Take Your Business to the Next Level at Affiliate Summit

If you’re looking to grow your online business, stay on the cutting edge of marketing trends and make connections like a boss, then you have to check out Affiliate Summit.

There many affiliate marketers whose knee-jerk reaction is to avoid conferences like the plague. Many are just starting off and think that their business is not advanced enough to go to a summit with the “big guys.” Others would rather put bamboo shoots under their fingernails than mix and mingle with real live people. Hey, didn’t we get into this line of work so we can make a ton of money from the comfort of our own homes and not have to deal with people?

Well, if you’re serious about the making a ton of money part, then you’ll want to get yourself to Affiliate Summit!

There is so much value in this performance marketing event that you need to attend no matter what your objections are. Meditate, get some anxiety meds, talk yourself up or do whatever else you need to do, but make sure you make Affiliate Summit a priority

All About Affiliate Summit

Affiliate Summit bills itself as “the premier affiliate marketing conference” and doesn’t fall short of that claim.

It was started in 2003 by marketers Missy Ward and Shawn Collins and has been running strong and ever since. This is a conference that is laser focused on the affiliate marketing world. It brings together all of the players in the industry and provides educational opportunities, entertainment and an all-around good time.

Publishers (website owners and marketers like you), affiliate networks, advertisers, merchants and vendors all converge for a couple of days and tear it up, affiliate marketing style.

Typically, there are two main events a year: Affiliate Summit West and Affiliate Summit East. There are also smaller events held around the country in addition to the two main ones, this year they are called Performance Marketing Summits.

Here’s the schedule and details for the next round of Affiliate Summit events:

Performance Marketing Summit Denver

• June 17, 2014
• History Colorado Center

Affiliate Summit East (New York, NY)

• August 10-12, 2014
• New York Marriott Marquis

Performance Marketing Summit Salt Lake City

• September 20, 2014
• The City Library

Affiliate Summit West 2015 (Las Vegas, NV)

• January 18-20, 2015
• Paris Las Vegas

What to Expect

When you purchase your tickets for Affiliate Summit, you will have several options. Take a look at the different  levels of access each ticket option gives you and pick the one that fits best.

Maybe you want to attend every keynote speaker, workshop and information session. If so, get the pass with bells and whistles. Maybe you’re there just to network and touch base with some contacts. In that case, the basic pass should do you just fine.

The agenda constantly changes, but here is how it normally breaks down:

Day One

• Registration
• First Timer’s Information Session: If this is your first time, don’t worry, Affiliate Summit will be gentle. You can get oriented at this meeting and find out all what the conference can offer you.
• Meet Market: A less-formal version of the exhibition floor where companies can fight for their share of your attention, hold meetings and get to know you a little more.

Days Two-Three

• Exhibit Hall: This is the meat and potatoes of the conference and where you will spend most of your time. Companies will have everything from simple tables to the most elaborate booths you’ve ever imagined. There is a fun mix of business and pleasure here. One second you could be having a high-level business meeting with the head of a giant brand advertiser, and the next be rubbing elbows at the bar with super affiliates or watching people decked out in the silliest costumes.

During all of this, information sessions, seminars and workshops will be held all around the conference area. Depending on your interest, ticket level and level of mastery on a subject, you may attend many or none.

It’s all your choice. Affiliate Summit is what you make it!

Tips

As an Affiliate Summit veteran, allow me to give you some tips on how to best maximize your experience.

• Plan meetings ahead of time: It’s a short three days and schedules get booked up fast. If you know you want to meet with someone you already work with, make sure to get hold of them beforehand and set up a meeting. If you’re looking to make new contacts but don’t want to get lost in the shuffle, contact an exhibiting company in advance and set up a meeting.
• Put a face to a name: Even if you have worked with someone for years in this industry, you might have never met them in person. Affiliate Summit gives you the opportunity to put faces to names and be an actual person to these businesses. Don’t ever discount the power of personal relationships in any line of work, even our online-centric one!
• Ask questions: The biggest and smartest affiliates out there know they don’t know everything and that there is always room for improvement. Ask plenty of questions at your meetings and find out how you can improve.
• Come in with a plan: Know what you want to do, accomplish and who you want to meet with before you walk in the door. It will save you a lot of time and hassle.
• Leave time for prospecting: Don’t come in with every minute of your day booked. This will lead to fatigue and you won’t have time to meet new contacts.
• Be social: A lot of business gets done on the showroom floor. But far and away, more business gets done at dinners, bars, parties and other outside locations. Don’t hit the conference and then lock yourself in a hotel room.
• Balance the fun: Yes, Affiliate Summits are a lot of fun. They are held in fun places and attended by really fun people who often throw really really fun parties. But remember that this is a business and you’re here for work. Don’t be that person who blows off all of their morning meetings because you raged into the wee hours of the morning.

If affiliate marketing is a hobby and you’re not sure it’s for you, then you probably don’t need to attend Affiliate Summit. (However, if you did, those opinions would quickly change…)