Disqus - Latest Comments for Sam Harrelson

Re: Show Me the Money!

Sam Harrelson — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 09:41:08 -0000

"And even if it is, and this is news to CJ, whatâ€™s wrong with offering Shawn, an individual with a problem, in a private converation, a nice quick solution? Nothing."

Nothing is wrong with that response to an individual. It's a good solution for Shawn per his post. However, I do think there's something to be said for making interfaces as easy to navigate and use as possible without asking the user to do one more thing.

It's really not that big of a deal and I don't want to get in the middle of a semantics or usability debate... my point here and on the podcasts is that it is good that we're finally getting these issues of usability out there so that new and old publishers can have the most efficient access to their stats and reporting.

"Shawn wrote about it and all of a sudden itâ€™s CJâ€™s official answer to Pepperjamâ€™s better interface?"

I didn't say that, either. I certainly don't think that's CJ's "answer" to Pepperjam's interface. They don't need an answer but all networks do need to constantly be considering how best to improve their internal navigation.

Re: Show Me the Money!

Sam Harrelson — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 08:33:04 -0000

Scott-

I agree with you for the most part (especially about the API's and web services which CJ provides). However, I do think Kris has a point. Usability is a selling feature for his network. It's not the end-all-be-all for user interfaces and I think his repetitive use of "web2.0 interface" is a little inflated, but it's a start. And if it causes the other networks to think about interfaces and usability, then it's a good start.

But a desktop bookmark to a stats page? Come on... there's got to be a better solution (even on a tech call) than suggesting the end user have to do one more thing on their side of the court.

How many bookmarks for stat pages do you have in the dock of your Mac? Perhaps there's a way to hook that up through Fluid? I'll see if any network reps know :)

As I said on the podcast(s), I'm not taking sides here, but I do think Kris' point is fair criticism given that we've all been complaining about stats interfaces for years.

Sam

Re: Affiliate Marketing Audio Version

Sam Harrelson — Thu, 24 Jan 2008 13:37:35 -0000

Thanks for the kind words and I'm so glad Alex is a fan... our daughter loves my voice too, so maybe I should probably ditch this affiliate stuff and go do Wiggles podcasts while I'm ahead.

We're pretty excited about GeekCast.fm. It's going to be growing into something that we saw as a need in the online marketing and tech world, so stay tuned.

I highly recommend Fraser and Andrew's shows as well... great stuff and a welcome change of perspective from our American-centric affiliate POV.

Thanks again, Scott!
Sam

Re: One Smart Cookie?

Sam Harrelson — Sat, 19 May 2007 21:54:27 -0000

Thanks so much for the kind words and that you're getting something out of it! There are too many good blogs out there that talk about driving PPC to offers, etc and I really don't want to compete with them but do something that helps us all be more productive and efficient as marketers.

Glad you've found some value there! Keep me posted on your thoughts about the site (sam@affiliatefortunecookies.com) and let me know if you ever have any suggestions or criticisms. That will only make the site stronger!

Yep, I will be at the Summit. I'm actually speaking on Monday at 3:00 on web2.0 and affiliate marketing, so make sure to stop by if you'd like. It should be a fun convo if everything works out. Let's definitely connect... I look forward to meeting you there! Sam

Re: One Smart Cookie?

Sam Harrelson — Fri, 18 May 2007 23:07:35 -0000

"It just the blog states that its an affiliate blog and it seems like alot of the posts are about random internet marketing stuff that you try to make sound a little more like its for affiliate marketing."

Not sure I follow you since everything on Affiliate Fortune Cookies has to do with affiliate marketing whether it's using RSS to help you reach new audiences or using productivity tools to make you a more efficient business person.

Let's not pigeon hole "affiliate marketing blogs" into just one type since "affiliate marketing" in practice and description is a pretty wide arena.

"Its more of a personal preference, but I would rather read a blog that isnâ€™t posted alot however, when there are posts they are of really great quality and on something that really matters to me as an affiliate marketer."

Right... the nature of a blog like this are frequent and short posts. I blog on other places where I might post once or twice a day with long and developed posts, but this blog is more of a rapid tools and tips sort of blog. You don't need long developed posts for something like that.

I have 542 blogs that I read thru daily in my feed reader, so I see your point about the frequency. Again, it's the nature of a blog like this to do more frequent posts than something like my other blog, CostPerNews.

"I currently do about 30,000 profit a month from affiliate marketing (I know, Iâ€™m a newb)"

Um, you're probably not a "newb" if you're doing 360k a year from affiliate marketing.

"I hope I donâ€™t offend anyone as thats not my goal, Iâ€™m just trying to explain how I feel about it, as I would expect the same from my readers as it allows us to have better blogs."

No offense at all! Your definitely entitled to your opinion of what's valuable for your attention and what an affiliate marketing blog should be... no worries! Let's just make sure we understand that "affiliate marketing" in practice and theory are much bigger than either of our definitions or opinions and includes a wide range of space even if it doesn't pertain to us specifically.

Sam

Re: One Smart Cookie?

Sam Harrelson — Fri, 18 May 2007 11:08:57 -0000

Thanks for trying it out, Mystickal. The blog is on day three now, so it's still pretty early to categorize the blog. There will be some additional writers coming on in June and more posts in the way of video and audio that are in production.

For me, affiliate marketing is a very general space and not just about quick and easy money making. I'm just hoping to share some tips that I come across which make me a better affiliate marketer and allow others to do the same.

Some of those tips or tricks deal specifically with practical issues (Firefox plugins, a CJ feature I'm working on now, etc) and some of those are about productivity tools or tips on getting more links.

In my own mind, I don't see how any of that is not linked to affiliate marketing. But, that's my own opinion and my own version of what I consider affiliate marketing.

There are a number of great blogs out there which throw out quick tips on making fast money. I didn't feel like replicating that, but instead give out practical tips on how to work smarter, quicker and more efficiently in an affiliate marketing environment.

The beauty of blogging is that if you don't like the way something is presented or not covered, you can easily go off and start your own, which I encourage everyone to do.

Re: One Smart Cookie?

Sam Harrelson — Wed, 16 May 2007 10:14:19 -0000

"And a child on the way, so thatâ€™ll probably change up some."

My wife has already nixed my suggestion for "Twitter" as a name. Of course, I could just call him/her "Twit."

Thanks for the write up, Scott. This is something I've been wanting to do for a while. I really think there's a need for good straight info and ideas on how to start (or maintain) a successful program that's not in an eBook form.

So, I'm excited about getting this going!

"But Iâ€™ve bookmarked the new blog, looking forward to it."

Love you, Trust...but get a feed reader! I even hear that Jim Kukral has abandoned his snobby bookmarking ways and is now using Google Reader.

Re: Affiliate Fortune Cookies- Are You Subscribed Yet?

Sam Harrelson — Fri, 18 May 2007 12:10:13 -0000

Thanks so much for the kind words, Vlad!

While I won't be "blogging" at CostPerNews per se, it will still be around but in a little different format after June 1.

I'm really excited to be working on the new site. My vision for it is to provide a place for helpful hints and tips that have to do directly and indirectly with affiliate marketing. So, some posts will be about efficiency and some will be about hardcore CJ strategies, etc.

Should be a fun ride!

Thanks again-
Sam

Re: Affiliate fortune cookies reaches 100 subscribers!

Sam Harrelson — Sat, 26 May 2007 12:59:56 -0000

Thanks, Pranav!

I honestly hadn't checked the stats before I saw your post, but I'm excited that the blog has had such a warm reception. It took me about 2 months to hit the 100 subscriber mark with CostPerNews, so I'm quite happy with the progress so far.

Thanks also for the kind words... keep up the great blogging here yourself. You're definitely one of my daily reads!

Sam

Re: Affiliate Fortune Cookies- Are You Subscribed Yet?

Sam Harrelson — Fri, 18 May 2007 12:10:13 -0000

Re: Microsoft Finally Got Their Coolness Back

Sam Harrelson — Wed, 30 May 2007 13:20:32 -0000

This is a neat concept, but I think the coolest part is that Microsoft is using Adobe Flash on the surface.com site to promote Surface instead of its own new Silverlight.

Oops.

Re: John Chow Is Killing His Blog By Trying Too Hard To Make Money

Sam Harrelson — Fri, 01 Jun 2007 09:50:04 -0000

I've got no problem with Chow experimenting on his audience and finding new ways to monetize the people that continually choose to read his blog. More power to him.

What I do have a problem with are the sketchy-at-best "evil tactics" (as he calls them) that he recommends to new affiliates who read his words as gospel. Our industry went through a period of experimenting with all of the "new tricks" he rehashes years ago.

There's a growing divide in affiliate marketing between the old folks and the newcomers, and it's we old folks that let Chow and other "gurus" spew their tactics without stepping up to confront them and show the new affiliates that there are other (and better) ways to make a buck than reusing five year old ideas that were bad ideas then.

Nice post, Jim.

Re: John Chow Is Killing His Blog By Trying Too Hard To Make Money

Sam Harrelson — Sun, 03 Jun 2007 11:10:06 -0000

Here's my point of view as succinctly as I can make it... blogging is a wonderful and valuable tool for growing a brand or even making direct revenue in the long term. You can make short term gain on your blog by various methods of acceptable and less-than-acceptable means. It's a choice you have to make about your own future and brand.

However, if you do choose to go down the path that John travels, you'd probably want to do it with a domain other than one in your real name (johnchow.com or samharrelson.com or markwielgus.com) because of the long term ramifications.

If someone wants to hack through the old paths again that were created years ago and disregarded as harder ways to climb the hill of success that we all are looking to climb, then so be it. Have fun, and I hope you all learn as much as the "old timer, do-gooders" did when we were running around the hill trying to figure out the best path to the top.

None of us are there yet, but you can certainly learn a lot if you go back and look at resources like Shawn's built up library or Jim's archives or even conversations on the forums from 2002 and 2003. We weren't discussing blogging yet (well, some were), but we were hitting on these same discussions about gaming systems, short term profits and the place of full disclosure.

It's easier to stand on the shoulders of giants rather than trying to invent the wheel all over again.

Blogging is wonderful and you can definitely make some money doing it. I do, both directly and indirectly. I could make a lot more money in the short term with my blogs, but I don't think that money would be worth the tradeoff to the amount of money they will bring in over the long term... especially with a blog in my own personal name.

Blogging is ultimately most valuable when it is set up to last the long haul. That means looking for ways to create better communities and content on your blog rather than better short term rankings or using RSS hacks to get more subscribers in one day.

What concerns me the most is that there is a growing rift between the next gen of "online marketers" and what you and others are calling the old crowd. We're not communicating with each other because of a number of reasons and faults on both sides. That's ultimately damaging to our industry because we're doomed to repeat the same mistakes over and over again.

Re: John Chow Is Killing His Blog By Trying Too Hard To Make Money

Sam Harrelson — Sun, 03 Jun 2007 16:44:55 -0000

You should have directed that @jim, Mark. I'm not going to speak for Jim. I don't use paid reviews or optimize my blogs (which is just plain dumb in today's environment... but I write my content for my readers and not the SERPS).

I don't "despise" the "new blood," as I'm sure you don't despise the old blood. So let's not fall into generalities about either side of this perceived split.

Instead, let's look for ways to learn together and move the industry forward in a positive and profitable direction. My general point in getting involved in this discussion here on Jim's blog is that I don't see what Mr. Chow is doing as positive or profitable for the industry or individuals just getting involved in the industry.

Re: John Chow Is Killing His Blog By Trying Too Hard To Make Money

Sam Harrelson — Sun, 03 Jun 2007 16:51:11 -0000

And for the life of me, I don't see how Jim's common sense post on optimizing a blog (use better headlines, title tags before headlines and use tags) even remotely compares to Chow's posts on cookie stuffing, juicing your RSS stats for one day or having people pay you to use no-follow to share the google juice. Seems like you're reaching to make your point, Mark... but what's new?

Re: John Chow Is Killing His Blog By Trying Too Hard To Make Money

Sam Harrelson — Sun, 03 Jun 2007 17:23:39 -0000

I've got no problem deleting comments that are spam, off topic or troll like in nature.

Have you ever read my blogs? Half the comments there disagree with me. But, they are well thought out and contribute to the conversation. It's my blog and I can experiment with the "delete comments" feature just as Chow can experiment with his plugins and features.

Let's show more respect to Jim and stay on topic since this is his blog. If you'd like to draw more linkbait, feel free to call me a hypocrite again on your blog.

Re: Sam Harrelson Interviews me on Affiliate Fortune Cookies

Sam Harrelson — Mon, 17 Mar 2008 16:59:30 -0000

My pleasure, Michael... thanks for coming on and sharing your views!

Sam

Re: 2007/05/17/wallop-invites/

Sam Harrelson — Thu, 17 May 2007 21:37:45 -0000

Would love an invite: sam@affiliatefortunecookies.com