Shawn Collins

Today we’re profiling Shawn Collins. Shawn along with his Affiliate Summit partner, Missy Ward are presenting “Monetizing Your Blog Using Affiliate Marketing” at NMX on Monday, April 13 at 1:45 p.m. 

1. Without repeating your online bio word for word, tell the NMX community who you are and why you’re so good at what you do.

I’ve been an affiliate marketer since 1997. Some might call me a dinosaur, but I prefer to say that I am a veteran or early adopter. Back then, it was such uncharted territory, and there were no blogs, podcasts, videos, newsletters, or events. We had to make it up as we went along. After a few years of being an affiliate and an affiliate manager, as well as writing on affiliate marketing for ClickZ, I got a book deal to write how to manager an affiliate program. That book, “Successful Affiliate Marketing for Merchants” is way outdated now (it came out in 2001), but it was a chronicle of the ways I made up to start and manage an affiliate program. In 2003, I partnered up with Missy Ward to start the Affiliate Summit conference. It didn’t really make any sense, because we were both broke and clueless about events, but we made it happen with passion and patience. What started as a very small investment (the cost of the affiliatesummit.com domain) has grown to be the largest affiliate marketing tradeshow in the world.

2. What are you speaking about at NMX? Why is this an important topic?

Missy Ward and I will be discussing the best kind of affiliate programs for bloggers, how to figure out what their visitors want to buy, and the most effective implementation strategies. Then, we will do some live site reviews to give candid advice to bloggers in the audience. This session will be very timely, because there is a big shift of bloggers from the old sponsorship model to performance marketing, and it’s a topic that many bloggers are anxious to learn more about.

3. Who are you most looking forward to see speak at NMX and why?

So many of the breakouts look great, but I’m most excited about Dennis Miller. I’ve loved his stuff dating back to SNL and I saw him in concert in either the late 80s or early 90s when I was in college. I’ve enjoyed his work and brand of comedy ever since then.

4. Beyond work…what is your passion?

I really enjoy writing. I get to indulge that side of me to a degree with my work, but I prefer fiction writing. I am currently about 30,000 words in on the next “Great American Novel”. Before I got into marketing, and even before I had any sort of paying job, I really wanted to be a writer. I knocked on lots of doors in NYC in the 90s and the only paying gig I ever got was to write one piece for the New York Press, which was an alternative to the Village Voice back then. I earned $100, so I guess that makes me a professional writer. Well, I have written business books, too, and we just wrapped the 30th issue of our magazine, FeedFront. I’ve been writing for school newspapers, zines, ezines, magazines, websites, etc. since elementary school. Yeah, writing is my passion.

5. What is one thing people would be surprised to learn about you?

Back when current U.S. Senator Cory Booker ran for Mayor of Newark, NJ for the first time in 2002, I ran his website for him. We were introduced by a mutual friend, and I offered up the right combination of site design and marketing, as well as a low rate (free). The was the campaign featured in the Oscar nominated documentary, “Street Fight.” It was a fascinating experience that convinced me I’d never want to work in politics.

Don’t have your ticket? Register for a Content Creator or VIP ticket today as you can’t see Shawn and Missy’s session on an Exhibits Only pass.

Tom Webster

Deb’s note: I met Tom Webster in 2008 when I was the Community Manager for BlogTalkRadio and we had a booth at BlogWorld ’08. Tom had dinner with the BTR team, and I was impressed not only by his dry sense of humor – he kept us laughing throughout the meal – but also by his passion for data and numbers especially as they apply to podcasting. I’ve seen Tom every year at BlogWorld/NMX – as he is always brought back as a speaker – and he still has that same passion for what he does.

Tom is giving a Super Session, “Podcasting: The Next 10 Years” at NMX on Monday, April 13th at 1:45 p.m. in Ballroom D.

And now, Tom answers our five questions.

1. Without repeating your online bio word for word, tell the NMX community who you are and why you’re so good at what you do.

I’m the Vice President of Strategy for Edison Research, and in that role I’ve been covering consumer usage of new media for over a decade. I’ve been reporting on adoption and behaviors around Social Media, Podcasting, Blogging and more for the NMX (and Blogworld…and Podcast Expo…) audience since the beginning. And I’m good at what I do because my team at Edison is AWESOME at what they do, which gives me the confidence to report our numbers.

2. What are you speaking about at NMX? Why is this an important topic?

We have been tracking podcasting for 10 years now, so I plan to give attendees a retrospective of where the medium has been, where it is now, and where I think it is going. It’s an important topic, because after being in audience research for 20 years, I can tell you that what got us here as podcasters, is not going to get us there. I want to help get us there.

3. Who are you most looking forward to see speak at NMX and why?

Norm Pattiz. We’ve worked with Norm at Edison on various initiatives for over a decade, and he is fearless, relentless, and absolutely passionate about pushing podcasting forward. We’ve all got a lot to learn from him.

4. Beyond work…what is your passion?

Things I am passionate about: Magic (especially mentalism—I’m fascinated by that), a good quality martini, and more time with by beautiful wife, Tamsen.

5. What is one thing people would be surprised to learn about you?

At this point, I don’t know that I have many things that would surprise people 🙂 But I’ll go with this: I used to teach English. I still speak it regularly.

6. Bonus! You were given a discount code to share with your online community. Share your code here and tell potential attendees why they should attend NMX!

I can’t seem to find my code….but I think if you’ve ever stared at a blank screen or a microphone and wondered what to blog about, write about, or speak about—come to NMX. I leave with dozens of ideas every year. (Tom’s discount code is TWebster20, use it to register for NMX and receive $100 off current pricing. – Deb )

Last year, Lynette Young set the tone for an awesome event by opening NMX 2014. This year Lynette’s returned to co-present a breakout session with her friend, Hunter Boyle. What follows is a brief Q & A with our good friend, NMX speaker and superfan, Lynette Young.

Cecily Kellogg

This isn’t Cecily Kellogg’s first rodeo at NMX speaker. In 2011, Cecily was a panelist at BlogWorld Los Angeles. Since then, she’s moved on from parent blogging to build a successful career as content marketer, which is what she’ll be talking about at NMX ’15 in April.

Behold today’s speaker spotlight.

5 Questions with Cecily Kellogg

1. Without repeating your online bio word for word, tell the NMX community who you are and why you're so good at what you do.

It wouldn’t seem like a poet would end up in content marketing, but that’s what happened to me. It turns out my years as a poet were great training for content creation. I learned how to say a lot with just a few words, a skill that has helped me craft content that people actually read. After achieving a small measure of success with my personal blog I became a full time writer in 2007, and today I run a small agency that provides marketing and written content to a variety of clients.

2. What are you speaking about at NMX? Why is this an important topic?

At NMX I’ll be talking about creating a content marketing strategy for your blog. Businesses are required to establish specific goals for their content.  The determine what a conversion will be, they use old school sales techniques, and they require content to produce results. Bloggers can benefit from this same approach, even if a “conversion” for them is something as simple as leaving a comment or sharing a post. I’ll be teaching bloggers how to integrate a business-style content strategy to grow their blog and help them find success – while staying true to their blog’s heart.

3. Who are you most looking forward to see speak at NMX and why?

I’m really excited about seeing some favorite folks speak such as C.C. Chapman, Lynette Young, Jason Falls, Missy Ward, and Kelby Carr. But I’m also really looking forward to hearing Marcy Massura and Maggie Patterson, women I admire but haven’t heard speak yet.

4. Beyond work...what is your passion?

Outside of work, I find joy in my family. My daughter is a budding rock star, plays junior roller derby, and has helped me reconnect with my inner artist. My husband makes me laugh and is the most amazing writer. When the weather doesn’t suck, I love exploring and hiking in the woods.

5. What is one thing people would be surprised to learn about you?

Ben Greenfield

In order to highlight NMX ’15 speakers and sessions, we sent each speaker a list of 5 questions so you can learn a little more about them.

Each speaker is asked the same five questions, but as you’ll see as we feature each different speaker, the answers couldn’t be more different.

Today we’re pleased to present 5 Questions with Ben Greenfield:

1. Without repeating your online bio word for word, tell the NMX community who you are and why you're so good at what you do.

As an author, consultant and speaker, I teach people how to achieve superhuman health, longevity, weight loss, lean muscle gain, holistic wellness, and peak performance. My understanding of functional exercise, nutrition, and the delicate balance between performance and health has helped thousands of people around the world achieve their goals and improve their quality of life. My goal in life is to make healthy living inspiring, entertaining and educational, and my “rebel yell” goes like this…

…I love getting fit, feeling good about the way my body looks, and fulfilling my deep-seeded drive to live life to the fullest by achieving difficult feats of physical performance. But I was fed up with feeling like crap from all the extreme exercising, strange foods, feeling of constant stress and soreness, and worry about the toll my hectic lifestyle was taking on my body. So I have found a way of training, eating and living that is perfectly healthy and natural, but still allows me to look, feel and perform at my peak capabilities….

I am currently the founder and owner of Greenfield Fitness Systems, a company that develops innovative and cutting-edge fitness and nutrition services and solutions to help people reach their physical and mental performance goals, whether that be to defy aging and achieve longevity, cross the finish line of an Ironman triathlon, or simply shed a few pounds.

2. What are you speaking about at NMX? Why is this an important topic?

Over the past decade, I’ve built a passionate and responsive audience who tends to “hang on every word I say”. Without ever appearing on Oprah or Dr. Oz, or getting any other big lucky breaks, I’m literally managed to turn myself into a globally recognized fitness expert. I’m not saying this to brag, but rather to alert you to the fact that you too can become a trust expert in your field (with a big following) if you implement the strategies I’ll teach you at NMX. We’ll cover everything from podcasting to content creation to fan interaction, and I’ll give you every tip and trick I know and use!

3. Who are you most looking forward to see speak at NMX and why?

Adam Corolla. He’s funny. He’s kind of weird too. He podcasts. What more could you ask for? He’s sure to be entertaining.

4. Beyond work...what is your passion?

Besides dark chocolate? My twin boys, River and Terran Greenfield. It’s an amazing and breathtaking sense of responsibility to know that you can shape little lives who can grow up to make this world a better place.

5. What is one thing people would be surprised to learn about you?

I grew up as a complete geek – programming computers, playing the violin, writing fantasy novels, and as president of the chess club. I’m still an extreme introvert and I get supercharged by being by myself, strumming on a guitar or walking in the forest!

6. Bonus! You were given a discount code to share with your online community. Share your code here and tell potential attendees why they should attend NMX!

If you’re ready to finally take the next step and begin creating content that makes you happy, makes you money and changes the world, then you need to be at New Media Expo. Need a little extra incentive? You can use code “bgreenfield20” to get 20% off the current pricing. See you there – and remember – what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas!

Jason Falls

In order to highlight NMX ’15 speakers and sessions, we sent each speaker a questionnaire so we could feature them here. Each speaker is asked the same five questions, but as you’ll see as we feature each different speaker, the answers couldn’t be more different.

It should come as no surprise that the first speaker to send back responses to his five questions was Jason Falls. Jason has spoken at NMX several times in the past and never fails to deliver. He’s a true professional and one of our favorite people to work with.