Social Networks, the New Affiliate Frontier

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I was just chatting with Marty Fahncke as part of the Affiliate Summit 2006 Preview Conference Call Series.

After discussing the use of blogs by affiliates, Marty asked about some other ways that affiliates could promote their affiliate links. I touched on PPC arbitrage, loyalty sites, e-mail, data feeds, etc., I said I thought social networks were going to be an emerging type of affiliate in the coming year.

Social networks like MySpace.com, LinkedIn and Friendster have become increasingly popular, as they offer a more robust community environment than a discussion forum. Recently, they’ve permeated affiliate marketing with the launch of Return on Affiliate. Affiliate Summit is getting in on the action with the Affiliate Summit Social Network.

Earlier today, I saw that the most frequently searched term in the search engines, according to Wordtracker, is myspace.com. It’s clearly an area that should not be ignored, rather you should consider embracing it and monetizing it.

Anyhow, just about five minutes after I mentioned social networks on the conference call, I got an e-mail update from the Affiliate Classroom Blog with the title, “Social Network Sites: New Ad Channel.”

As Jeffrey Perren wrote in the Affiliate Classroom Blog, “Savvy affiliate marketers are going to be near the head of the line in using this new channel to increase income. And, bravo to those brave souls!”

If you’ve been waiting for the next big thing, here it is on a silver platter.

By the way, the one-hour conversation will be available for free soon at http://www.affiliatesummitpreview.com/