While many people make a living as affiliate marketers, there are several opportunities for other types of businesses to use affiliate marketing as an additional means to make money and increase exposure. 

Forbes.com featured an article a few months back (http://www.forbes.com/columnists/2005/11/08/marketing-ecommerce-internet-cx_tt_1109straightup.html) highlighting the success of small and large companies alike that would rather spend their advertising dollars on affiliate marketing campaigns versus more traditional strategies.   Small businesses are encouraged to outsource their affiliate marketing needs, especially considering the maintenance required to keep clients happy and collect payments among other items. 

Small businesses especially benefit from increased consumer exposure and the ability to broaden their market without forking over huge sums of money.  Companies also attract new online consumers with special offers like free shipping.

Sounds like a mutually beneficial relationship!  Whether you’re in affiliate marketing for a living, or want to see profits rise in the current job you do for a living - this program’s for you!

Anyone attending ad-tech New York in November??? Exact dates are November 6-8, and it’s taking place at the New York Hilton.  Of course you can always check out www.ad-tech.com for more info.   Just to clue you in though, there will be guests including MTV execs and Disney/ABC folks too.  It’s like Mickey meets Laguna Beach!  Just kidding of course. 

What ad-tech is, is an awesome opportunity to find hands-on training, progressive marketing sessions that’ll blow the socks off of prior campaigns.  If you’re involved in marketing in anyway, from creative to tech, it will be a worthwile stop. 

 Affiliate marketing is all about networking, and it appears this is one of the best ways to meet people in person and spread the good word about your company.  There’s still time to sign up - people to meet and parties to go to - what’s stopping you? 

Interested in scaling the Affiliate Summit?  If so, you can still sign up.  I checked out www.affiliatesummit.com today and confirmed there are still spots available for their ‘West’ convention, which takes place January 21-23.  Although you’ll have to remember to sign up before Halloween.  So take a break from deciding whether or not you want to dress up as an EMO rocker or sexy Sherlock Holmes (yes, those costumes exist for the extroverted slueths out there) and remember to at least consider signing up.

 Affiliiate experts Shawn Collins and Missy Ward are hosting the event and have several impressive speakers lined up.  Plus the convention’s in Vegas.  Just leave the Halloween costume at home.

A recent article in the San Francisco Chronicle  tackles whether or not the proliferation of online technology and the millions of people who connect, share, and spend a bunch of time on the web has improved our society or is leading it down a diluted road of standards and ways we process information. 

Web 2.0 is basically a continuation of a movement that empowered the individual to have access to sites like YouTube and MySpace.   Those in support of those and other popular websites promoting sharing and community,seem to like the economic factors - free information / advertising dollars.  Those who are against the it site a lack of culture and overall editing.  Information is skewed, and adverstising influences the overall product.

The most recent issue of Forbes (featuring a new billion dollar You Tube creator) included a letter from the editor basically chiding ‘certain’ sites for not caring about the quality of the product shared.  The denigration of society is affected by the lack of care that goes into selecting material a good number of people spend hours pouring over to find a thirty second video of a dancing dog. 

  A lot of food for though especially if you make a living on the internet. 

Although it currently only represents 2 percent of the online advertising market, Pay Per Call advertising is a growing trend according to the Inc.com article: http://www.inc.com/magazine/20060301/handson-technology.html.  One reason? It’s cheaper (the same reason why anything gains in popularity…Craigslist!)

Compare a Google keyword search, which charges an average of $1.95 per click, to $5.50 charged for a phone call.  The difference?  The consumer action.  According to the article, 30 percent of phone calls lead to sales, versus only 3 percent of clicks. 

Market researchers expect pay per call advertisements to control 15 percent of online ad space, plus bring in an estimated four billion in revenue by 2009.  For now, it appears local businesses including plumbers, electricians, and merchants who can follow up the call with immediate service will benefit from pay per call ads. 

This may be news to som: self-destructible e-mail! While it’s common for people to self-destruct (we all go through rough patches everynow and then), e-mail?  Spam?  Is there a countdown?  Forewarning - like a popup that says “This e-mail will self destruct in 5, 4, ….”  Perhaps not.  

 Here’s what I know about it: Echowrox Corporation created the “secure send” feature in Microsoft Outlook.  The concept in action is fairly self-explanatory….e-mails will essentially disappear anywhere between 10 seconds to two weeks. 

A DM News article interviewed Luc Vezina of GOT Corp., who asserted, “Destructible e-mail may come in handy for publishers who want to place restrictions on the number of people who receive e-mail.”  Other proponents believe it will help curtail identity theft and also create a sense of urgency in advertisements. 

The costs?  Only about five to eight bucks a  month for now.  And there’s always the phone!

If you’re job requires you to be on the internet all day, who wouldn’t like the latest and greatest gadgets out there to not only fuel your business endeavors, but spur your creative interest as well?

Don’t know how to get that dream device?  Check out this article, http://www.forbes.com/technology/personaltech/2006/09/13/shopping-gadget-guide-tech-personal-cx_rr_0913gadget.html.  Luckily Forbes.com helps us all obtain that new cell phone/ipod/camera/ - even able to microwave popcorn - device.  The site, ChoiceBot.com was mentioned, and is supposedly up and running.  It allows people to search and compare endless electronic makes and models, and their capabilities.  90,000 products was the most recent estimate of product reviews people can read online. 

If you’re like me and eBay or the nearest electronic store in the mall is your choice store, you might want to check out the article to not only know what to buy, but at the best price.