Managing Director of affilinet UK Preaches a Holistic Approach

February 11th, 2010

Since NETexponent began managing both search and affiliate programs, we have always preached a holistic approach to marketing programs. Much to our surprise, this appeared to be a novel idea in the industry. Of course, this general lack of industry oversight has benefited NETexponent as other players have taken time to wrap their strategies around a truly integrated strategy. Sure it sounds simple, but truly integrating all channels requires strong communication skills and attentive managers at each channel who understand the overall strategy. Ultimately, the difficult coordination pays off with a stronger brand, higher sales and increased efficiency.

Well, it appears the word is out! Peter Rowe, the Managing Director of affilinet UK, wrote an article for Retail Digital urging Marketing executives to invest in innovation in the face of the recession. His article exhorts the reader to view this recession as a time to pull ahead through innovative strategies and increased investment. In this case, he was describing a “new” perspective of affiliate marketing in which all online channels are viewed as complementary to form one fluid strategy.

Specifically, Mr. Rowe talked about transparency, which has been key to NETexponent’s holistic strategy. While advertisers must coordinate campaigns across multiple channels and media, it is equally important for this to be clearly communicated with plenty of advanced notice to affiliates. This way, affiliates’ own promotional, SEM and SEO efforts can work with the advertiser’s and boost sales higher than either channel would be able to independently. But equally important is discretionary discounting across all channels. Discounting widely and without tight restriction diminishes brand value; therefore, only select affiliates should be targeted to offer impressive discounts that will boost sales in the short run and still preserve the brand in the long term.

To read Peter Rowe’s article in its entirety, please visit Retail Digital.

Posted in Affiliate Marketing by Alex W. | | 0 Comments

Internet Marketing from the Real Experts

February 10th, 2010

Recently, the leading experts in the Internet Marketing field, “the Gang of 88″, collaborated on an in-depth guide to internet marketing. This guide will provide three minute lessons on Affiliate Marketing, Email Marketing, SEO, SEM, etc…essentially, all areas of the online marketing landscape. Of these contributions, editors Shawn Collins and Missy Ward included an article Peter Figueredo wrote giving his expert reflections on “Ad Networks, Vertical Ad Networks, and Affiliate Networks”.

This article touched on the various networks available to publishers, both novice and veteran, and why these opportunities should not be considered overwhelming. Instead, publishers need to understand how to sift through the clutter and decide which type of network (or combination thereof) is most suitable for their affiliate site. Additionally, advertisers will begin to understand how to build strategies to effectively utilize an optimal mix of these marketing channels.

All of these three minute lessons are derived from insights only years of experience in a dynamic industry can produce. The other expert contributions are broken down into easy to absorb bites that are suitable for readers of any experience level. Ultimately, these insider tips are gems that have been mined from countless industry triumphs and missteps; most specifically, these contributors will save the readers the time it took them to reach this level of understanding on the most vital practices of online marketing.

Internet Marketing from the Real Experts

Follow Peter Figueredo on Twitter- @Figueredo.

Posted in Affiliate Marketing by Alex W. | | 0 Comments

Best Kept Secrets of Affiliate Marketing Success

January 16th, 2010

I recently wrote an article for iMediaConnection and I thought I would share some of the insights with our blog readers.

Article Highlights:

Affiliate marketers consistently realize positive returns on any investment they make in their marketing efforts
Affiliate networks play a large role in helping affiliates learn about and evaluate new opportunities and programs
By tapping into industry blog postings and events, affiliates can realistically expect to increase their revenue

Feel free to read the full article at iMediaConnection.

Posted in Affiliate Marketing, Meet Us by Peter Figueredo | | 0 Comments

Affiliate Summit West Here We Come

January 16th, 2010

The NETexponent crew is off to Las Vegas for Affiliate Summit West. In fact I am typing this from my Virgin Atlantic flight (gotta love wifi on planes).

Are you going to be at Affiliate Summit West? Want to connect with our team? Here is how you find us.

1. Visit us at the Total Gym Direct meet market table. Our staff will be representing one of our great affiliate marketing clients, TotalGymDirect.com, and would love to see you.

2. Stop by the PMA members meeting.

Or just wander around and you are sure to see one of our friendly crew.

Who will be there?

Sal Conca, Erica Myones, Valerie Russo, Noelle Huter, Chris Kramer, and Me (Peter Figueredo)

see you in Vegas!

Posted in Affiliate Marketing, Events, Meet Us by Peter Figueredo | | 0 Comments

AffiliateBenchmarks Report Released

December 7th, 2009

Last month, NETexponent’s research division announced the general availability of its second annual report. The report is based on the results of the most comprehensive survey of the affiliate industry to date. Not only did Affiliatebenchmarks (with the help of key partners such as Commission Junction, Google Affiliate Network, Shareasale, Linkshare, MediaTrust and more) secure over 3500 survey respondents, they also grouped respondents into categories based on affiliate advertising income and experience in the space. This strategy allowed for deep analysis into different profile segments and the unique opportunities and challenges for each.

Number of Respondents

The 2009 AffiliateBenchmarks report is also the only one of its kind to collect data for the benefit of affiliates rather than strictly for advertisers. The digital advertising industry is evolving and changing by the moment. Because many affiliates are getting into the space on a part-time or hobby basis, it’s important they have an up to date resource of information to turn to for maximum return on their time and resources in the channel. That’s not to say, however, that advertisers can not also benefit from the report. In fact, the insights into the preferences and practices of affiliates today are invaluable for advertisers looking to forge the most lucrative relationships.

One thing that is clearly evidence by the report is that the affiliate industry is growing at an incredible pace. In fact, nearly half of all survey respondents joined the industry in the past two years alone. The growth and momentum in this industry further speaks to the importance of research and education as a foundation for new affiliates to come quickly up to speed on the best practices and leading techniques that are driving success for more established affiliates. This report contains data on which merchant categories will likely produce the greatest revenue for affiliates and the best of all the tried-and-true methods of driving traffic to your site.

What this report provides affiliates is a one-stop shop resource and a wealth of insight on how to grow their businesses and become more successful in their techniques and practices. Affiliates will learn what networks are getting high marks from their peers, what advertising channels are returning high profits, what types of programs (and how many) successful affiliates belong to and why- and much more! More established affiliates can turn to the report as a watermark to learn how their practices compare to those of their competitors.

Response from the overall affiliate and advertising industry has been extremely positive, and we are already looking forward to expanding on the report in the next year. To download the full AffiliateBenchmarks 2009 report, visit: http://affiliatebenchmarks.com/products-page/.

Posted in Affiliate Marketing, Online Marketing, Research by Alex W. | | 0 Comments

Nick Jr. Boost Affiliate Program Launch!

December 1st, 2009

We’re happy to announce the launch of the Nick Jr. Boost Affiliate Program in the LinkShare Network!

About Nick Jr. Boost

Nick Jr. Boost is an online educational service designed for preschoolers through first graders. Nick Jr. Boost helps children learn through exciting, adventure-based games based on core curriculum subjects like literacy, math, art, and Spanish. Kids will have the opportunity to team up and learn with their favorite Nick Jr. characters, including Blue, Diego, and Dora, in a totally personalized environment.

Product Offerings and Commissions:

• Nick Jr. Boost Subscription Product

- Features:

• Includes a 7 Day Free Trial

• Free Gift with a paid subscription

• Kids earn virtual rewards that they can exchange for digital prizes

• Nick Jr. Boost is a safe, secure, advertising-free environment

- 2 subscription pricing models to choose from:

• $5.95 per month / 12-month commitment

• $9.95 per month monthly

- Commission: $7.00 / subscription

• Action Referral Period: 30 Days

Everyone here at NETexponent is delighted about this launch. If you are interested in promoting Nick Jr. Boost via LinkShare, you can apply here. Or, in the Search Advertiser Box in the LinkShare interface, type “Nick Jr. Boost” or “MTV Networks Inc.”

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us.

Posted in Affiliate Marketing, NETexponent Clients, Online Marketing by Erica M. | | 0 Comments

Affiliate Tax Goes Coast To Coast

February 26th, 2009

It looks like California may be adopting a tax on affiliate sales similar to the one approved in New York. California tax law can still be fought so if you work in affiliate marketing and live in California please contact your congressman/congresswoman immediately.

Unless these laws can be stopped it is only a matter of time before all states enact similar taxes. Millions of dollars in additional state revenue (California is hoping for $55million) is way too tempting not to try.

Posted in Affiliate Marketing by Peter Figueredo | | 0 Comments

Total Gym Direct Picks NETexponent Affiliate Management

February 4th, 2009

What do Chuck Norris, Christie Brinkley, and Wesley Snipes all have in common with NETexponent? We all love the Total Gym. I am proud to welcome Total Gym Direct to the NETexponent family. We were originally chosen to provide an affiliate program assessment for Total Gym Direct. This $999 service allows us to provide advertisers with an in depth review of their affiliate program in the areas of recruitment, affiliate mix, competitive analysis, creative, and much more. After we presented the results of this project and our recommendations for moving forward the folks at Total Gym Direct decided they wanted to use our outsourced program management services and implement them ASAP. Our team is very excited to be working with such a great product.

Here are some program details:

Commission rates start at 10%
45 return days
Unlimited action occurrences

PEAK SEASON IS NOW

JOIN NOW or CONTACT US to see if you qualify for preferred commission rates

Just like Chuck, Christie, and Wesley - NETexponent does not only promote Total Gym Direct but we also use it. We have a Total Gym Direct in our office and I just got one at home. So feel free to ask us about using the product and we can tell you about all the great features.

Posted in Affiliate Marketing, NETexponent Clients by Peter Figueredo | | 0 Comments

Birth Of A New Super Affiliate

February 4th, 2009

I recently announced the birth of a new site that has the potential to quickly become a super affiliate. This post is not designed to regurgitate my ReveNews blog but to personalize it for NETexponent clients. I am happy to announce that all NETexponent affiliate clients are being promoted on the new site offers.com. This is no small feat since the site just launched. Based on their relationship with NETexponent, the developers gave us the courtesy of previewing the site before it went live and including our clients at launch. (Chris Kramer even helped out by identifying a minor bug on the site.)

We talk a lot about leveraging our agency relationships for clients and I thought this was a great example of how that comes to life. Good luck to the friendly folks at Vertive; we hope Offers.com takes off.

Posted in Affiliate Marketing by Peter Figueredo | | 0 Comments