Livemercial and AsSeenOnTVNetwork

http://adamriemer.me/

Please NOTE
As of June of 2009, Adam no longer works for Livemercial and AsSeenOnTVNetwork.

I am kicking off a new series with Affiliate Marketer’s and my first interview is with Adam Riemer, Senior Director at Livemercial and AsSeenOnTVNetwork.com.  I chose Adam for the sole reason that he holds good parties! Well, that and the fact he is doing a great job at Livermecial, growing both affiliate numbers and revenues by several multiples since his arrival at the company six months ago.

Adam has been an active member in numerous marketing communities over the years, including his preferred ones: abestweb.com, 5 Star Affiliates and Webmaster World.  Adam has had a meteoric career since he started, and is still a Spring Chicken at the age of 29, or 25 again ;-).

Interview with Adam Riemer:

Q. How did you get into affiliate marketing?

A. I was working with a small start up company that did not have much of a budget and they needed a way to compete with the bigger players in their niche.  Because the budgets were very small and we had to be conservative with them, we stumbled across Commission Junction and heard the term Affiliate Marketing/Performance Based Marketing.  When we researched it more, we found it as a perfect solution to be able to reach our audience and remain within our budgets since we would be able to pay on performance only.   We also viewed it as a perfect way to compliment our SEO because we would be able to partner with sites that already rank for the competitive terms that we were having trouble getting.  Affiliate marketing seemed like a perfect fit for us, and sure enough it turned out to be one.

Q. What was your biggest challenge getting into affiliate marketing?

A. Finding ways to compete with established Managers and Programs and as a newbie at the time.  We had to convince Affiliates who were already partnered with competitors to come on board with us.  After a while I was able to build a solid relationship with numerous top and new publishers and from that point on it has been a great experience. 

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

A. Merchants tend focus solely on the top performers in their programs and forget to help grow their new Affiliates who are just getting into the game.  With proper support from the Managers, new Affiliates can easily begin turning into gems and top performers.  Merchant’s also forget that although their top Affiliates do drive a ton of revenue for them, if they ever leave, they are going to need to rely on the little guys and the Affiliates who only send a sale every now and those Affiliates really do add up to a lot. 

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

A. Trademark bid when they are not allowed and use adware.  Sure they can make a ton of money with it but it really causes a hassle for the Managers and is never a good scene when they get expired for breaking a Merchant’s TOS and have their commissions reversed.   

Q. Where do you see growth in the affiliate field?

A. Right now I am seeing a ton of growth through Social Media.  It has been around for a long time, but at the same time, some Affiliates are really learning how to develop solid communities and drive a ton of repeat and new traffic for Merchants.

Q. What do you do to improve the world?

A. Last year I did the Susan G Komen 3 day walk to help fight breast cancer with Team Affiliate Marketers Give Back.  (time for a shameless plug)  Don’t forget to look for my donation page for this year’s walk too.

Q. What do you do that is green?

A. I began carpooling with co-workers.

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

A. I have a serious problem with Karaoke.  Even though I can’t sing to save my life and always complain if we have to go to a Karaoke night somewhere, I absolutely love to get on stage and sing.

Q. What is on your iPod?

A. Right now I am listening to Tony Moran, Clubland 2.

Q. What’s your favorite book?

A. It really depends on my mood.  My favorite authors are Gregory McGuire, Laurell K. Hamilton, Kim Harrison and Vicki Pettersson.

Q. What are your contact details (email, company, blog, facebook, myspace, forums etc) ?

A. AdamRiemer hotmail.com, Livemercial and AsSeenOnTVNetwork.com, http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#/profile.php?id=711661456,

Rollerblader, Liquid1, Liquidate and a few others.

Q. Who would you recommend and why?

A. Some Programs and Networks, besides the ones I manage ;-), include:
Share a Sale – They have some of the best customer support and I love the make a page tools and deals database.  They are also very economical and have a ton of very niche sites which help to build a brand.
Bridaluxe – You cannot ask for a better Manager and Network Owner than Jeff James.  He seriously goes out of his way for Merchants and Affiliates.
Buy.at – One reason, Kim Salvino is there and she is top notch in everything she does.
Beau Coup  – Robert is very attentive and always addresses issues in a timely manner.
Mad Hatter – Kristen runs a very tight ship and makes sure you get what you need when you need it.
Andy Rodriguez Consulting – After meeting Andy in person, how could you not want to run his offers or work with him?
7 Days a Week  – Ron is a quiet giant.  He has a solid track record for taking care of his Clients and understands what makes a program work for both the Merchant and Affiliate.
There are a ton more as well like Team Loxly, Jason Rubaky and Amazon.