It’s not every day the CEO of your company gets mentioned in BusinessWeek among the 50 elite CEO using Twitter. This week we’re celebrating Peter Bordes accomplishment and his vision.

We’re also taking a look at what most companies overlook when they decide to implement an online marketing strategy. Matt Browne of Morefocus Group, John Geletka of Ratchet, Diane Deseta of White Knight and Chris Noble of Kompolt weigh in.

Finally, we’re launching two initiatives that will surely be of interest to our publishers. First is a contest we’re calling “Lucky 11’s.” Run any of the four offer listed, bring in the designated number of leads and get prizes. The second is called “Just Think Media Rewards.” All you have to do is run any of JTM’s offers and for each sale you earn points. Those points are good for all sorts of stuff including business tools and cold hard cash!

Download or watch using Quicktime: iPod | Hi-Definition

Like what you see? Sign up to be an affiliate!

This week we’re pulling the curtain back on a really cool contest for our affiliates. It’s called the “Lucky 11’s Contest” and here’s how it works:

1. You run any of these four offers on our platform: #2181 Winning Cash Flow Business, #2201 Sample Secrets, #2212 Microsoft Money Machine and #1757 Work From Home.

2. Bring in leads and collect prizes: 1500 leads gets you a Samsung 32″ LCD HDTV. 1000 leads get you a Flip Mino HD Camcorder. 500 leads gets you a $100 Amex gift card.

So, not only do you get paid to run some great offers, but you get guaranteed prizes if you achieve the leads listed above.

Really simple right? Ask you affiliate manager for more details. If you’re not yet an Advaliant Affiliate, you can sign up today!

MediaTrust CEO, Peter Bordes, Featured in BusinessWeek Article: CEOs Who Use Twitter

I’ve been with MediaTrust for just over two years. I was hired to outline and execute all facets of MediaTrust’s emerging and social media activity. This occured at a time when Twitter and Facebook were still niche services and companies were still trying to wrap their heads around the concepts of podcasting and online video. In short, two years ago was an eternity for social media.

Why am I telling you this?

Peter Bordes is the reason I have my job. He had the vision two years ago to see what social media could become. He knew that this was exploding into something that would change the way that business is done. Peter has always believed in transparancy, open dialogue and two-way communication and he knew that in order for MediaTrust to stay competitive and be a leader in our industry, the company would need to dedicate resources to building our social media presence. 

Over the last two years, we’ve launched a successful blog about the industry of online, and specifically, performance marketing. We’ve produced over 60 episodes of our video program, Relevantly Speaking, and we’ve adopted and encouraged Twitter and Facebook usage throughout our entire company.

These milestones were made possible by the vision of our CEO, Peter Bordes. It is incredibly validating for me that a publication like BusinessWeek recognized and highlighted the vision of Peter and other CEOs like him. You can read Peter’s portion of the profile HERE. You’ll notice he’s in good company alongside people like Virgin Group’s Richard Branson, Zappos.com’s Tony Hsieh, Alltop’s Guy Kawasaki, Mashable’s Pete Cashmore and Forrester Research’s George Colony.

Congratulations to Peter for being recognized, but most of all for his vision. We can’t wait to see what he dreams up next.

Performance Marketing Industry & Hawaiian Affiliates – Time to Email the Governor!

The Performance Marketing Alliance has an all hands on deck alert for networks, merchants, service providers and affiliates to get involved in fighting the Advertising Tax in Hawaii.  As you may well know, the status of the affiliate marketing sales tax legislation in Hawaii has reached a critical point. The bill, HB 1405, has been sent to the Governor’s desk. We need everyone in the industry to help and most importantly, we the help of Hawaiian affiliates. We need to reach out to Governor Linda Lingle and ask her to veto the bill. Hawaii affiliates need to email or send a letter to the Governor as soon as possible.

Below are two sample emails networks, merchants and affiliates can send and info and contact information for the Gov. This strategy has proven to be easy, yet effective.

NETWORKS, MERCHANTS email letter to get your affiliates active BELOW
—————————————-
Dear Hawaiian Affiliate:

The Hawaiian legislature has sent an anti-affiliate bill, HB 1405, to
the desk of your Governor, the honorable Linda Lingle. This
legislation could force out-of-state merchants to shut down their
affiliate programs.

How would that impact your business?

If you live in Hawaii, it is critical that you send an email of
opposition to the Governor as soon as possible! It is our hope that
the bill will be vetoed by the Governor. With your letters of
opposition, she will hear your opinions voiced and increase the
chances of a veto.

So please contact Governor Linda Lingle as soon as possible, even over
the weekend. Because your businesses are under threat, it is
imperative that your messages are heard.

More background information can be found here on the PMA website.
www.performancemarketingalliance.com

Below is an e-mail template to use and the contact information for the
Governor. Please send an e-mail; it will only take a few minutes of
your time.

Email Template – copy and paste. Don’t forget to personalize the bracketed sections. Sometimes it is easy to overlook them in a hurry.

Thank you.

(e-mail: governor.lingle@hawaii.gov )
_____________________________________________________________________________

AFFILIATE EMAIL TEMPLATE TO SEND TO THE GOV ASAP
[letterhead]

[Date]

Her Excellency, the Honorable Linda Lingle
Governor, State of Hawai`i
Executive Chambers
State Capitol
Honolulu, Hawai`i  96813

Subject: Opposition to HB 1405

Dear Honorable Governor:

I am a small business owner with a website, and I am in strong
opposition to HB1405, which would require retailers that advertise and
receive direct or indirect referrals from advertising on websites,
such as mine, to collect sales tax in Hawai?i.

I am opposed to this bill because it would substantially harm my small
business, by reducing a large source of revenue that I rely on to
survive. This revenue results from providing advertising on my website
on behalf of out-of-state retailers.

[Describe your type of business, the % of income dependent on
out-of-state advertisers, number of employees you may have, and what
you contribute to the local economy.]

If retailers believe that doing business with me will result in their
having to collect sales tax on all Hawai?i sales, they likely will
sever ties with me, putting the viability of my business at risk. Such
was the case in the state of New York, where Overstock dismantled its
performance advertising program and hundreds of other business
followed Overstock?s example. This left thousands of small- and
medium-sized business owners with a major loss of income.

For these reasons, I respectfully oppose this legislation.

Sincerely,

This week we’re talking about Oprah and her newfound use of Twitter - is it genuine or just another celebrity misstep? We’ll talk to John Geletka of Ratchet, Stephanie Agresta, Matt Browne of Morefocus and Mike Barash of Blurb to get their advice on how companies should tackle social media community building.

We also check in with Itay Paz of Affilicon from the Berlin Wall to get his take on affiliate marketing in Germany.

Finally, we announce the winners of James Connor’s book the Perfection of Marketing.

Download or watch using Quicktime: iPod | Hi-Definition

Like what you see? Sign up to be an affiliate!

Today I’m pleased to announce the first baby steps in a project that we’re calling MediaTrust University.

Every month we have conversations with dozens of affiliates about what they want in a network partner. Sure, they all ask for helpful tools, great offers and a stellar affiliate manager. But, more than anything, we hear about the need for education.

Whether you’re a super-affiliate or someone just starting out, we’re hearing the call from those that want to learn tip and tricks to run their business in a more efficient and profitable way. MediaTrust University (MTU) will try and fill that void.

You’ll notice a new icon at the top of the blog labeled “MT University.” If you click it, our blog will sort, in reverse chronological order, all the articles that have an educational or “how-to” component to them. No matter what type of affiliate you are, there are many flavors including SEO and SEM, best practices in sourcing data and ways to optimize your website for better conversions. These articles are written by leaders in the space that work the trenches every day so you know the information is sound.

Over time, you’ll see this repository continue to grow and we’ll be adding more topics as feedback warrants. In the meantime, if there is a topic you’d like more information on, please email me and let me know – sparentATmediatrustDOTcom. I’ll do my best to find an expert and post and article.

MediaTrust CEO, Peter Bordes, has joined the Affilicon’s Advisory Board. Below is Peter’s quote that appeared in the press release:

“The need for well planned and executed affiliate marketing conferences in the non US international market was not fulfilled until recently. Affilicon has read the map, identified the top emerging affiliate marketing markets and demonstrated dedication, professionalism and ability to cover this need,” says Peter Bordes.”I am pleased to join the advisory board and work with Affilicon to expand our industry and help build the international and emerging markets. Our industry is growing rapidly and expanding into new emerging markets. Affilicon is helping lead the way. I look forward to see how it is evolved and spend time at the conferences speaking with advertising and affiliate partners.” adds Mr. Bordes.

I’ve been working with Itay Paz, Founder of Affilicon, for the last few months and he’s really doing some interesting things. If you’re a regular viewer of Relevantly Speaking, you’ve no doubt seen his field reports from around the world about the various opportunities for affiliate marketing in different countries. The concept of Affilicon takes that curiosity and knowledge a step further.

Congrats to Peter on his addition to the advisory board of this very exciting organization.

Sourcing Data from Co-Registration Sites is Like Dealing in Sub-Prime Mortgages:
Proceed at your own Risk

I don’t mean to simplify the reasons for the current sub-prime mortgage mess, but I see some telling parallels for email marketers who source data from co-registration sites.

1. Both are too good to be true.

Applicants were enticed to apply for unaffordable mortgages by the promise of low — or no – short-term interest rates and the promise of increased equity from higher and higher house prices (Buy now because it is going up!).

Similarly, sub-prime data-collection sites entice people with the promise of free stuff. What most do not say are all the steps, time, and information that the subscriber will have to provide before meeting the requirements for these gifts. Even the folks who muster the energy to complete the application process, will undoubtedly be less than appreciative when they receive seemingly endless streams of additional offers from email marketers.

2. Both follow the money.

Mortgage credit representatives are commissioned on the sales they bring in, not who they turn down – even though an appropriate rejection is positive to the bottom line in the long-run. A good mortgage company, will have a credit department that will use readily available risk metrics to scrutinize the mortgage opportunity brought in by the sales representatives.

Email marketers, however, have a much more difficult time to accurately assess the quality of subscribers and generally must rely more on the reputation of the co-registration company: How long has it been in business? Does it have good referrals? What does thesign-up site look like? Would subscribers really want to receive content from you? Most co-registration agreements are priced around the number of subscribers provided – the more subscriber names, the more revenue generated. For the co-registrar, not for you.

If you are not asking the right questions, you are not going to achieve email deliverability and marketing success. What’s worst – you risk involving yourself into legal problems (e.g. CAN-SPAM) should you not do your homework.

3. Both use bad data.

Contributing to the sub-prime mortgage crisis was that loan risk assessment checks — debt-to-income ratio, credit history, long-term prospect of meeting interest payments — were ignored. Similarly, email marketers often don’t evaluate the data suitability from a co-registration site. Is a check done to confirm that the email address is valid? Is a check done to validate the accuracy of the data (e.g. does the zip code fall in the state indicated?); how many other marketers are receiving the subscribers information?; what information is collected? What content is the subscriber truly interested in receiving? You will not cultivate a good company and IP reputation with AOL, Yahoo, and the other ISPs you are sending to if you send to the wrong people, uninterested people, or non-existent people.

4. Both are – er, sorry, no bailout for email marketers.

Sure, governments are stepping into the breach with bailouts for mortgage lenders and investment banks. But if you use co-registration names, don’t be expecting anybody to bail you out anytime soon.

###

Andrew O’Halloran is manager of privacy and ISP relations at Cypra Media, an authority in permission-based email marketing and email delivery, based in Montreal. He may be contacted at a.ohalloran@cypra.com.

We are pleased to announce that our unified corporate website is going live today! Advaliant.com traffic will now redirect to MediaTrust.com, the Advaliant platform’s parent company. The purpose of this update is to simplify our brand and our communications.

Your business on Advaliant will not be impacted in any way. It’s business as usual, simply a new place to login. As we go through this change, please be aware of the following:

1. Traffic will redirect from Advaliant.com to MediaTrust.com
2. Please bookmark: www.mediatrust.com as your new login for the Advaliant platform
3. Your Advaliant login (user name and password) will remain the same
4. All referral IDs will remain in place and working
5. All future emails from your affiliate manager or the company will come from mediatrust.com not advaliant.com, so please make a note of it in your email preferences
6. We will continue to receive all emails sent to advaliant.com

It’s a very exciting time for MediaTrust and the Advaliant Platform. We’d like to thank each of you for your continued support! Feel free to reach out to your Affiliate Manager with any questions.

This week we’re recapping the MediaTrust panel on Performance Marketing at ad:tech. It was a great discussion and we’ve included a couple of our favorite quotes from the session.

Itay Paz of Affilicon has been checking in from across the globe recently about the state of affiliate marketing. He’s reported from China, Amsterdam and Sweden and this week he’s in Mumbai, India to give us the lowdown. Don’t forget, there’s still time to register for Affilicon in Israel on June 1-2.

Finally, we’re getting ready to tie up our contest for James Connor’s book “The Perfection of Marketing.” All you have to do to enter is leave a comment in the shownotes. I’ll pick six winners and announce them on next week’s show.

Download or watch using Quicktime: iPod | Hi-Definition

Like what you see? Sign up to be an affiliate!