Hugh Durkin, Irish Internet Guy

Halloween - the tease before the Christmas affiliate bonanza

I’ve been keeping a close eye on Compare.ie and some other more niche sites I own, and over the last two weeks or so there’s been an astonishing increase in fancy dress and other such halloween related fare.  Halloween costumes are basically outselling any other category by a factor of 3-1.  So much for a recession!  If thing really were that bad, would people be forking out between £20-£100 on halloween costumes?  I don’t think so.  Just goes to show that parties, fun, and boozing are - for the most part - recession proof.

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Carphone Warehouse and O2 added to Tradedoubler Ireland

Tradedoubler Ireland seem to have been focussing on a particular vertical of late, and it seems the fruits of their labours are being paid off.  Carphone Warehouse have already launched on the network, and O2 are coming soon, with a launch party for the program coming up in the next few weeks.  So what are my inital thoughts on it?  Whilst it’s good that big brands like these are trying affiliate marketing in Ireland, some elements of the equation just don’t add up.

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Affiliate Networks - Sell Your Wares!

I thought it might be interesting to invite UK and Internationally based affiliate networks to ’sell your wares’.  Affiliate marketing is still in its infancy in Ireland - for no good reason - so perhaps if you could respond below with your details, it might be a handy point of reference for Irish ecommerce retailers to give affiliate marketing a closer look.

For those of you who don’t know the Irish market, we ARE in fact huge spenders online - people outside of Ireland seem to think we’re in the dark ages and are scared of buying online.  We’re not, so don’t let that be a reason for you to ignore us!

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Preparing for Christmas - in August!

It feels slightly crazy, but i’m actually already doing work on various bits and bobs in preparation for Christmas 2008!  I’ve just put the finishing (nearly) touches to eToys.ie, so any feedback would be appreciated

Delayed commission approvals - an easy way to piss off publishers

Across all my sites, I work with various merchants in several verticals, and the majority of the time things run reasonably smoothly.  Invoices get paid promptly, merchants and affiliate networks keep the lines of communication open with great offers, and the odd ‘thank you’ present arrives through the door.  But one problem still looms large day after day - delayed transaction and commission approvals.

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Tradedoubler in Ireland - gathering steam

Since about February this year i’ve been increasingly dealing with Eoin and the other guys (and gals) over at Tradedoubler Ireland.  I first got in touch with them and had a fairly decent meeting as I was planning the development of Compare.ie, a price comparison site focussed mainly on retail with the main criteria for prospective merchants being that they ship to Ireland and have Euro pricing plain and clear to see for all on their websites.

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