In terms of active participants in the affiliate marketing industry, Shawn Collins is no doubt somewhere near the top of the list. He’s the co-founder of the Affiliate Summit conference and the publisher of quarterly magazine FeedFront. And somewhere between writing for his Affiliate Tip blog and producing YouTube videos, he and his partner Missy Ward put together a regular AffStat Report, which I had the pleasure to speak to Shawn about just recently.

The AffStat Report has been published for the past eight years, and gathers insight from over 1,150 affiliates who are surveyed on their strategies in affiliate marketing. The goal of the report is to provide benchmarks that are central to the development of any affiliate marketing program, and really, if you haven’t had the opportunity to check out his free guide, it’s definitely worth a read.

Our team at Share Results had a chance to read Shawn’s AffStat Report back in April, and there were a number of stats that really got our attention.

I thought I would have a chat with Shawn to get his feedback on the most recent AffStat Report, and his thoughts on what this means for the industry.

Janice Scrim: What one thing about the AffStat Report surprised you more than anything else?
Shawn Collins: I am surprised more people don't cloak their links. Based on our polling, less than 40% are doing it.

JS: According to your report, most affiliates only promote 2-5 affiliate programs. Why do think this is? Is fewer better?
SC: I'd guess it's because most affiliates haven't figured out how to scale their business to run many sites.

JS: Over 67% of affiliates said they used social networking sites to market. How does this compare to last year? What do you predict going forward?
SC: That question was new this year. You can see the 2009 study here. I would imagine the percentage will increase next year.

JS: One of the things I was most surprised about in your AffStat Report is that 15.8% of affiliates don’t know their gross monthly income. What’s your feeling on why this is?
SC: A great many affiliates are part-time and perpetual newbies. They haven't tasted success, and that has limited their time investment.

JS: Your report indicates that most affiliates are fairly new to the industry, most having started in 2009. Do you think this speaks to the fact that affiliates are starting in the biz, and not following through?
SC: I'd say it's a testament to the ever growing tent of folks who consider themselves affiliates. Just a few years ago, there was little intersection with those in SEO, social media, blogging, etc, but that has been steadily changing, as evidenced by the growing, varied attendance at Affiliate Summit.

JS: If there were one message that affiliate managers should take away from this AffStat Report, what would it be? What about merchants?
SC: I'd urge affiliate managers and merchants to read the second part of the report where affiliates sound off on various issues. Also, I think they should take note of the changing landscape of affiliates, and adjust their paradigm to recruit affiliates in all of the places the can be found these days, including bloggers, podcasters, video makers, social networkers, etc.

JS: Do you predict any changes in the stats you reported on the kind of industry/merchant types that affiliates like to promote? I was surprised that areas like Green/Eco weren’t more popular… what surprised you most?
SC: I think it speaks to the varied nature of the business that there are so many areas being equally promoted. I was not surprised by the related small interest in green. But I would have expected education and dating to be more popular.

JS: Most affiliates don’t use video in their marketing plan. Why do you think this is? Do you predict this will change in the near future?
SC: I think a lot of affiliates are intimidated by video, and also consumers aren't really accustomed to clicking video. I think video will increase over time, as consumers interact more, rather than being passive with it. That said, it provides a good opportunity to focus on video to help dominate a niche.

JS: You are a great role model for many affiliates. Who do you look up to?
SC: I admire affiliates that have persevered and built successful affiliate-based companies through hard work and patience, such as Connie Berg, Scott Jangro, and Tim Storm.

Our team will be at the Affiliate Summit East conference coming up this August in New York City—so we’re hoping to have the chance to meet up with Connie, Scott and Tim—and hopefully Shawn too. It’s a pretty incredible three-day conference, with lots of opportunities to network, meet representatives from leading merchants, vendors and networks—plus, there are educational sessions galore.

What’s your take on Shawn and Missy’s most recent AffStat Report? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.