Health and Fitness Products Blog
I don’t usually use this blog as my own personal journal, and it is rare that I post about anything other than fitness marketing and search engine optimization. But I have to just express how unbelievably impressed I am by this band of 15-year-olds that just appeared on America’s Got Talent.
I don’t watch reality TV. Ever. But these guys were about half way through their act when I walked into the room and it stopped me in my tracks. Johnny Come Lately did a rockabilly version of Elvis’ Hound Dog and if they don’t win the entire competition I’ll be very surprised.
It never occurred to me that perhaps some real talent would ever come out of one of these shows. It seems all of the American Idol people put out a crappy pop album and then slink back into the shadows of mediocrity where they belong. Whether or not Johnny Come Lately wins the America’s Got Talent competition, doesn’t matter. Those guys probably have a dozen record producers tying up their cell phones trying to get through.
Man… I wish I was that cool when I was fifteen.
The Gaiam yoga and fitness affiliate program has won a nomination by Linkshare as the most Innovative Merchant of the Year. The only other two sites to be nominated this year are Neflix and iTunes - just to give you an idea of the competitiveness of this award.
Gaiam’s affiliate program is being recognized for its innovation in embedding affiliate links into interactive video clips that preview their fitness and yoga DVDs, by talents such as Rodney Yee, Nicki Doane, Mariel Hemingway and Seane Corn.
Affiliates are able to show DVD video previews on their websites with links that actually show up from within the video. These links contain their unique affiliate ID information, which then attributes the sale to that affiliate and earns them a commission. Here is an example of an affiliate using one of Gaiam’s video previews to sell “The Secret“. Users can either click on the caption text under the video, or wait until the end and click on the The Secret logo.
Other videos have links embedded throughout, some with Gaiam logos that are persistent in the corer of the screen and, when clicked, track the sale to each affiliate.
Perhaps even more innovative and exciting is the fact that the affiliate’s ID stays with the video wherever it is embedded. Thus, if someone clicks “embedd this video” and decides to blog about it, the origional affiliate gets credit for sales from other peoples’ websites.
Congratulations Gaiam, Netflix and iTunes for your Innovative Linkshare Merchant of the Year Nominations. May the best program win! 
