From the category archives:

Merchant Education

Why Are Colorado Affiliates at Risk

I received a few emails and phone calls regarding the removal of Colorado Affiliates by a few merchants, most recently Sharper Image. Although I cannot speak for their own particular reasons I can speak about the general decision to remove Colorado Affiliates from a program. Although the recent legislation in Colorado does not target Affiliates [...]

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Affiliate Summit East 2010 Almost Here

Affiliate Summit East 2010 will be taking place at the Hilton in New York City August 15 – 17.  A look at the agenda located at the Affiliate Summit website or in the latest issue of Feed Front Magazine indicates that this is sure to be another great conference.  I am currently taking care of a few last [...]

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You Really Expect Me to Read THAT Terms of Service!

One important step for any Affiliate looking to join a program is to read the Affiliate-Merchant Terms of Service Agreement. Essentially, a Terms of Service Agreement, often abbreviated TOS, should lay out the terms for an Affiliate. It may (should) include all aspects of the relationship for the Affiliate and merchant in regards to promoting [...]

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Recruiting Affiliates Via Email

Many affiliate program managers will recruit Affiliates via email. Whether the email is sent  direct to an Affiliate through the Affiliate’s website contact information or it is sent via a Network’s mail system  there are a few simple guidelines that will improve effectiveness. Over the past couple of weeks I have received in my email, nineteen invitations to [...]

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How to Kill an Affiliate Program

They may not be trying to intentionally kill their affiliate program but announcing the intent to steal affiliate commissions may just accomplish that. Earlier this week, Art.com and AllPosters.com announced a change to their affiliate agreement. Under the new agreement, if you earn under $20 in a year you will forfeit your commissions. Commissions will not rollover to [...]

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Terminations Handled the Right Way

Earlier today, at NY Affiliate Voice, I wrote about the Crayola Store terminating Affiliates in New York, North Carolina and Rhode Island.  In that post, titled No More Crayons, I mentioned that the reason for termination was the “recent Internet sales tax laws” that were passed in NY, NC and RI. I understand their reason but am a bit surprised [...]

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What Will Guide You

Over the past two years I have tried not to criticize any company’s business decisions. Although I may not have agreed with the decision to terminate a certain group of Affiliates over nexus issues, I have always respected the right for a company to make the decision that is right for them. I only asked [...]

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If You Sell in Colorado

Over the past couple of weeks I have received several emails asking for clarification on the Colorado Internet sales tax (HB1193). Since I am not a lawyer, I have urged every merchant to contact a sales and use tax attorney or accountant for guidance.  The law that was passed in Colorado was the harshest we’ve seen [...]

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Where is the Progress

Where is the progress? What have we learned in two years? In order to examine this we need to step back for a moment. I look back, not to just drag up old history or to listen to apologies and explanations but to take a look at what we have learned. We have made some progress, there [...]

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Affiliate Summit West 2010

On Saturday I will head out to Las Vegas to attend Affiliate Summit West 2010. As I double check to make sure I have everything packed I thought I would take a moment to once again mention the session I will be participating in. The session is titled Affiliate Program Case Studies -  Strategies and [...]

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