Getting good info on responsible affiliate marketing is hard

Unlike many of the other aspects of internet marketing, affiliate marketing is a much more closed environment. This means that affiliates who receive a great idea are much less likely to share that idea. This doesn’t mean they are bad, it just means that their minds are on making money and only making money.

In all honesty, this mindset is a fabulous one to have to make money, but it is on a different fork of the road than most SEO/SEM type things, in the sharing department.

When an affiliate marketer hears a good idea, their mind set is usually… “that might work for me, I am gonna try it” their mindset is not… “oh. What a valuable idea, I should share that.”

In other words, you are not likely to get a buttload of links for even the most valuable post about affiliate marketing techniques. You may, however find yourself with something even better.

Rabid fans.

I really like that Outspokenmedia covers affiliate conferences, I like even more that they cover the right ones.

I know all the people involved in such conferences and I know which ones have value and which do not.

If we all used the Rand Fishkin mathmatics of what is worth writing about (possibility of getting links plus possibility of getting more links = worth of content) then alot of valuable stuff would not get covered.

Long story short, Outspokenmedia seems to do a great job accross the board of making posts that are useful and linkworthy, and I think it is great they cover affiliate marketing conferences.  Like the recent several posts they did on Affiliate Summit which is a good conference run by people I know and trust.

If you are trying to make money off the web, I would check out their coverage on their blog. They go there, they cover the sessions, and do a great job.

The point here I am trying to make isn’t just that Outspokenmedia did some great blog posts, it is actually more about the usefulness and wisdom of writing about items of interest without regard to their possibility or probability of getting links. We all need to get links, but every post need not be link bait. Posts should help and pleasure and inform your readers.

Cat Steven wraps up all the important parts of having an effective voice online in less than three minutes…

1. If you want to sing out sing out.
Ever wonder if you should post something? Post it. It is you and you will be a better voice for it since it is you and not everyone else (“everyone else” is sneaky and goes by many names such as “etiquette”, “good judgment”, and “status quo”)

2. If you want to be free be free
You get to write anything you want, do it.
3. There’s a million things to be, you know that there are
A million is alot. The only thing restricting your choices is you.
4. You can do what you want
Of the lessons I have learned throughout my life, learning that I was in control of what I do is the most important and dear.
5. The opportunity’s on
Opportunity rocks! It is also a constant in life. There is always opportunity and it is all around us sorta like the force. This means right this instant I can do anything, write anything, learn anything, and so can you.
6. If you find a new way, you can do it today
One of the most exciting things about life is that it is delightful, and this delight can be shared. Most people have been touched or inspired by someones writing or point of view. Most people do not realize that their point of view will touch others if they share it.
7.You can make it all true
The only person with the capacity to turn your dreams into reality is you. The only person able to translate to the world what is in your head and heart is you.
8. If you want to say yes, say yes and if you want to say no say no.
There are few things more important than this. If I met a genie, one of my three wishes would be that adults stop removing this from kids. If you find yourself saying “yes” to things you mean “no” for, it is probably going to limit your writing.

The real way to rank higher in search engines is to be better than your competitors.

- Great websites have very little need to build links because they naturally attract links.

Great websites are linked to naturally, and rank naturally even without links. I know you all do not want to believe that, but it is true. There are terms like “link building efforts” which I would compare to “pushing a giant boulder up a hill efforts”.
You can push a giant boulder up a hill through effort, but it is always going to try to go back where it naturally belongs.

Link building is exactly the same thing.

Your website will end up at about where it belongs eventually so your time is better spent by making a better website than it is to build links and such because if you have a better site it will rank better.

There are two main possibilities here. You are working on your own websites or you are working on someone else websites.

• If you are working on things you have control of, this post is for you.
• If you are working on something you do not have control of, it sucks to be you, and you may want to keep reading this post and make stuff you have control of so you don’t have to work on things you do not control anymore.

The definition of “better” is not determined by you, it is determined by the people using your website. If people are not linking to your site, it is not because they are stupid, it is because they see no reason to link to it.

A great website gives people reasons to link to it.

Being better than your competitors requires that your website is one or some of these types of things in comparison to your competitors…

• more simple
• more comprehensive
• more funny
• solves problems quicker
• more visually stunning

There are many ways to be better, but it all comes down to one thing…

If you are having problems getting links, your website is not as good as it can be yet.

Your link building techniques are not what needs tweaking. Your website does.

Allow that possibility to enter your head as you consider your rankings.

If you wake up each day thinking about how to get more links to your existing websites then it is very likely your existing websites are not as good as they can be.
No matter how much you spend on link building and SEO efforts, you can not make an inferior site superior.
Your web site has to pleasure people.
That pleasure may come by having a better solution, or it may come because you have a faster service, or it may come because your cat photos are cuter than someone else’s cat photos. However the pleasure comes, come it must for your website to succeed.

Successful people do things. Unsuccessful people complain and make excuses. Here are some common excuses and their solutions.

Excuse:

“My website is in a field where I have to link build because it is what everybody else does”

Solutions:

1. Leave that field and enter one that you can dominate.

2. Stay in your current field and stop crying. It is utter bullshit to say that there is no way to be more innovative in your field.

If you are saying that you can not be more innovative, then cut your losses. Move on, you are not the type of person that can succeed in your current field.

At some point you need to decide if you want to try to make a million dollars on the web and make nothing or try to make a thousand dollars on the web and make a thousand. (hint: making 1000 dollars on the web yields you more money than making 0 dollars does).

Excuse:

“My website is already the best it can be.”

Solutions:

Understand that it is not. It may be exactly what you envisioned, it might be precisely what you deem as the perfect website, but it is not what other people deem to be linkable.

This means you can be proud of what you made and keep it exactly the same  or you can change it. The ups and down of these options are basically that if you do not change anything, your results will likely not change either. If you change something, your results will change (the whole Newton lawy thingie about: “Every object in a state of uniform motion tends to remain in that state of motion unless an external force is applied to it.”)

Excuse:

“I am not succeeding because I am not popular or someone else is bringing me down.”

Solutions:

This is simply not the case. It may seem like it at times, but it is not the truth. This is the internet and  in this fabulous arena it matters not what your race is or your gender is or if you are popular or not.

On the internet you “become popular” by having great ideas and executing those ideas well.

You do not need to “know someone” to be successful on the web, the only person you need to know on the internet is you.

The way to rank your website higher is to make your website better.

It is no secret that Adsense recommends larger ad units like the large rectangle. Using recommended Google Adsense sizes that are blended into your posts is likely to result in you receiving much more per click than you would with a smaller ad, on the same page, in the sidebar.

How to Float Adsense

Above and to the right is an Adsense ad.
Notice it is not all smooshed up to the text.
The ad is a 300 x 250 large rectangle which is pretty big for my skinny little blog, but I figured I would show an example that even a large ad in a blogpost does not have to look hideous.
To make it further blend in (or at least be less ugly) I suggest you choose “image ads only” when creating your ad.
Here is the code to position those ads (it is just adding a “div”).
Add your Adsense code and then insert into your page or post.

<div style="margin: 5px; float: right;">
Put ad code here
</div>

The above code will work on WordPress blogs, websites, just about anywhere. It also works with just about any type of ad too, not just Adsense.
You can also use padding to control the space between the ad and your text. The above code uses a margin. If you want more space between your ad and your text try changing the “5″ to “10″.
To make the ad go to the left, just replace “right” with “left”.

Hi, I am Pat.

I would say that I am in love with Virginia Nussey, but due to recent stalking laws I am required to say “I believe Virginia Nussey is a very nice person”

Virginia was a delight to meet both in person, and through her writing. I have since seen Virginia a bunch of times, and it always is a pleasure.

Virginia Nussey

Virginia writes for the Bruce Clay blog and loves tortoises. She is also an extremely talented writer and blogger.

Recently Virginia wrote an article named “True Confessions of a Boring Blogger” which was a personal and heart felt post. I know Virginia but even if I didn’t know her, I would have melted. Since I know her a bit, I actually moaned, fell over,  melted, and decided to write her this.

In her post, Virginia boldly takes responsibility for the drooping numbers and comment levels of the blog. She honestly and openly discussed her role of taking over the blog from the popular blogger Lisa Barone and the difficulties involved with doing so.

I have some important information for you Virginia.

You are the perfect writer for the job and the blog that you so wonderfully write for has a few problems of it’s own. There are some correctable and easy to implement solutions here.

The goal of this post is to highlight some things that I feel can greatly improve the Bruce Clay blog I will be blunt and will try to keep it funny, but I am going to be blunt.

I have had these thoughts about the Bruce Clay blog for a long time. For those who don’t know, I respect Bruce Clay and everyone involved with that blog very much and love to see them always. These are lovingly given suggestions…

1) The Sideways Barcode Problem

If you took a barcode…

And then turned it sideways…

You would have the visual of the Bruce Clay blog…

Solely on a visual front, this offends the eyes, makes yawns more possible, and leaves one seeking for links to click or back buttons to press.

2) Pleasure People Visually

Insert photos and images as much as possible.

Yes that is Virginia in knee socks, she has been nice enough to throw on a few pair of knee socks.

A post with images is more visually alluring than a post without.

The image can be a chart, or a screenshot, or Virginia in knee socks.

But whatever that image is, it visually breaks up those amazing words writen.

They make the pleasure of reading even more pleasurable.

Breaking up the lines and lines of text improve said text, no matter how wonderful that text is.

To solve the sideways barcode problem takes only a few moments.

Just post some images. I promise that this will make your blog more interesting and pleasurable. I am an adorer of their Friday recaps but I wish they had images in them.

3) You Don’t Need a Ring to be Engaged

The most frustrating problem I have had with the Bruce Clay blog is the inability to have real time conversations. Or even near real world conversations.

I honestly believe this is the biggest culprit killing engagement on their blog.

The Bruce Clay blog is not a place that people go to talk to each other or even to respond to each others comments. I have tried to respond to other peoples comments there, and when I do it is rare that the coment even gets posted in time to respond. I have made comments there that have not been posted for over 12 hours!

How am I going to be engaged by that? I am not. It enrages me and makes me want to slap someone with a fish.

After you leave a comment, you get to what I call “The grey screen of death” …

Why take me to a screen that tells me I commented? I already know I commented. Oh great there is a link back to the original entry, so I can get back. But why would I go back? My comment won’t be there. The link that says “Return to the original entry” might as well say “Take me to a less frustrating and complicated blog”.

4) Comment Settings

Set your comments to be auto approved. If not just to improve the above frustrating process, to have the ability for people to respond to each other in the comments.

Every other blog I engage with has something the the Bruce Clay blog does not: When I see a comment on any other blog that I have a response to, or I feel I can add to, I post a comment. I do not do this on the Bruce Clay blog because I don’t think it will get posted in a timely way.

To be clear about this, the comment system at the Bruce Clay blog is a fail. Change it. You will have more engaged users if you do.

5) Can I Haz Navigation?

To write this post I wanted to give some example of older posts I have commented on, but couldn’t because…

I could not find them.

Let’s go to the bottom of the home page of the blog, you know, the place where you can go to see “older entries” or “previous entries”?

Hmm.

The Bruce Clay blog says “no” to navigation. Here is the bottom of their blog home page, where amazingly, there is no way to see previous posts…

The Bruce Clay blog is extraordinarily difficult to navigate. If you can’t overhaul the whole thing then I would at least suggest a link to previous posts or some form of navigation at the bottom.

6) Sidebars Should Not Create Headaches

I think your sidebar needs some visual healing. The good news is that you have several ways for people to use social media and feeds. That is great, but could we make the chicklets and links more unified?

You are a marketing company, not a GeoCities page. Get a designer to create you some universal buttons for that sidebar.

And on the subscribe options… It is great that you have so many options to subscribe ( full, partial, XML, Atom) but the problem is you have no way to just plain ole’ subscribe.

I suggest one of those bright orange, universally recognized thingies.

Your advanced users will appreciate the subscribe options, but your regular users just want to hit a orange icon and subscribe to your blog.

I was honestly confused when I wanted to subscribe to this blog. I felt like I was getting tested or something. It made me scratch my head and wonder which option to use.

</constructive criticism>

Virginia Nussey and Susan Esparza are some of the greatest writers around. I believe that with a simple meeting, and about a days work, the platform upon which they write on could be drastically improved.

In any case however, the Bruce Clay blog is a great blog that should definately be on your reading list.

Rae Hoffman, Rhea Drysdale, and Lisa Barone founded a search marketing company named OutSpoken Media.

All three of the founders are well known in the search industry, and have all the skills needed to take over your SEM compaigns. They are also very well connected. I am a bit biased because I know all three of them, but having worked with both Lisa Barone and Rhea Drysdale I can tell you that these are professionals who know how to get things done.

The company is a full scale SEM provider. Their services include SEO, social media, content creation, online reputation management, affiliate marketing, training /speaking, and more. See their search engine marketing services page for more details.

Rhea Drysdale discusses OutSpoken Media services in videos on the site, I was really impressed with her video about social media in the business world…

Rhea and OutSpoken Media were also recently highlighted in the Wall Street Journal in an articled called “It’s a New Me (As Seen on Google)“.

Lisa Barone is currently covering SMX West for the OutSpoken Media blog, where she covered five sessions yesterday alone. Lisa Barone is a well known industry blogger and her conference coverage and her industry insights are delivered with a unique and observant voice that is admired by all. Make sure to subscribe to her blog.

Rae Hoffman is the CEO and she is a well known talent in the area of affiliate marketing. She is a sought after conference speaker and a great and passionate person. I have read and learned from her for years.

OutSpoken Media is a combination of these three people and weaves together their skill sets.

Expect big things from them.

Hulu is fabulous and they are hiring.

Please, I need someone I know to get this job so that I can do a widget strategy thing / idea I have with them (I would apply for it myself, except you probably have to be sober and wear shoes and stuff)

This position is in Los Angeles, which isn’t Hawaii, which means I can’t do it…

Product Marketing Manager

Hulu is looking for a product marketing manager to help drive its marketing strategy and execution. As with all startups, we’re looking for someone who is whip smart and multi-talented as job responsibilities will be broad and ever-evolving with our environment and business challenges. They should possess a knowledge of not only traditional advertising channels but the latest and greatest in online marketing, from social networking to search engines and beyond. In addition, the product marketing manager will work with software teams to roll out new site features aimed at distributing Hulu’s content everywhere across the web.

In this hectic startup environment, the best candidate is a self-starter, organized, tenacious. A love of pop culture and video entertainment is a huge plus.

Responsibilities:

• Analyzing Hulu’s current user base and defining our target user base.
• Developing the most effective marketing plans across all channels, from broadcast to print to online.
• Developing and executing on online marketing strategies, including search engine marketing, banner advertising, viral distribution, social networking site integration, and more.
• Search engine optimization.
• Cross-functional project management for launching new site features to help distribute Hulu’s content across the web.

Qualifications:

• At least two years of consumer marketing experienc for a consumer website.
• At least three years of product management experience for a website or software product.
• Experience in customer research and analysis.
• At least two years with search engine marketing, search engine optimization, banner advertising, and other online advertising methods. Familiarity with the latest trends and techniques is critical.
• An analytical mind, with a special passion for quantitative and financial analysis.
• Effective communication skills.
• Ability to deal with chaos and change and a passion for steering through an environment that’s always in flux.

Education: BS Degree. MBA nice-to-have but not required.
Hulu is an equal opportunity employer.
Please send your resume to: jobs@hulu.com

LinkedIn has been pretty specific about their intentions for Open Social. They plan to have useful, business orientated widgets only. At Google I/O they also mentioned they would be revenue sharing in a “unique” way. Hmmm.

To see what they said (and what all the other social networks said) about their Open Social implementations you can watch the full “Meet the Containers” session from Google I/O.

But that is the future, there are a couple “widgets” that already exist for Linkedin, they aren’t Open Social but we can see how they will handle widgets from what is already there. The widgets page, the “about applications” page, and the “authorized applications” page (you must be logged in to see the “authorized applications” page)

Let’s look at a widget created by BusinessWeek for Linkedin that displays how many connections you have to a company, let’s look at Google:


The widget displays the amount of people you are linked to in Google if you are signed in, if you aren’t signed in it will show you how many people work at the company and prompt you to sign in.
When I am signed into Linkedin it displays this for me (image below).

This widget is quite useful for your readers because it allows them to see who they are connected to at that company.

I think it would also be a great widget for company blogs. If you run a company blog, this could be in your sidebar and would encourage interaction with your company.

BusinessWeek uses this gadget, but use the “popup” version. Here is used in a story about HP…

If you click on “linkedin connections” you get…

So if I read the story, and I needed to respond to it, or if it reminded me that I needed to contact someone at HP, I could immediately do so without having to look that contact up.

How to install the Linkedin widget

The instructions for installing the different versions of this widget are here, but it might be confusing if you want it to display in a blog sidebar because part of those instructions tell you to put something in the “head” section of your page. To do this in WordPress, just go to the “Presentation” tab and then choose “theme editor”

once you are in the theme editor, look to the right and choose “header”…

After you choose header you can add the provided code into the head section, save, and then put the rest of the code in your post using the “code” tab.

Remember that the “span” value has to match the first value of the code and the company name is the second value…

To choose a different company, just change the second value (the first value is the “span” id).

I just got two emails from someone via Linkedin that had to do with recruiting. It made me think for a second about companies I would recommend so I will just do it here. Many of the people I will mention are known to insiders, but may not be spoken of all the time or right there in your face obvious choices. I honestly don’t know if they will love or hate me talking about them

I reccomend…

For ROI based SEO/SEM services:

Red Door interactive

ROI isn’t just king with these guys, it is queen, jack, 1-10, and ace. Because they are lucky enough to have Paul Bruemmer a 15+ year veteran of the search industry, they have relationships and connections with just about every vertical and/or celebrity you want in the search field.

Stone Temple

I can’t think of one person who does not like Eric Enge. I can not think of one thing Eric Enge has ever said or wrote that I didn’t respect. I wish I had a company just so I could use his services.

For Analytic anything:

Frank Watson

I know Frank from drunken luncheons and late night poker games, the rest of the world knows him for some high level magical wizardry in the field of analytics and SEM.

For Web Design:

David Mihm

David is great and I have worked with him and he has a great portfolio. But what I really hope for is that he hires bunches of minions so I can get his services quicker (he is very busy).

For Icons both prepackaged and custom work:

Techlogica

I love these people. I use them alot. I think I have bought each of their very reasonable packages and I use them in custom work. I have been very happy with their work, their pricing and their artist Kyle White who has hooked me up at times when I was facing time crunches.

For Job Listings:

SEOmoz marketplace

If you want your job listing in front of buttloads of talented canidates, I suggest the SEOmoz marketplace. SEOmoz has an unique readership. There are some very talented people there, who are doing SEO / SEM related stuff on the side and I can honestly think of no other place to get great canidates. Every week Rebecca highlights new jobs and resumes from the marketplace, and I have seen some great things happen with it.

A couple of great lists:

Want to see a neat list of people to select from for SEM related services? Check out the right hand side of the homepage of Searchengineland.com their long blogroll is an extraordinary short list of great people in the field (and I am not just saying that because I am there).

Need an even wider pool of canidates? One can not mention lists without mentioning Lee Odden’s Big list .

Ivan Pope, the founder of Sniperoo is presenting the WidgetWebExpo in New York on June 16th and 17th. This conference is his American version of the Widgety Goodness conference that he ran in the UK.

Except this is bigger. Way bigger.

I will be participating with this conference in a few ways, and can’t give out concrete details yet, but I will be speaking at the conference and I am hoping to do a day long, hands-on workshop for creating and promoting your website / business via gadgets where I can really take an active part in the participants needs and hopefully have everyone involved with my workshop leave with a gadget that they know how to promote and expand on.

For more details about the conference go to Ivan’s post at Sniperoo which highlights what is going on. The WidgetWebExpo has some neat things coming out soon so I recommend keeping your eyes on it. More to come on this soon.