Now that the wine is drunk and the remains of the trays and trays of shrimp cocktail have been thrown out, it’s time to concentrate on writing 2017 on all our checks! Wait, does anyone use checks anymore? Well, anyway… Happy New Year and welcome to 2017!
As I perused Facebook and Twitter the last few days of 2016, I saw so many individuals, and myself at times, just clamoring for 2017 to get here as they looked back on what was a very difficult 2016 for them. It seemed to overwhelm social media. A tough year it definitely was for so many in our country and around the globe. And it was for me as well. We said goodbye to our family dog we had for years and even our brother in law who went too soon. A tough year it was.
But so many great things also happened in 2016. JEB grew by acquiring a search, analytics and conversion optimization company – SixthManMarketing. We added numerous new clients, new employees and added new space to our always growing office and so much more!
We share many of those things in our newsletter today.
As you look back on 2017, like many of us, I’m sure you’ll see struggle, heartbreak and loss. But I hope that you’ll also be able to see the many good things that I’m 100% confident you experienced in the last twelve months as well. But not only that, I hope you look forward to the next year as the best year of your life, your family and your career. And we are so tremendously excited to be a part of that.
Read on and learn about our year and don’t forget, should you need anything, please just reach out. I’d love to carve out some time to catch up and see how I can personally help you make your ’17 better than ever.
Oh, one more thing. In that vein, we have added a new section to our newsletter, Clear and Open. Everyone needs a coach, even myself. Each month my coach, Josef Shapiro, will be bringing a small snippet of wisdom to you through our newsletter. I hope you appreciate and use his wisdom as much as I have.
Happy New Year!
– Jamie B
Sixth Man Marketing Aquisition
Long ago I had a vision for JEB that went beyond the wonderful world of Affiliate Marketing. I wanted to provide more to our clients than simply acquiring customers through the affiliate channel. While “growing up” in the affiliate space I had access to and responsibility over SEO, SEM, Email and other digital marketing channels. I saw how each one impacted the other and how impactful it can be to see accurate data and actionable data. The ability to see what customers were doing and take action to influence those behaviors was a strength that you simply had to have, and continue to need, to be successful in the digital sphere.
Then in 2015 I had the opportunity to talk to a long time friend and colleague Ed Reese of SixthManMarketing. We both shared similar visions. In January of last year it became official. Ed joined us as our Director of Analytics and Search and his team followed.
Our collective vision now is to help our clients all over the country by Acquiring Customers, Analyzing their behavior and Optimizing for results through paid search, affiliate marketing, display advertising, deep dive analytics reporting and conversion optimization through usability design and user testing.
We hope to be able to share this vision and what we can do with you in 2017.
Jamie’s CJU Presentation
On September 14th, Jamie had the pleasure of speaking at CJU16. His presentation focused on what he believes to be the biggest problem our industry faces and has faced for more than a decade – selling the affiliate channel. If you didn’t have the opportunity to attend in person, no worries, the entire presentation has been published on our website!
Analytics and Paid Search Division Created
The acquisition of Sixth Man Marketing lead to new faces, new services and ultimately, a new division. Being able to offer Analytics and Paid Search is the next piece of the pie for our business. We hope to be able to offer additional services as we continue to grow.
JEBCommerce Parental Leave Policy
Earlier this year, we had the opportunity to alter the way businesses evaluate their parental leave policies. “JEBCommerce is driven by a deep sense of shared success—the kind that strengthens your client partners, your colleagues, your family and your community. Join us as we change our lives and others.” As an agency, we do so much more than Affiliate Marketing, Paid Search, Analytics, and other client services, we change lives. Through policies like this one we get to do just that. Read the full story here.
Building Additions
In early August, renovations started on a new suite. This addition was much needed as we continue to grow our team. For the time being, the new space is a great area for meetings and other team gatherings… oh yeah, it also allows for some much needed ping pong space as well!
Network Awards
We were honored to be nominated for multiple awards this year. A couple of our most notable nominations were as finalist for 2016 Linkshare Goldenlink Awards as well as CJU Agency of the Year. These nominations are thanks in large part to affiliates, networks, and partners like you. Thank you!
New Hires and Promotions
The JEBCommerce team has grown! Earlier this year we announced the promotions of Cody Hanson as Marketing Manager, Jonathan Goodwin as Director of Strategy, Thomas Henderson as Acquisition Manager, and Geoff Marshall as Director of Affiliate Services. Our team was able to hire a few new members as well. Spencer Tuttle who was hired as an Assistant Affiliate Manager, and Samuel Moore as Senior Search Manager.
JEB Sports Ballers
This year the team decided to join the city’s recreational softball league. Even though it’s supposed to be a non-competitive league, the competition was tough. Some of us had experience, others not so much. All in all, it was a fun season and although our record was an unimpressive 3-10, the entire team had fun and grew closer in the process. We look forward to improving our record next year! Don’t beat us up too bad. The name sounded good at the time.
Clear & Open Message
Josef Shapiro is a voice for excellence and extraordinary results in the coaching industry.
Trained first at EMyth, one of the pioneers of business coaching, he later joined its management team and became EMyth’s primary curriculum developer. He created their coach training program and trained coaches worldwide for several years.
Clear and Open is about codifying all of this experience into powerful online courses and mentoring a community of leaders and managers passionate about productivity, culture change, and business growth.
To learn more, and to sign up for a free time-saving mini-course, please visit clearandopen.com
Millions are formulating their New Year’s Resolutions now, but only a small percentage will follow through. Why? One reason is too much focus on the positive. Huh? Yes, you read that right. Declaring what you want and getting excited is important, but without exploration of the flip side, change tends not to happen. For example, ask yourself what’s actually good about things not changing. “Nothing” you say? Think deeper. The benefit of not exercising, for example, is more time on the couch. The benefit of not managing your money is less time looking a spreadsheet. Be clear about the price you must pay for the change you want. Everything has a price. Avoid paying it and you’ll be wondering what happened to your exciting plan in March. Interesting to learn more about goal-setting? Check out this article.
