Darren Rose is the owner of ProBlogger.net, one of the top places to learn how to monetize your Blog. He also makes his entire living on Blogging and often shares his secrets on how to also make it a full time living. Our Host Murray Newlands interviews Darren Rowse at BlogWorld Los Angeles about blogger relations in Future of Publishing. Darren also talks about his blog, Digital Photography School, his blogging guide hardcover book, Pro Blogger Book, and how he’ll promote his book.
Women in Power: Trisha Hawthorne Doesn’t Back Down
Do you know anyone in the industry who has been with the same company for 15 years? Meet Trisha Hawthorne, the head of Cutting Edge Offers, the affiliate division of Cutting Edge Media. She’s been with the company now for over 15 years and help build the industry as we know it. As the VP of Cutting Edge Media, she is woman behind one of the most successful biz-opp companies in the industry, that helped define the entire vertical. If you’ve run biz-opp offers in the last decade, she had something to do with it. She’s also one of the 10 Great Women of Affiliate Marketing that you must get to know, if you are doing business in this industry. She managed to become one of the most influential people in our industry, while raising two children and building a family — plus not backing down from her strong beliefs and ethics. In this interview, we were fortunate enough to hear what she honestly thinks about fraud, affiliate growth, how women are treated in the industry and more importantly how anyone can succeed.
How did you get started in the industry?
I was actually in nursing school when I was offered a sales position at Cutting Edge Media. Phil Longenecker, the founder/owner, was a family friend and during a holiday break I helped out around the office. They needed a sales rep and I wasn’t all that thrilled with nursing school, so I took the job selling ad space for the company’s business opportunity publications. That was 15 years ago. From there I was able to move up the ranks and when we got into the online space, Phil gave me a shot at getting it off the ground. We initially started by working with the few networks that were around at the time, along with some direct publishers. In 2002, we realized we needed to form our own network, so we started TheBizOppNetwork which was eventually re-launched as Cutting Edge Offers.
You’ve been with Cutting Edge Media for 15 years, what has kept you working for the same company when most people jump from job to job every few years?
Phil was an amazing leader, mentor and visionary, and I was fortunate enough to spend over 12 years under his guidance and leadership. He constantly pushed me to be better and always gave me the freedom to take risks and make critical decisions for the company. He encouraged everyone to work as if it was their company; that’s exactly what I did and is why I was so committed to CEM and to making sure it was as successful as possible. Tragically Phil passed away in 2009. Since then the company has gone through significant changes, but I feel that the reason we’ve been able to continue is due to the leadership and commitment to growth that he instilled in us. I am just as committed to our team and our clients as he was.
How do you continue to motivate yourself, and the direction of the Network after all of these years?
I’m fortunate to be surrounded by people who are just as passionate about this industry as I am. Bouncing ideas off the rest of the team as well as other leaders in this space keeps me motivated and energized every day. I also read a lot! Of course Performance Insider! There are some great niche blogs and tech blogs like Mashable that are very informative, and I’m always checking out industry sites and staying up-to-date on emerging trends. And I think it’s pretty meaningful to be able to help an affiliate reach their goals and work with advertisers on creating a winning offer. Knowing that I can impact someone’s personal success motivates me every day.
What type of offers would you tell new affiliates just starting to try, and how would you recommend them being promoted?
It really depends on the type of affiliate, their traffic sources and their demographic. I think that a big mistake some affiliate manager’s make is getting too attached to a ‘hot’ offer and assuming that a particular offer will work across all media channels and demographics.
I feel like the only way you can make recommendations is when you’re 100% integrated into their promotional habits, including what’s already working for them and driving their revenue. In some cases, that might mean working closely on the advertiser side to make the connection with the affiliate, which in turn, makes money for all parties involved. I’m also a strong believer in educating the affiliates on the intricacies of an offer. For example why certain advertisers require certain types of traffic, or why CPA’s sometimes may not match another offer that may ‘look’ similar or be in the same vertical. I think the more knowledge an affiliate has regarding the offer and the advertiser, the better chance they have of long-term success
What advice would you give to a young woman starting in this industry?
Know your sh*t! I firmly believe in the adage “knowledge is power.” Make sure you know what the latest trends are, can identify the big players in the industry, and have a clear understanding of where this industry is going. You are in a position to directly impact someone’s success, and they will be looking to you for guidance, confidence and information. The biggest issue young women face is getting past the way the industry ‘used’ to be, which meant you just had to be cute and smile and you’d be hired as an affiliate manager. It’s a tough stigma to overcome, and it can be hard for a young woman to be taken seriously in this industry, but by having a vision of where you want to go and the drive and knowledge to back it up, you can absolutely become a respected leader.
How do you balance raising a family with being a high level executive at one of the top companies in the industry?
With lots of help! I have a great husband who I also happen to work with, so he fully understands the 24/7 mentality of this business, as well as the travel involved. I also have a great family who is always willing to help.
Do you feel like women are pressured into fitting a certain image in affiliate marketing?
I believe that can happen in any industry. Affiliate marketing is a young industry and there are certain stereotypes about women in this business that I believe we are starting to overcome. And this is a direct result of strong-minded women who are smart and focused on the success not only of their company but of the industry as a whole. There’s no reason to let anyone else dictate who you are and what your role is as a woman in this industry. You have the power to decide on your own image; it’s your knowledge and actions that will set you apart.
Who are a few people that have influenced or inspired you in the industry?
There are way too many to name for this article, but I’ll go back to some of my original inspirations and say Mark Colacioppo, whom I met over 10 years ago and who taught me a lot when I knew very little. Cruise Director Warren Corpus, who introduced me to literally everyone on my first Affiliate Summit cruise (most of whom I still do business with today), and of course Missy Ward, for not only being a great promoter of affiliate marketing and women in this industry, but for continuing to reinvent herself and expand her brand.
Do you feel the industry has matured since you started online?
Affiliate Summit started on a boat…..need I say more? (Hopefully not, because I’m sworn to secrecy!) In the ‘early years’, affiliate marketing didn’t get a ton of respect as a significant form of advertising. And if you were an affiliate marketer, it was probably just a hobby or, at best, a part-time/sideline money-making opportunity, but the industry has changed so much in the last few years and it’s great to see how it’s embraced by many as a full-time, professional business.
I’m not sure that back then we realized how quickly this industry would grow; we just knew that we loved what we did and we were excited about the future. I believe that most of us still feel that way; we’re just a lot smarter and we’ve taken steps to ensure that we keep improving the reputation of the space to attract more stable, long-term advertisers and affiliates.
What do you see as one of the biggest issues in the industry that you’d like changed?
Fraud. Unfortunately a word that used to mean an affiliate submitting fake information on a form, has now expanded to shaving leads, deceptive marketing practices, blatantly incentivizing prospects and the list goes on. Self-regulation is critical to ensure our industry can attract larger, branded advertisers with substantial budgets.
Do you think the plethora of new affiliate cpa networks is good for the industry?
Assuming they have a unique value proposition, I believe that competition can help push the industry farther. Unfortunately that is the exception, and it’s getting harder and harder to distinguish one from another. There are also too many unscrupulous networks popping up that are giving the legitimate networks a bad name.
Where do you see the industry heading with social media, and platforms like Pinterest?
If you thought this industry has grown quickly already, social media is going to continue to drive it ahead much faster and in a shorter amount of time. It’s an incredible tool for creating major traffic and brand interaction–Pinterest alone is hitting over 10 million users, with women accounting for 97% of Pinterest’s Facebook fans. Companies successfully using social media to generate traffic know that you have to put your own unique spin on it, be creative and have fun with it. That gets people to engage with your brand and share it with their friends/fans/followers.
What is your dream car?
I don’t have a dream car, I have a dream house. Once I have that, I’m sure I’ll figure out what to put in the garage. ☺
7 Quick On-Page SEO Tips that Work
Building backlinks to your website is not enough – you need to focus on the on-page SEO as well. Contrary to popular belief, on-page SEO isn’t rocket science. Giving quality and helping the search engines find the best content will always give you great results.
What follows are 7 quick on-page SEO tips that you can apply right away to your site and see the difference.
1) Link to Sites with High TrustRank: While Google PageRank is always talked about in SEO circles, another metric that’s increasingly getting attention is the TrustRank of a website. The more trusted a site is, the higher the TrustRank. So if you want the search engines to view your site as trusted, make sure you link to other trusted sites within your niche, sites that aren’t spammy in any way.
2) Implement Authorship Markup: If you regularly use Google search, then you must have noticed the author’s “profile image” showing up alongside the page listing. This is how the big G tends to gauge the reputation of the author in order to judge the quality of the site’s content. So make sure you implement an authorship markup on your site or any other site you have your content on. Check out the Google Webmaster Help Page to learn more about how you can implement an authorship markup.
3) Repeat Your Keyword Smartly: If there’s one factor that needs to be on your SEO checklist – its keyword density. Let’s say you want to get ranked for the phrase “Pilate Exercise”. Now if you want to maintain the keyword density for this particular phrase, it’s important that you mention it plenty number of times on your page. The idea is to do it smartly by weaving it within your content so that it reads well. Try to maintain a keyword density of 2% to 5% of your total word count. Keep it natural without overdoing, or else you may get penalized for keyword stuffing.
4) Have Fewer AdSense Ads: The Internet is facing a problem with junky ‘made-for-adsense-sites’ that offer no value whatsoever. And the search engines are well-aware of this. This is why many such low quality sites had their rankings wiped out in Google’s infamous Panda update. So if you’ve got a website covered with AdSense ads without much content, you will have a hard time getting ranked. Google wants you to have well structured content on your site. The more you focus on this one factor, the better it is.
5) Speed Up Your Website: If your site loads quicker than the other competing sites, you will have a better chance of ranking over them. Why? Because Google takes website speed into consideration since it wants to give people a great ‘search’ experience. Improving the speed of your site is the easiest thing you can do impress the major search engines, so why not do it? There are many useful on-page SEO tools available online to help you speed up your site.
6) Optimize Your 404 Page: People regularly make typos and end up landing on your 404 page, even though you don’t want them to. So making your 404 page more user-friendly will stop your visitors from hitting the exit button – and position you better in the eyes of the search engines.
7) Have Search Engine Friendly URLs: This is one factor that many ignore even though it holds so much importance. When you have a string of characters and numbers in your URL, it confuses your visitors and offers absolutely no SEO advantage. Having your main keyword phrase in the URL is integral as it helps you get ranked for it.
There you go! Seven on-page SEO tips that will help you boost your position on the SERPs.
Do you have any specific on-page SEO tips to share? Please give us your thoughts in the comments below!
ClickBooth Accused by Former Employee
Beware the Ides of March. This saying, made famous by William Shakespeare’s play Julius Caesar, was a warming to Caesar that he was about to be stabbed (33 times!) and by a man he considered a friend. Today my friends, is the Ides of March.
A dismissed employee of IntegraClick, ClickBooth parent company, Robert McAfee, who functioned as the Vice President of Technology has filed a lawsuit, claiming that he was fired for refusing to destroy evidence that could be used in a potential regulatory investigation by the FTC. The lawsuit, filed in Florida, claims that ClickBooth violated Florida whistle-blower laws, and that because of this he should receive money from the company. Copy of the entire lawsuit can be found below the article
IntegraClick however is not taking these accusations lying down, and has told Performance Marketing Insider that they are without any merit whatsoever, and that these accusations came only after they failed to pay off the dismissed employee a “separation” fee that he requested. IntegraClick claims McAfee has made these same allegations before about a previous employer. It is their story that this lawsuit was filed after the employee had already left the organization, and the claims were only made now when the employee realized he wasn’t going to get money from IntegraClick for his termination.
They stand by the fact that the employee was fired only after a poor performance review, and was not in fact involved at all with any legal or compliance discussions as he was in the technical department. .
What is very interesting that it is lacking any mention of McAfee speaking to any law enforcement or regulatory agency about his findings. Most Whistle-blower lawsuits usually have that aspect that the person involved actually blew the “whistle” on the company’s bad actions, and because of this they were fired. One can assume that since it is not mentioned, that McAfee did not in fact speak to anyone about this.
In Florida however, this is not a requirement and a whistle-blower type lawsuit can be brought just on the claim that the employee was asked to do something potentially illegal and fired for that act. However, that employee would have to prove that this was the main reason or a major contributory reason that he was fired, not for any other reason. This is basically a he-said, she-said type of lawsuit.
According to their representative, IntegraClick has already hired an independent 3rd party (BDO) to audit their data and have told us that the auditors have already verified that IntegraClick’s statement of events is correct.
Obviously with the concern about FTC investigations, this comes at a bad time. ClickBooth, like many companies are most likely looking at their past actions and their affiliate’s actions, to ensure that they are fully compliant. Almost every company in the industry has received information notices from the FTC, asking questions about their businesses and their affiliate’s method of promotions.
ClickBooth, the #2 rated network on Performance Marketing Insiders, Top 10 Network list has been blowing up of late with its traffic and US reach doubling over the past three months.
Source: Quantcast.com – http://www.quantcast.com/clickbooth.com .
*Correction made, to spell McAfee not MacCafee
Copy of Lawsuit Below
Two Facebook SEO Requirements
Thanks to the ongoing social media domination, Internet marketing is no longer what it used to be. Most of the small and big web businesses know for a fact that the era of web 1.0 has ended for good. If they have to survive today, they need to be a part of the social web.
Facebook, the biggest social media site out there, is actually leading this online revolution. This is why you find every single online business striving to create a Facebook page that delivers real value.
However, the problem is, most of them are not even focusing on proper search engine optimization for their Facebook page. Putting in strong effort to push your website up the search engine ladder is not enough, you also need to effectively optimize your Facebook page to get organic search traffic coming in.
Factor # 1: Naming it Right
One of the biggest advantage that you have with Facebook pages is that you are in control of your page. This is something that you should leverage to the maximum.
An important part of optimizing your Facebook page is how you name it. You not only want to get the search engines to rank your page, but also have your target audience identify with you.
Make sure you’ve put in enough thought into giving your page the right name, which should be short and to the point. Besides that, you should also choose a proper name for your custom/vanity URL.
Also, search engines generally give emphasis to titles because they see them in Heading 1. So it’s important that you craft the title of your page and tabs carefully, while making sure you’re using your main keyword in the vanity URL.
Your objective here is to be found by your target audience through the major search engines like Google, Yahoo! and Bing. When you optimize your page for the right keyword phrases, the chances of getting higher organic traffic goes up.
Also, keep in mind that once you’ve picked up the name for your page and for the vanity URL, be consistent and stick to it.
Factor # 2: Correct Usage of SEO Rich Content
If you want the search engines to take notice of your Facebook page, then you need to give them what they’re looking for. In other words, use SEO focused content in the right places to make it easy for the SE spiders to find it.
If you’re planning to use images in your welcome tab, then be well-aware that any SEO rich text put within an image cannot be indexed. Search engines are unable to parse images and read the text inside them. You should instead put your SEO rich content in the ‘Info’ and ‘About’ tabs.
Always keep in mind that Facebook is a social site. Therefor, you should keep your SEO rich text toned down and not go overboard with it. While it’s necessary to include your main keywords in it, you should also see to it that you’re writing for people and not the search engines.
Remember, getting your page ranked is not the only thing – it’s also important to connect with your fans.
What SEO tactics do you use to optimize your Facebook page? Do share your ideas in the comments section below.
Tons of Bad Ads Removed from Google
Google claims that they have been successful in preventing people from placing “bad ads” on Google, with the amount of bad ads down by 50%. “Online advertising is the commercial lifeblood of the web, so it’s vital that people can trust the ads on Google and the Internet overall,” wrote Chief Engineer Sridhar Ramaswamy.
According to the Ramaswamy, over 130 Million “bad ads” were removed in 2011. “Like all other internet companies, we’re fighting a war against a huge number of bad actors — from websites selling counterfeit goods and fraudulent tickets to underground international operations trying to spread malware and spyware,” he added. “We must remain vigilant because scammers will always try to find new ways to abuse our systems.”
Quite a few of the “bad ads” on Google that are showing up are unfortunately in the performance marketing industry. Unfortunately, this means that because of the actions of those who ignore the standards, sometimes whole category of ads and whole parts of our industry are summarily banned from advertising on Google.
The following video explains what Google does to prevent more bad ads from showing up.
Did you know that hundreds of Googlers work around the clock to make sure the ads you see on Google are safe? David Baker, Engineering Director at Google, explains more about our fight against scam ads and our process for keeping you safe.
Convert2Media Gets Cake in the Face
Convert2Media’s Mike Kerry and Josh Arroyo show their love for Cake Marketing by getting “Caked” in the face. Meanwhile, Steve Howe gets hit by a surprise last minute cake from Robert Dolan. This video was done to show support for the kick-ass team over at Cake Marketing! Cake Marketing is a hosted software solution that provides real time analytics and tracking for online marketing campaigns.
Tim Kastner LeadsCon Video Interview
Lashback LeadsCon 2012. Murray Newlands interviews Tim Kastner from Lashback at LeadsCon 2012. Curious what LashBack does? Well, they are the guys who make sure tons of mailers are compliant and following the law.
Target Your Audience Effectively With Performance Marketing
Designing a successful search marketing campaign starts with knowing your audience. Unless and until you properly define your target audience, your campaign remains vague.
So, the question that comes up here is, who includes your target audience?
The answer is pretty simple – your target audience comprises of people who you’re marketing to. As simple as that.
When you’re planning to create an effective SEO strategy, it’s important that you know the pain points of these people you’re targeting. It’s about understanding their wants and needs to get the most out of your efforts.
This not only helps you prioritize content that you should be focusing on, but also gives you a clearer vision for what needs to be done next.
Also, keep in mind that keyword research is a step that comes after you determine your audience. This allows you to tailor your content for them and find keywords that are laser targeted.
Conduct a Thorough Market Analysis
In order to identify your target audience you should know your market like the back of your hand. This can be achieved by conducting a detailed market analysis. Going through the current news and doing extensive research on the web will help you gouge the interest level of your market.
Your basic aim here is to know where your target audience hangs out, what are their buying habits and the kind of feedback they have for your products/services. The more you learn about your prospects/customers, the better you will be able to serve them.
Analyze Your Customers and Competition
Have a look at your current customers to know where you stand. It’s crucial that you know who your customers are and what’s making them buy from you. Do they share the same interests? What are their characteristics? This will help you create a customer profile that you can use to look for other people like them.
Besides your customers, also check your current competition. What kind of audience are your competitors targeting? Who is their typical client? The idea here is to avoid going after the market they’re into, and find a niche that has been overlooked by them.
Study Your Own Product or Service
Sit down and analyze your product/service; list out all the features in detail. Once you’re done, list out the benefits that each feature provides.
When you’ve got all the benefits on paper, the next step is to create a list of people that have a need/want that can be fulfilled by your product. You will have a strong starting point for getting more customers/clients with your marketing by doing this analysis
Don’t Break Your Target Too Far
Avoid making the mistake of breaking down your target audience to a micro level. It’s better to go for more than one niche if needed. Ultimately you want a responsive market that is neither too broad, nor too narrow. Always try to have a balance when it comes to this one aspect.
How do you define your target audience? Do you have your own unique way of doing it? Please share them in the comments, we’d love to hear from you!
Affiliate Fraud? No Way! What to Look Out For
Fraud – we have all experienced it in the real world – but affiliate fraud it is quite rampant in the affiliate world as many of us in the EDU space know all too well. No name dropping here but Google two vowels and the 7th letter of the alphabet and you will know what I mean. There are entities on the “interweb” that solely exist to take advantage of the not so swift and truth be told use a lot of creative techniques to bypass the unknowing eye and commit advertising fraud. Have no fear, there are quite a few weapons and bits of knowledge at our disposal that can come in handy when trying to counteract these attacks from these, pardon my language, bullshit companies and DBAs.
Things to Look out For
It’s easy for marketers to defraud their clients by generating false visits and sales to a website. Here are some pointers I came across in a conversation with Evan Lovett, a senior member of Media Trust:
1) Viable English. A must for clear communication. Affiliate marketing is so nuanced – and vulnerable – that a clear, concise understanding/dialogue is mandatory for proceeding with a relationship.
2) Transparency. Increasingly imperative, especially as the “black-hat” movement has become exposed, and cheats/frauds are becoming more deceptive. If you can’t see the ad (display), referrers (content), or creative (email), it is fair to wonder if the affiliate/partner is hiding something (no, not his ‘secret sauce’). Viable, long-term partners share their business as again, a mutual understanding can only enhance a relationship.
3) Over Communication. This may seem counterintuitive to the above points, but when (potential) affiliates are TOO persistent, specifically regarding finances – how fast can you pay? Do you have my correct wire info? Can you do ACH? How about PayPal? – It sends up a red flag.
4) Multiple Channels. A jack of all trades is a master of none. Rarely, if ever, do singular affiliates specialize in more than one method of distribution. If a prospective affiliate has email, search & media buying at their disposal, it’s another reason for caution.
5) Eagerness. Generally, affiliates have more than enough options of where to run offers, eg buddy, I hear from 50 networks/day – why should I work with you guys? Thus, when a new partner wants to run “all of your best offers” immediately, that could be a sign that they are out of options, perhaps due to nefarious behavior at other advertiser/networks.
Protecting Yourself
You might also consider a good software program that runs an audit for you. These programs are designed to check your traffic patterns and conversion rates, as well as all the details that bring visitors to your site. There are many great options available out there: ScrubKit, CPA Detective to name a few.
None of the above items are 100% fool proof, however, it will help ensure your marketing is working to your advantage and your traffic is performing optimally. Such a program is a sound investment for any site owner. Affiliate marketing can bring you the visitors you need, but only if you monitor your traffic well.
7 Ways Pinterest Can Help Boost Your Search Engine Rankings
Pinterest is the new kid on the social media block. Its become one of the fastest growing social media sites on the Internet.
One reason why Pinterest is working out so well is because of its unique approach to content curation. People share interesting pictures on the site by ‘pinning’ them to their ‘boards’.
If you’re on Pinterest, you should be doing everything you can to leverage it for traffic. Internet marketers have already started to use the social network to drive targeted visitors back to their web properties – so why not you?
By simply optimizing your Pinterest profile for the search engines you can magnify the response you get from the site. Given below are 7 smart tips to help you propel your Pinterest presence to a whole new level.
1) Optimize Your Profile Description – The description area is where you tell others about you and your business. It’s also where you get to add the keywords that you’re targeting. So make sure you fill the description area with rich content that clearly tells other members about you.
2) Use Hash Tags – If you want to get a high number of likes and shares on the site, make sure you’re using hash tags to add keywords to the description of your pins. Just like Twitter, Pinterest users also use #tags frequently, and that’s something you can take advantage of.
3) Add the “Pin It” Button to Your Website – Pinterest is no different from other popular social networking sites when it comes to making your content go viral. By adding the “pin it” button to your blog, along with the Facebook “like” button and Twitter’s “tweet” button, you will make it easy for other people to share your stuff on Pinterest. This automatically helps you get a link back to your site.
4) Use @ Tags – Since Pinterest is a social site, you need to connect with other users to build relationships and get your pins popular. A good way to do this is to add the other pinners using @ tags. This improves your chances of getting a re-pin and helps you strengthen your identity on the site.
5) Connect Your Social Media Profiles – Pinterest lets you add your Facebook/Twitter profiles in the “Edit Profile” section. When you do so, you let Google know your overall social presence. It also adds more credibility to your profile.
6) Go for Creative Visual Content – The kind of content that you share on Pinterest really makes a difference. Be bold, be creative, be amazing – that’s how you get noticed and get more shares. For example, if your website sells software tool for stock traders, create a beautiful infographic explaining its benefits. Think out of the box.
7) Take Care of the Basics – If you want to get the most out of Pinterest in terms of SEO, you should work on building a strong foundation first. Taking care of simple things like attaching your URL to the pin and linking your pins to relevant pages of your website can help in the long run.
How are you using Pinterest? And what are you doing to make your Pinterest activity SEO friendly? Do share your experience in the comments below!
Everything You Need to Know About Pinterest (InfoGraphic)
Everything you need to know about the fast growing social network Pinterest, and it’s extreme growing power.
Ryan Gray Makes Grinding Interesting
Grinding is the arduous task of doing something over and over again. Some people find it a bad term — and others find it part of the process of making tons of money. I had the opportunity to meet Ryan Gray at the airport in Las Vegas after Affiliate Summit West and has a very interesting conversation about how he’s turned Grinding into an art. Based on that I knew at one time I needed to sit down with him and do an interview. If you didn’t know Ryan Gray is, he’s one half of the dynamic duo of IMGrind.com, one of the most popular Internet Marketing (IM) private paid forums. It’s one of those places that people who are looking to seriously get into internet marketing go to to find all the secrets of the industry — and more importantly, what is working really well. I was fortunate enough to be able to sit down with him this past week and he was able to provide insight into what is happening in the industry, why he started IMGrind.com and what else is on the horizon.
Ryan, obviously both of your reputations precede you, but for my newer readers, please tell us briefly about yourselves and how you got started in this industry
Hey Ricky, Ryan Gray here thanks for having me on your blog. I hope your readers will enjoy what I have to say… I got started learning how to develop websites in 1998. I launched multiple sites such as a Webmaster resources hub, a graphic design exchange, etc. My first (big) success was a professional wrestling website, with my identical twin brother Richard, in the early 2000s. Leveraging the growing number of Internet connections we garnered the attention of major brands and allowed them to gain exposure on an entirely new medium. In exchange we were paid on a CPM, or cost per impression basis. Heading into 2003 I learned a lot about performance marketing as I began to drive pay per click traffic to my web hosting company.
Years passed and businesses grew. I ended up selling my web hosting company but continued to develop content rich properties that served over one million unique visitors a month. In 2008 I began running various campaigns around the performance marketing industry and monetized traffic with CPA offers. 2009 came with even more opportunity as I partnered with John Kirkpatrick – a major player in the CPA industry. Along with my brother, Richard, we quickly sustained millions of dollars in revenue a month and were many advertisers’ top affiliate.
Today, I’ve partnered with Ruck over at IMGrind.com.
Talk to me a bit about IMGrind.com – there is a lot of buzz about it, what is it? Give us the skinny.
The goal of IMGrind.com is to provide people a resource hub to all things concerning Internet Marketing. We want to see people GROW their businesses leveraging the opportunities of the Internet. Many affiliate marketers find a lot of success combining the promotion of CPA offers with their own lead generation strategy. This allows them to sustain a much larger return on investment and long-term business. Any of your readers interested in growing their businesses (new or existing) should consider IMGrind.com as a resource to not only keep updated on the latest industry happenings but the cutting edge strategies and techniques individuals and companies alike are using to sustain massive revenues and ROIs.
Talk to us specifically about your experience and frustrations in launching this and some takeaways?
Any business I get involved with I do it because I have a passion for it. Ruck and I always say if the website/campaign/business is bad ass people will come. In any business venture I’ve never been in it for the money, rather offering a superior service, that’s affordable for anyone.
With that said, I’ve never really had a “frustration.” Sure there is that audiovisual guy that forgets a microphone jack, but minor things are going to happen in any start-up. Every day I just focus on sharing my passion with others through my experience of making money online for over a decade.
Can you provide a case study or a “success story” of any of your members and walk us through that process of taking them from a noob to a successful online entrepreneur?Just one wouldn’t do us justice. It’s been amazing watching some members grow. I’ve literately seen some guys walk in with $10 in their pocket, learn how to direct link a CPA dating offer with mobile traffic, and earn over $20,000 a month in profit. While this is nice for some, I’ve seen others actually utilize the same concept to the “direct linkon mobile traffic” and create their own offer that returns profits double or triple that.
We’ve also seen some guys who used to be HUGE in the CPA industry but due to advertisers disappearing and new regulations they were left searching for the next dollar. By combining lead generation arbitrage strategies with their current knowledge of promoting CPA offers they’ve been able to sustain the large revenues and profits as they once were.
What does “new” media mean to you all and what are you doing to monetize that medium?
New media can have many definitions. Not only does it change daily but the channel isn’t ever the same. Right now though, I consider “new media” to be social and mobile. With Facebook’s new Open Graph and Timeline features they’re becoming marge larger than just a social networking website. They’re slowly becoming the backbone to a more social Internet all together. Many companies are already using this to their advantage and adapting with it.
Mobile includes smartphone and tablet usage. A channel of traffic has never grown this fast. Anyone currently involved with the CPA industry will tell you getting cheap traffic is key to sustaining massive ROIs early on. The percentage of advertisers to impressions on mobile, are definitely a huge advantage to many performance marketers.
Is that something you can help your members monetize also?
Yes, that’s the goal of IMgrind.com. We’re not going to give you a bunch of “has been” methods. Many areas in the CPA/performance marketing industry have been replicated so many times they simply don’t come close to providing the ROI that taking another approach will. With IMGrind we use our decade+ knowledge of making money online to keep you updated with the areas that offer the biggest return.
There has been a recent craze about Pinterest, do you partake in that craze and what is youroverall feedback on it for those on the fence?
Pinterest is a living, breathing example of how Facebook is becoming the “spine of the Internet.” Building off the new features of Timeline, Pinterest has leveraged Open Graph as its own traffic source.
If all of this isn’t a huge advantage, they also offer a service that is extremely addicting especially amongst females. When someone is able to express himself or herself, especially in a visual manner, it opens up many doors to Internet Marketers. Right now Pinterest is monetizing their massive traffic with affiliate/referral links to retailers. Brands should be paying attention to the things people are “pinning” as this can literately write their marketing plans for them. Simply amazing!
Time will tell if the Pinterest craze is real or if it’s a fad. Ultimately this will come down to how well of a management team they have and what their goals are on sustaining long term growth.
What are you working on nowadays? Anything to wet our appetite? Are there any untapped markets out there that the normal affiliate marketer is not taking advantage of?
The surface has hardly been scratched out there. Since “normal affiliate” can have many definitions I’m going to go off the assumption this means the ones that hop from campaign-to-campaign. I’ve already mentioned many of the things that interest me, but mobile and social continue to grow. ANY Internet Marketer should be able to find new opportunities daily. As new countries emerge, more opportunities develop.
With that said, I’ve seen massive ROIs combining mobile traffic with lead generation as well as the growing social traffic. Since the verticals/niches are nearly end-less we like to stick with three: Health, Wealth, and Relationships. We consistently find new “untapped” markets in all of these verticals even in the United States.
Any words of wisdom for my readers looking to get into affiliate marketing and more overlooking to work with IMGrind?
Get in with a plan and have some written goals. You’re not going to start making $1,000 a day if you haven’t made $100. I’ve build every one of my businesses with the “$100 a day theory.” If I can get one website/campaign to $100 a day, I’ve begun to sustain some type of consistency that I can scale for growth.
Who are some people and/or networks in the industry you hold in high regard and worth interviewing for my next post?
Someone who I hold a great deal of respect for, and have got to meet recently, is LeadsMob CEO Joshua Wexelbaum. He’s on top of the growing mobile marketing market and is definitely someone that has his act together.
Thanks Ryan for taking the time out of your busy schedule to do this, very gracious of you.
Now I ask the readers of PMI to comment below and tell us your thought about IMGrind.com and where you think the new media is heading.
AOL AIM Could Be Shut Down Soon
AOL has announced that they are cutting almost 40 employees from the AIM and AOL Mail units this week. According to an employee of the company, almost the entire AIM staff was laid off and the only people left are basic support staff. Additionally, the EVP who ran the decision and their head of Operation have left the company.
This is strange news since the company actually makes over $50M a year in advertising, but spends over half of it running the division for some reason. The problem aim is encountering is that it is having to compete with other companies like Google that have created Gchat, and Facebook which seems to dominate most people conversations now.
The result of the cuts mean that there will be very little innovation put into AIM, and it will probably have few updates and be able to compete with the other instant messaging products coming out. They have made it clear they are moving away from supporting products and putting all their time and money into their content platforms.
This is a disappointment, because despite the plethora of other messaging products, AIM is very much still used by many professionals who see its see it much easier to use than Facebook chat or anything built into other platforms. Much of the performance marketing industry is still run on AIM.
Data, Dance, and Daring Campaigns: Erin Levzow’s Approach to Building Loyalty
How Mango Habanero, Metrics, and Masterful Moves Redefined Marketing Genius
Every so often, a guest comes along who doesn’t just raise the bar—they throw it into orbit. Erin Levzow is one of those guests. From the moment she joined The ADOTAT Show, it was clear we were in the presence of brilliance. Erin is a marketing powerhouse, blending emotional intelligence with razor-sharp strategy, all wrapped in a package of humor, humility, and dazzling storytelling. She’s the...
Streaming’s Big Lie: The Future of TV Is Already Broke
Streaming was supposed to be the savior of TV—the rebellious new kid with no commercials, endless content, and an open bar of binge-worthy dopamine hits. But, as Doug Shapiro’s sharp, no-BS research reveals, the revolution is out of cash and looking for a loan. Streaming doesn’t just monetize less—it barely monetizes at all. For every streaming dollar generated, old-school pay TV is making it rain with three dollars in subscriber fees and seven dollars...
How to Narrow the Scope of Information Sought by an FTC Civil Investigative Demand (CID)
A civil investigative demand (“CID”) is the instrument by which the Federal Trade Commission exercises its compulsory process authority in connection with investigations. CIDs may require the production of documents - including electronically stored information – or tangible things, the provision of testimony, and the providing of written responses to questions.
A CID must state the nature of the conduct constituting the alleged violation which is under investigation and the provision of law applicable to...
Did Your Company Receive a Letter From the FTC? FTC Warning Letters and Notices of Penalty Offense
Recipients of FTC warning letters and notices of penalty offense should be on high alert and act quickly. Their advertising and marketing practices could be in violation of applicable legal regulations.
What is an FTC Warning Letter?
Federal Trade Commission “warning letters” are intended to warn companies that their conduct is likely unlawful and that they can face serious legal consequences, such as a federal investigation or lawsuit, if they do not immediately stop.
...
The Good, the Bad, and the SPO-ly
The Hidden Flaws Behind Ad Tech’s Favorite Buzzword.
Supply Path Optimization (SPO) is my love-hate relationship in ad tech personified. It’s the reason I fell for this industry’s maddening brilliance—and why it sometimes feels like a bad rom-com where no one learns their lesson. At its core, SPO promises efficiency, transparency, and accountability, and when it works, it’s like watching a Rube Goldberg machine perform flawlessly. But when it doesn’t—and let’s be honest, that’s most...
