Welcome to Week #12 of the Pepperjam Network “Meet the Affiliates” Interview Series!
This week I interview Thor Schrock – a finalist from Next Internet Millionaire and producer of Top Affiliate Challenge.
Read on to learn more about Thor!
Here are the rules…
The Pepperjam Network “Meet the Affiliates” Interview Series will feature an original up-close interview with an affiliate marketer every Friday. Priority will be given to Pepperjam Network affiliates, but that is not a requirement to share your story. If you’d be interested in being interviewed please submit your request here – please make sure to tell us why you think your story is especially entertaining or educational and worth sharing with our readers.
As the series progresses we will do our best to ask questions that both entertain and educate! We encourage you to comment on each of the interviews, as well as ask follow-up questions of the interviewee.
Lastly, if you are a blogger or just someone with a network of likeminded affiliate marketing friends, we encourage you to share our interviews series with anyone who you think may benefit. Also, since you won’t want to miss an interview once it’s published I encourage you to join the Feedburner Pepperjam Network RSS Feed, which is located at the top of this page or by clicking here.
Well…let’s get on to the interview!
Meet the Affiliates: Interview #12
Thor Schrock
Internet Marketer, Blogger and Entrepreneur
http://www.thorschrock.com
http://www.schrockinnovations.com
http://www.topaffiliatechallenge.com
Question #1
KRIS: Where do you live? Are you married? Any children? Animals?
THOR: I was born and raised in Omaha, NE. I am married to my wife Kimberly and we have one child, a son Jacob. No pets right now.
Question #2
KRIS: Many people in the internet marketing industry met you for the first time when you were a contestant (and then finalist) on Next Internet Millionaire (NIM). Can you share with us the top 5 things you liked about the NIM experience and the top 5 things you didn’t like?
THOR: Things I liked:
1) While I was on NIM I learned a rule that would suit everyone to learn. If you focus on what others can do for you, you will not get very far in business. Instead, focus on what you can do to help others and you will be surprised at how easily they reciprocate to you when you ask.
2) I learned that no one person has the complete answer to how to market online (even the experts we learned from disagreed on some of the finer points). I learned from some of the most successful people in the IM world, but I was also able to out-market them in Joel Comm’s Secret Classroom product launch because I created a hybrid approach that took pieces of everyone else’s ideas and created something new. No one has the secret formula. Work hard and you will find what works for you.
3) NIM was a shock immersion into the world of online video. There is definitely a learning curve to performing for a camera, and I enjoyed the opportunity to have a 2-week crash course in how to talk in sound bites 
4) I enjoyed the opportunity to meet Joel Comm and Eric Holmlund. I know it sounds cheesy to thank the two people who were responsible for me being on the show, but the only way you will ever get better at the things you do is to expose yourself to those who are better than you. I appreciated the opportunity to learn from them.
5) I liked meeting the daily speakers, and I learned that relationships are VERY important in internet marketing. You can be the king of your world, but rarely are you the king of multiple worlds. Having relationships with people in other spheres of influences is vital to success. In a way NIM was my first conference, and I have found many since to be very valuable networking opportunities.
Things I didn’t like:
1) It’s hard to say anything negative, especially after walking a mile in a set of producer’s shoes myself. If I had to name some things, the biggest thing I didn’t like was the food. Don’t get me wrong, if you are into eating healthy the food was great. But my body went into a daily revolt that led to the coining of a new term. Whenever it was time to start shooting, I was probably in the bathroom. The cast noticed, and the term “Taking a Schrock” was born.
2) I really wish there would have been more opportunity to market ourselves on the show. I tried to keep that in mind with TAC, but you have to be very careful because there is a fine line between self promotion and spamming your audience.
3) I have to say that I developed a general distaste for info-product marketing. I am sure someday I will have an eBook, special report, or tools suite. Unless I develop something REALLY good, you won’t find me promoting info-products too often. I promoted the Secret Classroom because I was there – I knew what the product contained and I believed in it. Someone once told me when you do anything you should do it with enthusiasm, and that’s what I do. It’s hard to get enthusiastic about a product you don’t believe in.
4) It was really hard to be away from home for two weeks – especially because I missed our son’s first birthday.
5) I thought the rules on the show could have been enforced more consistently. For example, we were banned from bringing in outside assets (i.e. money, resources, relationships) into the competition. However, one contestant was allowed to incentivise one of the challenges by offering a free vacation to his resort in Costa Rica. That offer was directly responsible for Jaime Luchuck making it into the final day of the competition. I learned firsthand on TAC that it’s REALLY HARD to consistently enforce things when you are dealing with a creative group of individuals. Either way, I felt I was a winner on the show for making it as far as I did and learning as much as I was able to.
Question #3
KRIS: When you were on NIM you had the opportunity to learn from some very successful internet marketers, including Brad Fallon, Mark Joyner , Armand Morin, myself , and others. Can you share for us the most valuable information you learned from the show?
THOR: There were a few highlights that really stood out to me while I was on the show. The biggest is that video is the future. If you doubt it, you are an idiot. Right now, video has a supporting role in promoting products, but I believe in 5 years video will generate as many online sales as text content does today.
I learned that the best marketing is marketing that compliments itself. If you are marketing a product with a lot of interest, take the opportunity to build a mailing list with it. Use the rare online captive attention to promote other bonus offers that in turn lead to other future sales. If you are going to generate an ad impression that converts, you really should be able to get it to convert multiple times down the road.
Perhaps the biggest thing I learned is that there is a HUGE niche in online marketing for marketers with a genuine desire to create personal contacts and build online relationships. It is one of the reasons the Pepperjam Network is growing as quickly as it is. The days of buy my product and never call me again are over. The days of “just post your question to the automated online ticket system” are numbered. PERSONAL SERVICE will separate the men from the boys in coming years.
Question #4
KRIS: While you didn’t win NIM it appears that you have been able to turn your appearance on the show into incredible personal and professional success. In a moment, I’m gonna ask you some questions about your largest success, which was the launch of “Top Affiliate Challenge.” However, I’d like you to share with our readers some of the other projects you’ve worked on (successful or not) since your time on NIM…
THOR: Right after NIM I started preparing for the launch of Joel Comm’s DVD set, The Secret Classroom. I created more than 20 promotional videos, three completely different websites, a $100 rebate incentive, and an auto-responder email series. I was Joel’s Top Affiliate, beating names like Marlon Sanders and Mike Koenigs.
Next I started working on a traffic product called SEO Warfare. Got the domains, and started researching the kind of tools that are needed but don’t exist yet. The vision was a checkbox like plan to repeat what I did to power the Secret Classroom launch. I could not find a good enough (and reliable enough) coder to JV with, so it withered on the vine. (Shoot me an email if anyone out there wants to partner on it).
Then I launched the Schrock Desk. SD is a live remote computer support help desk based in the US and built on Citrix technology. We landed about 300 subscribers at $30 a month in a single fiscal quarter of 2008 using a hybrid online/offline marketing strategy.
Then Top Affiliate Challenge came along and that pretty much soaked my time for 6 months.
Question #5
KRIS: You produced, directed, and are the brainchild of Top Affiliate Challenge. What is Top Affiliate Challenge? Why did you create Top Affiliate Challenge?
THOR: TAC is the web’s first affiliate marketing reality show. The idea was born from a desire to continue working on online video projects like NIM, as wells as a general disgust with all of the affiliate marketing garbage products out there sold to noobies.
The idea at first was to shoot the whole thing with camcorders in hotel rooms “Blair Witch” style because the film quality wouldn’t matter if the content was good. We wanted to provide a basic framework that showed new affiliate marketers some of the quickest and easiest ways to start making a profit in affiliate marketing.
There were a number of evolutions along the way, and by the time cameras were rolling we had more than $30,000 in professional gear, two full-time video editors and a complete editing studio right in the hotel we were filming in.
I created TAC because NIM was primarily a vehicle to create and sell an info-product. It was not a repeatable show (in its current form). I wanted to create a repeatable show that was monetized through sponsorships rather than info-product sales much in the way a conference is. We did make money on Season 1 (not a lot, but enough for a proof of concept). We are planning a retooled format, different video set-up, and some other surprises for Season 2.
Question #6
KRIS: In my opinion, Top Affiliate Challenge was a success. However, the show received quite a bit of criticism in the blogosphere (even by contestants), especially for poor video quality and failure to provide educational content in the early shows. Do you believe TAC was a success? What would you have done differently? Share with us some of your greatest challenges with TAC…
THOR: I believe TAC was a success from the standpoint that it was profitable and repeatable. With that said, we did face some serious challenges along the way that were definitely unexpected.
For example, we never expected a guru on the show to convince the contestants under his guidance to eliminate themselves for the “greater good.”
We never expected people to spend their own money – that was a true shocker. We expected contestants to leverage relationships, ask for freebies and favors, but never open their wallets.
I didn’t give a lot of credence to contestants complaining about the show. These are marketers after all, and despite the hospitality we provided they were scared that the show would damage their online reputations. Toward the end of filming I think the worried contestants started realizing that the opposite was true, and all but one actually made an effort in the Shoemoney comeback challenge to get back into the game.
Lastly, despite many people’s warnings we underestimated the stress of a 24-hour production turnaround. The 24-hour turnaround was essential if we were going to allow contestants to reach out to others for assistance. Our editing team was able to use the latest camera technology to get the video into a computer quickly, but there was not time to render the episode, watch it, correct it, and render it again. That bit us big time on the first two episodes while we were on the learning curve.
Question #7
KRIS: What’s next for Thor Schrock?
THOR: First off there is Season 2 of Top Affiliate Challenge (expect a retooled show and some other new things). Planning will start on that in mid-August when we release our early-bird sponsorship rate card.
I have some plans to launch a new system I have designed to gather credit card application leads. I expect to be working closely with a lot of the affiliate managers and network management to get this lead generation system up and running. It should bank pretty well for the advertiser, the network, and myself alike.
I am going to be putting some hours back into my original business, Schrock Innovations. While I was working 12-hour days on TAC, my competitors were working on their computer repair and website development businesses. We are going to push back with some pretty aggressive moves in the 4th quarter.
Question #8
KRIS: Tell us about the most important person in your life and why?
THOR: The most important person in my life is my wife Kimberly. I know that sounds cliché, but I honestly could not do the amount of work that I do without her support, assistance, and patience. She was pivotal in getting Top Affiliate Challenge off the ground and executed to completion. She is vital to the success of Schrock Innovations. She is my sanity and compass when I lose my path. Even with all of that going on, she still finds the time and energy to be a mother to our son and even get a hot bath once and a while. She amazes me every day.
Question #9
KRIS: Tell us who you admire most in life and why? (can’t be the same person you mentioned above. )
THOR: It’s really tough to name one person for this question. There are qualities about so many people I admire and would aspire to be like.
I admire Jeremy Schoemaker because he doesn’t care what people think. He focuses on the goal that is important to him and he kills it. Even though people say this or that about Shoemoney, they eventually come to respect him – or at least envy him.
I admire Paul Bourque and Zac Johnson. People might think that sounds strange because of the way they flamed me for TAC on their blogs, but honestly I would rather have honest criticism and feedback than a bunch of yes men patting me on the back.
I admire my son Jacob. You will find out all of this in good time Kris, but I used to work constantly and would sacrifice any amount of personal time to achieve my goals. My son is teaching me balance. When he sees the simplest thing and says woooow in his amazed little voice it makes you reassess the world around you and what is important. He has taught me to value the intangible. He has also taught me how to catch Cheezit barf in one hand, but that’s a story for another day.
Question #10
KRIS: If you could travel anywhere in the world where would you go and why?
THOR: I would love to tour Europe. I love history and learning about the challenges of the past and how they were dealt with. There is a lot to learn from the people, nations, and empires that have risen – and fallen – before you. If you want that kind of history, Germany, Italy and the United Kingdom are the places to go.
Question #11
KRIS: What are your top 5 favorite online resources to learn more about internet marketing?
THOR: www.shoemoney.com – Jeremy is pretty cutting edge on the under the radar stuff that a lot of the other industry blogs miss.
www.uberaffiliate.com – Paul posts a lot about the higher-level stuff that might be intimidating at first to a beginner. Keep reading and it will soak in.
www.zacjohnson.com – Zac is an excellent writer and his posts are easily relatable to all stripes of the affiliate marketing industry.
THINK OFFLINE TOO. You asked for online resources, but don’t discount the offline resources. Listen to how lead-gen offers are constructed on AM radio. There is a formula that has been tested and works. Watch infomercials. There is a reason there is a call to action every 7 minutes on the dot. Some of my best affiliate marketing income has been earned when I generate leads from an offline source and monetize them with an online affiliate network. Competition is fierce online. Generate your leads where competition is lax.
YOUR AFFILIATE MANAGER – Every newbie in affiliate marketing assumes that their affiliate manager knows what is going on. This is rarely the case. If you don’t gel with your AM or they can’t get you the results you are looking for, email the network and ask for a new rep.
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Next on deck for Meet the Affiliates: Garry Conn
Garry is a popular blogger (GarryConn.com) and successful affiliate marketer. Find out if Garry has any gnarly fetishes and learn some surefire tips for making more money online.
This exclusive interview will be published here on the Pepperjam Network Blog next Friday, August 8, 2008.
Make sure you don’t miss it! Click Here to subscribe to the PJN Blog and have each interview delivered to your e-mail box.
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Read Previous “Meet the Affiliates” Interviews:
Week #1 – Sam Harrelson
Week #2 – Scott Hazard
Week #3 – Rosalind Gardner
Week #4 – Colin McDougal
Week #5 – Zac Johnson
Week #6 – Harrison Gevirtz
Week #7 – “Uber Affiliate” Paul Bourque
Week #8 – John Chow
Week #9 – Scott Jangro
Week #10 – Darren Rowse
Week #11 – Carsten Combrowski
Pepperjam COO Michael Jones to Address Investors and Executives at RBC Capital Markets Technology Conference in San Francisco
“I am excited to be part of eTail East 2008, and to be part of a speaker line-up that includes executives from companies such as BestBuy, 1800Flowers.com, eBay, and Amazon. I look forward to sharing Pepperjam’s next generation approach to internet marketing, which integrates multiple internet marketing channels to minimize channel conflict and maximize brand integrity. I will also discuss how newer technologies, such as Pepperjam Network, have impacted the overall affiliate marketing industry, focusing on strategies available to online retailers to promote better affiliate transparency and communication,” said Ken Mohn, Jr., Vice-President of Agency Services for Pepperjam.
