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Struggling?

The E-commerce world is changing almost by the minute lately. From Merchants having to pause programs because they cannot ship anything, to panic over budgets, commission rates slashed or set to zero.

While this is a very unusual set of circumstances we are all dealing with; there are some bright notes.

  • Some Merchants are stepping up and adding in bonuses
  • There are very profitable sectors with healthy affiliate programs
  • Now is a good time diversify your affiliate earning platforms
  • As a community, we are helping each other
  • Consumers are discovering this shopping from home thing is pretty cool.
  • Oh, and in about 7 months you better have a Baby site in place.. just saying

Commission Junction is making Network Consumer Trends Reports available – These are updated every Wednesday.
https://junction.cj.com/covid-19-network-consumer-trends-report

FMTC has partnered with Trackonomics to give daily updates on commissions changes in Affiliate Networks. You can sign up to subscribe to their email updates here: http://fmtc-7325025.hs-sites.com/affiliate-program-covid-19-updates

Rakuten Center has insights on current commerce and consumer behavior with specific global and category trends. this is updated weekly: https://rakutenadvertising.com/covid19/

Featured

Working from Home, A new reality for some of you :)

I have worked from home for 27 years..so after being thoroughly entertained by posts of those new to working from home I thought I would give you some tips and giggles.

  • The worst thing that can happen during your new office commute is you blow out a slipper in the hallway.
  • Loungewear..is the new uniform. Don’t call them jammies.
  • PC Gaming Headphones with their own mute function are your best friend!
  • Wireless headsets are MUST! especially if you have children. ( the look of shock when your sweet cherubs who are coloring on the wall see you get up from your desk to deal with them is priceless)
  • It is way too easy to just stay in your jammies..for days. Get dressed and prepared for home office work like you would for normal work..just skip the dress shoes and stick to slippers.
  • Team meetings fails on Zoom are a trending search lately. Don’t be one of those examples. Always mute yourself upon entering  ( both from your mic and the button in your conference screen to be safe. )No one wants to hear you arguing with your housemates.
  • Video IS optional place a sticky note over your camera, or disable it when entering a conference. If you are using your phone for conferencing disable the camera in the meeting settings. We really do not need to see video of you in the bathroom…please noooo. ( see Zoom meeting fails search)
  • Multiple Monitors are a must. If you are using a laptop you can add a monitor to your set up with a HDMI cable on most Macs and PC’s..you know that extra TV sitting around ..it works as a monitor too! 
  • Screen sharing meetings are pretty common now. For these make sure you are turning off all other applications so you can get the best frame rates on the video screen shares.
  • If you are the Presenter in a screen share – move any other applications to the opposite screen you are sharing- no one needs to see that private Skype pop into the screen share.
  • Working at home is a complete disruption of your schedule..specifically your eating schedule. Set timers for your breaks and lunch or you will find yourself skipping these and by the time we get back to going in the office you might have snacked yourself into a new
    size.
     
  • Get the best comfy chair you can- your body will thank you. When shopping for that new comfy office chair for home look at the ratings for both weight and hours of use. I love the Serta chairs – they are one of the few brands that have chairs designed for big and tall people.
  • Know your function keys..why you ask?..in case your new furry supervisor walks on your keyboard and suddenly your screen size has changed or you are typing in a different language. ( most common F11 pops you in full screen view  and the toolbar disappears)
  • Hydration is your friend, but it isn’t friendly with laptops and keyboards. Those travel cups are now your desktop coffee cup and all around drink cup. Think sippy cups for adults. I admit I or my furry supervisor cat- Shadow has helped to kill off several expensive mechanical keyboards and two laptops over the years.  

Got something to add?

Shadow, My supervisor
Shadow- supervising

Why Duluth trusts AI agents with bidding, but not brand storytelling

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts • Spotify

There seems to be two schools of thought when it comes to agentic media buying. There are those who want to be at the so-called cutting edge, embedding AI agents in things like the process of buying ads and optimizing creative. Then, there are those who have drawn a line in the sand, allowing AI agents to brainstorm but leaving the decision making to humans. Duluth Trading Company finds itself square in the middle. 

“AI can get you to the finish line and you get to spend all your energy crossing the finish line,” said Ellie Uberto, director of marketing at Duluth. She was speaking during a live recording of the Digiday Podcast hosted during Digiday’s Programmatic Marketing Summit event, which was held May 6-8 in Palm Springs, Calif.

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OpenAI makes it easier to run shopping ads in ChatGPT

OpenAI is making it easier for e-commerce companies to run ads on ChatGPT, adding automation that lets retailers generate ads directly from their product catalogues rather than building them one by one. 

To be clear, the ad itself looks the same to the user. The so-called “product feed” campaign will still appear in the same placement as any other ChatGPT ad — below the response, clearly labelled as sponsored. What’s new is what’s happening behind the scenes. Retailers connect their product catalog, set filters for which products are eligible and let the platform handle the rest, generating ads automatically from product names, images and attributes in the feed. 

For a brand with thousands of products that’s what makes running ads there actually viable. Until now, retailers have been able to upload their product catalogs to ChatGPT so the platform can surface accurate prices, availability and product information when someone asks a shopping question. But there was no way to connect that data to paid ads. Brands wanting to advertise had to build their campaigns manually, product by product. Now the same catalog that powers their organic presence can generate their ads automatically. 

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