Stay Connected With The Shopzilla Publisher Program

Hey Publishers,

Are you tired of you hearing Shopzilla Publisher Program news through the grapevine?  Do you want to be the first to know about new categories and content that becomes available without constantly hitting the F5 key to refresh our blog?  If so, take this as a friendly reminder that you can stay up to date on all of our updates by following us on Twitter and Facebook!

Twitter:  You can follow us at @szpublisher.  We'll keep you up to date on everything from industry news to the most recent posts on our blog.  We also occasionally give 'Follow Friday' shout outs to our Publishers.  For those of you on Twitter, send us a message, introduce yourself and we'll keep you informed!  If you're not a part of Twitter, sign up here!

Facebook:  Become a fan of Shopzilla Publisher Program on Facebook.  Keep up with Shopzilla Publisher Program and industry news and meet other Shopzilla Publishers and fans of our program.  Next time you log on to Facebook, become a fan and give us a shout on our wall, we'd love to hear from you!  And for those of you not on Facebook, join here!

We're really looking forward to keeping in touch with our Publishers through social network channels!  If you have any questions or want to see us on an additional social network site, contact us!

Tips on Keeping your Shopzilla Publisher Account and Personal Data Secure

October is National Cyber Security Awareness Month, so we'd like to take the opportunity to give you a few pointers that will help you keep your data and websites' safe.  We'd also like to remind you that Shopzilla takes utmost care with safeguarding Publisher data through the use of encryption.  You can help ensure that your data remains safe by adhering to these simple tips:

[1] Use strong passwords and don't give them out to anyone.  The National Cyber Security Alliance recommends using a password at least eight characters long, including letters, numbers, and symbols. Shopzilla personnel will never ask for your password.

[2] Make every effort to change your password at least every 90 days.

[3] Do not re-use the same password on several sites.  Though the Shopzilla Publisher Program encrypts your passwords and no employee here can see what you have chosen, this is not the case at every company.

[4] Verify that your browser connection is secure whenever you are submitting sensitive data, like Social Security Numbers, to Shopzilla or other companies.  To verify a secure connection with Internet Explorer, look for a lock icon to the right of the address bar.  To verify on FireFox, look for a lock icon on the lower right corner of the status bar at the bottom of the browser.

[5] Never transmit sensitive data (like financial information or Social Security Numbers) over email.

[6] Keep your software up-to-date and watch for new security patches.  This includes your browser (check the Firefox or Internet Explorer websites), but it's also important for bloggers who administer content management software like Wordpress.  Check your vendor's website often to ensure you are using the most secure release of the software.  Here are the links to a few popular blogging tools:

• Wordpress
• MovableType
• b2evolution
• Textpattern
• Drupal
• Joomla

Also be careful with third party plugins - don't use them if you don't trust the source.

An old teacher of mine used to joke that the only way to stay 100% secure online is to unplug your computer and never use it.  But you'll be well on your way to minimizing risk by following these tips and other 'best practices' that can be found at the National Cyber Security Alliance's website.

Double your Websites, Double your Funds: Adding Additional Sites to your Shopzilla Publisher Account

Hey Publishers,

Does the Shopzilla Publisher Team know about every site you're using our content on?  Are your Placement IDs organized and reflect each site and its corresponding Shopzilla Publisher Program content?  Not only is notifying us of your additional sites part of our terms and conditions, but perhaps your additional sites could get you on our next Publisher Spotlight, so keep us in the loop!

The Shopzilla Publisher Program allows you to publish Shopzilla Publisher Program content on any site you operate, as long as we get a chance to review and approve the site.  You do not have to go through registering a new site, you only need to send us the URL and a brief description.  Once we have reviewed and approved your additional sites, you are ready to add new Shopzilla Publisher Program content.  When you do this, we strongly suggest you make the most out of Placement IDs so that you are able to track the traffic from each website separately on your earnings report.

As always, please contact us if you have any questions about the Shopzilla Publisher Program!

15 Recommended Websites For Any Successful Affiliate

One thing that we feel is key to finding success in the affiliate realm is staying up to date with all the latest industry news. In recent times, we have featured some great interviews and updates on breaking topics. Take for example our recent interview of Tim Flight in regards to the new FTC regulations, or our opinion piece on the Affiliate Tax and its impact on CPC programs.

One great way to stay updated is to find a good set of blogs to follow. We do just that, and as a result, we thought it would be a good idea to share some sites with you to check out and maybe save to your favorites. Please note, the sites we have listed below are just a select few of hundreds of great blogs that exist. These are just sites that we are familiar with. If there are other blogs out there that you feel have similar appeal, please let us know below in the comment section, so that we can check them out and share them with other Publishers in the future!

The following sites are listed alphabetically:

Affiliate (Tip)
http://blog.affiliatetip.com/
A daily blog on affiliate marketing news and opinion, written by Affiliate Summit co-founder Shawn Collins.

Bigoak blog
http://www.bigoakinc.com/blog/
Focuses on information about Search Engine Optimization and Internet Marketing.

BloggingTips
http://www.bloggingtips.com/
Brings a blend of article, news and tips on topics that range from promoting your blog to design and coding.

BloggingPro
http://www.bloggingpro.com/
Features news, themes and plugins for blogging applications.

Blogstorm
http://www.blogstorm.co.uk/
The UK’s largest blog discussing internet marketing and search engine optimization news & strategies.

Blogussion
http://www.blogussion.com/
Provides outstanding tips for excelling your blog in a variety of topics.

Copyblogger
http://www.copyblogger.com/
Copy-writing tips for online marketing success.

DailyBlogTips
http://www.dailyblogtips.com/
Daily tips and shared knowledge to help bloggers learn more about blogging.

David Naylor
http://www.davidnaylor.co.uk/
Information to help you to increase your online presence in the search engines, and the traffic generated to your website.

John Chow dot Com
http://www.johnchow.com/
The Miscellaneous Ramblings of the self-proclaimed Dot Com Mogul, John Chow.

Performancing
http://performancing.com/
A place where those that want to make money from their blogs can learn, and perfect the art of making a living from weblogging.

ProBlogger
http://www.problogger.net/
Dedicated to helping other bloggers learn the skills of blogging, share their own experiences and promote the blogging medium.

Reve News
http://www.revenews.com/
Discussion of Online Advertising, CPA, SEO, Affiliate and Next Generation Marketing. 

Search Engine Roundtable
http://www.seroundtable.com/
Provides a single source for the reader to visit to locate the most interesting threads covered at the SEM forums.

The Blog Herald
http://www.blogherald.com/
Premier source of news, information, tips, and commentary on blogs, the blogging industry and bloggers worldwide.

New Atoms Available in Sports & Outdoor

Publishers, we have released some great new atoms in the Sports & Outdoor category! 

If you are interested in pulling only specific files for this category, please download the new atom IDs from the file below.

Download New-atom_10-11-09

Please feel free to contact us if you have any questions about our new atoms or about how their availability may impact you or your website.

Publisher Affiliate Spotlight: Designer Apparel

DesignerApparel.com is one of the web's top designer clothing destinations.  They've been working with the Shopzilla Publisher Program for nearly a year now, and we were fortunate to interview them this past week as part of our regular Publisher Affiliate Spotlight series.  Here's what they had to say:

Shopzilla:  Can you tell us a little about DesignerApparel.com, its history, and its mission?

DesignerApparel.com: DesignerApparel.com is a collection of niche-specific shopping engines that gives users the power to shop all of the stores in a given category all from one place.  DesignerApparel.com is our flagship vertical focused on the high-end designer clothing and accessories space, bringing together stores like Neiman Marcus, Saks Fifth Avenue, Nordstrom, Bloomingdales and more, and brands ranging from the classic Gucci or Prada to the more contemporary like Juicy Couture or Michael Kors, all into one, searchable, interface.  We want to give users the widest possible selection as aggregated from our hundreds of partners, coupled with the convenience of a one-stop-shop.  StylishKids.com is our shopping engine focused on baby and kids clothing.  StreetApparel.com is for the streetwear category.  JewelryFlash.com is probably the largest jewelry site on the web.  DesignerMaternity.com is focused on expecting mothers who (still) want to look stylish throughout their pregnancies.  Lastly, shoppers can also sign-up for members only sale alerts at MyPerfectSale.com, where users can choose the brands that they love and receive alerts whenever they go on sale, thus have the “perfect” sale of just the stuff they love.  Our motto is “All the Sales, All the Stores, All in One Place.” 

Shopzilla:  Why did you decide to partner with the Shopzilla Publisher Program and how do you utilize Shopzilla’s content on DesignerApparel.com?

DesignerApparel.com:  Shopzilla has been a tremendous partner for us.  Through Shopzilla, we have been able to integrate nearly a hundred new partners all in one fell swoop.  Also, usually, adding so many new partners would be overwhelming for us both from a management and technology standpoint.  But since Shopzilla has standardized all of its partners and acts as a management interface between us and partners, we have been able to add these partners without adding new resources.  Instead of dealing with hundreds of new partners, we just deal with one.  Lastly, Shopzilla’s catalog atoms are quite helpful to us when we want to expand into a new vertical.  We can quickly get to a critical mass of partners on any given category whereas it took us much longer before.

Shopzilla:  Do you have any tips that you believe might help other publishers achieve success?

DesignerApparel.com:   In this economy, we think that tools and content that can help shoppers find the best deal in a focused and helpful way will win.  That’s what we are focusing on and will continue to deliver.

Shopzilla:  What’s next for DesignerApparel.com?

DesignerApparel.com:  Our focus will be expanding our targeted niches while building on our strengths.  We will look to build out more categories where we have an edge in partners, technology or customer base.

Shopzilla: We wish you all the best on your expansion plans, and we thank you for participating in this edition of Publisher Spotlight! 

Interview with Tim Flight of GPSReview.net about the FTC Guidelines

Hey Publishers,

The Federal Trade Commission's new set of guidelines to protect online consumers is a very hot and controversial topic affecting bloggers of all stripes. The Shopzilla Publisher team was curious about the thoughts of one of our coworkers and top publishers, Tim Flight, and had the pleasure to ask him several questions on the topic. Tim runs GPSReview.net, and has been a Shopzilla Publisher for roughly two and a half years. Tim gave us great insight on his experiences with GPSReview.net and what the new FTC regulations mean for him and other bloggers.

Jade: Would you mind giving a brief description of GPSReview.net for our publishers and blog readers who are unfamiliar with your site?

Tim: I started with GPSReview.net in 2005 and I've been involved with affiliate marketing since that time. I review GPS devices, provide ways for consumers to ask questions and leave their own reviews, as well as operate a large GPS forum. Often manufacturers will send me devices to review (which I send back when I'm done with the product), and I also often purchase GPS devices directly from store shelves for reviews.

Jade: The FTC's goal is to maximize consumer protection. Do you feel there are really that many biased product review blogs that negatively affect consumer decisions?

Tim: I don't believe there are a lot of blogs with a significant bias towards a particular company, although they do exist. However a bigger issue I see is the manufacturers/companies themselves are often out there trying to influence product ratings. For example, I've caught employees of just about every GPS company trying to influence the conversation of various pages of GPSReview.net. They will pose as a consumer and "review" their own product or say something negative about their competitor.

Another tactic I've seen recently is a company offering a discount on their product or future purchases if the consumer writes a positive review of their product on a blog or forum. (Often before a consumer has even used their product).

Jade: What is your biggest concern with the FTC's new set of guidelines?

Tim: I don't have any big concerns with the new guidelines. I hope more bloggers will be open about the relationships they have with companies they talk about. But I think bloggers writing positive reviews of a product as a result of getting free product is just the tip of the iceberg.

As I mentioned above, employees writing about their own products in blog comments, forums, or social media sites is a problem for consumers. The guidelines also hardly scratch the surface surrounding things like "wining and dining" or being offered free show tickets while at a Vegas trade show. There are many other ways a blogger could be influenced by a company beyond just free product.

Jade: Richard Cleland of the FTC stated in an interview with Fast Company that the FTC is more concerned with the advertisers and wants to educate the bloggers. How far do you think the advertisers will pull back?

Tim: Product manufacturers and advertisers understand that bloggers can reach their target audiences, so I don't think they will pull back. Perhaps companies will start being a bit more strict when it comes to setting expectations on having product samples shipped back, etc. As far as "educating bloggers" goes, those that are receiving kick-backs for positive reviews probably won't change much.

Jade: How do you plan on adhering to the new FTC guidelines?

Tim: For a long time I've maintained an Ethics Page where I spell out my relationship with companies I review products from. I also frequently cite within a product review if I purchased the product myself or if the product was on a short-term loan. I plan to continue those practices.

Jade: How do you think your site, GPSReview.net will be affected?

Tim: I don't think I will be affected much at all. From what I've interpreted in the guidelines I've been already meeting or exceeding the FTC guidelines.

Thank you to Tim for taking the time to talk to us about the new FTC regulations and his site GPSReview.net. We'd love to hear our publishers' reactions to the proposed FTC guidelines. How do you expect to be affected in December when these new rules take effect?

FTC Regulates Social Media and Blogs

Hey Publishers,

There was some big news earlier this week!  On Monday, October 5th, the Federal Trade Commission revised its Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials.  This was the first time since 1980 the FTC revised its guidelines on these type of advertisements and the first time its rules covered bloggers and social media. Beginning on December 1st, you can be fined up to $11,000 per post that is not properly disclosed!

A main concern of the blogging community is what the FTC considers to be an endorsement.  According to the new guide, any kind of payment given to a blogger to review a product can be labeled as an endorsement.  Also, if the reviewed product was sent to the blogger for free, the blogger must include a disclaimer in the review and/or send the product back because it can also be considered an endorsement.  The FTC feels manufactures have expectations for positive reviews creating conflicts of interest and negatively influencing consumers' purchases.  In an effort to eliminate biased and bogus claims and testimonials (something the FTC has been trying to do since 2007) the FTC aims to make consumers more aware of the relationship between sponsored sellers and bloggers with mandatory disclosures.

So what can stop the FTC from slapping you with a $11,000 fine?  You can read through the 81 page guide or you can go straight to playing it safe and adding disclaimers to your site.  If you are blogging your opinions in exchange for any kind of payment, you must disclose it.  It seems the FTC is heavily regulating blogs and social networks, however, their main focus is on advertisers and maintaining the truth in advertising.  You can expect a much more established set of guidelines in the near future before the rules take effect.

To read more, there was an interesting article within the Huffington Post that clearly breaks out the implications of these regulations in all aspects of social media- from blogs to chat room activity.  You may also want to check out an article from the The Blog of LegalTimes on how the FTC is not out to get you.

Make Your Dynamic Assets Dynamite With Our Color Picker Tool

Why use our content as an everyday web ad when you can truly make it an asset?!  Our color picker tool allows you to customize your assets to complement your website's design, helping you to better attract your audience and improve traffic quality.

When you log on to your Shopzilla Publisher Program account go to: Get Content > Dynamic Assets > find the asset you're looking for > Get HTML.  Select the part of the asset you would like to change, then choose the color and other options depending on the part of the asset. 

Border: The border (outline) of the full asset.

Image Border: The border (outline) around each individual image/product inside the asset.

Background: The background color of the full asset.

Link: The links of the images/products shown inside the asset.

A-Link: The color the link turns when it is clicked.

V:Link: The color the link turns once it has been clicked.

H-Link:  The color the link turns when it is scrolled over by a mouse cursor.

Text: The text (non-links) inside the asset.

New Window (_blank): This link target will open the new page in a separate browser window.

Same Frame (_self): This link target will open the new page in the same page it was clicked on.

Parent Frame (_parent)*: This link target will load the new page in the immediate parent of the frame. 

Main Window (_top)*: This link target is similar to the Parent Frame, but will load the new page in the full body of the window.

Randomize: Definitely take advantage of this feature!  The products shown will randomly change every time the dynamic asset is loaded, giving your audience a different experience each time they visit your website.  If you are displaying a dynamic asset containing products from category 'MP3 & Media Players', rather than showing the same three iPods, your asset will cycle between various BizRate product offerings in that specific category.

*advanced

Another feature worth noting is that color preferences will be saved in your user cookie.  If you're building multiple dynamic assets, your color preferences will be automatically applied, you'll never have to worry about our dynamic assets clashing with your website design again!

Once you finish touching up your asset, click Get HTML and then scroll to the bottom of the page to get the new code.  Don't forget to update your dynamic assets periodically to take advantage of our new categories and product offerings, keep your shopping content relevant to your audience. 

Good luck and as always, contact us if you have any questions or comments about the Shopzilla Publisher Program!

Shopzilla Publisher Program Announces German Affiliate Program

Willkommen German affiliates!

Several months ago we announced the release of our UK affiliate program, the Shopzilla UK Publisher Program, offering UK website publishers access to BizRate.co.uk sponsored shopping content. We are excited to announce that we have now additionally launched the beta version of our German affiliate program, the Shopzilla DE Publisher Partnerprogramm!

The Shopzilla DE Publisher Partnerprogramm will offer German website publishers access to a growing universe of Shopzilla.de sponsored shopping content. This program enters the affiliate market with our text link, stock asset, dynamic asset and FTP Data Feed products. In coming months, the German Publisher Portal will undergo further internationalization, and an expanded product offering.

To find out more about the Shopzilla DE Publisher Partnerprogramm, please visit their blog. For those of you who are ready to apply, we invite you to go directly to the Shopzilla DE Publisher Partnerprogramm registration page. Please note that even if you are already participating in another Shopzilla Publisher Program, you will need to apply specifically to the Shopzilla DE Publisher Partnerprogramm for access to Shopzille.de sponsored shopping content.

The Shopzilla Publisher Team