Shawn Collins' Blog

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

Archives for March 2017

FeedFront Magazine Issue 38 (April 2017) is Now Available

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Issue 38 of FeedFront is headed to the printer and subscribers will be getting their copies in the coming weeks.

FeedFront issue 38 cover

This issue of FeedFront Magazine includes Face-to-Face Networking in an Online World by Michelle Held, Meditation Makes Happy Affiliate Marketers by Sean Yoon McDevitt, and Dollar a Day Facebook Hacks by Dennis Yu.

Also, there is coverage on affiliate management, common website mistakes, compliance, coreg, international expansion, micro-influencers, omni-channel affiliate programs, press releases, writing copy, YouTube influencers, and more.

Issue 38 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 in the U.S. (sorry to everybody else, but mailing outside of the U.S. is very expensive). Also, become a fan of FeedFront on Facebook to see past issues, covers, etc.

Brandon Myers on @Snapchat Spectacles, Soccer, and San Diego Beer

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Brandon Myers, former Affiliate Director for Aceable and current owner of Affiliate Tinder, joined me to chat on my podcast, This is Affiliate Marketing with Shawn Collins.

Brandon Myers

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

We discussed…

  • Trading stocks
  • His favorite taco at Torchy’s
  • Playing FIFA
  • Snapchat Spectacles
  • Ballast Point Sculpin
  • Getting a manicure

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.

The Death of My Father Saved Me

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June 12, 2017 will be the fifteenth anniversary of the day my father passed away. He was 61.

RIP John Gary CollinsI have vivid memories of Sundays as a kid. My dad would be jovial in the morning, but by dinner time, there would be a sadness to him. I noticed it, but didn’t understand it until years later when he told me how much he didn’t like his work.

Over the years, he worked at a series of city, state, and federal government jobs. This provided him financial security, but not much else.

He spent the last five years or so of his life sharing the countdown to his retirement. That’s when he was going to enjoy the weekends, and Sunday nights through happy hour on Friday, too.

Things didn’t go as planned. He died shortly before the countdown to retirement reached zero days.

That had a big impact on me. At the time, I was running the affiliate program for ClubMom.com, and my book, “Successful Affiliate Marketing for Merchants” was recently published. I was steadily making progress career-wise with titles and salaries, but I was missing something.

I started noticing that my Sunday nights were getting harder. I was feeling unsatisfied with my job. Well, it was more a feeling like I was wasting my time. I was living the movie Office Space, and I even had a Red Swingline Stapler on my desk.

Each day, as I settled into my cubicle, I’d feel like I couldn’t breathe all the way. That’s not some metaphor. It was real. The idea that I was going to settle for weekends was suffocating me. Something had to change.

That’s where serendipity came into play. A year earlier, I’d met Missy Ward at an event called Affiliate Force. We were conference friends and virtual strangers. We hung out again in April 2003 at the annual Affiliate Force, and got to talking about ways the event could be better, but how the organizer was resistant to our ideas.

A few weeks later, we had a chat on the phone, and AffiliateSummit.com was registered on May 19, 2003. Both of us kept our day jobs as we struggled to get this new idea off the ground. There were lots of hurdles, including a lack of money and experience.

Over time, we left our jobs to focus on Affiliate Summit. Being my own boss got me in a good place. A place where Sunday nights were now exciting, because there were new opportunities ahead of me on Monday morning.

I was in a good place in my head, but not geographically. Then a move to Austin got me in a great place.

This was my tribe: people who spoke my language. They worked at startups and tech companies. Mentioning affiliate marketing got a knowing glance, instead of a twisted face of confusion. I got them, and they got me.

Plus… sunshine and tacos.

I don’t think I’ll ever retire. My dad probably thinks I’m crazy.

Karen Garcia on Physics, Fear of Needles, and #orovilledam

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Karen Garcia, Co-Founder of Lab6 Media, joined me to chat on my podcast, This is Affiliate Marketing with Shawn Collins.

Karen Garcia

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

We discussed…

  • Her background in physics
  • Whether or not she ever sang karaoke
  • Why she regularly donates blood
  • An explanation of the math on her Facebook cover photo
  • The Oroville Dam scare
  • Her first Tweet

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 Booths are Sold Out #ASE17

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All Affiliate Summit East 2017 booths are now sold out. We’re compiling an Affiliate Summit East 2017 Booth Waitlist for any companies interested in exhibiting that waited too long.

Sorry, you missed the last booth

Affiliate Summit East 2017 is taking place on July 30 – August 1, 2017 at the New York Marriott Marquis.

This three day conference includes three tradeshow areas packed with affiliates, merchants, vendors, networks, technology providers, digital agencies, and traffic sources.

There will also be multiple tracks of relevant educational sessions delivered by industry experts; a variety of networking events; and online tools to help you connect with other attendees before, during and after the event.

There are a some other sponsor opportunities still available, including 13 Meet Market tables.

Get on the Affiliate Summit East 2017 Booth Waitlist.

Vinny O’Hare on Saving Refugees, @AtlantaFalcons, and the Cadillac XLR

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Vinny O’Hare, President of AwesomeGang.com, joined me to chat on my podcast, This is Affiliate Marketing with Shawn Collins.

Vinny O'Hare

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

We discussed…

  • How he became an Atlanta Falcons fan
  • Using Evernote to help his love life
  • Working as a volunteer firefighter
  • His secret pink drink
  • A MacGyver bike light
  • His favorite car

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.

We’re Down to Our Last Booths for Affiliate Summit East 2017

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We’re nearly sold out of booths in the exhibit hall for Affiliate Summit East 2017, so if you were on the fence, now is the time to reserve your spot.

There are only 6 booths left!

The Affiliate Summit East 2017 Exhibit Hall is open on Monday, July 31 and Tuesday, August 1. The Affiliate Summit Exhibit Hall Booth Space Package includes the following:

  • Exhibitor Booth Space (Space only. Booth related costs such as tables, chairs, cleaning, electricity, Internet, etc. are additional).
  • Three (3) VIP passes to be used for booth staff, clients or affiliates.
  • Five (5) Networking Plus passes to be used for staff, clients or affiliates.
  • Ability to purchase additional passes at 20% off the prevailing rate, at the time of purchase.
  • Your company description in the Exhibitor & Conference Guide (Max. 650 characters including spaces and subject to receipt of description by June 1, 2017).
  • Your exhibitor listing located within the Affiliate Summit East 2017 networking platform including your logo, company description and link to your website (Exhibitor to upload ASAP).
  • Exhibitor Badge Ribbons.

Affiliate Summit East 2017 is taking place July 30 – August 1, 2017 at the New York Marriott Marquis.

Justin Rondeau on Karaoke, Kickball, and #stachelife

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Justin Rondeau, Director of Optimization at Digital Marketer, joined me to chat on my podcast, This is Affiliate Marketing with Shawn Collins.

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

We discussed…

  • Why Home Depot is one of his favorite sports teams
  • His first Tweet
  • His mustache thing
  • Singing “Total Eclipse of the Heart” in karaoke
  • Fraternity days
  • Complaining to Uber

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.