Steve Schaffer shares affiliate marketing insights
on this week’s Affiliate Marketing Insider podcast

Vertive and Offers.com founder Steve Schaffer joins the Affiliate Marketing Insider podcast this week to share his insights into the ever-changing world of affiliate marketing.

Steve has had an interesting vantage point over the industry – especially during the past year when he served as President of the industry’s watchdog organization, the Performance Marketing Association. Hear Steve’s take on the ongoing fight against affiliate nexus tax legislation and get his thoughts about the future of the industry. He’s also going to share his advice for those just entering the affiliate marketing arena.

Tune in at noon Pacific (3 p.m. Eastern) on Thursday to WebmasterRadio.fm to hear the 30-minute long podcast, Affiliate Marketing Insider hosted by Wade Sisson of Schaaf-PartnerCentric.

Tune in today for landing page tips, tests

Marketing Sherpa founder Anne Holland joins us on today’s edition of the Affiliate Marketing Insider podcast to share her insights into the dos and don’ts of landing page optimization and A/B testing.

Anne has some great tips to share based on A/B tests conducted and shared on her latest venture, WhichTestWon.com.

How important is content?
When it comes to content, does length matter?
Buttons – how big should they be – and where should you place them?

You’ll hear about all of this and more. Tune it at noon Pacific (3 p.m. Eastern) today on WebmasterRadio.fm to hear Anne Holland on Affiliate Marketing Insider.

Schaaf-PartnerCentric to attend Google Affiliate Network Summit

Schaaf-PartnerCentric is sending three representatives to the Google Affiliate Network Summit next week in Chicago. CEO Brook Schaaf, CFO Forrest Schaaf and Affiliate Manager Tracie Gross will attend the summit, which takes place Monday through Tuesday at Swissôtel Chicago.

The 2010 Google Affiliate Network Client Summit enables Google affiliate advertisers and publishers to engage with each other and get to know their Google teams. This invitation-only event helps Google Affiliate Network’s top advertisers and publishers engage in activities to advance the affiliate marketing channel.

The Client Summit will include:
* An Affiliate Marketing Caucus where advertisers are stationed and publishers rotate to establish and optimize relationships
* Insights and tactics to improve affiliate channel performance
* Updates and perspectives from Google leaders

Registration for this event is closed. Contact your Google representative if you are interested in attending this or future Google Affiliate Network events. For more information, visit http://www.google.com/events/ganclientsummit2010/index.html.

Anita Edge joins podcast for wrap-up of AffCon2010

Basecamp Web Ventures President Anita Edge joins host Wade Sisson this week on Affiliate Marketing Insider, a podcast that features discussions about trends in affiliate marketing with the industry’s movers and shakers.

Edge was a moderator and featured speaker at AffCon2010 last week in Denver and will share take-aways and important advice for affiliates that she learned at the conference. Learn valuable insights from the Affiliate Marketing 101 and Building the Best Model for Your Affiliate Business panel discussions.

Basecamp Web Ventures is a consulting company that specializes in crafting a compelling and effective web presence for the small to medium online business. Edge is also the founder of The Denver Internet Mastermind Group at ebizowners.com, which has more than 400 online business owners as members. She conducts a monthly educational program to help members master all aspects of Internet marketing and reach new heights of profitability with their own businesses.

To hear Edge talk about AffCon2010 take-aways, and to get her advice on building a business model that works for YOUR affiliate business, tune in to Affiliate Marketing Insider at noon Pacific (3 p.m. Eastern) Thursday on WebmasterRadio.fm.

Team Affiliate Marketers Give Back takes on breast cancer

Schaaf-PartnerCentric CEO Brook Schaaf joined the rest of Team Affiliate Marketers Give Back on Saturday, June 5 in Chicago for the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer 2010. The team walked 39+ miles that day – an amazing feat. More amazingly, the team raised enough money to pay for 7,300 mammograms on behalf of women who could otherwise not afford it.

Better still, the weekend event drew 3,400 participants and raised a total of $7.7 million to fight breast cancer. Brook wants to thank everyone who supported him and the other members of Team Affiliate Marketers Give Back.

“It was less painful than last year,” Brook said, “and I was pleased to help a good cause.”

You can view photos from the cancer walk in Karen Garcia’s Flickr photostream.

AffSpot.com Administrator talks shop in affiliate podcast

Scott Medlock, operator and administrator of the AffSpot Affiliate Forum and blog, joins Host Wade Sisson at noon Pacific (3 p.m. Eastern) tomorrow for the Affiliate Marketing Insider podcast on WebmasterRadio.fm.

Medlock will share the insights he’s gained through 15 years in the online marketing space and since taking over AffSpot.com last August. The AffSpot forum now has 17,000 members – the majority of which are active members of the thriving online community for affiliate marketers.

“I asked Scott to join me to preview his presentation at AffCon 2010, where he’ll be part of a panel discussion about widgets and online tools to support affiliate marketers,” Sisson said. “He also plans to share his thoughts on a wide range of topics including affiliate fraud, the advertising tax and the future of the industry.”

Medlock will be a featured speaker at AffCon2010, which takes place June 21-23 in Denver. To register for the conference, where all affiliates attend free, visit www.affcon2010.com.

Affiliate Marketing Insider is hosted by Wade Sisson of Schaaf-PartnerCentric. The podcast, now in its third year online, is broadcast at noon Pacific (3 p.m. Eastern) every Thursday on WebmasterRadio.fm. An archives of previous podcasts is available online at http://www2.webmasterradio.fm/affiliate-marketing-insider.

AffiliateDinner.com helps you find networking events

AffiliateDinner.com enables you to meet contacts in the affiliate marketing space in person, and to make new contacts and new business. It’s about networking AND education. With affiliate marketing perhaps more than any other industry, it’s important to know your community.

While Schaaf-PartnerCentric sponsors AffiliateDinner.com, we recognize that the idea is far from novel. We were inspired by all of the successful affiliate dinners, barbecues and other gatherings that we’ve attended through the years – including those sponsored by ShareASale and Shawn Collins.

The concept is simple: whosoever wants to plan or sponsor an affiliate dinner in the city of their choice may do so! This website is designed to help get the word out to your peers in the affiliate marketing industry.

If you are interested in planning or sponsoring a dinner, drop us a line. If you want to be informed of upcoming events, do the same, or sign up for the Affiliate Dinner mailing list here.

We recognize that it’s not always possible for everyone to attend the big industry trade shows. Events like those listed on AffiliateDinner.com, however, afford you the chance to meet the people behind the Skype addresses, social media identities and IM avatars.

Cast your vote for Affiliate Summit East 2010 Presenters

Affiliate Summit is trying something new this year. They’re allowing you – the attendees of this affiliate marketing conference – to review all speaker proposals and vote for the presentations that you’re most interesting in hearing.

We’d like you to vote for our speakers so that we at Schaaf-PartnerCentric may share our experience – and our expertise as affiliate program managers – with presentations at Affiliate Summit East Aug. 15-17 in New York City.

Our speaker proposals are among the 100+ that are up for your consideration. Please review them and cast your vote to include us in the conference.

To vote, create an account now at http://affiliatesummit.slinkset.com/. You can vote for submissions you’d like to see at Affiliate Summit East 2010 by clicking the arrow next to the proposed session. You may vote for as many sessions as you’d like. Voting will be open through May 14, 2010.

Please vote for our sessions:
Affiliate Program Case Studies: Strategies and Practices
Session Description: Discussion of what it takes for a retailer to get their affiliate channel to the next level. Multiple merchant case studies reveal and illustrate strategies and practices that attract affiliates.
Session Speaker: Stephanie Lewis, Director of Client Services, Schaaf-PartnerCentric
Panel to be determined
Session Classification:

Podcasting 101
Session Description: In this era of self-publishing, anyone – including you – can produce a podcast (and make money doing it!) Come learn the basics of producing, monetizing, hosting and promoting your very own podcast.
Session Speaker: Trisha Fawver, Client Support Specialist, For Me To Coupon
Tricia Meyer, Owner, MeyerTech
Daniel M. Clark, Host, Geek Dads Weekly
Session Classification: Beginner, Affiliates/Publishers, Podcasting

Speakers for Affiliate Summit will be chosen based on the combined votes from the public and the Affiliate Summit Advisory Board.

Schaaf Consulting to attend ad:tech San Francisco

Brook and Forrest Schaaf will attend ad:tech next week in San Francisco to represent their company, Schaaf-PartnerCentric, which became one of the largest outsourced program management (OPM) firms in the affiliate marketing industry earlier this month when the former Schaaf Consulting acquired PartnerCentric, Inc.

ad:tech, which takes place April 19-21 at Moscone Center North, offers a marketing education series led by industry experts on topics such as social media, mobile marketing, e-mail, Web analytics, branded publications, ad networks, affiliates and search. Its trade show features a lineup of big brands that includes Google, Facebook, Verizon, AOL, ValueClick Media, Advertising.com and Casale Media. Keynote speakers include Chris Anderson, best-selling author and editor-in-chief of WIRED magazine, and Loïc Le Meur, founder and chief executive officer of Seesmic.

Schaaf Consulting looks forward to interacting with industry peers and hearing from other experts in attendance. Founded in 2006, Schaaf Consulting manages programs for a variety of top performing clients. The company won the Ad:Tech Limelight Award for Best Affiliate Marketing Campaign in 2008. To learn more about the company’s approach to outsourced affiliate program management, and to see a full list of the programs it manages, visit www.schaafco.com.

For a full list of ad:tech exhibitors, speakers and events, and to register for the conference, visit: www.ad-tech.com.

This week’s podcast: Mommy bloggers as super affiliates

Debbie Bookstaber joins us on this week’s Affiliate Marketing Insider podcast to discuss mommy blogging and affiliate marketing. Join us at noon Pacific (3 p.m. Eastern) Thursday on WebmasterRadio.fm for the podcast.

What are the characteristics of a successful mommy blogger? How can mommy bloggers work with affiliate program managers to increase their success in affiliate marketing? Hear about all of this direct from a successful mommy blogger who also works for an interactive marketing agency.

Bookstaber has more than ten years of experience in online marketing, business development, product management and affiliate marketing. At the Jar Group she works with new and existing clients to formulate and implement a comprehensive marketing strategy.

Her previous expererience includes managing Travelocity’s white-label affiliate relationships as well as Expedia’s affiliate marketing programs. Passionate about social media and affiliate marketing, Debbie started a successful product review site, which was picked as one of six influential mom blogs by Playthings Magazine in February 2009. Debbie has advised PR firms and Fortune 500 companies on blogger relations and effective social media strategies.

Affiliate Marketing Insider is a weekly podcast on WebmasterRadio.fm that features affiliate marketing leaders and highlights innovations and ideas. Tune in at noon Pacific (3 p.m. Eastern) each Thursday on WebmasterRadio.fm.