Shawn Collins
The name Kellie Stevens has long been synonymous with affiliate marketing integrity, and her body of work was recognized at Affiliate Summit West 2009 when she was given the Affiliate Marketing Legend Pinnacle Award.
Shawn Collins recently talked with the legendary Stevens about her career, the prognosis of adware in the affiliate marketing industry, and the likelihood that the New Orleans Saints will win the Super Bowl in the next five years.
Shawn: How did you get started in affiliate marketing?
Kellie: I was facing having to leave my prior career in physical therapy because of some questionable medical issues with my vision. I knew from my days working in community re-integration rehab the many benefits and adaptations of computers for visual impairments. I was also looking for something I could do from home as public transportation is very limited in my area if I could no longer drive. I decided to try an online business, even though I had very little knowledge of the internet at the time. Ignorance really is bliss at times.
I bought a book to learn html and put up a web site. I began researching online marketing for ways to promote the web site. In the course of that research, I came across affiliate marketing. I recognized the immediate value in affiliate marketing over other forms of marketing. I was immediately drawn to the channel and have never looked back.
I suppose you can say I blindly stumbled upon affiliate marketing. It really is a case of something potentially negative in my life turning out to have a very positive influence. Fate really does rock at times!
Shawn: What was the first domain you purchased?
Kellie: I am soooo not going to even go there. LOL.
Shawn: I see you worked in the healthcare industry. If BHOs were a fatal health condition, which one would they be?
Kellie: That's a tough one. I guess I'd have to say Hansen's Disease, known as leprosy in layman's terms. While not immediately fatal, if left unchecked or treated, it can lead to very debilitating conditions which can result in a premature death. Leprosy does cause serious impairments to critical areas of the body, such as the nervous and respiratory systems. There is a strong negative social stigma connected with leprosy. For an outsider looking at leprosy, they see something that is obviously diseased with disfigurement and blemishes.
For anyone who may be curious, yes I did do some volunteer work at one of the few Hansen's Disease Research Centers in the world.
Shawn: What has been the highlight of your time in affiliate marketing to date? What has been the lowlight?
Kellie: Thankfully, there have been many highlights. Every time I am even a small part of a bad affiliate being removed from a network or program or a change in policy that fosters fair competition and increased true value of the affiliate marketing channel is a good day. I've been fortunate to have met many incredible people over the years who have taught me so much and helped me grow both professionally and personally. The biggest honor I've received was this past Affiliate Summit in Vegas winning the Pinnacle Affiliate Marketing Legend Award. I'm not one to get too caught up with awards, but my efforts being recognized by such a diverse cross section of our industry has been both a very humbling and motivating experience.
I try not to think of things as lowlights, but rather learning experiences. I've had my share of those too. I think one of the hardest things for me to come to terms with over the years is when my personal integrity and motivations have been attacked by those who I have supported and advocated for when I did not react to an issue as they thought I should. Those times have reinforced to me the need to stay true to my overall beliefs and goals however. So in the long run, the low points have helped to keep me focused on the things that I feel are important in the big picture for the industry.
Shawn: What is the biggest goal you hope to accomplish with AffiliateFairPlay.com?
Kellie: To help shape policy, define legitimate revenue generation, establish Quality Assurance policy and protocols, and define best practice standards within our industry that promotes fair competition.
Shawn: What do you see as the biggest threat to affiliate marketing?
Kellie: I'd have to say ourselves. There have been so many times that we have seemed to be our own worst enemy. Political infighting, personal attacks, egos, personal agendas with others and the like have seemed to block productive advancement within the industry. I'd also have to say we need to develop our skills at critical evaluation of the practices and business models that are deemed the majority to be acceptable use for affiliate marketing. For an industry of marketers, it seems that often times that marketing spin is accepted readily without critically evaluating what is actually being promoted.
Shawn: Which is more likely to happen in the next five years - the eradication of adware by affiliates or the New Orleans Saints in the Super Bowl?
Kellie: Definitely the New Orleans Saints in the Super Bowl. Adware isn't going to go away.
Shawn: What is one thing affiliate networks should do tomorrow to help clean out the bad guys?
Kellie: That isn't a one step, nor necessarily easy, process. But the first step a network must take in "cleaning out the bad guys" is to set strong policy as to what the bad behavior actually is and then follow through with the commitment to enforce that policy. There needs to be a mindset shift from allowing certain practices that are making revenue in the short-term to sound policy on acceptable promotional methods by affiliates/publishers which bring true value to the affiliate channel.
Shawn: What is your favorite site today (not including anything related to affiliate marketing)?
Kellie: I'm not a big fan of having a "favorite" anything. I tend to like too many different types of things for that. I guess I'd have to say the site I use the most on any given day is Google. I'm able to find sites related to whatever my whim of the day is, no matter how obscure it might be.
Shawn: What are some red flags that indicate an affiliate is cheating?
Kellie: I really don't like getting into that in very much detail at all publicly. There is a constant battle by the bad players to try and figure out just how much the folks who are watching know and then come up with techniques to avoid detection. Some affiliates have become pretty sophisticated in those methods. And electronic trail is always laid down though if the affiliate wants to receive the ill-gotten commission. That is the one thing they aren't able to get around.
The most helpful thing that any affiliate manager, OPM, merchant or network can in order to detect bad behavior is to truly understand what techniques are currently being utilize. Once you understand what the behaviors are being used, the "red flags" you should look for become obvious.
I've always advised my clients that each time a bad affiliate is detected; the real value isn't one affiliate that is removed from their program/network. A careful analysis of all the data related to affiliate's account or accounts should be made in relation to the type of techniques they were using. Over time, when all that data is analyzed, a pattern emerges which can be used to more quickly detect bad behavior and identifying changes methods being used. As "footprints" are established, more robust compliance methods can be implemented.
Shawn: Do you see the emergence of social media as a good or bad thing for affiliate marketing?
Kellie: I think it is a good thing. It's another avenue which can be pursued by affiliates/publishers. As with anything, there will be those who can effectively use social media in their marketing efforts and those who will bomb trying to use social media.
I have seen some really interesting and innovative experiments by some affiliates who are pursuing how social media can be leveraged in affiliate marketing. Many affiliates are willing to take the risks of experimenting with new technology and marketing approaches. I've always felt this is a strength of the affiliate channel.
Shawn: What is the last book you read?
Kellie: I'm reading Robert Ludlum's The Road to Omaha right now. I was in the mood for some satire of the political system and the human condition.
Shawn: Complete this sentence: Affiliate marketing was _____ five years ago, but now it is _____.
Kellie: Affiliate marketing was a toddler five years ago, but not it is a pre-teen.
Shawn: Do you think StopBadware.org is making a positive difference?
Kellie: I think they probably are providing benefit to consumers. They also provide a benefit to webmasters who have had their web sites compromised by hackers. No system is going to be 100% accurate because automation is required to achieve the scale necessary to be meaningful. There will be false positives and negatives. The one thing I do like about like about StopBadware is there is an appeal process in place to address those issues which is clearly spelled out.
I would like to see Google take a firmer stance with regards to their advertising displaying in some of the very same applications flagged by StopBadware. On one hand, they are warning end users about certain types of software. But on the other hand, they are helping to financially support some of the very same applications with their ad inventory. I hope to see Google devoting more resources in protecting the integrity of their own ad inventory.
Shawn: What's your favorite movie?
Kellie: It really depends on my mood. I am a sucker for the old black and white movies though. I don't watch too many slasher movies or comedies that are slapstick. I think good dialogue is becoming a lost art with the advances being made with special effects.
I'll also admit I'm a hopeless case when it comes to Pixar movies and other animated "kid" movies. I've no shame....I won't even bother to bring a kid along with me to watch many of those movies.
***************************
Shawn Collins has been an affiliate marketer since 1997 with a number of active affiliate projects, and a decade of affiliate management under his belt. He is a Co-founder of Affiliate Summit, the leading global conference and tradeshow for the affiliate marketing industry and Co-Editor-in-Chief of FeedFront Magazine. He authored the book Successful Affiliate Marketing for Merchants and publishes the annual AffStat affiliate marketing benchmark reports. Shawn blogs daily on affiliate marketing at Affiliate Tip and co-hosts the weekly Affiliate Thing and GeekCast Show podcasts on GeekCast.fm. Additionally, Shawn has been quoted in numerous publications, including Entrepreneur Magazine, Internet Retailer, Inc. Magazine, the New York Times, and the Wall Street Journal.
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