Our Ask an Affiliate Manager segment has generated a lot of interest from affiliates, and this time around, we decided to go outside of our typical single-question-and-answer format. We decided to conduct an interview with Geno Prussakov. If you’re an affiliate marketer in tune with what’s going on in the affiliate marketing industry, Geno will be familiar to you. He is an award-winning affiliate manager, an international speaker, and the author of Affiliate Program Management: An Hour a Day. We recently had the chance to chat with him about his latest venture, an affiliate marketing conference, and what to expect from the industry this year.

Share Results: It’s been a while since we last interviewed you on Share Results. What kind of feedback have you had with regard to your book since we last chatted?

Geno Prussakov: The book is getting some amazing reception: nearly 40 reviews on Amazon (with a 5-star overall rating), dozens of blog posts (and videos) from the industry’s leaders; and I hear that it is already being used in MBA courses at some schools around the U.S. And if that were not enough, Affiliate Program Management: An Hour a Day has helped me land a couple of major (keynote speech) speaking engagements in late 2011. It has also been recently nominated for the fourth annual Reader’s Choice “Small Business Book Awards” for 2012.

SR: What other new and exciting ventures have you been involved with lately?

GP: In December of 2011 I launched a brand new conference — one geared specifically towards advertisers and affiliate program managers. It is called Affiliate Management Days, and in 2012 we are planning on having two of these conferences: one on the West Coast (in Spring), and one on the East Coast (in Fall). The West Coast one is, actually, taking place about a month from now – on March 8-9 in San Francisco, California. Our attendees are in for an unforgettable treat: two 10-hour days packed with a total of 24 sessions and 4 keynotes.

SR: How does AM Days differ from other affiliate marketing trade shows?

GP: Good question. We want to differentiate ourselves on two levels: (a) audience, and (b) opportunities. I’ve already mentioned that this conference is created primarily with the needs of merchants and marketing managers in mind. Since we won’t affiliates in attendance (or will have very few – just the ones who are participating in our “Inside the Mind of a Super Affiliate” panel), this conference won’t have affiliate recruitment opportunities. But that’s not what its main goal is. The main objective is to provide the industry with a professional forum – a place for advertisers, digital marketing managers (and affiliate managers, specifically) to meet, share their knowledge and experience, and work out solutions to their most pressing problems and challenges.

SR: Tell us a little about the speakers you’ve got for the conference. What can attendees expect in terms of expert advice and experiences?

GP: The above-mentioned 28 speakers will include such affiliate marketing legends as Todd Crawford, Kim Rowley, Sam Harrelson, Jason Spievak, Karen Garcia, Rebecca Madigan, digital marketing celebrities such as Tim Ash, Joanna Lord, Linda Bustos, and Chris Goward, and experts from such organizations as Harvard, Google, eBay, Best Buy, J.C. Penney, and many others. Both keynotes and all breakout sessions will contain case studies that attendees will be able to learn from. We’ll cover such topics as affiliate recruitment, fraud, adware, black hat techniques, web analytics, attribution data, landing page optimization, branding, influence and persuasion, trends and innovations, mobile, video, social, and much more. To get a better idea of what to expect I would encourage ShareResults blog’s readers to take a look at AM Days SF 2012 agenda. It’s gonna truly be a one-of-a-kind type of event.

SR: What do you think are some of the biggest mistakes that merchants, OPMs, networks – essentially those responsible for running affiliate programs – are making in the industry?

GP: If I were to narrow my list to, say, three, they’d be: (1) misreading (and, by extension, misunderstanding) “affiliate management” as “management of affiliates”, whereas, in reality, it is the “management of the affiliate marketing channel”, (2) treating affiliates as a “secondary” channel, and (3) failing to invest (time, resources, and/or money) into self-education.

SR: What has been the most valuable feedback you have received from affiliates about affiliate managers?

GP: “I don’t open newsletters unless I have a personal relationship with an affiliate manager”. This explains a lot, especially about such common problems as low open rates, lack of response to promos, difficulties of activating stagnant affiliates, and so on.

SR: What do you think are some of the trends we can expect to see with regard to affiliate marketing this year?

GP: Again, if I had to stick to three, I’d predict: (1) further rise of mobile, and especially among affiliates, (2) more mergers and acquisitions, and (3) attribution modeling getting more attention and wider implementation.

SR: From a technical standpoint, what new developments do you see networks, software providers and merchants having to make in order to accommodate more affiliates?

GP: Anything that’s innovative and timely. I sit on the judging panel for Performance Marketing Awards (formerly, a4uAwards), and every year, as I review nominations, I am struck at the number of gems that are being discovered! Look at Coull, for example. This Bristol, UK-based start-up came on the scene just a couple of years ago (I still remember meeting them for the first time at Affiliate Summit West in January 2010). In May 2010 they were already working with buy.at transforming any video into an affiliate ad; and in November 2011 they got a $2 million investment, and “signed a deal with Google Affiliate Network, making them the only partner allowed to link YouTube videos with Affiliate links” (see this source at A4U.com). Is this impressive or what? It’s all about seeing the hot trends and leveraging them. At this time, there are plenty of opportunities in mobile, social, and other strengthening channels. The ones who are gonna be there first (like Coull in video) are gonna win big.

SR: What’s up next for you in terms of new projects?

GP: I first want get through the launch AM Days conference. Based on how the San Francisco one goes, we’ll start looking towards an international expansion, and, possibly, even doing more than two in North America.

By the way, speaking of Affiliate Management Days, I’d like to extend a 10% off coupon to all Share Results merchants, clients, and blog readers. The coupon code is SHARES, and it can be used while registering here.

Do you have a question for Geno or any of our affiliate managers? Any comments about the above interview? Leave us your input in the comment box below.

1. Interview with Geno Prussakov of AM Navigator
2. A New Affiliate Marketing Conference for Affiliate Managers
3. Interview with TheCuteKid.com’s Affiliate Manager
4. Ask an Affiliate Manager: What are the Best Sources of Traffic in Affiliate Marketing?
5. An Interview with Education Merchant eLearners pt. 2

Tagged as: affiliate, AM Days, Ask an Affiliate Manager, conference, Geno Prussakov, management, manager, marketing, program, promo code

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