Tag Archives: bloosky

Thoughts on Tracking202

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There have been plenty of posts about the re-acquisition of Tracking202 by Wes Mahler and Steven Truong, so I’m not going to rehash those here.  All the buzz and discussion about this topic, as well as the original sale to Bloosky, have made me think quite a bit about what was the cause of all this.

Fact is, there would never have been a sale to Bloosky or a re-acquisition in the first place if Wes & Steven hadn’t poured out their sweat and their wallets to create a truly original product.  Although there are competitors now, when 202 came out it was the first of its kind on the block.  They were able to capture almost the entire market for the affiliate tracking software niche with little trouble or competition.

Marketers can take this to heart the next time they are getting frustrated by the arbitrage game.  There is much more out there to making money online than buying traffic from someone and selling it to someone else for more money.  The true innovators in the online space (and in the business world in general) are the people who offered a solution for the needs of their clients in a new (or just better) way.

When you create your own product to promote, you are in control.  There are no advertisers to scrub leads or networks to withhold payment, you are the be-all and end-all of your online empire.  Granted, this is much easier said than done, but the rewards are evident everywhere you look.

Just look at Marcus from Plenty of Fish.  He now has Match.com demanding to know how POF gets more new users every month than they could dream of, and they’ve got huge funding behind them.  Markus Frind started POF all on his own, and kept it simple, and believed in it.  Now they are a force to be reckoned with in the dating industry.

I guess what I’m trying to say is this: you have ideas all the time.  You know, the ones that get scribbled down on a piece or paper or just mentally filed back there in your brain with all the other things that will never come to fruition.  Take some time to develop these ideas.  They don’t have to be perfect when you start out, they just need to exist.  You can fine-tune things later.

If you create something that will be a long term asset today, you will be glad for it tomorrow when the next big affiliate industry shake up comes along.  Trust me.

Ad-Tech SF 2010: I Can Has Traffics?

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As I walked through the Exhibit Hall of Moscone Center West for Ad-Tech San Francisco 2010, I got the feeling that I was one of many.  Many affiliates and advertisers that have been scorned by Google and, most recently, Facebook.  Many people that were looking for the next big thing, or even better, the traffic source with killer ROI that nobody knows about.  You probably won’t hear a lot of people blogging or tweeting about what they found, but based on my experience I would say that most people got their money’s worth.  Especially if they knew what they were looking for.

For me, the real value was in the three events that I attended on Tuesday. First was the AffBuzz meetup at ‘Wichcraft, an excellent sandwich shop just a couple blocks from the convention center.  This was a great event because there was nobody sponsoring it, it was just affiliates and bloggers chilling and talking shop over lunch (that we paid for ourselves). I hope Justin decides to continue the meetup at future shows.

The second event was the Meetup202 event put on by Bloosky / Tracking202.  Say what you will about Bloosky and their nefarious schemes to make money off the of 202 users, they do know how to throw a good event.  I’m not just saying that because I walked away with a free iPad either, although it rocks (I’m sure I’ll post about that later).  All of the Meetup202 events I have been to at conferences have been the highlight.  I would travel just to go to the meetup, because the caliber of the people there is second to none.

I got to chat with Jon Shugart, the creator of Keyword Rockstar.  He’s a cool guy, really sharp and excited about his product.  I use it myself and I would definitely recommend checking it out. I’ve been meaning to do a review, maybe I’ll get around to it next month.

Finally, the PPC.bz / EWA Network party was definitely real.  They chose to have it at a full on concert venue instead of the typical tiny club or packed out hotel suite.  I personally liked this approach, as it gave everyone a little bit more room to spread out, mix, and mingle.

There wasn’t really anything spectacular or memorable that stuck out to me about the Exhibit Hall.  However, I did leave with the feeling that this was a good show and that I am going to make more money because of it.  And that’s all these things are really about, right?