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Just as with email campaigns, or any other form of advertising, it’s not enough to just throw it out there. You need to measure the results so you can track your efforts against conversions and sales. Ultimately, you want to measure ROI (Return on Investment).

Video ad effectiveness measurements are in some ways similar to other ads, but they also have their own unique metrics. At minimum, you need to measure clicks, views, and viral.

The effort put in to producing a video ad isn’t solely to provide entertainment, though that helps create search engine rank and traffic. Measuring clicks helps you determine popularity, and as with other kinds of ads, forms one component of a conversion calculation.

Unlike traditional online ads (but similarly to page views) you also want to measure the length of time viewers spent watching the video. In a 30 second video, did they ‘change the channel’ or go get a beer from the fridge after 10 seconds? That gives you a good idea about how compelling the content is, and forms another piece of an objective measurement of conversion.

Similar to email campaigns you want to measure viral quality. Did they recommend or pass the ad onto their friends? Word-of-mouth, after all, is still the most effective form of advertising by far. Nothing beats a recommendation from a trusted source.

Nielsen Buzzmetrics, and many other similar services, can give you one set of tools to make sure your video ads are doing what they’re supposed to: draw traffic, create views, generate clicks, and — the ultimate name of the game — help garner sales.

If it isn’t measured, you’re flying by the seat of your pants. And, in the hypersonic jet age, that’s a dangerous method of navigation.

Registration for Affiliate Summit 2006 East, taking place July 9-11, 2006 in Orlando, FL, is closing on Monday, July 3.

The Full Conference Pass, which includes access to all conference events and lunches, is $1,449 through 7/3/06.

If passes are still available, they will be sold onsite at a cost of $1,999 for the Full Conference Pass.

Exhibit Hall Only Passes can be registered through 7/3/06 for $299. The Exhibit Hall Only passes will be sold onsite, if not sold out, at a rate of $399…

What are the biggest challenges holding back affiliates in 2006? A recent survey of more than 1,000 affiliates produced some answers for us.

The survey was conducted by PartnerCentric, and they gathered data from affiliates of a number of affiliate programs, including ClubMom, The Company Store, Domestications, FootSmart, LifeScript, and National Geographic.

The Affiliate Marketer Successes and Challenges Report 2006, a 16-page PDF report, was published by MarketingSherpa earlier this…

MarketingSherpa has announced the top blogs of 2006 and ReveNews took the Affiliate Marketing title.

ReveNews has been around in various iterations since 1998. I recall stumbling on to the bright green site back in ‘99.

Back then, I thought of it more as an affiliate program directory, but they also had an “Opinion” section which was essentially a blog before I ever heard of blogs.

These days, ReveNews boasts a roster of dozens of pundits writing about affiliate marketing and other…

Tune in to the Domain Masters radio show tonight at 7 PM Eastern Time for a chat between host Monte Cahn and myself.

Monte is the Founder / CEO of Moniker, ICANN accredited domain registrar, premium domain sales and escrow services. He also runs TrafficClub.com, a domain profit maximization tool - perfect for affiliates that want to make money off parked domains.

We will be chatting about the state of the affiliate marketing industry, ways that domains can be used to earn affiliate cash,…

In less than two weeks, there will be a new Affiliate Marketing Legend Award given out at Affiliate Summit 2006 East.

The first award was presented to Wayne Porter last January at Affiliate Summit in Las Vegas.

The purpose of this award is to recognize individuals in affiliate marketing who have distinguished themselves as leaders and innovators.

After Wayne received the honor, the award was renamed the Wayne Porter Affiliate Marketing Legend Award.

The winner will be announced on the…

Anik Singal, Founder of Affiliate Classroom, has put together an impressive package of educational materials for affiliate managers.

The Affiliate Manager 1st Edition is a comprehensive learning system comprised DVDs, CDs and print material from the leading authorities in affiliate marketing.

I’ve seen lots of information products out there, but nothing like this - it’s premier content from the experts. Items in the Affiliate Manager 1st Edition include a 2 DVD Set of Anik’s Affiliate…

You can now order your copy of ‘The Affiliate Manager - 1st Edition’ !

Please remember that the first 200 orders will get the special bonus “Powerful Affiliate Joint Venture Tactics” course absolutely FREE. This course will NEVER be sold again. Only 200 copies are being produced.

To order, click here now: http://www.AMClassroom.com/course

We have been running an in-house affiliate program for about six months now. We are struggling to sign-up good affiliates and are considering joining a network for better exposure. Do you think this is the way forward and which network would you recommend for a European based merchant?

There are many issues to consider when deciding whether to stay indie or go with a network. Two things to consider are your resources and relationships.

Do you have a dedicated affiliate manager or team to…

The worth of video ads is becoming fairly common knowledge. Two basic aspects of the process, one at the beginning and one at the end, are worth thinking about: (1) What to do when you’re planning to make one, and (2) how to measure the effectiveness when you’re done.

Find some videos that have kept your attention and analyze why you were glued to your monitor.

Some are so whacky you can’t believe someone would act like that, and you hang around out of fascination. (See used car commercials, hot tub ads, some stereo store ads, etc on TV.) Some are professionally slick or show graphics that are compelling.

Some combine the two in imaginative ways. Many may have seen the Honda ad in which a hundred different everyday objects were lined up like dominoes then knocked over for half an hour. Most people wouldn’t be able to take their eyes off the show until the end. (There are 30 sec versions, as well.)

Heidi Cohen has some more excellent suggestions in a recent ClickZ column. Some of her main points, with my elaboration are:

1. Allow for a variety of players. Not everyone uses Windows Media Player. Macs and Linux may comprise smaller markets, but they are composed significantly of very graphically and/or techno-savvy users.

2. Incorporate adjacent ad units. Video and other ad forms on the same page make for a winning combinations.

3. Encourage interaction. This is incredibly important. Internet users are no longer satisfied simply to read. They want the page, even video ads, to contain elements they can operate. Toyota, for example, is running a series of car ads that allow users to select which sub-type of new model they are interested in. The ad content changes with their choice, just as you would expect from a tutorial or other kind of web content. Ads can teach, entertain, and sell all at the same time.

4. Add viral functionality. Good video ads, like any other kind, are recommended. Social networking only adds to that phenomenon. Make it easy for your creativity to be known to others and watch your sales soar.

For just one example of a video ad that we’re kind of fond of, Joel Comm’s video touting AC’s new Affiliate Manager course, see the post below.

We’ll cover the topic of measuring their effectiveness soon.