Site review: Alice.com
Having sold social search engine Jellyfish to Microsoft in 2007, founders Brian Wiegand and Mark McGuire started work on Alice.com, which launched in beta this week.
Alice.com provides an online marketplace for users to buy a whole range of household goods; nappies, batteries, soap and more, and for CPG manufacturers to sell directly to customers. I've been trying the site out...
A/B split and multivariate testing: don't forget your most important page
I'm a huge fan of A/B split and multivariate testing. It simply works. And that means more money at the end of the day.
But because this can be a complicated undertaking depending on the scope of your testing strategy, there are often pages that get left behind.
6 sure ways to get your affiliate application declined
Jack applied to join an affiliate program, but his application was declined. He's both surprised and confused. He does have a plan on how to promote the merchant for whose program he applied, but the merchant chose not partner with Jack. Why? Perhaps he didn't provide the merchant with enough information to enable him to understand how this could be a mutually beneficial partnership.
Can you trust Web 2.0 companies with your money?
In a post last month, I pointed out that some of the most popular Web 2.0 companies still haven't figured out Customer Service 1.0.
Even though they're related, customer service is one thing and your money is another.
Skimlinks brings affiliate model to old school media
There was a slightly inconvenient clash last night between the a4uAwards for affiliate marketing and the AOP Awards for online publishers where I'm proud to report that Econsultancy won the Specialist Digital Publisher category.
5 ways affiliate traffic can leak
If I were to choose one most commonly recurring problem with websites that run affiliate programs it would be leaks. In brief, a leak is a path to an untrackable action that the end user may make bypassing the route that provides for an affiliate remuneration.
Affiliates are in this business to make money. They are also being remunerated for their marketing efforts only if an action (a sale, a lead submission, etc) takes place.
Every e-business that starts an affiliate program must become extremely sensitive to the fact that once the program goes live some of the traffic will be sent to the business' website by marketers who are paid on performance basis only. This should get translated into becoming respectful of affiliate marketers' efforts, and removing any possibilities for the visitors they refer to "leak" without completing the desired action.
There are 5 main types of leaks that merchants are prone to:
Can iPhone apps lift your brand value through association?
Brands can get a generous lift when affiliated with high quality products such as the iPhone. But what about the applications in the App Store? Let's look at why Apple should build a sustainable eco-system for technology-based mobile applications, which is the key to product quality and research into the potential of mobile applications that brand marketers can harness.
a4u announces shortlist for affiliate awards
As one of the judges at this year's a4uAwards, I've been impressed by the standard of entries from merchants, publishers, networks and agencies. The shortlist for the awards ceremony (to be held in London on June 2) has just been announced.
Ineffective Affiliate Recruitment by E-mail
E-mail can be an excellent tool for affiliate recruitment if it is utilized the right way. Unfortunately, in many cases affiliate program managers are just multiplying the spam flow that is already bombarding our mailboxes. There are at least 5 mistakes that you can make when putting together an affiliate recruitment message.
It takes confidence to send customers to the competition - or a sweetheart deal
Companies that can reliably outperform their competition have a huge leg up in a tight market. And drawing attention to that fact can be a great marketing strategy. Cellular provider T-Mobile is so confident in its low prices that
it began a huge push this week, sending consumers to an independent search engine to check their prices against the competition. But now it looks like that search engine might not be entirely unbiased.
Social media: the best and worst of 2009
Email marketing: six steps to improving customer engagement in 2010
Web 2.0
Graham Charlton
Strategy & Planning
