Affiliate Gold from Summit East 2010
Affiliate Summit East 2010 just concluded in New York City, marking the 15th such gathering of affiliate marketers and other Internet professionals since the conference's inception in 2003. The show's organizers put together another all-star lineup of speakers and session leaders, and we have scoured every blog post, tweet and video so that we could present the highlights for anyone who may have missed it.
In today's edition of the Affiliate Industry Insider e-newsletter, we present what we consider to be some of the best advice from Affiliate Summit East 2010:
How to advertise on Facebook
Jeremy Schoemaker, aka Shoemoney, dispensed the following guidelines for earning revenues on the world's largest social network, something he does to the tune of hundreds of thousands of dollars per month. 1) It is wisest to start with a cost-per-click (CPC) ad campaign; 2) click-through-rates (CTR) are determined most by the images in the ads (70%), the body text (20%) and the titles (10%); 3) the images that receive the highest CTRs include women, brands or a combination; 4) the most effective body text includes a call to action (CTA), is brief but includes results; 5) the best titles include a CTA, have a Facebook feel and are simply worded; 6) Facebook's cost per thousand views (CPM) is 23 cents; 7) try to be patient in learning how to advertise Facebook, because it takes time, but don't let your ads run too long if they are not generating clicks
21 words marketers should use
Doctor, author and political consultant Frank Luntz delivered the summit's opening keynote speech, in which he described how people react to words differently. His acclaimed book is titled Words that Work, and he listed the following 21 words and phrases for affiliate marketers to consider for the 21st century: 1) imagine/inspire; 2) cleaner, safer, healthier; 3) comprehensive/long-term; 4) accountability; 5) results/solutions; 6) hassle-free/no worries; 7) you're in control/you decide; 8) efficient/efficiency; 9) reliable; 10) respect; 11) renew, revitalize, rejuvenate, restore, rekindle, reinvent; 12) the simple truth; 13) consequences; 14) bold action/getting it done; 15) peace of mind; 16) independent certification; 17) mission/commitment; 18) cutting edge; 19) common sense; 20) convenience; 21) exceeding expectations
How to build a link plan
Renowned SEO expert Wil Reynolds' presentation appears to have been loaded with useful information, and here is the 10-step plan he recommends as a successful link strategy: 1) stop building links; 2) sign up for Open Site Explorer; 3) sign up for Majestic SEO; 4) get a book on Excel; 5) aggregate your competitors' top metrics; 6) create graphs/conditional formats to alert you to trends; 7) start finding industry sites that have broken links; 8) look for unnatural link-building patterns; 9) review your competitors' best link magnets; 10) use Google Suggest to find content opportunities
Affiliate platforming
The Twitter sage and president of social media firm UnMarketing, Scott Stratten, addressed the audience about building a marketing platform on social media. The four stages of doing so include 1) deciding on a platform, whether it be Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, etc.; 2) building traction on that platform, which is the most difficult part and requires the most patience; 3) gaining momentum on the platform, which can be the most fun and rewarding phase of the process; 4) expanding your platform, when you are in a position to send the members of your network to yet another platform, whether it be Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, etc.
How to generate ideas
Affiliate marketers are always searching for new ideas, and keynote speaker Jim Kukral offered the following tips: 1) get in the mindset; 2) carry a notebook; 3) forget everything you've pre-learned; 4) combine ideas; 5) listen; 6) do the opposite; 7) make a list; 8) free your mind
If you were fortunate enough to be at the conference in New York earlier this week, we would appreciate hearing about some more of the valuable information for our readers.
