available so everyone ends up as a winner.

The visitor gets the discount, the merchant gets extra sales and the affiliates and networks get their commission.

Thanks for taking the time to give some extra answers Joe

Fraser Edwards
Julie Hegarty
John Lamerton
Paul Wheatley
Matthew Wood

It’s a little more rough and ready than normal podcasts as I haven’t edited it the same or recorded an intro etc since I thought it would be good to just present the conversation exactly as it happened

Some of the topics we discussed included

• The Year in Affiliate Marketing
• Content Units
• The Future of Affiliate Networks
• Christmas Presents from Networks
• Is it too late to cash in on Christmas 2007?
• Last Delivery Dates for Christmas
• A4uexpo Review
• Predictions for 2008 - A4uexpo 2008

Our Top Merchant Tips For December

Firebox on DGM, Affiliate Future and Affiliate Window
HMV on buy.at
Buyagift on Affiliate Window
Amazon
Prezzybox on POR
24 Studio on Affiliate Window
Childrens Rooms on POR

Related Links

POR Content Units
Existem Blog Article about Content Units
ShopWindow
a4uexpo

Tags: affiliates4u, a4uforum, moderators, podcast

Sorry that it’s been so long since the last podcast but this one is packed with interesting chat to hopefully make up for that

John Lamerton & I discussed some of these issues

• The sale of his site Net Free Stuff for £120,000
• Work/Life Balance
• Coreg & Easycoreg
• Affiliate Network Shares - DGM, IBG, TRAD
• New Networks in the UK
• a4uexpo

Related Links

• John’s Blog
• Big Idea Media
• Easycoreg
• Net Free Stuff
• IBG
• A4uexpo

As part of continuing the build up to Affiliate Summit UK I was delighted to be able to speak to Todd Crawford from One Network Direct which is a global affiliate network with a real expertise in software and digital products. Todd is going to be moderating the super affiliate panel at Affiliate Summit so it was good to get a sneak preview of some of the issues that might be on the agenda. One Network Direct are exhibiting at Affiliate Summit and will be pleased to speak to any affiliates interested in working with them.

Some of the topics covered include

• Background on Digital River and One Network Direct
• Changing trends in purchasing software
• Super Affiliate Panel with Keith Budden, Sri Sharma & Richard Yendall
• Advice for affiliates promoting software products
• Google’s CPA Network - Todd’s post on Revenews

Other Related Links

• weviews.tv - Shawn Collins & Missy Ward’s video review site
• Sling Media
• Lemonade Facebook Application

It was great to get the chance to speak to Wil Reynolds from SEER Interactive to record this podcast. Wil is going to be speaking about SEO at Affiliate Summit UK so this is a sneak preview of what he will be talking about there. He’s a smart guy and well worth listening to and Jess agrees

We discussed a variety of topics including

• SEO for the long term
• Universal Search
• Search & Video
• Local Search
• SEO Myths
• Affiliate Opportunities & Tips

Related Links

SEER Interactive SEO blog
SEER SEO Videos
Crushing SEO Myths Video

Tags: seer, wil reynolds, seo, podcast

It’s time to get back down to business and here is a great podcast packed full of no nonsense information for merchants and affiliates. If you are a merchant struggling to get your program off the ground then you need to listen to this podcast and start putting some of the advice into practice. There’s heaps for affiliates to learn too as Zak gives his thoughts on what affiliates do well and what they do badly. We also discuss why it’s time to get ready for Christmas in August and what should be selling well this year.

Enjoy listening and please let me know what you think.

Related Links
Prezzybox
Join the Prezzybox affiliate program
Prezzybox Affiliate Resource Centre
Zak talking about the revenue share model
Affiliate Window
Paid on Results
Buyagift Christmas Incentive

Sponsors
Affiliate Summit
a4uexpo
Property Locators Club
Affiliator

For further reading take a look at SEOmoz or SEO Book.

The Podcasts

Shawn Collins - Affiliate Summit
Keith Budden - Affiliate Boot Camp
Matthew Wood - a4uevents & a4uexpo

Related Links

• Jess Luthi has written a great roundup of the forthcoming events.
• In an excellent post Kieron Donoghue deals with some of the issues that might be putting you off coming along to an event.
• Chris Frost shares some tips for affiliate events

Tags: affiliate marketing, events, podcast

Tags: a4uevents, a4uexpo, matthew wood

Tags: affiliate boot camp, keith budden

Tags: shawn collins, affiliate summit

Size: 18.2Mb

Related Links & Topics

Azam Marketing
DNJournal weekly domain names sales chart

p.s - with the new blog design there are some changes to how podcasts are handled so please let me know if you have any problems.

Tags: nadeem azam, domain names, affiliate marketing, podcast

Last week I had a great chat to Vlad Zablotskyy from My Affiliate Journey about getting started in affiliate marketing. Please do comment and leave feedback if you have anything to say about the podcast. Interview with Vlad Zablotskyy Duration: 38:08 File Size: 17.8Mb There is a player at the foot of this post if you would prefer to listen online.

Related Links

• Getting Started in Affiliate Marketing
• bumpzee
• Quit Your Day Job
• Yahoo Panama
• Wordpress & Datafeeds
• Nofollow & Dofollow
• Technorati
• Andy Beard
• affilistore

Technorati Tags: Affiliate Marketing, bumpzee, Yahoo Panama

Getting Started in Affiliate Marketing - Content

Getting Started in Affiliate Marketing - Hosting & Domains

Technorati Tags: affiliate marketing

Getting Started - The Idea

Some of the topics discussed

• Getting Started in Affiliate Marketing
• The current state of the UK Market
• a4uforum
• existem
• a4uevents
• a4uexpo
• Tradedoubler & AOL
• ASOS
• UK Affiliate Association
• Loyalty & Cashback Sites

Technorati Tags: Affiliate Marketing, a4uforum, existem, Tradedoubler, ASOS

In this interview I had a great chat with Sam Harrelson from Cost Per News about many aspects of affiliate marketing and more. I’ll let the related links part give you an idea of what we talked about. Interview with Sam Harrelson Duration: 38:45 File Size: 18.1Mb There is a player at the foot of this post if you would prefer to listen online.

Related Links
CostPerNews
Second Life
Wayne Porter
Twitter
Tradedoubler
buy.at US
abestweb
bumpzee
My Blog Log & Shoemoney
Widgets
Open Source

Technorati Tags: affiliate marketing, CostPerNews, Second Life, Twitter, Tradedoubler, buy.at, abestweb, My Blog Log, Shoemoney, Widgets

In this interview I’ve been speaking to Malcolm Cowley from the UK affiliate network buy.at. We discussed a variety of affiliate marketing issues including The history of buy.at The future for buy.at Affiliate Summit Affiliate Marketing in the USA Tradedoubler & AOL takeover talks Affiliate Marketing & International Boundaries Interview with Malcolm Cowley Duration: 38:45 File Size: 18.1Mb There is a player at the foot of this post if you would prefer to listen online.

Related Links
buy.at
a4uforum
Andy Rodriguez
Kellie Stevens
Affiliate Summit
Paul Wright at Blue Barracuda
ABestWeb

Technorati Tags: Malcolm Cowley, buy.at, affiliate marketing, Tradedoubler, AOL

It’s a bit delayed but here is the Affiliate Summit Review Podcast Editing these always takes me longer than planned and I got a few reviews at the last minute so I wanted to include everything I could. Thanks to everyone for taking part in this experiment which has been well worthwhile.

Affiliate Summit Review Podcast

Duration: 27:31
File Size: 13Mb
There should be a mini player at the foot of this post if you want to listen online.

Sponsors

The podcast is supported by AMWSO.co.uk who are soon to launch the Forzieri affiliate program in the UK on the Linkshare network and also Carsten Cumbrowski from cumbrowski.com. Carsten also blogs at Revenews & Search Engine Journal

Reviewers

The people who contributed to the podcast are listed below in no particular order and it’s well worth making contact with these people & reading their blogs etc

• Sam Harrelson - CostPerNews.com
• Malcolm Cowley - buy.at
• Stephanie Agresta - Stephanie Agresta Consulting
• Dan Robins - Car Hire Search
• William H-W - AMWSO.com
• Shawn Collins - Affiliate Summit
• Jessica Luthi - Affiliate Program Advice
• Scott Jangro - Jangro.com & Bumpzee.com
• Carsten Cumbrowski - Cumbrowski.com

Technorati Tags: Affiliate Summit, Podcast

Tomorrow morning (well in 5 hours or so!) I’m heading to the Gospel Brunch which I’m looking forward to. After that I think I might catch up on some sleep before the Affiliate Summit really gets going on Sunday evening.

p.s. I’m eating some very tasty biscuits called “Sandies Pecan Shortbread” - a recommended buy from the gift shop if you are staying in Bally’s

Mini Podcast - here’s a 5 minute podcast recorded on the journey yesterday

Mini Podcast One

Technorati Tags: Affiliate Summit

Related Links
dealgroupmedia - dgm

Update

Carl Davis, CTO at DGM plc kindly confirmed some details on feeds via email

We hope these features will assist affiliates to automatically update their websites and databases. “

Technorati Tags: Adrian Moss, affiliate marketing, Tradedoubler, AOL, dealgroupmedia, dgm