LinkShare Blog

For many Publishers finding and getting the right links to promote can be a challenge simply because of the sheer volume of links to consider.  That’s why we are always looking for innovative ways to make it easier for Publishers to find what they’re looking for even without having to login to the LinkShare Publisher Dashboard.

That said…  Publishers should bookmark this page and when you have a moment learn more about all the different tools available to find and promote links including tools for Twitter and WordPress (even a Mac Widget!).

Advertisers are also encouraged to remind their Publishers about these tools to help promote greater link distribution.

Have an idea for a feature that will make you more productive?  Let us know!

Scott Allan
Senior Director of Marketing

Just a reminder that LinkShare is the Silver sponsor at Affiliate Summit East (Booth #1018).

We’ll also be participating in the “Meet Market” event at table # 84.

Stop by the booth and learn what’s new for Publishers in the LinkShare Network.  If you have a request for certain information or you would like to schedule a specific time at the booth to discuss a particular topic let us know.

Just send your request to events@linkshare.com.

See you there!

Sara Gorlick
Trade Show and Events Manager

www.linkshare.com/tradeshows

Could we finally be on the road to economic recovery?  The National Retail Federation has just issued a forecast predicting that families will spend about 10 percent more on back-to-school items this year than they did in 2009.  More importantly for online retailers, the NRF survey found that 31 percent of those polled said they expect to shop online for back-to-school in 2010.  That’s up from 22 percent last year.

Despite these positive signs, it’s clear that shoppers are still highly value-conscious.  The NRF found that more than 71 percent of consumers plan to shop at discount stores, and 44 percent plan to buy store labels or genetic brands this year, up from 42 percent in 2009.

Does this commitment to thrift translate from the offline world to online shopping habits?  According to a study recently commissioned by Offers.com, online consumers are lagging behind those who shop offline.  In its survey, conducted by Ipsos Public Affairs, Offers.com found that despite the wider variety of money-saving offers, and the greater number of discounts available online, more than half (59 percent) of frequent shoppers are not regularly seeking out online coupons or deals.  In addition, the survey found that while offline coupon redemption has increased by more than 25 percent since 2008, nearly 75 percent of all consumers don’t look for online coupons or deals.

For online retailers, the message is clear – consumers are frugal, but they haven’t yet gotten the message that value can be found online just as much, if not more, than it does in the “brick and mortar” world.  With just one in seven online shoppers “always” seeking out online coupons, this consumer research proves that even the savviest online shoppers are leaving money on the table.

In order to entice consumers into taking advantage of online savings, Steve Schaffer, founder and CEO of Offers.com (and recent recipient of the LinkShare Golden Link Award for Performance Marketing’s Most Vocal Advocate) recommends the following:

1. Aggregate the best online coupons, coupon codes, deals and offers into one site – saving consumers time searching various sites for available offers or having to keep track of offers from multiple stores.
2. Ensure the site easy to search, making it easy for consumers to find the best offer for their needs.
3. Make the site content–rich, with side-by-side comparisons, reviews and savings tips from shopping and money-saving experts.

If you have any additional advice on how to increase the popularity of online discounts, please feel free to add your thoughts below.

- Scott Allan, Senior Director of Marketing

Calling All Publishers!

For the past several years, Affiliate Benchmarks and NETexponent have delivered annual affiliate marketing benchmarks that are crucial to the development of any affiliate marketing program. By taking the survey you can help meet our goal of illuminating the affiliate marketing industry through the sharing of learning and benchmarks.

Your participation will also help ensure that the LinkShare Network is represented in this important industry survey.

PLEASE NOTE: The survey will close on July 16th at 5pm EST.

Take the survey today: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/linkshare

Thanks!
Scott Allan
Senior Director of Marketing

We’re excited to announce version 2.0 of our Mac Widget!   Publishers can now use the widget to do three things -

1. Search for product links
2. Create deep links
3. NEW! – pull the latests coupons and offers

When pulling coupons and deals you have the option to search by Advertiser, Advertiser Category, Promotion Type, and Network.   Please note you’ll have to be approved to access the Coupon Web Service to pull the latest coupons, you can apply here.  Here’s a screenshot of the new Coupons and Deals page -

Here’s a screenshot of the product search.  You can search across all of your Advertisers, or within a single Advertiser.

All you have to do is install the widget and input your token.

We’ve also updated the widget to ONLY display Advertisers whose programs you are approved into.   We hope this decreases clutter and improves usability!  We’ll be rolling out this enhancement to more of our Bento Box applications.

You can download the widget here.

Ian Rosenwach, Product Manager