Shawn Collins' Blog

Affiliate marketing and other stuff from Shawn Collins, co-founder of Affiliate Summit.

Archives for March 2010

Outsource Your Business $5 at a Time

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I came across fiverr this past weekend from a Tweet by @jimkukral, and I became instantly addicted.

Shawn Collins is a cartoon characterIf you’re not familiar with fiverr, it is a marketplace where people are willing to provide all sorts of goods and services for $5.

Some things I’ve gotten from fiverr so far are this cartoon drawn from a photo, a 10-second voiceover from a British guy to introduce the Affiliate Thing podcast, and a plug for my blog on somebody’s Facebook profile.

fiverr is similar to other services online where you go through a third party to get something, and the funds are not released to the seller until you sign off on the project.

There are lots of fun, random listings, like a guided walking tour of London, a voodoo doll out of a piece of clothing from an ex, and a temporary Facebook girlfriend.

But there are also lots of offerings to leverage in business, such as creating short videos, banner design, and cold calling leads.

Poke around and try it – some of the cheapest outsourcing around, especially if you don’t know about Mechanical Turk.

My Sites are in the Rackspace Cloud

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I moved all of my sites over to Rackspace years ago, because I repeatedly heard great things about them. While I was very happy all around, they were pretty pricey.

So recently, I made the move to Rackspace Cloud servers, and I like this arrangement a lot since I just pay for what I use.

My sites are now in the Rackspace Cloud

Rackspace Cloud enabled me to select a size for the cloud server and OS, and then the server was online in minutes.

I’m really digging this server flexibility where I can ramp up and down from 1-50 servers, and it’s always pay as I go.

Best of all, they’ve got the same “fanatical service” as I came to expect and rely on with Rackspace. 24/7 for real – I love that since I seem to only have issues in the middle of the night.

Check out the Rackspace Cloud if you’re unhappy with the pricing and/or service from your current host.

Social Media Book

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Internet Marketing from the Real Experts is not solely about social media. There are 130 articles in Internet Marketing from the Real Experts, and 14 of those articles are about social media.

WOW

The book has 88 authors, and in addition to the social media coverage, there are articles on affiliate marketing, email, search engine marketing, legal issues, productivity, and more.

Here are the titles and authors of the items on social media in Internet Marketing from the Real Experts:

  • 3 Social Media Marketing Tips for Affiliates by Brent Csutoras
  • 5 Ways to Keep WordPress Running Smoothly by Karen Jackie and Dana Rockel
  • Flogging—Will Your Blog Be Outed? by Jason Dodd
  • Four Great Tools for Twitter Marketing by Ian Fernando
  • How Social Networks Validated the Soft-Sell by Brian Littleton
  • How to Build Your Message with Twitter by Murray Newlands
  • How to Effectively Blog for Branding and Monetization by Andrew Wee
  • Improve Your Blog Earnings by Zac Johnson
  • Introduction to Podcasting by Shawn Collins
  • Leveraging LinkedIn to Expand Your Brand by Wade Sisson
  • Online_Charles_44254 is in Charge of your Brand? by Brian Littleton
  • Ten Ways to Promote Facebook Business Pages by Mari Smith
  • The Power of Guest Posting by Eric Schechter
  • Who Owns and Controls Your Content? by Deborah Carney

Most of the articles are 500 words or less and you can read through them in about 3 minutes each.

Since marketers don’t want fluff, these articles are designed to get to the point quick.

Jeremy Pepper at the Audience Conference 2009

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[audio:http://geekcast.fm/podpress_trac/web/3415/0/Jeremy_Pepper.mp3]

Jeremy Pepper, a public relations specialist, was a speaker at the first Audience Conference on Friday, November 6, 2009 in New York City.

Jeremy’s bio: Work in PR/Comm/Marcom. Have lived and worked in Detroit, Scottsdale/Phoenix, Tucson, Los Angeles, New York, Chicago and San Francisco Bay Area. Have a dog. He’s great.

Get details on the Audience Conference at http://www.theaudienceconference.com/.

More Audience Conference audio available at http://geekcast.fm/archives/category/audience-conference/.

CEO of Pepperjam Parent Company on Undercover Boss

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Michael Rubin, the Founder, Chairman, and CEO of affiliate network Pepperjam’s parent company, GSI Commerce, will star in this Sunday’s episode of the CBS reality series “Undercover Boss.”

The episode will be broadcast on CBS at 9:00 PM EST on Sunday, March 21, 2010.

The show follows executives as they slip anonymously into the rank and file of their companies to examine the inner workings.

Previous executives featured have included Waste Management (Larry O’Donnell, President and C.O.O.), 7-Eleven (Joseph M. DePinto, President and C.E.O.), Hooters (Coby G. Brooks, President and C.E.O.), and White Castle (Dave Rife, Owner/Executive Board Member).

More details at http://www.pepperjamnetwork.com/blog/2010/03/16/undercover-boss/.

Words That Work by Frank Luntz

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Words That Work by Frank Luntz is one of my favorite business books.

Frank Luntz at Affiliate Summit

You may know Frank Luntz from TV appearances around election time. He has a dial system that reflects how voters react to the words of political candidates.

Frank Luntz has also worked with dozens of Fortune 500 companies to fine tune the use of words in their messaging.

The subtitle of Words That Work really says it all: “It’s Not What You Say, It’s What People Hear”.

The book is excellent for anybody in the business of communicating. As a marketer, the case studies and tips are priceless.

In the first chapter, Frank Luntz the ten rules of successful communication (the book goes into detail on each of these rules):

  1. Simplicity: Use Small Words
  2. Brevity: Use Short Sentences
  3. Credibility is As Important As Philosophy
  4. Consistency Matters
  5. Novelty: Offer Something New
  6. Sound and Texture Matter
  7. Speak Aspirationally
  8. Visualize
  9. Ask a Question
  10. Provide Context and Explain Relevance

Anyhow, I’d highly recommend Words That Work as a great primer on using words that have the most impact, whether it be to customers or colleagues.

Frank Luntz will be delivering the keynote address at Affiliate Summit East 2010 on August 16 in New York City.

History of the Advertising Tax

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The advertising tax (née Amazon tax, affiliate tax, and Internet tax) issue is a threat to affiliate marketers across many states these days, but where did this legislative menace originate?

For the uninitiated, the advertising tax is essentially a plan to tax any Internet transactions from merchants who have affiliates in a given state.

The origins of the advertising tax were among the dubious achievements of disgraced former New York state governor, Eliot Spitzer, back in November 2007.

After an uproar, Spitzer backed down on the plan. But then he started working on it again just before the hooker scandal that bounced him from office.

I had hoped his departure from state government would take the plan to scapegoat affiliates with it.

But his successor, David Paterson, was interested in the plan, too.

And so, the wheels on this runaway train of bad legislation were back on, thanks to Governor Paterson, though his political life appears to be short lived, too.

Maybe the next Governor of New York can reverse this poorly conceived legislation, which has proven to worsen state budgets and deter business.

Video: Advertising Tax

Frank Roche at the Audience Conference 2009

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[audio:http://geekcast.fm/podpress_trac/web/3379/0/Frank_Roche.mp3]

Frank Roche, who is a writer, businessman and well known expert on HR matters, was a speaker at the first Audience Conference on Friday, November 6, 2009 in New York City.

He is the author of Know HR, co-owner of iFractal LCC with Sarah Chambers, and a regularly-featured speaker on HR matters. He presented at WorldatWork’s 2007 national conference on “HR Consulting or Corporate: Which is the Right Choice for You?” He was named One of the Top 25 HR Influencers in 2007 by HR World Magazine.

Get details on the Audience Conference at http://www.theaudienceconference.com/.

More Audience Conference audio available at http://geekcast.fm/archives/category/audience-conference/.

Internet Marketing Legal Issues Book

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Internet Marketing from the Real Experts is not really a legal book. There are 130 articles in Internet Marketing from the Real Experts, and 9 of those articles are about legal issues that impact affiliate marketers.

The book has 88 authors, and in addition to the legal coverage, there are articles on affiliate marketing, email, search engine marketing, social media, productivity, and more.

Here are the titles and authors of the items on legal issues in Internet Marketing from the Real Experts:

  • Advertiser Liability for Affiliate Spam – Anne Mitchell
  • Affiliate Marketing in the Regulators’ Cross-Hairs – Thomas A. Cohn
  • Compliance in Advertising – Stacey Sicard
  • Finance Affiliates: Compliance 101 – Brad Norton, ESQ
  • Legal Issues Surrounding Sweepstakes and Games of Skill – David O. Klein
  • Privacy Is Good Policy – David Klein
  • Reduce Fraud Risk Through Your Affiliate Agreement – David Naffziger
  • The TOS that Bind – Janet Attard
  • Using Trademarks in Affiliate Marketing – Mark Rosenberg

Most of the articles are 500 words or less and you can read through them in about 3 minutes each.

Since marketers don’t want fluff, these articles are designed to get to the point quick.

Video: Internet Marketing Legal Issues Book

ShoeMoney System Theme Song Contest

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There is a theme song contest for the ShoeMoney System, a program from Jeremy (ShoeMoney) Schoemaker that helps new affiliates learn how to make money online.

Jeremy has posted a video about the ShoeMoney System theme song contest that features some unique vocal styling.

Highlights include some auto-tune work and a Miley Cyrus cover.

In order to enter, just upload your ShoeMoney System theme song and post the URL in the comments on ShoeMoney’s blog post about the contest.

He will accept submissions until March 26th and then he will have a final vote off for the winner, who will receive $1,000.00 cash.

Video: $1000 ShoeMoney System Theme Song Contest