5 Star Affiliate Blogs

One creative approach to learning more about an affiliate program is to think like an affiliate network. Here’s the inside scoop on what we look for when it comes to deciding whether or not to launch an affiliate program. Use these questions to evaluate which offer you want to promote.

Well if shopping is a good economic indicator, looks like the economy is doing pretty well. According to research from IBM CoreMetrics Cyber Monday 2011 online sales were up 33.0 percent over 2010 and Cyber Monday sales were up 29.3 percent over Black Friday. comScore just reported Cyber Monday reached $1.25 billion in online spending, [...]

Sing it with me now, then spin around 3 times, pull on your right ear and pray to the Google Gods. I absolutely guarantee that if you do this little ritual, your Monday Holiday sales will increase! NOTE: If funky eBooks promise you can make a billion $$ in your underwear, then I can make a crazy claim too!

Great news for California affiliates! The California Governor just signed AB155 which gives California affiliate marketers a one year reprieve. The PMA did amazing work to help force this much needed change. You can read the full story at their blog. California Repeals the Affiliate Nexus Tax Law Governor Signs Legislation That Will Help 25,000 [...]

I’m just madly playing catch-up from being gone on an unplugged vacation, being quoted in the NYTimes (and the other media interviews that followed as a result) and being part of the big SoCal power outage. So excuse me if I’m a little behind the times on this story. According to the PMA it’s not GREAT news but at least it’s a temporary reprieve.

If your affiliate program is anemic, stagnant or stuck OR if you are considering launching a new affiliate program, read this sage advice from super affiliate Rae Hoffman AKA SugarRae. Also be sure to read the comments filled with more great advice from other pros. 13 Ways to Make Your Affiliate Program Suck Now, I [...]

The Bevo For Networks platform is not a network tracking platform it’s an add-on solution for existing networks. The purpose of the interface is to accelerate growth, recruit publishers, increase branding efforts, broker offers across all network platforms (Cake, Linktrust, Hitpath, Hasoffers, etc), manage online reputation, search for and expose blacklisted advertisers and affiliates.

http://mthink.com/revenue/blog/chris-trayhorn/five-key-points-ca%E2%80%99s-new-sales-tax/trackback/

Governor Brown of California has announced he has secured enough votes to pass his budget, including the Affiliate Nexus Tax and 2 related nexus bills. The law will go into effect immediately upon signing, and he must sign before July 1st, 2011. Here’s a pic of the Amazon California Associate Program termination notice and more info.

Google, eBay, Groupon and other major Internet companies are grabbing a piece of the local online marketing pie. Savvy affiliates that have been searching for new revenue streams can now earn from LOCAL too! Partner with us and capitalize on local shopping with an affiliate model that makes sense!

The whole experience got me thinking about how to write strong calls to action, and how important they are to affiliate marketing. Here are some of the basics of CTAs for affiliates and merchants, which the Easter Bunny reminded me of this year

The FTC is really cracking down and I for one and happy to see it! Word to the wise – check ALL your offers, not just Clickbank to ensure they aren’t breaking any of the rules and use the new Clickbank guidelines below as a template for offers and offer language you need to avoid.

CAN-SPAM restrictions e-mail extend beyond traditional e-mail to cover communications to other electronic destinations, including Facebook users’ walls and in-network messages. See Facebook Inc. v. MaxBounty

If you’re an affiliate and believe you’re generating the kind of traffic and sales for a merchant that warrants a higher commission, or some other incentive, then it’s time to put a game plan together to help you achieve that goal of earning more.

As well, employers may be held liable for violations committed by their employees or agents acting within the scope of their employment or authority. A “due diligence” defense will be available to demonstrate that steps were taken to prevent alleged violations.

Guest post… Affiliate Marketing Lawyer… Importantly, the coalition clarified the manner in which a government Do-Not-Track mechanism could interfere with targeted marketing revenues that actually support free Internet content. According to the coalition, the Council of Better Business Bureaus is expected to monitor compliance across the Internet, beginning March 31, 2011.

An extremely important and highly-controversial decision was issued recently by the California Court of Appeal… The liability aspect component of this ruling is of critical significance to those within the affiliate marketing industry because

we work with over 12,000 affiliates, the majority of whom play that tricky balancing act of working full-time jobs while they struggle to make their online marketing business their sole full-time venture. This isn’t an easy feat to carry out, especially if you have bills to pay and a family to feed. So, we decided to put together some advice to help you get closer to your dream this year: five resolutions for 2011 that will help you achieve your goal of becoming a paid, full-time affiliate.

I thought I’d compile a list of some of the best party lists, to-do lists and newbie guides for how to get the most out of Affiliate Summit. Be sure to plan ahead so you can get the most out of this action packed event!

On behalf of all the 5 Star Merchants and Affiliate Managers – Merry Christmas! All of us here at 5 Star want to let you know how much we appreciate your partnership and loyalty over the past year. We look forward to a continued alliance in the coming year