This past week I got back from New York where I attended Affiliate Summit East 2011, which proved to be one of the best conferences I’ve attended. Every year Affiliate Summit gets better and better and this one was definitely worth it for my business.

Instead of bore you with every little detail of what I did, I figure I’d give you a few highlights and things I learned.

• The first day at 11am I was on a panel along with Ian Fernando and Jason Rubacky that was moderated by Greg Hoffman about the differences between CPA (cost per action) and CPS (cost per sale) marketing. Overall I think it went fairly well. It was only the second time I’ve spoken at a conference, so it was a good learning experience at least.
• Next I went to the session of Chris Pearson (Thesis Theme dude) on designing your pages in a way to get people to take the action you want them to. Overall a really good session, Chris is pretty bright guy.
• My bacon s’mores recipe made it into a real cookbook.
• The Sunday keynote was probably my least favorite Affiliate Summit keynote I’ve heard.
• Ray’s Pizza was disappointing.
• ShareASale knows how to throw amazing parties that is welcoming of all. Where else can you hear a guy on a fiddle, a harmonica, a saxophone, and a DJ mixing some beats in New York.
• Monday I went to some great sessions. Derek Halpern of Social Triggers gave an amazing presentation where I took a ton of notes (which I don’t usually do) that I’m sure will pay for my entire trip cost.
• Wil Reynolds gave an awesome keynote with some very practical ideas.
• Had some great meetings with some perspective companies to work with.
• Went and had drinks at an event put on by Morgan Thomas and met a great contact there that I’m excited about.
• Went to a dinner put on by Lead Cola at Mortons steak house. Food was alright but met some cool people.
• Went to the club were Plexico Burress shot himself in the leg with a gun and watched Doug E Fresh at the Affiliate Ball. I went to the Affiliate Ball in Vegas earlier this year with Three 6 Mafia, and Doug E. Fresh put on a 100 times better show than they did. I had a great time hanging with some affiliates there.
• Tuesday had some great sessions as well and a decent keynote.
• Ate at Lombardi’s pizza with Joe Sousa and it put Ray’s to shame.
• Went to the Yankees game in a suite with some of the other speakers from the conference. Had a great time plus the Yankees lost which always make me happy (although I tried not to show it to much).
• Wednesday I did the whole New York tourist thing and saw everything from Central Park to the Empire State Building. Was a lot of fun.
• Despite what Eric Nagel says, I found my first Tim Horton’s experience to be a bit disappointing. The donut was decent but the coffee didn’t taste much different than McDonalds. You east coast folks may have your Buffalo wings right, but you don’t know much about coffee.

Overall it was a great trip and definitely worth the money I spent to go. Thanks to Shawn Collins and Missy Ward for putting on such a great show. Every Summit gets better and better. My only suggestion would be if the location for the east could change up to different cities once in awhile like it used to.

If you didn’t make it, be sure to go to Affiliate Summit West in Vegas next January.

Affiliate Summit East 2011 starts in just a little over a week from today in New York City and I’m starting to get excited.  Out of all of the conferences I go to every year, Affiliate Summit is usually my favorite. If you haven’t made plans to go yet, you’re probably a little late as it’s sold out (but you can check eBay I’ve heard).

Are you going?

Merchants

If you’re a datafeed merchant and are going to be there, let me know if you want to schedule a meeting. I’m currently looking for good solid merchants that have decent datafeeds and would love to discuss your program with you.

Networks

CPA and CPS networks alike, I always enjoy hearing about your network and what sets you apart.  Make sure to go to my contact page and email me so we can schedule a meetup to let me know about your network.

Affiliates

I’d love to meet you and talk shop. If you’re a niche marketer and interested in meeting up for a casual dinner Sunday evening let me know.

Everyone

Make sure to come by the session that I’ll be speaking on with Greg Hoffman, Ian Fernando, and Jason Rubacky titled “Industry Clash: Balancing CPS & CPA Marketing.” It should be pretty interesting.

Will you be there?

In 2 weeks (May 25th-27th) I’ll be headed to Chicago for the ShareASale ThinkTank 2011 Remix conference.  All I have to say is if you’re in affiliate marketing and aren’t going than your nuts.  I’ve been to the past ThinkTanks in 2009 and 2010 and believe me, it’s not an event that you want to miss.

Unlike other conferences, ThinkTank is a pretty small event (usually a few hundred people), which means it’s great to relax and talk shop. Most of the time after big conferences I feel wiped out at the end, but haven’t felt that way at the end of previous ThinkTanks.

For $50 you get entrance into the event and sessions, food, plus entrance to a Chicago Cubs game with all you can eat food and drinks. Usually the conferences are at some pretty sweet places.  Two years ago Jason Rubacky, Ian Fernando and I got mistaken for valets.  I guess we didn’t have the look of the hotels typical patrons (needless to say it was a nice resort).

This year they are changing it up and the event will be taking place in Chicago, fairly close to their headquarters.  If you live near Chicago and don’t go then you’re crazy as this is an event you won’t want to miss.

If you don’t live near Chicago, find a way to make it happen, you won’t regret it.

Sign up here and lets talk in Chicago.

For those of you that are going, I’ll see you there!

This week voting opened up to choose which sessions will be available at Affiliate Summit East 2011 this year in New York.  If you haven’t already, go vote for the sessions you want there so it doesn’t suck.

Make sure to go vote for my panel where it will be me along with an amazing group consisting of Ian Fernando, Greg Hoffman and Jason Rubacky.  Our session is titled Industry Clash: Balancing CPS & CPA Marketing where we are going to be talking about finding a balance between the two, knocking down stereotypes, and taking questions to clear the air.

It should be a fun time so go vote today.

Wednesday I got back from Las Vegas after a few days of “work” at Affiliate Summit West 2011.  I’m finally getting around to posting my recap since as soon as I got back my wife was sick and I’ve been playing Mr. Mom to my 9 month old daughter.

The Saturday before I left for Vegas I came down with a stomach flu and I was debating canceling my trip all together. I was not looking forward to my early morning flight, but I sucked it up and went after thinking about it (and an encouraging tweet, Solomon was right, it’s freakin Affiliate Summit, I can’t miss it).

Day 1

I arrived Sunday morning around 11am and went to check in at Treasure Island (I would have stayed at the Wynn, but it was full when I booked.  Guess I slacked off on booking early).  That was the longest I’ve ever waited to check in.  It took about an hour in line at the hotel before I could finally get to my room, drop off my crap and head into the conference.

I really was feeling pretty terrible so when I walked around the Meet Market, I was in a daze.  I didn’t even realize I walked around the whole thing without saying a word to anyone.  My head hurt.  My stomach hurt, and I was in no mood to talk business.  I met up with Chris Guthrie and we decided to head into a session put on by Chris Pearson on landing page optimization.  30 minutes into it I couldn’t take it anymore and headed off to my hotel for a night of fun.  I think I watched the same ESPN SportsCenter episode 3 times before realizing it, then switched the channel over and watched the movie Hitch twice.  I did enjoy some room service soup and can of pop for $28.  This was the first time I got my money’s worth for a hotel room in Vegas.

Day 1 was pretty much a waste, not because the conference sucked, just since I was feeling horrible.

Day 2

I finally fell asleep and slept in and missed the keynote.  Oh well, it was worth it to get some rest and I felt a lot better.

I made it down to see Wil Reynolds session on SEO toolsets.  That was the first time I’ve heard Wil speak, and he blew it out of the water.  I’d pay money just to hear him talk SEO and I’m sure others would to.  I think that was the most notes I’ve taken in a conference session (I’m not much of a note taker) and have a lot of stuff to check out that he spoke on.

After that I headed into the exhibit hall and made my rounds doing my thing.  I made some really good connections, ran into a lot of industry friends, and was losing my voice already plus I had a pounding headache.  Somehow later in the day I ended up in a mobile marketing session that was somewhat interesting.  I’ve tried a little mobile advertising in the past without success, so it was great to hear from others making it work, although the content was a little thin.

I chatted with a few other people and then headed to my room for some much needed rest and medicine and watched most of the national championship football game on TV. Not a bad game plus I won $150 through Football Fanatics.

That night I met up with Jonathan and his crew from Amped Media with Chris Guthrie and we headed to the affiliate ball in a hummer stretch limo.  Those guys (and girls) are class act and had a great time getting to know them a bit.  I was pretty disappointed however at the affiliate ball.  It was a great venue, but the entertainment was pretty weak.  I was hoping to see Sir Mix a Lot, but that never happened.  Three 6 Mafia came out and apparently they didn’t know how to perform more than 30 seconds in a row which was really annoying.  The little they did perform was all a backing track anyway with them randomly screaming, which left me wondering how these guys made it so big.

Day 3

Once again I slept through my alarm and missed the keynote on Tuesday.  Not a big deal.  I headed straight to my panel on building the affiliate/affiliate manager relationship with Jamie Birch, Jason Rubacky, Joe Sousa, and Todd Farmer.  To be honest I had expected it to go a little short, but I think it turned out pretty well.  I spoke to some great people after the session and really enjoyed it.  Next time will be even better as I’ll know a little more what to expect with this whole conference speaking thing.

After that I headed to lunch with Wade and Bill from Football Fanatics to talk shop and hang out a bit.  My goal for Tuesday was to find a merchant to hook me up with Seahawks season tickets next year… we will see how that works out.

Once lunch was done I headed back into the exhibit hall to talk to a few more people and had some great conversations and networking opportunities.  By far day 3 was the most productive for me since the first two days I was pretty sick.

That night I spent with my good friend Eric Schechter, his friend Todd, and Zoe and Elissa from Blue Global Media.  Was a good day.

Thoughts

Overall it was a great conference, although I would have got a lot more out of it had I been feeling better.  However it’s Affiliate Summit, so I couldn’t have missed it.

Shawn Collins and Missy Ward did another amazing job on this conference.

One regret is that I didn’t take many pictures.  Next time I’m going to make it a priority.

What did you think of Affiliate Summit West 2011?

In just a few days I’ll be in Las Vegas (again) along with a few thousand other marketers attending Affiliate Summit West 2011. I’ve been to multiple conferences in my career in affiliate marketing and Affiliate Summit is by far the best.  I’m really looking forward to next weeks conference to meet new business contacts, chat with industry friends, as well as speak on my first panel.

If you’re planning on attending, I’ve put together a few tips to help you get the most out of the conference.  After a few years of experience I’ve learned a few things that might help you.

1. Avoid Girls In Bikinis
   As you walk through the conference hall and meet market, inevitably there will be companies that hire rent-a-girls to attract you to their booth.  Stay away.  If a company has to hire girls in skimpy clothing to stand by their booth, that is a given that their company must really suck.  It will help you in the long run just to not do business with them as they will most likely be out of business in a year.
2. Manage Your Liquid Intake
   Drink a lot of water and take it easy on the alcohol.  Vegas water is pretty expensive, so I suggest making a quick trip to a grocery store and pack it with you.  You’re on your feet a lot and drinking water is good for you as well will help you think clearly.  It’s tempting to drink a lot of alcohol at the open bars, but pace yourself.  You’re going to be around a lot of smart people and when they get drunk they start spilling their secrets.  You need to be able to remember them. Last year in Vegas I overheard a trick someone spouted off while wasted that I implemented the next day which helped earn me an extra 5 figures in profit over the next month.  Have a good time, just don’t overdo it.
3. Look Good But Don’t Be “That Guy”
   Wear comfortable shoes and clothing that you feel comfortable in.   You’ll be walking around a lot and spend very little time relaxing, so be comfortable.  You don’t need to wear a suit to impress.  However don’t try to impress people with your Affliction and Ed Hardy wear and turn into “that guy”.
4. Don’t Schedule To Much
   It’s easy to try to plan every minute your there.  I like to leave a lot of my time unscheduled and just see what happens. Who knows, you might get a chance to hang with someone that will help your business out big time, but you don’t have time .  Schedule a few important meetings and a few key sessions you want to attend, and then just go with the flow.
5. Learn From Everyone
   It is easy to stick with people that are like you at events like this.  Let’s face it, their are some strange people who attend Affiliate Summit, that’s life.  Don’t be afraid to talk to anyone.  Maybe that person who looks like they’ve been sleeping out back of the hotel for the past few days has some pretty interesting ideas.  Don’t count anyone out. It doesn’t matter if people are in the CPA or CPS world or what forums they post on, they might just be a good contact for a future project.
6. Don’t Give Out Cards Unless You Have a Conversation
   I don’t know how many times I’ve been asked for my card from random people walking up to me at a conference.  Don’t give them one unless you’ve talked with them first unless you enjoy spam.  Just say what I say, “sorry I don’t have cards” and walk away.
7. Leave Room In Your Luggage
   You are about to receive an abundance of crap with peoples logos on it and need a way to tote it all home.  It’s free so we rationalize to ourselves that we should take that flashing magnet with a logo for some random company, or that t-shirt that we know we will never wear in public.  However despite loads of crappy swag you will get some good stuff.  Make sure you have room in your luggage to pack it back home.
8. Don’t Eat Alone
   There are thousands of smart people who attend Affiliate Summit, there’s no reason to eat alone.   If you don’t know anyone, just look for someone else with a conference badge who’s alone.  I’ve met some pretty interesting people over lunch.
9. Thank Shawn & Missy
   Shawn Collins and Missy Ward are the brains behind the Summit and do an amazing job.  If you see them around tell them thanks for putting on such a great show.  One of these days Missy might remember my name (I’ve met her multiple times), but she has been pretty nice each time we’ve met.   As for Shawn, despite the fact he’s a Yankees fan, he’s a very great and approachable guy.
10. Network Before The Show
    If you aren’t networking before the show, it’s easy to get lost.  Get on twitter and follow the people tweeting with the hashtag #ASW11.   Jump on Facebook as well as the Affiliate Summit ning site and meet people.  That way when you get to the show, you will already have a few contacts.

Hope this helps a bit and enjoy the show.  Make sure to say hi if you see me wandering around the show.

What other advice do you have?

This week the sessions were announced for Affiliate Summit West 2011, and the panel I’m on was picked to speak. I’ve actually never spoken before at a conference, so I’m sure it will be an “interesting” experience.  Luckily for those going the panel consists of Jason Rubacky (affiliate development gangsta at ShareASale), Joe Sousa (affiliate and Seahawks fan), and Jamie Birch (“the man” at JEB Commerce).

Our session is based on the topic of improving affiliate/affiliate manager relationships. A while back I wrote a post on getting the most out of your affiliate manager, which described what affiliate managers wished affiliates would ask them. The session will hopefully be a much better discussion on the issue from a couple of affiliates and affiliate managers.

If you’re on the fence about going to Affiliate Summit, I’d highly suggest going.  Out of everything I’ve done to better my affiliate career, Affiliate Summit has by far helped me the most.  The sessions, keynotes, and exhibit halls are great, and the networking alone is worth the trip.

The pass prices are going up on October 15th (that’s only 2 days away from right now)! If you haven’t got your pass yet, do it now and you’ll save a few hundred dollars.

Register at the Affiliate Summit website.

This Thursday I’m going to be headed to Blog World Expo for a few days. I haven’t been to this conference before, so I figured I’d check it out and hopefully learn a few things, makes some good connections, and expand my business.

I’m really looking to get energized to expand this blog, which has been put on the back burner the past few months. Also, I blog over at Blog About Beer about craft beer and homebrewing and am looking for some good connections to build that site up.

Are you going to Blog World? If so, let me know and maybe we could connect while there.  If you’re not going, there is still time to register, hop on a plane to Vegas and have a good time.  If you register through this link you will save 15% on your registration.

After Blog World, I’m then taking off to San Francisco and going to ShareASale Think Tank. I went last year, and it was a great conference. ThinkTank is a small invite only conference ShareASale puts on for their merchants, OPM’s, affiliates, and clients to get together to brainstorm ideas.

I love the Shareasale network!

If you’re heading to either of these conferences, make sure to say hi if you see me around.

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Now is your chance to get a PubCon Las Vegas 2010 Gold pass for FREE (worth up to $2,199)!

One of my most favorite new companies, who I use for their Internet marketing tools, is giving away a pass to PubCon to anyone who prepays for their Raven Internet Marketing Tools for a year in advance.

The cool thing about this promo is that they have an awesome service if you do any kind of work with search engine optimization.  I’ve personally been using Raven Tools for keyword research, tracking, and a crap load of other stuff and it’s pretty sweet.

I’m planning on writing up a full review of the software, but I came across this promotion and had to let you guys know about it.

Here’s how it works:

1. Sign up for a new Raven Tools Pro, Agency or Enterprise account with this the link at this special page.

2. Pay for 12 months in advance (not only do you get a PubCon pass, but you get a 1 month discount).

3. Receive your FREE PubCon Las Vegas 2010 Gold Pass.

4. Go to the conference, learn a ton, network with lots of people, come back and make tons of money (not guaranteed, but that is up to you, it’s a great conference).

That’s it.  Check out Raven Tools and check out 101 reasons to go to PubCon Las Vegas 2010.

Yep, you heard that right, I’m not going to Affiliate Summit East in New York this year.  If you are unfamiliar with Affiliate Summit, it is THE affiliate conference, and it saddens me that I’m not going.

Why Am I Not Going?

Well there are a few reasons, but the main reason is my daughter.  She is only 3 months and I don’t really want to leave her that long (that is a lot of work for my wife).

Another reason is the costs don’t seem worth it to me this year.  Don’t get me wrong, the costs of the conference isn’t a big deal, in fact I had a press pass so it was free if I had gone.  Travel costs would probably be around $2000 to New York and I have to weigh the benefits.  I’m not looking for any new affiliate networks, so I would probably spend most of my time hanging out with friends and my current affiliate managers.  Is that really worth it right now from a business stance?  Probably not, although it would be fun.

If you’ve never been, I highly recommend it as it is probably the best conference you’ll go to.  I will definitely be going to Vegas in 2011.  Hope everyone has a great time, and if you’re on the fence about going, I suggest you go (especially if you live on the east coast).

Have fun and let me know how it goes.