Thank you for the many compliments about the first part of our interview with Fraser Edwards. In this week’s second half, among other questions, we ask the affiliate and podcaster what he dislikes about affiliate marketing, whether his podcasts are too soft on interviewees, and if he believes Google’s foray into CPA advertising poses a threat to established affiliate networks.

Your blog has been a runaway success and is one of the most visited in affiliate marketing. Your podcast interviews with figures in the industry are particularly popular. How did you come up with the idea?

I’m not sure it’s been a “runaway success”, but it’s been fun. In some ways it was started for me to experiment with new marketing methods. Everyone was talking about blogging and I thought the best way to learn was just to get involved and try it out. I initially planned to record three podcast episodes and see how it went but it’s been great to see an interest and carry on with them.

The main motivation has been to put a personal voice to many of the names that people will know from the industry. It’s more personal when you see a photo and hear someone speak instead of just relying on MSN etc.

What challenges do you face in carrying out your interviews?

Sometimes it’s hard to convince people to take part! But now at times people are getting in touch requesting an appearance. Sometimes it’s difficult to draw people out and get them to talk but then, at other times, it’s hard to get them to stop!

Technically I’ve had to learn quite a bit and, as with all technology, it doesn’t always go smoothly. Most of the podcasts are telephones calls over a VOIP line that I record on my PC so a computer hang-up can mean the line drops and you need to try and pick up the conversation where you left off.

Producing good quality audio is the biggest challenge when you don’t have the benefit of studio conditions and it’s something I’m continually trying to improve.

Quite often the interviews I conduct come to 5-6,000 words long when they are typed up and then I cut them to around half the length so they are easier to digest. Are your podcasts heavily edited?

I tend not to edit too much. I’ll go through the interview and try to edit any excessive “ums” and “ahs” or coughs to improve the overall sound but most of the conversation is just released as it was. I follow that with a bit of editing to include an introduction and adverts, then make sure all the different parts are at the same volume level.

“On a personal level, I've found Fraser to be a true friend, someone who can be trusted and very approachable. Never really done anything with him on the affiliate side and not really sure what he does. Having said that, I've found he is ALWAYS available with advice and suggestions, something that can be seen in his podcasts, and has a lot respect within the industry. However, his football skills leave a bit to be desired!” Chris Frost Affiliate, ColdSnail Ltd

 
Have you had interviewees asking for approval before the podcasts go live? How do you feel about that?

Yeah, a few have asked for that or for questions in advance. I think the main problem is that most people, myself included, don’t like the sound of their own voices and can tend to be too critical of themselves.

I hope that people will trust me though and I don’t set out to make them look bad, so if it was a really bad interview (I haven’t had one yet!) then I would make the decision myself to review it with them and don’t really need the interviewee to approve it first.

Your podcasts are non-controversial and you don’t challenge interviewees. My own interviews are similar: I sometimes feel guilty for not pushing my interviewees harder and asking less ‘nicey nicey’ questions. Do you ever feel you should grill the people in your podcasts more? Or do you feel that your pally style is more likely to tease information out of your subjects and result in a more interesting conversation?

Yeah that’s true and it is something I’ve taken some criticism for. Getting the right balance of discussion and not seeming like an advert is difficult. The interviews with networks are generally the ones where people feel I should be tougher. I think it tends to be influenced by the listeners own opinion of the company involved though.

I deliberately set out with this strategy at first as I needed to prove the concept of podcast interviews and people were never going to queue up for an interrogation!  I think as time goes on this may start to change when answers are really needed to specific questions.

How would you like to develop your blog over the coming months?

I’ve just launched a redesign of the blog which gives it a more professional feel and tries to give the blog posts and the podcasts equal profile.

I need to help people develop an understanding of RSS and what it means to subscribe to the blog so that it’s easier for them to read. Many people still think they need to keep visiting the blog every couple of days to see what they might have missed when instead they could get the content delivered to them via email, blog readers or personalized homepages.

I’ll be continuing with the short podcast series on getting started in affiliate marketing as I think it’s important to encourage people to get involved in the industry. I’m also about to start some group discussion podcasts which will involve a few different people at once and deal with one or two issues per episode rather than an interview format.

In the longer term I’ve been keeping an eye on the technology for more user interaction and I hope to try a live phone-in format at some point soon too.

I want to continue to develop the written blog content too. The podcasts tend to be filled with the opinions of my guests but the blog posts are based round what I am thinking so it’s good to get a chance to express that.

“When I think of Fraser, the words that come to mind are 'nice guy,' 'honest' and 'good for affiliate marketing.' I first came across Fraser on the old Affiliates4U on Ezboard, which must be about six years ago now, and been impressed by how much he knows about affiliate marketing and how much he cares about the industry. As long as Fraser Edwards is around affiliate marketing in the UK has a healthy future!” Dan Morley Affiliate Marketing Manager, AlphaRooms

 
What do you like about affiliate marketing?

Freedom and flexibility. I don’t need to answer to anyone and I choose my own hours. That’s the main appeal for me.

And, conversely, what gets up your nose about affiliate marketing?

It’s the unethical stuff that really winds me up. I did what I could to raise awareness of spyware a few years ago by publishing videos demonstrating what was going on but I think this type of thing is probably still happening.

Many affiliates don’t really want to work together on these kinds of issues and it’s more of a case of keeping their head down and quietly earning their money. To me there doesn’t seem to be all that many people that care about the industry as a whole.

The other thing that winds me up is networks that won’t enforce terms and conditions to protect affiliates. Dropping commission rates and closing programs with two hours notice is unacceptable but it goes on all the time. The whole payment system that affiliate networks use is outdated too. The model of only paying out when the network has been paid leaves the affiliate taking all the risk and often losing out in the end.

A couple of years ago I lost a few thousand dollars when a merchant went into administration and then relaunched a few weeks later. In situations like this the network should support the affiliate and ensure that they hold enough credit from the merchant to cover affiliate commissions or, at the very least, not allow the merchant back on the network.

How do you envisage affiliate marketing developing over the coming years?

It worries me a little but I think the big affiliates will just get bigger. We have all been guilty of saying that affiliate marketing is based around small content sites but in reality now I would say the main channels are just paid search and loyalty/cashback sites. There are a few great content sites out there but PPC and cashback must dominate most of the turnover in the industry. Matthew Wood in his recent podcast interview with me talked about cashback being 40% of a particular networks turnover. Paid search is probably another 40% and only the leftovers will be from genuine content sites.

Do you feel that we are getting to the point where there are too many merchants and not enough quality, performing affiliates?

Yes, I think there is some truth in that and it must be hard for any small merchant to get a foothold in the industry. Once they do, however, I think it can really pay off for them but it needs to be a long term commitment and not just an add on. Time properly invested in working with a network and communicating with affiliates will pay off.

The merchants that just pay their sign up fee and expect the affiliates to find them are in for a shock. It concerns me how some networks may have been selling affiliate marketing to their merchants. I’d suggest all merchants to at least take on a part time affiliate manager and really give their affiliate program attention if they want it to succeed.

Do you feel that Google’s incursion into the CPA arena is a threat to existing affiliate networks?

It's strange, some people do seem to be predicting the end of the networks but personally I can't see that happening.

Google have great products but I don't think their customer service is a strength. Merchants need more than just a technology platform, they need a service provider. Google isn't going to show up in their offices and talk to them about getting started in affiliate marketing... and a badly managed affiliate program quickly goes wrong.

To me it looks like more of an automated solution that will meet a specific need. It’s not a direct competitor to established networks.
For affiliates I think it’s another quick alternative to Adsense but it’s not the same as an affiliate network. They aren’t offering banners, promotions, data feeds, api’s etc. It just simply placing an advert and forgetting about it: that isn’t the route to major success.

However, I think it’s good for affiliate marketing, when a giant like Google starts using CPA. It validates the model and will get people looking at affiliate marketing.

There seems to be a new network launched every month: do you think there is room in the market for them all?

I don't think there is enough space in the market for them all. I think it's a difficult job to get a network started now without a decent angle or staying within a particular niche. People have been talking about consolidation for years and it has to be on its way at some point!

Moving onto your personal life, you’re expecting your first baby in a few weeks time. How do you feel about that and have you decided on a name yet?

Our baby is due in October and both Fiona and I are really looking forward to it. We haven’t managed to agree on any names yet but there is still time!

When the baby is born I may find myself returning to my affiliate marketing roots and working at 2am again!

Fraser, there's a question people have asked me to pose to you... what is the secret to eternal youth? How do you manage to keep a baby face while being close to 30?

It's all to do with a regular moisturiser that I use pretty much every day when I'm out and about. It's called Scottish rain ;-)

And, before we end, I often ask my subjects to answer the following question: tell us three things about yourself that most people would not know!

I’m a football fan. I support Falkirk as well as playing five a sides badly once a week and getting along to all Scotland’s home games.

I spent six months living in Cyprus after uni.

I think the best pies in the world come from Pies by Post.

 

PrimeQ Hosts Highly-Praised First Industry Get2Gether in Yorkshire

Singing in the rain would be an apt way to describe PrimeQ’s summer get2gether as online marketers from the north of England braved torrential rain to gather in Leeds for an evening of food, drink, banter and networking.

The party was held to celebrate the imminent beta launch of PrimeQ’s affiliate platform. In development for over a year, it will make a multitude of cutting-edge features available to the network’s thousands of advertisers and publishers.   

"A big thank you to PrimeQ for organising a northern regional event. Despite the weather, there was a very commendable turnout and it was a very enjoyable evening in the presence of friendly people. Regional affiliate marketing G2Gs like this certainly play their part in welding the industry." Elaine Forth Director of AllKids

Despite the downpour continuing which has resulted in the wettest ever June in Yorkshire since records began and made tens of thousands of people in the region homeless, around two dozen online entrepreneurs were present at the party at the Firefly bar, which Clubzone.com calls “one of the most stylish and sophisticated venues in Leeds”. Drinks and a sumptuous buffet meal were enjoyed by the attendees, which includes representatives from agencies such Brilliant Media, Summit Media, ClickAngel and several merchants and affiliates.

A few of them expressed delight they didn’t have to schlep to London to attend an industry gathering.

“PrimeQ has always been a company which has made an effort to reach out to parts of the world which other networks may not consider worthwhile… or even glamorous!” says Vincent Montero, PrimeQ’s Director of UK Operations. “Most companies never organise events outside the capital and I am proud that we were the first to hold a gathering in Yorkshire which, with 6 million inhabitants, is more populace than countries like Ireland, Denmark and Norway.”

Neil Ainsworth, the Director of ClickAngel, one of the leading pay per click companies in the UK, told the Weekly Q: “Thanks to Nadeem for organising and playing host to the Leeds affiliate meeting and to PrimeQ for sponsoring the event. It’s great to see we’ve got a local community who are passionate about affiliate marketing. From those new to affiliate marketing who were there to learn, to the old hands it was a good chance to meet up, swap ideas and start the ball rolling on new projects. Looking forward to the next one already!”
 

PrimeQ Affiliate Marketing MasterClass Goes Live

PrimeQ have announced the network’s acclaimed MasterClass tutorial series will be brought into the real world with the first in a series of free workshops.

The first course, organised by one of PrimeQ’s Affiliate Service Executives, James G. Evans, and Jonathan Dewey, Director of Funware,will cover Search Engine Optimisation, or SEO as it is commonly referred to in its abbreviated form.

James G. Evans says: “The MasterClass series, which we have been publishing since October 2006, was a world-first by any network and has been a runaway success, with several online companies informing us they are using the tutorials to train staff. I am delighted that PrimeQ will once again be breaking new ground by being the first network to run free ‘real world’ courses for affiliates on different aspects of internet marketing.”

The SEO course will be held at PrimeQ’s central London offices in Covent Garden on July 24th from 14:00 to 18:00 and, when the workshop ends, students and tutors will be able to socialise in a nearby pub.

The crash course will begin by providing a basic overview of how search engines work and then move on to techniques to rank well in the results. The five sections will be ‘Introduction to Search Engines’, ‘The Fundamentals of SEO’, ‘On-page SEO’, ‘Off-page SEO’ and ‘Advanced SEO Strategies’.

“We will learn about on-page SEO factors like the title and other meta-tags, keyword density, internal linking, sitemap and off-page SEO factors like backlinks, anchor text, directory submissions, article submissions, link building and social bookmarking,” explained James to the Weekly Q. “There is nothing complicated about being successful with search engine listings: you only need to follow the right recipe. That's what you are going to get from us. There is nothing secretive about it: only a little bit of enthusiasm and being aware of what's going on in the online environment.”

There will be three tutors, James G. Evans, Jonathan Dewey and Nadeem Azam. James has had extensive experience in optimizing websites and has worked as a SEO consultant for property, clothing and entertainment companies. He has delivered top rankings in English and Spanish search engines. Jonathan Dewey has also been involved in SEO for several years, helping restaurants, fashion, real estate and other SME companies to achieve their targets in search engine rankings and educating them on the parts of the SEO process. Nadeem has a decade’s experienced with search engine marketing and a recent number one ranking in Google for the name of one of the world’s most famous actors resulted in so much traffic that a client’s server crashed!

Interested parties should email James on jevans AT primeq.com, Nadeem on nazam AT primeq.com or Jonathan on jonathan AT funware2000.com
 

Forbes Article Lifts the Lid on ‘Negative SEO’

Andy Greenberg has written an article on Forbes.com on the black art of “negative Search Engine Optimisation” or “Google bowling” and lead to passionate debate on forums and blogs.  In this tactic, search engine optimizers (SEOs) force competitor websites down rankings so that their clients’ websites enjoy more visibility.

Google say there is “almost nothing a competitor can do to harm your ranking or have your site removed” from their index.” As various SEO experts have pointed out, the “almost” means even Google acknowledges there are some things a competitor can do to hurt your rankings.

Brendon Scott sells the service to clients, although it “tests his ethical limits”. He states: "I understand the rules of search... and once you understand the rules, you can use them not just constructively, but also destructively."

The rules for most major search engines like Google and Yahoo are that the more quality sites that link into yours, the higher your ranking in their results generally – although many other factors are taken into consideration as well. This strategy ensures that sites ranked towards the top have received a ‘thumbs up’ from other authoritative sites.
However, major search engines have filters in place that demote sites which acquire large volumes of inbound links unnaturally and quickly, a process known as “link spamming”. SEOs claim they can frame competitors as cheaters by posting thousands of links around the Web and thereby getting their site punished.

"If a new site gains half a million links over the course of a weekend, it looks suspect from Google's point of view," Scott asserts. "So you make someone look naughty, and then get them caught." According to Forbes, Scott claims he's used Google bowling in the service of clients with travel websites and cellular phone sites.

Matt Cutts, Google’s legendary software engineer, says that piling links onto a rival’s website to diminish its search rank isn't impossible, but not an easy task to accomplish. "We try to be mindful of when a technique can be abused and make our algorithm robust against it," he tells Forbes. "I won't go out on a limb and say it's impossible. But Google bowling is much more inviting as an idea than it is in practice."

 

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"There are three types of people in this world: those who make things happen, those who watch things happen and those who wonder what happened." Mary Kay Ash U.S. businesswoman and founder of Mary Kay Cosmetics (1919-2001)

 

 

 

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