Top Affiliate Challenge Wraps Up – An Overall Success
- Comments: 9
- Written on: July 16th, 2008
Yesterday the last of the Top Affiliate Challenge Contestants headed home. I took a day today off the grid to ground myself back into real reality and refocus on saome other projects.
Over the next week or two we are planning to do a complete post-morteum on the show. We are going to identify things that worked, things that could have gone better, and most importantly, re-edit some of the early episodes.
Just off the cuff, the show was an amazing success. While we didn’t make a pile of cash or win an oscar or anything, we demonstrated that what we set out to do could be done. Could it be done better? Of course. But to everyone who told us it could not be done at all, WE DID IT.
This was a pilot season designed as a proof of concept. We needed to create a show that would draw the eyeballs of one of the most desired demographics in the affiliate marketing industry – up and coming affiliate marketers. It was pretty clear that the experienced guys out there thought the show was a bit elementary for their tastes, but they were not our target audience.
There is no doubt in my mind that all 12 of the contestants on our show learned from the experience and are better affiliate marketers because of it. Even our show’s winner, Jonathan Van Clute picked up some tidbits that he had never considered before.
While the show was a success through the prisim of its own internal goals, it is important to note that it was a success for our sponsors as well.
To be a part of the show this season, affiliate networks had to pay $1,500 to have their offers available to the contestants. Just about all of the participating networks had $1,500 or more pumped back through their networks, making the show an extremely affordable advertising and awareness vehicle.
There are definately some things we will improve for Season 2, and interest from potential sponsors is already trickling in. We should have an early-bird rate card by mid August.
Unless something massive changes, we do plan to hold the show in Nebraska again next season. Knock it if you want, but its where the show is going to be because that is where over 70% of our sponsors were from Season 1.
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- Comments: 9
How does giving 50% of their profits to you help an up-and-coming affiliate marketer?
It was a trainwreck that’s what it was. Now I know why you didn’t have a rule that the people couldn’t use their own money, (to make things fair). It’s because 50% is going into your own pocket.
Greedy greedy.
I thoroughly enjoyed being part of Top Affiliate Challenge!
Both Omaha and Lincoln – and ALL the sponsors and other establishments we visited within them – were GREAT!
@feelreality – I appreciate all of the feedback you have given throughout the show, but like most people in life, my time is valuable, and I need top be paid for work that is put in. So do many others. I could have sold a DVD set at the end, charged people to audition, or tried to raise another $70,000 from sponsors.
No matter which way I decided to do it, I would have been blasted. I definately will adjust things next season to compensate for people who throw in a bunch of money. I never anticipated that people would do that to the extent they did, and the 1/2 rule was established LONG before I knew they would.
If it means anything to you, assuming all of the commissions are paid by the networks (some of them were pulled because of shady promotion methods) I am walking away with about $2,000 for six months of work. Pretty bad form a financial standpoint.
BUT I will mention again that the real purpose was to show it could be done and now that we have a proven product, gaining additional funding to make season 2 the gem it needs to be should be a snap.
ah, so you have taken to scrubbing comments when You don’t like them. Proof that you are in fact a failure!
No Chris, as you can see I let negative comments through if they further the discussion. When people start leaving comments under multiple names so they can flame me more than once I delete those.
I’m really glad to hear there’s going to be another season, Thor. Can’t wait to see it!
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