No More New Promos at GAN

I've decided to not upload any future promotions at GAN.  With a skeleton crew keeping the business running beginning tomorrow, it just seems like it would make things more difficult.  PLUS... I'm hoping this will begin to push Blair.com GAN affiliates over to Commission Junction.

For any Blair.com affiliates at GAN who haven't signed up for our program at Commission Junction, yet, here is the link to get you going.

Starting tomorrow, Blair.com will be offering $.99 Per Item Shipping for the month of May to all Commission Junction affiliates.

Does Your Website Look Like This?

I get dozens upon dozens of affiliate applications each and every week for websites that look almost EXACTLY like this one.  It's a wordpress template, and the tell-tale sign is the spinning Amazon.com widget at the top.

When reviewing applications, I've gotten to the point where I close the tab that opened to display the website and have the "DECLINE" radio button checked even before the widget stops spinning.  There's no way I would be getting much value from having my links on a site that is identical to hundreds, if not thousands, of other sites populating the internet.

Sure... there are probably a few affiliates out there that can/will do a fantastic job with this template.  But if they're that good, I would urge them to get away from this template and start with something that is truly their own.

Google calling it quits for GAN

It's been a long relationship. Blair.com started it's affiliate program with what would eventually be the Google Affiliate Network in late 2000.

Back then it was called Dynamic Trade. Over the years, the name changed to Performics and then GAN, and I've had the opportunity to work with a lot of different account managers. A few had me banging my head on my desk (Suzie, in particular. That was early on, and she didn't last long with Dynamic Trade). But for the most part, I've been blessed with a solid team over the years. Some are still with Google, some are still working for Performics, and some have moved on to bigger and better places.

While I won't be working with them anymore, I still hope to stay in contact with Megan, Ashley, Carlen, Rachel, Jade, Wendy, Dan, Toni, Fiona and the rest, because they've become friends over the years.

It should be a relatively easy task to transition the affiliates in the Blair.com program at GAN over to our CJ program. Many of our affiliates have been in both programs anyways, and I'm confident that I'll get the support I need from GAN to move the rest.

I've been managing dual programs for Blair.com since the beginning, so this will be new for me. I'm looking at this as a new beginning for the Blair.com affiliate program, and I'm anxious to see what benefits we can find from a solo program with CJ.

That isn't to say that I won't consider managing dual programs again somewhere down the line. I'm a firm believer in that old saying, "Variety is the spice of life."

Thanks for a great run, Dynamic Trade/Performics/GAN, and for the great times!

Labor Day Weekend Sale -- 25% OFF Everything!

Now through Monday, Sept. 6, at 11:59pm, EVERYTHING at Blair.com is 25% OFF, including Clearance items. You need to enter promo code ALQ at checkout to activate the promo. Blair.com Affilates can find creatives at both GAN and CJ.

Free Mystery Gift with Any Order

Simply enter FREEBIE as the promo code when placing your order, and received a Free Gift!

I went fishing again

And I'm sure most of you never even realized I was gone from June 4-10.

In any case, we once again made the 12 hour drive due north to Cochrane, Ontario. Once we checked in at the Thrift Lodge and took a few minutes to alert family and friends that we'd made it safely, we headed off to dinner and to Thib's Tavern to visit with our friends Jasmine, Ronda and Vic (along with a few new friends!).

Bright and early Saturday morning, Mark Jones, Andre and the rest of the guys at Cochrane Air got us licensed, our gear loaded and a Cesna and a Beaver in the air. By 9:30am, we had touched down at Floodwood lake for a week of fishing.

The fishing was better than last year at Twopeak Lake, and the fish were larger, too! Both Mike and Eric hauled in 28" walleyes, with Mark and I close behind. Once the week was over, we had caught over 1100 fish, and more than 2 dozen of the walleyes were over 2 feet!

A good time was had by all!

For all of you about to send me an email or give me a call... yes, I know I don't know how to hold a fish for a picture. I was just hoping that Eric would get the picture taken before the fish flopped out of my hands (again).

BTW -- does anyone recognize the hat I'm wearing in the picture? Yep! That's the same Dorfman Pacific Safari Hat that I wore to Lake Nettogami two years ago and blogged about here. I bought it from Blair.com specifically for these fishing trips, and it's held up quite nicely!

Tomorrow begins the long Memorial Day Weekend!

And you all know what that means at Blair.com! Creatives will be available at both GAN and CJ beginning tomorrow.