Ad-Tech Miami kicks off June 3rd and 4th. Our favorite blogger Ruck will be there with the Convert2Media team. If you’re going to be there make sure you find the guys with the C2M shirts on. They will be giving some away to a lucky few, so make sure if you’re going, that you FIND THEM!

So why goto a convention? Because that is where you will find out the latest in industry news, hear about techniques you have never heard of before, and network with some of the best!

There are many speakers at conventions. You’ll learn all sorts of good stuff. Ad-Tech Miami has around 100 different speakers from different niches within the internet marketing world. Some of the more well known companies include “Fox Interactive Media”, “Yahoo”, “MSN”, “Terra”, and more!

Now Ad-Tech Miami is a conference that is more focused on the Hispanic end of marketing. Many of the speakers are from the Hispanic or Spanish division of the companies they represent. Miami was definitely a good choice for a location as Miami is definitely a hub for South America transport.

Take a look at their sponsors for an idea on how “spanish” influenced this conference will be.

Also, don’t forget to jump into your CPA networks and look for offers to run in Spanish speaking countries. Knowing that this conference is “Spanish” oriented definitely lets me know that there is something good to be had from marketing in Central and South America… Oh and don’t forget the hundreds of thousands of North Americans that speak Spanish.

Popularity: 53% [?]

Does Wes Mahler ever stop kicking ass? Apparently not. I remember just awhile back about International Affiliates having a tough time viewing International offers. Well, it just got easier. Wes and the rest of the Prosper202 team have a new product on board in WorldProxy202 that allows you to quickly view offers in other countries. I cannot tell you what a time saver this is to me personally. You wouldnt think a Kansas USA affiliate marketer would need such a service so much right? Well, I wouldnt if I did not promote nearly 75% of my CPA offers OUTSIDE the US. Fortunately for me, I know there’s a ton of money being made outside the US and I dont plan on coming back in anytime soon.

As if this was not enough the team also developed another handy tool for all of you toolbar lovers. They have created a Firefox WorldProxy202 Toolbar (<–That link is and installable .xpi file) which is as simple as downloading, installing and opening it up. Anytime you need to view a site from proxy just load the toolbar up and select the country you would like to view it from. You can read all about it here. For all the PPC Marketers in the forum this would be a great and easy tool to have. I’m not into toolbars really on my browser but I am gearing up to use the WorldProxy202 Service tomorrow.

Popularity: 66% [?]

I would first like to thank Linda from the 5 Star Affiliate Marketing Blog for her story on the Rash Of Insurance Affiliate Programs Closing In The UK as well as the Insurance Daily blog for their story on Virgin Money Withdraws Insurance Affiliate Schemes. What follows here was inspired by both sources:

Typically most of the readers of this blog are from the US. If you think we have it bad with credit crunches, mortgage markets plunging and a recession setting in you really need to start reading up on sources of information as stated above on how it’s becoming a world-wide problem. We are not the only ones facing hard times. Proof that some of the largest UK Insurance Affiliate Programs are withdrawing from Affiliate Promotion is only a small pebble being tossed into a vast ocean. I can see right now what they are trying to accomplish. By withdrawing their programs from networks or not offering them altogether to affiliates, they are restructuring their cost effectiveness in how they acquire business. More SEO and less payments to affiliates.

Just reading this information I can see an influx of debt consolidation, credit repair and financial services being a huge need. If you have been in the game awhile then you can already see this coming. As for promoting insurance in the UK, it looks to me as if you could find a UK Insurance Program, it’s a pretty good possibility you could do well.

Reaching out a bit I personally already know how profitable the UK Cash Loan and Payday industry is and I’ve probably have not even scratched the surface. Learning this type of information in International Markets helps give you the jump start before everyone starts to follow.

Thoughts?

Popularity: 76% [?]

A word first to readers, forum members and future publishers that Convert2Media CPA Network has officially launched. The Press Release is soon to come where you will be able to read the entire Official Release Package. For now, the network is live and the C2M team is thrilled. It has been quite a trip for us over the last couple of months. The thing about Convert2Media is that it’s ran by a succesful group of like-minded marketers who are experienced in Retail Affiliate Marketing, Lead Generation, Email And Pay Per Click. On top of that we bring a team of dedicated Managers who’s main focus is to build long-term, prosperous relationships between advertisers and affiliates.

A few things that Convert2Media is striving for is Advertiser and Affiliate transparency as well as dedicated managers devoted to tracking and payouts. As marketers we realize one of the most common problems is the lack of communication and straight answers coming from Affiliate Managers about offers, terms and payouts. With our dedicated team, we hope to set a new standard on advertising transparency on both sides of the “fence”.

There will be more to come in the following days, but if you are interested in becoming a publisher for Convert2Media you may feel free to signup and a manager will be in contact with you.

Popularity: 84% [?]

I realize it is a little soon but we are just over a month away from another great conference. Ad Tech Miami runs June 3rd-4th at the Miami Beach Convention Center. I will be in attendance as well as the rest of the Convert2Media Team. Unfortunately we will not have a booth at this event but you should be able to recognize us pretty easily. :)

You can register for the Exhibit Hall and Keynotes for free. It doesn’t cost you a dime unless you wait to buy registration onsite.  If you are planning on attending this event and would like to meet up and talk shop, feel free to shoot me over an email and we will work out the details throughout May.

Popularity: 82% [?]

Just a real quick post this evening as I wanted to touch base on a couple of resources to use for CPA Marketing. I have been using one source for awhile. (Once as a paid member and now as a free member) and another source that looks really interesting as it nears to becoming live.

First though I need to do the linking thing as a good blogger and thank Paul from Uberaffiliate for his lengthy and informative write up on Affspy. Second to Linda from the 5 Star Affiliate Programs Blog for her write up on both resources. Thanks for the write ups Paul and Linda! You can read both their write-ups for more in-depth information.

The sites are AffSpy and OfferVault.

Affspy is still not open to public yet and is supposed to launch during the Affiliate Summit going on currently. Initially I think there are to be 100 beta testers. I signed up moments after I saw the headline from UberAffiliate’s post so hopefully I will be invited to check it out and relay what it is all about in the coming days.

OfferVault on the other hand was a service within Affiliate Radar (monthly fee). It’s now open to the public and offered as a free tool to quickly scan a bunch of the top CPA Networks to retrieve offers related to whatever you type in the search bar. I cannot stress to you enough how awesome and fast the tool is. Check them both out and let me know what you think of them.

Popularity: 41% [?]

{Disclaimer: The following post is based on observation and opinion. I am not signed with oDesk nor do I have any affiliation with them currently}.

oDesk has really been a fun read for me over the last evening. As I have started to branch out from reading the same old boring marketing forums I started to revamp my evening browsing into finding companies and other sites that, while they may not serve as a money making oriented interest to most people, I try to find the perks behind the sites that will allow people to maybe consider using them as an additional income and revenue source. I added a new category to the blog titled “Company Spotlight” that I would like to dedicate to postings like these.

What is oDesk?

Much like Get A Freelancer and Elance, oDesk serves as an innovative way to outsource web projects, hire IT freelancers, programmers, web designers and much more. However after comparing the 3 I really like the layout of oDesk. When you first outsource work it can be a daunting and nerve racking task. I know, I still remember the first time I did it. I’ve been burned on these sites before and it truly leaves a sour taste in your mouth. Beyond that negativity though I have meant some extraordinary people in the web design and programming fields.

One thing I looked for when I first landed on the site was reliability. I have not yet signed up with them as I have way too many things going on right now to even brainstorm a new idea but rest assured, I probably will in the next couple of months. I came across some good reading about oDesk from Red Herring, Business Week and PC Mag.

Nickycakes already posted the lowdown on this topic but I was able to speak with Justin who blogs and works for Hostgator this morning during a Skype call. Justin and I talked about Affiliate Marketing and all that good jive for awhile but we were also to talk a little bit about hosting as well. Justin will be joining the forum as well. So instead of hunting down Hostgator support or any of that nonsense Justin will be able to answer a lot of questions directly in the forum.

Not your typical money making post here but this is a money making opportunity nonetheless. I also have been with Hostgator for over two years now owning 2 Dedicated Servers and multiple shared hosting packages and I have always recommended them as well. In my opinion and experience I have never had to go anywhere else for hosting nor do I want to.

I would like to point out that Hostgator is running a referral system and paying out $2,500 to whoever refers them an employee who stays with the company for at least 90 days. With that said I would also like to point out that this post is only biased on the fact that I respect them and have found their services over the last couple of years nothing short of outstanding.

{Edit} Affiliate link for the word hosting.

Here are the details of the job referral system:

1. They must be able to legally work in our Houston Headquarters.
2. They must be employed for 90 days in order to be paid.
3. You must fill out the below referral form before their first interview.
4. You cannot refer yourself.