Since coming back from Affiliate Summit Boston my eyes have been opened to the Search Marketing world. It was the first time I have been exposed to so many great Search Affiliates and opportunities. 

According to GroupM, search will make up about 65 to 70 percent of the measured online advertising. If that doesn’t sound like opportunity than I don’t know what does:)

The great thing about Search marketing is it separates the winners from the losers. According to revenue.com “search is an ever changing discipline, fraught with a learning curve that never straightens out.” The way to succeed is to be a student of the game and being passionate about learning and growing in the search channel. 

The great thing about AKMG is we are hungry to have a big piece of that Search percentage. Everyday we are bringing in more unique “Search Friendly” offers, studying and learning about our Search publishers in our network and in the industry. Using everyday to grow, network, and gaining a step ahead of every other network. 

Top notch Search marketers and AKMG have two major things in common: we both have a desire and a plan to be the best. 

So who wants to hop on board?

Talk to me,

Chris Mello

Well, Labor Day is just about here - which means Summer is almost over (how fast it flew!!!).  I asked many of my affiliates what their plans are for the weekend - many of which are taking vacations, but of course they would still be working diligently - making the offers they are running a success.  

This made me think about how the people in our industry must love what they do, because we are in a business that never sleeps - it requires constant management  since it is continually transforming.  As Charles M. Schwab once said:  ”The man who does not work for the love of work but only for money is not likely to make money nor find much fun in life.” Another wise and inspiring quote that brings much truth about work and being successful - for ourselves - is by Denis Waitley: “The most splendid achievement of all is the constant striving to surpass yourself and to be worthy of your own approval.”  

So, on this Labor Day weekend, enjoy the time off while you are working… Oxymoron??? Yes, but still, ENJOY!!!

Some people are thinking about back to school, some are looking forward to the long Labor Day weekend and others have politics on their mind. Not me. I’m just trying to figure out how to possibly attend all of the upcoming marketing trade shows. September, October and November are full of great shows that really help to solidify existing relationships and open doors to new ones. We really value the importance of face-to-face meetings and know that they go a long way in establishing a long term client relationship. So the AKMG team will be on a whirlwind tour attending several marketing trade shows this fall.

Please contact us if you plan on attending any of these marketing trade shows so we can be sure to meet.

Brand Activation Summit - NYC
Ad Tech London
DMA 08 - Las Vegas
Ad Tech NY

I hope we cross paths and can get some business going!

In advertising and affiliate marketing industries, it seems as though technology solutions have to be well sought-out to be obtained.  In any case, it is nearly impossible to satisfy all of your tech-related needs in one place.  Finding the one-stop solution for efficient and well-planned tracking, strategical analytics, and optimized customer relationship management.

At this very moment, most have to deal with the headache of finding all of the little bits and pieces to make their systems and, ultimately, businesses, run.  That is unnecessary and lacks the key elements that are required for huge, repeatable shared successes.

The PPC publisher may have a great place to go for their solution, but what if they also want to run emails?  What if an emailer wants to be involved in search publishing as well?

The question to be asked is, “Why does every single, multi-venue industry partner have to go on a scavenger hunt to find technology to manage their businesses?”

That question makes my head hurt, and makes me a little angry.  But, hey, it’s like ‘they’ say, “if you don’t like it…change it.”

,

In a business where we promote just about everything under the sun, I occasionally come across some niche offers and wonder how in the heck they will be successful with our affiliates, but am often surprised with their level and duration of success.  You know what I am talking about… the ever so famous natural colon cleansers, green tea for weight loss and remedies for and elevated blood sugar.  It makes sense though, because 15 years ago herbal remedies were just about non-existent, but in today’s society more people are turning toward holistic approaches rather than prescribed medications. 

Some of the reasons they turn toward these products may be they are more cost effective, because they do not have the name brand behind it, they claim to have all natural ingredients and thirdly, some of these products can effect our pride if we were to buy them over the counter (you know which ones I am referring to).

At the end of the day I am a firm believer that these niche offers can be solid performers if affiliates give them a good chance.  Our affiliate managers have helpful feedback of the highest converting creative and best subject lines to use.  We will be happy to provide you with specific feedback… if we don’t have it we will do our best to get it.  In fact, we are in the process of creating search friendly landing pages for our savvy search affiliates so they will have better results.  Just let me know what you need to succeed, I will be happy to help in any way I can.

With the current economic state, all marketers are being held accountable for their budget and need to prove a clear return-on-investment (ROI). Each project needs to be justified in this tight market and rightfully so. The days of just spending money to spend it are over. In comes performance based marketing and only having to pay for a sale or lead and not the media space.

Savvy marketers just need to choose the right ad network (AKMG, of course) and can then basically make the network an extension of their marketing team. We handle everything as far as dealing with publishers, paying them monthly, determining ways to optimize the campaign, etc. And the best part, the marketer only pays once a sale or lead has been generated. In addition, the network & affiliates bear most of the risk by investing in a team, in the technology & infrastructure to make the promotion of the campaigns possible. Of course choosing the right partner is the key because if not, the marketer may be at risk if the network they use isn’t committed to protecting the marketer’s brand. Also, I don’t know many other businesses that can claim they earn money while they are sleeping but that is possible in our world. Affiliates never stop and they work 24 hours a day and 7 days a week.

In summary, here are the advantages of performance based marketing for a marketer.

1) Able to easily justify your ROI when you only pay for sales or leads and not the media space
2) Access to affiliates who work around the clock promoting your product or service
3) Advertiser has less risk because the network & affiliates invest in making the campaign a success

In summary, implementing a smart performance based marketing strategy will increase your ROI and make your life a lot easier when having to justify what you spent on online marketing and why you spent it. So here’s to making money while you sleep!

It was definitely the main event this week in the internet marketing world. What can I say about my first Affiliate Summit? It was FANTASTIC! Not only because I got to meet the Affiliates I have been working with the last several months but the amount of new  contacts and connections I got to make. Affiliate Summit is the true bread and butter of strengthening and building relationship with my publishers.

The biggest thing I brought back from the Summit was the electricity of the show, the late nights at the hotel bar, the buzz over our skate decks and all the new faces I had the pleasure of meeting. The show also proved to me that AKMG is a major player to be reckoned with. And we are doing some major things over here so all you Affiliates out there better take notice. Because we are making our way to becoming the Best Network out there.

I want to thank everyone for stopping by our booth and the kind words you all said about our growing company and our sweet skate decks.

If you weren’t able to receive a skate deck at the show be sure to sign up as an affiliate with us and I can ship one out to you right away. Here is the sign up link: AFFILIATE SIGN UP LINK

Chris Mello

Many people have written about the benefits of email marketing over the years and there are many myths about email marketing. But one thing most people can agree on is that email marketing is an extremely cost-effective marketing tool. Email marketing is immediate, targeted and easy to do! Compared to other marketing methods, it is very simple & inexpensive as there is minimal production work needed or additional materials or postage expenses. It is also very effective in terms of being able to reach existing and potential customers instead of waiting for them to come to you.

With more people visiting a website, advertiser’s can expect more sales and loyal customers. If that isn’t enough, email marketing is also so effective that it can be used to turn people with minimal interest in your product or services into prospects, turn prospects into customers and turn customers in repeat customers. It is very important to constantly maintain contact with your consumer base and develop relationships with them over time. That is the way to truly retain loyalty.

In summary, here are the benefits of email marketing and why it works:

1. Outperforms all the direct marketing channels from an ROI perspective
2. Cost effective marketing tool
3. An unobtrusive method to reach potential consumers & develop loyalty
4. Compel consumers to make purchases which increases sales conversions
5. Generate repeat sales
6. Upsell and cross-sell products
7. Support offline media & brand recognition
8. Immediate & easy marketing method

If you’re still not sold on email marketing, call me and I’d be more than happy to give you concrete examples of how effective this marketing method really is. We’ve have so many success stories with email marketing at AKMG.

I am an East Coast guy originally.  I do miss it a bit back there, but when it comes to business and technology innovation, I like being “smack in the middle” of things.   The West Coast definitely satisfies that geo-requirement.

Out West, it seems that the corporate snafu factor is much lower.  There is room to speak up within your company and present your ideas, opinions, and motions for change.   This ability breeds success, industry boundary breaking, and huge innovation.

At AKMG, we don’t believe that there is ever a certain predefined ruleset that makes up “the way things are.”  I, and all of my colleagues,  hold to the philosophy that “the way things are” are as dynamic and interchangeable as the human mind.  All collective input, ideas,  are stewed in the creative melting pot that truly allow us to offer the services and continuing development of groundbreaking methods and applications.

Open identifier (subID) tracking and analytics, affiliate management, and offer tracking technologies must continue flow with advances in internet technology, and we’re never satisfied with the ‘current option’.

As I’ve foreshadowed before, huge things are happening.

Stay tuned or come visit!

Last night I went to a local shop in El Segundo, Frocks and Rocks, where I occasionally treat myself to a few clothes and random jewelry. The owner of the store, Sandy, helps me get out of my typical style and picks out clothes I wouldn’t think of wearing, but I always find they look better than I would have ever expected. I entered Frocks and Rocks expecting Sandy to welcome me with all smiles, but there was no Sandy in sight. Rather, there was a new worker, who didn’t know my personality and didn’t choose random styles for me (well, I didn’t ask). It was funny, because I never thought I relied on Sandy to help me with “my choices”, but I realized I actually do – so a little part of me felt a bit lost in my shopping experience. So, of course I opted to buy the clothes I am used to wearing and that were within my comfort zone.

This made me think of how it is in the affiliate world. Do affiliates feel the same way about offers as I do about clothes? I know it sounds a bit silly, but really, is it safe to choose the offer that has always worked, being the same amount of fields, the same feel of a page, similar colors, etc? Just as I sometimes need a personal helper in my shopping to take me to that new style of clothing, affiliates need some assistance in choosing the offers that they would not typically choose. Think of it as a personal helper to make you successful. So, on that note, I am always here to help you - by email, AIM, or phone - to make your “personal shopping experience” a pleasure!