I was looking through our network and noticed that there are many offers being overlooked, because new offers tend to steal the glory of the older ones. Many of the seasoned offers do not have poor conversions, nor are they losing money for our affiliates - they are just getting lost in the shuffle.

I understand that we often look for the next best offer to come along, but we tend to lose sight of those offers that have performed well in the past. Sure, they have been in the network for a while, but if they have been successful, why not try them again?

I recommend that affiliates review what has done well for them in the past and throw those offers in their rotation. If new creatives or different subject lines are needed, that is a simple fix. You might as well make money from offers that already have been proven, because many times those are the ones that can make you the most money.

In this day and digital age, it has become more important to verify the the genuine, legitimate nature of a prospective client’s identity and their respective intentions.   You always need to be one-step ahead, as usual, and always wise to back-handed identification methods.  The application process for an affiliate is, of course, the first point of entry for any sort of fraudulent access to occur.  Likewise, your affiliate screening process has to be meticulous to maintain your data’s, and company’s, integrity.

Although most prospective publishers you run into are genuine, there are still a few web-rings of spammers that thrive off of fraudulent revenue.

Here are some of my tips to keep these dregs out:

- Cross reference IP addresses with physical addresses, and if there is a discrepancy, ask them where they are signing up from.  If this smells fishy…it probably is.
- Check out their website and make sure it doesn’t look like a generic template placeholder - these are frequently used to make it look like they are inquiring from an ‘established’ company.
- Check out their privacy policy for the ‘real factor’.
- Google their physical address.  Chances are it’s a red-flag if Pizza Hut comes up.
- Google the company name.  You can find all sorts of reputation info and find out if they actually exist here.
- Look at their ‘Contact’ page.  If this seems off, again, it probably is worth a hint of skepticism.
- Call the supplied phone number.  If this doesn’t work, don’t do business with them.  The phone call is one of the best ways to really see if all of the pieces of their application connect, so use this methodically.
- Read up on “Public Proxy Servers”.  There are many ways to spoof IP addresses and trick the applicant reviewer into tracing a valid location.  There are ways around this!

In our industry, it simply takes a few extra steps to ensure that the integrity of your company’s data remains strong. By using these few key principles and procedures to digitally identify your prospective affiliate, your data will remain untainted.

As always, you can contact me with any questions you have regarding the security of your own network!

   How well do you work with your co-workers/team? I have only worked with a couple different companies in my life and I can tell you that surrounding yourself with the right team vs the wrong team makes all the difference in the world. Having the right people with the right energy surrounding you can be the difference between mediocre and #1 in the industry!Here at AKMG I believe we have a group of superstars that actually work well together and we have a group that can accomplish amazing things together.Our leadership is phenomenal. They have a lot of experience and are great role models to look up to. They are some of the most successful, dedicated, hard working, reliable, and do whatever it takes to get the job done people I know.Our staff is amazing: Our account executives are the bomb. Talk about ‘on it’. They are some of the only people I know that can have 50 things going on and always get the job done. Our affiliate management department and we know how to take care of our Affiliates like no other network. Our director of technology is a wizard with any technology question or issue and he always solves the problem fast! And last but not least is our executive assistants are always a step ahead of everyone with any administrative task.We are not only the best CPA Network in the industry, but we have a ton of fun doing what we do. If you want to meet us and see for yourself. Then I suggest you stop by our booth at Affiliate Summit Boston in August and if your nice we may give you a phat skate deck too.Now that I described my team, who is you team? Do you work well with your fellow peeps or not (you don’t have to mention any names)?Talk to me,Chris Mello

I spent a lot of time thinking about what makes AKMG stand out from the rest this past week. Luckily for me it wasn’t that difficult of an exercise. I always told myself that I would never do “sales” since I’m not a good liar. I’ve said that for years. So I’ve stayed away from sales or business development, whatever you want to call it, until the idea of creating a network came about. It was very clear from day one that I would be able to do business development and never have to lie. What a novel concept…knowing that I’m honestly representing AKMG when I talk about our capabilities makes my job a lot easier.

Of course I’m not going to spell out what makes us different and give away secrets right on our website. But for those of you “in the know” understand what I’m talking about! For those advertisers that want to be in the know, just email me and I’ll fill you in! Just know that I won’t tell you one thing and deliver the complete opposite…as I said above, I can’t lie!

Rapid change is something that we contend with and may benefit from daily, but there are some things we must consider….the wisdom and power of steady change.

We live in a age of continuous change and tremendous impatience. We want solutions and we want them NOW! We want relief, success, and the future to arrive easily, cheaply and soon!

At the same time, we want peace of mind, simplicity, and a stress free life. There is a quote from Ghandi that states, “there is more to life than increasing its speed.” I feel like nature is always trying to teach us this, because rapid change is often marked by chaos and sometimes disaster, yet steady change is marked by growth, beauty and complexity.

Rapid change comes with volcanoes, earthquakes, hurricanes and floods. Yes, change is quick, powerful and awesome. There is also much beauty in Mother Nature’s power, but the results are unpredictable and filled with unintended consequences.

On the other hand, slow change created the Grand Canyon and the Giant Redwoods. Slow, methodical human labor created the great pyramids and the Great Wall of China. In the same way, through the development of long standing relationships/partnerships - and the trust and commitment upon which they are founded - business can thrive, and grow exponentially.

Sure, I want to reach my goals as quickly as possible. Sure, I like going fast! Of course I prefer my high speed internet connection (Who doesn’t?!!), but when it comes to building a business, building a great email list, and solid relationships - including work relationships - these are most successful when they are worked on over time.

So, when it comes to reaching our most important goals- success in business, peace, prosperity, personal satisfaction and the joy of living well, Mother Nature seems to know something. She moves slowly and methodically. She does her work in small increments, day by day, always moving forward, taking her time and doing her work with exquisite beauty. We can learn from that - even in the ever changing “affiliate world.”

What are your thoughts? I would love to hear them and am always open to them.

Networking is the name of the game in any business. Any type of business is built on networking yourself and your company every single day. I make networking such a priority that is takes up almost half of my work day.Up until Affiliate Summit Boston in August all of my networking was been over the phone or online. Online networking was at its best 1 1/2 weeks ago with the online expo. It was a virtual online conference and I had the opportunity to meet with hundreds of affiliates in the comfort of my office. It was great because you could contact hundreds of people at a time. If I had a connection with a person I could continue to talk with and set up a follow up after the show. If I didn’t have a connection with someone I could just not answer back to them and quickly move on to the next one. All in all it was a worth while experience.The next major networking event for me will be Affiliate Summit Boston in August. I have heard this is going to not only be a major event to build my clientele but a lot of fun in the process. I will be able to meet a lot of affiliates I have been talking with over the last few months face to face. As well as a ton of new prospects. The great thing about in-person networking is an affiliate can meet the real Chris Mello. I feel I can make a real connection with people in-person and make a much more solid relationship.So my question to you affiliates: “Is it better for you (Affiliate) to meet someone like me (an Affiliate Mgr.) in-person?” or “Do you feel more comfortable just networking online?” In-person you get the benefit of meeting face to face and get a good sense of the person. Networking online you don’t get the in-person connection but you can potentially meet a lot more people at one time.So what do you think Affiliates? Face to face or over the web?Talk to me,Chris Mello

Early last week, I flew out to Salt Lake City, Utah to attend a workshop at Burstabit’s headquarters.  Those guys and gals developed the software for our tracking system, LinkTrust.

Because they are constantly working hard to make their systems even more sophisticated, and are on the brim of an exciting new version, they thought it would be a great idea to have all of their current clients out to visit their beautiful city to attend a two-day-long nerdfest.  I’m always up for those!

While in Utah, I got to meet a few of our current affiliates and merchants in person!  It was really nice to be able to put a face to some of your names.  This industry is really tight-knit, and the camaraderie between the tech directors and tech assistants that I’ve met so far is astonishing.

Between our current clients, future clients, the techies, and the guys at Burstabit, an amazing amount of innovative ideas were run back and forth as far as software for our industry is concerned.  Efficiency, security, and custom implementation - these are the traits for good back-end software that our collaborative efforts are going to make even more phenomenal.

I don’t want to give too much away, but there are big things happening for our industry, and AKMG specifically!

It was nice visiting the warm, serene, pristine, digital Mecca that is Salt Lake City, UT.  The people are friendly, the techies are smart, and time gets to slow down (I didn’t see anyone fighting over parking spaces!).  In any case, it’s great to be back to the hustle and bustle of Los Angeles and Santa Monica.

When looking at an item or situation, things may appear to be the same but if you look deeper, they are totally different. This is true is so many aspects of our lives. Two things come to mind immediately as I’m writing this that relate to Affiliate Marketing.

1) Comparing Campaigns - From a publisher’s perspective, one campaign that promotes credit monitoring and another campaign for credit monitoring may appear to be the same but the components that make them are completely different which in turn affect performance and longevity of a campaign. Many things affect conversions & retention but a quick example is the monthly fee for the monitoring service, the customer service available, the reputation of the advertiser, the payout, to name a few. All of things need to be evaluated when considering a campaign and how well it will resonate with your audience.

2) Comparing Methods of Promotions - From an advertiser’s perspective, if a campaign works on CPC or CPM, that doesn’t mean it is a fit for CPA. If you sell products on CPS basis through a banner publisher network, that doesn’t mean it will convert well on email. We don’t have all of the answers at AKMG but we do have an idea of what works well on email and for our pubs. Things need to be tweaked when they’re run differently. So just know that our recommendations and advice are for your benefit when switching over to CPA.

Moral of the story, not all campaigns are created equally whether it be in terms of the offer itself or the method of promoting it. So be sure to fully evaluate any campaign & the method used to promote it before deciding whether it will be a winner.

I recently discovered this whole wide-world of blogging…at least for my own professional use.  Being the most recent hire at AKMG, I have quite a bit to learn not only about the affiliate marketing game but also the common methods of communication within the industry.  One of my training tools focuses on reading industry websites gaining knowledge of the ins-and-outs of our business.  While doing my research, it occurred to me that there is so much to learn from peoples opinions (blogs)…much more than I originally thought.  I find that the best part of blogging is being able to take bits and pieces from everyone, then form my own opinions on the topic in question.  It’s my own little puzzle of affiliate knowledge I’m putting together!  Communication is greatly elevated when people pass information, share their stories, understandings and are open about their findings.  Blogs are perfect for this.

I’m excited to join the AKMG team and I look forward to MORE BLOG POSTS and meeting all of you in the coming months.  Come visit us in Santa Monica….its beautiful here! :-)

For those of us who are on the fast track to success. Putting in a ton of hours making calls, prospecting, emailing, closing deals is an everyday occurrence. So as we are hammering it day in and day out the question arises of: How do you break up your day?Do you go non stop for 16 hours straight? (I suggest you shouldn’t or you will go…insane)Do you workout? A workout can be a great option especially for all of us that sit for a majority of the day. It can get the blood flowing and recharge you for the rest of the day.Do you read? Some people feeling reading is great because it can be very relaxing and calm you down especially when the day is hectic.Here at AKMG we have quite a few “out-of-the-box” ideas we are implementing to keep us fresh and energetic throughout the day to hit our numbers. Here is an example of a typical week:Monday:  to kick off the week!Tuesday:  to cool off.Wednesday:  Remember our skateboards? Well we use hooverboards at the office.Thursday:  We have our celebrity friends stop by to hang outFriday:  We are just happy its Friday!Now that you know the secrets to our success what’s yours? How do you break up your day?Talk to me,Chris Mello