*** Update, 7/6/11: Due to an unfortunate scheduling conflict, this bootcamp is cancelled. Registered attendees will be issued a full refund. ***

Local Affiliate Marketing Bootcamp presented by Jeremy “ShoeMoney” Schoemaker

Benefiting AffiliateMarketersGiveBack.com 2011 Avon Walk for Breast Cancer

Local affiliate marketing and lead generation is the new gold rush and during this 8-hour bootcamp, I will teach you how you can claim your share of this growing market.

For just $295 (with net proceeds donated to the AffiliateMarketersGiveBack.com Avon Walk for Breast Cancer) and in just 8 hours, you will understand:

* What local affiliate marketing is.
* How you can get clients.
* What services to offer.
* How to upsell services.
* What kind of legal things you need to worry about.

I will also be walking you through each of the following case studies providing you step by step instructions on how I :

* Filled a dental practice’s calendar solid for 3 months.
* Grew a local sandwich shops sales by 300% taking them to the #1 franchisee in america.
* Doubled a local real estate’s business.
* Secured exact targeted customers for a plastic surgeon.
* and many more!

You will also learn how to price your services and I will provide you with sample legal contracts and code for tricks you can use in your business.

There are only 200 seats availble for this charity event. You’re not going to want to miss this one.

-Jeremy Schoemaker

(This special charity event is taking place on Monday, August 22nd from 9:00am to 5:00pm at the Hilton New York in the Mercury Ballroom. It is not included in your Affiliate Summit pass and requires a separate registration. Click here to register for this session now.)

I’m excited to announce that the Affiliate Summit Forum has reached it’s 1000th member mark today.

The online forum was created to facilitate networking and education between the Affiliate Summit conferences.

The forum features an Online Meet Market for affiliate marketers to network find jobs and ask questions; as well as an Affiliate Summit section for the latest conference information, and an area highlighting tools and services used by affiliate marketers.

There are also options for networks, merchants, OPMs, and companies selling tools and services to the industry to get branded sub-forums.

Join the Affiliate Summit forum for free at http://forum.affiliatesummit.com.

What are you waiting for?

I was recently digging into Technorati’s State of the Blogosphere 2010 report, which surveyed over 7,200 bloggers, and provided great insight as to who is blogging, what they are blogging about, why they are doing it, how often, and where they are blogging from.

There were some interesting key trends this year, including the growth of mobile blogging, the influence of women and mom bloggers on the blogosphere, and the growing trust consumers have for bloggers over traditional media.

But no other trend was more exciting to me than the compelling statistic that 36% of bloggers surveyed reported making money from their blogs. That number, while still low, indicates a significant increase from 2009, meaning that more bloggers than ever are attempting to make money from their blogs. Additionally, the data also revealed that bloggers who received revenue from blogging generally blogged more this year than ever before.

According to the survey, while self-expression and sharing expertise still lead as blogger’s primary motivations, a significant portion of part-time and self-employed bloggers admit to blogging to make money or supplement their income.

Overall, only 18% of bloggers surveyed reported a non-salary income from their blog in 2010. The most common ways of generating blog revenue were from display ads, affiliate marketing links, paid postings and search ads.

Unfortunately, the mean income reported was $9,985, which, in my opinion, indicates that (A) bloggers still view blogging as a way to subsidize their hobby, to some extent, or (B) they just don’t know how to monetize their blogs properly, but want to learn.

Over the last year, I’ve run into a whole lot of more (B)’s. This is very exciting to me, whether the newfound open-mindedness to content monetization was economy-driven or because bloggers have finally realized that it is OK to monetize one’s blog.

Either way, the affiliate marketing industry wins a brand-new crop of passionate content providers, who are outpacing other social media and many traditional media outlets, in terms of generating consumer recommendations and purchases, according to the survey.

Affiliate Summit recognized this shift early this year and subsequently created Monetize Summit, which makes its debut on the Sunday of Affiliate Summit West 2011 in January. This series of beginner educational sessions will focus on turning a blog into a profit center, making money using pop culture content, providing tips and tricks to increase conversions, and teaching attendees how to use a datafeed to monetize a site.

With more than half of the bloggers surveyed planning on blogging even more, and 43% planning to expand the topics they blog about, it is our goal to help those bloggers be able to afford to spend more time to do just that.

Affiliate marketing shares in the blogger’s optimism for the future and we welcome you to our growing family.

Technorati’s state of the Blogosphere 2010 Report can be read in full here.

** Update, December 14th: Auction is now over.  Congratulations to Eleanor Chin; the winner of the Charity Auction.  We all can’t wait to have lunch with you!  Thank you so much for bidding.**

**Update, December 13th: With just a little over 24 hours left, the charity luncheon is already at $1,000! Oh, did I mention it’s my birthday, too? This lunch also comes with Birthday cake!***

Who better than this Online Marketing Dream Team to tell you what you need to do in order to grow your business?

John Chow

Founder of The TechZone, TTZ Media Network and JohnChow.com.  John is best known for showing the income power of blogging by taking his blog from zero to $40,000+ per month in two years.

Shawn Collins has been an affiliate marketer since 1997 with a number of active affiliate projects, and a decade of affiliate management under his belt. He is a Co-founder of Affiliate Summit, the leading global conference and
tradeshow for the affiliate marketing industry and Co-Editor-in-Chief of FeedFront Magazine. He authored the book Successful Affiliate Marketing for Merchants, and was an editor and contributor to InternetMarketing  from the Real Experts. Also, he publishes the annual AffStat affiliate marketing  benchmark reports. Shawn blogs daily on affiliate marketing at Affiliate Tip  and co-hosts the weekly Affiliate Thing podcast on GeekCast.fm. Additionally, Shawn has been quoted in numerous publications, including Entrepreneur Magazine, Internet Retailer, Inc. Magazine, the New York Times, and the Wall  Street Journal.

Ten+ years ago Rae started a small website about her son and his  medical condition that became one of the first international  support groups and largest website in general on the topic. It  earned national media coverage and helped further medical research in the  field. Investigating ways to support that site, she found affiliate marketing  and became one of the most well known voices in the affiliate landscape and  organic search engine optimization. Today, her current area of research is  site auditing and advanced organic link development techniques relating to  all of the major engines. Ms. Hoffman-Dolan, better known online as Sugarrae, is the CEO of website publisher MFEInteractive. She also owns  numerous successful personal websites on a wide range of topics.

As the founder and CEO of ShareASale, Brian has connected  thousands of merchants and affiliates alike, ensuring mutual  profitability while preserving the sprit and core values of the  affiliate marketing industry. Since 2000, his leadership and  vision have  helped shape the industry into what it is today. ShareASale  celebrates its  10th anniversary this year and currently supports over  3,300 small- to-medium-sized merchants, working strategically with its  clients, both on  the advertising and publishing end, to maximize their  individual potential.

Creator of the Thesis Theme for WordPress, Chris is a relentless  learner with an interest in a wide array of topics,  both online and  off. As far as nerdy internet stuff goes, he’s a  ninja in SEO,  HTML, PHP, affiliate sales, design, and paying  attention to details that others  tend to miss.

Jeremy is the President of ShoeMoney Media Group and Founder of ShoeMoney.com.  He has proven his skills online  in the search engine marketing world and his knowledge and expertise make  him one of the top go-to guys for PPC, arbitrage, SEM, branding and affiliate  marketing.  In 2007 Jeremy launched the AuctionAds advertising network and added more than  25,000 affiliates in a mere 4 months of operation who  generated millions a month in revenue. Whether its his blog or any of his  companies, ShoeMoney has proven that he has the dedication, drive, and at  times the  audacity to get the job done.

Missy Ward is the Co-Founder of Affiliate Summit, FeedFront  Magazine, GeekCast.fm, VelocityNYC Press, AffStat.com, ShipToTroops.com and AffiliateMarketersGiveBack.com (amongst other things). In addition, she’s also the the  Co-Publisher of  Revenews.com and VP of Operations for MoneyMindedMoms.com. She also has a new book out called Internet  Marketing from the Real Experts in which the net proceeds are donated to  the National Breast Cancer Foundation. (Read more about the endeavor  here.) For the last 10+ years, Missy has helped companies grow their  businesses successfully using the pay-for-performance model. Before she  worked for herself, she was Director of Public Relations for Media   Breakaway LLC, Vice President of Partnership Marketing for eBound   Strategies, President of Aluria Software and Vice-President of Marketing  for  Global Travel International.

I can’t begin to guess what this team charges for one-on-one consulting.

But, no matter, because YOU CAN WIN LUNCH with this dynamic group of marketers *and* help stomp out Breast Cancer at the same time.

The winner of the Charity Luncheon Auction will be treated to a lunch at 12:30pm on Monday, January 10th during Affiliate Summit West 2010 at Red 8 at the Wynn Las Vegas.  During this time, they will have unlimited access to the group in which to pick their brains on their specified marketing expertise.

Net proceeds of this auction will benefit the Affiliate Marketers Give Back, 2011 Avon Walk for Breast Cancer.
Bid High and Walk Away A Winner in So Many Ways!

(Auction Ends: Dec 14, 2010 13:04:36 PST)

GO TO THE ONLINE AUCTION

The 2010 Affiliate Summit AffStat Report is now available for free at http://affstat.com/. The report can be viewed online or downloaded.

Over eleven-hundred and fifty affiliates were surveyed on their methods, preferences, and strategies for the 2010 Affiliate Summit AffStat Report.

The report features dozens of charts of data, based on the responses from the participating affiliates on affiliate marketing, social media, search marketing, domains, email, and more.

Also included, an uncensored view into the opinions of affiliates on a variety of other subjects.

Affiliates were asked to share any complaints, ideas, suggestions or opinions they have regarding affiliate marketing.

Plus, there are resources for affiliate marketers: a glossary to explain industry terms, as well as lists of suggested message boards and blogs you should know about.

Feel free to use material from the report in blog posts, presentations, etc. Just reference that the information came from the 2010 Affiliate Summit AffStat Report.

Below are the questions covered in the 2009 Affiliate Summit AffStat Report.

1. Do you maintain an opt-in e-mail list for your site(s)?
2. Do you promote your affiliate links in PPC search engines?
3. Finish this sentence: I have been an affiliate since…
4. When signing up for an affiliate program, do you read the affiliate agreement?
5. Do you prefer network or independent affiliate programs?
6. How many affiliate programs do you actively promote?
7. How many return days for cookies would you consider to be fair?
8. Do commission payment policies (how often a program pays) affect your decision to promote an affiliate offer?
9. Have you successfully requested an increase in commission from an affiliate manager?
10. How many domains do you own?
11. Do you own any domains dedicated to a particular affiliate program?
12. How do you most often find out about an affiliate program and then join?
13. How often would you like to hear from your affiliate managers?
14. What is your preferred method for finding out information from an affiliate manager?
15. How much information should an affiliate manager make available to you?
16. How would you prefer to be contacted by affiliate managers on an individual basis?
17. What is your preferred method of commission payment?
18. What is your preferred payment threshold?
19. What industry/merchant types do you prefer to promote?
20. What is the minimum EPC (earnings per 1 click) for you to promote an affiliate program?
21. What is the highest reversal rate you would accept?
22. What is the most important factor in choosing a merchant?
23. What are your preferred link types?
24. Do you cloak links (CGI, .htaccess, meta redirect, etc.)?
25. What is your average gross monthly income with affiliate programs?
26. Are you currently using any URL Shortening Services in your marketing efforts?
27. If you answered YES to the question above, which URL Shortening Services are you actively using?
28. Does your affiliate marketing plan currently incorporate marketing on social networking sites?
29. If you answered YES to the above questions, which social networking sites are you currently using in your affiliate marketing efforts?
30. Are you currently integrating video in your affiliate marketing plan?
31. Are you currently using any WordPress plugins or widgets designed for affiliate marketing efforts?
32. If you answered YES to the above question, which affiliate marketing related plugins and widgets are you currently using?
33. If you are currently using WordPress to build out affiliate sites, what is your preferred WordPress theme?

Get your free copy of the Affiliate Summit AffStat Report at http://affstat.com/.

2010 Affiliate Summit AffStat Report

For those that know me well, you know that I’m seldom ever seen in public without at least being 5′ 9″ tall (and typically closer to 5′ 11″).

Truth be known, I’m barely 5′ 5″ tall and I have an *extreme* shoe obsession, which encompasses all types of beauties in a plethora of heel heights and shapes.

Many women (and men) are quite curious how I manage to spend countless hours on my feet, walking trade show floors during the day and partying it up at night, without shedding one tear. My guess is that after wearing heels for decades, one just gets used to them.

A couple months ago during a conference, Hagai Yardeny, a partner in DigitalMoses.com and a dear friend of mine, tried hard to convince me to ditch the heels and pop on a pair of Chuck’s with my suit. ( I’m convinced it’s one of those freaky fetish things with him.) While I was not complaining one bit about my feet, my Manolo Blahnik Caged Strappy Sandals, seemed to bother him immensely and together, we began to watch the other women in the conference drag by, crippled in pain from their shoes.

We both agreed that there seemed to be a double-standard when it comes attire at conferences.  Women typically show up in smart business attire and heels, while our male counterparts tend to dress much more casually and  cruise on by in comfy, rubber soles.

So, determined to impart his belief that “fashion is overrated” onto women in our industry, Hagai created the Chucks Challenge – a way for women to embrace their inner “techniness” and join the comfort movement.

The Digital Moses team will be walking around ad:tech photographing all the ladies bold enough to accept the Chucks Challenge. From this crop of adventurous women, they will randomly select 3 lucky winners who will receive one of the following prizes:

• A full company profile in the DM Confidential affiliate newsletter
• A “Tips of the Week” slot in the DM Confidential affiliate newsletter
• An Apple iPad

Think you have what it takes to enter the Chucks Challenge?.

Head on over to http://www.dmconfidential.com/ChucksChallenge/ and complete the entry form.

Will I be wearing my Chuck’s during ad:tech?  Let me know what you think.

“Friendship isn’t a big thing – it’s a million little things.” ~Author Unknown

If you happened to be monitoring the #ASW10 hashtag on Twitter after Affiliate Summit West 2010 ended on Tuesday, January 19th, you may have come across some goofy tweets from me and my cohorts about heading off to Toby Keiths Bar.

For those of you that know me, you may have been surprised that I would go to a place that serves nothing but greasy food and has a modest wine list that features three simple choices: pink, white or red.

As if that isn’t enough, the coup de grâce… Toby’s only plays country music (something this die-hard rock chick just can’t cope with).

Now, what if I told you that I’ve gone there 3 years in a row?

One might wonder why I would subject myself to this excruciating torture, year after year. The answer quite simply is that I’ve got friends in low places and I wouldn’t change them for the world.

This restaurant, however agonizing for me causes my business partner, Shawn Collins such happiness. And that’s the reason why our li’l internet family gets together every year. We love seeing him that happy over something as silly as this.

The video above was produced by Todd Farmer, my friend for many years. Besides being a master of video, he also happens to be pretty darn smart.

Enjoy!

Last September, Team Affiliate Marketers Give Back participated in the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer. During that walk, we raised over $53,000, but that wasn’t the only highlight for me.

As a top-fundraiser of the event, I had the opportunity to meet my celebrity crush, Patrick Dempsey, who I’ve been a fan of since the first time I saw him in Can’t Buy Me Love (1987).

And yes, while many people adore him for his role as Dr. Derek Shepherd (aka Dr. McDreamy) on Grey’s Anatomy, my admiration for him stems from his commitment to giving back to communities through his efforts with the Avon Foundation and the his opening of the Patrick Dempsey Center for Cancer Hope & Healing.

So when my contact at Avon called me to tell me that as a Top Fundraiser for the Avon Walk in LA this past year, I got into the “The Dempsey Racing Champions’ Circle“, I think I nearly deafened her with my screams.

So this weekend, I’ll be in Daytona Beach for the 2010 Grand Am Rolex 24 Race with a few other top fundraisers from the various 2009 Avon Walks. We’ll be hanging in the trenches as “Pit Crew for a Day” with Patrick and the Dempsey Racing Team, and going for rides in the Grand-Am VIP Pace Car amongst other scheduled activities.

And, just in time for the event, I’ll be wearing a couple of the shirts I received this week from Monica Griffin, the CEO of RichWitnessWear.com, whose “9Line Ribbon” supports breast cancer patients and their families.

So yeah, I’m pretty darn excited about the entire weekend and pleased to announce that Team Affiliate Marketers Give Back will again be walking in the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer this coming May 5-6 in Chicago. If you’re interested in walking with us this year, or just need a little encouragement to push you into it , please shoot me off an email.

From what I understand, WordCamp Chicago is taking place the same time. But seriously…Boobies totally trump WordPress conferences. Everyone knows that!

On November 6, 2009 a select group of speakers and an audience came together at the Hudson theater in NYC. It was the inaugural event of Audience Conference, produced by 1938Media.  Affiliate Summit was a Diamond Sponsor of the event.

Not only did the show exceed my expectations from both an attendee and sponsor standpoint, but it was also the start of a wonderful friendship with both Loren and Michelle Feldman of 1938Media.

Photo by Shawn Collins

Over the course of the last few weeks, Shawn Collins and I have had many conversations with Loren to talk about what he had in mind for Audience Conference moving forward. The more we heard, the more we liked.

So, while in Las Vegas last week for Affiliate Summit West 2010, we decided that we’d all work together to produce Audience Conference moving forward.

With that in mind, I’m delighted to announce that The Audience Conference will be in NYC again on Saturday, August 14th, the day before Affiliate Summit East 2010.

The theme for this limited-capacity event will be “comedy”.

While I can’t announce all the details just yet, I can tell you that the venue is perfect for a conference such as this one.

And really, what could be more appropriate to tie in with an affiliate marketing event other than an event with a comedic edge?

After all, both affiliate marketers and comics are very similar in nature. Both share a passion for a field that isn’t easy to master, both rely heavily on instincts and both know that if they don’t produce, they don’t eat.

Stay tuned for more information on Audience Conference 2010 on TheAudienceConference.com.

I’ve been on the road since the beginning of September and have successfully managed to avoid the Con Crud from multiple events and have also bypassed three family-wide sicknesses.  (I chock it up to not eating meat and my love of good wine.)

Unfortunately, while in NY this past week for The World Series, Ad-Tech and Audience Conference, I picked up the germ that would officially knock me out of commission for what the doctor says is “until such time that I deem you healthy enough to kill yourself again.”

So, I’m supposed to be going on the Social Fresh Cruise this Thursday out of Miami and there’s just no way I’m going to be able to make it. On top of that, I’ve paid the extra up-charge to be in a cabin by myself because I don’t like sharing. Period. (Those that know me well, can attest to my obsession over germs.)

I can’t get a refund, but my bad news is hopefully, someone’s good news.

If you would like to go in my place it will cost you only $50 bucks for a name change and you will be required to do a guest post on my blog recapping the event.

The ship is the Carnival Destiny and it’s a 4-night Western Caribbean jaunt leaving out of Miami on November 12th. It’s going to be an awesome event filled with lots of cool people that I’d much rather hang out with than be at home sick by myself.

If you want to go, be the first person to let me know by commenting on this blog and I will put you in touch with the folks at Social Fresh to make the change.

It’s important to note that YOU WILL NEED A PASSPORT.

So, if you don’t have a passport; can’t get yourself to/from Miami; can’t pay the $50 change fee or won’t do the guest post recapping the event, please don’t say you can make it. (I’m sick, tired and cranky and the last thing I want is to mess around, especially when I’m trying to be nice.)

So… wanna go?