Affiliate News Sources, Blogs, & Forums

As you can imagine, Affiliates live in the digital world so there is an overwhelming tendency for most players to source their news, information and ‘insider scoops’ online.   However, several of the best sources of knowledge and information about the affiliate marketing industry are available in both digital and paper versions.

Best Affiliate Marketing News Sources and Publications

Below we list our ‘Best of the Best’ news sources for all things related to Affiliate Marketing.  Where these publications are available in either medium, we’ll note them; as to how you’d prefer to access them, we’ll leave that up to you.

www.Revenews.com We liken ReveNews as the ‘Forbes magazine’ of the affiliate world.  ReveNews summarizes itself this way in its ‘About Us’ page:

ReveNews is a trusted, unbiased source focusing on Internet related industries such as online marketing, SEM, affiliate marketing, retail (e-commerce), analytics, spyware, blogging and much more. ReveNews authors consist of highly respected thinkers, commentators and business people who have real experience and insight. ReveNews readers include industry gurus, top-level executives and CEO’s, plus many of the industry’s top net-repreneurs; all coming together to create a global Internet community to distribute, discuss and analyze the industry at hand.”

We’d find it hard to disagree.  Make sure you scan the ‘Latest Post by Category‘ posts at the bottom of the home page…there is always a newsworthy story posted there daily.

www.SearchEngineLand.com Although SearchEngineLand is principally focused on search engine marketing and the search engine industry at large, its reputation for top-notch journalism, insightful analysis and leading thinking about one of the most critical marketing tools for affiliate marketers can’t be beat.  Founded by search pioneer Danny Sullivan,  SearchEngineLand also maintains a massive library of topics, which, unlike their daily news feeds, is available to Premium (paid) members.

Revenue Magazine and www.RevenueToday.com Revenue Magazine is a very good print magazine focused on affiliate marketing, as is its online sister publication, RevenueToday.  We like Revenue Magazine because their approach to reporting on affiliate marketing is more analytical in style than most of their competitors, and their use of case studies, standard in more traditional business journals, is generally lacking among most of their competitors.

Their online version, RevenueToday.com provides much of the same content as its sister magazine, but it also includes additional features such as video content, Web-exclusive stories, and additional expert commentary from a wide range of online pundits. We suggest you check out their podcasts – they’re terrific.

www.FeedFront.com A new ezine from Shawn Collins and Missy Ward, the founders and organizers of Affiliate Summit, FeedFront covers information and hot topics that every Affiliate needs to know.

www.SearchMarketingStandard.com As its name implies, this publication is focused on helping marketers improve their search engine marketing campaigns, not about affiliate marketing in general.  Nonetheless, it’s a great magazine to browse and catch up on search marketing industry trends. Search Marketing Standard magazine is published quarterly; the online version seems to be updated every several days or so.

www.InternetRetailer.com Available on both print and online editions, Internet Retailer has tons of online retailer data and analysis, compile an annual Top 500 Guide, a thorough analysis and ranking of the 500 largest US e-retailers based on annual web sales (i.e., the etailer version of the Fortune 500), drill-down on technology innovations, and bandy about so many tech acronyms that its sure to stump your most ardent geeks.

At which ‘water coolers’ can the best Affiliates be found?

We have spent a considerable number of years in the affiliate marketing industry, and have come across some stellar information – and atrociously bad misinformation – concerning the industry, its dynamics, what to do and, more importantly, what not to do.

As the old saying goes, ‘you can waste a lot of time looking in small rivers panning for the occasional nugget’. For solid and useful information about affiliate marketing, we suggest you skip the ‘panning’ and go directly to the ‘mines’ instead.

The following blogs and forums are prominent on our iGoogle reader:

Blogs:

www.5StarAffiliatePrograms.com A deep and authoritative resource, developed by Linda Buquet, one of the leading thought leaders in the affiliate marketing industry. There is something for everyone in Linda’s blog.

Forums:

ABestWeb.com Truly ‘the best of the best’…if you can’t find it here don’t worry about it, as it probably doesn’t exist in the land of affiliate marketing. A lot of companies have sub-forums within ABestWeb and affiliate managers and other executives from the largest to the smallest affiliate networks are constantly surfing this forum to identify and snap-up SuperAffiliates.

Many forums can be confusing and overwhelming; ABestWeb‘s creator, Haiko de Poel Jr., keeps things simple and has great moderators.

Several Other Sources to Consider for General Affiliate Related Info:

www.AssociatePrograms.com Considered by most as the industry’s first affiliate program directory, Allan Gardyne’s directory currently lists 10,548 affiliate programs (including 355 in the travel space), and growing.

Although many of Allan’s readers are relative newcomers to the affiliate marketing industry, he includes some very insightful information. Check out ‘Popular Articles‘ category on the left side of the homepage, and click on ‘Best Affiliate Programs‘. His choices for this distinction will give you a good sense as to what components make up a successful program.

www.AffiliateClassroom.com Although this site is focused on selling its own affiliate marketing ‘how to’ study program, Anik Singh and his team distribute a rather pithy and informative newsletter. Print it for the commute.

Sidebar:

If you have an iPod or iPhone and are away form the office, go audio and check out these websites for their Affiliate Podcasts:

www.WebMasterRadio.fm Lots of free, quality podcasts so you don’t have to sign up to avail of WebMasetrRdio.fm content. As with all Podcasts, the quality varies but some great interviews are included in their mix.

www.GeekCast.fm Another great resource in case you lose your reading glasses. Their Podcasts can sometimes be juvenile, but most have some real gems hidden in them and provide deep insights into how Affiliates think.