OFFICIAL PRESS RELEASE:

Pepperjam, the fastest growing full-service interactive agency and affiliate network in the United States, announced today that Crutchfield Corporation has selected Pepperjam Network as its affiliate network partner.

“The Affiliate Marketing space is continually evolving, requiring frequent review of what is best for our business. In our search for a different affiliate network, Pepperjam’s focus on technology was quickly apparent and very appealing,” said Garrett Mathews, Crutchfield’s Senior Manager of Internet Marketing.

“This is a very significant client acquisition for Pepperjam Network. Crutchfield is one of the most well-known and successful electronics retailers in the United States and it is an honor to have been selected as their exclusive affiliate network technology provider,” said Kristopher B. Jones, President & CEO of Pepperjam.

About Pepperjam Network:

Pepperjam Network is a next generation affiliate marketing network that provides advertisers and publishers with industry leading pay-for-performance tracking, reporting, communication, and payment solutions. Pepperjam Network is a division of Pepperjam, a full-service internet marketing agency recognized by Inc. Magazine for the last three consecutive years as one of the fastest growing businesses in the United States. Learn more at www.pepperjamnetwork.com

About Pepperjam:

Pepperjam offers a full range of professional marketing management services in the areas of pay-per-click, search-engine optimization, affiliate marketing, mobile marketing, and online media planning and buying. Since 1999 Pepperjam has developed a reputation for being one of the most innovative, aggressive, and effective internet marketing agencies in the business. Learn more at www.pepperjam.com

About Crutchfield Corporation

Crutchfield Corporation, which celebrates its 35th anniversary in 2009, is the nation’s oldest direct integrated marketer (catalog, Customer Care Center, and Internet) of consumer electronics products. Since its introduction in 1974, the Crutchfield catalog has been a respected authority on car and home entertainment products, winning several awards for quality, design, and usefulness. The people who staff Crutchfield’s Customer Care Center are noted for their high integrity, product knowledge, and technical expertise. They are available by phone, e-mail, and live online chat. Crutchfield.com offers a convenient, full-service shopping destination to buyers of car and home audio/video products. Crutchfield was the first vendor-authorized audio/video retailer on the Internet and is one of only two retailers to have won BizRate’s coveted “Circle of Excellence” award eight times.

First things first – I’m a huge fan of Twitter!!!

If you aren’t on Twitter you should be – It’s free (CLICK HERE) and will change your life.

Second things second – I believe Twitter is the most powerful social networking tool ever – in fact, nothing else is even close, including Facebook and MySpace. I’ll write a post in the future about why I feel this, but for now I want to address the issue of Twitter Spam.

Want to make a million dollars really quick? Click Here to get 16,000 Twitter followers guaranteed. 100,000 unique visitors from Twitter to your Web site – totally FREE.

Thousands of these types of messages flood Twitter every day.

Does this mean Twitter has hit critical mass or that there are loop holes or no rules that would disallow Twitter Spam.

OR

Does this mean that these types of messages generate clicks and convert into what ever the sender wanted them to convert to?

My guess is that people are making serious money on Twitter…by gaming the system to generate huge amounts of followers and delivering them spammy messages.

The purpose of this message isn’t to be a critic.

I know what it’s like in the beginning for many entrepreneurs…anything to make a buck.

However, if you are one of the spammers I’d encourage you to develop a strategy that can help you build long-term customer value.

Think about it. If you build trust with your followers they will be much more likely to buy what you recommend. If you use your Twitter account to share your insights and let people get to know you you’ll be in a much better position to leverage Twitter.

Just some thoughts.

A few days ago Facebook officially opened-up its entire platform to web developers.

I visited the Facebook headquarters a few months ago while in Palo Alto as part of Elite Retreat…so I was tipped off to the announcement, but I thought I’d share my two cents because I see this as a very significant announcement.

One company (even if you are Google or Facebook) can only be so innovative. In a typical corporate environment innovation is restricted to the company’s employees and partners. As CEO of a fast growing internet marketing agency and affiliate network I can tell you there aren’t enough hours in the day to innovate.

So what are businesses to do?

The answer is open up your platform (aka, technology) to outside developers via an API.

It’s been several years since I became a student of API’s (Application Program Interfaces). In fact, I was sort of thrown in the fire a few years back (2005 or 2006 I believe) on the topic of API’s when I was asked by Chris Sherman to present on the topic at SES Toronto. I survived the presentation and have been intrigued by the topic ever since. BTW – it was at that conference that I became friends with Jeremy Schoemaker who later became a great friend and even participated in my wedding as a groomsman.

API’s allow you to interact with other technologies in a seemless, automated fashion. For instance, let’s say you are an affiliate marketer and run reports throughout the day to evaluate and optimize your return on investment. Logging-in to your account everytime is quite time consuming – you could probably use your time better by building new campaigns and cashing checks. Well, with API access to an affiliate network like Pepperjam Network you can build an application that allows you to interact with PJN’s reporting system – no need to log-in all the time and pull data. This is just one example – once a technology is open (like Facebook just did) you ultimately have unfettered power to build upon the platform. It’s pretty ingenious.

In the case of Facebook we are talking about the fastest growing social network in the world. Now that Facebook has opened up the ability for developers to build applications around your profile page, wall, pictures, etc. there will be hundreds of new innovations by developers that don’t work or get paid by Facebook. As a user you’ll benefit because you’ll be able to do things with new applications and pieces of software that wouldn’t have existed anytime soon BUT FOR Facebook opening up its API.

I know that this all sounds pretty techie and you may be thinking…this won’t effect me.

You are wrong.

Do you use Twitter?

Did you know that 70% of Twitter users don’t use the Twitter.com site to Tweet?

This is the case because Twitter opened up its platform via an API before it ever gained the type of usage that it currently enjoys.

Developers from all over the world have built cool apps like Tweet Deck, Tweetie, and Twitterific using Twitters API. As a result we (the users) are able to Tweet using our cell phone, through an iPhone app, or through a masterful deck that integrates Twitter Tweets and Facebook comments. Pretty cool stuff.

While I’m talking about API’s and applications….there may be no more powerful example than the Apple iPhone.

You may not have known it, but the only reason that there is an iPhone APP Store is because Apple opened up its API on the iPhone, which enabled innovative developers from all over the world to build applications (by interacting with iPhone’s platform) that make the iPhone experience that more amazing. Playing all kinds of cool games, reading the New York Times (great app), downloading stock quotes (eTrade Mobile Pro), reading blogs (TechCrunch, Mashable, etc.), reading books (the Kindle app), iFart (my pal Joel Comm) and many more are available BECAUSE Apple opened up it’s API to the world.

Now Facebook has done this.

I don’t know about you, but I can’t wait to see all the new and innovative Facebook apps that are developed over the coming days and weeks that will allow us to connect with our FB friends.

API’s rule!

About one month ago I purchased an Amazon Kindle 2 ($359 through Amazon).

The Amazon Kindle allows you to purchase and read books, magazines, newspapers, and blogs in digital format – the system comes with wireless internet called “Whispernet,” which allows you to access over 270,000 books remotely. Downloads take less than 60 seconds. Books cost $9.99. All magzines come with a 14-day free trial.

The first two books I purchased for my Kindle were “Unlimited Power” by Anthony Robbins (an oldy but goodie – I read it for the first time as a teenager) and Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell. I also subscribed to the New York Times and Investor’s Business Daily.

Here are the top 5 reasons why I think you should buy the Amazon Kindle:

(5) You can store over 1,500 books and unlimited magazines and newspapers on a device that weighs less than a pound. Try to carry even 10 books next time your board a plane.
(4) Don’t be that guy who buys a cell phone 5 years after knowing others couldn’t live without one – It’s possible that in less than three years (my opinion, of course) that more people will download books than buy them from book stores.
(3) Save Money – if you read a lot you’ll save money (up to 50% on many copies). Ex. Outliers is $15.39 for the book and only $9.99 for the download.
(2) Access your Kindle Books from your iPhone – Download the Kindle iPhone App for free and access the books you’ve already purchased through your Kindle.
(1) Read more and celebrate more – believe it or not..the coolest feature of the Kindle is that it doesn’t strain your eyes like the black text on white background does from a normal book. Also, pages are smaller so you can celebrate more small victories – come on…you’re like me, you feel good when you finish another page and eventually complete the book…it’s one of the reasons I read so much – when you read a book the knowledge can never be taken away.

If you have a Kindle or buy one based on my recommendation I’d love to hear from you.

Follow me on Twitter @pepperjamceo and let me know what you think.

I’ve been getting peppered (no pun intended) with phone calls from the local media over today’s news that Wilkes-Barre, PA based web design builder Solid Cactus was acquired by Web.com.

First off, I’d like to congratulate Joe Palko, Scott Sanfilippo, and the entire Solid Cactus team on this great success and opportunity!

I believe this is a perfect fit, especially considering both companies focus on providing e-commerce solutions to the same types of companies – small and medium sized internet businesses. The combo of these two companies means better service to their respective clients.

Solid Cactus has an incredible story – what started out as an idea in the mid 1990’s by Joe and Scott to sell ferret (yeah the animal) supplies online resulted in the creation of a leading pet products website called FerretStore.com – Ferret Store was acquired about 18 months or so ago by Drs. Fosters and Smith. Joe and Scott took a chance on the internet before people even knew that it would change the world. How is that for visionary? Dealing in e-commerce in the mid 90’s – that’s awesome!!!

Along the way Joe (and Scott) realized that there was a need to provide web design services to companies just like his – small to medium sized online retailers – he took that idea, partnered with Yahoo Small Business, started hiring employees from local colleges and universities, acquired a company along the way, and built Solid Cactus from a web design firm building out niche sites for Neeps (the name of Joe and Scott’s pet supplies business) to a nationally known, industry leading web design firm. In fact, within a short few years Joe and Scott took Solid Cactus from a competitive regional web designer to the nation’s leading developer for the Yahoo Store Platform.

All of this happened in Northeastern, Pennsylvania by two locally grown and educated entrepreneurs!

My hat is off today to Joe and Scott – it goes to show you what hard work, persistence, and some willingness to break the rules can get you.

As I mentioned above I believe Web.com and Solid Cactus are a perfect fit. In short, both companies will end up more successful, will employ more employees, and will ultimately make more money as the result of the other. With Solid Cactus you have years upon years of development experience coupled with an extraordinary work force. With Web.com you have a proven company with a focus on the same types of strengths that Solid Cactus offers.

Northeastern, PA is an e-commerce and internet marketing force. I kind of like the sound of…a little bit of Silicon Valley in the Wyoming Valley.

With companies like Web.com, Solid Cactus, Pepperjam, Amazon, igourmet.com, BabyAge, Vintage Tub, Baby Age, Dog.com, and many others calling the greater Wilkes Barre area home…..the future is very bright.

I wish the entire Solid Cactus team the absolute best!

Congrats guys!

Over the previous 12-18 months there have been several historical and destructive legislative decisions that have challenged the current and future viability of the affiliate marketing industry.

As I’ve (and Pepperjam Network) already discussed publicly numerous times the State of New York passed legislation that requires online businesses based anywhere in the United States to pay taxes to the State of New York based on a broad legal interpretation of “presence” defined through affiliates who reside and conduct business (affiliate marketing) in the State of New York. In short, Pepperjam believes this interpretation of the law is overly broad, is not fair to both affiliates and merchants, and should be overturned (aka, we are against it).

Most recently other states are following or threatening to follow suit with New York. As a result, affiliates, affiliate networks, and thousands of online businesses have reason to be concerned.

This is a very serious situation and there has never been a more important time for the affiliate industry to join together to fight New York and any other state that attempts to pass legislation that puts the future of the affiliate marketing industry (and online commerce) in jeopardy.

It’s with the above message in mind that Pepperjam Network has pledged $5,000 to the Performance Marketing Alliance (PMA) with hopes that PMA will provide the (one) voice that we need to represent us (the affiliate industry) during this important time.

As a former affiliate marketer, affiliate manager, and as President & CEO of one of the fastest growing and most celebrated affiliate marketing companies in the world I strongly encourage you to follow our lead and pledge money to PMA to help fight existing legislation and stand as one voice for our industry moving forward.

I imagine you have questions about why Pepperjam Network has selected PMA and what went into our decision making process – Feel free to post any questions you have to this post and we’ll be happy to provide a response.

Finally, I’d like to let you know that Pepperjam continues to be on the front lines of affiliate marketing innovation, while also making sure that the entire industry survives and thrives for many years to come.

Pepperjam Network conducted extensive due diligence over a several month period, met with PMA board members and representatives, as well as non-PMA members that currently have leading voices within the affiliate marketing space, and we’ve concluded that PMA is the organization we need right now to help our industry come together at this most important time.

Learn more about the Performance Marketing Alliance at www.performancemarketingalliance.com

I am honored to announce that I will deliver the annual Allan P. Kirby Center Lecture in Free Enterprise and Entrepreneurship at Wilkes University.

Past speakers include Jerry Greenfield – cofounder of Ben & Jerry’s, award-winning consumer journalist John Stossel, known for his contrarian reports and Give Me a Break segments on ABC’s 20/20, and the “Juice guy” Tom Scott from Nantucket Nectars.

The lecture will take place Tuesday, April 7, 2009 at 7:30pm. The location is the Dorothy Dickson Darte Center for the Performing Arts in Wilkes Barre, PA.

If you reside within the state of Pennsylvania or will be in the area stop by and hear me talk about the Pepperjam Story, the Kris Jones Story, and my view on how businesses, students, and everyday people can leverage the internet to make more money, stay connected, and improve the world.

See you there!

Friday is already here – I don’t know about you but since January time seems to fly by….maybe it has to do with the yin and yang of the financial markets…keeping us (business owners) on the edge of our seats.

Talk about time flying by – SES New York is here already. This has got to be at least my 4th or 5th SES NY.

SES NY is by far the biggest gathering of search-engine marketers in the world. SES San Jose is also huge, but the NYC thing really attracts the top search minds and the largest of advertisers in the world.

OK. So I’ll be Travelling to SES NY on Tuesday evening with a small army of Pepperjammers, including the General Manager of Pepperjam’s agency business Ian Howells, head of technical integration for our PPC division Christian Wenzel, and head of search-engine optimization Todd Butcher.

I’m speaking on two and moderating one panel. BTW – if you’d like to meet feel free to drop me an e-mail at kris @ pepperjam.com or simply introduce yourself at the host hotel (Hilton NY). FYI – I drink Miller lite and love a stiff redbull and VO.

Here are the details of my panels….

Wednesday, March 25, 2009

4:00pm-5:15pm

Dealing With Affiliates: A Roadmap to Success

Join this panel for a no-holds-barred discussion where performance marketing’s top contenders square off. As SEM evolves, marketers find themselves competing head-on with affiliates. Marketers want more leads/sales, increased affiliate-generated leads/sales, and less cannibalization of search campaigns. How can this be achieved in a world filled with increasingly hostile rhetoric on both sides? Join a panel of experts as they break silence on taboo issues and work through the finer points. You’ll walk away with fresh, new perspective and the ability to collaborate profitably.

Moderator:
Jeffrey Rohrs, VP, Marketing, ExactTarget

Speakers:
Kristopher Jones, President & CEO, Pepperjam
Jeff Ferguson, SES Advisory Board, Director of Online Marketing, Napster
Lori Weiman, CEO, The Search Monitor
Peter Figueredo, CEO, NETexponent

Thursday, March 26, 2009

Advanced Paid Search Techniques

12:45pm-2:00pm

How can you best tap into long tail terms? Are there targeting techniques you’re overlooking? This session examines these and other techniques to help you get more out of paid search.

Moderator:
Kristopher Jones, President & CEO, Pepperjam

Speakers:
Josh Fialky, Senior Client Services Manager, Idearc Search Marketing
Thomas Bindl, Founder & CEO, Refined Labs GmbH
Matt Van Wagner, President, Find Me Faster
David Sprinkle, Director of Paid Search, Acronym Media
Andrew Goodman, SES Advisory Board, Principal, Page Zero Media
Wister Walcott, Co-founder and Vice President of Products, Marin Software

Ads in a Quality Score World

2:15pm-3:30pm

More and more, ranking well in paid search listings is less and less about how much you pay and more about the “quality” of your ad campaign. But what goes into making up your quality score? In this panel, we’ll take a closer look at quality factors and give tips on increasing the perceived relevancy of your campaigns.

Moderator:
David Szetela, CEO, Clix Marketing

Speakers:
Kristopher Jones, President & CEO, Pepperjam
Ron Jones, President/CEO, Symetri Internet Marketing
Frederick Vallaeys, AdWords Evangelist, Google
Misty Locke, President & Co-founder, Range Online Media

Have you checked out my book yet? Under $20 at Amazon – http://www.amazon.com/pepperjam

See you at SES!

I’m making some last minute preparations for Affiliate Summit West 2009 in Vegas (being held at the RIO).

I’ll be moderating a panel at the event and Pepperjam Network will be exhibiting.

Five other Pepperjammers will be attending ASW with me including my beautiful wife Robyn Jones (Senior Director of Affiliate Relations), Maura Goodwin, Director of Pepperjam Network), Katharine Dempsey (General Manager of Pepperjam Network), Brock Siegel (VP of Business Development & Sales, Pepperjam Network), and Sugar Boy Ken Mohn Jr. (Chief Strategy Officer).

My panel will be held on Sunday, January 15, 2009 from 12:00pm-1:00pm. The panel is entitled “Affiliate Marketing in 2009″ – the panelists are:

Me, President & CEO, Pepperjam (moderator)
Gary Ackerman, President, M3 Mobile Marketing
Linda Woods, President & CEO, PartnerCentric, Inc.
Brad Wilson, CEO, Brad’s Deals
James Keating, VP of Marketing & Operations, ShopWiki.com

I’m looking forward to seeing old friends and mixing it up with some new people.

Please reach out to me beforehand or stop me if you see me at ASW and say hello!

I thought I would share with you the things I’m most thankful for in 2008. The list isn’t exhaustive; instead, these are some of the first things that come to my mind when I look back on an incredible 2008.

Things I’m Most Thankful for in 2008:

- The birth of my son, Kris Jr.
- The unfettered love and support I received from my wife, mother, extended family, and friends
- An all around incredible team of employees at Pepperjam
- Continued, extraordinary growth of Pepperjam’s Agency Business
- The opportunity to keynote Affiliate Dag and to speak at numerous conferences
- The opportunity to work with and speak to hundreds of high school and college kids in Northeastern, PA
- I published my first book, which has sold over 10,000 copies in its first 8-months and has been one of the best-selling books of 2008 on search marketing
- Pepperjam made #70 on the Inc. 500 List
- Being named a finalist for The Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year representing Pennsylvania
- Maintaining Pepperjam’s status as a privately-held company despite numerous opportunities to take on VC or be acquired
- The many new people I’ve met as I travelled around the United States and different parts of the globe
- The incredible success of Pepperjam Network – we launched in January and have nearly 700 advertisers and thousands upon thousands of affiliates. Oh ya – and we’ve generated millions of dollars in new revenue for Pepperjam
- The addition of numerous restaurants, bars, and coffee shops to downtown Wilkes-Barre (that’s where PJ is located)
- Being nominated and confirmed to the Board of Trustees of Misericordia University
- My health and happiness

Things I’m Most Looking Forward to in 2009:

- Turn around in the economy
- Continued growth and leadership position for Pepperjam and Pepperjam Network
- Obama taking over the Presidency
- An update to my book / addressing what I believe is a convergence between PPC & SEO
- Spending time with my family
- Moving into a new house
- Taking a vacation with my wife in February and my family during the summer
- Meeting new people and helping to open doors for them within the internet marketing industry
- Speaking at industry conferences and trade shows
- Involvement in my community