For more information, you can visit Ian’s blog, or find him on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.

An Interview With Ian Fernando

How did you get started in the industry?

I first started out with eBay. Selling old things and buying things from flea markets and selling them on eBay. I soon started an eCommerce store which I think was a big mistake because of the customer support.

Then I started doing bulk orders, which was a hassle with customs and vendors.

I needed a way where I can make money ‘selling’ something and not deal with customers and the actual product itself.

I then found affiliate marketing and started with Linkshare, CJ, Clickbank, and ShareaSale. I definitely think it was the best due to the fact that I just had to make a sale and not deal with any troubles from vendors or customers.

What was your biggest learning experience to date?

My biggest learning experience is probably tackling Facebook. Back in the day when Facebook had their first advertising system called Facebook Flyers, I was on top of it but with their strict rules, it was hard to get things approved.

I almost gave up on it but kept going with small tests. Until I got some things profitable, I stuck to it and then scaled through.

It definitely taught myself to just keep going and tackle this specific traffic source.

What was your biggest success to date?

The biggest success I think is the opportunity to speak and I want to thank Affiliate Summit for giving me the opportunity to do so. It is one of the bigger milestones in my online career. I think I like having the online presence and definitely helping people tackle their goals.

It definitely put me in a different light and has changed my attitude a lot.

How did you learn the business (eBooks? Webinars? Membership sites? Freebies? Paid services?)?

Curiosity I guess. I read a lot of blogs and some mentioned affiliate marketing with Clickbank and how important it is to sell information.

I use to be in the forums back in the day just reading, until I decided to do it myself. I did download a bunch of crappy free eBooks and reports.

They did give me some foundation, but I found out quick that most are repetitive.

What do you think is the true value to consumers in affiliate marketing?

Like any consumer, they all want to learn more and get the information. The most important part is how something will benefit them. All marketers are good at selling. It is in our blood to get everyone to convert.

The reason for this is because we want to get them through the sales funnel with ease. If we provide something to the consumer with value, they will go through the funnel with ease.

Do you think sponsored conversations have their place in the industry?

Depends. The reason I say this is because as a consumer and a marketer I find it annoying because I know what it is. BUT I also use it as a source of traffic.

Social conversation and recommendations will be more powerful than a banner ad moving forward. It will be and is useful to take advantage of it now and use it.

Since sponsored conversations are up to the publisher, they get to choose what to advertise based on their recommendation. So there is a place, all traffic needs to be utilized and understood to be used properly.

Besides yourself, who do you think is the most valuable resource to the affiliate community?

There are a lot of people out there that definitely know a lot about the industry. I always read up affbuzz.com to check out what’s happening in the industry.

I can say Shoemoney. Ever since I met him he definitely has great knowledge to share and experience.

How do you balance professional v. personal?

Well for 2010 I set working times. I usually look at professional and personal as nothing because I like being in front of my PC and looking at my stats.

But sometimes it does take me away from my goals, so I would have to start creating timelines for myself.

Personally I travel a lot and my business is always with me; I never look at my business as a professional job but instead as something I look forward to all the time, because I enjoy what I do.

How often did you check your stats….1 month in? 1 year in? Today?

More like all the time. I have one PC dedicated to just my Spy view so I am always checking my stats. If I am away I check my stats on my iPhone. I learned not to look at it every so often, but I def look at it at least 1 an hour.

You just don’t know what will change in an hour or 5 minutes.
If Hollywood made a movie about your life, whom would you like to see play the lead role as you?

Hmmmm…. Probably 50 Cent. Just because he is a marketer and a G.
OK, now who would REALLY play you?

Maybe Jay-Z then… he has a lighter tone complexion that matches me more.
What are some of the key differences between a ’super affiliate’ and the veteran, less successful affiliates?

Not too sure since I am a ‘Super Duper Up, Up, Up and Away Affiliate’. Not really a fan of the term Super Affiliate. I look at myself as a learner. I learn from everyone and there is a lot of information to be taken in.

Being successful vs being average is different. Successful users know how to work demographics, dig deep into the numbers, decipher how users react, etc.

It is probably these things that separate big affiliates from the smaller ones.
Is where you are now where you thought you’d be…10 years ago? 5 years ago? A month ago? Why/ why not?

Pretty much, I always imagined being on my own and owning my own stuff. So yes. I never was a fan of the workplace; it was just an option but a fixed option to many.

I was always a hustler trying to make that extra income to get what I wanted.
Explain affiliate marketing so a child would understand it.

Imagine you are at a candy store. You ask your mom to buy a bag of skittles. She opens the bag and rewards you 10 pieces out of the 100 skittles that are in the bag. That is affiliate marketing to a child in its simplest form.

The mother being the consumer, YOU the child (affiliate) funnels your mom to buy, which in turn you are rewarded with just 10% of the income, in this case 10 skittles and your mom keeps the bag and hides it away from you forever so you won’t get tooth decay.

For more insights, you can visit Brandon’s blog, or find him on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.

An Interview With Brandon Adcock

How did you get started in the industry?

I got started in the industry because of the SEM work I was doing.  I started out doing SEM consulting, then moved into an in-house SEM role at Lowe’s Home Improvement.  While I was there I started working on some blog projects to test out new ideas and make some extra money.  That evolved from working to optimize adsense, to rotating in affiliate offers.  After getting my feet wet with credit card affiliate programs, which took a huge hit last year, I quit my in-house job to do affiliate marketing full time in August of 2008.

What was your biggest learning experience to date?

This is a tough question.  In terms of single experience, I would have to say it was the day I lost roughly $25,000 on a campaign and my server wasn’t even down.  I had gotten to a point where I was getting sloppy with my media buying because everything had been going so well.  I took some uncalculated risks and it completely bombed.  It was a great ego check for me to make sure I was still spending the appropriate amount of time to ensure my buys were setup correctly, my landing pages were tweaked, my creative was good, and I was targeting the right demographics.

What was your biggest success to date?

This is a tough question, too. I’ve been very happy with what I accomplished over the last year, not to mention I’ve learned so much.  Outside of learning so much about performance marketing, I’d say my biggest success was consistently being the top earner at a top network this fall.

How did you learn the business (eBooks? Webinars? Membership sites? Freebies? Paid services?)?

I bought one eBook on cookie stuffing before I ever really got into affiliate marketing.  Worst money I ever spent and a moronic tactic.  I got to where I am by networking and testing.  The only way you can get a campaign to work is by trying and tweaking.  I am not a fan of eBooks or membership sites.  Any information that is worth knowing is usually kept within a small circle of people.

What do you think is the true value to consumers in affiliate marketing?

Well, inherently affiliate marketing is just an extension of a brand’s marketing department.  So as long as affiliate messaging matches the brand’s messaging, it provides any, if not all of the same value the marketing department provides.  The real value of affiliate marketing is provided to the company itself.

Do you think sponsored conversations have their place in the industry?

Sure, but it isn’t something I have actively participated in so far.  There is a time and place for all sorts of advertisements, conversations are one of them.

Besides yourself, who do you think is the most valuable resource to the affiliate community?

Ha, I would hardly call myself the most valuable resource. If I had to pick one that is/was the most valuable resource, I would say it is my friend who tries to fly under the radar but he invented/first affiliate to use a blog style testimonial and has now single-handedly taken an affiliate offer to a mainstream brand;  a feat no one else has ever really done before.

How do you balance professional v. personal?

I combined the two so it has just become my life. I don’t really view it as a separation.

How often did you check your stats….1 month in? 1 year in? Today?

In the beginning I checked a lot, as all people do. But as of this year as I became mostly media buying, I became a “traffic controller” where I pretty much just watched traffic and stats all day.  Made sure things we’re tracking right, offers converting, staying under caps, etc.

If Hollywood made a movie about your life, whom would you like to see play the lead role as you?

They wouldn’t. It would be the most boring, monotone movie ever.

OK, now who would REALLY play you?

Lorenzo Lamas

What are some of the key differences between a ’super affiliate’ and the veteran, less successful affiliates?

Honestly super affiliate is a term that shouldn’t be used anymore and doesn’t fit.  A super affiliate in my mind, was the guy who made a six figure, maybe low 7 figure income before affiliate marketing became the juggernaut that it is now.  Now the biggest affiliates, the ones doing half a million a day are small companies.  They have developers, designers, media buyers, etc.  Affiliate marketing has turned from individuals to companies, in terms of the top echelon. Not to mention you have large media companies now with affiliate divisions that run affiliate offers on their own media and on other ad networks.  The line has become blurred as the amount of money at stake has increased.

But to get back to the question, what makes differentiates successful ones from less successful ones are the people who test, take big risks, and are willing to spend big money on media.  Without doing these, you won’t be near the top.

Is where you are now where you thought you’d be…10 years ago? 5 years ago? A month ago? Why/ why not?

No. A year ago, what seemed like huge feats/earnings seems miniscule now. The bar is always being raised. I had no idea I would be as lucky as I have been when I first got into this industry. I try to keep working and making progress as fast as I can.  I never know what the next month has in store for me.

Explain affiliate marketing so a child would understand it.

Affiliate marketing is basically a performance based, independent marketing arm for a company.  Affiliates can be people or companies, but all affiliates promote something for someone else based around performance metrics (that was geared toward smart kids).

You can check out Trisha’s blog, or find her on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.

An Interview With Trisha Lyn Fawver

How did you get started in the industry?

I was working at a printing company in the marketing department when they asked me if I wanted to take over the affiliate program.  I had been running other programs and turned them around and the affiliate program needed a lot of work and updating.  So I took over the affiliate program, turning it from a independent Direct Track based program to a top performer with Commission Junction.

What was your biggest learning experience to date?

It was interesting working at a start-up marketing firm that was backed by an existing company and seeing what that dynamic was like.  Despite good affiliate results, the backing company still ended up dictating what happened at the firm and ultimately sealed it’s demise.

What was your biggest success to date?

Growing the two printing company affiliate programs I’ve managed into top earning programs.  Reorganizing the first program I managed completely to a great running program.

How did you learn the business (eBooks? Webinars? Membership sites? Freebies? Paid services?)?

By jumping in head first and listening to my manager, who had run affiliate programs at other companies.  I also attended my first Affiliate Summit about 6 months after jumping into affiliate marketing, and learned a lot that way.

What do you think is the true value to consumers in affiliate marketing?

A lot of affiliate sites offer tons of value to consumers.  Whether you’re talking about cashback sites or incentives, or just offering an abundance of coupons.  Obviously, if affiliates didn’t provide a lot of value, consumers wouldn’t go to their sites.

Do you think sponsored conversations have their place in the industry?

It’s a fine line.  If the conversation also has a lot of good value and doesn’t push the sponsor before the good content, then there’s definitely room.

Besides yourself, who do you think is the most valuable resource to the affiliate community?

The obvious answer for me is Shawn Collins, as his blog is a fountain great information.  A second would be AffPlan, which is starting to really come into its own with the information being presented.

How do you balance professional v. personal?

Very carefully lol.  Especially since I work at home, sometimes it’s very difficult to turn off work mode and turn into professional mode.  Basically my weekends are personal only and every other day is professional until my husband tells me it’s time to put the laptop aside and watch some tv or eat with him.

How often did you check your stats….1 month in? 1 year in? Today?

As an affiliate manager, I check the stats of my programs daily pretty much.  We do weekly reports that are a bit more in-depth.

If Hollywood made a movie about your life, whom would you like to see play the lead role as you?

It would be cliché to say Kathy Bates since she’s one of the only plus sized ladies in Hollywood, but she’s also a great actress so I think I’d still go with Kathy Bates.  Or I could throw America Ferrara a bone.

OK, now who would REALLY play you?

That girl on Drop Dead Diva lol.

What are some of the key differences between a ’super affiliate’ and the veteran, less successful affiliates?

Lightning in a bottle.  From talking with super affiliates, yes they put in a LOT of work, but many of them were also just in the right place at the right time with the niches they chose (ringtones, mobile phone accessories, etc).  There are also other affiliates that got started in the beginning 10+ years ago and have built up their businesses to successful enterprises.  I think what mainly differentiates them from the less successful affiliates is time put into their businesses.  You have to make this a full time business to earn full time profits, otherwise it’s still just a side job, even if you’ve been doing it for years.

Is where you are now where you thought you’d be…10 years ago? 5 years ago? A month ago? Why/ why not?

Ha!  10 years ago I was graduating high school and on my way to college for Theatre Arts – I thought I was going to be an actress and playwright.  So this is miles from where I thought I’d be.  5 years ago I was working in customer service and still thought it was a stepping stone before selling a script.  A month ago is probably the closest expectation!

Explain affiliate marketing so a child would understand it.

Affiliate marketing is where people put advertisements for online stores on their websites and get paid a fee when someone else buys through their advertisements.

You can check out Jonathan’s blog, or find him on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.

An Interview With Jonathan Volk

How did you get started in the industry?

It was roughly around age 11 that I began to learn to code first in C and C++ and then websites languages. I’ve been doing it ever since and it’s really what began this passion for everything internet-related.

It was then in 2004 that my Dad called me into his office and told me that he was interested in starting another business with me, web hosting. This was my first venture into making actual money online.

While attempting to get a successful hosting business up, my Dad invested tens of thousands of dollars into learning SEO and other techniques. As an example, one conference with Brad Fallon and a few select others cost $10,000 for two days. While there was a lot of great information, the hosting business still failed.

The business might have failed, but we did not fail. It really was this foundation that enabled me to reach the level that I have reached currently.

After moving on from the hosting business, I had learned quite a bit about SEO and affiliate marketing.

Early in 2007, I really decided to get serious about affiliate marketing. I had been running some adsense websites and such for a while and had made up to $250/day during the peak of my adsense days.

The adsense income was very inconsistent and the profit margins were very very slim. I was essentially buying traffic and sending it to my heavily ad ridden websites.

As I began to apply my techniques to affiliate marketing, I began to learn how much potential affiliate marketing had. I researched everything I could about affiliate marketing through forums, friends, and my friend, google.

What was your biggest learning experience to date?

The biggest learning experience has come from all the failures that I have had. I’ve had many businesses and websites that would have been successful had I executed them better. Looking back on those failures, I have learned the most from those experiences.
What was your biggest success to date?

My biggest success is probably marrying my beautiful wife Maria.

How did you learn the business (eBooks? Webinars? Membership sites? Freebies? Paid services?)?

I learned the business from forums (digitalpoint, clickconsultants, etc), from blogs, and any resource I could find on the subject.
What do you think is the true value to consumers in affiliate marketing?

Affiliate marketers try hard to show relevant products, services, etc to people looking for a solution to a problem.
Do you think sponsored conversations have their place in the industry?

Sponsored conversations? I don’t really know until I saw it. It’s less about the idea and more about the execution of the idea.

Besides yourself, who do you think is the most valuable resource to the affiliate community?

I would say all the affiliate marketing blogs listed on Affbuzz.com. I couldn’t pick a single one as they all mostly have good information. If I had to pick it would probably be Chad from CDFNetworks.com. Great information.
How do you balance professional v. personal?

I set a schedule. I get up around 8 am every day, start work around 9:30 or 10 am. I work until 4pm. Then I spend some time with my wife, cook dinner with her, and clean up the kitchen. After this we go back to work until 9PM. At 9PM we go and watch TV for a little while. Around 10:30 or 11PM, we go and read until we are tired enough to sleep.

It works really well for us.
How often did you check your stats….1 month in? 1 year in? Today?

Month 1: Very often – 10-15 times a day or so.

1 Year in, 4-5 times a day.

Today: 1-4 times a day.
If Hollywood made a movie about your life, whom would you like to see play the lead role as you?

Michael Cera for sure.

What are some of the key differences between a ’super affiliate’ and the veteran, less successful affiliates?

I would say connections in the industry and drive.
Is where you are now where you thought you’d be…10 years ago? 5 years ago? A month ago? Why/ why not?

Where I am now is way beyond what I would have expected when I was younger. Where I am now is not where I want to be in 2-3 years, however. I want to always be growing in more areas then just affiliate marketing. I want to create websites and services that I can sell later on.
Explain affiliate marketing so a child would understand it.

Affiliate marketing is being a sales man online. You get commission for selling products or services for companies. This is done by telling interested people about a product or service and helping them to know the benefits of the product or service.

Thanks for doing the interview with eMonetized, Jonathan! For more affiliate marketing strategies and interviews, check out JonathanVolk.com!

Kate Morris is a search marketing guru who I met at SXSW last year. Our unofficial tour guide in Austin, Kate has organized some great search and affiliate marketing meetups and discussions both locally and on panels at several trade shows including Affiliate Summit. Kate also co-founded Marketing Demons, a search and social marketing agency.

You can check out Kate’s blog, or find her on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.

An Interview With Kate Morris

How did you get started in the industry?

I got started in the search marketing industry when I was in school at The University of Texas. The internship I was at had a client that wanted to do PPC ads, so they put me on it. The rest is history.

What was your biggest learning experience to date?

The greatest learning experience has been at 360training where I was in charge of a team of 5 people, mostly developers in Pakistan. Most were men, most older than me. I learned a lot, and grew a lot as a person. It also helped professionally because we had 30+ websites to run, ad campaigns for 6 divisions, and the search optimization for them all. It was hectic but I got a lot of experience there.

What was your biggest success to date?

My first real site optimization on my own, I was working in-house as a marketing manager doing everything from online stuff to designing ads for magazine placements. After a few months, we ranked on the first page for the most general term for the industry. Very hard to do. I could barely believe it.

How did you learn the business (eBooks? Webinars? Membership sites? Freebies? Paid services?)?

I learned from reading and from mentors. One is Brian Combs, I call him my Yoda. He taught me a lot from the start. But sites like WebmasterWorld and SEOmoz will always be in my heart because it’s because of them that I learned the basics.

What do you think is the true value to consumers in affiliate marketing?

The value to consumers lies in the fact that they can learn about products when doing something related. Reading, researching, or just being entertained. Affiliate marketing gives companies a way to be a part of people’s online lives.

Do you think sponsored conversations have their place in the industry?

There is a very fine line there. I think they do have a place but need to stay in check. Just because someone sends me a product sample does not mean I am indebted to write a glowing review. But sometimes it’s needed to get your product name out there. Basically, if you do it or ask people to do it, just keep your morals in check.

Besides yourself, who do you think is the most valuable resource to the affiliate community?
I am not sure that I am a «most valuable resource», but I think one of the best resources is Scott Polk. He is who got me interested in affiliate marketing, and has been a champion of the industry for a long time. He really understands the need to build relationships and how to connect the right people.

How do you balance professional v. personal?

This is hard considering the fact that I work from home and am finishing up my MBA right now. It’s probably my outside obligations and my goal to have a work life balance from the beginning that has kept me from working too hard. It also helps that the two merge a lot. I never thought I would be the person whos work was their life, but my work really is a part of me. So I enjoy what I do, it’s not really «work».

How often did you check your stats….1 month in? 1 year in? Today?

Stats are checked weekly.

If Hollywood made a movie about your life, whom would you like to see play the lead role as you?

I have no idea. I hear Julia Stiles and I have the same mannerisms, but I don’t see the likeness. I really don’t know.

OK, now who would REALLY play you?

Haha … you tell me!!

Is where you are now where you thought you’d be…10 years ago? 5 years ago? A month ago? Why/ why not?

10 years ago I didn’t know this part of the world existed. So no. 5 years ago, I was still figuring out if being online is where I needed to be. So not then either. A month ago, yes. These past few months have just flown by.

Explain affiliate marketing so a child would understand it.

My first answer was: Utilizing a person’s passion, expressed on the web, to get information out to others. And because that information crosses paths with some companies and their products, opening some of that space to advertising the products that match with the sites content.

There is no way a kid would get that. So  … placing ads on my website for things that people are interested in.

Thanks for doing the interview with eMonetized, Kate! Looking forward to seeing you in Austin again soon. You can visit Kate’s blog at www.katemorris.com or follow her on Twitter.

Normally you might consider email like this junkmail. But as an affiliate some of these emails can be really helpful!

Thinking like an affiliate the first thing I thought was “If they are the top 3 games then they probably get the most traffic right!”

While you could try and profit off these games by trying to selling them directly through affiliate links, I think about it a different way.

I consider top games lists and all “top …” 10 lists as great sources/keywords for traffic!

For example with the Google content network, you could setup an separate Adgroups targeting those top games and then use nice image ads for gaming email submit offers. You could also go the “poll” route and setup and landing page listing the top 3 games and let them vote on their favorite. After they submit the answer, they might “win a prize” (to an email submit) or something like that. The poll method has been around awhile.

Just an example but just think outside the box a little.

Yes, the post title shouldn’t have included the word “HOW” and it was short on substance but Jonathan was simply trying to make a point that you don’t need to be a design expert or programming guru to make a ton of money online.

Really the actual sites visual design plays a very small part in how much you can earn. It’s more about what you say than any type of flashy design. But that’s not what this post is really about. It’s about some of the comments left on the post.

Here are a few snippets from some anonymous repliers:

The only way he could get anyone to read his blog or have any level of credibility is to constantly flash those gross numbers. If anyone knew what the real profits were I doubt he would have much of a reader base. As his main campaigns are now defunct he is leveraging his blog by doing paid reviews, guests posts, etc.

and

You are a joke. Everyone who matters knows this. When you post shit like this it just makes you look worse. For those who are interested, his profit margins were close to 5-10% and all his numbers are gross.

Notice how volk always speaks of his PAST numbers. This is because he currently makes close to zero and has been for many months now.

He is a person who got lucky with one method, did not once change or adapt his strategies, and as a result is now a complete loser and a total washout.

and

Anybody can show off a few numbers.

My question to these people would be if THEY have Made 1 Million+ Dollars Lately? EVER?

If so, then congrats! Six figures in a year? Still, Congrats! The measly 3 figures a month you probably make a month?

Here is what the haters say (and there is a LOT of them):

1. He is only posting Gross numbers!

Gross or Net, who cares! Even at 10% net that’s still a nice $150,000 profit which is far more than most affiliates make gross revenue in a year. His actual net was a lot higher than 10% so I suspect his profits were $300,000+

How much did you make lately? If a whole lot more than that then that’s great but don’t be jealous because he gets attention for it and you don’t. Otherwise start a blog.

2. Anybody can show off a few numbers.

That’s far from true. Let’s see your revenue numbers? A lot of big affiliates choose not to share their revenue numbers but a lot of affiliates have nothing real to show if they wanted.

3. He got lucky or He Made a bunch of money once but doesn’t make shit now.

I love luck. And regardless of if Jonathan is still making 7-figures or 6-figures he has still reached a ton of revenue goals many affiliates can only dream of. Affiliate Marketing is a roller coaster. I’ve gone from $350,000+ revenue in one month to like $30,000 the next and everywhere in between in other months. Today things suck for me. Tomorrow could be huge. You define what your own success is anyway.

4. All he does is post paid reviews or push affiliate links.

The answer to this is simple. Unsubscribe and don’t read the blog if you don’t like it. They won’t miss you and while you bash them, you are probably still a subscriber. There is a difference if you are blogging to just express your thoughts or blogging as a source of income for your business. Examples: John Chow and Zac Johnson. You might not like what they post half the time but what they are doing works and it makes them a nice amount of money. It’s business. If you don’t like it then just don’t read it.

Quit all the hating and jealousy. It doesn’t make you look cool. Get to work and make some money.

Here are a couple important snippets:

Under the revised Guides, advertisements that feature a consumer and convey his or her experience with a product or service as typical when that is not the case will be required to clearly disclose the results that consumers can generally expect. In contrast to the 1980 version of the Guides – which allowed advertisers to describe unusual results in a testimonial as long as they included a disclaimer such as “results not typical” – the revised Guides no longer contain this safe harbor.

So basically it looks like saying “results not typical” in tiny text in your landing page footer isn’t going to be enough. This is going to a tough rule to follow if you are pushing diet products (for example). There are hardly any diet advertisers that don’t boast exaggerated claims of weight loss and people don’t like to buy “Typical” results. This rule also applies to testimonials found on many affiliate sites. Here are a couple ideas:

1. Leave out SPECIFIC amounts or claims. For example, if you are a weight loss affiliate instead of exaggerated specifics use generic phrases like:

“Get A Flatter Stomach in 30 Days” That’s certainly possible.

“Get Ripped in Just A Few Weeks” This one is a close call but a few “weeks” could mean 4, 6 or more. Someone who is already in decent shape could conceivably get some nice abs in 6 weeks time. Just make sure you also include somewhere that at least some working out is required or this could fall into the deceptive category. If someone actually believes they can get ripped abs in 2-weeks without any type of workout they need a reality check.

2. Use only testimonials found on the advertisers website (there’s no need to use a fake comments section). For example, “When doing my research on these products here are some things actual users had to say…”

3. Get real testimonials sent to you from the advertiser. Most advertiser don’t do this but it would make things a whole lot easier.

The revised Guides also add new examples to illustrate the long standing principle that “material connections” (sometimes payments or free products) between advertisers and endorsers – connections that consumers would not expect – must be disclosed.

This guideline should be pretty easy to follow. Just add something like “yoursitename.com is an affiliate of “product name” and receives compensation from orders through this website.” If you are a blogger you now must also disclose the material connections you share with the seller of the product or service.

FTC states a possible fine of up to $11,000 per infraction.

What does this mean for the future of rebills and the future of affiliate marketing?

The game has already and continues to change for the good in my opinion.

You have the Google Bans:
It’s a good thing that Google is cleaning up their sponsored ads. However I certainly don’t agree with all the lifetime Adwords account bans. As long as the landing pages are FTC compliant they should allow most rebills in my opinion.

Yahoo and MSN are cracking down:
Yahoo has recently been cracking down more on ads sending messages such as “All price claims made in an ad must be clearly and accurately substantiated on the landing page. Ad creatives or landing pages that contain “free,” “complimentary” or synonymous offers must disclose the pertinent terms and conditions associated with the offer in close proximity to the offer.”

Affiliate Networks Are Losing Offers Like Crazy:
Many advertisers (including some of the biggest) are pausing or removing their offers all together until they are updated for FTC compliance. Although some advertiser simply don’t care and they are making so much insane amounts of money that a law suit means very little to them.

Ad Networks :
Many ad networks such as Adsonar/Quigo require strict guidelines (and they have for awhile) for affiliate landing pages (not mention of the word free without an *, advertisement text on the top of the page, full re-bill terms in the footer).

Re-bills/continuity programs are not the problem. Re-bills will always be around and they are certainly not all shady or lump into one group.

It’s the non-compliant advertisers with completely hidden terms and impossible cancellation policies that caused most of the current problems in my opinion. Some advertisers also need to drop all the crappy invisible upsells. If you have to pay affiliates less then we’ll deal with it. Heck, you might even have more affiliates pushing your offer if customers didn’t get the upsells and you could actually cancel the trials. Charge a higher price on the front end if you need to. The affiliate networks and some of us affiliate ourselves hold our share of blame. Without each other as a group the shady re-bill offers would go nowhere.

Most affiliates flock to the highest paying and highest converting advertisers which often times is also the shadiest. The compliant advertisers who also may not have the invisible upsells just can’t compete because of the lower payouts and lower conversion rates. If the networks refused to work with those non-compliant advertiser and those that add non-visible upsells this wouldn’t be as much a problem. Many CPA Affiliate networks already have and will continue take a revenue hit with all these changes as well. How fast will they evolve?

By the way, you are probably assuming that based on my examples above that I am currently running weight loss re-bills. The answer to that is no, I am not. I study ads, landing pages and methods in various verticals everywhere. I do run some re-bills (along with tons of non-rebills) in other verticals but I believe it is up to the individual person to decide how and what offers they feel comfortable running.

What’s your thoughts on the new FTC rules and the future of re-bills in general?

How can you use this data on Who Is Filing Bankruptcy?

1. Bankruptcy Campaigns 2. Payday Loans 3. Low/No Credit Credit Card Offers

and a lot more. Think about it!

Highest Converters:

Education: High School/GED Followed By Some College
Gender: Slight edge for males.
Income: Less than 20k. 60% make less than 30k
Employment: 63% are employed.
Age: 35-44 is the sweet spot.
Ethnicity: 73% are white.

So try a test to those with only a High School GED who are employed white males between 35-44 making less than 20k-30k and see what happens.

Who Is Filing Bankruptcy Stats. Click On Image For A Full Size From FancyStats.com

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I find that one thing that holds many affiliate back is that they simply try to conquer too many verticals at once. I often have a problem trying to stay focused in particular vertical myself even if I’ve had big success with it in the past.

Right now I’m focusing on three main verticals. One of the newer verticals I’m working on is online dating. Now I’ve done some dating offers over the years but never really stayed focused with it even though I knew there was a ton of money to be made with it. Online dating has been around for ages and it’s not one of those verticals that is going to come and go. Sure, it’s pretty competitive but don’t just focus on the U.S.. Think international.

I’ll sometimes be logging into an affiliate network and see a new offer I want to test in a totally different vertical that I’ve never tried before. I quickly test it without doing proper market research and without really even understanding how to make the most money in that vertical. Lots of times I lose money on it. I waste time.

Point being, is to choose a vertical and keep pushing it until you GET IT RIGHT. Once you pull a profit continue to scale that vertical it in every way possible (PPC, Media Buys, Direct Advertising, Facebook and Social Media ads, and even PPV). Even try setting up a seo/content site such as my dating reviews website. I outsource just about the entire thing so it didn’t take too much of my time. Once your killing it, then move on to the next vertical.

Sure, you might test a vertical that simply is just not working for you. But how hard did you really try? Did you test different ad copies, different banners, different landing pages, do demographic research, compare competitors?

All so often I here affiliates say “this or that vertical is dead” or “I tried it. It doesn’t work.”

They all work. Pick a couple. Get them to work and then move on.