No, this is not another article asking “Do you have a Twitter account for your business?” or “How much time do you spend on Twitter?” Rather, this article is going to challenge you to ask yourself about your current Twitter strategies. The key question is, when you Tweet, are you talking at people, or are you conversing with people?

We all know that social media, Twitter included, is meant to be a communication tool . What it truly boils down to is an opportunity to converse in a much more real-time, collaborative, and interactive setting.

If you want to achieve success through Twitter, stop trying to lob your messages out there, hoping someone will catch them; and instead initiate and facilitate conversations. Here are some of my best tips:

1) ReTweet often. But, do not stop there. Always add your own thoughts or opinion to the original item that you found ReTweet-worthy. It is perfectly acceptable to post two or three Tweets in a row for this purpose.

2) Tweet plenty of @ replies. Remember, you are having a conversation and you want the other person to know you are talking to them.

3) Use a lot of hashtags in your tweets. This adds your thoughts into much larger conversations.

4) Similarly, search for new hashtags that you find interesting or useful. Join in those conversations.

5) Reply to everyone who sends you an @ message. No one will want to converse with you if you are not willing to throw the conversation ball back to them.

6) Use auto-responders for your followers with caution. If you must use one, keep it simple by just saying hi or thanks for the follow.

7) Do not automatically follow everyone who follows you. This is a quick way to make Twitter overwhelmingly useless.

Picture this… You are in a crowded room talking to a large group of people at the same time. There are no speeches or stages; it is just a gathering with friendly conversation. Do you think people would pay attention to what you have to say if you constantly push your own agenda, regardless of what the group is discussing? Of course, the answer is no. Why would you treat Twitter any differently?

Social media as a whole is about becoming likable, while portraying a true image of yourself, and having as many people as possible show an interest in what you have to say. People, by nature, like to feel important and connected to the things they care about. If you want people to care about your message, make them feel important and connected to it by engaging them in conversation.

By conversation, I mean both your conversation and theirs. Social media is a two-way street. You get what you give. Make sure you are contributing in a way which will give you the return you seek.

Matt Enders is the CEO of MGECOM, Inc., a leading outsourced affiliate program management firm.

Download the entire FeedFront issue 10 here – http://www.scribd.com/doc/29057000/FeedFront-Magazine-Issue-10
FeedFront issue 10 articles can be found here as well: http://feedfront.com/archives/article00date/2010/04

As an affiliate manager, your job is to drive sales for your company or client via the various affiliate partnerships you develop. Too often, affiliate managers (or more aptly, merchants) take the “if you build it, they will come” approach to affiliate management.

This is a recipe for disaster. Proper management of any affiliate program requires time, attention, effort, and most importantly, relationships built on trust.

The affiliates who participate in the affiliate program you manage must be viewed as partners, not as a faceless entity looking to make a dollar through your program. Each affiliate is important and has the potential to significantly contribute to your bottom line.

Of course, it would be impossible to personally know each and every affiliate who has been approved to your program. You must work to develop relationships and work as closely as possible with as many affiliates as possible.

In developing relationships with affiliates, you are developing trust, which can lead to amazing results. Once you have developed trust and learned how a particular affiliate does what it is that they do, you have an opportunity to expand the working relationship.

But remember, trust is a two way street. If an affiliate trusts you with their business model, you have to trust them with items like your brand name, VIP commission rates, and special privileges.

Let’s look at an example.

My company manages affiliate programs for our clients. One of our clients had historically used Yahoo! Paid Inclusion (RIP) with moderate, but consistent success.

One particular affiliate, which mgecom had worked with significantly over the years, approached us about also using Yahoo! Paid Inclusion (“PI”) as one of their promotional methods. Since we knew and trusted this affiliate, we were able to vouch for the idea and strongly recommend the opportunity to our client.

The client agreed to a limited test with the affiliate. The test went so well that the client turned off their in-house PI campaign and allowed this affiliate to fully represent their brand via Yahoo! PI.

The result? The affiliate was able to increase sales via this channel by a staggering weekly average of 349%. The lowest weekly increase was 82% and the highest to date is 1,176%. This is an increase above and beyond what the client had been able to achieve via their own in-house efforts.

Why was this level of success achievable in this particular partnership?

-        We knew the affiliate well

-        We had worked with the affiliate closely in the past

-        We trusted the affiliate

-        We were able to communicate all of this to the client and demonstrate the value

To summarize, if you are an affiliate manager, get to know your affiliates as more than just a name in a report. Learn what they do, earn their trust, and in turn trust them. Greater results are possible when relationships are nurtured and expanded.

Matt Enders is the CEO of mgecom, inc., a leading Outsourced Affiliate Program Management firm.

Download the entire FeedFront issue 9 here – http://www.scribd.com/doc/24376105/FeedFront-Magazine-Issue-9
FeedFront issue 9 articles can be found here as well: http://feedfront.com/archives/article002334

Over the years many events, technologies, and companies have changed the face of affiliate marketing. The current battle against the Affiliate Tax (Advertising Tax, Amazon Tax) is one of the most important events to happen in our young industry.

The Advertising Tax has the power to both reform and injure our entire industry. To date New York, Rhode Island, and North Carolina have all passed the tax. Other states have seen the damage these laws do to small businesses and have shot down similar legislation.

Being headquartered in North Carolina, mgecom took a leading role in the fight against the Advertising Tax. In this fight, we learned many things which could be of great value should you find yourself in a state considering the implementation of the Advertising Tax. My best advice is this:

- Start an online petition and gather as many signatures as possible. The volume of signatures is important, but more from your state equals more relevance to lawmakers.
- Gather short, personal stories from every affiliate you can reach whose business will be negatively impacted. Print and bind these, and hand deliver them to your legislators.
- Use Twitter to get the message out and gain new supporters. Create a hash tag (we used #ncaffiliatetax) and include it in every Twitter update you write.
- Talk to the Performance Marketing Alliance and leverage their experience, data, and reach.
- Utilize the enormous power and community of ABW (ABestWeb.com) and other affiliate marketing forums.
- Organize face to face meetings with anyone in your state who has an interest in seeing the law shot down. Use these meetings to plan your group strategy.
- Don’t wait to start the fight. Make yourself heard as soon as the legislation appears. Even better, be preemptive and start educating your legislators on our industry.
- Visit your legislators in person. Meeting with lawmakers from your county is very important, but talk to anyone who will listen, particularly if they are on your State Finance Committee.
- Call your legislators multiple times. Don’t settle for speaking to an aide.
- Be persistent.

In North Carolina, we were unfortunately fighting against the perception of “fairness” in the eyes of lawmakers.

Many were focused on ensuring that Amazon.com and local book retailers were both subject to the same taxes and removing what was seen as an unfair competitive advantage.

North Carolina being in a significant budget deficit certainly did not help our chances. To lawmakers, the Affiliate Tax seemed like a way to both close the budget gap and keep local retailers happy.

We found that personal stories from affiliates and getting legislators to see how the Affiliate Tax laws negatively affect small businesses and individuals was much more effective than speaking to them about their misconceptions of fairness and new tax revenue streams. In the end we lost the fight, but we did make headway with key legislators. Now, we will work towards repeal of the Affiliate Tax.

Matt Enders is the CEO and Founder of mgecom, inc., an Outsourced Affiliate Program Management firm.

Download the entire FeedFront issue 8 here – http://www.scribd.com/doc/20220412/FeedFront-Magazine-Issue-8
FeedFront issue 8 articles can be found here as well: http://feedfront.com/archives/article00date/2009/10

When my company takes over the management of an existing affiliate program or launches a new one, we do so using the Structured Diversity Method I have developed. Affiliates are categorized into three distinct classifications: Aggregate Volume, High Potential, and Premium Partners.

Each affiliate within any given classification is equally significant and must be treated with a high level of importance. This ensures that your affiliate partners are able to consistently improve their sales volume and helps your program become a significant portion of your overall online revenue.

Aggregate Volume affiliates comprise the foundation of your program. These affiliates are what most would consider rookies to affiliate marketing. They will likely have many questions and may need to be taught the basics of generating traffic and converting visitors. These affiliates typically generate a few orders each, per month.

Your program should be designed so that you have hundreds of converting affiliates at the foundation level who occasionally generate individual sales, but who, as the Aggregate Volume group, contribute a significant amount of monthly revenue.

High Potential affiliates are important both as a group and individually. This group does not typically make their living entirely from affiliate marketing, but they are generating consistent sales each month. Their commission earnings play a role in both their business and personal budgeting. High Potential affiliates are likely to increase their sales rapidly if they are given the right tools.

Premium Partner affiliates are your top performers. They may or may not be considered an industry Super Affiliate, but regardless are generating a significant amount of your monthly sales. These affiliates should be viewed as a method of “sharpening the tip” of your affiliate program. They have the ability to drive significant amounts of revenue, often in a very short period of time. More importantly, their high performance level is often sustainable over time.

You can build a significant revenue generating program through Aggregate Volume and High Potential affiliates alone, but overall growth will be inconsistent and slow. Likewise, a program built with Premium Partners alone may not be sustainable over time as any number of factors beyond your control could temporarily or permanently affect their sales volume. The loss of even a single Premium Partner in a program consisting only of this group will result in a significant decrease in overall revenue.

In utilizing the Structured Diversity Method for your affiliate program design, you will be able to reach profitability from the sales generated by Aggregate Volume and High Potential affiliates alone.
However, you must attract and recruit affiliates of all three classifications in order to realize the sharp growth curves you are looking for. You must manage your program under the assumption that each partner in each classification wants to earn more with your program and is actively working on improving their business. If you provide the tools and assistance needed, you will find a steady flow of affiliates advancing their performance level and generating more sales in your program.

Matt Enders is the CEO and Founder of mgecom, inc., a leading Outsourced Affiliate Program Management firm.

Download the entire FeedFront issue 7 here – http://www.scribd.com/doc/17376069/FeedFront-Magazine-Issue-7
FeedFront issue 7 articles can be found here as well: http://feedfront.com/archives/article00date/2009/08