I downloaded issue 4 of FeedFront Magazine (the official magazine of Affiliate Summit) today and was delighted to see that the cover feature is “The Women of Affiliate Marketing” – a collection of 56 brief bios listing years of experience, a tip to new affiliates and some comment on where they see the industry one year from today.

Shawn Collins introduced the piece as follows…

“Back in the late nineties, it was not unusual to attend an affiliate marketing event (or any
online marketing event for that matter) and see very few women in the room“.

No kidding. Then again, a few of us old-timers really enjoyed being the only female in the room.

Shawn went on to say…

“Fast-forward ten years later and you’ll find that the opposite is true. Affiliate marketing is overflowing with women who are leaders in their fields or bright, up-and-coming innovators“.

Melissa Salas’ of Buy.com shared a great tip for new affiliates. She said, “Affiliates need to evaluate programs holistically, in terms of brand recognition, conversion, reliability, convenience, security, and guaranteed customer satisfaction.“

Lisa Riolo’s honest and sage advice – “Don’t give up too soon. The learning curve is deceptively steep. Consistent, predictable success takes time. If you understand this, you’ll have realistic expectations and sufficient patience to get to the fun part.“

I really liked Deborah Carney’s take on the future … “I see affiliate marketing evolving away from mega mall sites into more review sites and interactive sites. More retail and less lead generation as the economy changes the way people shop plus the regulatory agencies jumping in and restricting tactics that people are finding intrusive or misleading.“

I agree wholeheartedly.

How could I not? It’s a model that worked exceptionally well when I started in this business, works even better now and is what I’ve been preaching since I started teaching.

By the way, of the 56 women profiled, only 2 of us claimed 11 years experience – Linda Woods and I – and as of January 1st, I’m in my 12th year as an affiliate marketer.

Moreover, I’m still going strong… with review sites.