The world according to blogs.  Blogs are often used as an ‘accessory’ to sites whether used to create a voice or identity or share industry news.  In the past year or two, blogs have evolved from online journals to stand alone money-making ventures, with revenue generated from online advertisements.

Crispads.com is a blog advertising ntework, and soley services the blogging industry.  Much like web sites now feature targeted ads, blog advertisements can be topical and relevant.  For example, Crispads.com would connect entertainment advertisers with top entertainment blogs; beatuty products with beauty/health/fitness related blogs, etc.  While this is by no means a new marketing concept, it opens up a direct advertising channel admist the 11 million plus blogs out there on the web. 

Blogads.com does the same as Crispads.com and claims to place ads in ‘peerselected’ blogs that garner over 300 million impressions a month.  Affiliate marketers can take heed and adopt targeted blog marketing techniques as added arsenal to online marketing.

Hello and happy holidays!  Not to skip past a couple of major holidays…BUT…there’s something just as exciting around the near corner.   To some it’s a long jump into the next year, but what better way to jump start you online marketing biz than to hit the first Affiliate Summit of 2007? 

Affiliate Summit 2007 occurs January 21-23.  Check out this link: http://www.affiliatesummit.com/?ADgoogle to learn even more about the Summit happenings and to register.  We’ll be there!!  It’s a great chance to network and hear big industry folks speak and exchange wisdoms.  Who else will be there? Hotels biggies like Marriott International, Affiliate Classroom, Target, and Yahoo! to name a few.  This is one of the few venues to showcase a diversity of companies and one to definitely take advantage of. 

Word of mouth marketing - such a simple formula yet we’ve seen it do wonders for everything from electronics to bubbly.  This form of marketing is not always as innocent as it seems.  At least not to the Federal Trade Commission.

What could the FTC possibly find wrong with you telling your friend telling his friend telling her grandma about a really cool product?  Actors!  Forget waiting tables - advertisers have been hiring actors or paying average people to promote products in a sluethful form of word of mouth marketing. 

The FTC is out to quell “Fake Tourists” (like those used in Sony Ericsson’s T68i mobile phone/digital camera campaign and hold those responsible for biasing was should be an unbiased campaign. The FTC is still in its investigative tage  and is questioning whether or not endorsers should disclose whether or not they’re paid to promote a product to the random consumer.  

5 Star Affiliates Programs ace blogger Linda Buquet discovered a major problem Google Checkout merchants have been experiencing this holiday season: affiliate commisions were not being tracked - meaning essentially that affiliates commission funds were cut off from the source.  Several merchants were hard hit by Google’s offer to consumers ($10 off at participating merchant sites) and understandly not pleased. 

Rumors were flying (via blogs) this past week, with many proposing this is the first step in Google’s plan to end affiaite marketing.  Google claims this is not true and the real cause is a result of new merchants signing up this holiday season causing strain on their system.  Latest information….Google’s working to solve Checkout problems. 

Sick of being second to Google?  Perhaps.  One way to change your company’s luck?  Shake and shuffle a few positions around.  For Yahoo that entails moving your CFO (Susan Decker) from a top ranking position to ‘head of the advertiser and publisher’ group.  COO Dan Roesenwig is leaving for good. 

 I guess this isn’t news to some who may remember Senior Vice Pesident Brad Garlinghouse sending a memo a few months back requesting a 20% staff reduction (http://www.forbes.com/home/technology/2006/12/05/yahoo-decker-rosensweig-tech-cx_rr_1205yahoo.html)

Acquisitions or lack there of seem to be Yahoo’s biggest hinderance in gaining any ground in their market.  Google is a daunting competitor and Yahoo’s plan of attack is still unknown.  Decker’s immediate plans?  Capture a market share.  Not an easy task when companies like Google drop almost two billion dollars for ubiquitous sites like Youtube.  Next move is Yahoo’s.