Carl Gutierrez

I’ve heard it said over and over again…”Going to the Affiliate Summit was the best thing I’ve done for my affiliate marketing business!”  After attending my first one I would have to whole heartedly agree.  Shawn and Missy put together a great event that (from what I hear) keeps getting bigger and bigger as well as better and better.What makes going to one of the Affiliate Summits so great?  Here are a few reasons…

Professional Networking Possibilities

The list of companies in the internet marketing industry that attended this event is very expansive and, as I mentioned before, it grows every year.  The goals of many of these companies include meeting their existing publishers, reinforce relationships with face to face interaction, as well as introduce themselves to new, potential publishers.  If you have had a hard time getting approved to a network you want to work with having a chance to meet and talk with affiliate managers in person will make it much easier.

I personally enjoyed meeting with affiliate managers I have been working and communicating with from networks like Ads4Dough, Neverblue, ShareASale, Revolution202, and Azoogle Ads.  I also enjoyed meeting with representatives from networks that I’m not currently working with but would like to in the future like Mundo Media and Karaktr Media, as well as a few others.

Having face to face interaction with people is extremely valuable.  Here’s a perfect example – I have been working with a particular network for a few months.  I haven’t really been impressed with my affiliate manager since he’s not always easy to get in touch with and when I do manage to get a response from him on AIM, his answers to my questions are usually vague and not very helpful.  While that may be enough to make some people decide not to work with that network any more I still wanted to try and see if there was some way to make it work since they offer weekly payouts and typically have high payouts.  While walking the exhibit hall floor I get approached by my affiliate manager.  He introduces himself and asks “have you ever considered working with ‘blah blah’ Network?”  I replied “I already do…dude, you’re my rep”.  FAIL!

I’m not a super affiliate (yet) by any means…I don’t expect anyone to roll out the red carpet for me…but it’s hard to want to work with a network when my affiliate manager doesn’t know who I am.  Every other network I work with contacted me during the weeks leading up to Affiliate Summit to ask if I would be attending and made plans to try and meet up.  Some even invited me to some of the after-show networking events they were having (i.e. parties).  That type of treatment goes a long way and means a lot to me.  Not knowing who I am means a lot too…it means they don’t care about their publishers.

Personal Networking Possibilities

There are a lot of great people in this industry and going to events like Affiliate Summit brings them together and gives them a chance to meet, interact, and build relationships that can do a lot to help them help each other and, as a result, become more successful.  I really enjoyed meeting and networking with other affiliates like myself.  It’s extremely motivating.  I have many new people to brainstorm with, share ideas with, and learn from.  Simon, Nick, Brian, and Johan – it was great meeting all of you guys.  I can’t wait to keep in touch and build on the relationships we forged while in Vegas!

Meetup202 had a great event where the 202 community was able to listen to Wes Mahler’s story of why he started Tracking202, how he started it and the journey he took taking it from a small start-up to a the point where he was acquired by bloosky interactive (pronounced blue sky).  It also gave the community a chance to become more familiar with who bloosky is, what they do, and what their plans are for the future with Wes and his crew.  Towards the end of Wes’ speech, he explained the trust he has worked so hard to build over the last 2 years and gave personal assurance to the 202 community that their data is just as safe now as it ever was before.  He thanked all of us for our trust, let us know how much it means to him and, as a result, did a lot to ease some of the concerns and fears that arose with the acquisition.  Wes, I’d like to give a big congrats to you and your team.  All your hard work has really paid off!

Exclusive Events

Another enjoyable aspect of attending the Affiliate Summit is getting invited to exclusive parties.  I was fortunate enough to get invited to Karaktr Media’s party in a 3,100 square foot, 2 bedroom penthouse on the 56th floor of the Palms Place.  It was extremely posh!  They had the Toronto Arogonauts cheerleaders there as hostesses, DJ Carlos Sanchez skillfully mixing some well chosen house music, a man rolling fresh cigars for anyone who wanted them, an open bar, and a nice spread in the dining room of gourmet cookies, brownies, 3 huge basketball sized servings of cotton candy.  I am extremely grateful to Sherman of Karaktr Media for inviting me.  It was definitely an experience I won’t soon forget.  Especially not that incredible view of Las Vegas from the 56th floor balcony.

There were several other parties that were held by other networks like Azoogle, Neverblue, COPEAC, and the like.  Being my first time in Las Vegas since I was a kid, my first Affiliate Summit to attend, as well as my first business trip ever I was leery to attend some of these parties as they can get pretty wild.  I wanted to make sure I got the most out of this conference as I possibly could.  Most of my evenings were spent in my room taking notes regarding the new contacts I had made.

Education

The panels held at the Affiliate Summit conferences are great for people who are just getting started in the industry, as well as seasoned marketers who are looking to expand their horizons.  With panels on subjects like monetizing your blog, making the most of your SEO efforts, and the opportunities and potential of using video for affiliate marketing it was just about impossible to walk away without learning something new.  It is also wise to make sure stay up-to-date with the constant changes in industry regulations, market changes, and other factors that can greatly affect your business.  Some of the panels also discussed those topics.

The new people you are able to meet also helps in learning new things.  Ten people marketing the same product may have ten different approaches to it.  Getting together with them in a non competitive environment makes for some great conversations and idea exchanges.

The keynote speeches are also very beneficial.  This year the guest keynote speaker was Dr. Robert Cialdini author of the book Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion. Anyone who attended his keynote speech was thoroughly impressed with the quality of his presentation and the useful information he gave.

All in all, my first Affiliate Summit experience was a great one and I plan on attending the next one in New York.  It is well worth it.  Whether you are new to affiliate marketing or not, the Affiliate Summits are must-attend events.  The opportunities and possibilities that are opened up to you as a result of attending are impossible to put a price on.