By Andy Lax
The following interview with Shawn Collins, a prominent expert in the affiliate marketing field, should prove
instructive to the reader. Shawn has
enjoyed a meteoric rise in the field and now runs his own affiliate program management and consulting firm. As this
interview is inherently limited in
scope, one is encouraged to read more about Shawn's experiences in the field and the advice he dispenses
through his books, conferences, blog,
articles, reports, and weekly radio show. The reader can also meet Shawn at the Affiliate Summit, a "can't
miss" conference for those interested
in excelling in the competitive world of affiliate marketing. Q. Shawn, how
would you describe your initial experiences with affiliate marketing? A. It was back in 1997. I had a dial-up
account on AOL, a 14.4 modem and a
desire to make more money. At the time, I didn't know a thing about creating websites, marketing, etc. But I went
through a tutorial at AOL on writing
HTML and picked up the basics. Then, I created a hideous, single page site about New York City and put up some
Amazon links. I never earned a cent on
that site.
Q. What growing pains did you endure at first? What were the biggest
obstacles and challenges from that
period of time?
A. Back then, there was a monopoly on registering domains, and
it cost $35 a year. At the time, that
was a bit prohibitive for me (I didn't realize
what a good investment a short name would be). That was a trend - an unwillingness to invest in my affiliate
efforts. I was going the free route with
tools, hosting, etc. That definitely delayed my progress.
Q. What was your first "Ah-ha" moment? How did you incorporate
the lesson learned into your affiliate
marketing business?
A. The first time I got my reporting via email from Amazon with information on commission earned. Back then,
there was no option to login to an
interface - just a periodic email with affiliate stats. When I realized it was real that I could earn money
this way, I was excited and motivated.
This persuaded me that I was wasting my time working in magazine publishing - it was time for me to
get into a line of work that was
stimulating and rewarding. With my limited affiliate marketing experience, I
managed to get a job with a start-up in
1997 called Medsite.com, and I bluffed my way into running the affiliate program there. I've
enjoyed my work ever since.
Q. Without mentioning names, have you joined affiliate programs that did
not keep their promises and/or provide
appropriate compensation? What measures
did you take when confronted with this situation and what advice can you give others to avoid this
circumstance?
A. Lots of affiliate programs lie in their recruiting efforts - they talk about how easy it is to earn commission
from them. That's simply not true - it's
not easy. I just don't pay attention to most recruiting efforts from affiliate programs. I would
encourage affiliates to ignore proclamations
of easy earnings and high EPCs - the most important thing is to test everything yourself and promote what
works for you.
Q. How has affiliate marketing changed in the last seven years? What strategies would you implement now that you
would not or could not do years ago?
A. The industry has matured greatly. Seven years ago, many affiliate marketers were content sites which relied on
468x60 banners. The analytics were
primitive and fewer companies offered affiliate programs. Now, the industry is
so diversified. Essentially, any way to market online is being leveraged by affiliates... including
comparison shopping, domaining, video,
SEO, e-mail, social networks, PPC, rewards programs, etc. If I could turn back time, I would have
started up multiple niche community
sites back then for popular topics. By now, if nurtured they would have grown nicely and become lucrative
affiliate sites.
Q. If one is gifted marketing an affiliate product or service, is it likely that this individual can effectively
market his/her own products or services?
Should people look into developing their own items while marketing or instead of marketing others'
products/services?
A. I'd say anything that is already selling online can be effectively marketed through an affiliate program. Selling
your own products or services can
certainly provide more rewards in the best case scenario, but then you've got a lot more risk, too. If
somebody has the infrastructure and know-how to sell a certain product or service, I'd say to go for it. But don't
take uncalculated risks.
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A. Lack of investment and understanding. It's really difficult to succeed in affiliate marketing if you are
unwilling to spend the time and money
required to develop a long-term strategy. And affiliate marketing is most certainly not a quick endeavor - it takes
patience to endure and succeed.
Q. What are some of the creative (perhaps seldom used) strategies to employ in the affiliate marketing field?
A. Simply going beyond the banner. There are a lot of exciting opportunities out there with Web 2.0. It's just
a matter of figuring out a unique angle.
Q. How long does it realistically take to build a full-time income with affiliate marketing, assuming "full-time
commitment"?
A. I don't think you can qualify and quantify passion. And to me, passion is an essential ingredient in
affiliate marketing success. Also, there
are so many variables, like the size of a given vertical, the margins involved, competition, etc.
Q. Is it easier to build income from this type of marketing now or was it easier years ago? (Please consider
competition, Internet usage, advent of
AdWords and Pay Per Click, etc.)
A. It was never easy. There was certainly less competition in the past, but also less in the way of options of
advertisers to choose and methods to
promote them. Plus, there is the continuing growth of ecommerce. I think the opportunities for success are just
as healthy now as they were years ago.
Q. While I know that you do not recommend any particular affiliate marketing programs, in your estimation, what
are the "hottest fields?"
A. The "hottest fields" are a slippery slope. They change over
time. I think the hottest field for any
given person should be the area that interests
them most. You can certainly go out there as a mercenary and promote the most lucrative thing at the
moment, like ringtones or debt consolidation,
but I suggest going with a long-term plan in an area that interests you.
Q. Is there any affiliate marketing software that is a "must"
when one pursues an affiliate marketing
venture?
A. This really depends on the type of affiliate. There are software programs that help optimize affiliate efforts
for different affiliates. For instance,
if you're working with data feeds, you should check out WebMerge.
Q. What are your views concerning affiliate marketing networks such as LinkShare and Commission Junction?
A. I think they're the backbone of the industry. The affiliate networks account for the majority of large affiliate
programs, and they also provide a level
of convenience in that you can consolidate a lot of your activity under a few logins. I would like to
see them work together to establish standards. For instance, there is a lack of standards in data
feeds, which is a challenge for the
folks using them.
Q. Can any absolute statements be made regarding the most lucrative type
of affiliate marketing payment system
(e.g pay per sale, pay per click, etc.)?
A. In general, CPA seems to be more profitable, especially offers for products and services that are not physical
items. Q. What influence, if any, will blogs make on the affiliate marketing landscape?
A. I think some are influential in the way networks, merchants and affiliates operate. For instance, Jangro.com
is considered to have had an impact in
the decision by Commission Junction to change their plans on the Link Management Initiative (LMI).
Q. What are, statistically, the best avenues to market an affiliate program?
A. It depends on the vertical. Email and PPC work well for some CPA offers, while an established web presence can
be more important for selling goods on a
revenue share.
Q. Do you see any future trends in the affiliate marketing field?
A. Smaller affiliate programs. Affiliate managers are focusing on working more closely with fewer affiliates.
Also, I think we'll see an increasing
number of affiliates embrace the opportunities out there with Web 2.0 and innovate with the new tools that
roll out.
Q. What current projects are you undertaking in affiliate marketing,
including your work with the Affiliate
Summit?
A. My main focus is Affiliate Summit, the largest affiliate marketing conference. Our last show had over 2,000 this
past January in Las Vegas. We also have
events scheduled in Miami (July 8-10) and London (September 28) this year. Additionally, I provide
affiliate management and consulting services as Shawn Collins Consulting, and I publish an
annual report on affiliate marketing
benchmarks called AffStat. I also have a blog where I post daily about issues in affiliate marketing. And I'm
the co-host with Lisa Picarille,
Editor-in-Chief at Revenue Magazine, for the weekly show, Affiliate Thing, on WebmasterRadio.FM.
Q. What do you attribute your affiliate marketing success to (e.g., building content, writing articles, following
footsteps of a mentor, forum participation,
etc.)? Please include any last words of advice for one who aspires to succeed/excel in the affiliate
marketing field.
A. It's all about dedication, tenacity, and relationships. I don't look at my affiliate marketing activity as a job,
but rather a fun, profitable hobby. Over
the decade I've been involved in the industry, there are way too many factors to list that have contributed
to my success. But I'd say the most
important of all is to constantly endeavor to learn from others.
Conclusion - Do's and Don'ts of successful affiliates Analyzing the
success stories, we may conclude the following do's and don'ts of being a successful affiliate:
Do's
· Build a useful website. Visitors
must gain some benefit by visiting your
site.
· Retain visitors through unique
content or adding your "personal touch."
Provide something unique / personal on a consistent basis so that visitors will be motivated to revisit your
site.
· Sign up with a known and
established affiliate program. They have their tracking systems updated and so you can
be rest assured that you will get your
payments.
· Market your affiliate program so
that you can increase the number of visitors
who see your affiliate offering.
· Optimize your website so that
you get a high ranking in natural search engines. · Know your competition. You have to provide
something better than them.
· Choose the advertisement model
that is in line with your overall business
model.
· Launch your site for some time,
before joining any program. Good affiliate
programs may like to see your site and study the traffic before enrolling you.
· Look for outside help. You may employ
skilled people.
· Use blogs and RSS feeds for
promotion.
· Remain active in your industry.
You must know the latest trends and needs
of visitors.
Don'ts
· Join just any affiliate program.
Many affiliate programs are outright frauds.
· Ignore your competition. They
are the best evaluators of your products/services.
· Get obsolete. Update your
content regularly.
· Rely only on banner ads.
Experiment with all types of advertisements.
· Waste time. Be the first to
capture any new opportunity.
· Encourage spamming. You will get
blacklisted. With successful identification of customer needs, providing a way
to fulfill those needs, and
collaborating with established affiliate programs, it is possible to create your own
affiliate success story. You just need
to manifest a methodical, patient approach and perform lots of hard work. But raising an affiliate program
cash cow is certainly worth the effort!
Author, Andy Lax, is an account manager at IntelliCollect – a merchant
account company that provides merchants with credit card processing and
electronic check processing capability. This credit card processing company, http://www.intelli-collect.com,
offers the best rates, exemplary service and their own potentially lucrative
merchant account affiliate program
Article Source: EzineArticles expert=Andy_Lax
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