Affiliate Managers: Balance Needs of Publishers, End Customers |  |
- Affiliate Managers: Balance Needs of Publishers, End Customers
- Latino Small Business Owners Lack Financing
- Startup Kids Documentary Outlines Journey for Young Entrepreneurs
- Read “Contagious” and Learn How to Take Your Ideas Viral
| Affiliate Managers: Balance Needs of Publishers, End Customers Posted: 21 Apr 2013 06:00 PM PDT Editor's Note: Once again we bring you coverage from the Affiliate Management Days conference. This series of articles is on topics of interest to businesses that offer affiliate programs. * * * * *
Here are the key initiatives and goals with regard to the affiliates. Customer segmentation. Recognize different customers and their unique needs and help publishers to meet these needs. Define the customer goals to the publisher so they understand what customers you are looking for. Make it Easy. Create seamless integration between off site and on site experiences. Motivate. Have a motivating incentive system for publishers. Need to motivate them enough so that publishers are willing to change their practices to bring in the desired customers. Focus on End Customer Needs The eBay Partner Network is addressing needs in four areas that can serve as a model approach for other affiliate managers:
Focus on Publisher Needs eBay’s Partner Network focuses on:
In a brief summary, as an affiliate manager you should review your business goals, look at your analytics and provide tools and information to help publishers reach your goals plus their own. eBay is moving towards a tighter and more transparent relationship with their affiliates. This idea of trust and two-way communication has been consistent throughout the Affiliate Management Days conference. The tide seems to be changing. Are you in the process of becoming more transparent with your affiliates? Who should take the first step: affiliates or merchants? Read related interview of Brian Marcus of Global eBay Partner Network. And check out all coverage of #AMDays. The post Affiliate Managers: Balance Needs of Publishers, End Customers appeared first on Small Business Trends. |
| Latino Small Business Owners Lack Financing Posted: 21 Apr 2013 03:00 PM PDT
Latino small business owners are increasing in number. But the Latino business community still lacks access to that -oh-so-important resource: capital. Latinos are one of the fastest-growing segments of small business owners in the United States. Estimates suggest by the end of the decade there could be as many as 12 million small businesses owned by Latinos. A recent report from Biz2Credit, a website connecting small businesses with lenders, suggests assistance is needed to give Latino and other small business owners greater access to the capital they need. The “Biz2Credit Small Business Lending Index” from March 2013 shows loan approval rates increased for the fourth consecutive month at small banks. Those rates reached an all-time index high of 50.8%. Rohit Arora, co-founder of Biz2Credit.com, says the numbers suggest the recovery is starting to bring relief to some small business owners. But others continue to struggle. Among those are groups that have traditionally lacked access to capital, including Latino and women business owners. Hector Barreto recently told Fox Business many factors contribute to this lack of access to small business loan capital among Latinos. Barreto is the former head of the U.S. Small Business Administration. He now leads The Latino Coalition, a national organization that represents Latino interests. The Latino Coalition is engaged in advocacy on behalf of Latinos, including Latino small business owners. The Latino Coalition also provides resources for Latino business owners. Barreto used the interview to announce a partnership with Biz2Credit to help more Latino businesses obtain the financing and credit they need. Barreto said recent data shows there are currently 3 million Latino small business owners in the U.S. He says businesses owned by these Latino entrepreneurs generate about $500 billion in sales annually. The post Latino Small Business Owners Lack Financing appeared first on Small Business Trends. |
| Startup Kids Documentary Outlines Journey for Young Entrepreneurs Posted: 21 Apr 2013 10:00 AM PDT
Vimeo, Dropbox, Foodspotting, Soundcloud – what do all these have in common? Besides being successful tech startups that you've probably heard of and likely even used, they were all founded by young people. The founders of these startups and more young entrepreneurs are the focus of a new documentary called The Startup Kids. The film is now holding screenings before audiences of startup entrepreneurs. Screenings are being held in cities in Europe, Canada, the United States, Australia and Vietnam, among other places. Technology has opened doors for young entrepreneurs to start companies without previous access to a lot of resources and funding. It has also made it easier to reach large groups of people without traditional marketing methods. "Young people often have less to lose," said Vala Halldorsdottir, co-creator of The Startup Kids. "It’s maybe harder to bootstrap a business when you are older and have a family and loans you need to pay off." Halldorsdottir knows this because she is a young entrepreneur herself. She and her business partner, Sesselja Vilhjalmsdottir, created a successful board game production company in Iceland in 2009. The two business partners filmed The Startup Kids together after their company took off. Motivating others is why they created The Startup Kids. "We were so motivated after our success that we wanted to motivate others to do the same," said Halldorsdottir. The Startup Kids Also Documents ChallengesBut the documentary isn't just about how great starting a business can be. The young entrepreneurs interviewed in the film, including those from Vimeo, Dropbox, Foodspotting and Soundcloud, also outline the difficulties of starting a business. "I don't know why anybody thinks that startups are all rainbows and sunshine," said Founder of Grove, Leah Culver, in the film's trailer, shown below. Founder of Dropbox Drew Houston (pictured above, from the film) added, "Everything you're doing is basically something you're just barely qualified for or not qualified for. It's like jumping off a cliff and having to build your own parachute." Even Halldorsdottir and Vilhjalmsdottir faced their own startup challenges as they created their board game company. It was during the Icelandic financial crisis that began in 2008, when traditional job prospects were hard to come by. After the two beat the odds and found success with their company, Halldorsdottir said they learned a lot about entrepreneurship. And they learned even more while interviewing others in the United States and Europe for The Startup Kids. "Entrepreneurs are the same everywhere," she said. "They are ambitious and hard-working, with the ‘I’m going to change the world’ mentality." Halldorsdottir and Vilhjalmsdottir turned to Kickstarter to fund their documentary project. They raised over $23,000 to defer production expenses and travel to the United States and Europe to interview people. The film is available on iTunes and Amazon and on DVD through The Startup Kids website. Watch the trailer below:
The post Startup Kids Documentary Outlines Journey for Young Entrepreneurs appeared first on Small Business Trends. |
| Read “Contagious” and Learn How to Take Your Ideas Viral Posted: 21 Apr 2013 06:00 AM PDT
Aren't you glad I got my hands on this book? I'm glad too because now I have a much more solid understanding of why things go viral and even more importantly, how to put certain elements in place to increase the likelihood that my product, service or video will have the best chance of going viral. And after reading this review, so will you. It's Like Made to Stick, and Then Some If you think Contagious sounds a lot like the Heath Brothers' Made to Stick, you'd be on the right track. You see, Jonah Berger's mentor in graduate school was Chip Heath and as he says early in the book, "The apple doesn't fall far from the tree." The key distinction between the two books is that Made to Stick (as the name implies) is about how to get ideas to stick so that people remember them. Contagious is more about how to get ideas to spread, so that people talk about them. And this is why I bought a Kindle copy of this book on early order as soon as a friend mentioned it to me. The Six Elements to Consider for Contagious Ideas Let's just jump right into the nitty-gritty. I know you're probably chomping at the keyboard and scrolling through this review to get to the meat of the book. Contagious quickly gets to the key points – that a viral idea, product, service or video has to contain at least a couple of these six ingredients:
Contagious Contains Even More Content You Can Use Another wonderful thing about Contagious is that there is even more content. You'll find a downloadable workbook as a PDF file that you can use to add some viral ingredients to your idea. There is also a STEPPS (those are the six elements I described above) framework on a single sheet that you can carry along with you. Finally, there’s a book club discussion guide that you can use with your team. Don't Just Read Contagious BE Contagious When you get your own copy of Contagious you'll want to read it all the way through for the sheer entertainment value. But then, I'd recommend that you download the worksheets and keep them close and handy. This is a book you'll want to spend some time with and perhaps use it as a checklist. Another element that I like about the book is how useful it can be in starting discussions with your team about how to give your ideas and campaigns the highest chance of success. You’ll learn valuable viral marketing examples. If you've ever found yourself wondering why some ideas spread while others don't – read Contagious and learn how to add a viral element to your business. The post Read “Contagious” and Learn How to Take Your Ideas Viral appeared first on Small Business Trends. |
Brian Marcus (pictured), Director of 
Want to know my sure-fire advice for taking your video viral? Just video yourself doing anything you'd never want a single soul to see – ever. That should do it. Up until I read | You are subscribed to email updates from Small Business Trends To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. | Email delivery powered by Google |
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