Author: adam

  • Former Linkshare President to Head GSI Media, Inc.

    GSI Commerce has appointed Stephen Denton, former President of Linskshare, to head up their new GSI Media Division with the vision of combining leading media networks under one roof.  Here is the press release:

    KING OF PRUSSIA, Pa., Apr 20, 2010 (BUSINESS WIRE) —
    GSI
    Commerce Inc, (NASDAQ: GSIC) the leading provider of e-commerce and
    multichannel solutions, today announced that Stephen Denton has
    joined
    the company as president of GSI Media, Inc., where he will oversee
    the
    operations and strategic direction of the company. The Pepperjam
    affiliate network, acquired by GSI last year, will operate under
    the GSI
    Media brand. GSI Media is a separate business unit of
    TrueAction(TM),
    GSI's digital design and marketing agency, reporting to Nick
    Pahade,
    president of TrueAction and CEO of GSI Media.

    "GSI Media, Inc. was created during the acquisition of the Pepperjam
    affiliate network with the goal of combining leading media
    networks
    under one roof to drive optimal value for clients," said Pahade.
    "Steve
    is one of the most respected and experienced leaders in the
    affiliate
    marketing and ad network industry. The affiliate network can drive
    significant traffic for our clients and hiring Steve is proof
    positive
    of our seriousness and vision to grow the network over time,
    financially
    and geographically. We feel very fortunate to have Steve join our
    team."

    As president of GSI Media, Denton will lead and manage the company's
    affiliate network, Pepperjam, as well as shape and drive the
    direction
    of the overall GSI Media business unit. In 2009, GSI Commerce
    acquired
    the Pepperjam affiliate marketing network to expand the breadth
    and
    depth of TrueAction's marketing services capabilities. Since the
    acquisition, several of GSI clients, including Modell's and
    Shop.NHL.com, have successfully transitioned over to the Pepperjam
    affiliate network.

    "Leveraging top tier marketing services is critical to online success,
    and GSI Media will represent the opportunity to coordinate GSI's
    current
    network, Pepperjam, with other media networks in the future," said
    Denton. "GSI offers clients a unique end-to-end e-commerce
    solution, and
    I'm excited for the opportunity to provide clients with a
    performance-based media network that is aligned with their brand
    and
    e-commerce goals."

    Denton has over 11 years of digital media experience and 20 years of
    successfully leading sales and marketing teams. Prior to joining
    GSI
    Media, Denton helped clients manage and monetize cross media
    marketing
    solutions as senior vice president of Cross Commerce Media. Prior
    to
    Cross Commerce Media, Denton was president at Linkshare
    Corporation, a
    leading performance marketing network provider, where he was
    responsible
    for all client facing operations including sales, merchant
    services,
    affiliate development, search, and marketing. Denton also served
    in key
    leadership roles at FedEx Corporate Services, The Times-Mirror
    Company,
    and PepsiCo.

    As part of the transition, Pepperjam founder, Kristopher B. Jones, will
    be leaving the organization to pursue other opportunities but has
    agreed
    to continue to act as an advisor to the company for a period of
    time.
    "Kris has made great contributions to the affiliate industry and
    to the
    success of Pepperjam. We wish him the best of luck in his future
    endeavors," said Pahade.

    About GSI Commerce

    GSI Commerce(R) is a leading provider of services that enable
    e-commerce, multichannel retailing and interactive marketing for
    large,
    business-to-consumer (b2c) enterprises in the U.S. and
    internationally.
    We deliver customized solutions through an e-commerce platform,
    which is
    comprised of technology, fulfillment and customer care and is
    available
    on a modular basis or as part of an integrated, end-to-end
    solution. We
    offer a full suite of interactive marketing services through two
    divisions, TrueAction(TM) and e-Dialog. Additionally, we provide
    brands and
    retailers a platform for online private sales through RueLaLa.com,
    and
    an online, off-price marketplace, SmartBargains.com.

    About TrueAction

    TrueAction(TM) (http://www.TrueAction.com)
    is a full-service
    digital agency focused on creating experiences that drive consumer
    actions. More than 50 of the world's leading brands and retailers
    rely
    on TrueAction to deliver effective digital solutions through a
    deep
    understanding of strategy, usability, design, media, and
    photography.
    TrueAction, with offices in New York; San Jose, Calif.; and King
    of
    Prussia, Pa., is a GSI Commerce company.

    Forward-Looking Statements

    This news release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning
    of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All
    statements
    made in this release, other than statements of historical fact,
    are
    forward-looking statements. The words "anticipate," "believe,"
    "estimate," "expect," "intend," "may," "plan," "will," "would,"
    "should," "guidance," "potential," "opportunity," "continue,"
    "project,"
    "forecast," "confident," "prospects," "schedule" and similar
    expressions
    typically are used to identify forward-looking statements.
    Forward-looking statements are based on the then-current
    expectations,
    beliefs, assumptions, estimates and forecasts about the business
    of GSI
    Commerce. These statements are not guarantees of future
    performance and
    involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions which are difficult
    to
    predict. Therefore, actual outcomes and results may differ
    materially
    from what is expressed or implied by these forward-looking
    statements.
    Factors which may affect GSI Commerce's business, financial
    condition
    and operating results include the effects of changes in the
    economy,
    consumer spending, the financial markets and the industries in
    which GSI
    Commerce and its clients operate, changes affecting the Internet
    and
    e-commerce, the ability of GSI Commerce to develop and maintain
    relationships with strategic partners and suppliers and the timing
    of
    its establishment, extension or termination of its relationships
    with
    clients, the ability of GSI Commerce to timely and successfully
    develop,
    maintain and protect its technology, confidential and proprietary
    information, and product and service offerings and execute
    operationally, the ability of GSI Commerce to attract and retain
    qualified personnel, and the ability of GSI Commerce to
    successfully
    integrate its acquisitions of other businesses and the performance
    of
    acquired businesses. More information about potential factors that
    could
    affect GSI Commerce can be found in its most recent Form 10-K,
    Form 10-Q
    and other reports and statements filed by GSI Commerce with the
    SEC. GSI
    Commerce expressly disclaims any intent or obligation to update
    these
    forward-looking statements.

    SOURCE: GSI Commerce Inc.

  • Virginia Retailers Fighting with Affiliates

    A recent Retail Merchants Association Newsletter gives us a more clear look at the opposing lobby's view point of SB 660 in Virginia.  What we like to call the "Advertising Tax Bill" and they like to call "The Amazon Loophole" legislation.

    Today the bill passed the Senate 28-12, clearly showing that "their message" that this bill closes a loophole that enables Amazon and other large Internet retailers to avoid paying sales taxes on transactions occurring in Virginia. (The back and forth posted on GoReston.com is telling)

    The newsletter though clearly shows that they don't understand affiliate marketing or the impact that this bill will have on Affiliates.  Here is what they say about the opposition:

    The opposition, the Northern Virginia Technology Council and AOL,
    are pushing the message that the bill will cause loss of jobs for
    affiliates. Affiliates are those who have banner ads on their sites
    that direct consumers to sites such as Amazon.com.  The VRF contends
    that no job loss will occur IF
    those Virginia based internet retailers
    will collect the sales tax when they have a retail transaction with
    Virginia consumers.

    That is a big IF!  It hasn't happened in other states:

    So IF these Internet Retailers act differently in Virginia than they did in ALL the other states who passed similar legislation, THEN the Virginia affiliate companies won't be affected and income and jobs won't be lost.

    Affiliate Marketers place advertisements for the Internet retailers,
    they are not party to any transactions in or out of the state.

    This bill is about trying to pass a law that will try to force companies who do not have a physical location in Virginia to pay sales taxes on all transactions in the state by trying to say that their affiliate marketing relationships they have with Virginia affiliate marketing companies makes them a Virginia Retailer.

    Many large Internet retailers have already put their Virginia affiliates on notice, if this bill passes, they are going to terminate those affiliates to avoid paying this tax. 

    So, while I am all for having a level playing field for Virginia companies, I don't think this bill accomplishes that, and I am concerned about the thousands of Virginia companies who may get harmed in the process or be forced to move out of the state.

    Perhaps the confusion lies in the broad use of the term "AFFILIATE" and if legislators understood more about affiliate / performance marketing companies, they would be excluded. 

    This Whack-a-Mole game with Amazon is a slippery slope.  If using Affiliate Marketing relationships doesn't work and Amazon cuts their ties with affiliates what is next?  Advertising Agencies?  Direct Mailers?  Consultants?  Resident Employees?

    Hopefully this bill will stop in the Congress, or be seriously amended like they did in Colorado to remove Affiliate Marketing Advertisers.  If not, we hope that Governor McDonnell will stay true to his words.

  • Dr. Robert Cialdini’s Keynote Address on Influence at Affiliate Summit West 2010 in Vegas

    Dr. Robert Caildini’s Keynote address on Influence was one of the best keynotes I have heard.  He clearly had a deep and througough understanding about influence and changes you can make to increase your sales affectivness.  I am going to encourage my entire staff to watch this video, and hope you will as well.


  • Adam Viener Interviewed by Rebecca Blacksmith on Leaders Portfolio in DC

    I just wanted my Wiseaff.com readers know that your chief Wiseaff was interviewed on a local Washington DC Radio talk show.

    The show will air at 11am on Wednesday February 3rd on Washington DC’s business talk Radio 1260AM WWRC, and then be available online at LeadersPortfolio.com thereafter. 

    In this interview I talk about how I started Imwave, what effect the economy has had on performance marketing, and leadership.

    I'd love to hear your thoughts!

    Adam

    P.S. I also posted some addional information about the show and my expericnce with Rebecca Blacksmith on the imwave blog.

  • Twitter House Cleaning – Purging my Follower List and InBox

    I decided my Twitter account had gotten out of control and had heard about others doing some house cleaning of their twitter accounts.  I decided to look into it.  Here is my problem.  I setup an auto follow tool some time ago, and can’t remember where I had done it.  My follower list was over 3k people and my twitter timeline was useless.  Here is what I did.

    1. Cancel AutoFollow – Since I couldn’t remember which service was doing my auto-follow for me, and this is what created the bulk of my problem, I decided to just change my password.  Once I did this, I had to go back to the tools I was using like hootsuite and tweetdeck and give them my new password.
    2. Purge my Twitter Follow List – I used a free service called UnFollowAll to purge out my follower list.  I had to run the tool several times to get it all done.  But you can’t beat the price.  I have heard others paying $25 for this service.
    3. Purge my Twitter In Box – The other problem with AutoFollow is your inbox can quickly get filled up, I used a free bookmarklet called DM Whacker to clean out my inbox and sent mailboxes.  With over 800 messages this would have taken me a while to do by hand.

    Now I have a fresh twitter account and can begin to follow the people whose tweets I really want to see.  I still see all the messages that include @adamviener in the messages, so if you think I really should be following you, hit me up that way!

    See you on Twitter!

    Adam

  • Another Reason to Shop Online this Year

    As if you needed one more reason to shop online this year, other than the great deals and web coupon codes you can find at sites like dealzam and twitter feeds like @dealtwit <grin>, now you have to watch out for sales reps doing dance routines like this microsoft store:

  • Tracking202 Acquired

    Congratulations to Steven and Wes on their recently announced sale of their Tracking202 product!

    Great job guys!

  • BlogProfitz Launches – Auto Monitizing your Blogs

    I was intrigued when I heard about the new BlogProfitz application, a tool that promises to combine affiliate marketing and blogging to create an automated site around specific topics and themes.

    In addition, BlogProfitz leverages the power of on-line video(YouTube), RSS feeds and over 15,000 articles (direct from our own private archive and covering hundreds of topics) to ensure your web properties are bigger, more helpful and more powerful to your readers than any other websites in your niche.

    I have found in the past that tools that promise to automate content, don't often live up to their hype, the best way to generate content for your site is to create it yourself, put your passion behind it, and that is what drives real long term value. 

    As with most things in life, the amount of effort you put into things typically determines the amount of returns you generate.

    That being said, I'm always interested in testing new applications to see what people are creating and if there might be ways to leverage tools to increase my business.  I have found interesting ways to utilize rss to blog tools for my blogs and those of others to auto-generate ideas and then create content around them.

    So I decided to take BlogProfitz for a test drive.  (I apologize for the affiliate links, but heck, I am an affiliate, and you are reading an affiliate blog, so if you decide to take the software out for a test drive on your own, we would appreciate if you used our link, if not you can head over to blogprofitz.com directly).

    First BlogProfitz only currently works with WordPress blogs, they are not too hard to setup, I learned how to do it and had a WP blog up and running in about 20 mins.  I grabbed an old domain we had through a domain expiration auction, shopping-today.com, and started playing with BlogProfitz.

    I had some problems with their blog templates, but easily found another one on-line that I liked and it was easy to connect it to my blog, and give it some categories to start posting too. With some quick keyword research to find out what people were typing in to search engines along with the term "shop for", I choose Ugg Boots, Stiletto's, Strollers, and Panties.  

    When setting up the product, video, and content feeds, I was a little disappointed that many of the CJ merchant's data feeds were missing.  I know Zappos and Shoes.com, for example, have good feeds, and they would have been a good fit for the shoe categories.  I was able to find some other merchants that had product, and in about 24 hours the content started rolling in.

    Like most systems that pull from data feeds, you have the crap in crap our problem.  Many of these data feeds need to be scrubbed before being utilized, who would buy this Graco Stroller?  The content choices can be a little strange too, I'm not sure what this Motorcycle Weekend Triphas to do with ugg boots, the term ugg isn't even in the article.  The program seems to have a similar problem when it tries to match up youtube videos, for a category I setup on Versace, it pulled this Diss Video.

    It is still too early to tell if the site will get any significant traffic, but even if it did get some traffic, I am not sure I would get too many repeat visitors.  Perhaps a broad shopping site wasn't the best route to go, but works for testing.

    I do think that if you have a niche blog around a specific product or product category, that BlogProfitz could be an excellent tool for finding and bringing in some good content and product information, but I would set it to post in draft mode, and then do some work cleaning things up, adding your own comments and personality, and then you might have some real good content that your readers would love. 

    BlogProfitz just launched today, and will be open for 1,000 members.  So if you want to give it a spin, don't wait around.  Their trial deal lets you monetize 3 bogs for $19 / month.

    Let me know how it turns out!

    BlogProfitz is brought to you from Scott Trimble, creator of the Affiliate Marketing PHD and following tools:

    • StoreStacker – build a complete, commission ready affiliate web site, featuring thousands of targeted products, relevant articles, and related videos.
    • The Content Club – 500 freshly written, researched and keyword targetted articles monthly.
    • BlogSolution - advanced blogging / pinging / SEO tool
    • RSS Evolution – produce a full website from any RSS feed.

    • ContentSolution – create thousands of unique articles for any niche or market,
    • RSSMagician – an RSS feed re-writer to avoid duplicate content.
    • VideoStacker – FREE software enables anyone to quickly and easily add powerful, niche videos to any website or blog. Any topic, any market.
  • Google Adwords Chat Support

    Getting support from Google can be a little tricky, here is a link to their online chat support for Adwords:


    Google Adwords Chat Support


    Good Luck!

  • Shoemoney Tools?

    Has anyone tried the Shoemoney Tools?

    I would be interested in hearing your opinions on the new tools.

    If you haven't tried them, I found this $3.95 trial:

    Shoemoney Tools 3.95 Trial

    What are your thoughts?