In these economic challenging times I depend on the words of others to inspire me, and to carry the day. I thought I might share a few of these with you - I believe there is wisdom in them that we can all appreciate.

James Whitcomb Riley:

The most essential factor is persistence - the determination never to allow your energy or enthusiasm to be dampened by the discouragement that must inevitably come.

Charles M. Schwab:

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.

Henry Boyle:

The most important trip you may take in life is meeting people half way.

Denis Waitley:

The most splendid achievement of all is the constant striving to surpass yourself and to be worthy of your own approval.

William Faulkner:

The man who removes a mountain begins by carrying away small stone

As many of us watched the VP debates last week and are making it a priority to watch the Presidential debates tonight, we can’t help ignore that there is a lot going on in the world that is in the unknown. Who will our next President be?  Will the bail out plan be passed? Will Wall Street turn to the upside? What bank is going to close next?  All these things are very important, but they are pretty much out of our control, which can be quite stressful. Although, one thing we can control is the effort we put forth into making the most of ourselves - whether it be in the workplace or our personal lives.

For myself, in stressful times I find it most important to keep myself busy and focus on others, because for starters, it takes the focus off of “me” and secondly, it makes me more productive in all areas of my life. By focusing on others at work, I find it interesting to learn about my affiliates. What I mean by this is what offers work best for them, what do they do away from work, when are their birthdays, do they have any large plans coming up, who is their favorite NFL team, etc.  I know for myself, it is necessary to have a personal interest in my side of work or it just seems like… WORK.

What I’m trying to say is even in these unknown times, it is your best bet to put the most effort into whatever you’re doing, whether it be in work or fun, because at the end the day the one thing we can control and change is ourselves.  I know for myself it is a great feeling to walk away from something saying,  ”I did the best I could do and I had fun doing it.”

What about you?  How do you get through these stressful times?  If you want to talk politics, go ahead… If you want just talk, then feel free to talk…

In my time spent as an Affiliate Manager, I am learning more about what affiliates deem as an amazing offer vs a mediocre one, based on conversion rate, epc or just plain old money.  As we all know, epc is often the proven winner, but that is not always the case.  For example, in the affiliate manager’s role, we can easily assume if an offer that pays out $20 has a 5% conversion rate with a $2 epc - it is a true winner.  I am finding out there is much more than just epc and conversion rates.

For an affiliate that promotes via email, the most important part is the offer getting in the user’s inbox…. then the open….. and of course, the lead/purchase.  The part we don’t see on our end is how many emails were sent out, how much money was put into the specific drop or what the affiliates are expecting for their ROI.  We just have what is in front of us - what we can’t see is what else was put into it - that is until we get an idea from the affiliates.  This is why it is so important to know what your metrics are - what you look for and how many emails were sent on a specific drop.  By understanding what was put into an offer, we can have a true understanding if an offer performed well for our affiliates or what else is required to turn it into a profitable campaign.

I want to make it an effort to find out what works for you - whether you want an offer that has tons of clicks, you want a high epc or you want to earn $2,000 per drop.  By knowing this I will do my best to follow the offer’s true performance according to your metrics and know if it was a hit or a miss.  Of course my goal is always to give you a offer that will be a success.

We are now in largest financial realignment since the 1930’s - a time when banks are scrambling to avoid bankruptcy, housing is dropping to an all time low and individuals are feeling the hard hit of the “economic recession.”  We can easily see how the effects of our economy is trickling down to other areas of business, yet the internet business is still booming.

We are fortunate to be in a business that is not largely effected by what goes on around us, what we usually have to do is find the hot ticket item and hit it hard.  Housing is suffering?… Find foreclosure offers.  Gas prices are too high?… Find an offer on how to save gas.  Our constant goal is to find the next big offer.  What are people in search for?  What is the hot Christmas item?  If we find what people want, we will keep trucking along - ever so strong - even during the economy’s hard times.

AKMG is always looking for the next best thing to come along, but one thing we make sure of is that in the process we are having fun doing it!  Now that winter is quickly approaching, what do you think the next offer will be?  Will it be the hot  RC Helicopters?  The flying monkeys??  Feel free to share any of your ideas!  We have many resources to get the next hot item out there.

The internet is our world, it is the medium, tools, and content of our profession.  The stream of information is our lifeblood.  The way we package it and sell it distinguishes us from our competitors.  As the analogy suggests,  a stream is most efficient when there are minimal obstacles in its path.  In AKMG’s case, a large part of our stream of success has been due to our director of technology, Josh.  Josh has a lot of experience in taking things apart and putting them together (thank goodness) and he has definitely been a huge contributer  in helping develop AKMG.

I find that AKMG is continually striving to improve the experience of our advertisers and affiliates.  For instance, we recently upgraded the affiliate interface so affiliates can choose which offers fit into their specific categories.  AKMG’s goal is to create an affiliate friendly network, whether it be the affiliate interface, which was done, or anything else that is expressed to us.  Our goal is to be the best, and we can exceed to being the best by learning from those around us.  On this note, always feel free to speak up, whether it be good or not so good.  We are always open to change, because with change comes growth.

I have been in the internet industry for about 4 years now and have seen a lot of things go down - some good, others not so good.  One thing that I can always walk away with is learning how to make any bad situation into a good one…. taking the bad and making it good and taking the good and making it better.  This is the great thing about AKMG, just about all of us know each other from the past relations (whether it be work or friends) and have a common goal, which is to have our work be based upon integrity and trust.  

A friend once said, it is easier to tell the truth, because you have to come up with 10 other stories to cover one lie!  Pretty crazy, but very true.  Of course our main goal is to gain business and grow in our success, but in order to do so you must have integrity to run a successful company and trust to bring along the prolific advertisers and affiliates.  

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!!!

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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.

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!