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“He’s downloading his suppression list and checking it twice.  Unlike naughty affiliates who should probably play nice”

Well at least for the next month or so.  Santa has been dominating Q4 since the 4th Century.   He’s the ultimate Advertiser, Merchant and Brand.  As a Brand, he leaves Apple, Nike and Microsoft in the dust. As a Merchant, he empties more warehouses of product in a month than you do in an entire year.  If he were a consultant, he’d probably accept your LinkedIn request, but you definitely couldn’t afford him.  But here are a few of the services he might offer your business, courtesy of AKMG:

Santa Knows His Audience

This dude can target: Age, Gender, Geo, Income, Demo, Marital Status, Interest, you name it. Behavioral Targeting?  Old Jolly takes it to the next level by knowing exactly how naughty or nice you’ve been all year long.  What’s that Billy in Fluffy Landing, FL? You want an iRenew Bracelet? BOOM, Santa’s got your iRenew Bracelet (So does AKMG in case you were wondering).  His secret isn’t Quantcast or Alexa either. It’s giving.  His whole existence is based around giving people exactly what they want.  Think about your ideal customer. Why do they need your product more than the next person? As online marketers, we often encounter personal privacy issues.  The main reason this happens is because most Advertisers choose to exploit our personal information to take our money, when they should be striving to give us exactly what want…like Santa.

Santa’s Got Your CRM, MLM

Santa Claus effortlessly puts his customers to work as marketers by embedding within them a clear marketing message at an early age.  Be “nice”, and he’ll hook you up in December.  As those children grow up and become parents, they pass that message on to their own children, getting them to behave for at least a few months.  It’s the ultimate behavioral pyramid scheme, and Santa thought of it first.

How does this tie into affiliate marketing?  Well, we already up-sell, cross-sell, refer and monetize a user every which way, and most brands have already integrated related tactics into their marketing plan.  One brand that got it all right for me personally was Blizzard Inc., makers of World of Warcraft.  First, my friend convinced me to sign up so that he could get a free limited edition weapon.  Being the awesome friend that I am, I sign up for a free trial.  After about an hour of playing I’m hooked because of the outstanding quality and production of the game.  30 levels (and approximately 150 hours of my life) later, they tell me that if I refer one of my friends, I receive free membership for a month, increased experience, character summoning, gifting and limited edition items.  At the end of the day, they’re monetizing and growing their member base simply by having an outstanding product.  I’m very happy to see more and more casual games like Kingdoms Of Camelot adapting this model, and making their way into the affiliate space.

We’re Kinda Like Santa

For every single product you’re trying to sell this holiday season, there is a consumer who wants it.  If you care about your brand, have a great product, and are trying to move a heck of a lot of inventory this holiday season, please contact us ASAP!  We’ll take care of that for ya, because AKMG is on the grind, all the time…like Santa.

Just as Jackie had Marilyn  Tupac had Biggie and Smax has  Ruckles, so too  David Ogilvy had Bill Bernbach.  

Ogilvy and Bernbach, the original Madmen, left very distinct impacts on the industry.  As you all already know by one such Thunder From Down Under and his fellow sidekick Boom Boom Pow, Ogilvy believed the ultimate success of campaigns depended on research and rules. To rival Bernbach, running his own shop just a few blocks down Madison Avenue, creative intuition was the underlying force. A few minor points of contention:

David "Oh No He Didn’t" Ogivly: News or benefit-centric concepts – spoon feed the reader the reasons they should buy the product.  Long copy with consumer research. Bottom line: Tell the people what you want them to do to the very last detail to make it as simple as possible for them to say yes.

"Bad Boy" Bill Bernbach: Short, offbeat, unexpected concepts that leave the reader with an "ah ha" moment, making them figure out the connection. Valued inspiration over research. Bottom line: Tell the people what you want them to do, but let them think they thought of it, then pat them on the back for being so darn clever.

Personally, I think of Ogilvy as the father of modern day Direct Response, and Bernbach as the father of the creative revolution.  Digest the contrasts between the two original Mad Men, as in their own words...

Ogilvy: "A good advertisement is one which sells the product without drawing attention to itself."
Bernbach: "If your advertising goes unnoticed, everything else is academic."

Ogilvy: "What you say in advertising is more important than how you say it."
Bernbach: "Because an appeal makes logical sense is no guarantee that it will work."
 

“Direct response is my first love, and later it became my secret weapon.”  ~ David Ogilvy

 
I was inspired to write this guest post for Mr. Green after reading (albeit a little post facto) Shock Marketer’s blog http://shockmarketer.com/calculate-statistical-significance/. To Mr. Shock de la Rock, whoever you are, your blog is tip top.
 
A longtime ago and far far away, before there was Don Draper and Roger Sterling, there was David Ogilvy. Mr. Ogilvy was the King of Madison Avenue, and the man knew how to sell.
 
Before my life in affiliate marketing, Miss Ewoww worked at a direct response advertising agency working on DR TV shows, radio spots, print ads, catalogs, and a lot of direct mail. And we were all fanbois of David Ogilvy.
 
“In print advertising, you know that long copy sells more than short copy. You know, that headlines and copy about the product and its benefits sell more than cute headlines and poetic copy. You know it to a dollar… Never stop testing, and your advertising will never stop improving.”
 
Sound familiar? There are a LOT of old school marketing tricks from that golden era of advertising that should be brought back (and I mean besides the 3 martini lunch).
 
It’s time to go back to our direct response roots (and no, I’m not referring to that “blonde” Hydra AM <cat sound!>).  You can build all the scrapers you want but if you don’t start figuring out why something is working than you’ll always be a step behind the innovators, chasing the trends. As Father Flipside called it (although I do believe that grandfathered in from Mr. Affbuzz, who originally coined the term)  the “WickedFire mindset.” 
 
For example, let’s talk segmentation and targeting my affilifriends. Know who your product is for, and I mean specifics. Certainly not for everyone, not for people trying to lose weight, not for women trying to lose weight, but possibly about for first-time moms trying to lose the baby weight but finding themselves with no free time and exhausted more than ever desperate for a quick fix to get their bodies back in pre-bambino shape.
 
Ogilvy was already hip to your so-called farticle.
 
“It has been found that the less an advertisement looks like an advertisement, and the more it looks like an editorial, the more readers stop, look and read. Therefore, study the graphics used by editors and imitate them. Study the graphics used in advertisements, and avoid them.”
 
What you call linkbait or subject lines, the Direct Response world calls teasers and headlines. Some headlines tips from Mr. Ogilvy…

1. Try to put news in the headline. The words new and free are the most powerful
words that can appear in the headline.

2.  There are several other words that are effective: How to, Suddenly, Now,
Announcing, Improvement, etc.  Headlines can also include emotional words.

3.  Include a promise in the headlines, and longer headlines sell more than short
headlines.  Make the consumer curious.

4. Do not try to write tricky headlines, be simple and to the point.

5. Do not use negatives in the headlines.

 Some more words-o-wisdom from the King of Madison Avenue:
 
“The more informative your advertising, the more persuasive it will be.”
 
“A good advertisement is one which sells the product without drawing attention to itself.”
 
“Long copy, long headlines, address people as individuals, use plain conversational language (Ewoww note: aka the flog) and write your copy in the form of a story.”
 
I leave you with this my affilifriends… If this video doesn’t stir you ever the slightest, then take a knee spaceman and move on. Affiliate marketing ain’t for you. Enjoy ripping landers and trying to fill the post-continuity void, get back to me when you move back in with mom and pops. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Br2KSsaTzUc

And if it did, go pick up David's classic handbook, "Ogilvy on Advertising." You'll be glad you did!

-Ewoww

AKMG to Organize Meetup202 Events

AKMG is proud to announce that Managing Partner and VP, Amber Paul has taken over the role of the head organizer of all Meetup202 events in Southern California including Los Angeles, Orange County and San Diego. This is an exciting new adventure and challenge that AKMG is pleased to be a part of and we heavily look forward to coordinating future meetups that will be beneficial to all attendees in the affiliate marketing space. Our mission is to build out networking events that provide affiliate marketers with compelling insight into the industry, introductions to new traffic sources as well as bring on some very respectable speakers that are well known in the space!

If you are based in Southern California, sign up for one of the groups now!

Our first Meetup will be held Saturday July 10th in Sunny Santa Monica. Times and locations to be determined. AKMG will also be collaborating with Meetup202 New York City during Affiliate Summit NY 2010. Keep posted for these details, but it will be one of the most beneficial Meetups to date.

• Internet Dating Conference 2010
  June 16 – 18, Beverly Hills, California - SLS Hotel
  
• Affiliate Summit East 2010
  August 15 – 17th, New York, New York
  

• Read The ArticleBloosky Is Out, Original Founders Win Back Tracking202
  TechCrunch.com
• Read The Article"Mom, I’m Moving Back Home."
  MrGreenAM.com
• Read The ArticleListen Google
  PPC.BZ

Is it me? Or is it just tough these days for affiliate marketing? What with last year's Google slaps, this year's Facebook furry,  the end of continuity (yup, get over it and move on already),  and the relative lack of scalable offers and traffic sources...  now is precisely the time  TO GO to ad:tech. Let's face it, this show is all about traffic sources, and  while fewer affiliates go, the ones that do are there to do business and as such, probably better folks to talk shop with. Besides, Inside Social Apps is going on too, so if web development is your bag, that is always open to you - www.insidesocialapps.com.

And don't let all the biz dev chatter fool you, there will be plenty of tom foolery and brew ha ha. The meetups both announced and yet-to-be are sure bets. The man, the myth, the legend Mr. EWA is throwing a bash with Barboy, and despite the ambiguously neon party flyer, there's no doubt this will be the highlight snausage fest of the week (YT and Hustle and Davice, oh my!).  When in doubt, head to the Clift and you'll be sure to find plenty o' industry fish with which to mingle...don't forget the obligatory photo in the really big chair in the lobby.

Just take note of a few things to make sure all goes smoothly....

Birfday Boy. Affbuzz is turning 1! If you check this on the daily like we do, congratulate accordingly with high fives, +1s,  and donations in the form of Starbucks or chocolate strategically left at the AKMG booth (5878).  :)

Game Plan. Make it. All the exhibitors are listed, go ahead now and figure out who you want to meet with, and I don't just mean which companies, I mean the individual people you want to make sure you get to introduce yourself to, along with a set of objectives for what you want to walk away from the conversation with.  Have an action plan of what you want to accomplish, and be sure to follow up within 48 hours, less they forget your conversation in the hungover haze of the PPC.BZ bash....

Business cards. Bring 'em. Now, admittedly this is in fundamental disagreement  Mr. Cakes' opinion on the matter (who, Nicky? Opinions? NEVER!), but I  think it's fair to say that to put your best face forward and look professional, business cards are a must.  You want the right people to be able to follow up with you, and frankly people are in the habit of receiving and handing out business cards. So bring 'em, have them look halfway decent (there's still one weekend left to hit Kinkos), and bring a pen to take copious (albeit tiny) notes on the cards you want to keep. Bonus tip: Any and all cards with an "AKMG" on them should be in your "keeps" pile, just trust me on that one. ;)

Skate decks. Get 'em. Only 100 San Francisco 2010 edition decks were made - and if history proves any indication, these are sure to be snatched up quicker than the free beer at the Convert2 booth, so get them early! We're continuing with the theme started at Vegas, and let me tell you, you're sure to not be disappointed. :)

PS - for everyone who can't make it out to San Fran, AKMG has FTD for Mother's Day so get a head start on the biggest flower holiday of the year! Hit up your AM today to get set up and watch your revenue bloom.... (always love to end on a good pun)...

The mighty GOOG announced this morning that it will be redirecting Chinese search visitors from Google.cn to Google.com.hk - which sits safely outside the Great (Fire) Wall of China - in response to the widely-reported cyber attack on Google in December.

Although Google users will be redirected for web, news and image search to the Hong Kong site, which will now show simplified Chinese in addition to traditional Chinese and English results, it's likely that Google.com.hk will be blocked at least as aggressively as Google.com was if not more.

Uncensoring may have broader ramifications. In addition to the obvious PR benefits for Google of looking good to it's user base as unbiased source of information, it's been proposed that Google's decision could help future companies make headway on the censorship issue, as the Chinese government won't ant to risk future public embarrassment with a US company.

But put down that freedom fist, there's still money on the table of the planet's most populous market. Google’s music search and maps products will remain live, says the company. And Google will "retain research and development and sales teams in China."

Google holds a mere 20% in the Chinese market share, the majority stakeholder here being Baidu (my sources tell me that the panda pawprint logo was the driving force skyrocketing this Chinese search engine to the top), who's stock is up about 50 percent since Google first warned that it might pull out of the China.

In honor of today's news, I am officially ordering an extra freedom fortune cookie for dessert with my lunch. Crunch on that, Communism!

http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2010/03/new-approach-to-china-update.html

http://www.businessweek.com/news/2010-03-23/google-faces-no-hong-kong-censors-after-china-retreat.html

Univision is but the latest media conglomerate to launch its own ad network, targeting the less-cluttered Spanish-language media and mobile market.Univision's Spanish-language web sites include US, Spanish and Latin American sites and reportedly has significant reach to the U.S.

Hispanic audience.

It boasts a broad range of content sites from such as entertainment-oriented Caracoltv.com and news-focused Perfil.com to sports-minded Tycsports.com and business-centric Ambito.com (ay dios mio, was that a mouthful).

Mucho dinero at stake too, affiliate fiends, so put down that margarita and pay attencion. There are more than 48.6 million Hispanics in the U.S. (17% of the total U.S. population) and the group yields $964 billion in buying power. This will grow to $1.1 trillion by 2010. I've noticed multiple networks featuring Spanish-language versions of their top offers, including your friendly neighborhood AKMG (Dish en Espanol, Your Baby Can Read, er, Tu Bebe Puede Leer!, etc.).

In the past year, internet penetration among Hispanics has grown almost five times faster than among non-Hispanics, according to the Univision Partner Group website.   And don't even get me started on international health continuity in Spain and gaming/downloads in Latin America...While you're waiting around for your (increasingly competitive) French campaigns to get back up, consider testing south of the brie and baguettes to sangria and serrano... Spain (and Italy) are growing hotspots for health and beauty. What are you waiting for tortugas, expand your reach in what you already know works and deepen your pockets in doing so.

Now is the perfect time to reflect on the past year as we reset and start 2010.  Oh, 2009 – what a rollercoaster you have been!

The Harpo Hammer came down when Oprah decided enough was enough. Then Google followed suit (pun intended).The Recession. The FTC crackdowns. The Google slap. The Frozen merchant accounts. The Facebook pages popping up like “These People Don’t Pay.” The Acai Berry Jello wrestling…...the list goes on.

2009 has certainly seen its ups and downs, and it is not by happenstance we find ourselves in somewhat intrepid crossroads. This past year has seen an explosion of advertisers, networks and affiliates – some of whom were unscrupulous in their pursuit of a quick buck.

Looking forward to the new decade, two tiers are emerging: those who innovate and those who replicate, and the chasm between is only deepening. This goes for affiliates, networks and advertisers.  This industry is continuously evolving. Smart people adapt and find smarter ways to succeed. Lazy efforts lacking any strategic plan for long-term sustainability, sloppy executions and a disregard for playing by the rules will leave you out in the cold.As free trials and flogs are getting G-slapped snookie style and competition increases, capitalize on branded offers and leverage the money already invested in them by your offline counterparts (think: P90X all over Maxim Magazine and late-night TV)…

Which leaves us to the most important questions… how do we proceed from here? And, more importantly, what skate board will AKMG be representing this year? 

We made it back from Vegas in one piece which wasn't particularly easy after nearly being stalked, bribed and begged for an AKMG skateboard. Wow, what a hit those were!

A special thanks goes out to Steven Patton and his skateboard company Monkey Business for making that happen. We're always glad to be able give something away to those people that have helped to make our company such a success in such a short amount of time. The energy at the show was really high and there was a huge turnout which was great. It was nice to see so many familiar faces plus meet the people behind an email address or AIM screenname.

There seemed to be a lot of buzz about health & supplement offers and biz opp plus a renewed love for mobile offers. So it will be interesting to see what we will work on our network in the coming month. The next week should be crazy following up with everyone and weeding through everything but it will be worth it because I met a ton of really great contacts - smart, chill, hardworking people...just the kind of people that we like to work with at AKMG. Be sure to visit us in San Francisco for an ad:tech AKMG skateboard!

Like most of you, we are all scrambling to make sure we've finished everything that we can this week before Affiliate Summit West plus that all of our meetings, dinner reservations etc are in place.

What a week...and the show hasn't even begun...but we're really looking forward to it!! It will be the first time that the entire AKMG staff will be together at a show so it should be an entertaining trip! Most of us will be there for the LONG haul - Saturday evening through Wednesday morning. That is definitely enough time in Vegas!

Then we will be heading back with the LA crew to spend some time in our Santa Monica office plus visit Steve's new "bu" pad! I hear it's fabulous! Ok, back to ASW preparations. Please be sure to stop by our booth #128 to meet us in person and check out the goods that we're giving away. Believe me, it will be worth your time and you won't find anything like this anywhere else on the exhibit floor!