An Interview with Logan Thompson and his Christian Affiliate Marketing Blog

Tell me about your company?

I originally started out my company, Blink Source, which focused more on design services and less on marketing. As time has progressed, my focus has changed completely. I now spend about 90% of my time focusing on the affiliate marketing side of my business and generally only take on about 1 or 2 design clients a month just for the fun of it. In that time I launched my blog http://www.LRThompson.com as a way to share some ideas I’ve had about affiliate marketing.

What was your first blog?

I’ve installed WordPress probably over 100 times on different projects before launching my own blog which is now found at http://www.LRThompson.com. It was created for me to share my affiliate marketing experiences.

What is the biggest tip you would give to a newbie blogger?

I’d say that you really need to sit down and spend some quality times coming up with a good list of post ideas. Coming up with fresh topics all the time can be tough, so I find it works well creating a list of possible topics so I can look to that when I am stumped on what to write about.

What do advertisers do that you wish they wouldn’t?

My biggest pet peeve is when I get impersonal emails that I know has been sent to hundreds of other bloggers. I don’t want people to advertise on my site if they don’t even know what my blog is about. That isn’t fair to my readers.

What do bloggers do that you wish they wouldn’t?

Blogging about what they ate for lunch. Ok, I see that it makes bloggers appear as real people, but it gets old. Come up with something new and interesting instead of describing the hamburger you ate (unless of course you have a food blog).

What do you do to improve the world?

This is my favorite question you asked. I’m very passionate about helping people in need. It’s hard for you to change the world, but it is easy for you to change someone’s world. This is the basis for my latest project I’ve been working on to raise money for charities using affiliate marketing. The Affiliate Love Project www.affiliatelp.com was created to get affiliate marketers involved in charities and to make a big impact on people all over the world. I’ve been spending lots of time on this lately, even though it isn’t making me a dime. Besides that, I am also investing a few hours a week mentoring middle school kids and help my wife, who is a pastor, with different things around the church.

What do you do that is green?

My wife and I do a lot of recycling. We generally only have to put our garbage out once every two weeks since most of what we use is recyclable. We also bring the canvas grocery bags with us any time we’re shopping. Why are grocery stores still using plastic bags? Another green thing we do is only purchase energy efficient light bulbs.

What is one thing about you that not many people know?

The very first website I created was in 1995. It was a site that was about all of the inconsistencies in the show Saved By The Bell. No matter how cheesy it is, it is still one of my favorite shows.

What’s your favorite book?

It might sound cliché, but it would definitely be the bible. No matter what I am thinking about at the moment, it has a way of reaching me. Plus it covers all kinds of topics from business advice, finances, relationships, social justice, and love.

What is on your iPod?

Pretty much any style of music you can think of. I love music and have a wide range of musical tastes. Lately I’ve been listening to Derek Webb, Ben Folds, Bob Marley, Jon Foreman, Ludacris, Frank Sinatra, Willie Nelson, Justin Timberlake, Charlie Hall, Guns N’ Roses and Mike Doughty.

What are your contact details (email, company, blog, facebook, myspace, forums, etc)?

Email: logan[at]lrthompson.com
Blog: http://www.lrthompson.com
Charity Project: http://www.affiliatelp.com
Twitter: @drumminlogan
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/people/Logan-Thompson/545599950

How do you prefer to communicate?

I generally prefer email. I’m very much a visual person so if I see something in writing it sinks in better than listening to it. Email is also less distracting than talking on the phone when I’m “in the zone”.

Who would you recommend, and why?

One person that definitely comes to mind is Geno Prussakov of AM Navigator http://www.amnavigator.com/blog/ because he always has some great insights on affiliate marketing and management and is doing excellent things for this industry. Another would be Ian Fernando http://www.ianfernando.com for his insight into media buying and different traffic sources. I’ve learned a lot about PPC through his blog. A third recommendation would be the entire company of Market Leverage since they really get involved in their community with charity work, plus everyone in that company I’ve dealt with is just amazing.

What is one thing people can do for you?

The biggest thing would be to get involved with the Affiliate Love Project. Whether you are into affiliate marketing or not, you can help spread the word. I would love for the site to be able to earn $10,000+ every month for different charities. I don’t make any money from the site and would love some help spreading the word.