Affiliate marketing posts from seasoned affiliate marketing pro Missy Ward.

Who Needs a Hand Up to Go to Affiliate…

by Missy Ward

As the owners of Affiliate Summit, Shawn Collins and I love helping as many people as possible get introduced to the world of affiliate marketing.

We fully understand that attending Affiliate Summit West 2014 is outside of the budget of some aspiring marketers, so we will be sponsoring up to fifty Affiliate Summit Pay It Forward Scholarships for affiliates to attend the conference for the first time.

The deadline to apply for the scholarship is Friday, November 15, 2013.

The goal of our Pay It Forward program is to make the education and networking experience of Affiliate Summit available to affiliates who might not otherwise be able to attend.

Each recipient of the Affiliate Summit Pay It Forward Scholarships will be awarded one VIP Pass (a $1,249 value) to Affiliate Summit West 2014, taking place January 12-14, 2014 at Paris Las Vegas.

Winners of the scholarships will be notified on or about Monday, November 25, 2013.

In order to be considered for an Affiliate Summit Pay It Forward Scholarship, please complete the online application.

Mark your calendar – the deadline for submission is Friday, November 15, 2013. Don’t miss out on this unique opportunity to learn and grow.

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Participate in the Newcomer Program at Affiliate Summit West…

by Missy Ward

We’re gearing up for Affiliate Summit West 2014 on January 12-14, 2014 at Paris Las Vegas over here, and one of the priorities is to be sure any first timers are able to make the most of the conference.

If you’re planning to attend Affiliate Summit West 2014, either as a first timer or conference veteran, we’d love to see you get involved in the Affiliate Summit Newcomer Program.

The Affiliate Summit Newcomer Program helps connect first time attendees with Affiliate Summit veterans.

Veterans volunteer their time to share their past experience ideas and information to help newcomers optimize their time at the conference.

The Affiliate Summit West 2014 Newcomer Program is being headed up by Heather Diamani.

Deadline to submit to participate in the Affiliate Summit Newcomer Program is January 3, 2014.

Anybody wishing to have a conference veteran assigned to them for the conference must have a VIP or All Access pass.

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Get Your Message Out to the Performance Marketing Industry

by Missy Ward

Introducing the Performance Marketing Marketplace

Yesterday, the Performance Marketing Association launched the PMA Marketplace, a resource enabling merchants, affiliates, networks and service providers to:

Get their message out to the Performance Marketing Industry via guest posts on industry blogs
Purchase in-person or telephone consultations from industry professionals
Place open job positions on their Jobs Board [coming soon]

The impetus behind the creation of this resource was to raise funds to support the Performance Marketing Fairness Fund which helps the PMA continue its advocacy efforts for our industry. All proceeds from purchases made from the Performance Marketing Association Marketplace will go directly to this fund.

At the present time, guest posts are available on the following industry blogs:

… and there's more coming!

Additionally, you'll find in-person and telephone consultations provided by various industry luminaries and opportunities to get your short message shared socially.

Support the PMA and Spread Your Message

Ordering is easy. Simply select the blog that you'd like your post to be placed on, or choose your professional in-person or telephone and complete the order online.*

Donate Your Services or Blog for the Cause

If you'd like to volunteer your professional services or guest blog space to the PMA Marketplace to help us raise funds, please contact us.

Shop the PMA Marketplace at ThePMA.org/Support Now >>

*With content related purchases, all final editorial decisions will be made by the blog owner, but we will put you in direct contact with them so that you can work out what is best for both parties. If, for some reason, you can't make it work, prior to a publish, we will happily fully refund your purchase.

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10 Spoooooooky Myths About Affiliate Marketing

by Missy Ward

It’s that time of year again! Soon the streets will be filled with little ghosts and goblins and princesses and super heroes as trick-and-treating begins in earnest.

But, it’s not just scary costumes, black cats, and witches you need to worry about this Halloween – it’s the spoooooky myths about Affiliate Marketing you need to watch out for!

Here they are. Prepare to be very, very frightened. Okay, not really.

#1. Affiliate Marketing Is Too Difficult!

I hear this one all the time. But I promise you this, 15 minutes with me will get you started on the affiliate marketing path, and you will be surprised how much you can do with some commitment and a willingness to learn as you go. Just ask anyone who I wrangled into this business. They may have come into it begrudgingly, but they like me a whole lot better now 🙂

#2. Affiliate Marketing Is Super Easy!

Okay, I know I just said affiliate marketing isn’t uber-hard to do, but guess what? It’s not all that easy either. You can’t just set up a fast and dirty website and expect to sit back and collect cash. You have to be willing to put effort into it if you want it to work (as with most things!).

#3. You Gotta Have A Niche!

Sure, it’s good to choose a market that you have an affinity for, but that doesn’t mean you have to be locked in a small niche market only. You can choose a broader niche or a range that offers a related group of smaller niches – whatever works for you.

#4. All the Good Niche Markets Are Taken!

Now, now. Calm down. There’s plenty of room for everyone. If the niche you’re passionate about is saturated, choose a related niche, or a secondary passion. If you are determined to build your business on your passion even though there is competition, well, go for it and just be the best.

#5. You Only Need One Affiliate Program.

It might seem like you have only one affiliate program choice – particularly if you’ve picked a micro niche – but it’s best to have more than one program if you can. Customers like to price shop, so give them that option without losing the conversion. [There's more to affiliate marketing than Amazon. #justsaying]

#6. You Need Every Affiliate Program EVER!

I once read about an affiliate marketer aiming to have 2000+ programs on his site. Wow. That’s… a whole lot. I suppose it depends on your marketing plan; are you a sniper aiming at specific targets, or are you just pointing a machine gun at your site and hollering as you fire away?

#7. There’s No Money In Affiliate Marketing.

Ha ha ha! That’s just silly. And obviously not remotely true. A portion of ShareASale's Top Merchants paid out over $25 Million in commissions last year alone!

#8. You’ll Make Millions, Fast!

Of course there is money to be made, and a well-crafted affiliate strategy can net you some serious profits. But it can take years for it to be a full-time income, and you may never make millions. Have faith, though: with hard work, it can certainly increase your income.

#9. It’s Too Late – the Market Is Over-Saturated With Affiliates

There is no doubt that it is a more crowded field than it was ten years ago, but the reality is this: a lot of the folks setting up affiliate sites aren’t doing a very good job. Just because they have a ton of flashy banners doesn’t mean they are actually earning anything. Get out there and be awesome.

#10. Affiliate Marketing Is Going To Disappear!

No, it’s not. It’s changing, and that’s great. Sure, Nexus Taxes and all of the changes to Google’s algorithm have impacted affiliate marketers, but most of us have learned to grow with that change. And we all know that which doesn’t evolve, well, dies. So bring on the change; we can handle it!

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