I’ve been sitting here for the last week in denial. Since 2006 I’ve attended Affiliate Summit this time of year. Usually I’d be packing today or tomorrow and preparing to host the Newcomer Meetup. Thousands of internet professionals will be landing in Las Vegas this weekend to attend the show. Anything and everything relating to Affiliate Marketing aka Performance Marketing, will be the focus until Wednesday. I, however, will be sitting here, hopefully accomplishing great things with my art.

This year I’m attending the Craft and Hobby Association conference in Anaheim at the end of the month. I’m exhibiting with the goal of making connections, contacts and hopefully deals licensing my art to manufacturers. Last year I tried to attend both shows and nearly lost my mind. The stress and pressure I created for myself was unbelievably ridiculous, so this year I opted to miss Vegas in trade for sitting here, sulking with my Wacom Tablet and my creativity.

Really I’m not sulking… I’m just pouting a bit. I am going to miss seeing everyone at ASW12. I always come home with a million ideas and enough newly inspired motivation to launch a rocket. I know it will be a fantastic show!

Shareasale t-shirt from Affiliate Summit

I know, sounds a bit too techy for a creative girl, right? Definitely not! Well, I take that back, affiliate marketing is techy. It is internet nerdiness at it’s best. However, there is definitely a creative side… finding unique ways to promote, link and increase sales is the first thing that comes to mind and why I love it. The industry is full of brilliant minds that are constantly coming up with new ideas and ways to grow their business, and best of all many of them do this amazing job in their pjs. How much more creative appeal does one need? I can’t be all paint and glitter, my brain needs that geeky side to balance out where the inspiration comes from. Not to mention, hanging out with real people does a world of good for the mental stability.

Things I’m going to miss attending Affiliate Summit West:

• Meeting new people from the Newcomer Program – Good luck to my buddy Daniel with QAQN who is hosting the event this year.
• Seeing some of the smartest people I know.
• Lunch – I always seem to have the best conversations and business idea sharing at the lunch table.
• The Shareasale Under the Stars party – Sunday nights are always the best time catching up with long distance friends.
• Midnight Bowling with GTO Management – super fun bowling night with proceeds going to fight breast cancer
• Discovering new merchants to connect with and reconnecting with companies I already know.
• Milkshakes with friends at 3am while brainstorming brilliant ideas.
• End of show buffet night with old and new friends. So happy Trisha is continuing the tradition!
• Schwag hunting. Yes, there’s always something fun or interesting, especially in Vegas. My kids love when I come home from this trip!

There’s a ton more to do, conversations to be had and business deals to make. If you are interested in the industry, or looking to learn more about Affiliate Marketing, I highly recommend connecting with the blogs of both Missy Ward and Shawn Collins, the founders of Affiliate Summit, and just start reading. I’ve alsowritten up a couple articles about affiliate marketing for creative professionals.

If you are attending Affiliate Summit West this week, give hugs to eachother from me, and offer to have lunch with someone new, will ya?

I’m going to miss Affiliate Summit West and all the inspiration is a post from: 100 Directions

For the last 3 years I’ve been trying to make it to a blog conference. I’ve wanted to network and meet other bloggers, learn from bloggers and just see what’s on the other side of the internet perspective. I’ve spent my time networking with the affiliate marketing crew since 2006, but never took the time to connect with the content producing  super stars of the blogging universe on their own turf… until I attended the Denver Bloggy Boot Camp.

Bloggy Boot Camp Denver 2011

Bloggy Boot Camp is a touring 1 day event put on by The SITS Girls. It’s small and intimate and a fantastic choice as far as learning and networking goes. I wasn’t overwhelmed nor bombarded with directions to choose from. The content was fantastic, the speakers were wonderful. The day ended with a wine and appetizer mingle hour and it was all fabulous from start to finish!

When I first saw the agenda I was a bit underwhelmed. I was sure I knew most of the content and wasn’t so sure if this was the event for me. I had expected more detailed type topics, more advanced infos to add on to what I’ve been learning already. However, I figured I had paid to attend, the event was local and there were a number of bloggers I’d been wanting to meet or catch up with also attending so I went. I moved forward assuming it would be a laid back day filled with refresher info and reminders of things I needed to integrate into my business.

I was completely wrong.

I took pages upon pages of notes. The insight shared on topics I was already familiar renewed sparks of excitement and interest in my being online to begin with. Combing with experiences from the past year, I was able to take information from this event and apply in the directions I’ve been trying to push myself toward for a while now. The light bulb has finally clicked on and I couldn’t be more thrilled!!

Here are 10 great things I learned at Bloggy Bootcamp:

There was plenty of blog technique, tips and tricks to go around. Piles of inspiring food for thought comments and all sorts of tid-bits everyone could use to improve what they are doing right now. The following is what I embraced the most. I went to the event with some ideas for goals on my list already, so much of what I gained simply enforced my new thinking – you can’t pay for that kind of encouragement, it only happens when it’s supposed to. I just happened to pay to be in the right place at the right time to hear it from the right people. I’m hoping you’ll gain from it too…

1. Understand yourself
   To be a great writer, you really need to understand who you are, where you’ve come from and where you are going. This will allow you to work with yourself better, focus more on what’s important to you and stay true to your priorities and goals.
2. We were all put on this earth to create
   What you create all depends on who you are. I’ve believed this all along, so it was so nice to hear someone else say it. Her “nearly everyone can relate to this” example stuck in my head as:  If you don’t believe me, stop and think about those kids who’s boogers you wipe… they weren’t born out of a cabbage patch.
3. Branding is just You
   You brand yourself every day. It’s nothing more than figuring out who you are and letting the world know. (This is much different than building a brand, although they are interlinked if you are your company.) You need to “brand” yourself because that is what ties all you’re doing to your name… which is how people know who does what, who to contact and who to pay for the things they want.
4. Ask for outside perspectives of you
   It’s a great idea to have others give their opinions on who they see you are and how they view what you share on your “about me” page. Others may see entirely different things about you than you see in yourself. It was suggested that you can ask others to describe you – so while sitting there I posted the question to Facebook. I got some fantastic feedback in return validating even more where I think I need to be headed. The trick now is to remember and not get in my own way.
5. You need to really love what you do
   I stand behind this every day, that’s why I’ve been working for myself for so long. However, it’s a great reminder… you really do need to love what you’re doing to be really good at it. I think, just a theory, that even people that really don’t like their jobs but are really good at them, really love what it is they are good at. They just don’t love who or what they do it for.
6. Become an expert
   Now this has always been a near cliche comment that feels more like a thorn in my side… until now. I always thought that when people suggest “become an expert” they were encouraging a bunch of fake gurus to pop up all over. Just pretend you know all there is to know and make sure to tell everyone you know all this when you don’t know it all. As a result there are a ton of consultants that are still learning what they are claiming to teach and it drives me crazy. However, that’s not the advice given here. Instead it’s, if you are going to share insight, share all the angles. Explore all the ins and outs of the topic and share what you discover. Ask questions and share the answers you learn. In this process you’ll become well versed and others will look to you for the information… thus expert status. I like it!
7. Notice how the universe is conspiring to help you
   Actually pay attention to the opportunities, connections and positive happenings that come your way. Recognize them so you can incorporate them and make them work for you. Rather than busting your behind in whatever direction, hoping to make it work, stop and pay attention to all that is around you. Then, you will probably see more that is available to you than you realized.
8. Your best asset and advocate is your voice
   You are uniquely you. The combination of your experiences, your perspective, your opinions and how you share it all with others is uniquely you. Embrace this uniqueness, make it a part of your business and you will find some of the magic that helps you succeed.
9. Always push back
   No first proposal, contract or other agreement has to be the absolute and only option. Ask for what you want, offer options you can provide and be willing to negotiate for middle ground both parties can live with happily. Don’t just give in on the first offer. You’re not that desperate, you’re worth more and the other side almost always expects you’ll ask for something different. In the end, be prepaid to walk away if the offer/s don’t match what you are really willing to work with.
10. Charge your electronics
    Yeah, no one told me this, it was a happy reminder I learned all by myself… I brought my iPad with a bluetooth keyboard to the event. I forgot to charge the keyboard and half way through the day learned that typing on the touch screen keyboard resulted in a number of goofy typos (blobby instead of bloggy.. kinky instead of linky, clog instead of blog and the list goes on). Reading my notes for this article has been an entertaining challenge!

I walked away from Bloggy Boot Camp having a clearer view that where I’m heading is where I want to be going. I’m focusing on creativity as a business. Sharing my own creativity, selling things I create and sharing ideas to help others make a living with their creativity. I was finally able to apply concepts, that I keep hearing, to my own needs. Rather than thinking literally on every topic, I was able to twist the information to fit where I need it and help me grow my plan.

The event included a number of sponsors as well as companies offering face time. However, I found I was so busy networking at the tables within the sessions that I didn’t have the time to jump out in the hall to connect with the companies in attendance. I’m hoping to reach out on my own to find out more about what they had to share. More on these companies later.

Thanks to all the great speakers!

Jessica Bern  Bernthis.com, Fiona Bryan Banteringblonde.com, Amy Bradley-Hole Be Better, Kathy Bouska Mama’s Losin’ It, Aimee Giese Giese Media, Jillian Tohber Catch My Party, Barb Likos ChaoticCommunications.com, Danielle Liss Kittenagogo.com, Jennifer Margolin RedSoleDiary.com and the hostesses Tiffany Tiffany Romero.com and Francesca @SITSGirls.

I met some wonderful new people. I also learned that some of the smallest comments can make the biggest impact. Thanks bunches SITS girls! Check out The SITS Girls website for more information about what they do, their community support for women in the blogging world and the Bloggy Boot Camp tour.

10 things I learned at Bloggy Bootcamp Denver is a post from: 100 Directions

I love finding new gadgets and services to try out. however, with so many different directions and things I need to get done, a service really has to have something special for me to spend much time on it, let alone hold on to it for later. These 5 web services are all wonderful additions and have proven useful for a variety of reasons. Some I use each day while others run in the background and gather information to help me keep organized later. These services are for both business and personal because working at home with kids, my day is a constant personal/business mix. Tie in the marketing with creativity components and it’s a wonder I don’t get lost in the midst of my own decoupage glue… mixing glue with code and back again.

These are currently my top 5 favorite web services:

Pinterest.com is my new addiction, so much so that I’m avoiding it just because I know once I start I won’t stop. You “pin” things you find around the web based on pictures. You can follow friends, repin other’s finds and comment on your own and others pinned items. The coolest part is just looking at your page full of pinned items mixed with everyone elses and noticing the magic of visual communications. There’s an interesting query in my mind about the connections we make and the things we have in common that we don’t even realize until we see our interests pinned up on a wall together with images from other people we favor. It’s beautiful.

Mint.com – money organization in one happy place. I get alerts and notices and balances at a glance. I love that I can see where all my accounts are all at once and I really appreciate the budget feature. There are assumed budgets when you sign up based on average spending, but you can change these numbers to fit your own budget. When you spend money the service assumed what the purchases are for based on venue (grocery stores – groceries, etc.) and if you exceed your budgets the service emails you to remind you to keep your wallet at home.

SEOMOZ – the pro service is absolutely fantastic! I have to be honest, I no longer have a pro account… $99 a month is not in my budget, I wish it were. I’ve been doing business online for a number of years, and didn’t realize what I didn’t know about SEO until I tried out SEOMOZ’s pro service. In a matter of days I learned more about my sites and how to write and optimize than I have in the last 5 years of networking with internet gurus. The visual information alone helped me “see” where my errors were. The explanations are clean and clear. I wish they had a Pro Mini version.. the peewee edition or something… 1 site and only 100 keywords, I’d be in on that! At a minimum, you must check out their 30 day trial, learn yourself something fabulous about your site’s potential success… you will LOVE this service!

RememberTheMilk.com a reminder service for those that need to remember they might need to remember something and aren’t sure where they logged the remembering info. Sign up for a free account and then there is a multitude of locations you can check out the information as well as add to the information… all centralized in one account. I use it most often as an add-on to my Gmail interface in Firefox. As emails come in and I find I need to remember things, I simply add them to my RTM area and then I can archive the email (thanks to Michael Sitarzewski who told me my inbo is not a to-do list, he was right… that’s another post all together). I also have the iphone app so when I’m not at home I have my list with me and when I edit it in either place, it changes everywhere. Bottom line, if you have things you need to remember, this app is fabulous.. and I don’t have to remember where I put my list because my list is everywhere!

Animoto.com allows me to create slide show style videos in just a few clicks. For free you can create a 30 second video with your own photos, text and even music the service provides. You can also upload it directly to YouTube directly from your Animoto account. For a fee you can create longer videos and have more template options. With equipment available now, making videos is really easy and relatively quick, but if you just want to feature photos you already have, this service is fantastic! I use it to show a quick overview of a tutorial with step-by-step photos or various views of places I’ve visited. It’s quick, easy and looks fantastic! (Assuming your photos look fantastic.)

Bonus: Crashplan.com – more on this one later because I have much more to say… but for now I’ll just say – LOVE!

I’m constantly playing with new tools and online toys, but rarely do I stick with anything for very long. If it’s not quick and easy to see what it’s about, I often don’t make it past the sign-up confirmation. It has to be a web service that really has some added value to my day. These 5 services are each touching on unique aspects of my daily work schedule and all have been wonderful additions to my bookmark list. I highly recommend them all.

5 web services I absolutely love is a post from: 100 Directions

Today I found out I’m listed on AMNavigator’s Most Influential Affiliate Summit West 2011 Speakers – Top 40. Wow, that’s pretty cool, I don’t usually consider myself as “influential” (thanks Geno).Those included were picked by analyzing the list of ASW11 speakers against each individual’s Klout Score. I had no idea what this was, so I thought I’d investigate. Really, if something is going to report me as a cool chick, I should probably see why so I remember to wear that hat again another day.

Influence and reach by Jen Goode

Whats YOUR  Amplification Probability? As I started reading more on the topic this statement spoke loudly to me…

The ability to create content that compels others to respond and high-velocity content that spreads into networks beyond your own is a key component of influence.

I can be quite the talker – ask my kids, the lectures go on and on. I reason and rationalize and over thing things constantly just so my own brain will grasp and move forward. But thinking of the above statement… how much of what I say out loud, for others to hear, is really making it’s way to someone else?

It might appear that there is only the one strategy – is what you are saying influencing others? But really, this is a two part issue. You could be providing thought provoking ideas all over the place. People could absolutely be loving what you have to say and even look forward to hearing your next big idea. However, are you sparking enough excitement or inviting others to get involved in the “thinking out loud” process enough that they too will respond or pass on what you just said? That’s the key. It’s one thing to spark an idea in someone else… it’s an even greater accomplishment to inspire someone else to carry the idea and throw it out towards even more people.

If you want to influence others, and actually see your influence at work, you have to create an action based communication. If they hear you, they should react somehow so others see it.

For me, I don’t know exactly what that means, but a few ideas are rolling around in this ol’ noggin of mine…

• Include a real call to action: Ask for feedback, invite your listeners to share or pass it on.
• Create a challenge: rather than ask your readers to give to you, ask them to give to themselves, grow in their own progress of the topic… then share their findings.
• Show and tell and ask: share what you are doing, then ask how others think it can be improved or what variations they have tried or envision.
• Speak outside your circle: don’t just talk to those you know are listening, talk to those you know are listening to your listeners. This is tricky, but if you share ideas in a sense that can be spread beyond the initial listener, the word will spread.

If you tell your story to a closed circuit audience, your message isn’t leaving the room. If you speak to a group in the park and ask them to participate in the show, the audience will grow.

I am speaking at Affiliate Summit on January 9th from 11-12pm as part of a panel called Affiliate Improv – “Five industry veterans brainstorm marketing… Idea to actionable solutions!“  Other members of the panel are:

• Daniel M. Clark, Podcaster, Performance Marketer, QAQN,
• Andrew Bennett, Blogger/Photographer, BenSpark
• Mike Buechele, Captain, Adalytical
• Wade Tonkin, Affiliate Manager, Football Fanatics

- yep, I’m out numbered, but this girl can surely hold her own! If you show up to give us a shout, there will be treats – penguin promise!

Talk all you want, is it impacting anyone? is a post from: 100 Directions

I run in a bunch of different circles when it comes to my business, my family and my life. I’m an illustrator, an affiliate marketer, a designer, a coder, a crafter, a blogger, a webmaster, a business woman, a writer and sometimes a teacher. Not to mention the standard roles of life cycles like a mom, a wife, a sister, etc. So many directions really… how can I possibly stay organized and stay on task? I don’t, I compartmentalize and then I organize my compartments mentally. Really that comes down to just becoming mental… all the time.

I find myself surrounded with projects both on the computer and on my desk and when I stop working to look up long enough to note the chaos around me, I get grumpy that I created such an unorganized mess. I get irritated that there is no one reminding me to pick up after myself let alone anyone reminding themselves to take care of any of their own things. Really how am I accomplishing anything? Sometimes the crazy environment is too much which then inspires me to start another project instead of focus on the one I was excited about last week.

Through it all I do finish things… all the time. Yet, there’s got to be a better way.

I’ve heard all kinds of great ideas and even tried many of them. I can rationalize my way out of any stressful situation, so sticking with something that isn’t a happy project is not something I do well. Instead I prefer to work on happy and let the rest grow mold by itself. I’ll eventually come back to it… if I remember it was something I wanted to do. Which reminds me… I had a brilliant idea to start building an image database for all my art this week. I sat down to think about how I wanted it to work, how I wanted it to flow and what I would need to do to make it function for others to navigate easily.

I opened up my server account to set up a new database for the project only to realize not only did I already have a database ready to go, I’d already written 3/2 of the program I was dreaming up. It’s like having your own personal fairy god mother, inside your head! Saved myself all kinds of headaches… having done the work already.

So then the reality sets in. How the heck do I keep myself organized enough to remember not only what I have to do and what I want to do… but what I’ve already done and what I need to remember I have?

A spreadsheet won’t help me remember I need to eat lunch. A reminder service or calendar notes would become ridiculous if I enter every thought, idea and brainstorm I have. I can’t get a notice to tell me I left the milk out because the phone rang so I went outside as I phone wandered throughout the conversation only to come back to the computer to start a project I left last week.

I’ve gone back after months of writing a program and not remembered writing it.. looking at the code like it’s a foriegn language. I’ve created a piece of art and completely forgotten about it… created something similar and when I’m about to save it realize I made the first only because I named them the same and the computer won’t allow the duplicate name.

Is my mind failing me? Some say it’s kids. “you have a full house, you have young kids”. Yet I’ve seen plenty of other folks with kids appear to be sane and mentally with it. They appear to handle all of their directions just fine. So then again… how does one organize it all and then make it work?

It’s frustrating to me because it seems I am gaining information by leaps and bounds on a continual basis, however it’s more like getting hit with a big juice piece of chocolate cake.. only to have it slide down my head and land on the floor. How am I supposed to enjoy that fabulous-ness?

I have half an answer for myself. Instead of taking the time to organize, plan and keep up with myself, I just run with it. I get an idea, I can “see” how to accomplish it, and I literally take off. I don’t stop to worry about the details of other things that aren’t related and I don’t make the time I should to organize in other corners. I work moment to moment whacking at my dream to-do list and what ends up happening is I finish a great project but turn around to see the path I’ve left behind… it’s a mess. Like laundry on the floor that the dog decided to dig through.

So my goal is to make time to organize, put that on my to-do list and make it a priority. Make it a checkmark worthy task to organize various facets of my life and then be consistant about keeping up with it all.

What helps you stay organized with yourself, your family and your work?

How do you origanize it all and stay on task? is a post from: 100 Directions

I sit in front of my computer all day – literally. Sometimes I’m researching, sometimes I’m drawing, sometimes I’m building websites and sometimes I have no idea what I’m doing. My kids think I’m playing all day and don’t understand why I won’t let them veg out in front of the other computer for hours on end. Some of my friends assume my schedule is wide open and I can easily drop what I’m doing to go play – I suppose I could, if I didn’t mind the end result of a day under-worked.

I don’t mind the hours although I am trying really hard to contain myself and do more than work all the time. I used to work an average of 16-18 hours a day, now I think I’m down to more around 10-12.

I love what I do!

Kirsty McCubbin, a long time Affiliate Marketer currently based in Australia describes the misconceptions of working as an affiliate perfectly in her article 8 Reasons Why Your “Hard Work” Isn’t Paying Off in Affiliate Marketing. I’ve never met Kirsty but I already like her.

To me the article applies affiliate related or not. It’s all about working online and from home. There seems to be a wide spread misconception that because we work from home for ourselves we can do whatever we want and money will flow in. Those of us putting in the hours and the effort know what it takes and it sure ain’t easy. If it were that easy to start or maintain, heck! I would be making 8 figures by now, at least… oh how I wish.

Sometimes I wonder why I work so much. I can easily be here for 12 hours and not notice the time. Really what it comes down to, I do so many different things, and I love most all of them so much, I don’t want to stop. I really do enjoy what I do. I love the challenge and knowing I have the ability to find a solution – and sometimes a really good solution.Even more satisfying are the days I create something that I can share with others – makes me happy to know I’ve encouraged someone else to do something.

There are days where I look back at the end of the day and wonder what the heck I did all day. Nothing to show for my efforts except maybe a cramp in my leg because I didn’t move my butt from the chair for 5 hours straight. These days I am not able to show any numbers or stats directly related to anything in particular. Yet if I really logged what I did, I probably learned something significant that I am using down the road. I just can’t pinpoint the exact progress of the day.

That’s ok. Part of what we should be doing as entrepreneurs is learning so we can continually improve and grow our businesses. We don’t just set something up and spend out time maintaining the same hum drum every day until we retire in bliss. We adapt and adjust and move forward. We’re trend setters and we’re forward thinkers here on the internet.

I like it.

Note: Yes, the photo is my son around age 3, passed out with a jar of peanut butter. This is a result of his mother mindlessly handing opening the jar and not paying attention because she was working.

Lesson Learned: Working too much is not always a good thing!

Work or Play – what are affiliate marketers doing all day? is a post from: 100 Directions

This morning I read a blog post by Seth Godin, Driveby culture and the endless search for wow. I have a hard time getting up in the morning after staying up until 1am let alone imagine my potential WOW factor by anyone on a regular basis.  It’s hard enough to just keep up with who might be listening to what I have to say. Today this article spoke to me on so many levels.

The concept is that we are in information overload – and crappy information at that. I’ve been struggling with this idea for a while now. How I want to share information, why I am sharing information and where that information needs to be share, not to mention in what form. I started this blog as a way to be able to share whatever, whenever and so far it’s working for me. I’ve also started a number of new websites in the last month as a way to expand my own platform for turning my interests into profit. Through it all I’ve been asking myself, “is it too much?”.

After reading Seth’s blog today I’ve come to one single definitive answer for myself. No.

Why? Because everything I am doing these days is in the direction of niche. I’m no longer trying to accomodate everyone in every possible angle that I can think of. I can’t keep up with that kind of mentality without hiring a staff or never spending time with my kids. Neither option being on my list of ideal choices. I tend to look at everything from a 3D perspective – inside, outside, upside, downside… right, left, front, back, etc. I end up frustrating myself with the possible options and combination of options.

It’s too much – I can never keep up. This always results in giving up. I’m not a quitter, but I am realistic (usually) about where my strengths are and what I can really accomplish.

So instead, I am focusing on individual topics. I blog when something interesting hits me for whatever topic. I focus on the idea that each topic might be small, with a small following but there are some huge positives with this kind of model:

1. Niche topics have loyal followers also focused on the niche. Loyal followers of a topic are more likely to be interested than a casual interest follower, thus more likely to want to know what you are talking about, what you are selling, etc. so the potential for conversion rate is generally higher.
2. Multiple small traffic sites can often time be more reliable than one big traffic site. As traffic flows, seasons, economics fluctuate, the niche topics (if selected correctly) will balance each other out. Also, when one site has a problem, it doesn’t hurt as badly because there are other sites continuing to work for you.
3. Diversifying can lessen the load for any kind of blow. I sell my own products as well as am an affiliate for other’s products. So while my sale may be slow, I might have an affiliate site that is booming. Additionally, if I work with various merchants, if one merchant closes up shop or quits working with me, I have others to fall back on and my entire business is not ruined with one decision.

There are so many places to get information and so many people offering that information, it’s a wonder any of us are consuming more than our morning coffee these days. So instead of trying to take over the universe, we should be focusing on making new friends, real connections, and offering something of value in their direction.

So I’m going to try to remember: my focus is to share what I know with others that want to know what I have to share.

What’s your WOW focus?

Focusing on my Wow is a post from: 100 Directions

As all the media coverage piles up over the recent decision by Amazon to terminate all Colorado affiliates, I thought I’d start collecting the news stories and various public comments in one location. All sides of the story seem to be represented in this list. It’s interesting to see the various perspectives and to note what people in the industry say vs the legislators or media writers that are merely speculating. – Note: these are not necessarily in order… I’m posting as I find them.

Articles/posts I’ve written or interviewed for:

• The Colorado internet tax and Amazon – it’s still ugly
  JGoode 100directions.com
• Advertising Tax checklist – ideas to help you in the fight
  JGoode.com
• Things I learned from battling the government
  JGoode.com
• HB1193 is bad for Colorado
  JGoode – Examiner.com
• Quote by the Media about Amazon and the Colorado internet tax
  JGoode 100Directions.com
• Amazon is creating noise for Colorado online business owners
  JGoode – Examiner.com
  
• Interview with Jen Goode on Colorado Internet Sales Tax
  Affiliate Marketing Blog

• Amazon Fires Back at State
  KUNC PublicBroadcasting.net – Radio report

Posts/articles written by others

• Amazon-Colorado Tax Fallout: On-Line Giant Cuts Off Affiliates In State
  Huffington Post
• The Affiliate Ad Taxes: Why You Should Care
  Nickycakes.com
  
• Colorado Ad Tax discussion with Senator Brophy, Representative Pommer
  Caplis & Silverman show on KHOW.com – audio from radio show
  

• Amazon Dumps Colorado Affliates
  Inc.com

• Amazon.com to drop Colorado affiliates in response to tax law
  Denver Business Journal

• Bill Ritter gives Amazon the finger over associates pull-out; Republicans give him one right back
  Westword

• Amazon Cuts Off Colo. Affiliates Because of Tax
  CBS4Denver.com – Video

• Colorado Tax Laws Could Make It Fourth State To Tax Online Retailers
  Huffington Post

• Online tax issue needs federal fix
  Denver Post
• Littwin: Amazon’s use of human shields evil
  Denver Post
• Amazon.com debate heats up at Colorado Capitol
  Denver Post
• Amazon.com drops Colorado retailers after tax law enacted
  Denver Post
• Eliminate some of state’s tax exemptions
  Denver Post

• Publicizing Amazon’s affect on Colorado affiliates
  The Write Spot
• Update on Amazon firing its Colorado affiliates and What local legislators are doing about HB-1193
  The Write Spot
• Colorado HB-1193 Update: Amazon pulls its affiliate program out of Colorado
  The Write Spot
• Getting the word out about colorado HB-1193
  The Write Spot
• Time to celebrate! The Colorado HB-1193 advertising tax has failed
  The Write Spot
• We made a difference in Colorado HB-1193!
  The Write Spot
• The Denver Post Says NO to Colorado HB-1193
  The Write Spot
• Majority Leader Paul Weissmann says that HB-1193 defeats “corporate welfare”
  The Write Spot
• More on why affiliate taxes don’t work
  The Write Spot

• Colorado Advertising Tax is Dead
  Performance Marketing Alliance
• Colorado Advertising Tax passes out of Senate Committee
  Performance Marketing Alliance

• Colorado Affiliates please send letters to your merchants
  Colorado Online Marketing Association
• Amazon drops Colorado Affiliates
  Colorado Online Marketing Association

If there is one I’ve missed or that you’ve written and would like included, please let me know.

Penguin note: yes, please feel free to post the No Ad Tax penguin on your own site or blog, however please do not alter it.

Perspectives on HB 1193 the Colorado internet ad tax – a resource of information is a post from: 100 Directions

As ad tax laws are passed, affecting thousands of affiliate marketing businesses across the country, it’s important to know who you can work with. Your affiliate business doesn’t have to disappear – you don’t have to work with just out-of-state retailers. Do your homework, dig through and research, or hop on over to Nexus Aware to find merchants located in your state… easily!

I think this is a fantastic service to help determine which merchants you can and can no or should and should not work with, especially if you are in a state with ad tax law road blocks.

Nexus Aware services include:

• Affiliates can seek merchant programs that already claim nexus in their state of residence or are already collecting sales tax on purchases made to customers within their state.
• Merchants should publicize their nexus status so that those affiliates who reside in the merchant’s state(s) of nexus are encouraged to join the program, increasing their pool of local affiliates.

I love this service – and not just because it’s a GTO Management project (some of my favorite good people) but because in a time when time truly is money and money situations are changing so rapidly for so many people… Nexus Aware gives us a little extra leverage to work smart… quickly.

An answer to finding merchants in your state – Nexus Aware is a post from: 100 Directions

I rarely get involved in any kind of public speaking, and even more rare is my involvement in anything related to politics. However, this advertising/internet aka Amazon tax issue in Colorado is something I feel very strongly about. So of course, if someone want’s to ask questions I am happy to answer. Yesterday I got a request from the house reporter to talk a bit about my view on what happened with Amazon.

I appreciate the opportunity to share my view.

However, when comments are taken out of context or narrated in addition to statements, the messages can become skewed or disoriented. I feel like I need to address this.

I made a statement that I feel like it’s the legislation that is a big portion of the problem with the current advertising tax issues. It’s not the legislators. I realize our state’s lawmakers are trying to do what they feel is best and they did work with the affiliate community a great deal to make the changes they made. I feel like the problem is the actual bill itself, not the people behind it. There is a lot going on behind the scenes when creating a bill and theres a lot to juggle. It just so happens, in this outcome, I don’t think the bill was a good one, changes or not – but I think for the situation and climate it was created in, it turned out better than it started.

In a perfect world, there would be a federal solution only because having the laws different makes it more difficult for each merchant to manage.. and the affiliate channel of marketing is so small, sometimes it’s a better business decision to dissolve the affiliate marketing facet than to work through all the various jumbled laws.

Listen to me on the radio news report about Amazon and the Colorado Internet tax

I also feel like Amazon is working on a much bigger agenda that really doesnt have anything to do with affiliates or even Colorado specifically. This is all only my own speculation, but it seems to me, if I were in the middle of a battle (Amazon in NY) and smaller little battles kept popping up.. the best move would be to push forward with a single goal and clear perspective of purpose. Vering from that to make an exception would be sending mixed signals.

I always use food analogies, so if this seems off, I apologize ahead of time.

If you were trying to prove a point that you believe sugar is bad for you and you won’t tolerate sugar in your diet, you don’t make an exception because your neighbor just made you cookies for Christmas. You can politely decline and explain your reasoning, it doesn’t make yu any less grateful for the gift and it shows you stand behind your beliefs.

Sugar is bad.

Now, obviously sales tax is no where near the same as sugar, and Colorado is not Amazon’s neighbor… although I have ordered some really good cookies through Amazon. (normally I would put an affiliate link to Amazon right here, but now I can’t so it’s a link Gourmet Cookie Bouquets.com)

The point is, I stand behind my beliefs and respect those that do as well. Business is business and It doesn’t mean I agree of even like their beliefs. I also did not bad mouth my state legislators in my interview yesterday, but listening to the clip today, it felt to me like some might think otherwise.

I don’t agree with Amazon did, but I can understand why. I don’t agree with the legislators and I don’t like the bill, but I’m not about to claim I can do a better job.

Overall I think the radio interview was a good look at a few views on the topic. I think Representative Pommer needs to learn more about the industry and how it works before he continues to go on about “Amazon firing” their affiliates. It doesn’t work like that sir, which is why this is a bigger issue than most non-performance marketing professionals realize. It’s information for another post.

I feel like a broken record now. Maybe someday sooner than later the information will “click” for someone new. pun completely intended.

Now I’m heading down to the capital building for a press conference being held at 3pm. I have no big loss of money story to share, but I do want to show my support. Maybe I’ll see you there?

Related writings:

• The Colorado internet tax and Amazon – it’s still ugly
• Advertising Tax checklist – ideas to help you in the fight
• Things I learned from battling the government
• HB1193 is bad for Colorado

Quote by the Media about Amazon and the Colorado internet tax is a post from: 100 Directions