Shawn Collins' Blog

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

Archives for December 2016

Sean Dolan on the @Steelers, DJing, and @Pimpthisbum

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Sean Dolan, President & COO of PushFire, joined me to chat on my podcast, This is Affiliate Marketing with Shawn Collins.

I wanted to learn more about the real Sean, so I asked him a variety of questions I figured he had not been asked in previous interviews.

[clickToTweet tweet=”Sean Dolan on the @Steelers, DJing, and @Pimpthisbum.” quote=”Sean Dolan on the @Steelers, DJing, and @Pimpthisbum.” theme=”style1″]

We discussed…

  • His days as a DJ
  • Social media for the Pittsburgh Steelers
  • Coaching youth football
  • Helping the homeless
  • Appearing on the NBC reality competition, “FAME”
  • Competing in physical challenges

Links from this episode

Subscribe to This is Affiliate Marketing with Shawn Collins on iTunes.

If you enjoyed this episode of This is Affiliate Marketing with Shawn Collins, please share it.

This is Affiliate Marketing with Shawn Collins is focused on the people behind the affiliate management/OPM companies, advertisers/merchants, affiliates/publishers, and affiliate networks.

On each episode, Shawn interviews a new guest related to the industry, so you can learn more about the people of affiliate marketing.

After all, affiliate marketing is about the people; not the companies.

It’s Not Show Business, It’s Show Friends

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The movie Jerry Maguire is stocked with quotable lines. One of my favorites was, ‘It’s not “show friends.” It’s show *business*’, from Bob Sugar, the cutthroat protégé of Tom Cruise’s character, played by Jay Mohr.

Photo credit: Drew Bennett

That’s sort of like the “Greed is Good” of the 90’s. Everybody continues to say it, but it’s a jerky sentiment at the core.

Personally, I prefer show friends over show business, and I was reminded of this when I became part of a string of nearly 200 emails, started by Jim Kukral on August 10, 2010, with the subject, “Affiliate Super Friends.”

Jim sent that initial email to ask a couple dozen marketing friends to help spread the word about the launch of his book, “Attention! This Book Will Make You Money.”

Lots of goofy banter followed, and a day after the initial email, Karen Garcia, of Lab6 Media, shared a new site she’d created at AffiliateSuperFriends.com.

The site featured each of the people from the email with their faces and names on super heroes. Karen had stayed up late into the night to put the site together as a fun thing for a bunch of friends.

The emails continued with friendly jabs and setting plans when we’d all be hanging out together in person soon at Affiliate Summit.

Along the way, Jim was cut out of the emails, so a plan could be hatched to surprise him as he delivered his keynote address at Affiliate Summit East 2010.

Again, Karen Garcia stepped up and created colored capes for all of the affiliate super friends. I have no idea how she knocked that out right before flying across the country for the conference, but it was a nice act of a friend to pull it all together.

The doors at the back of the room opened as I introduced Jim for the keynote, and the crowd of super heroes strolled into the room with capes and masks and sat in the front row.

It was a show of support for a big moment in Jim’s career by a bunch of his friends.

At the end of the day, business is a whole lot more fun when you do it with friends.

If you don’t get that, you’re doing it wrong.

Vanessa Branco on @avon39walk, @yankees, and Best Gluten Free Italian in NYC

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Vanessa Branco, Co-Founder & CMO of Smactive, joined me to chat on my podcast, This is Affiliate Marketing with Shawn Collins.

I wanted to learn more about the real Vanessa, so I asked her a variety of questions I figured she had not been asked in previous interviews.

[clickToTweet tweet=”Vanessa Branco on @avon39walk, @yankees, and Best Gluten Free Italian in NYC.” quote=”Vanessa Branco on @avon39walk, @yankees, and Best Gluten Free Italian in NYC.” theme=”style1″]

We discussed…

  • Walking the AVON 39: The Walk to End Breast Cancer
  • Her favorite New York Yankees player
  • Helping people with Cherished Feet
  • The best gluten free Italian food in NYC
  • Field of Dreams and other baseball movies

Links from this episode

Subscribe to This is Affiliate Marketing with Shawn Collins on iTunes.

If you enjoyed this episode of This is Affiliate Marketing with Shawn Collins, please share it.

This is Affiliate Marketing with Shawn Collins is focused on the people behind the affiliate management/OPM companies, advertisers/merchants, affiliates/publishers, and affiliate networks.

On each episode, Shawn interviews a new guest related to the industry, so you can learn more about the people of affiliate marketing.

After all, affiliate marketing is about the people; not the companies.

Affiliate Summit East 2017 Booth and Table Registrations Now Open

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Registration is now open for Affiliate Summit East 2017 (July 30 – August 1, 2017 in NYC) Meet Market tables and booths.

Book your booth and table before they are gone

Once again, we are offering real-time selections. Simply choose from an available location when registering and it’s all yours. No waiting!

Whether your priority is lead generation, brand awareness, or positioning, our exhibitor and sponsorship packages are designed to connect you with your target audience.

Details and pricing are available at the Affiliate Summit East 2017 exhibitors page.

Prices go up after February 17, 2017.

Exhibit hall booths and Meet Market tables sold out quickly for Affiliate Summit East 2016 at the New York Marriott Marquis, and we’re heading back there. Don’t put it off!

The sponsors at Affiliate Summit West 2017 have the first right of refusal on sponsorships for a period of time after Affiliate Summit West 2017 wraps up.

Strengthen Your Q4 Site Offense

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You are heading towards the fourth quarter with a game plan, and things are going right so far, but are you prepared to call an audible if need be?

Just like in football, you’ll sometimes have to call a substitute play in business to adjust to sudden changes that you see. It’s not ideal to have to switch things up to react to external events, but if you are prepared, you can make it work for you.

This is a tricky time of year, since it’s the crazy rush for commerce, and lots of people are o? for extended periods of time for the holidays.

What are you going to do when Muhammad Wilkerson (obligatory New York Jets reference) knocks your quarterback out of the game?

OK, that’s probably not a real scenario for you in particular, but how about if your server goes down, your site is hacked, or there is some other time sensitive disaster and nobody is around to help? How about if you are simply turning people away, because your site is slow or inaccessible?

Start preparing now for things that might happen, so you don’t have to pull all-nighters or run away from the Thanksgiving table to deal with messes during Q4.

Here are some tips to fortify your Q4 site o?ense…

Password security: First, change your passwords now, and make them stronger. Second, be sure you know all of your passwords, or use a service like RoboForm to keep them organized.

Monitor your site performance: If your site goes down, you’d better know about it right away. Don’t count on other people telling you. Instead, use a company like Pingdom to alert you immediately, so you can act on it.

Invest in quality hosting: Lots of people are tempted to go with the cheap hosts to save a few bucks, but at what cost? This tip ties into the previous point about monitoring your site performance. Basically, if your site is going down, it’s probably because you have a subpar host. Get a better hosting company now.

Speed up your site: People and search engines dislike slow sites. But do you even know if you have a slow site? Check out PageSpeed Insights from Google to ?nd out what you should ?x to increase the speed that your site loads.

Make your site responsive: Your site should be optimized for any device out there, whether it’s a mobile phone, table, or desktop computer. Test it in all of these environments, and evolve if it’s not responsive. Many WordPress themes will take care of this.

Stay on top of updates: If you are using WordPress or another platform, it’s vital that you update your version and related ?les as needed, so you can avoid making it easy for creeps to sneak in the back door and cause mischief.

Taking these steps should help to preserve some sanity, and to make it easier in the event you have to call an audible.

As Benjamin Franklin once said, “By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.”

Paris Las Vegas Hotel is Sold Out for Affiliate Summit West 2017

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Affiliate Summit West 2017 is more than a month away, but rooms at our group rate at Paris Las Vegas Hotel are now sold out.

Ho, ho, oh no!

The Affiliate Summit room rate was set to be available through December 21, 2016 or until the group block sold-out, whichever came first.

Usually, a sell out happens first, so I’d encourage you to get on it sooner the next time around.

If you want to get a hotel close to Paris Las Vegas Hotel, the address is 3655 S. Las Vegas Blvd, Las Vegas, NV 89109.

Affiliate Summit West 2017 is taking place January 15-17, 2017, and passes are currently available, but we expect those to sell out, too.

Steve Hall on JetBlue, Friday Night Lights, and Cape Cod

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Steve Hall, conference photographer and the guy behind AdRants, joined me to chat on my podcast, This is Affiliate Marketing with Shawn Collins.

I wanted to learn more about the real Steve, so I asked him a variety of questions I figured he had not been asked in previous interviews.

[clickToTweet tweet=”Steve Hall on JetBlue, Friday Night Lights, and Cape Cod.” quote=”Steve Hall on JetBlue, Friday Night Lights, and Cape Cod.” theme=”style1″]

We discussed…

  • His school days at the University of Maine
  • The car he drives
  • Doing CrossFit
  • Why JetBlue is his favorite airline
  • Friday Night Lights, the series and movie
  • Spending time on the water

Links from this episode

Subscribe to This is Affiliate Marketing with Shawn Collins on iTunes.

If you enjoyed this episode of This is Affiliate Marketing with Shawn Collins, please share it.

This is Affiliate Marketing with Shawn Collins is focused on the people behind the affiliate management/OPM companies, advertisers/merchants, affiliates/publishers, and affiliate networks.

On each episode, Shawn interviews a new guest related to the industry, so you can learn more about the people of affiliate marketing.

After all, affiliate marketing is about the people; not the companies.

8 Ways to Travel Easier

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I fly around often for work, and I have some strategies and tricks to make my trips easier. Whether you travel or the time, or just occasionally, see below for some things you may not be doing, yet.

  1. Install Rideshare Apps: Uber and Lyft are in most cities, and I far prefer them to yellow cabs for comfort and ease of booking the rides. I prefer Lyft, since it allows for tipping in the app (Uber doesn’t), because I often don’t have cash on me.
  2. Get a BauBax Travel Jacket: If you think it would be helpful to have a jacket that includes a neck pillow, gloves, stylus pen, neoprene lined drink pocket, a 10-inch tablet pocket, a water-resistant smartphone pocket, a passport pocket, and more, check out BauBax.
  3. PreCheck. Not only is the security line shorter, but you don’t have to remove your shoes, laptop, belt, etc.
  4. Travel Charger and Cord: if you pack at the last minute, that can lead to stress when trying to find things you need to bring, like a charger and cord for your phone. Just get extras that are strictly for traveling and keep them in your computer bag.
  5. Take a Picture of Your Room Number: after a while, the hotels all blur together, and it’s a hassle if you forget your room number and must go to the front desk to ask them where it is. When you go to the room for the first time, just take a picture of the room number outside your door with your phone.
  6. SeatGuru for the Best Seats: TripAdvisor has a service at SeatGuru.com where you can enter in the airline and flight number you plan to book, and you can see which seats are the best. Sometimes, seats you think are better are a little narrow or don’t recline.
  7. Install Airline App: the airline apps make it easy to check-in for your flight from your phone, as well as receiving updates on delays and gate changes (let me see your printed boarding pass do that!). Plus, many of them enable paperless boarding, so it’s one less thing to keep track of.
  8. Collapsible Water Bottle: flying dehydrates you, and while the flight attendants will bring around water, I want more than those little dentist cups. Get a collapsible water bottle and fill it up after security. When you’ve finished it, either try and get more water on the flight, or dry and collapse your bottle.

Travel is a whole lot more fun when you prepare well. Have a safe and fun trip.

Details on the ShareASale Party at Affiliate Summit West 2017

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ShareASale has announced the details for their party at Affiliate Summit West 2017 in Las Vegas – the Tailgate Party Under the Stars.

The party is taking place on Sunday, January 15, 2017 at JEWEL Nightclub (located in ARIA) – it will go from 8:00 PM through midnight.

Optional theme: your favorite sporting attire.

And if you needed any more convincing, they will have an open bar, killer DJ, party favors, and awesome magician, Joel Givens.

In order to attend the party, you must RSVP, and you will also need your Affiliate Summit badge.

Come on out for lots of fun and networking on the first night of Affiliate Summit West 2017.

Sarah Bundy on Favorite Books, World Travel, and Facing Pro Soccer Players

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Sarah Bundy, who is the Founder and CEO of All Inclusive Marketing, joined me to chat on my podcast, This is Affiliate Marketing with Shawn Collins.

I wanted to learn more about the real Sarah, so I asked her a variety of questions I figured she had not been asked in previous interviews.

[clickToTweet tweet=”Sarah Bundy on Favorite Books, World Travel, and Facing Pro Soccer Players.” quote=”Sarah Bundy on Favorite Books, World Travel, and Facing Pro Soccer Players.” theme=”style1″]

We discussed…

  • Her favorite fiction and non-fiction books
  • Dressing up as Wonder Woman
  • Countries she’d like to visit
  • Cookies with avocado
  • Playing soccer against professionals

Links from this episode

Subscribe to This is Affiliate Marketing with Shawn Collins on iTunes.

If you enjoyed this episode of This is Affiliate Marketing with Shawn Collins, please share it.

This is Affiliate Marketing with Shawn Collins is focused on the people behind the affiliate management/OPM companies, advertisers/merchants, affiliates/publishers, and affiliate networks.

On each episode, Shawn interviews a new guest related to the industry, so you can learn more about the people of affiliate marketing.

After all, affiliate marketing is about the people; not the companies.