Hydra Networks has announced that with immediate effect it has terminated the accounts of over 15,000 publishers. The news comes as part of a new push by Hydra to attract mainstream brand advertisers and set themselves apart from “ad networks peddling nutraceutical diet remedies, cash grant opportunities, tooth whiteners and other non-branded campaigns of low consumer value.”

Affiliate marketing is a much-coveted career path in the business of online moneymaking. After all, it’s convenient, it looks easy enough and everybody’s doing it. But make no mistake: it’s a virtual jungle out there.

Let’s face it. 2009 is a year that many of us are pleased to put behind us. We want to look to the future. 2010 beckons. New mobile phones and tablet computers are appearing every week. We are seeing crazy-fast take-up of social media like Twitter, YouTube and Facebook. Add those developments to a rebounding economy and it all indicates an infl ection point: one of those moments in history when everything comes together to enable massive change and opportunity.

Networks Go Wild
If there is one recent development that has changed performance marketing it is the explosion in new advertising and affiliate networks. Nobody seems to know for sure how many there are now but a guess of over 500 active networks, and several thousand in total, is probably correct. It is easier than ever for someone – anyone – to set up a network and start brokering offers. It’s almost become a standard career path for successful affiliates to start their own CPA network.

With over 400 ad networks, segmentation has become a big part of successful performance marketing campaigns.

Katrina Toft loves sushi. So it’s only natural that the designer, a recent college graduate, started a blog about the Seattle sushi restaurants she haunts. Already, she’s making enough from BestSeattleSushi.com to feed her fish habit. Now, she’s working on a site for gamers.

Despite the gloom hanging over the holiday shopping season, affiliates can boost sales by giving consumers what they crave: value.

Last year, Kim Berry gave her husband Dennis a miter saw and a massage chair pad. He gave her a high-end juicer, a DNA test for their mixed-breed dog and jewelry. There were also plenty of smaller gifts under the tree, and they spent $1,200 on gifts for their parents, a grandmother, brothers, sisters, nieces and nephews.

New media such as blogs and social networks have opened vast territory for information dissemination, networking and connectivity. Due to their low costs, every “netizen” with an opinion can set up a Web-based soapbox from which to broadcast to the world. As a result, like-minded communities of writers and followers have sprung up around any number of topics large and small: from politics to film, video games to parenting tips.

Cost-per-action networks are all the rage today. But what will it take for a network to win with 400-plus competitors? And how does a network keep ahead of the curve (and the FTC) while building its publisher and advertiser base and fending off tracking and fraud issues?

These are the tough questions that CPA networks face.

As we all know, the performance marketing industry is growing rapidly. Due to economic conditions, more marketers are moving online and more online marketers are using the pay-for-results model to deliver the results they seek. Add to the mix the rapid pace of technological innovation and the desire for more brands and agencies to sink their teeth into our industry and it’s easy to see we are at a major inflection point for performance marketing. In order to seize the opportunity, we have to take a step back and examine the role that trust and integrity play in our future success.

With the economic downturn, many of us are tightening our belts. What does that mean for travel marketers? Are people still traveling? Should we downgrade our revenue expectations?

Here’s some good news. According to a PhoCusWright report, the U.S. online travel market continues to grow at a pace that far exceeds the overall travel market. Travel is the No. 1 sector in the affiliate industry, and affiliate shoppers tend to buy more than the average shopper. So there are still many opportunities for affiliates in travel – especially when you focus on the trends.