Marketing Pilgrim Published: "Facebook for Business Page Appears" plus 3 more

Facebook for Business Page Appears
Getting the Most From Affiliate Summit East – An Interview with Shawn Collins
Mobile Gaming: Highest Revenue Comes from the Least Number of Players
Repetition Works, Repetition Works, Repetition Works

Posted: 27 Jul 2011 04:38 AM PDT

Facebook has obviously been watching and taking notes regarding what has taken place with Google+ and brand pages (no matter how inane the whole thing was / is). As a result, it looks like someone at the social network cried down from the mountain to "Tell the Facebook for business story, now!"

The result? The Facebook for Business page which was introduced yesterday. Don't get all panicky. There's literally nothing new here. It just appears that in a fit of "Uh, shouldn't all this information be in one easy place for people to get at?" Facebook has just aggregated the information already in existence into one place so it can be better understood. The video that appears on the "site within a site" was originally posted over a year ago. Here's the page

Hey, if the threat of a little competition is forcing Facebook to take their information and put it into a format that is easy to read, understand and can ultimately help a business, then let the games begin. It's usability changes like this that expose Facebook as a technology company who is putting services together that currently will reach those who "get it" but in the process leave large sums of potential revenue on the table. Good news for Facebook if they can get beyond the technology and think about the people.

If you would like to explore that idea that Facebook and Google are just technology companies that are leaving a lot of revenue on the table, I recommend an article from Adweek for your reading pleasure. It is something to consider.

Getting the Most From Affiliate Summit East – An Interview with Shawn Collins

Posted: 27 Jul 2011 03:43 AM PDT

Editor's Note: Occasionally we will give our readers a look at various events that one of our writers will be attending. We have no connection to this event other than this post to inform you about the opportunity that exists for futher online marketing education and networking.

Affiliate Summit East is just around the corner (August 21-23) in New York and there's no time like the present to plan your conference strategy. Who better to give you tips on getting the most out of Affiliate Summit than co-founder and conference organizer, Shawn Collins?

Shawn agreed to answer a few of my questions about how to maximize your time at ASE so I could share them with you, our awesome Marketing Pilgrim readers. Enjoy

1. What's the best way to keep up to speed on all the Affiliate Summit parties?

We will post a comprehensive list on the Affiliate Summit East 2011 blog as we get closer. Few companies share party details until a week or two before the conference. After we post the list, we'll continually update it as we get closer to the conference.

2. What networking opportunities are available?

Lots of people get things started in advance on our forum. Our magazine, FeedFront, includes the conference agenda, speakers, list of speaker Twitter names, etc. This is a good guide to find which speakers will be when and where. And when people get to Affiliate Summit, networking opportunities include the Meet Market, Exhibit Hall, meals, and Ask the Experts roundtables.

Also, we have a list of speakers on Twitter and will be publishing an interactive scheduling tool shortly, where attendees can see which events and sessions are being attended by other people.

3. What's your number one tip for getting the most out of Affiliate Summit?

Stay out of your hotel room. There are thousands of affiliate marketers getting together for three days, so eat, drink, and live with them for the time before, during and after the conference to meet as many people as possible to learn and cut deals.

4. The Diamond pass comes with DVDs of Affiliate Summit sessions. How long after AS does it take for the DVDs to be delivered?

It's typically about 6 weeks for the DVDs, but they are only for folks who get the Diamond pass.

5. What's the number one mistake you think people make when coming to Affiliate Summit?

Staying at a hotel other than the one where the conference is taking place. It's far more convenient to have your room right upstairs, and there are so many extra opportunities in the elevators, lobby, bars, and restaurants of the Hilton New York to meet fellow attendees.

6. Why should publishers attend Affiliate Summit?

They can meet with all of the networks and affiliate programs face to face to find out which products and offers are best to promote right now, and to negotiate better payouts, as well as meeting with fellow affiliates/publishers to exchange tips and strategies.

7. Why should merchants attend Affiliate Summit?

They can reinforce relationships with affiliates/publishers, as well as establishing many new relationships. Plus, they can learn about the latest best practices from leaders in the industry.

8. There is an SEO Training course available the day before the conference. What makes this training course unique?

The course is being run by Rae Hoffman, who has been one of the most popular Affiliate Summit speakers for years, as well as a very respected leader in both search and affiliate marketing. This is a chance to learn from her in person in a small group.

9. Do you recommend registering early when attendees arrive?

Definitely – we started opening up the check-in booths on Saturday evening (4pm to 8pm) a couple years ago to alleviate lines on Sunday. Attendees can get in and out with their badge and other materials in a couple minutes, rather than spending valuable time in line the next
day.

10. What are the top 3 sessions you're looking forward to at this year's ASE?

Unfortunately, I don't get to see entire sessions during the conference, since there are 4 running at a time, and I have to keep an eye on all of them and the rest of the operations of the conference. I only see most (sometimes all) of the keynotes, and I am really excited
about all four of those.

***

While Shawn might be too busy to see the sessions, there are a ton of opportunities for you to get valuable information from some really smart people. Couple this with tremendous networking opportunities and chances are your head will be spinning with ideas by the end of the conference.

If you plan on going to Affiliate summit, keep an eye out for me. I'll be one with my head buried in my iPad updating Pilgrim readers on juicy bits from the conference. If you haven't registered yet, it's not too late!

Mobile Gaming: Highest Revenue Comes from the Least Number of Players

Posted: 26 Jul 2011 01:51 PM PDT

Freemium – it's a hybrid of free and paid and it's all the rage in mobile gaming. Try the game for free, play for free, but if you really like it, pay a few dollars for more levels, more detail or a virtual donkey. Who wouldn't want a virtual donkey? Actually, a lot of people will pass on that offer but it doesn't matter.

According to stats from Flurry, Freemium games generate more revenue than straight-on paid games and it does it in a surprising way. As you can see from the chart below, only 13% of consumers were responsible for more than 50% the revenue.

The average spend for all freemium gamers was $14, but that's skewed by the high dollars spent by the top tier. 5% of players spent more than $50 on a freemium game and that's more than you'd pay for some XBox games.

Part of the reason people spend money to play freemium games is because of the gradual nature of the payouts. It's like feeding quarters into a slot machine. It's a quarter, who cares, but before you know it, you've slipped a hundred of them into the slot and all you have to show for it is a ringing in your ears and a half hour of excitement.

When designers charge for a game upfront, they're instantly cutting into the potential profit pool because some people simply won't take a chance even for .99. And, as Flurry points out, by setting a flat fee, instead of offering upgrades and other premium options, you're cutting off any hope of landing a whale.

BusinessWeek recently reported about a Zynga player who dropped $75,000 on one game over the course of the year. Yes, those players are rare, but how many do you need? One or two of those more than makes up for the 90% of people who never pay a dime for a freemium game.

Is there a way you can make this model work for your business? Like a free loyalty program with a paid upgrade for better perks? Free samples with a coupon that offers a discount if you buy right now? Or maybe you're asking customers to pay for a service now that you could give away for free with an upgrade option. I know it's counter-intuitive to go free when you could charge, but as mobile gaming shows, the result could be even more money in the long run.

Repetition Works, Repetition Works, Repetition Works

Posted: 26 Jul 2011 11:53 AM PDT

Put aside your Facebook page, your mobile apps and skywriting, it's time to get back to basics. Casale recently released a report about the good old fashioned banner ad and though the results weren't surprising, they do bear repeating. Repetition is good.

The study found a huge jump in response rate for ads shown five or more times.

The study also reinforces the concept of "above the fold" saying that those ads are seven times more effective than those that go below. People are lazy, they don't scroll, but what about on a tablet where it's as easy as swiping your hand? Will the "above the fold" rule still apply? Will it become even more important? Will we eliminate the "fold" altogether by designing pages that fit the screen size in the way an app does?

Along these same lines is the concept of banner blindness for ads further down the list. Casale's research shows that users are more likely to click on the first few ads they see. After that, performance drops off with each additional ad. What that means is you could lose all of your "above the fold" points if there are six ads above yours on that same page.

Finally, they noted that clutter is the enemy of the ad, as is engaging content. If the reader is really into the article, they aren't going to notice the ad. So look for boring pages with a lot of white space!

Seriously, repetition works and though it's important for marketers to keep up with the latest trends, it's also good to remember the tried and true lessons we learned when online advertising was new.

ETA: Not only is Repetition good, it also helps to spell it right!