David Fiske A subtle blend of affiliate marketing and web development

First off, congratulations to Kieron, Jason, Kirsty, Lee and Paul for being nominated. Last year I voted for Kieron as his blog was top notch. This year it’s slipped a little, with more focus on cars than affiliate marketing. It’s his blog and he can do with it what he likes but I fear he is digressing too far. I’ve suggested a dedicated car blog to feed his addiction and time will tell whether he takes advantage of the suggestion.

This year’s vote went to Jason who has been very vocal in the affiliate advice arena. Kirsty almost certainly gets my vote next year.

Anyhow, the question we all want to know is what do we have to do to get nominated and subsequently win the award? Here’s my interpretation.
 
1.) Be Well Known

If you aren’t well known, you’ve no chance of being nominated. No nomination means no prize. So you have to be well known but to whom?

I’ve identified a few cliques within the affiliate marketing industry and they appear to be comprised of affiliates, merchants, agencies and networks. If you cannot name of each you talk to regularly, you’re not well enough connected.

Also take a look at blogrolls. I set up my RSS feed aggregator (15 readers - woop!) yonks ago and as a result, have very few links. Perhaps I need a proper blogroll on the site?

2.) Interact

Knowing people isn’t enough. You need to interact. It means reacting quickly to merchant requests, advising other affiliates and taking part in things like the A4U Expo. I cannot be certain but I reckon all (or nearly all) the nominees this year went to A4U Expo last year. The networking paid off!

Kieron (I suspect) won last year as his blog was the most prominent UK affiliate blog. He offered sound advice as well as his own viewpoint on aspects. I found myself reading and commenting on nearly every post for a while.

This year, sound advice has appeared from Jason and Kirsty. The 'Ask Kirsty' feature has certainly helped Kirsty gain a few more RSS subscribers and Jason’s coverage of voucher codes has sparked a lot of debate.

3.) Be Controversial

Be too controversial and you’ll appear arrogant and obnoxious. No controversy and there’s no excitement and very little reason for visitors to return to your blog.

Jason’s remarks throughout the year have been a little controversial as too has Kieron’s. This is where I feel Kirsty’s blog lacks. A bit more controversial content may help secure my nomination for next year. I personally would like to see an interpretation of her opinions on cookie dropping, brand bidding, etc.

4.) Inspire

The winner of the Blog of the Year award should inspire others. They should be seen as an ambassador of affiliate marketing and should help to move the industry forward.

I’d like to see more affiliate bloggers write about successful sites / PPC campaigns. I would like to see someone to run a PPC campaign purely to demonstrate that they can succeed in a new market outside their comfort zone. I’d like to see a landing page analysis. I’d like to see bloggers post about sites in their portfolio and what they achieve.

It’s always nice snooping around someone else’s portfolio. I know that some blog readers simply copy and paste ideas as a result of such blog posts (both Kieron and Kirsty have blogged about this in the past) but nevertheless it’s inspirational to see what more experienced marketers are up to.

5.) Be Successful

The affiliates listed are successful without a doubt. Kieron and Kirsty both do well out of PPC whilst Jason does well out of his Loquax site. Lee seems to do well out of blogging and outsourcing his services. I’m unsure about Paul’s success though I get the impression he does very well for himself.

If I were to make a shortlist about affiliate bloggers who I deem as successful, I would certainly have Kieron, Kirsty, Jason and Lee in the top 5 (though perhaps not in that order).

The other side of being successful is that you become more noticed by networks, agencies and merchants, thus linking in full circle back to the point 2 ‘Interact’.

What About Me?

I’ve decided I’m not doing so well in my award hunting! I’m well known to a minority of affiliates. I have no regular agency contacts though I feel I could contact Jess if I needed to. Besides the standard affiliate email, I rarely get personal emails or phone calls from merchants or networks.

I’ve never met anyone in affiliate marketing despite living 40 miles away from Jason one way and Existem the other. I didn’t attend A4U Expo last year. This suggests I’m not as interactive as I imagined!

I don’t publish nearly enough content on the blog and when I do, it goes largely unnoticed as it’s not controversial or inspirational.

I’m not winning enough incentives to be noticed by merchants or networks (I tried for the TV from Dixons though! So far in 5 months I’ve got a mug!). Sales are steady although I am more spread out over networks now, so as far as each one is concerned, I’m performing okay but not terrifically well. I consider my earnings thus far to be liveable but not amazing. Therefore, to the networks and merchants involved, I’m not standing out enough to be recognised as successful.

Ultimately, I’ve got little chance at the award for the next few years whilst I get a grip! Maybe one day….