The name Kellie Stevens has long been associated with the integrity of affiliate marketing, and her work was recognized at Affiliate Summit West 2009 when she received the Affiliate Marketing Legend Pinnacle award.
Shawn Collins recently spoke with the legendary Stevens about his career, the prognosis for adware in the affiliate marketing industry, and the likelihood of the New Orleans Saints winning the Super Bowl in the next five years.
Shawn: How did you get started in affiliate marketing?
Kellie: I was facing leaving my previous career in physical therapy due to some questionable medical issues with my vision. I knew from my days working in community reintegration rehabilitation the many benefits and adaptations of computers for visually impaired. I was also looking for something I could do from home as public transportation is very limited in my area if I could no longer drive. I decided to try an online business, even though I had very little internet knowledge at the time. Ignorance is really bliss sometimes.
I bought a book to learn html and put up a website. I started researching online marketing to find ways to promote the website. In the course of that research, I came across affiliate marketing. I recognized the immediate value of affiliate marketing over other forms of marketing. I was immediately drawn to the channel and never looked back.
I guess you can say that I blindly stumbled upon affiliate marketing. It really is a case of something potentially negative in my life turning out to have a very positive influence. Fate really rocks sometimes!
Shawn: What was the first domain you bought?
Kellie: I’m not even going there. LOL.
Shawn:I see you worked in the health industry. If BHOs were a fatal health condition, what would they be?
Kellie: That is a difficult one. I guess I’d have to say Hansen’s disease, known as leprosy in layman’s terms. While not immediately fatal, if left unchecked or untreated, it can lead to very debilitating conditions that can lead to premature death. Leprosy causes serious impairments in critical areas of the body, such as the nervous and respiratory systems. There is a strong negative social stigma attached to leprosy. To a stranger looking at leprosy, he sees something that is obviously diseased with disfigurement and spots.
For anyone who is curious, yes, I did volunteer work at one of the few Hansen’s Disease Research Centers in the world.
Shawn:What has been the highlight of your time in affiliate marketing to date? What has been the lowlight?
Kellie: Fortunately, there have been many highlights. Any time I’m a small part of a bad affiliate being removed from a network or program or a change in policy that encourages fair competition and increases the real value of the affiliate marketing channel is a good day. I have been fortunate to have met many amazing people over the years who have taught me so much and helped me grow both professionally and personally. The biggest honor I have received was at this past Affiliate Summit in Las Vegas, where I won the Pinnacle Affiliate Marketing Legend award. I’m not one to get too caught up in awards, but having my efforts recognized by such a diverse cross-section of our industry has been a very rewarding and motivating experience.
I try not to think of things as low points, but as learning experiences. I’ve had my share of those too. I think one of the hardest things to come to terms with over the years is when my personal integrity and motivations have been attacked by those I’ve supported and defended when I didn’t react to an issue the way they thought I should. However, those times have reinforced in me the need to stay true to my overall beliefs and goals. So in the long run, the low points have helped me stay focused on the things that I feel are important in the bigger picture of the industry.
Shawn:What is the biggest goal you hope to achieve with AffiliateFairPlay.com?
Kellie: To help shape policy, define legitimate revenue generation, establish quality control policies and protocols, and define best practice standards within our industry that promote fair competition.
Shawn:What do you think is the biggest threat to affiliate marketing?
Kellie: We would have to tell ourselves. There have been so many times that we have seemed to be our worst enemy. Political infighting, personal attacks, egos, personal agendas with others, and the like seem to block productive advancement within the industry. I would also have to say that we need to develop our skills in critically evaluating the practices and business models that are considered by most to be acceptable use for affiliate marketing. For an industry of marketers, it seems that many times that marketing spin is easily accepted without critically evaluating what is actually being promoted.
Shawn:Which is more likely to happen in the next five years: the eradication of adware by affiliates or the New Orleans Saints in the Super Bowl?
Kellie: Definitely the New Orleans Saints in the Super Bowl. The adware will not go away.
Shawn:What should affiliate networks do tomorrow to help weed out the bad guys?
Kellie: That’s not a one-step process, nor is it necessarily easy. But the first step a network must take to “clean up the bad guys” is to establish a strong policy on what bad behavior really is, and then make a commitment to enforce that policy. There needs to be a mindset shift from allowing certain practices that generate short-term revenue to a strong policy on acceptable affiliate/publisher promotional methods that add real value to the affiliate channel.
Shawn:What is your favorite site today (not including anything related to affiliate marketing)?
Kellie: I’m not a big fan of having a “favorite” thing. I tend to like too many different kinds of things for that. I guess I’d have to say that the site I use the most on any given day is Google. I can find sites related to whatever my whim of the day is, no matter how dark it may be.
Shawn:What are some red flags that an affiliate is cheating?
Kellie: I really don’t like to go into that in great detail publicly. There is a constant battle by bad players to try to find out how much the people they are watching know and then devise techniques to avoid detection. Some affiliates have become quite sophisticated in these methods. And an electronic trail is always established if the affiliate wants to receive the ill-gotten commission. That’s the one thing they can’t avoid.
The most helpful thing any affiliate manager, OPM, merchant, or network can do to spot bad behavior is to really understand what techniques are currently being used. Once you understand what behaviors are being used, the “red flags” to look for become obvious.
I have always advised my clients that whenever a bad affiliate is detected; the real value is not an affiliate being removed from your program/network. A careful analysis of all data related to the affiliate’s account(s) should be made in relation to the type of techniques they were using. Over time, when all that data is analyzed, a pattern emerges that can be used to more quickly detect misbehavior and change identification methods being used. As “footprints” are established, more robust enforcement methods can be implemented.
Shawn:Do you see the rise of social media as a good or bad thing for affiliate marketing?
Kellie: I think it’s a good thing. It is another avenue that affiliates/publishers can follow. As with anything, there will be those who can use social media effectively in their marketing efforts and those who will bomb when trying to use social media.
I have seen some really interesting and innovative experiments by some affiliates looking at how social media can be leveraged in affiliate marketing. Many affiliates are willing to take the risk of experimenting with new technology and marketing approaches. I have always felt that this is a strength of the affiliate channel.
Shawn:What is the last book you read?
Kellie: I’m reading Robert Ludlum’s The Road to Omaha right now. I was in the mood for some satire on the political system and the human condition.
Shawn:Complete this sentence: Affiliate marketing was _____ five years ago, but now it’s _____.
Kellie: Affiliate marketing was a little kid five years ago, but it’s not a preteen.
Shawn:Do you think StopBadware.org is making a positive difference?
Kellie: I think they are probably providing benefits to consumers. They also provide a benefit to webmasters whose websites have been compromised by hackers. No system is going to be 100% accurate because automation is required to achieve the scale necessary for it to be meaningful. There will be false positives and negatives. The one thing I like about StopBadware is that there is an appeals process to address those issues that is clearly explained.
I’d like to see Google take a stronger stance on displaying its advertising in some of the very apps StopBadware flags. For one thing, they warn end users about certain types of software. But on the other hand, they are helping to financially support some of the same apps with their ad inventory. I hope that Google devotes more resources to protecting the integrity of its own ad inventory.
Shawn:What is your favorite movie?
Kellie: It really depends on my mood. However, I am a fan of old black and white movies. I don’t watch too many slasher movies or comedies that are slapstick. I think good dialogue is becoming a lost art with the advances being made in special effects.
I also admit that I’m a basket case when it comes to Pixar movies and other “kids” animated movies. I have no shame… I won’t even bother to bring a kid with me to see a lot of those movies.
