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Archive for December, 2005

The Only Constant in Affiliate Marketing is Change

Posted by admin On December - 30 - 2005

The following is what Richard Kohl of MyPartyMall.com had to say in response to the question, What is the Future of Affiliate Marketing?

Affiliate Marketing as we know it today, will change over the next few years. One change I see coming is a single shopping cart for the affiliate site for all merchants. Consumers will only need to use their credit card once.

More merchants presently online will start an affiliate program as more and better in-house affiliate software comes available.

Many more merchants will start in-house affiliate program and in this way will be able to provide their publishers higher commissions.

As Pay Per Click continues to grow, search engines will become more friendlier to affiliate publishers as they will need more search results on every page.

Affiliate Opinions

The Spooks That Messed Up Affiliate Marketing

Posted by admin On December - 29 - 2005

According to a report from the Associated Press, the National Security Agency’s (NSA) site has been placing persistent cookies (cookies that remain on a user’s computer until they expire or are removed by the user), despite strict federal rules banning most of them.

These cookies from the spy agency were outed by a privacy activist and quickly disappeared from the NSA’s site. According to Don Weber, an NSA spokesman, the forbidden cookies were the result of a recent software upgrade.

Until this past Tuesday, the cookies could have remained on user’s computers until, gasp, the year 2035.

Scary, isn’t it? Well, not to you and me, because we know that these tracking cookies are not the scary beasts they are made out to be by some in the media.

But this sort of story can certainly freak out the average online shopper, and make it all the more difficult for affiliates to earn commission on return days.

After all, for anybody freaked out by the prospect of spies sneaking into their computer, dumping all their cookies is an easy click away.

“Considering the surveillance power the NSA has, cookies are not exactly a major concern,” said Ari Schwartz, associate director at the Center for Democracy and Technology.

Hopefully the public pays more attention to Mr. Schwartz than the shock and awe of the AP.

For anybody attending Affiliate Summit 2006, Ari Schwartz will be giving a presentation, “Spyware: The Effects on Your Brand and Your Pocket,” and this issue may well provide some fodder.

Affiliate News

Affiliate Summit 2006 Conference Program

Posted by admin On December - 29 - 2005

The Affiliate Summit 2006 conference program is now available in pdf format.

The actual program will be given to each attendee in magazine format, but we wanted to provide a sneak peek, as requested by many folks.

One thing that jumps out at me right away is the welcome note from Missy and myself where we mention how we are “closing in on 1,000 attendees.” The production deadline was weeks ago, and we’ve since sold out in excess of 1,000 attendees.

The program includes short descriptions of the companies that are exhibiting at Affiliate Summit 2006, a list of the speakers, the agenda, a map of the Bally’s Las Vegas conference area, and more.

You can access it at http://www.affiliatesummit.com/2006-Affiliate-Summit.pdf - note, it’s a big file (2.4 MB or so).

Affiliate Resources

2006 Will Be The Year of the Affiliate

Posted by admin On December - 29 - 2005

The following is what Valeriu Popescu of Internet Marketing Profits Center had to say in response to the question, What is the Future of Affiliate Marketing?

The future of affiliate programs? There is only one way: to continue their growing! And I’m thinking not necessary to the number of programs, as more business owner will discover their profit potential.

I’m also consider the value of the profits they made, the increase number of new affiliates for 2006, the better promotion available.

I believe 2006 will be the year of affiliate programs. From my point of view, affiliate programs are right now as a 14 years old teenage. They are not attain the maturity as search engine industry does.

As a matter of fact, affiliate programs are NOT an industry — yet! I expect 2006 to be the year of the recognition.

Beyond those considerations, in the next year will thrive those merchants who best understood their affiliate needs. Into a continuing growing competition and hunting for “super” affiliates, there is a missing point: the leant dormant affiliates.

I believe the winners will be those merchants who will be able to wake-up the masses of regular — non profitable — affiliates.

The battlefield will be around the idea of creating new easy-to-use promotions so affiliates will be able to use them without too much effort. Will thrive those who will implement and experience new ways for affiliates to advertise, those who will put a lot of effort into training affiliates, those who will innovate new ways to bring affiliate traffic, those who will be more interactive with affiliate sites.

Will thrive those merchants with starlight affiliate support and perfect automation of their sales process.

Lastly, the winners will know that online training is not enough. They will go offline and meet affiliate face-to- face! (Don’t you have an Affiliate Manager? It’s time to hire one — quickly!) And that’s only a couple of things I WANT to happen to the affiliate programs in 2006!

Affiliate Opinions

Ask Ronald Bell: Searching for an Affiliate Program Bogeyman

Posted by admin On December - 28 - 2005

How do affiliate programs code their databases to keep sales from registering? I know it happens, I’ve been doing this way too long to not recognize it. What can I do to convince my largest providers to set my number so that I receive credit for ALL of my sales?

I can’t say definitively that this has never happened, but I can tell you that I’ve never heard of such an affiliate marketing urban legend.

While many affiliates tend to assign their lack of commission to a bogeyman du jour, I am afraid the harsh reality is that most affiliates earn little or nothing.

Over the years, I’ve worked with quite a few affiliate programs and tested a variety of different marketing techniques to drive traffic.

Even with contextually relevant traffic, some affiliate programs were dogs and others had amazing returns.

My big secret has been to test, test, and test. If an affiliate program doesn’t convert well, I dump them and move on.

Before you get all worked up with conspiracy theories, I’d suggest conducting an audit of the links you are featuring on your site(s). Which affiliate programs have earned money for you in the past three months? Drop everybody who isn’t on that list.

Examine whether all of the companies you are promoting make sense for your audience. A good way to figure this out is to simply ask your visitors which are their favorite companies.

Also consider the placement you are giving to the affiliate links. Are they buried on pages that don’t get a whole lot of traffic? Are those pages well indexed in the search engines with quality, unique content?

Why should somebody come to your site(s) in the first place, and why would they come back. Best of all, why would they be compelled to shop through you?

Or you can just chalk it up to a bunch of thieves that are out to get you with their elaborate algorithms and schemes.

Ask Craig Cortright

Affiliate Summit Pass on eBay - Face Value

Posted by admin On December - 27 - 2005

There is an auction on eBay for an Affiliate Summit pass at face value.

The auction ends on Thursday, so if you are still looking for a pass, be sure to check it out.

Alternately, you can add your name to the Affiliate Summit wait list. In the event of cancellations, passes will be made available to people in the order they joined the wait list.

Affiliate News

Amazon.com Customers Order over 108 Million Items Worldwide During 11th Holiday Season; More Than 99 Percent of Orders Shipped in Time to Meet Holiday Deadlines Worldwide

Posted by admin On December - 27 - 2005

SEATTLE–Dec. 26, 2005–Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) today announced that the 2005 holiday season finished as its best ever, with the company’s Holiday Delight-O-Meter surpassing 108 million items ordered for the first time. The 2005 holiday season also brought another single-day record with the Delight-O-Meter tracking more than 3.6 million items ordered, or 41 items per second, on Dec. 12th.

“To our customers around the world–thank you,” said Jeff Bezos, founder and CEO of Amazon.com. “We are grateful to our customers for shopping with us this holiday season and we wish everyone a happy new year.”

Worldwide 2005 Holiday Facts

(Includes www.amazon.com, www.amazon.co.uk, www.amazon.de, www.amazon.fr, www.amazon.co.jp, www.amazon.ca)

Amazon.com shipped more than 99 percent of orders in time to meet holiday deadlines worldwide.
On the peak day this season, Amazon’s worldwide fulfillment network shipped over 2.7 million units.
More than 600,000 gift certificates were ordered between Nov. 25th and Dec. 22nd 2005.
Amazon.com shipped to over 200 countries.
One of Amazon.com’s most remote shipments was the Panasonic PVL552H VHS-C Camcorder with 4.0″ LCD shipped to Napaskiak, Alaska.

Amazon.com 2005 Holiday Facts (www.amazon.com only)

If all of the tents sold in Amazon.com’s Sports & Outdoors store were stacked on top of each other, they would top 30,000 feet, which is higher than Mt. Everest.
The most expensive item purchased in Amazon.com’s Jewelry & Watches store was a $94,000 pair of diamond earrings.
Amazon.com sold enough running shoes to outfit nearly every participant in this year’s Boston Marathon.
The last order placed on Dec. 22nd in time for Christmas delivery contained 14K Yellow Gold Four Prong 4mm Square Sapphire Stud Earrings. The earrings were delivered to Albany, Oregon on Dec. 23rd.

Amazon.com’s hot holiday sellers (Nov. 25 through Dec. 22 based on units ordered)

Video games were popular this year, and topping the list were Mario Party 7 for Gamecube, Sid Meier’s Civilization IV for PCs, and Microsoft’s Age of Empires 3 for PCs.
Tops in video game hardware were the Game Boy Advance SP in Pearl Blue, the Sony PlayStation Portable (PSP) Value Pack, and the Electric Blue Nintendo DS.
iPods ruled the holiday season in Electronics, owning the top three slots- the Apple 3 GB iPod Nano (Black), the Apple 30 GB iPod with Video Playback (Black), and the Apple 512 MB iPod Shuffle were the top sellers.
In music, the top sellers included Amarantine by Enya, Christmas Songs by Diana Krall, and Born to Run: 30th Anniversary 3-disc set by Bruce Springsteen.
The top-selling Sports & Outdoors items were the Diamond Gen IV- Rechargeable No Battery Forever LED Shake Flashlight, the Wenzel Nova Sport 6′x5′ 2 person Dome Tent, and the Halex 64302 Alpha LCD Dartboard.
The top-selling books were The Chronicles of Narnia Box Set (paperback) by C.S. Lewis, The World Is Flat: A Brief History of the 21st Century by Thomas L. Friedman, and Rachael Ray 365: No Repeats–A Year of Deliciously Different Dinners (A 30-Minute Meal Cookbook) by Rachael Ray.
In the Tools store, the Black and Decker SS925 Storm Station All-in-one Rechargeable Power Source/Radio/Light, the Black and Decker ATM100 25′ Auto Tape Measure and the Sheffield WH58009 Folding Lock Back Utility Knife were the top sellers.
Top Software titles included QuickBooks Pro 2006 Financial Software for Small Business, TurboTax Total Tax Solution Deluxe 2005 with State (Win/Mac), and Adobe Photoshop Elements 4.0 (Windows).
Top sellers in the Beauty store were philosophy candy cane shower and bubble bath, philosophy holiday rescue hot cocoa & marshmallow gift set, and the Caswell-Massey 10 Product Sampler.
Jewelry was popular and the top sellers included a 20″ Sterling Silver Eternity Cross Pendant, a Diamond Circle Pendant, and a Floating Heart Pendant with Diamond.
Watches were also popular with the Invicta Men’s Automatic Pro Diver S2, the Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, and Movado Women’s Amarosa watches among the top sellers.
In DVD, top sellers were Star Wars, Episode III- Revenge of the Sith, March of the Penguins (Widescreen Edition) and Madagascar (Widescreen Edition).
The top-selling Kitchen items included the Calphaon Commercial Hard-Anodized 8 1/2 Quart Saucier with Lid, the George Foreman GR10AWHT Champ Grill, and Riedel O Cabernet/Merlot Wine Tumblers.
In Health and Personal Care, the Panasonic ER411NC Nose and Ear Hair Groomer, the Rayovac Sportsman LED Headlight, and Sonicare Elite 7500 Power Toothbrush were top sellers.
Coats were the popular apparel item this year, with the Weatherproof Men’s Microfiber Bomber Jacket and the Pritti Women’s 10 Button Solid Short Peacoat topping the list, along with the Hue Women’s Long Muk Luk Slippers.
In shoes, the Adidas Men’s a3 Megaride Running Shoe, Unlisted A Kenneth Cole Production Men’s Groovy Nights, and Adidas Men’s a3 Ultimate Power Training Shoe were top sellers.
In Gourmet Foods, 2 pounds of Imported Chocolate Truffles from Winning Gifts and Flowers was the top seller, followed by a Ghirardelli Chocolate Holiday Tower from Amazon.com Gift Baskets and a Tower of Sweet Treats from Harry and David.

About the Delight-O-Meter(TM)

The Delight-O-Meter tracks the approximate number of items ordered from Amazon.com and third-party sellers at www.amazon.com, www.amazon.co.uk, www.amazon.de www.amazon.fr, www.amazon.co.jp, www.amazon.ca, as well as Amazon.com owned items, such as books, music and DVD/video products, ordered at Syndicated Stores domains (such as www.borders.com) and from Amazon.com’s stores at www.target.com.

The Delight-O-Meter excludes certain items, including items ordered from www.joyo.com, Amazon gift certificates, items ordered through catalogs and items not owned by Amazon.com ordered through non-Amazon.com domains - such as www.target.com. The Delight-O-Meter is not adjusted for items ordered that are subsequently canceled or returned.

This year’s Delight-O-Meter launched on Nov.23, 2005 with a count of over 33 million items ordered since Nov. 1, 2005. The Delight-O-Meter is updated continually, but lags actual items ordered depending on the item. The Delight-O-Meter should not be viewed or used as a predictor or indicator of revenue or other financial information relating to Amazon.com.

About Amazon.com

Amazon.com, Inc., (Nasdaq: AMZN), a Fortune 500 company based in Seattle, opened on the World Wide Web in July 1995 and today offers Earth’s Biggest Selection. Amazon.com seeks to be Earth’s most customer-centric company, where customers can find and discover anything they might want to buy online, and endeavors to offer its customers the lowest possible prices. Amazon.com and other sellers offer millions of unique new, refurbished and used items in categories such as beauty, health and personal care, jewelry and watches, gourmet food, sports and outdoors, apparel and accessories, books, music, DVDs, electronics and office, toys and baby, and home and garden.

Amazon.com and its affiliates operate seven retail Web sites: www.amazon.com, www.amazon.co.uk, www.amazon.de, www.amazon.fr, www.amazon.co.jp, www.amazon.ca, and www.joyo.com.

As used herein, “Amazon.com,” “we,” “our” and similar terms include Amazon.com, Inc., and its subsidiaries, unless the context indicates otherwise.

Forward Looking Statement

This announcement contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Actual results may differ significantly from management’s expectations. These forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties that include, among others, risks related to potential future losses, significant amount of indebtedness, competition, management of growth, potential fluctuations in operating results, international expansion, outcomes of legal proceedings and claims, fulfillment center optimization, seasonality, commercial agreements, acquisitions, and strategic transactions, foreign exchange rates, system interruption, consumer trends, inventory, limited operating history, government regulation and taxation, fraud, and new business areas. More information about factors that potentially could affect Amazon.com’s financial results is included in Amazon.com’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2004, and all subsequent filings.

CONTACT: Amazon.com Media Relations
206-266-7180

SOURCE: Amazon.com

Press Release