School for Startups is the UK’s leading provider of business training for entrepreneurs, with lots of useful information on their website and regular one-day business courses across the country. It is the inspiration of serial entrepreneur and angel investor Doug Richard, who many of you will know as a ‘dragon’ or investor in the first two series of BBC’s Dragon’s Den.

I was told that Doug, who has seen some of the revenue figures of Azam Marketing, was “VERY impressed” with how well we were doing and invited to become a Featured Entrepreneur on his site. I think School for Startups does a wonderful job to inspire and educate budding entrepreneurs, and so agreed to be interviewed.

The interview has just been published and you can read it here.

Thanks to the terrific Mark Boyd for his help. You can visit his online marketing blog here.

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As we welcome in a new decade and look forward to new opportunities and challenges ahead, it gives me great pleasure to introduce the newest member of the Azam affiliate marketing team – Pam Sagoo!

Many of you will know Pam already from her previous roles at i-level Group, DGM, Starcom Worldwide, ipoints and Cucina Direct. Her most recent position was at LBi where she led highly successful affiliate campaigns for clients including Walt Disney Travel Company, Marks and Spencer, and Provident Loans.

Pam will focus on managing and developing Azam’s portfolio of existing Affiliate Management clients as well as identifying new prospects and building our profile through ongoing business development.

For more details about Pam’s new role read the press release: Pam Sagoo – Affiliate Marketing Director – Joins Azam Marketing

We extend a warm welcome to Pam and look forward to working with her on a host of exciting new projects in 2010.

As is the tradition when a new staff member joins Azam Marketing, we asked Pam to tell us a bit about herself and here’s what she had to say:

Describe yourself in 3 words:  Positive, trustworthy, honest

Favourite Quotation:  “Life is like a box of chocolates… you never know what you’re going to get” – Forrest Gump

Favourite Book:  Master of the Game by Sidney Sheldon

Favourite Film:  Quentin Tarantino’s breakthrough movie, Pulp Fiction

Favourite Website: Loads of them, but YouTube and BBC News are probably the ones I visit most

Hobbies and Interests:
Tennis – watching as well as playing
Football – I support Liverpool F.C.
Cinema & Theatre – The last movie I saw was Avatar, and I recently saw Avenue Q in London’s West End

Proudest Achievement: Getting on the property ladder

Most Embarrassing Moment: Dressing up as the blonde one from Abba at a New Year’s Eve party

3 Interesting Facts About You:
I appeared (in the background) on an episode of Aussie soap Home & Away;
I met my favourite actor and idol, Guy Pearce, at the London Film Festival;
I climbed the Sydney Harbour Bridge even though I’m scared of heights!

Somewhat of an Antipodean theme there!

If you’d like to contact Pam, please email pam [at] azam.net.

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So we have waved goodbye to the the decade without a name and find ourselves taking the first steps into another block of ten years we haven’t come to a consensus about what to call (the teenies, the tens, the teens?)

The passing of a year and even more so a decade invariably leads us to muse on the time that has passed, reflect on unrealised hopes and aspirations, and motivates us to resolve to better our existences.

It doesn’t take much brainpower to recall what I did in the noughties which was little more than 14 hour stints on computers interspersed with business meetings.

As I stood on London’s Embankment to see a resplendent firework display herald in a new decade, just as I had done ten years earlier on the 1^st of January 2000, I resolved to be the driver in my life and not the passenger.

The clock of life is ticking and my unrealised dreams are many. My New Year resolutions are mainly aimed at being more focused. I have vowed, for instance, to not waste much of 2010, as I have done previous years, travelling from one corner of London to the other to help Del Boy entrepreneurs who would always be “too busy” to assist me or my colleagues in return (though funnily enough they always seem to find time to hang out in pubs for hours on end).

I’ve discovered 90% of the meetings I’m called into end up producing zero ROI; they will consist, for example, of a bunch of relative newbies – whose ’successes’ on the internet consist of building a voucher code site with an Alexa ranking of 16.3 zillion – discussing launching a “unique” web tool/network/search engine which will never get off the ground because the blokes end up blowing whatever venture capital they may have had within six months on fat cat salaries for themselves, swish offices and, of course, the must-have Official Launch Party of Tin Tin Media.

So how would I rate my personal performance in the noughties? I can’t say anything more than a zero out of ten; if I’m feeling a bit gentler on myself, perhaps a zero point one. Anybody who knows me knows I am my fiercest critic, but even putting that aside, I am aware I have not taken the revenue-generating opportunities the web has presented, or when I did decide to stride down particular alley ways they usually ended up being dead-ends. I could easily blame the scores of people who sold me bagfuls of nonsense, but the fault lies exclusively with myself because of my gullibility in believing them.

Anyhow, the one thing the school of hard-knocks has done is taught me to be a lot savvier, and from 2007 to 2009 Azam Marketing began to realise the potential it should have done a decade earlier from 1997 to 1999. Our agency doubled in size in 2009 and, after a year of hard work on new initiatives, I am extremely excited about the plans coming to fruition in 2010 and, in the third decade our business has existed in, Godwillingly enabling us to realise our true potential.

On behalf of myself and all my colleagues at Azam I wish each and every one of you a happy, healthy and prosperous 2010!

What are your resolutions for the new year and decade? Leave a comment below.

Related blog post: 2008 New Year Message.

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So another year is almost over and we find ourselves waving goodbye to the ‘noughties’. Despite the doom and gloom of the global recession, it’s been another successful year at Azam Marketing, and we’re fortunate to have won a host of exciting new clients as well as expanding internally with new staff.

But life’s not all about work! In the true spirit of Christmas reflection, I asked a few of the Azam team what their personal highlights had been this year:

Nadeem Azam, CEO
I am eternally grateful to Affiliate Future for dragging me to my first holiday in over five years this summer. It was a horrendous experience to get a passport at the last minute, but well worth it in the end as I got to enjoy swimming with turtles, riding a horse and singing karaoke for the first time in my life in beautiful Barbados. What better time can one have than to spend seven remarkable days in paradise with fifty of the most amazing people in online marketing?

Stuart Reader, Director of Paid Search Marketing
In April I was honoured (and very nervous) to be the best man at my brother’s wedding. It was on a beautiful sunny day in lovely surroundings in rural Essex, with dozens of family members and friends present. I was hugely relieved not to lose the rings before the ceremony and glad the bride and groom were still speaking to me after my ‘humorous’ speech, but most of all delighted to see them so happy together.

Sinead Hernen, Director, Affiliate Partnerships
My personal highlight was the birth of my second daughter Jemima Faye at Easter. Seeing her grow and interact with her older sister Robyn has been wonderful.

Karen Clayton, Key Accounts Director
In November, I fulfilled one of my travel ambitions and enjoyed a blissful 10-night holiday in Thailand. I’ve always wanted to swim in warm seas with tropical fish, and fulfilled this dream by going snorkelling off the coast of Phuket. It’s one of the best holidays I’ve ever had and, given the funds, I would go back in a heartbeat!

Ryan Ranaweera, Senior ECRM Manager
This year I’m spending Christmas in Mauritius. It almost feels like I am in a different world! Being able to work in such tropical and unspoilt surroundings is amazing and the locals treat you as part of their family, which makes the island feel homely. I’ve climbed mountains, fed giant turtles, windsurfed on huge waves, enjoyed a midnight bbq on the beach and cycled along a waterfall path, so it has been quite eventful to say the least!

Yagmur Guven, Strategic Partnerships Director
This year I came to the realisation even more so than before that, although it is not always possible to work through all of our issues in a single lifetime, it is important we confront what we are called to face in this life and deal with the challenges thrown in our path. It is also important to remember the most effective way to let your soul grow is to be an active participant in life. I learnt to be present in each moment and let my soul do this work for me.

James Hunt, Senior ECRM Manager
Having not been camping before, I was a little reticent to pack a tent in the car and head up to Keswick in the Lake District this summer. Once I got there however, I was blown away by the stunning landscape and had a thoroughly enjoyable time.

To sign off, I would like to wish all our advertisers, networks, agencies and blog readers a very Merry Christmas, and a Happy New Year!

Azam Marketing’s Christmas and New Year Opening Hours: we are always open 365 days a year to service our clients and partners and will be available our usual 08:00 to 22:30 GMT every day.

Visit our blog throughout 2010 to keep up the with the latest events and industry news. You can subscribe on this page. If you’d like to contact our friendly team please email us at results [at] azam.net or ring +44 (0) 20 7436 4496 anytime.

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Azam Marketing is pleased to announce we are now managing the UK2.Net affiliate program.

UK2.Net is one of the biggest and fastest growing web hosting companies in the UK and has been a major player in the web hosting industry since 1998, having sold over a million domain names, and being host to thousands of websites and dedicated servers for customers across the globe.

UK2.Net already has an established affiliate program and we look forward to helping them expand their campaign over the coming months.

Patrick McCarthy, UK2’s Commercial Director, says, “There is a lot more to managing an affiliate programme than meets the eye.  Multiplying the complexity by the 4 networks we use at UK2, we soon realised that we would need help to ensure that the campaign reaches its full potential.  A short selection process left us without a doubt that Azam Marketing was the right candidate.”

We are delighted to have won this client and look forward to working with Patrick and the UK2 team to grow their program and help affiliates boost their sales.

The UK2.Net affiliate program is live on four different networks, Aff.Biz, Commission Junction, Tradedoubler and Affiliate Future and affiliates can earn up to 25% on the latter three, with even more on Aff.biz.

As well as massive commissions, UK2.net also offer the following benefits:

• Premier tracking tools with multiple deployments and Sub IDs
• Regularly updated newsletters and fresh, fast creatives
• Exceptional support from Azam Marketing and the UK2.Net in-house marketing team.

Together, Azam and UK2.Net have some fantastic initiatives planned for the upcoming months.

Already, UK2.Net has set up an exclusive voucher promotion offering £5 Off any UK2 website hosting product. The voucher is valid until 31^st December giving affiliates plenty of time to increase their festive sales.

Customers simply need to enter the promotion code AFX001 at checkout to claim their discount.

UK2.Net also has lots of great offers for customers, including ‘buy one get one half price’ on all UK2 Dedicated Servers, as well as £50 Off their first month’s payment when they sign up to Microsoft® WebsiteSpark ™.

Customers can get £50 OFF* their first month, even if they don’t buy a second server. This offer only applies to the first 120 servers, so hurry – don’t miss out!

Azam Marketing is keen to make the UK2.Net affiliate program the best in its sector. We are interested to hear what you think makes a great webhosting program, please email sinead [at] azam.net or call me on +44 (0)7984 771 907. You can also contact Nadeem on +44 (0)20 7436 4496 between 08.00 and 22.30 GMT or email nadeem [at] azam.net .

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The European Parliament has seen sense and rejected its earlier opt-in amendment for cookies that would have wreaked havoc amongst internet users by requiring repeated pop-up windows or other intrusive virtual labels upon every web page visited by a user. (Full details can be found here.)

The EU was trying to protect or alert consumers from tracking systems they may or may not know they are party to, but perhaps in a misguided way under the original plans. Commentators were concerned the legislation on cookies would have had a dramatic effect on some forms of online marketing. Worst hit could have been affiliate marketing, as both affiliates and affiliate networks heavily rely on cookies to identify where a customer is referred from and in most cases apportion commissions correctly.

Although I understand these concerns and was pleased to hear that web users will not have to opt in to every single cookie, I believe the EU’s actions have given rise to an important debate about their future.

As much as cookies play an integral role in e-commerce and analytics, they are not entirely reliable. They can be deleted or overwritten by other sites and there has even been speculation about ‘super cookies’ which merchants and networks may attribute sales to even if they were not the last cookies dropped.

To counteract such issues, many affiliate networks such as Paid on Results, Affiliate Window and Webgains already employ other means of tracking affiliate transactions. In recent research, Paid on Results estimated that at least 10% of affiliate sales are lost through traditional cookie tracking methods.

A while back Affiliate Future announced their new patented tracking technology , VeraciTag™, which they say offers an alternative, more accurate tracking solution to cookies, and works by storing anonymous tracking information in the web browser of the user’s computer meaning the tags cannot be blocked, as cookies can and consumer privacy is protected. At the same time, they claim affiliates should benefit from an increased number of tracked sales, and so higher earnings.

All of the above indicates that, although many people were concerned that the new EU legislation could have made some Internet businesses redundant, it appears that the innovative and constantly evolving nature of the Internet is already phasing out traditional cookie tracking methods.

It would have been interesting to see what effect, if any, the EU’s cookie ruling would have had on the Internet community and whether it would have been a major catastrophe as some people feared or just a storm in a teacup.

What do you think? Please feel free to add your comments below or email me at sinead [at] azam.net with your thoughts on the matter.
Recommended Link: Start 2010 on a more professional footing. Get 250 free business cards and a free business card holder. Click here.

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We’re pleased to announce that Azam Marketing is now working with Jim Kinloch at Signature Gifts to manage the affiliate programs for Gone Digging and Historic Newspapers, two of the UK’s fastest-growing brands for personalised and unique gifts.

Having grown to discover he is one of the most ambitious and proactive marketing managers in the industry, we asked Jim to tell us about a typical day:

07:45am – The alarm goes off. I pretend it hasn’t happened and turn over… it doesn’t work. I rally my bones and get breakfast and a shower.

08:30 – I drive to work whilst a) admiring the autumnal Hertfordshire countryside, b) wondering when I’ll be able to buy an Alfa Romero Brera S, and c) trying to remember where I left that leaflet about Tai Chi in St. Albans.

08:45 – Arrive at work, make strong black coffee and log on to the PC. Read email and reply to a couple of affiliates who have featured GoneDigging in an offline publication. Chat with Sam, our in-house SEO guy, about the competitions currently running on our blog. Exchange banter with Tim, the top designer and pun-engine. Sip coffee and plough through more email including new sign-ups to our Facebook Fan Page, Tweet alerts and Google alerts on competitors.

09:15 – A bit later than normal, I check our stats on Webgains and see that a lot of sales are coming through from voucher code sites. Sunday was a good day – I wonder whether this is just seasonal or whether our decision to increase affiliate commissions in the run up to Christmas has made our sales tiers more achievable? Historic Newspapers is also performing well through PPC.

GoneDigging are due to run more advertising in national newspapers and TV listing magazines later this week. With an email campaign due to go out as well, everything is looking positive.

10:00 – Paul, our PPC guy, arrives and we discuss our latest search campaigns. We also reflect briefly on October’s stats which saw our traffic percentage rise above one of our competitors for a full month for the first time.

I ponder on the upcoming email sendout for our new range of Personalised Christmas Cards. We’re testing a full-length email with 14 gift spots against a smaller ‘post card’ version. My money is on the shorter version winning the A/B test.

11:22 – Call Nadeem at Azam Marketing and run through our current action points, including sponsoring affiliate competitions using our best selling personalised Football Club History Books. We also arrange where we’re going to meet tomorrow for an affiliate networking event.

I field a sales call from an email list provider touting for business before phoning David Vince, our Webgains Account Manager, to discuss affiliate recruitment.

13:00 – Rather promptly stop for lunch: a tasty salad made for my South Beach Diet regime followed by a short walk outside to get some fresh air.

13:32 – Return to desk refreshed and talk to Sam about picking the winner from over 500 entries in our blog competition. The winner receives a bottle of personalised Champagne, and two runners up get a choice of Daily Mirror spoof newspapers.

Spend the next couple of hours answering emails and reviewing some software to help our affiliate marketing efforts.

15:30 – Time for a black tea. I take 5 minutes to look at our Twitter streams. Nothing to re-tweet so far, so move on to looking at our dashboard of stats and a particular segment that has potential to grow next quarter.

15:44 – Check out the A4U forum for interesting blogs and forum posts. I contemplate offering some exclusive short-term offers to encourage sales. I’m pleased with the growth of the GoneDigging affiliate program since the start of October but there’s still a lot to do…

18:10 – Drive home in the dark. No countryside to look at, just the occasional burst of headlights. De-brief myself on the success of the day and what needs to be done tomorrow and the rest of the week. I make a mental note to write some more posts on the forums, promote the increased commissions for Christmas, and push the new Easy Content Units that we’ve made available.

19:00 – Eat and wash up, followed by the news on TV.

20:00 – Answer an email from a writing friend. We’re both entering a comedy writing competition called the Sitcom Trials and are working on our scripts. This is our second attempt, having failed to get into the competition last year. I wonder why I keep entering these competitions when I never win, but remember that you have to keep plugging away…

23:00 – Time for bed; I seemed to have packed in a lot today. I dream about Alfa exhaust notes, my trousers being too big, giant coffee cups, Tai Chi in the kitchen and a fading memory.

The Gone Digging and Historic Newspapers affiliate programs are on Webgains, and pay up to 20% commission on sales. For more information please contact jim.kinloch [at] signature-gifts.co.uk or nadeem [at] azam.net.

STOP PRESS: Readers of this blog can take advantage of free embossing on all Gone Digging sports books with voucher code AZAMXMAS until 17/12/2009. Enter code at checkout to redeem this exclusive offer.

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With Christmas drawing ever closer, it’s tempting to overindulge in all the scrumptious party food and drinks that the season brings. However, it’s shocking to learn that in the UK around 43% of men and 33% of women are overweight with a further 22% of men and 23% of women falling into the obese category. A fact which should make most people think before reaching for those delicious but calorie-ridden mince pies!

We asked affiliate manager Joseph Hammond-Hagan to tell us more:

How long have you been working with Cho-Yung?

I’ve been with Cho-Yung since June this year. I’ve been working in the online industry for a number of years across search, affiliate and media sales.

Why did Cho-Yung decide to launch a slimming tea onto the UK market?

The UK, like the US, is facing an obesity crisis and many people are looking for methods to help them lose weight. Our tea is a unique, all-natural product that offers customers a real opportunity to lose weight without drastically altering their lifestyle.

How does the tea work?

The simplest way to explain it is that Cho-Yung works by oxidising fat and passing it out the body. During the first couple of days of drinking the tea, some people find that they need to go to the loo more often than they had previously which shows that the tea is working (and don’t worry – the need to go will lessen as your body gets used to the tea!)

How much weight can people expect to lose?

That really all depends on the individual. Cho-Yung is not a magic potion: if you’re eating lots of junk food then the beneficial effects are obviously cancelled out. However, by drinking two cups a day and making small changes to your eating habits, customers can expect to see an improvement in their weight and general wellbeing.

How do we know that the customer testimonials on your site are genuine?

Customers need to feel secure in their purchase and one way to to do this is through independent testimonials. Each customer is interviewed before their testimonial goes live on the site and they have to give us their permission. We also have video testimonials on Youtube.

How is Cho-Yung tea different to all the other slimming products in the market?

Cho Yung tea is synergistic, which means that the effects of the various ingredients are greater than the sum of their parts. In addition to the tea itself, we include lotus leaf and Chinese Hawthorn to optimise digestion, Alisma to reduce bloating, Jiaogulan to regulate the digestive system, and Cassia seeds and Poria to support the internal organs, notably the heart, spleen and kidneys.

Why do you think Western people are cynical of products like Cho-Yung tea?

I don’t think it’s Western people per se. In the USA, wellbeing products are big business but in my experience, UK audiences are less willing to try new things and take more convincing. If someone takes the decision to lose weight, it’s a considerable undertaking and if that person has tried a number of different diets without much success, then there is bound to be cynicism about what might be perceived as the next ‘wonder’ product.

On our website customers can read a research document which shows that our tea does work.

What can affiliates expect?

We have put a lot of energy into the affiliate program and provide affiliates with instructional videos, free monthly webinars, and a wide range of supporting banners and links. Affiliates can earn up to £90 CPA and no sales validations are required as long as conversion rates remain above 50%.

Do you have any other diet and weight loss products in the pipeline?

We are looking to launch a number of complimentary products over the next few months, so watch this space!

The Cho-Yung affiliate program pays up to £90 CPA for valid sales. To promote the program, please sign up on Affiliate Future or DGM. We also have samples of Cho-Yung tea available – please contact karen [at] azam.net if you would like to receive one in the post and try it for yourself!

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I see most affiliates starting their journeys in this industry making the same misjudgements I did and it frustrates me because I don’t want them to waste months of their precious time as I have done. So the purpose of this talk at a4uexpo London was not just to embarrass myself, but to enable people to learn from my mistakes and thereby save themselves many thousands of hours on their journey to affiliate marketing riches.

I am flattered hundreds of you chose to turn up for the presentation when there were what seemed to informative talks by others such as Google at the same time, and thank you for the many kind remarks afterwards. And my apologies for assaulting your ear-drums with the most appalling karaoke you’re ever likely to hear!

Here’s the slides for the talk I gave on the following day: The Affiliate Sales Kit – Writing Killer Proposals and Selling Yourself to Merchants.

Check out my colleague Karen’s write-up of the conference here. There are quite a few reviews of the event in the blogosphere, such as here at GeoffBlog.com.

You may leave feedback about any of the speaker sessions on the a4uexpo website here.

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I’ve had a lot of people contacting me requesting the slides of my talks at the A4U Expo and so am making them available in this and the next post.

I am not a disciple of the ‘Death by Powerpoint’ school of thought and firmly believe Powerpoints should help annotate a presentation, not be the presentation itself – how tedious is is it when a presenter spends an hour reading out his Powerpoints to an audience?! – so my slides never impart most of the information in my talks, but hey ho, it’s all we’ve got for the meanwhile (I’ve read in the A4U Expo blog the videos of all the presentations are being edited and will be online in a few week’s time).

I’ll start with the talk which was entitled ‘The Affiliate Sales Kit – Writing Killer Proposals and Selling Yourself To Merchants’. This was presented with the terrific Grant Reid, Senior Consultant at Stream:20.

Here are Grant’s slides:

And here are mine:

Here’s an example document showing how to project oneself professionally to advertisers that I referred to in the talk:

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