[Doc Sawyer]

Please register your opinion of the future of opportunities for the small business affiliate marketer in the face of competition from major corporations as well as search engines and their PPC programs.


"I spent most of my money on
Gambling, Whiskey and Women.
The rest I just wasted."

Dr-Fix-It! (http://www.dr-fix-it.com)

[Doc Sawyer]

Last month, while trying to push for the OverStock bonus, I found myself running head to head with the same product (Fantom Vacuum) that Yahoo was promoting ...from the same vendor (Overstock).

It was kind of an eye-opening moment for me: I, at my dining-room table, am competing with a publicly-held corporation.

I am curious to know how you feel about David and Goliath on the internet and who is going to win in the end!?

Doc

"I spent most of my money on
Gambling, Whiskey and Women.
The rest I just wasted."

Dr-Fix-It! (http://www.dr-fix-it.com)

[uberroth]

Doc,

The sky is the limit. One of the nice things about the internet is it evens the playing field. I believe that as time goes on affiliates will increase in size and profit. Gone are the business models that say "we are on the web so we are going to be rich". You all command a valuable audience and expertise and as more businesses realize that the ROI for an affiliate program far exceeds the ROI for a Yahoo banner add and the advertisers start to join the pay for performance model there will be an ever increasing call to the men and women who have been doing it all along.

I am glad we are not there yet. If we where it would be nearly imposable for a small company like ourselves to partner with people of ABW's caliber. I hope a year from now I can be a testimonial about the power of affiliate marketing, not only to demonstrate ROI, but to show that it is our leading form of advertising and it has the power to help create a company.

Just my 2.

Craig Uberroth
Knack Technologies
marketing@megamouse.com
(913)731-6010
Get your LaunchPad @
MegaMouse.com (http://www.megamouse.com)

[josephmonuit]

I think the days of making a bunch of virtual malls, mini-sites, etc, with no other purpose than to achieve high SE rankings and then sell products via affiliate links are numbered.

I think future affiliate marketing will more focus on quality content and high traffic portal type sites. Sites with stickiness.

But, what do I know, thats just an opinion.

[canfree]

I think we'll be ok, shopping malls and all, the consumer, is in a hurry, and wants the product now, who ever has it first gets the commission.

It may become harder for a newbie to start, but as long as there is internet, I think affiliate marketing will still be alive.

AM, is here to stay. There's always been talk about Why not the search engines become affiliates themselves, and it's simple, the costumer won't find what they're looking for.They won't find content they are looking for.

Sites with Stickiness are great, and those will probably win the battle of AM.


Pay per click, can only get so high, because after so many $/Click, it's not worth doing. Perhaps smaller AMs, won't afford to compete, but the larger corporations, and Big Am's, won't pay large prices for long.

When I first got into AM the big thing was new costumers, and the fact it was worth $10 per new costumer, and everyone was giving away large incentives to shop on-line with them. The days of the "Free stuff". We don't see this today at all, simply because they learned it wasn't worth it, and the dot.com bust.

So we're here to say Simply because we're cost wise efficient. Everyone can afford 5%-25% percent depending on the product/ service. The competition is stiff now, and may get worse, but everyday more people get online, so I think it evens itself out.

------------------------------------------------------------Minds are like parachutes - they only function when open. Thomas Dewar

[Leader]

I think the sky is the limit!

The Big Guys all had to start somewhere, and at the end of the trail of all of them is some guy(s) who began in his garage or den.

I actually enjoy the heck out of competing with places like Yahoo! I love it and don't see it as a threat (to me...). Sam Walton started with one little store, Sony started as just a storefront electronics repair place, and Yahoo was once a server and a couple of guys. They all started small and look how big they grew!!! I intend to eventually become a big huge company too!

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>I am curious to know how you feel about David and Goliath on the internet and who is going to win in the end!?~DocSawyer <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

I believe that the successful Davids will become big Goliaths. The unsuccessful businesses shall die, whether currently Davids or Goliaths.

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR> I think the days of making a bunch of virtual malls, mini-sites, etc, with no other purpose than to achieve high SE rankings and then sell products via affiliate links are numbered.

I think future affiliate marketing will more focus on quality content and high traffic portal type sites. Sites with stickiness.
<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

And they told Sam Walton that people wouldn't buy from a general store if it didn't have small-town charm, and they told Home Depot that people liked a "personal relationship" with their hardware/lumber store personnel, too. /infopop/emoticons/icon_razz.gif

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR> There's always been talk about Why not the search engines become affiliates themselves, and it's simple, the costumer won't find what they're looking for.They won't find content they are looking for. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Personally I think it's because they have the marketing saavy of a rock. But it doesn't show, and they have been able to make multimillions, because they have been competing against other rocks.

There is no knowledge that is not power.~~Ralph Waldo Emerson

[ecomcity]

The small web publisher/affiliate will always be able to better target traffic with pre-sell info to merchants than the big guys. They play a numbers game only and the likes of Doubleclick still are haphazard on targeting traffic.

Doc said: "I am curious to know how you feel about David and Goliath on the internet and who is going to win in the end!?"

The real winner will be Overstock as they sell to both referrers traffic.

WebMaster Mike

[Doc Sawyer]

Webmaster Mike,

LOL! I don't care what they say about you.

You're OK Doncha know.


Doc

"I spent most of my money on
Gambling, Whiskey and Women.
The rest I just wasted."

Dr-Fix-It! (http://www.dr-fix-it.com)

[Doc Sawyer]

BTW....


I am one who thinks the "$ky i$ the Limit".

Any merchant that pays for advertising by the page size (newspapers and magazines),or by the minute (radio and tv) are disregarding (in my opinion) the cost benefits of internet affiliate marketing compared to advertising costs.

What a benefit to assign a fixed cost of advertising to a product!!!

I bought big newspaper ads that returned nothing. Yet, I had to pay the newspaper.

If... I only had to pay people that actually SENT me sales, I would be ecstatic!!!!

What don't the merchants understand? Performance based advertising!!!! What a concept!! GAWD!! It's A "No brainer". Pay for impressions or pay for SALES... Gosh MONTE,I Don't Know...Door number three.... HELLO ?


I guess that is the problem.

Thanks for letting me vent.

ShEEssss. /infopop/emoticons/icon_confused.gif /infopop/emoticons/icon_confused.gif

Doc.

"I spent most of my money on
Gambling, Whiskey and Women.
The rest I just wasted."

Dr-Fix-It! (http://www.dr-fix-it.com)

[AffJus]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Leader:
Personally I think it's because they have the marketing saavy of a rock. But it doesn't show, and they have been able to make multimillions, because they have been competing against other rocks.
<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

I'll agree with that totally!

But eventually even rocks turn into diamonds.

http://SearchToSale.com - Turns your search box into money.

[Leader]

But only if they're the right kind of rocks and the rocks are under the right conditions...

I saw a thread that said Google was going to try to start a shopping search--hopefully they don't have enough carbon to turn into a diamond in this arena!

There is no knowledge that is not power.~~Ralph Waldo Emerson

[SSanf]

Hey,
I KNOW who my customers are, how they think, what they look like and even how they smell! Who can give them more of what they really want than I can?

The Wolf Credo: Respect the elders. Teach the young. Cooperate with the pack. Play when you can. Hunt when you must. Rest in between. Share your affections. Voice your feelings. Leave your mark.

[perfectG]

Anyone point me to the thread that had the URL for Googles shopping search? Saw it on ABW a couple of days ago but cannot find it now.

What would worry me is that if Google starts this shopping search, they will also use the results to populate the searches at Google.com. What impact would that have? Would they be able to do it or would the quality of results offend users so much that they would have to drop it?

I suspect that even if they did do this, there would be many areas that were not covered by their partnerships with merchants, and so we would still be able to find niches.

Curious as to how other affiliates see the Google shopping search being used - if ever, and impact on us.

Andy Williams

Keyword DARTs - New search engine optimization software
http://www.affiliate-masters.co.uk/keyword-darts/keyword-search-engine-optimization.htm

[AffJus]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Leader:
But only if they're the right kind of rocks and the rocks are under the right conditions...
<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Sorry to drag up an old thread, but I couldn't resist. /infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif

Let's see... carbon. Burnt fuel.

Conditions: pressure and time.

I see the SE and another dot coms that have exhausted their VC capitual as being full of carbon. And now they have some very unhappy investors... that seems to fulfill the need for pressure. As for time, time is accelerated on the net, so just a few years can seem to be forever. So the time element is present.

So yes, I see them as having the right kind of rock and sufficient pressure to turn some of them into diamonds.

The only think they lack is the lapidary.

.... and I see right where this is going... /infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif

http://SearchToSale.com - Turns your search box into money.