Here’s a recent info-graphic we put together. The old world of manual linking is looking a bit long in the tooth. VigLink Insert is applying cutting-edge technology to improve the process of linking, and the links themselves. Scroll down to see just how far we’ve come in the last few months.
Cross-posted from the VigLink Insider Blog
With Mother’s Day around the corner, we wanted to alert you to some spectacular commissions, including a recent doubling for Saks Fifth Avenue. Recent research from shop.org tells us that, online, the average Mother’s Day shopper spends well over $200 on Mom. Cards, flowers, jewelry, clothing, and accessories all top the list of what makes for a truly special gift. What’s more, online shoppers are about twice as likely to shop at department stores than specialty retailers — good thing we’ve got great commissions to help you make the most of it!
We’ve recently doubled commissions for leading upscale retailer Saks Fifth Avenue - up from 3% to 6%. Don’t miss their Mother’s Day Gift Guide.
We’ve tripled rates for 1-800-Flowers to a whopping 18%. With free standard shipping and no service charge (see here) this is the one to link.
Our 12% commission is more than twice what most folks get by signing up direct. Nordstrom has thrown together a great set of picks from Mom – even some for under $50.
Sephora has great Mother’s Day Gifts from Philosophy, Dolce & Gabbana, Clinique, and more – plus 3-day free standard shipping (details here). The VigLink commission is 10% – yup, doubled.
Get more inspiration and boost your earnings by staying up to date with all our latest offers, newest merchants, and commission increases by visiting viglink.com/insider, subscribing to the RSS feed, and following us @VigLinkInsider on Twitter.
Today, Google announced their affiliate network will be shutting down. Google “made the difficult decision to retire Google Affiliate Network and focus on other products that are driving great results for clients.” For VigLink publishers, this news is nothing to worry about. However, if you’re not using VigLink, well, this news could mean lost revenue and a lot of headache.
While affiliate marketing might not be the right business for Google, their advertisers haven’t necessarily come to the same conclusion. We fully expect the over 1,000 GAN advertisers to open new affiliate programs, either directly or through another network. Premier GAN advertisers such as Target.com, Diapers.com, Barneys New York, and Nike.com enjoy significant value from sales driven by their affiliates. VigLink publishers, in particular, are a meaningful source of new customers and increased transactions as they share unique finds and great deals with their loyal followers.
For VigLink publishers, as long as these merchants participate in an affiliate program, our pledge is to continue to monetize their links and, to the extent possible, without interruption. VigLink publishers can just keep focusing on what they do best – making great content and building their audience.
For affiliates who work directly with GAN, this could cause a major disruption. Old links could break and revenue could drop. It will likely mean keeping an eye on each advertiser, finding their new program, applying, and then finding and swapping out all the old links with new links. If that sounds like a pain, we understand. The good news is it’s totally avoidable. With VigLink, links automatically affiliate, whatever the new program or network happens to be tomorrow, or five years from tomorrow.
If you’re interested in moving from manual to automatic link monetization, we’d love to hear from you.
You’ve probably noticed we’ve added a fresh coat of paint, and a few new pictures to brighten up the place. We’re proud to welcome you to the new VigLink.com! Allow us to show you around.
Our goal was to make it easier for everyone to understand what we do and who we do it for. We now have new pages dedicated to the many different kinds of publishers that choose to work with us. Whether you’re a blogger, a forum owner, or a mobile app developer, we’ve got a page explaining how VigLink works for you and a tool to let you preview VigLink on your site without an account (find this by scrolling down to the bottom of the How it Works page).
Meanwhile, the new VigLink works just as it always has. We’ve just created some new product names to help make what we do a bit easier to understand. VigLink now offers three products:
VigLink Convert automatically converts existing links into monetized links.
VigLink Insert automatically inserts new links when our technology detects mentions of products, brands, or stores. This can be enabled by visiting your settings. When turned on, publishers typically get more than half of their earnings from VigLink Insert.
VigLink Anywhere, previously known as the link wrapper, allows anyone to post a link that earns anywhere on the web, including Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube.
You can always sign in to adjust your settings, check your dashboard, or edit your account information. Don’t forget to stop by the new referrals page to grab some new banners and earn 35% of our commission for the first year with any new account you sign up.
We hope you love the new VigLink.com and give us a shout @VigLink if you need anything.
Wharton School (the business school at the University of Pennsylvania) runs the Wharton Future of Advertising Program. The mission of this program is to “Act as a catalyst for deeper insights, bolder innovation, and broader positive impact of advertising.” Under this umbrella, they’ve recently launched Advertising 2020 in a bid to source “Knowledge for Action” to address the key challenges facing the future of the advertising industry.
This global endeavor invited over 150 expert contributors from all fields to share their insights on what could or should advertising look like in 2020. The program stimulates conversations and debates, producing a set of concrete actions which will help advertising achieve its potential.
Oliver Deighton, our Vice President of Marketing and former Product Marketing Manager for Google’s advertising business, has joined the other invited international innovators, visionaries and thought leaders to share his perspective on a future of advertising. Dubbed ‘The Link Economy’ Oliver articulates a future reliant on a fundamental underpinning of the Internet, the very ‘H’ of HTTP, and sophisticated personalised optimization algorithms to maximise value for all involved. You can see Oliver’s concise contribution here and offer your own comments.
To read the other insightful and compelling perspectives and add your voice to the future of advertising debate visit the platform now at http://wfoa.wharton.upenn.edu/ad2020/
Posted by Lucy Bartlett, Marketing Manager
We knew it. You knew it. Now here’s the proof.
Last week a new report published by Technorati, the 2013 Digital Influence Report, showed that blogs are more likely to influence consumer purchase behavior that any other independent online media. More than Twitter, Facebook, even online magazines, consumers reported that blogs ranked behind only the retail and brand sites themselves. Consumers continue to rate blogs one of the most overall trustworthy sources of information on the internet.
The report pointed out that ‘brands spending is not fully aligned with how and where consumers are seeing value and being influenced’. Despite this, bloggers reported that e-commerce and affiliate links were the most acceptable forms of monetization.
Consumers value bloggers to guide their the purchase decisions and as a source of inspiration and clarity, cutting through the noise. Bloggers want to get compensated for this by using monetization methods that connect them directly to the purchase decisions they shape. We have said this all along and have created the tools to capture your value.
Don’t worry, it’s not missing! It turns out we didn’t send 1099′s this year. You’ll either got one from PayPal already or can look up your 2012 payments from your PayPal payment history.
In 2012 the IRS changed their requirements for corporations preparing 1099-Misc forms. Payments made using third parties such as PayPal should now be reported to the payee directly by PayPal with a 1099-K. You can find this form on PayPal by logging into PayPal and navigating to the History > Tax Documents menu.
However, PayPal is only required to prepare a 1099-K in cases where payees meet a threshold of 200 payments and $20,000 per year. The IRS requires that tax payers report miscellaneous income, but if you are paid via PayPal and have not crossed the 1099-K threshold you will not receive a 1099-K from PayPal (or a 1099-Misc from us).
If you don’t get the 1099-K you can still report your earnings – your PayPal account provides a payment history for 2012 payments from VigLink. We are also happy to help if you are unable to access the PayPal information.
Our analysis of comScore’s recently reported holiday e-commerce figures shows that while holiday e-commerce as a whole grew 14% over 2011, “content-driven commerce” — defined as e-retail sales linked from blogs, forums and social curation sites (aka your world) – grew more than twice as fast, at 31%. (See our related press release for details.)
Congratulations — it’s a pretty big achievement for VigLink publishers. What does this really mean to you?
We’ll continue to analyze the power of content-driven commerce, giving you stats and practical advice on how to “merchandise” your influence to greatest profits. (In the meantime, check out some tips inspired by Shauna Miller of PennyChic fame, here.)
How are you measuring your impact? In followers, revenues, or both? Tell us! We’re only a tweet away.
If you’re attending Affiliate Summit West this week, tomorrow’s panel on the future of affiliate marketing is not to be missed. Here are the details:
Tomorrow, January 15 at 11:30 in Florentine 1 & 2
The Future of Affiliate Marketing
Session 9a
Location: Florentine 1 & 2
Time: 11:30am-12:30pm
This session will share predictions on where we’re headed, what challenges we’ll encounter and what tools will become essential to success, so that you can begin preparing for the future right now.
Experience level: Beginner
Target audience: Affiliate/Publisher
Niche/vertical: Projections
Every year, First Round Capital (one of our investors, and arguably the most shameless of the bunch), lets loose a little holiday cheer in the form of a video, starring its portfolio companies. This year is no different, except for, well, the horses, the explosions, and the hot sauce. Our favorite scene?
Check out the video, count the awkward moments, and most of all, enjoy your holiday season (any style you wish).
