7 Affiliate Marketing News Not to Miss in August 2013 (Second Half)

Much has been happening in the affiliate marketing world lately.

Even though August 2013 isn’t over yet, I think it is safe to presuppose that the below 7 news are definitely the ones that you do not want to miss.

So, here they are in chronological order:

1. Affiliate Marketing Book Becomes E-Commerce Bestseller

On August 15 I published my newest book, Quick Start Guide to Affiliate Marketing, one geared towards aspiring affiliates. Just two days past its publication, the book became the absolute bestseller in E-Commerce and Web Marketing sections on Amazon [more here].

2. Affiliate Summit Debuts in Philadelphia

In case you’ve missed it, on August 18-20 Affiliate Summit made debut in Philadelphia putting together “the biggest Affiliate Summit East to date with over 4,000 attendees” [source]. I had the honor of speaking at the conference, and you may find my session’s recap here.

3. Groupon Takes Affiliate Program In-House

On August 19 Groupon announced the launch of Groupon Partner Network (similarly to eBay Partner Network being more of an affiliate program rather than a “network”) positioning it as “the first proprietary local e-commerce affiliate marketing platform designed to help online publishers better monetize their online presence” [source]. TechCrunch quickly christened this move “Groupon’s latest step forward in its ambition to become the default network for local commerce” [source].

4. Apple Programs Move In-House As Well

While Groupon is moving from Commission Junction, Apple is moving its affiliate programs from LinkShare to Performance Horizon Group (PHG), a quickly-growing platform for operating affiliate programs “in-house.” Coincidentally, on the same date that Groupon made their above-quoted announcement, Apple affiliates “received an email stating that” iTunes, App Store, iBooks Store and Mac App Store “affiliate programs will be leaving Linkshare Oct. 1” [source].

5. Skimlinks Announces Rewrite for iTunes Affiliate Links

In the best traditions of newsjacking, on August 23 Skimlinks announced a rewrite functionality for old iTunes’ affiliate links. Similarly to their Google Affiliate Network overwrite functionality which I covered last month, they will automatically re-route old iTunes affiliate links through the PHG once LinkShare links stop working.

6. Affiliate Nexus Tax to Go in Effect in Missouri

On August 28, affiliate nexus tax goes into effect in Missouri. In conjunction with this, Amazon, 6PM, Zappos and Fabric.com have terminated relationships with MO-based affiliates [more here].

7. HasOffers, Acceleration Partners, and RingRevenue — America’s Fastest-Growing Companies

It doesn’t happen every month that several performance marketing-oriented companies enter rankings like these… On August 20 HasOffers and Acceleration Partners have been listed as “Inc 500 fastest growing private companies” taking 63rd and 361st place respectively [source #1, source #2]. And today (on August 26) RingRevenue has been named the #1 fastest growing company by Pacific Coast Business Times [source]. Congratulations to all three!!

Whew… Clearly, a lot has been happening in the affiliate marketing industry lately.

If I have missed a news that belongs here, please do not hesitate to add it via the “Comments” area blow.