Interview with Michael Buechele

October 4, 2008 · Filed Under Uncategorized 

Last weekend at BlogWorldExpo I sat in on the “Beyond Adsense:Exploration of Practical Monetization Streams” session where Michael Buechele was one of the panelists. After exchanging emails and tweets in the days following, Michael graciously agreed to take part in an interview via email.

Bio:
Michael has worked for innovative companies, including DoubleClick and Operative, in New York City’s Silicon Alley in the Adserving and new media Industry. His clients included Cartoon Network, Brightcove, Marvel Comics, National Public Broadcasting, and CBS Radio. He founded 11|15 Media because of opportunities in the affiliate marketing industry and to teach good business practices.

JHU: Where does the name 11|15 Media come from?
MB: I wanted to build a brand, but still have my personality infused in the company. I went through the good part of a notepad just writing ideas and words down, and checking if the domain was available too. Ultimately, I realized that I was creating a personal business model, so everything became about me. I’m fascinated by people who are the product or the company they own. One example that stood out was Henry Rollins. His company is 2.13.61, which is his birthday. I thought, well what’s more about me than the day I was born? So 11|15 is my birthday. The challenge will be to brand the sites we build as well.

JHU: How long did you work for other companies in the adserving/new media industry before you decided to start your own company?
MB: Well first, I’ve been in marketing and business operations since the early 90s. I bounced around a few industries until I landed at DoubleClick at the right time and learned all about online advertising. The realization that I needed to run my own company didn’t hit me until my last year there. I left and did small business consulting and coaching for a year until I went back into the online advertising industry. For the next two years I worked at a start up Ad Operations company and made some great connections. I left there when I was ready to start on my own again. There was just too much opportunity in publishing and affiliate marketing for me to ignore.

JHU: When making the switch from working for a company like DoubleClick to running your own business, did you have trouble convincing larger companies to work with you?
MB: Actually no. I was at DoubleClick for four years during the turbulent times after the bubble burst. I saw many friends and colleagues lose their jobs. Having the staying power I had was huge in the eyes of other companies.

JHU: You currently have over 750 followers on Twitter. Has it helped you grow your business / find new clients?
MB: OMG yes! Twitter has been amazing for making connections with influential people. I have direct lines to a few affiliate managers and major publishers now. It’s also fun.

JHU: What other social media tools/sites do you use on a regular basis, and how have they helped grow your business?
MB: I use Twitter the most. I get all my news through it now as well as staying in touch with the community. I use applications like Twirl and TweetDeck to sort through all the Tweets. I love Facebook and Linkedin too. Both have been huge for business and social connections. I’m just starting to use FriendFeed, which aggregates a bunch of social feeds. I’d through video in here too. I use a service called Tube Mogul to blast out my videos to video hosting sites with one upload. I get a lot of spam on Myspace, but I just read an article that Mypspace has new stuff coming to rival Facebook.

JHU: You sat on the panel discussion at BlogWorldExpo called “Beyond Adsense:Exploration of Practical Monetization Streams”. Which monetization
efforts have worked best for you on your affiliate marketing sites?
MB: Right now, the two methods to boost affiliate marketing on my sites are PPC campaigns to landing pages and SEO with social media.

JHU: What tools would you say are the most vital to the success of an affiliate marketing site?
MB: Wow, there are so many depending on how you are monetizing. I like SpeedPPC for PPC campaigns, OpenX for adserving, Wordpress for publishing, TubeMogul for video, Twitter and Facebook for social media, Disqus for blog comments, and Elance and 99Designs for outsourced work to name the ones off the top of my head.

JHU: What advice would you give to somebody looking to get in to the affiliate marketing space?
MB: Read industry and “super affiliate” blogs. All over night successes are ten years in the making, and the secret sauce is this - working your butt off.

Thank you Michael for your time. I do have one follow-up question for you. Can we expect to see you at BlogWorldExpo next year?

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