Logan Thompson

Preparing Early For Affiliate Conferences

Posted on 21. May, 2009 by Logan in Conferences

This past week I registered for Affiliate Summit East 2009, which is one of the top affiliate conferences around. While the conference is still a few months away, I was just thinking about preparing for it early instead of waiting until the last minute. As with any conference, it is best to plan ahead to make the most of your time.

This year will be my first year attending Affiliate Summit (since I was stuck at a j.o.b. in previous years), but I’ve been to multiple conferences before. Here are a few tips to think about to get prepared, even if the conference isn’t for a few months. These go with any affiliate conference you may be attending. (On a side note, check out Geno’s conference list to see upcoming affiliate events.)

Business Cards
At any conference it is important to bring along enough business cards so you won’t run out. Start planning your cards ASAP as it can take some time to print decent cards and you don’t want to look stupid passing out cheap Vista Print cards. Be creative and make your card memorable as you are going to be meeting a lot of people. It’s good to have something that separates you from the pack. Check out Shawn Collins (co-founder of Affiliate Summit) blog post after ASW09 on his favorite business cards. Make it a goal to impress him.

Register Early
Most conferences give you a better deal if you register early. If you know you are going, don’t wait to register. Conferences can sell out, so it is best to know your registration is already in. If cost is an issue with a conference, check out how you can get a free pass to Affiliate Summit. It is pretty cool that they are giving free press passes out to bloggers. I got my pass for free.

Book Travel Plans Early
Don’t wait until the last minute to book your flight and hotel. These prices can increase as it gets closer to the conferences. The hotels around the conference will fill up and you will be stuck in a hotel further away from the conference for a higher cost. I’d suggest staying at the conference hotel. It will save you on travel expenses, plus it is nice to have your room close by if you want to run and drop off stuff in your room, because you will be getting a lot of it. For Affiliate Summit, you can get a special $199/night rate if you register at the Hilton by June 15th.

Network Before The Conference
It’s no fun going to a conference when you don’t know anyone there. Start getting to know others who are going and build a relationship with them. Find people on Twitter, Facebook, blogs, affiliate networks, or the Affiliate Summit Network. Set up meetings with people you haven’t met before. It is very beneficial to get to know other people in the industry, even if you don’t work with them directly. You never know what might come out of the relationship in the future.

Set Your Goals
What do you want to get out of the conference? Look over the agenda and who’s going to be there and figure out what your goals are to take away from the conference. Do you want to go just to network? Do you want to learn something specific? Come up with questions you want answered while you’re there. It’s good to come up with a sort of game plan so you are sure to utilize your time there.

What are you doing to prepare? I’m looking forward to meeting all of the people who are going and would love to connect with you while we’re there.

Tags: affiliate convention, affiliate summit