Ever since the PMA blog started, I’ve purposely stayed quiet and not discussed our research and discovery efforts on Affiliate Classroom properties so as to not create a misunderstanding about the link between the two (AC and PMA). But it seems that there have been some concerns as of recent regarding Affiliate Classroom’s role in the formation of the Performance Marketing Alliance. I believe most of it is just due to misunderstandings, so I wanted to take a minute to clarify… As you know a few weeks ago Affiliate Classroom started the "discovery and research" process for a professional organization for the affiliate marketing industry, it's being called the "PMA - Performance Marketing Alliance." AC did this because… • We believe the industry needs an association sooner rather than later. • No one else was stepping up to take on the task so we thought we would help. Therefore we committed our own resources ... Read More →

Successful affiliates often want to expand their business model beyond selling people’s products. Multiple streams of income are never a bad thing, and multiple revenue channels - affiliate sales, lead payments, ad revenue, and selling your own products - can act as powerful "insurance" should one of your income streams dry up. Does the whole idea of creating your own product sound intimidating? It needn't be. Here are three easy and relatively risk-free ways to experiment with offering your own product: 1 - Buy a resale rights to a top quality product in your best niche. A low-to-medium cost reprint rights license can be a way to acquire your first “real” product. The key is to acquire rights to a product that’s a good fit for your most profitable or highest traffic niche - you’ll have a ready audience. Just don't buy resale rights just because it’s hyped as the best opportunity ever. Buy the retail product first, examine it carefully to make sure it’s quality, and check to see how many competitors may already be offering the product... Read More →

Happy Birthday to 16 Year Old Super Affiliate Harrison Gevirtz - He can't drive, but he can teach you a thing or two about affiliate marketing! Read on to find out more about the 16 year old CEO and super affiliate. Affiliate Marketing is Hard - Shawn Collins has some helpful words for those who fear failing in the affiliate marketing industry Does SEO have a future? - We like to think so - here's just one of the reasons why. Digital Asset Optimization — The Inevitable Evolution of SEO - Find out the latest stance on the longevity of SEO, and what DAO (digital asset optimization) means for... Read More →

As an affiliate marketer, you're probably tired of hearing by now that you need to write articles if you want free traffic to your web site. But not everyone is a writer, and then there's this thing that's called writers block that can make even the best writer come to a standstill.So what's an affiliate marketer to do? Here are a few simple tricks I use when I can't think of anything to write about, and they work every time! The first thing you should do is spend a minimum of 15 minutes a day reading something related to your specialty. Make notes of topics that interest you while you are reading, and after a short time, you will have more topics that you want to write about than you have time for. A good way to find topic ideas quickly is to subscribe to RSS Feeds. If you have an account at Yahoo!, you can add RSS Feeds to your Yahoo! home page and easily have access to new articles on a daily basis. (Any other feeder will do just as well, though.) Subscribe to a variety of feeds so you’... Read More →

Pay per click ad writing takes ad copy to a whole new level. PPC experts agree that these tips will help you produce ads that produce optimum results. 1 - Set a Goal for Your Ad. Choose a specific goal for the ad campaign. Is there a specific sale, deal, or offer that you can focus on to convert visitors into buyers? Are you collecting leads? Building your subscriber base? Having a goal will help you keep your keyword lists focused and manageable. 2 - Use Keywords that Will Pre-qualify Prospects. A search engine user who searches a broad keyword like “headphones” is most likely researching - not buying. But a searcher who types in a model or brand is looking to make a purchase. Going for specific key phrases like “noise canceling headphones,” combined with brand names or model numbers, will grab the eyeballs of serious shoppers. 3 - Use the SE's Keyword Tools. Balance broad match and specific keyphrases, as well as all i... Read More →

That's right.  This month the AC Magazine focuses on the "Seven Golden Rules of Blog Monetization."  In the cover story, Mark Thompson shows you how to plan your blog so  you can make money in the shortest possible time frame. The Marketing Potential For Blogs is the next article.  Here, Kathy Jackson reviews the various reasons that people blog, and why blogs have become the most effective way to market products and services.

You'll also find information on the wide variety of ways that blogs can enhance your marketing opportunities.

Top 10 Blogging Blogs – Here's Kathy again, with a list of the top ten blogs.  If you REALLY want to make money with your blog, you're going to need all the information you can get.  Don't waste your time with the others, here's a list of the best of the best information you will ever find.

Commission Junction Dominates Internet Retailer 500 - 53% of the 500 top internet retailers in 2008 selected Commission Junction - find out who! Warning - New Affiliate Cookie Stuffing Forum Trick - Stealing Sales - A new cookie stuffing scheme is uncovered. Read on to find out more about it, who it affects, and who to contact for tips if you've encountered these black hat tactics. Google XML Sitemaps : Essential FAQ - A simple breakdown of the how-to's, helps, and hindrances of creating a Google XML Sitemap. Researching Keywords Doesn’t Have to Suck! - Five steps to making the inevitable task of keyword research suck just a little bit less. ... Read More →

We're registering attendees for our LIVE Affiliate Manager Workshop in Boston this August. Like our event in February, this one will take place the Saturday before Affiliate Summit kicks off - and in the same hotel. Come in a day early and spend some time with the expert group that we've pulled together to host presentations and roundtables. Here's a look at the agenda:

8:00 - 8:30: Check-in 8:30 – 9:15 : Presentation Affiliate Classroom and Performance Marketing Alliance's Rebecca Madigan will kick off the morning with her presentation. 9:20 – 10:30: Roundtable discussions We'll move you through the following roundtable discussions:

• The Internal Pitch Lisa Riolo, Hammock Ventures At this table we’ll discuss selling the value and benefits of your affiliate program INTERNALLY… why to do it, how to do it, how to leverage your agency and networks’ resources to help. We’ll also talk about what to do when you succeed in convincing management of affiliate marketing’s merits, resulting in management’s raised interest and expectations.<... Read More →

PPC is most commonly used for making direct sales of a specific product - but that's not all it's good for. In fact, you may be missing out on some great opportunities to use PPC to build your business. For example... Using PPC to Build an Opt-In List. You get much more for your "click money" by turning one-time traffic into a mailing list. Persuade a certain percentage of your traffic to give you their email address, and you get more mileage for your PPC dollar. Some marketers run PPC ad campaigns for the sole purpose of building their opt-in lists. Offer a free ebook, email course, audio or video, or a special report in your ad. Yes, you'll mostly get freebie seekers on your list, but it's not difficult to turn freebie seekers into buyers with the right follow-up emails. And now you have the opportunity to convert them into buyers over and over again. When using PPC to build a list, from the very beginning you'll need to keep a close eye on your budget and conversions. Constantly calculate what it's costing you to get a subscriber, and compare th... Read More →

#1 - Get Focused, Think Narrow. When you're paying for every click, a one size fits all effort just to get your website some "exposure" is guaranteed to do one thing: break the bank. PPC campaigns that zero in on specific, targeted objectives - like getting opt-ins or generating click-throughs to a specific product - are always more successful. #2 - Do EXTENSIVE Keyword Research. Sure, broad-based keywords such as “golf clubs,” “dresses,” or “cars” are searched more often. But the bids for such terms will also be through the roof and rarely generate sales. Focus on more specific, niche-oriented keywords in two, three, and four-word combinations, and keep trying to think of related keywords. They'll always tie in better with specific searches made by a buying audience. #3 - Work Hard on Your Ad Copy. Ad writing is part science and part imagination. It's not easy to write ad copy that adheres to Google's standards AND grabs the attention of a searcher with a problem or a passion. So put yourself in the searche... Read More →