Direct Agents Josh Boaz an interview

How did you get into affiliate marketing?

I started working in the affiliate marketing space in 2001 as a media buyer.  This was after the dot-com bust when advertisers were very reluctant to buy online ads on a CPM basis, and publishers had a tremendous amount of unsold inventory.  CPA pricing models made sense at the time to take some of the risk off of advertisers, and hold publishers accountable for the quality of their inventory.    Back then a lot of time was spent educating both advertisers and publishers on the benefits of such an approach.  Thankfully, in the years since, the affiliate marketing industry has evolved and grown at such a tremendous pace.

What was your biggest challenge getting into affiliate marketing?

When I first started in the industry, many larger brand advertisers would not consider affiliate marketing as an element of their online marketing program.  The whole concept of performance based marketing did not interest traditional advertisers.  As an agency, Direct Agents recognized their concerns early on and adapted our practices and services to cater to their needs.  We showed advertisers that there could be a balance possible between protecting their brand while still delivering measureable results through performance solutions.  We’ve seen widespread adoption of this approach in the last few years especially, and now count many Fortune 1000 advertisers as our clients.

What are the main things that merchants do that you wish they wouldn’t?

One of the most interesting aspects of our industry is how fast-paced and dynamic it is.  Occasionally merchants don’t realize this and the pace at which they operate, whether it be creating new promotions or finalizing reporting, does not match the needs of affiliates.

Tell me about your Direct Agents.

My brother Dinesh and I founded Direct Agents in March 2003.  Direct Agents is a full service, digital marketing agency that specializes in affiliate marketing, lead generation, search marketing, media buying and creative services.   We provide customized performance based online marketing solutions for advertisers and pride ourselves on our level of service to both advertisers and publishers.  From our inception, we have focused on quality and have helped connect brand advertisers with top-tier publishers and affiliates.  Direct Agents is based in the Soho area of New York City but we have clients and affiliates all over the world including the UK, Germany, Australia, France, Italy and Spain.

What are the main things affiliates do that you wish they wouldn’t?

I think the biggest thing that affiliates do that I wish they wouldn’t is not follow compliance rules or keyword guidelines.  Whatever short-term gain that may be achieved by violating advertiser guidelines is almost always outweighed by the long-term loss in revenue from being blocked from a campaign.

Where do you see growth in the affiliate field?

International growth is a big factor.  I also think that emerging technologies and mediums such as social media and mobile marketing are diversifying the playing field.  In addition, bigger brands such as Fortune 1000 companies are now coming on board and are interested in affiliate marketing.  In order to work with these companies, and keep them interested in affiliate marketing as a viable marketing channel, affiliate marketers must adapt.  Overall as an industry we must take a more strategic outlook, and provide better service, transparency, and focus on long-term quality over short term gains. I strongly believe that affiliates and agencies that take this approach will be the ones that see continued growth in the years to come.

What do you do that is green?

Right now we at Direct Agents have set a goal to go 100% paperless.  We are digitizing over 7 years of paper archives, and have switched to electronic signatures and e-filing of contracts and insertion orders.

Personally, I ride the subway to work and make an effort to buy from local stores and markets.

What is one thing about you that not many people know?

While working full time at Direct Agents I was pursuing my law degree from Fordham University.  I graduated from the evening program this past May and I just sat for the New York State bar. I plan to use my law license to help further our business.  As Direct Agents and the industry expands, there are countless new legal and regulatory issues we will collectively face, both nationally and internationally.

What’s your favorite book?

That’s a tough question, but some of my recent favorites- The Road by Cormac McCarthy and Let the Great World Spin by Colum McCann.

What are your contact details?

josh@directagents.com

AIM: joshboaz

LinkedIn: Josh Boaz

Twitter: DirectAgents

Blog: blog.directagents.com

What events do you go to?

I try and go to as many industry conferences as I can.  Some conferences that I have attended include, ASW, LeadsCon, ad:tech San Francisco, ad:tech London, ad:tech New York, SES, A4U and OMMA.

What one thing can people do to help you?

I would like affiliates and clients to let me know what their needs are in advance of a campaign starting.  This way we can make sure that everybody is satisfied once the campaign begins running.  I also enjoy receiving feedback in general about experiences people have had working with our company.  We are always evolving and adapting and really look to our partners and clients in giving us direction and feedback.

I interviewed Marshall Sponder way back at Adtech New York. Marshall Sponder run http://www.webmetricsguru.com/  and gave a  good interview.

You can follow Marshall Sponder on twitter here: http://twitter.com/WebMetricsGuru

Tell me about your Diablo Media?

Diablo Media is an exclusive network. Our team is comprised of highly talented professionals, working together to generate high quality traffic and reliable leads. Through an advanced lead qualification process and innovative technology platform, we deliver the type of results that our clients have come to trust and rely on.

We run and operate a full-service performance driven advertising network serving the global market place. We maintain direct relationships with many of the largest online properties worldwide including a vast network of high quality web, email, and search publishers.

How did you get into affiliate marketing?

My first career after college turned out not to be the right fit for me and I was looking for a change. At that time my older brother, Shea Mercado, who had been in the space for a few years before me, was able to refer me to a company in Orange County, Ideal Exposure.  Luckily the interview went well and they gave me a shot… the rest is history.

What was your biggest challenge getting into affiliate marketing?

My biggest challenge getting into affiliate marketing was understanding the lingo. To someone new or outside of this industry, the way we talk can seem like a completely foreign language (i.e. conversions, epc, cpa, pixels, etc…). Once I understood the language and how to integrate the technology side with the sales aspect it became like second nature.

What are the main things merchants do that you wish they wouldn’t?

I wish merchants/advertisers would create sustainable campaigns. Sometimes flashy offers come around but at the end of the day they cannot support the traffic once it starts working.  The more quality campaigns that are available with a long shelf life the better.

Where do you see growth in the affiliate field? 

I think the backbone will continue to be a combination of email, search, and display marketing. However there definitely seems to be growth coming in the field of mobile and SMS advertising.

What do you do that is green?

Almost all of my bills and payments are processed online. I suppose it’s not the “greenest” thing I could be doing but at least I am elimating writing checks and getting unecessary mail.

What is one thing about you that not many people know?

I am half hispanic and lived in Southern California my entire life, yet I have still never been to Mexico. Most people who I’ve told are surprised.

What is on your iPod?

A pretty good variety with a strong collection of John Mayer,  NeYo, and Michael Jackson.  Also a lot of mainstream top 40 music… with the exception of country. 

What’s your favorite book?

The DaVinci Code

What are your contact details (email, company, blog, Facebook, MySpace, forums etc) ?

bryn@(nospam)diablomedia.com , Diablo Media LLC, www.diablomedia.com , IM: DiabloMediaBryn

What events do you go to?

Regularly attend Affiliate Summit Events and both AdTech New York and San Francisco.

Who would recommend you and why?

Interesting question because I do not like to speak on behalf of others. However, I would like to think that if my name was mentioned amongst clients I have worked with, there would be some positive feedback. If that is the case then I feel that I am doing some things right and that’s all I can ask.

Who would you recommend and why?

While I prefer not to name drop here, I believe I have met some quality people and companies in this industry. Although the advertising and technology play a significant role, companies are not what they are without the people who run them. Some good examples are Frontline Direct, AKMG, Tracking202, and AdFlavor just to name a few.

What one thing can people do to help you?

The one thing people can do to help me is to send referrels my way at Diablo Media. Since I work in Publisher Relations at Diablo the main thing that helps me is quailty affiliates and quality traffic.

Yesterday was the first day of adtech New York 2009 at the Javits centre.

The Javits centre is very different from the there is space from the Hilton there is space to breath. This year’s adtech has seen more people than ever attending the first day with a busy Exhibition floor and exhibitors telling me they were getting to speak with more people than ever.

The change of venue means that Exhibit hall is all on one floor, gone are the days of the slow top floor and the show has a feel much more like that of the San Francisco show. Good move adtech.

What was the buzz of the show on the first day? Well the mood is still cautions but business has been picking up briskly in the last couple of months. Continuity offers seem to still be the flavour of the year on the offers site. Mobile and social media are starting to come of age bringing both opportunity and challenges.

The headlines and heroes party, the official adtech party was a great event and I would live to thank Graham Eric and the rest of the team at Clickbooth for their hospitality and the VIP pass.

I want to interview You during ad:tech New York for Affiliate Summit

I will be doing video interviews during  adtech New York that we will host on the Affiliate Summit Blog as well as on GeekCast.fm. I will be will be roaming the ad:tech floor looking for folks to interview you.

I will be calling by the Affiliate Summit booth (#1455)  from time to time during the show, do drop by and see me, Shawn Collins and Missy Ward.

If you do not know ad:tech New York this year is on November 4-5 at Javits Center.

adtech new york 2009

What is it about? Networking and doing business

The conference: 200+ speakers and 60+ value-driven panels with topics ranging from online video ads to social media to multi-channel marketing.

The expo: 250+ exhibitors, seven keynote presentations, exclusive parties, lunch forums & more!

And According to Steve Hall and the adtech blog Party Party Part

Photo by Steve Hall http://adrants.com/

But more than that the show is one of the main events of the year in. It is the biggest Affiliate Marketing conference each year with I think I am right in saying 10,000 people attending. If you have not booked your flight yet for adtech New York 2009 then get on with it. www.ad-tech.com/ny/