I’m often asked “what are the best resources out there on affiliate marketing?”  Unfortunately, there are many but most are quite dated.  I’ve done my best to list some of the programs, articles and resources that I’ve had a hand in as well as those of trusted colleagues.

Of course, stay tuned for the release of Paying for Performance, a marketer’s pocket guide for successful affiliate marketing, in early 2009!

Recommended Reading

Primers
Affiliate Marketing 101 (Carsten Cumbrowski)

The Latest Affiliate Marketing Trends & Research
Why Are Affiliate Marketing Budgets Shrinking? (Research Brief)
Google in The Affiliate Marketing Business: What Does it Mean? (Carsten Cumbrowski)
Affiliate Marketers Need Better Tools to Get Job Done (Survey)
Acquisition 2.0: Why Affiliate and Search Marketing Isn’t Enough

Subscribe to eConsultancy’s Affiliate Marketing Feed (or bookmark URL here)
Subscribe to Jeff Molander’s Articles at eConsultancy (or bookmark URL here)
Subscribe (Free!) to Revenue Magazine (print)

‘How To’ Tips
How to Manage ‘Marketing Channel Conflicts’ (Carsten Cumbrowski)
How to Balance Search and Affiliate Programs (Interview with Alan Rimm-Kaufman)
How to Balance Search and Affiliate Programs (Article featuring Angel Djambazov formerly of OnlineShoes.com)
A Practical Guide to Affiliate Marketing (Tips for Affiliate Managers; Read Carsten Cumbrowski’s Review)
Using Multiple Affiliate Networks: Con Side (Interview with Carolyn Tang, formerly of Orbitz)
Using Multiple Affiliate Networks: Pro Side (Interview with Jonathan Miller; Note – Raw Transcript)
How to Work with Cash-back Affiliate Sites (Interview with Neil Durrant)
How to Comply with the So-Called NY State ‘Amazon Tax’

Subscribe to Carsten Cumbrowski’s News, Tips and Information (or bookmark URL here)

Affiliate-side Trends
Affiliate Call to Arms: Add Value or Die!

Industry-side Trends
Interview with Jeff Molander Part I: Lack of Innovation in Affiliate Marketing (Advaliant Blog)
Interview with Jeff Molander Part II: Cannibalization, ‘Attribution’ and Future Growth of the Industry (Advaliant Blog)

Affiliate Manager Training
Affiliate Classroom

Guide to Tradeshows, Expos and Client Summits

Audio Interviews & Transcripts

Interview with AMWSO’s Chris Sanderson (Transcript; Chris is an affiliate marketing veteran)
How to Balance Search and Affiliate Programs (Featuring Allan Rimm-Kauffman)

How to Balance Search and Affiliate Programs
(Featuring Angel Djambazov formerly of OnlineShoes.com)
READ FULL TRANSCRIPT HERE

Download or Listen to the Program Here (MP3)

More on Balancing Affiliate & Search Programs
Listen to (and view slides from the below experts)
Amanda Watlington, Principal, Searching for Profit
Carol Steinberg, VP eCommerce David’s Bridal
Stephen Fuller-Rowell, Chinaberry Inc.

Download or Listen to the Program Here (MP3).

Best Practices in Affiliate Marketing: “What Affiliates Want” (Part ONE)
Twelve small, medium and large brands discuss the ins-and-outs of affiliate marketing in 2006. Discussants range widely from marketers in financial services to commodity marketers, lifestyle fashion brands, housewares and sporting goods marketers. Two “super affiliates” join in to discuss how marketers should be working with affiliates to drive increased sales and leads.

The program’s participants include:
A major beauty and a major lifestyles clothing brand.
Figleaves.com
Batteries.com
Lamps Plus
Golfsmith International
Factory Card & Party Outlet
VF Imagewear, Inc.
Batteries.com
Team Express, Inc.
Kitchen Collection
Rugman.com
iGive.com
Vesdia Corporation (BabyMint.com, Schoolpop.com and others)

Press button below to listen now or download as MP3.

Best Practices in Affiliate Marketing: “What Affiliates Want” (Part TWO)
In this segment 12 small, medium and large brands (and 2 affiliates) focus on discussing how to best work with cranky affiliates who can often be un-communicative and how to work with affiliate networks that sometimes don’t go beyond handing a list of URL’s to marketers (affiliate recruitment assistance).

Press button below to listen now or download as MP3.

Interview with Ben Edelman on Aware in Affiliate Marketing
What exactly is adware? How does it work to the detriment of advertisers and what can they do to combat it? Do advertisers even want affiliates to stop using adware and if so can they count on affiliate networks to help?  Spyware/adware consultant and Harvard PhD Ben Edelman helps us understand in a five part series of shorts.

PART ONE
0:00 – Introduction
1:02 – How do affiliates use adware; how does it work?
2:21 – Is it as easy as buying Google AdWords?
2:49 – How are advertisers defrauded by affiliates?
4:37 – Edelman teases next segment

PART TWO
0:00 – Introduction
0:22 – The many rules affiliate break when using adware
2:00 – Why advertisers and affiliate networks all but accept adware
3:05 – Why advertisers ignore affiliates using adware in the short term
(taking no action to protect brand or reduce frivolous spending)

PART THREE
0:00 – Introduction
0:42 – Do advertisers look the other way too much so as to keep “making numbers?”
2:14 – Why do affiliate networks choose to not collaborate with others (like customers) against adware?
3:40 – Affiliate networks are only fixing a “small part of the problem” and major problems remain unchecked; networks are “largely oblivious” to them!

PART FOUR

0:00 – Introduction0:20 – Is an “Affiliate program/adware audit” a good idea? Why?
1:22 – Transparency: The key issue
1:43 – How can advertisers get more information (transparency) on affiliates?
2:43 – What can affiliate managers do TODAY to protect themselves,
their company?

PART FIVE

0:00 – Introduction
0:19 – Does doing the right thing mean alienating affiliates?
1:20 – Are affiliate networks motivated – or not – to do the right thing?
3:11 – Fixing the system: Networks, affiliates & contracts.
4:53 – There’s hope if advertisers push networks and/or network competition increases