Recently we have done some out of the box marketing.  Everything from sponsoring Starcraft maps (millions of views for less than $1,000)  to sponsoring MMA fighters on FX (1.3 million viewers).

Lots of people have been asking about the ROI on these things.

I know in our world we look for instant gratification of I spent X and my return was a positive X.

For these items both of them cost me about 1/10th of what I would consider a “test” buy for a affiliate campaign.  They were huge opportunities to put our brand in front of millions of people.

Instant ROI

ROI on sponsoring the UFC Fighters:

Instant ROI wise its hard to tell… during the UFC event or that night,  we got almost 2500 new subscribers on our newsletter which from our calculations is generally worth about $5 per organic subscriber.  Will new users be worth that?  Very hard to tell yet.

ROI on sponsoring the Starcraft Map:

Again we saw a large influx of new users on our newsletter.  There was also lots of talk on the forum for the map we sponsored which linked to ShoeMoney.com. This is a little harder to measure because it was over a weeks time.

Full disclosure: After about a week of sponsoring the map the map was removed by blizzard for not following their guidelines. Evidently you can’t take a sponsor for maps. This cause a HUGE shitstorm on their forums and if ShoeMoney was not well known to the millions of people who played this map it was now. There was a lot of hate but also a LOT of support for me and that I was supporting the map. The 2 days that the map went down the traffic from Blizzards official Starcraft Forum.

Longterm ROI

While I strongly believe the evidence is there that we will receive a great return financially on the sponsorships,  that is pretty much up in the air.  Honestly I just wanted to do it.  Its 2 things I love…

Here is my closing keynote with slides

After traveling for the last… what seems like month I am back in the office catching up big time. I think I have been in the office a total of 4 days in the last 3 weeks. Ouch.

I know there is a view versions of my closing keynote but none contain the powerpoint. I am making one with the powerpoint and will post it tomorrow (hopefully).

Here is the video from the UFC on Fox event the other night if you missed our logo on the fighters

During my closing keynote at Affiliate Summit I announced that it would be my last time speaking.

This marks the 50th time I have spoken in the SEO/Affiliate industry and it’s time to hang it up.

This led to a barrage of questions on Twitter, Facebook, and emails.

So I thought I would address the main ones here.

Are you going to continue to attend events where you used to speak?

Yes I will always attend Affiliate Summit and AdTechs for sure. These are must attend events for anyone in the space.

I also like to attend the TechCrunch and Demo events. If you have not been to one of these events I highly recommend it.

Why are you not speaking anymore at events?

Here is the deal. When I speak I like to put a lot into it. I am not a professional speaker. Well I shouldn’t say that cause I have been paid and comped to speak… so if that qualifies me as a professional then so be it.

Anyway I see a lot of people who give the same presentation and several events year after year. I have never done that… ever… In fact I never even look at previous talks when I make a new one.

So reason number one is a time issue. My kids are 3 and 5 now and I just can’t spend the day working on projects then come how and bust it out on my talk and stuff.

The biggest reason is that I REALLY love to meet people in the expo hall. Don’t get me wrong there is a lot of value in seeing speakers but most of the speakers at this point for me I know pretty well and could call/email them if I wanted to talk to them.

When I do a talk I spend a LOT of time in my room practicing. After evolving from a panelist to a solo to a keynote speaker each level requires a lot more investment of time and preparation.

For 7 years I have maintained a pretty good photo gallery on my site. One that people really enjoy using. But if you look at the last 5 or 6 events there are no photos. This is because I just have not had time. But I really want to do that again. That was one of the reasons I started this blog was to chronicle my experiences.

So to directly answer the question the main reason is so that I can spend more time meeting new people and networking in the expo hall.

Does this mean you wont do private speaking anymore where you go into companies and talk?

No I still do that.

Is there any circumstances where you would speak again at an event.

Well never say never. But I doubt it. I would probably do it if someone was to make a sizable donation to charity or something (10k+).

The UFC event on FX tonight’s c0-main event features Duane “Bang” Ludwig against Josh “The Dentist” Neer.

We are proud to sponsor Bang Ludwig!!!   Watch for the ShoeMoney Logo tonight on this UFC event!

While diving along the west wall of the Grand Cayman Island 3 days ago the master diver with us said there were lots of Barracuda in the area.

He said we should remove all jewelry, watches, rings, or anything that would sparkle in the water if the sun hit it…

Evidently giant Barracuda mistake the shiny objects for fish that they like to feed on.

Got me thinking… Sometimes I feel like a Barracuda chasing shiny things… but they are not always food.

Last July, the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), conceived by Congress in the post-crash financial regulatory overhaul, came into being with great fanfare, carrying hopes it would champion consumer interests against the types of predatory practices that had helped bring about the “Great Recession.” Six months later, the question can be asked: was the CFPB stillborn, a victim of “infanticide” by the same Congress that gave it birth?

Under its statute, the CFPB cannot carry out its most important functions, including regulating “non-bank” financial businesses, such as payday lenders, mortgage companies and debt collection agencies, until it has a director. Exploiting this leverage, Republican senators recently filibustered the nomination of President Obama’s choice to head the agency, former Ohio Attorney General Richard Cordray, a highly qualified candidate whose credentials were not in dispute. These senators opposed the appointment of a director until the structure and powers of the CFPB were fundamentally altered by replacing a single head with a bipartisan commission, subject the agency’s budget to the congressional appropriation process (funding currently comes from the Federal Reserve), and making it easier for other banking regulators to veto the CFPB’s rules.

With Democrats unwilling to bow to these demands, the Cordray nomination seemingly died, leaving the CFPB leaderless and powerless. Without a director, it can do little more than take consumer complaints, promote consumer financial education and issue reports. Its most concrete action has been to propose simplified mortgage forms. These and other initiatives would remain unenforceable, however, and the ambitious reform agenda of its backers still stymied, until a director was appointed.

Defiantly, President Obama has now done just that, without Senate confirmation. On January 4, exercising his constitutional appointment power while Congress is in recess, he named Cordray to the CFPB post. The appointment is only short-term, however, and more problematically, Congress technically was not in “recess,” (thanks to GOP wrangling of Senate procedure), which places the appointment in uncharted legal territory and invites an almost certain court challenge. Thus, even with the President’s daring end run maneuver, the effectiveness and future of the CFPB are still very much in doubt.

Consequently, this could still leave the FTC as the primary cop on the consumer financial protection beat – a duty this hyper-aggressive FTC will be only too eager to discharge. Alone or with state authorities, the FTC has brought nearly 500 cases during the past three years aimed at protecting the “Great Recession” consumer from allegedly dubious schemes, including debt relief, foreclosure rescue, payday lending, grants and business opportunities. Most recently, it obtained multi-million dollar judgments in a mortgage modification and foreclosure relief action; a court order requiring a payday lender to pay nearly $300,000 for illegally trying to garnish borrowers’ wages; and a $29.8 million judgment in a government grants case.

With 13 million Americans still unemployed, and millions more still struggling to get by, the FTC has said that consumer financial protection will continue to be a top priority. DR financial marketers should remain on high alert. While the CFPB may be handcuffed for now, the fiercely energized FTC remains on the enforcement prowl.

First I want to give a shot out to hostzilla who won the ShoeMoney “I will wear your shirt throughout Affiliate Summit” contest.

The first night we had a Elite Retreat alumni gathering. Great event. We had food and drinks for all the people who have ever attended an Elite Retreat event:

Check out my Tebow pose before the big event:

After a hectic couple months my wife and I went to the Grand Cayman island.

Don’t worry I will have a full review (so I can write it off).

I have some good guest posters early this week but I will not be back in the USA until Thursday.