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Archives for September 2014

4 Essentials for My Sanity and Productivity

September 29, 2014 by Shawn Collins

Everything I need to know I learned from the Dead Milkmen. As guitarist Joe Geraro (aka Joe Jack Talcum) once sang on the song, The Secret to Life, “The secret to life is no secret at all.”

caffeine

Well, it has been sort of a secret, but I’m going to let you in on it right now. It’s all about setting up little milestones in your day to look forward to doing.

I’ve got four things I like to do on each work day to maintain my productivity and a sense of sanity.

Energy

I like a nice sit-down breakfast of eggs, home fries, bacon, and all of that good stuff, but I usually can only manage to make that happen on the weekends.

So, I settle for liquid energy to start most work days. It’s typically an Atkins shake and Diet Dr. Pepper or Rock Star sugar free energy drink. Later on, I mix in a banana here and a cheese stick there. Plus, lots more Diet Dr. Pepper and occasionally coffee.

Is this ideal? No, but I like it and it gets me going. So don’t go and send me a link on Facebook to some article about how bad artificial sweeteners are for me.

Exercise

I make it a point to start most days of the week with some exercise. I’ll typically run, hike, or cycle. But occasionally, when I am crushed for time, I will use the treadmill desk that I set up in my garage.

I get in no less than 30 minutes of exercise 5-6 days per week, and it really sets the tone for my day. I count on the exercise time to shake off stress and start my work day clean. Plus, when I am on the treadmill desk, I get work done.

Re-charging

In order to get the most out of my day, I need to step away and not work for periods of time. One of my favorite breaks is to take a nap in the late morning or early afternoon. I am ridiculously refreshed after I nap without an alarm, whether it’s 20 minutes or two hours.

Another out of the office thing I like to do is to meet friends or family for lunch. It can be a quick half hour or whatever.

Other days, when I am caught up and anxious for some sun, I’ll get out on a boat (with my iPhone to stay up on emergencies). All of these breaks help to reboot me, so I can start fresh into my work the next time I am at my desk.

Bonding

My schedule is crazy from time to time, but there is one constant on most any work day, and that’s sitting around the dinner table with my family.

I really value this time to catch up, decompress, and goof around with my wife and kids. When I’m camped in front of a computer for much of the day, this people time is so important, too.

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Filed Under: Affiliate Resources

FeedFront Magazine Issue 28 is Now Available

September 26, 2014 by Shawn Collins

The 28th issue of FeedFront is headed to the printer and copies will be going out to approximately 43,000 subscribers in early October.

feedfront-28-coverIssue 27 of FeedFront will also be distributed at ShareASale ThinkTank in October and State of Search in November.

This issue of FeedFront Magazine includes 3 Business Benefits for Mediocre Athletes by Shawn Collins, I Received an FTC CID – Now What? by Rachel Hirsch, and Multi-Channel Affiliate Marketing Strategies You Shouldn’t Overlook by Missy Ward.

Also, getting more out of meetings, SAAS vs. networks, common challenges in affiliate marketing, new domain extensions, toolbar affiliates, split testing, attribution, podcasting, remarketing, WordPress plugins, and more.

Issue 28 of FeedFront Magazine can now be viewed online, downloaded, and printed from issuu.com.

Get the FeedFront RSS if you’d like to get all of the articles as they are published to the feed.

If you haven’t subscribed, you can get the magazine for free at feedfront.com/free-subscription.

Also, become a fan of FeedFront on Facebook to see past issues, covers, etc.

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Filed Under: Affiliate News

Meet Market is Sold Out for Affiliate Summit West 2015

September 20, 2014 by Shawn Collins

The Meet Market for Affiliate Summit West 2015 has sold out. Affiliate Summit West 2015 is taking place January 18-20, 2015 at Paris Las Vegas in Las Vegas, NV.

meet-market-sold-out

There are still a limited number of booths available for Affiliate Summit West 2015.

If you’re not familiar with the Meet Market, it is an extended session of structured, face to face networking on the Sunday of Affiliate Summit.

Affiliate programs and networks have tables set to meet with affiliates to discuss their offers and cut deals. Vendors that cater to affiliates and merchants will also have tables to share information about their products and services.

Each table is a meeting spot for teaching, learning, closing deals, creating partnerships and finding new opportunities.

Get on the Affiliate Summit West 2015 Meet Market Waitlist.

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Filed Under: Affiliate Summit

How Jason Calacanis Helped Our Business

September 12, 2014 by Shawn Collins

I’ve been following what Jason Calacanis has had to say since he was publishing the Silicon Alley Reporter back in the 90’s.

missy-ward-jason calacanis-shawn-collins

Back in February 2008, Jason was a keynote at Affiliate Summit West 2008, and it was a privilege to have him up on the stage.

Anyhow, shortly after that he wrote a blog post titled, “How to save money running a startup (17 really good tips)“, that is maybe the best thing I ever read from him.

I took action on one tip in particular…

Use Google hosted email. $50 or free per user…. how can you beat that?!?! Why screw with an exchange server!?!?

Up until this point, we weren’t using an Exchange server for Affiliate Summit, but we were all using Outlook, and it was a regular hassle with exploding .pst files and stuff.

So, after reading that from Jason, we moved to using what was Google Apps Email (I think) at the time. Now it’s G Suite.

Not only did it enable me to easily admin all of the email for the company, but with the huge storage capacity, nobody had to delete email to make space anymore. And no more days of lost productivity when .pst files were being repaired.

Plus, Google Apps for Business enables us to collaborate easily through Google Drive and Google Docs, and it’s really helpful to have the shared Calendars. I’d highly suggest making the move to any startup or growing company – it’s so worth the modest cost for the efficiency we’ve gotten out of it.

Thanks, Jason.

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Filed Under: Affiliate Resources

Vote for Affiliate Summit West 2015 Sessions

September 9, 2014 by Shawn Collins

Affiliate Summit needs your help to pick sessions for Affiliate Summit West 2015. Voting will be open through September 19, 2014.

Get Out The Vote

The speaker proposals have been pared down to the titles, speakers, descriptions, and classifications (experience level, target audience, and main subject).

Vote for submissions you’d like to see at Affiliate Summit West 2015 by clicking the “Vote” button next to the proposed session. You may vote for as many sessions as you’d like.

session-example-asw15

You can find sessions that interest you by sorting the Experience Level, Niche/Vertical, or Target Audience from the header, as well as using the search box.

Also, you can see a tally of the most popular sessions.

Create an account now and start voting if you are attending Affiliate Summit West 2015.

You must register to vote for sessions and then submit a user name and email. A password will be emailed to you.

If you don’t see it right away, check your spam folder for an email with the subject, “[Vote for Affiliate Summit Sessions] Your username and password”.

Speakers for Affiliate Summit will be chosen based on the combined votes from the public, votes from the Affiliate Summit Advisory Board, votes from Affiliate Summit founders Missy Ward and Shawn Collins, and feedback received on past speakers.

Vote now through September 19, 2014 at AffiliateSummitVoting.com!

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Filed Under: Affiliate Summit

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