Shawn Collins Interview covering his Online Businesses
by Officially True on May.23, 2009, under Authors, Shawn Collins
Shawn, you’ve been online for about 15 years and have been running your own websites for about 12 of those years. I’ve known you since about the year 2000 when you were the affiliate manager of Club Mom. Over time, you’ve been an affiliate, affiliate manager, expert author, speaker, consultant and blogger / video blogger. Additionally, you are a co-founder of the Affiliate Summit (the premiere affiliate marketing conference), the co-publisher and co-editor-in-chief of FeedFront Magazine, and the co-host on the Affiliate Thing online radio show. Since I always get this question, I want to see what your answer would be: “How do you do it all?”
I am very driven to provide for my family and I love what I do. All of my projects have creative elements that I really enjoy. So, I don’t really feel like I have a job – this stuff I do isn’t work. It’s fulfilling and fun and I wake up anxious to do it each day.
For anyone unfamiliar with and curious about affiliate programs, how do you describe what they are?
I think the easiest way is to say they are the Internet equivalent to folks that used to go around the neighborhood to sell Avon or host Tupperware parties. Just like they were commissioned salespeople, affiliates are getting paid to refer sales or leads to a company. The only thing that has changed is that the neighborhood is a lot bigger online, and affiliates have the potential to create a very successful career from their living room.
Would you say it is easier or more difficult to be successful with affiliate programs today? Does it seem like there is more competition since it can be easier for people to get a website or blog set up these days?
I think it’s easier to get started with the tools available, but there is certainly more competition. That said, most people are lazy and impatient. If somebody is willing to invest their time and energy, as well as being patient during the process of growing an affiliate business, there is a lot of potential.
It’s always a good idea not to have all of your eggs in one basket, especially in this slow economy. In other words, it’s best to have many sources of income, especially residual. Even so, usually one source of income stands out as being the main source. Out of all of the projects you are involved in with your business, what seems to be the most profitable?
The Affiliate Summit conference is, by far, my main focus and the source for the majority of my income. There are many projects I do that revolve around Affiliate Summit and building the brand, such as FeedFront Magazine and GeekCast.fm (podcast network). Also, we are about to launch a book publishing imprint through Affiliate Summit.
So, while most of my eggs are on the one basket, I am constantly looking for ways to diversify.
One exciting thing about affiliate marketing is that the area hasn’t been impacted like many other industries from the recession. The reason there is that it’s one of the most efficient and least risky methods to market online. The last Affiliate Summit, in January 2009, was the biggest of all of the conferences since we started in 2003, and our next event (August 2009) is selling better than any previous conferences. With nearly three months to go, we have already sold all of the booths in our exhibit hall.
Social networks are such a big part of everyday life for many people including those with an online business. What is your list of top five social networks that you use and how much time do you spend on each daily?
I have accounts everywhere, but there are only three that I visit with any regularity: Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.
I go into Facebook less than 30 minutes a day to maintain my presence there with fan pages, events, groups, etc. and I pretty much just go to LinkedIn to accept connections.
Twitter is the only place where I concentrate a good amount of time. But it’s minutes at a time throughout the day. I monitor any reference to me or my companies through GetStatisfaction, TweetDeck and TweetLater and interact with those folks. I also have my RSS feeds from blogs feeding into my Twitter accounts, so it appears I am more active there than I am.
What are a few of your other favorite online tools?
My favorite is Gmail – I was using Outlook for many years and was resistant to switching, but I’ve been so happy to leave the burden of .pst files and relying on accessing the desktop where Outlook was based. Now I have so much more flexibility, as well as more space (I have a corporate Google Apps account – $50/year per person) and I can access all of my information easily from any computer.
I also like Jungle Disk a lot – it’s a remote backup service, so I have copies of all of my files and folders on the Amazon S3 servers, which I can access at any time. These are updated daily. It’s comforting to know that I could easily grab all my files if I lost my computer in a fire, flood, etc., or if the hard drive just got fried.
Lastly, WordPress (hosted on my server) has revolutionized the way I create new sites. It’s such a quick and easy process to build a new, sharp looking site, and I don’t have to worry about having FTP access to upload files. It’s another helpful tool for working anyplace, so I don’t have to be tethered to my desk.
Affiliate Summit has now been around for about six years and is attended by affiliates, merchants, agencies, affiliate networks and even recently by Newark, NJ Mayor Cory Booker. When you co-founded it with Missy Ward, did you think it would grow to be so successful? How was the speech by Cory Booker received?
We started Affiliate Summit, because we wanted to provide an alternative to an existing conference, which we didn’t think was focused enough on the business of affiliate marketing – it was more about parties. At the time, it was a labor of love, and we figured it might supplement our full-time jobs. That was the case for the first two years, where it was just marginally profitable, but our persistence paid off and it started exploding.
Many people were skeptical in advance of Cory Booker’s keynote. But when he came and spoke, he had the crowd in the palm of his hand. He spoke for about an hour without notes and he is a great storyteller. He literally had many people in the crowd in tears with his inspiring message.
We have video and audio available of his speech and I recently posted links at http://blog.affiliatetip.com/archives/cory-booker-mayor-of-twitter/
- I listen to the speech fairly often.
What made you decide to create the FeedFront official magazine for Affiliate Summit? Why did you create an offline and online version? How do you deal with the costs of both?
Prior to working in Internet marketing in 1997, my jobs were in magazine publishing and I always liked to write, and I was looking for a way to incorporate that part of my passion.
We had been using a magazine publisher for several of our conference programs, and decided to start adding some content a year ago. The response was fantastic. Rather than a typical magazine where the articles are written by outsiders who research the topics, all of our content is from people in the industry – the real practitioners of the things we do each day.
So, we have more of a blog vibe than a conventional magazine. Also, we set a hard limit of 500 words per article, so they are jam packed with information and each one can be consumed in a short amount of time.
The reason for the offline and online versions was that we wanted to make it a physical magazine to send out to subscribers for free, but it was too expensive to mail outside of the U.S. So, we just started making a PDF of the magazine available to anybody outside the U.S. that wanted to read it. We also began putting it on Scribd.com recently, and it’s now available on the Kindle.
The costs for the print edition are offset by advertising, and the online version doesn’t really have any costs – we send a PDF to the printer to publish each issue, and we just use that same file (reduced to make it quicker to download) online.
On your Affiliate Thing online radio broadcast show and your Affiliate Tip blog, you bring to light problems and solutions for affiliates and merchants in the industry. Do you think affiliate programs will ever overtake traditional advertising methods?
Affiliate marketing continues to grow from year to year, while the traditional advertising model is shrinking. I think there is a great future for this business, because of the scalability, as well as the relatively low cost of entry and limited risk.
Do you have any new projects or upcoming events you’d like to highlight?
I mentioned a little earlier that there will be a new book publishing imprint soon. That is going to be called Velocity NYC Press (velocitynyc.com was my first domain back in the 1990’s), and the focus will be on helping online marketers get books published in their specialties. I am really excited about working with authors and helping them.
[ View Shawn's Official Video and Websites ]
http://www.officiallypluggedin.com/marketers/shawn-collins.php
~ Interview and Post by WendyShepherd.com at OfficiallyTrue.com
Frederic Doss interview covering Transformers, GI Joe and more
by Officially True on May.07, 2009, under Actors, Frederic Doss
Touching base with actor/producer Frederic Doss, I decided to do an interview with him. He was one of the first people to be showcased on my Officially Plugged In {view} website since last year. He’s gone from appearing in the Transformers movie to having a part in the new G.I. Joe film. He’s also a sweet guy. On to the interview…
What was your first experience with acting and how do you feel you’ve grown since that time?
I took a drama class in high school to impress a girl. It didn’t woo her, but it did help me find something I loved. I left it behind to pursue other things, got married, had kids, served in the military; so I’ve done a LOT of growing up since then.
You had the opportunity to be in the Transformers movie, did you learn any lessons or get any advice from anyone on the cast/crew?
Mainly the crew. I had so many great times with folks like Mike Burmeister and Kate Chase from locations, Steve Mann from picture cars, Joey Digaetano and Steve Galich from F/X and of course Sally Jackson from casting. The most influential person advice-wise was definitely Glenn Morshower. He was phenomenal. Glenn took me and actor Charlie Bodin under his wing, showed us his “Extra Mile” and was VERY supportive of both of us. I don’t think I would have made the choice to BE and actor if not for Glenn.
Has your role in the Transformers movie helped your acting career?
Of course. When someone drops a bone in your lap the size of TF you run with the sucker.
Did you get to attend the premiere of Transformers?
Not in Los Angeles, but they did a premier at Holloman AFB. Michael Bay made a surprise appearance, said some great stuff about my performance and I hit him up for another gig. He hasn’t called yet, but he will. 
You recently had the role of Lyle Granger in the Coyote County Loser film. How did you get involved with this film?
It was an open casting call in Roswell, New Mexico. I found it on nmfilm.com and drove the 2.5 hours out to Roswell from Alamogordo and the rest is history.
Can you tell me a bit about Double Negative? Was it hard getting the project going as a producer of the film?
Double Negative was a very fun shoot. I got to do some cool action stuff like a roof-top chase scene and choreographed fighting. My part as producer was mainly helping to put people together. Most of the credit on that one goes to Robert Spencer.
You have a part in the upcoming G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra movie. How did the filming of that go? Did anything memorable happen on the film set?
Very cool, though I can’t talk about it. What I can say was that I got to meet some neat folks, such as Ken Thomas who I will be working with on upcoming projects.
Do you plan to go to the premiere of G.I. Joe?
I haven’t been invited, so probably not. I’ll probably pay for a ticket just like everyone else.
Now, you are expanding your areas of expertise and working on your own script. Tell me a bit about it and who you would like to have roles in it.
The script is very hip. In short, it’s about a rock-and-rolling super-soldier. I’ve got some definites in mind, such as Ken Thomas and pro-wrestler Kris Katera as well as someone fairly famous in the world of comics in the form of Ruby Rocket. I’d like to get Glenn on board as well as Tom Savini…possibly even Mike Judge. There is another famous person we’re writing into the script, but I don’t want to give too much away until we’re ready.
Anything else coming up from your mixing pot of planned projects?
Lot’s of auditions out here with Texas just passing it’s new film incentives. I’ve been trying not to talk about projects until they develop lately. Too many disappointments in this business. I am going to be working on a series of shorts with a talented director here in Tyler, TX coming up.
[ View Frederic's Official Video and Websites ] ~ Interview and Post by Wendy Shepherd
Sean Patrick Flanery in Citizen Jane Movie
by Officially True on Apr.24, 2009, under Actors, Sean Patrick Flanery
I was able to talk with Sean Patrick Flanery (Young Indiana Jones, Powder, Boondock Saints I & II) this week and he has been busy shooting a Hallmark Hall of Fame movie named “Citizen Jane“. Sean plays the killer, Tom O’Donnell.
Citizen Jane is a true story based on the book by James Dalessandro
. Here’s a bit about the story…
Tom O’Donnell had been living off the graces of Jane Alexander for six years. He regaled her with his wit, charm, and tales of oversea adventure. He also borrowed money extensively for home business operations and future investments. But Tom O’Donnell was more than just a con man. He would do anything for money–even murder Jane’s 88-year-old aunt. After he fled with over $10,000 of her money, Jane was determined to put him behind bars and succeeded. She then went on to assist in the solving of 20 more cold case murders.
CBS ran coverage of the Citizen Jane story here.
According to Sean, a director of the Dead Zone, Armand Mastroianni, contacted him about the role.
As stated on April 15, 2009 by the San Francisco Chronicle: “– Exterior scenes for James Dalessandro’s true crime story, “Citizen Jane,” are being filmed here this week for a Hallmark Channel movie of the week. Shooting started Tuesday at Crissy Field and moved to Pacific Heights. The leading lady is Ally Sheedy, Sean Patrick Flanery plays the leading man, and Jon Polito and Meat Loaf are police officers.”
Sean also mentioned that Meat Loaf is hysterical to work with.
[ View Sean's Official Video and Websites ] ~ Post by Wendy Shepherd
Officially True – Officially Plugged In
by Officially True on Apr.12, 2009, under Officially Plugged In
I’d like to start this first post by explaining the premise of Officially True and Officially Plugged In. Every idea has a beginning and these sites started when I began experiencing problems with fake and poser profiles online.
About Officially Plugged In 
I was helping a couple of film producers with their online movie sites and social networks. One of the projects they were working on involved actor Sean Patrick Flanery (Powder, Young Indiana Jones, Boondock Saints). Sean wanted to get online with his own website and social network profiles, so I offered to help him. During the course of getting everything set up for Sean, plus letting friends and fans know where to find him, I came across several fake profiles. These people were pretending to be Sean, not just running a fan page, but also made it appear to be the ‘real’ him. I didn’t think too much about it at the time, until we started getting messages from people questioning us about whether Sean’s social profiles were actually him… the real deal. Even though we had links to his official site, there were still non-believers.
I can understand their concerns. By being so active with social networks, I was aware of people trying to get celebrities to prove they are the ‘real’ person they claimed to be. Several social profiles had popped up trying to verify celebrities, in which they would request a photo of the celebrity holding up a sign to show where their social profile is located. However, this brought along accusations of people using a graphics program like Photoshop to doctor the photos to appear authentic. Things appeared to be hopeless and celebrities seemed to be getting irritated by having to prove themselves repeatedly to various celebrity “protector” profiles. Can you imagine someone asking you repeatedly if you are the real person, you claim to be, and asking you for proof?
Celebrities have to understand the motivation behind these “protector” profiles existing in the first place. Some celebrities feel flattered that someone would pretend to be them. Its one thing for a fan to set up a support site for a celebrity, but it’s a different thing to actually pretend to be someone they aren’t. It’s a form of identity theft. Envision a teen, coming across a profile that claims to be a celebrity. The teen is excited and sends a message to what they ‘think’ is the real celebrity. However, looming behind this profile is a foul-minded middle-aged man for instance. He gains the trust of this teen and tries to meet. I’m sure your imagination could conjure up what could happen in the end. No one would want to be associated with a bad story that mars his or her name in that way.
It’s a problem that is abundant on many social networks including MySpace, Facebook, Twitter, etc. including forums and chat rooms.
With this in mind, I figured video would make sense with helping to lay people’s doubts to rest about Sean. At least they could see and hear him state where to find him online. Sean agreed and created a humorous video while also holding up a sign that had his website address and MySpace account details. The response from friends and fans were positive. There were still people that sent messages and asked if he was the ‘real’ person before looking at the video, but at least Sean could refer them to the video to ease their uncertainties.
With the positive results of the creation of Sean’s video, I wondered why more people in the public eye didn’t do this for their friends and fans too. So, I decided to create a central site to display videos like Sean’s video. Officially Plugged In is the first original site online to do this… since 2007. I highlight people and celebrities in various industries by showcasing them with an intro video telling who they are, what they do and where to officially find them online. I also allow them to ‘plug’ a project they are working on. Then I include a mini text internet related interview and official links.
I’ve improved things and learned how to work some video software so that the logo and the person’s website address can be posted throughout the whole video with credits at the end. Now we don’t need people to hold up signs. They only need to mention their official site or spot online in the video. I’ll gather the info for their other social network profiles and post them with icons as well. I do encourage them to also link to their social profiles from the main page of their websites so fans can easily find them and confirm they are going to the ‘official’ ones. When making an intro video, no hats should be worn and there should be good lighting. If there is any question about the validity of a person or celebrity, contact will be made with the appropriate people to verify them.
People have responded positively to the cause behind Officially Plugged In, which is to keep friends safe from online fake / poser profiles.
Now nearly 50 people support the idea of the website by having their intro videos and info showcased. My friend actor/producer Paul J. Alessi is showcased with a video and has been one of the site’s biggest supporters.
I’ve also started a “who’s listed” area that makes it easier to look up people based on their occupations or who’s on what social network. For example, you can click the tag that says ‘Twitter’ and see all of the people on Officially Plugged In that are on Twitter.
Officially Plugged In is also found on some social networks, where some of the videos are uploaded to.
For those people that don’t want to have a website or anything, I also have a sister site called Officially UNplugged
where an intro video can be showcased with the person stating they are not online and to ignore the fake/poser profiles set up as them.
Campaigns
I decided to test a different angle by running a couple of campaigns. Instead of going straight to the source and asking if someone would wants to be showcased, I am going to the fans. I wanted to see and show how much fans would like to see their favorite celebrity showcased.
Within the last month, I started campaigns to get actor Robert Downey Jr. (Ironman) and actor Tom Felton signed the petition (Harry Potter) showcased. Each started within a couple of weeks of each other. I have more campaigns planned to launch soon. I set up a MySpace and Twitter account as well as a landing page for each with instructions for fans. I linked the campaign to a petition and provided banners for fans to help promote. There are lots of friends on the myspace accounts and lots of people following on the twitter accounts. So far, over 200 fans have for Robert Downey Jr. and over 60 have signed the petition for Tom Felton. About 10% of fans are signing the petition with even more helping to spread the word. Note that not everyone likes to sign petitions, but they like to help in other ways by leaving comments or telling friends. I’m thankful for everyone that has helped!
About Officially True 
Along the journey of cruising celebrity social profiles, real and fake, I’ve wondered how many times a fake profile was contacted by a magazine or media outlet for an interview or news. Honestly, how could they verify the source to be true? I’m sure the media that are more experienced go through the correct channels offline. However, many online magazines that don’t have or know how to find the correct sources and can have major problems with reporting information from a person that could be real or fake.
I figured that since I have contact with the ‘real’ people, I would start an online magazine, a news outlet for them to post about their latest projects. Many online media outlets don’t care to cover anything except major celebrities with the same over processed boring news or false gossip. Some of those same narrow-minded websites ignore the up and coming or established people by publishing information and news only from the big studios or big companies.
This online magazine will open a venue for showcasing real people who are available not only for coverage on Officially True, but other online media can contact to get interviews and news for their own publications.
Services
I’ve also created some services that go along with these two sites. Since not everyone is online with an official website, I can help him or her set up a social network or website. I also provide maintenance and management through Profile Minders and Fan Finders to help a person be established online. I also provide consultation and online promotion. All found through: http://www.studiomatrix.com
Pass this information onto people you think could use it. They can contact me, Wendy Shepherd, at website [at] officiallypluggedin.com or wendy [at] studiomatrix.com
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