I have been running these contests for the past few years, and with the 2015 New York Affiliate Summit being just around the corner (the dates for this year’s East Coast show are August 2-4, 2015), I am happy to announce that I have 5 Networking Plus Passes (currently valued at $549.00 each) to give away.
This will be my thirteenth time speaking at this show, and during my upcoming presentation I will cover the lessons that advertisers can learn from the way Amazon and Walmart run their affiliate programs. I already have a good list of things to highlight, but want to give you a way to contribute as well — in exchange for a chance to win one of the five above-mentioned passes.
The rules are simple:
Task: Using the “Comments” are below, highlight at least one thing that impresses you about how Amazon or Walmart are doing affiliate marketing. It can be a tool, a contest, a method, an opportunity they present(ed) their affiliates with, or anything else.
Prizes: 5 Networking Plus Passes (each giving you access to the conference’s exhibit hall, Meet Market, keynotes, “Ask the Experts” round tables, 3 sessions of your choice, post-conference videos of all sessions, and more)
Important: To give you ample time to arrange your travel and lodging, the deadline to submit these comments is Wednesday, July 15 (of course, you’re most welcome to comment after this date too, but those “submissions” won’t qualify you for the prize(s)). I will announce the winners no later than July 16, 2015.
I don’t know if you’re following Affiliate Summit on Twitter, but here is what they posted a couple of days ago:
Affiliate Summit East 2015 Heading for a Sell Out http://t.co/QgKoRQXuu4
— Affiliate Summit (@affiliatesummit) June 30, 2015
Apparently, they are “on schedule to sell out in late July, based on sales patterns of past Affiliate Summits,” and sell-outs apply to passes allotted for giveaways too. So, hurry, and submit your entry below at your earliest convenience, and good luck!!
i am a beginner affiliate marketing enthusiast, and i am learning everything new everyday, the beauty of amazon affiliate program, is that its hard not to be interested in trying to become an affiliate and sell their products, Plus the world wide market they already have setup, has a great following and has trust with amazon. this makes easy for people to buy these products, which makes a great percent of amazon affiliates a success, and help them to learn more and develop better ways and to make sales
Thank you for your comment, snehanshu.
All, per Affiliate Summit’s latest post, they may sell out by July 17. So, hurry!! Submit your entries soon!
Amazon is making it very, very easy for the affiliate. If the customer clicks an add-to-cart link built with the Enhanced Product Links tool, the Amazon cookie is now set to 90 days (instead of 24 hrs for most other inbound link). And unless the customer removes the product from their cart, affiliate commission is secure for 90 days. Sometimes, a customer needs an extra day to checkout. So not using direct the add-to-cart links (vs. a more broad landing page) can hurt the affiliate. Amazon knows what they are doing here… the longer cookie doesn’t really cost them anything. Hey, didn’t Geno talk about this in “An Hour a Day” ? You sure did. chapter 6 🙂 I really like the Amazon tools and interface — the widgets are powerful and easy to configure. Hard to complain about anything they are doing re: tools or widgets.
As a mobile app developer, I’m very interested in Amazon’s In-app-purchasing (IAP) and Mobile Associate (MAP) program.
Most affiliate programs seem to focus on desktop experiences, with an emphasis on cookies as a mechanism for attribution and on visiting the site to buy the product. On mobile, most browsing time is spent inside apps, and most users will try to avoid clicking on something that will interrupt the in-app experience by opening up a window in the mobile browser since it ‘breaks the flow’ of navigation (even if it’s a web-view within the app).
Moreover, once on the site from mobile, users who are interested in buying will often find themselves having to fill out long payment details and address forms, often on sites that are not optimized for mobile.
An API such as Amazon’s IAP/MAP (unfortunately not yet available for iOS apps) allows a purchase to happen within the same context where it was originated and allows mobile developers to create purchasing experiences that are more pleasant for people using apps to get ideas on what to buy.
Good one! I, actually, have this one already embedded in my preso (as I, too, applaud Amazon on this front), but thanks for contributing it, DavideB.
As a digital agency based in Glasgow, Scotland, my team are constantly looking beyond the UK for examples of well-run affiliate programmes. From Walmart’s setup, it is obvious they have spent a lot of time listening to their affiliates and putting them first in the conversation. Things like the dedicated affiliate signup page, access to APIs and the WordPress plugin shows a commitment to making things as easy as possible for affiliates. Add to that the incentivised commission levels for new programme applicants and you have an example of a company who asks “what can we do for affiliates” and not the other way around. So many brands, both in the UK and beyond, get that question the wrong way around and assume affiliates should be flocking to work with them on the strength of their brand. Walmart is regarded as one of the biggest brands in the world and yet they do not adopt this attitude when approaching new partners. For this they must be commended.
I am brand new to affiliate marketing, as in I am building my site now and came across this link on Amazon (which I obviously love), while looking to buy your book. I am actually here to subscribe to the blog & say that I am so thankful for coming across your book and blog, and thank you for sharing your expertise. I found out about this post from the author page which I like to follow. Also thanks because I had no idea about the summit, so hopefully I can plan to attend the next one! I don’t know enough about all this yet lol, but I do find Amazons system easy to use, I like that you have the option to link to text only, pic only (which is a nice visual without being as obvious it’s an affiliate link), or both listed just as seen on Amazon, which allows us to borrow their credibility and brand recognition. I have not yet explored Walmarts site but will do so, I love that Walmart consistently offers low prices on items, so that way if you post something with a great price there is no reason the reader wouldn’t use your links. Excited to read the book and learn what I am really doing (or rather what I should be doing lol). Good luck to everyone on your sites and have fun to those who are planning to attend the summit!
I don’t believe this has ever happened in the history of me running these contests; so, for the first time ever, every single one of the above participants won a pass to the show! Congratulations, all; and see you there in just 2.5 weeks!!
If anyone isn’t able to claim a pass. Please think of me. I’d love to hear you speak.
Thanks!
Scott