Fraser's Affiliate Marketing Blog » Podcasts

a4uexpo Preview Podcast

Fraser — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 14:38:39 +0000

Podcast 34

It’s nearly time for the a4uexpo 2008 so I spoke to Matthew Wood to see what we could all look forward to. The podcast is just over 20 mins long and rattles through some highlights and tips to make the most of the expo. Here are some of the sessions, people & companies we mention briefly along the way.

WordPress SEO & Optimisation Strategies with Joost de Valk

David Vs Goliath, Affiliate Marketing for SME’s – Robert Glasgow, Webgains

Extreme SEO Strategies for Affiliates – David Naylor, Rob Kerry, Joost de Valk, Marcus Tandler, Ciaran Norris

Affiliate State of the Nation Panel – Scott Gallacher, Tom Morgan, Mark Kuhillow, Ben Wood

Internal & External Linking Strategies – Roy Huiskes, Andrew Girdwood – bigmouthmedia

The mydeco Story – Life as a Start-Up in Affiliate Marketing – David Kelly

Meet The Super Affiliates – Kieron Donoghue, Doug Scott, Jamie Harwood

How Website Linguistics can Increase User Experience – David Crystal

Sorry if I missed anyone that we mentioned, it’s definitely not intentional and I’ll correct it if you tell me

Chris Bishop – House of Fraser – Podcast

Fraser — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 11:45:56 +0000

Podcast 33

I’ve recently been speaking to Chris Bishop (biography), Online Acquisition Manager at House of Fraser. We discussed a variety of topics including his early days as an affiliate, Hotel Chocolat & House of Fraser. We also discussed advice for affiliate managers, affiliates and issues around cashback for merchants.

James Little – Affiliate Future – Podcast

Fraser — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 12:22:16 +0000

Podcast 32
I caught up with James Little who is now Head of Affiliate Development at the affiliate network Affiliate Future.

We discussed a range of developments at Affiliate Future including their recent recruitment drive and plans for the year ahead. We also talk about technical projects including the affiliate interface and the voucher code manager.

Just to keep things topical we also managed to fit in a chat about the credit crunch, brand bidding, cashback and few more bits and pieces.

Doug Scott – ASAP Ventures – Interview

Fraser — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 15:55:31 +0000

Podcast 31
In this podcast I’ve been speaking to Doug Scott of ASAP Ventures. I recorded this podcast a couple of weeks ago but it’s taken me till now to find time to catch up and get it edited and properly produced. I’ve really just been waiting for Doug to post that photo so you have more idea what he looks like before you listen to him

We talked about a variety of topics including some of ASAP Ventures current projects like Fly.co.uk(this one cost £87.5k), Recycle(this one was £152,000!), Car Rentals & Self Catering Breaks. We also discussed automating and scaling an affiliate business, PPC closed groups, transparency and building relationships with merchants. All in all there is some great advice for affiliates looking to move forwards with their business.

Have a listen and leave any feedback or questions below.

Alison Guise – Commission Junction

Fraser — Tue, 20 May 2008 13:23:04 +0000

Podcast 30

It’s podcast time again at last and this time I have been speaking to Alison Guise who is General Manager Europe, Commission Junction. We talked about a variety of issues including

Commission Junction in Europe
Commission Junction’s profile in the UK in recent years
CJ’s participation in forums
Does being a US owned company make a difference?
Affiliate Support
Google Trademark Changes
Brand Bidding Groups & Transparency
Cash Back Sites

Thanks to Alison for taking the time to speak to me and thanks to Nadeem Azam for putting us in contact in the first place.

Kevin Edwards (Affiliate Window) & Matt Bailey (DGM) Podcast – Part Two

Fraser — Wed, 13 Feb 2008 13:34:39 +0000

Podcast 29 – Part 2

This is the second half of the podcast with Kevin Edwards from Affiliate Window and Matt Bailey from DGM. In this part of the podcast we talked about agencies and their changing role, potential conflicts of interests regarding paid search, last referrers/multiple cookies and transparency. We finished up with a look ahead at what might happen in the industry in 2008 and although there was talk of consolidation & deals no one quite managed to predict the buy.at/AOL deal which went through the day after this conversation was recorded

If you have a listen to the podcast please do leave some feedback below.

Kevin Edwards (Affiliate Window) & Matt Bailey (DGM) Podcast

Fraser — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 20:50:33 +0000

Podcast 29 – Part 1

This week on the podcast I was joined by Kevin Edwards from Affiliate Window and Matt Bailey from DGM. It was a chance to explore the network position on a few common affiliates complaints and to give a bit of an insight into the issues networks face. I was delighted that both Kevin & Matt were willing to take part and it’s great that networks are willing to cooperate on a podcast which isn’t just in the interests of their employer.

In this first part we discuss a variety of issues but mostly around the issues of terms & conditions and how these are enforced. Not content with just talking about problem affiliates we talk about problem merchants and the issues of education too.

I’ll release the second part early next week as we managed to talk for a bit longer than planned

Discount Codes Podcast

Fraser — Tue, 22 Jan 2008 16:24:29 +0000

Podcast 28

As I mentioned in a previous post we have been working on a podcast involving some affiliates who specialise in promoting merchants using discount codes. The affiliates who agreed to take part were

One podcast probably wasn’t enough time to deal with all the issues but we tried to address some of the questions that people left as comments in the previous post. We also considered some of the following issues

Recent Bad Press For Discount Codes Sites
Possible Technical Solutions to improve discount codes
Advice for merchants on how to use discount codes to their full potential
The Voucher Manager Tool From Paid on Results
The suggestion of an affiliates4u management system
The future of discount codes

Many thanks to all the guys for taking part in the podcast

Joe also took the time to answer the specific questions in written form as well

Ian asked:

Why do you think voucher sites are imune form the rules regarding cookie stuffing. i.e. “click here to reveal the voucher code and open the site”.Half the time, the merchant does not offer vouchers or the vouchers are out of date, but you still get your cookie dropped. If you want to show people vouchers, surely they should be listed in the open, and if they want to visit the merchant they will click a link.

On CantBarsed.com we let it all hang out but it’s not a dedicated code site.
On DiscountCodes.tv we list any codes and offers and it’s up to the user to decide if they want to [Show codes & visit site] – if there’s nothing listed we don’t try to stuff a cookie, instead we suggest alternative merchants or a visit to our cashback site Cashbackhub.com

We changed the click through wording a while back in response to the debate about cookie stuffing and although the temptation is to burn the cookie ultimately we want happy visitors that come back or sign up for updates.

Jason asked:

How do the ethical affiliates feel about the bad reputation some voucher code sites have given the sector (e.g. using iframes, cookie stuffing, forced clicks, misleading consumers etc) – has it made working with networks/merchants easier or harder – how do they perceive voucher code sites now? What steps do they think can be undertaken to repair the damage (if any).

We don’t use IFRAMES, on DiscountCodes.tv we use frames to display codes to the left with the merchant frame on the right BUT we have an alternative method which opens the merchant site in a new window for any merchant what doesn’t allow frames or uses frame-breakout coding.

The recent activities of some code sites has definitely made the everyday life of ALL affiliates more difficult – which is probably why there’s been so much abuse directed at code sites generally.

The upside is most of the networks are in discussion with code site owners and progress is being made.

Jason asked:

Do you think merchants/networks have been pro-active enough to act against affiliates who perhaps aren’t working within the ts&cs? What more could they do to make sure everyone is playing within the rules? Why do you think some affiliates seemingly can “get away” breaking the rules?

I want a level playing field for all affiliates.
I believe the key to stopping code abuse is to track all codes both on the merchant site and via the network tracking.
Put a clear policy in place which offers one commission level without a code, a reduced commission with an authorised code and no commission if an unauthorised code.
If this info shows up in the network stats the problems will quickly disappear as code site affiliates will police themselves – or they won’t make any money.

Jason asked:

How do the panel see the future of voucher codes – especially as more and more affiliates jump on the bandwagon. Is the future bright? Or will it be a fad for 2008?

I touched on this in my recent blog post about discount codes. Sites which give visitors ALL the codes they can find without worrying about legalities, merchant wishes or network T&Cs could do well six months ago but that’s no longer the case and ultimately the sites which strike the best balance between what visitors and merchants want will win out.

Jason asked:

Figleaves offer a discount based on a click via an affiliate link – no code required – why can’t other merchants take this lead and wipe out “copying exclusive codes” once and for all? Are merchants really technically capable to implement codes?

I prefer dedicated landing pages on merchants sites over dedicated code links because it makes it clear to the visitor they’re getting VIP treatment and the merchant can explain exactly what they’re offering – along with all their codes and discount offers.

Jason asked:

Paid on Results are bringing in a new voucher code system – is this a good thing? Will it cause problems? Will affiliates who once complained about being copied now encourage sites to copy them?

It’s a great system – certainly the best yet but it’s still early days. Certainly if it’s the code that decides who gets the commission I’d be happy to see my code on other sites but it won’t take long before someone starts posting those codes to the public forums which would open another can or worms.

Now the media has raised the awareness of code sites the public are naturally using them and they can’t see the distinction between marketing channels and they actively look for and publish any codes on the money saving forums which then leaves code sites looking second best so the temptation is always there for code sites to bend the rules, NOT just to make money but to offer visitors what they want.

The best way forward has to be for merchants to work with networks and affiliates to optimise their use of codes. Networks and agencies can (and should) play an active role educating merchants on the options available so everyone ends up as a winner.

The visitor gets the discount, the merchant gets extra sales and the affiliates and networks get their commission.

Thanks for taking the time to give some extra answers Joe

Not a podcast – it’s a modcast!

Fraser — Fri, 07 Dec 2007 15:10:37 +0000

It was great fun this morning to invite the moderators of affiliates4u together on a conference call to discuss various issues. Not everyone could make but those who did were

Fraser Edwards
Julie Hegarty
John Lamerton
Paul Wheatley
Matthew Wood

It’s a little more rough and ready than normal podcasts as I haven’t edited it the same or recorded an intro etc since I thought it would be good to just present the conversation exactly as it happened

Some of the topics we discussed included

The Year in Affiliate Marketing
Content Units
The Future of Affiliate Networks
Christmas Presents from Networks
Is it too late to cash in on Christmas 2007?
Last Delivery Dates for Christmas
A4uexpo Review
Predictions for 2008 – A4uexpo 2008

Our Top Merchant Tips For December

Childrens Rooms on POR

John Lamerton Interview – Big Idea Media

Fraser — Thu, 22 Nov 2007 15:15:55 +0000

Podcast 27

Sorry that it’s been so long since the last podcast but this one is packed with interesting chat to hopefully make up for that

John Lamerton & I discussed some of these issues

The sale of his site Net Free Stuff for £120,000
Work/Life Balance
Coreg & Easycoreg
Affiliate Network Shares – DGM, IBG, TRAD
New Networks in the UK
a4uexpo

Todd Crawford Interview – One Network Direct

Fraser — Fri, 21 Sep 2007 14:06:28 +0000

Podcast 26

As part of continuing the build up to Affiliate Summit UK I was delighted to be able to speak to Todd Crawford from One Network Direct which is a global affiliate network with a real expertise in software and digital products. Todd is going to be moderating the super affiliate panel at Affiliate Summit so it was good to get a sneak preview of some of the issues that might be on the agenda. One Network Direct are exhibiting at Affiliate Summit and will be pleased to speak to any affiliates interested in working with them.

Some of the topics covered include

Background on Digital River and One Network Direct
Changing trends in purchasing software
Super Affiliate Panel with Keith Budden, Sri Sharma & Richard Yendall
Advice for affiliates promoting software products
Google’s CPA Network – Todd’s post on Revenews

Other Related Links

weviews.tv – Shawn Collins & Missy Ward’s video review site
Sling Media
Lemonade Facebook Application

Wil Reynolds Interview – SEER Interactive

Fraser — Mon, 17 Sep 2007 21:21:33 +0000

Podcast 25

It was great to get the chance to speak to Wil Reynolds from SEER Interactive to record this podcast. Wil is going to be speaking about SEO at Affiliate Summit UK so this is a sneak preview of what he will be talking about there. He’s a smart guy and well worth listening to and Jess agrees

We discussed a variety of topics including

SEO for the long term
Universal Search
Search & Video
Local Search
SEO Myths
Affiliate Opportunities & Tips

Zak Edwards – prezzybox.com

Fraser — Wed, 15 Aug 2007 15:33:30 +0000

Podcast 24

It’s time to get back down to business and here is a great podcast packed full of no nonsense information for merchants and affiliates. If you are a merchant struggling to get your program off the ground then you need to listen to this podcast and start putting some of the advice into practice. There’s heaps for affiliates to learn too as Zak gives his thoughts on what affiliates do well and what they do badly. We also discuss why it’s time to get ready for Christmas in August and what should be selling well this year.

Enjoy listening and please let me know what you think.

Sponsors
Affiliate Summit
a4uexpo
Property Locators Club
Affiliator

SEO Basics in 5 Minutes

Fraser — Wed, 08 Aug 2007 11:23:30 +0000

Podcast 5 in the getting started in affiliate marketing series. A quick look at on site factors relevant to search engine optimisation.

For further reading take a look at SEOmoz or SEO Book.

Affiliate Marketing Events

Fraser — Mon, 09 Jul 2007 13:25:07 +0000

I realised that a blog post with more than one mp3 enclosure doesn’t get handled properly by itunes and only the first file is downloaded so I have reposted the events podcasts in individual posts to make it easy for you to listen to them all and not just one of them.

The Podcasts

Shawn Collins – Affiliate Summit
Keith Budden – Affiliate Boot Camp
Matthew Wood – a4uevents & a4uexpo

Matthew Wood – a4uevents & a4uexpo

Fraser — Mon, 09 Jul 2007 13:19:20 +0000

a4uevents and a4uexpo – Matthew Wood

Keith Budden – Affiliate Boot Camp

Fraser — Mon, 09 Jul 2007 13:18:14 +0000

Affiliate Boot Camp – Keith Budden

Shawn Collins – Affiliate Summit

Fraser — Fri, 29 Jun 2007 09:07:09 +0000

This podcast is a preview of the various affiliate marketing events that we can look forward to over the summer. View the full post and download the podcasts

Affiliate Window Interview – David Hall & Adam Ross

Fraser — Thu, 14 Jun 2007 06:54:58 +0000

Podcast 23

I recorded this interview with David Hall, Head of Communications, and Adam Ross, Client Services Director both from UK affiliate network Affiliate Window last week. It’s slightly longer than previous podcasts but I didn’t want to leave any content out! Thanks to David & Adam for their time to record this informative podcast. Please leave any comments or feedback below.

Discussion Topics

Awin Index
ShopWindow – Forum
Getting Started – Affiliates & Merchants
Events – a4uexpo, Affiliate Summit, a4uevents, Affiliate Boot Camp
Paid Search & Closed Groups
Networks as affiliates
The future of the industry in the UK

Nadeem Azam Interview – Azam Marketing

Fraser — Tue, 05 Jun 2007 16:00:33 +0000

Podcast 22
Nadeem Azam is a well known figure in the UK affiliate marketing industry. Involved in all sides of the industry as affiliate, affiliate manager and network employee Nadeem is able to talk about the industry from all angles. We discussed a range of issues covering Nadeem’s early days as a games programmer through to his current consultancy work for different organisations. We also discussed the domain name industry and affiliate marketing ethics.

Size: 18.2Mb

Related Links & Topics

Azam Marketing
DNJournal weekly domain names sales chart

p.s – with the new blog design there are some changes to how podcasts are handled so please let me know if you have any problems.

First Steps to Building a Website – Getting Started in Affiliate Marketing

Fraser — Fri, 18 May 2007 09:28:50 +0000

Podcast four in the Getting Started in Affiliate Marketing series. It’s a brief look at how you could start to put a website together and tools that you could use.

It also features an great new advert from Shawn Collins of Affiliate Summit

Dan Redfearn & David Hall – IAB Affiliate Marketing Council

Fraser — Thu, 10 May 2007 12:31:15 +0000

Podcast 21

Dan Redfearn

David Hall

Last week I enjoyed the opportunity of speaking to Dan Redfearn from the IAB and David Hall from Affiliate Window about the Affiliate Marketing Council which is currently working on some best practice guidelines for affiliate networks.

It’s the first step on a possible road to creating a code of conduct and I think this is a really important issue for the affiliate marketing industry so please do have a listen and leave a comment with any feedback or questions.

If you would like to get involved Dan’s contact details are dan@iabuk.net or telephone: 020 7747 9482

File Size: 15.4Mb

Related Links

Interview with Vlad Zablotskyy – My Affiliate Journey

Fraser — Tue, 01 May 2007 12:06:39 +0000

Podcast 20

Last week I had a great chat to Vlad Zablotskyy from My Affiliate Journey about getting started in affiliate marketing.

Please do comment and leave feedback if you have anything to say about the podcast.

Related Links

Technorati Tags: Affiliate Marketing, bumpzee, Yahoo Panama

Getting Started in Affiliate Marketing – Write some content!

Fraser — Mon, 23 Apr 2007 11:31:16 +0000

Here is podcast three in the Getting Started series. It’s very short and has one simple message Write some content. There is no way to avoid this issue. If you want to have a website worth visiting so you need to start writing!

Getting Started in Affiliate Marketing – Hosting & Domains

Fraser — Tue, 10 Apr 2007 10:28:47 +0000

Here is the second in the short podcast series with some tips for people looking to get started in the world of affiliate marketing. If you have any questions or feedback please leave a comment as this is just a very brief introduction to the subject from my point of view.

Technorati Tags: affiliate marketing

Getting Started in Affiliate Marketing – The Idea

Fraser — Sun, 01 Apr 2007 09:00:37 +0000

I keep hearing from people who want to get started in affiliate marketing so I’m starting a new series of short 5-10 minute podcasts to try to help those who are new to the business. I hope to get some discussion going at this level and offer some advice from various people. The first episode is about coming up with the idea for your first site.

Interview with Matthew Wood – Existem & a4uforum

Fraser — Fri, 16 Mar 2007 13:25:05 +0000

Podcast 19

Last week I spoke to Matthew Wood of existem and the ever popular a4uforum. I am just going to combine the topics discussed and related links sections from now on.

Please do comment and leave feedback if you have anything to say about the podcast.

Some of the topics discussed

Getting Started in Affiliate Marketing
The current state of the UK Market
a4uforum
existem
a4uevents
a4uexpo
Tradedoubler & AOL
ASOS
UK Affiliate Association
Loyalty & Cashback Sites

Technorati Tags: Affiliate Marketing, a4uforum, existem, Tradedoubler, ASOS

Interview with Sam Harrelson – Cost Per News

Fraser — Wed, 28 Feb 2007 20:10:15 +0000

Podcast 18

In this interview I had a great chat with Sam Harrelson from Cost Per News about many aspects of affiliate marketing and more. I’ll let the related links part give you an idea of what we talked about.

Technorati Tags: affiliate marketing, CostPerNews, Second Life, Twitter, Tradedoubler, buy.at, abestweb, My Blog Log, Shoemoney, Widgets

Interview with Malcolm Cowley – buy.at

Fraser — Tue, 20 Feb 2007 15:38:06 +0000

Podcast 17

In this interview I’ve been speaking to Malcolm Cowley from the UK affiliate network buy.at. We discussed a variety of affiliate marketing issues including

The history of buy.at
The future for buy.at
Affiliate Summit
Affiliate Marketing in the USA
Tradedoubler & AOL takeover talks
Affiliate Marketing & International Boundaries

Technorati Tags: Malcolm Cowley, buy.at, affiliate marketing, Tradedoubler, AOL

Affiliate Summit Review Podcast

Fraser — Wed, 07 Feb 2007 11:04:18 +0000

Podcast 16

It’s a bit delayed but here is the Affiliate Summit Review Podcast Editing these always takes me longer than planned and I got a few reviews at the last minute so I wanted to include everything I could. Thanks to everyone for taking part in this experiment which has been well worthwhile.

Sponsors

The podcast is supported by AMWSO.co.uk who are soon to launch the Forzieri affiliate program in the UK on the Linkshare network and also Carsten Cumbrowski from cumbrowski.com. Carsten also blogs at Revenews & Search Engine Journal

Reviewers

The people who contributed to the podcast are listed below in no particular order and it’s well worth making contact with these people & reading their blogs etc

Technorati Tags: Affiliate Summit, Podcast