The brainchild of industry veteran Sophie Dee, Shoutout Express enables marketers to obtain more exposure from highly engaging social media influencers while providing a new revenue stream for those very same influencers.
By connecting promoters directly, Shoutout empowers brands by obtaining prime exposure, minus the middlemen or the false promises of less scrupulous services. Each influencer’s audience metrics, promo packages and pricing are revealed transparently on their profile page so that buyers know exactly what to expect.
For promoters, the process consists of browsing through the site’s influencer database to find the best match of brand and budget and then requesting a shoutout by paying for the post and uploading the post’s content (an image or video) and caption, along with any other necessary details, including a specific post day and time.
The buyer’s brand message is then posted by the desired influencer on the requested platform(s), including Facebook, Instagram, OnlyFans, Snapchat, TikTok, Twitter and YouTube, plus video chat sessions and podcasts.
Selling shoutouts is simple for any influencer over 18 years of age, with only a few simple rules to follow, including no nudity on the site and the acceptance or denial of post orders within 24 hours of their placement. All buyer inquiries and transactions, including refunds, must be handled through the site, and after completing an order, the poster must screenshot the uploaded post as proof of its completion, making for an easy and well-rounded process.
To learn more about Shoutout Express, XBIZ turned to co-founder Sophie Dee’s business partner Tyler Thompson for his insights, in this exclusive Company Profile.
XBIZ: What led to the launch of Shoutout Express?
TT: One of the founders, Sophie Dee, originally came up with the concept back in 2019. She explained that she was continuously overwhelmed with brands and other influencers reaching out to her via Instagram DM asking for shoutouts. It was a tedious process of going back and forth with potential advertisers while conversations would just get lost in her DMs.
She also got frustrated on the other end when purchasing shoutouts from others. There was no sense of accountability when trying to get another influencer to post content, even after payment was sent to them. Many times, influencers would take down the post early or even forget to do it.
This was when Sophie Dee and myself sat down and laid out everything she would want in a new website that would better enforce organization, transparency and accountability in this process of purchasing promo posts.
XBIZ: What influencers currently use Shoutout Express?
TT: Shoutout Express consists mostly of models of all types, ranging across all sizes of followings. We have an array of micro-influencers with smaller social media presences of only a few thousand followers up to big names in the industry including Rachel Starr, Toochi Kash, Richelle Ryan, Angela White, Lena The Plug, Tana Lea and many more.
XBIZ: What defines the company and makes it stand out from other ad platforms?
TT: Where most ad agencies don’t demonstrate transparency and add huge markups to all pricing when working with their influencers, Shoutout Express allows influencers the ability to set their own pricing and offerings. We are different than a typical influencer agency in the sense that we connect influencers and advertisers directly to conduct business. Shoutout Express provides all of the tools needed to conduct business with other influencers and companies, thus making their lives much easier and enabling them the freedom to focus on other areas of their brand.
XBIZ: How are you attracting new buyers and influencers to Shoutout Express?
TT: Up until this point, our site has been promoted through word of mouth. For advertisers, they have found the service a much better alternative to reaching out directly to the influencer through emails or social media. Our site offers influencers’ insights and their posts are guaranteed or a full refund is returned, thus giving full confidence to the advertiser regarding what they are getting.
For influencers, once they try the service, they don’t know how they got by without it. We offer various tools and a user-friendly backend to help influencers stay organized. We also offer a five percent referral bonus which many of our influencers have taken full advantage of to create passive income.
XBIZ: How can influencers join the platform and what benefits do they receive?
TT: Influencers can register on our site to join. After the account is approved, they will have full access to all of the benefits of the platform and will immediately have access to our network that is currently used by thousands of advertisers.
Our goal is to help our influencers conduct more business while providing more of a boutique operation and we are always available to help create marketing materials, set the most effective pricing and set up promos on the site. We can always be reached on our Instagram @shout.express.
XBIZ: Are influencers required to post every order they receive or can they deny those that may be contrary to their brand or schedule? Are influencers required to make a minimum commitment or be exclusive to the platform?
TT: There are no commitments necessary. As orders come in, influencers can choose to either accept or deny a post. If they choose to accept it, they can either complete the post right then or schedule it for a later date that better suits them.
XBIZ: What are the most popular types of offers/promos? Does raising overall brand awareness seem to be the primary goal or are buyers interested in promoting offers related to cams, paysites, products, or other traditional fare?
TT: The most popular type of promo we see on our site is smaller models purchasing shoutouts from models with a larger following. It is the most effective way to drive traffic to their page and the majority of these models usually have a page on some sort of premium site they are ultimately looking to promote.
We have seen a huge boost in shoutouts directly on OnlyFans in the second half of 2020 and expect this to continue to grow. Many other paysites like cam sites and up and coming premium social sites are using the platform as well to increase brand awareness on socials. Having well-known models promote their platforms leads to boosts in social numbers, new user signups and more visibility with other models.
XBIZ: Aside from enabling monetization, how else does Shoutout Express benefit influencers?
TT: An influencer’s time is the most important thing they have, and many of them do not have managers to go back and forth with advertisers to set up brand endorsements or shoutouts from other influencers. Our platform helps the influencer skip this process completely. All they have to do is promote their page, accept or deny orders as they come in, post the content, and get paid.
XBIZ: How are buyers billed and influencers paid out?
TT: When an order is placed, the buyer can check out by paying with PayPal and all major credit cards. For influencers, they can withdraw their funds at any time — we simply ask for two or three business days to process their withdrawal requests through ACH bank transfer or PayPal. They can also choose to use their funds to purchase shoutouts from other influencers.
XBIZ: Does Shoutout Express offer a referral program, and if so, how can affiliates get in on the action?
TT: Of course! We offer a five percent referral bonus to all influencers. Also, if someone has a network of influencers and they want to leverage our platform’s technology, they can become an affiliate and track all of their referrals and earnings.
XBIZ: What does the future hold for Shoutout Express?
TT: We have a lot in store for 2021. Our goal is to continuously refine and improve our technology and implement new features that will improve the overall experience for both influencers and advertisers. There are a ton of opportunities for both sides to truly benefit and we aim to bridge this gap and remove any barriers between them.
For influencers, they can expect a new and improved mobile user experience, new features for boosting sales and more creative ways to leverage their following to earn more revenue. For advertisers, we look forward to new reporting tools to track ad results as well as an improved system for finding the influencer(s) that are the best fit for their next campaign.
