What an incredible show. We had productive meetings, learned in sessions, networked, and even dressed up. Here is a summary of the conference each day in images with captions. If we did not get to connect during Affiliate Summit East please be sure to tweet us your social media questions using the hashtag #AskMicroSteph #ASE12 or email Steph at: steph(at)micromediamarketing.com. A Big Thanks to everyone who attended our Social Media Session, we will be emailing case studies to attendees that reached out to us.
Day One – The Meet Market
We browsed the halls of the Meet Market and ran into our client Durk Price and his eAccountableOPM team. They were also enjoying the meet market with their client: TheStreet.com.
Day One – The ShareASale Disco Party
That same night we Discoed the night away with our friends from ShareASale. They know how to throw a fun party. They even had a special appearance by John Travolta.
Below at the Disco Party is my friend Daniel M. Feinberg and well deserved winner for Best Dressed!
Day Two – The Exhibit Hall & Meetings
Affiliate Summit Co-Founder, Shawn Collins, chatting with one of his attendees in the Exhibit Hall next to the GoDaddy.com Booth.
Day Two – Affiliate Ball with Ice T & Coco and Karaoke
I had to stop and tell Coco that she was doing social media well for herself. She has branded herself as @Cocosworld and is doing themed tweets. Props to her and what a sweet person. She even took a pic with @JGoode's Traveling Penguin.
Of course, Karaoke was a must and a fun event to attend during the show hosted by Affiliate Summit.
Day Three : Affiliate Summit Session and Keynote
We had a fabulous Social Media Session from all view points: Merchant, Affiliate, and Agency. Thank you to everyone who attended! If you would like to receive a case study please contact us.
Keynote Dave Cupples asked our President MicroSteph to appear in his keynote as Wonder Woman for a good cause. She said yes and raised $790 to St. Judes Children's Research Hospital through his charitable website: DonateSponsor.org you can still donate here. Thank you anonymous for your generous donation and everyone who helped donate for a good cause. The video is coming soon!
Day Three Yankee Game:
Loving the Wonder Woman Costume so why not wear it to the Yankee Game?
Leaving you with the Best Group Picture at Affiliate Summit East after the Yankee Game in the elevator. Thanks to Shawn and Missy not only for the fun and baseball game; business wise "I get over 50% of my clients from Affiliate Summit relationships!" - <3, MicroSteph
Here are our picks for the best Affiliate Summit Parties to attend. Of course there are many other events going on and that is why we recommend also checking out @MissyWard's blog to see the full list. Thanks to Missy because this is where we got the event details and picked our favorites from: "Get Your ASW12 Party Started Right."
Featured in the pictures below from previous Affiliate Summit events are cool affiliate marketers that you should follow on twitter check them out in order @SteveHall @MelissaDSalas @JimKukral @bigcityvegan @drcool73 @tmartini (side notes: Joe we will miss you at Summit enjoy time with your baby boy, Maddie I did not find your twitter username, and if anyone wants to follow me you can send me a tweet @MicroSteph)
Saturday Night If you are up for going out on Saturday Photographer, Blogger, and Birthday Boy extraordinaire Steve Hall is having a tweet up.
Affiliate Summit West 2012 Tweetup at Gilley’s
Sponsor(s): Adrants (Steve Hall), Murray Newlands, Heather Smith
Location: Chateau Nightclub (Paris Las Vegas Hotel & Casino)
How to RSVP: See us at the Meet Market Sunday from 12-6 to pick up your ticket! You’ll need a ticket to attend so come early to ensure we’ll have enough left!
Who is invited?: Everyone.
Sunday Late Night
Strike Out Breast Cancer Charity Bowling
Sponsor(s): BowlingShirt.com, GTOManagement.com, and ThingsFromAnotherWorld.com
Make a donation of $25 or more to any of the walkers on this year’s Affiliate Marketer’s Give Back Team for the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer. Forward your email confirmation of your donation to bowlASW12(at)gtomanagement.com
Who is invited?: Affiliate Summit attendees.
Monday Nightif you are kind of a geek like most of us come out to Affiliate Karaoke. This is some real fun and entertainment.
Affiliate Karaoke
Sponsor(s): Affiliate Summit
Time: 9:00pm – 12:00am
Location: Neopolitan III-IV, Caesars Palace Las Vegas
How to RSVP: Not necessary.
Who is invited?: All Affiliate Summit attendees
Monday Late Night this is such a fun way to end the conference at a really nice club with no wait. Just make sure to reserve your wristbands and pay the cover with the info below. It is well worth the 20 bucks.
PareshConnect.com event
Monday at XS, January 9th at 11:00pm as we make it rain in the desert!
Make sure your reserve your VIP wristband ($20), which lets you skip the line and avoids you paying the $40/$50 cover! So RSVP right away and make sure to get connected to the events page on Facebook.
You can pick up your VIP Wristbands on Sunday and Monday from 6-6:30 pm. Details for pickup to come soon.
Everyone is gearing up for Affiliate Summit West. The business cards have been ordered the restaurant reservations booked and the parties have been RSVPed for. We can help you with the rest!
If you are attending Affiliate Summit for the first time or have time to attend sessions we have highlighted a few of the sessions that we recommend attending. Of course they are all social media related since that is our passion. If you want to learn about another online marketing topic rest assured you have plenty to pick from. Here is the full agenda.
The first tip we have for you is to sign yourself up for an online schedule that you can socially connect with your Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn profiles. That way you can see which of your existing connections are interested in attending similar sessions or events. Here is where you sign up: http://asw12.sched.org/ once you have set your account up you can easily see a list of sessions. Then you can decide which ones interest you the most. Check out our online schedule.
Here are our top picks and what we plan on doing while we attend our 11th Affiliate Summit event broken down by each day. Enjoy and if you have any questions please feel free to tweet our CEO @MicroSteph or tweet anyone using the hashtag #ASW12. The Affiliate Summit tweets are already flying in by the hour.
Ready? Here we go. We recommend getting in on Saturday because the conference starts Sunday at noon but it gives you plenty of time to get settled in and acquainted with some of the attendees many get in early and you can find them at the hotel bar, don't be shy! Introduce yourself. If you are more interested in the night networking events check out our Affiliate Summit West Party Guide.
Saturday be sure to pick up your badge at Early Registration.
Sunday be sure to check out the Meet Market and remember to pass by the ShareASale table for your party pass.
Not only is Justin a rockstar behind the mic but he is also passionate about social. Check out his session on Sunday and don't miss him at Affiliate Karaoke either.
A clearly defined social strategy is integral to your success. Learn to set goals, identify key metrics, increase your market funnel, and turn micro-conversions into qualified marketable leads.
Experience level: Beginner, Intermediate
Target audience: Merchants/Advertisers, Networks
Niche/vertical: Social media
Monday be sure to check out the Exhibit Hall which will have a lot of hustle and bustle. If you are not sure who you want to meet with check out the list of exhibitors to decide how best to invest your time. Here is the layout and view of the Exhibitor Hall pretty cool.
If you have a press pass be sure to pass by the Blogger Room to update your readers on tips and pics from the show. Then you can be on your way to an interesting session that combines email and social list building techniques.
We’ll explore proven ways to optimize your marketing with email, from forms and autoresponders to social media and landing pages. These tactics and tips will help you grow your lists and profits.
Ask the Experts is also a great place to learn from industry leaders in a variety of discussions from hand picked experts.
Tuesday things will wind down but there are still great opportunities to learn and make lasting connections. The must see event of the day is the Sixth Annual Pinnacle Awards. View the list of the Finalists Here.
Dave Taylor loves to answer questions on his popular Blog AskDaveTaylor.com and he has a lot of interesting things to share. This is a great chance to hear him speak on what he believes the new best practices in social media are. We have some best practices of our own so it will be great to hear what he has to say.
A few years ago, affiliate marketing was all about building a Web site or launching a blog and gaining readership. Today it’s all about Facebook, Google Plus, Twitter. What are the NEW best practices?
Experience level: Beginner
Target audience: Affiliates/Publishers
Niche/vertical: Social media
After Dave you can catch the closing keynote and use up your final drink tickets with your new friends. You are probably ready to go home if you have been in Vegas for a few days networking and working nonstop. Rest assured your time spent at Affiliate Summit will bring you the ROI more than you know. With 11 Summits and counting we always see the value in attending this top notch conference. Thank you Shawn and Missy for always making it happen. See everyone in Vegas!
On Saturday night the events kicked off with the buy.at pre-Affiliate Summit Party. This event was benefiting Affiliate Marketers Give Back. If you wore pink they donated money to breast cancer. It was an awesome party and buy.at went all out with signature cocktails and all. Thank you to Amy Ely for always getting everyone together and working hard.
On Sunday I checked out the Meet Market to take pictures of cool companies and friends. The meet market is always a little more laid back than the exhibit hall. It was a good chance to talk to people and network.
Shortly after the meet market closed I headed to the newcomer meetup. My newcomers were having a great time taking all the information in. I introduced them to some people and potential events to attend and was on my way to dinner with Joshua Ziering. After dinner we headed to the ShareASale Barn Dance where I walked in, found the mechanical bull, rode the mechanical bull and went to bed. What else is there to do at a barn dance?
Monday morning I was well rested and ready for the real hustle and bustle of the show. The day when the exhibit hall opened. I went to see the keynote Wil Reynolds speak about SEO and he threw in some social too. Then I had a couple meetings in the blogger lounge with Erik Hom on his birthday and others. I also presented eAccountableOPM's case study to his clients attending the show. That was a great lunch with lots to talk about and very productive. The case study will be posted up soon.
After meetings I headed over to the PMA venue where I helped setup for the party. We had a great turnout and the rooftop we used provided by Peter Bordes was amazing. Everyone wanted to be on the rooftop and we had a wonderful time networking. A big thanks to Peter for letting us host the party at his venue.
Affiliate Karaoke. That is all I have to say there are pictures and videos that only give you an idea of the kind of fun we had. I would say the best fun of the conference for old timers that know how to have a good time. I hope they bring it back at the next conference.
We stopped by the GAN party just in time to say hello to a few people and then the lights turned on when it struck midnight. Their venue was really cool.
Tuesday morning was the time of my session Social Media in Niche Markets. That went well we had a good attendance and good vibe going. We had time for some Q & A at the end but missed some slides. That is why we will post them up online so that people can review some of the last slides. The last slides had most to do with how to plan your daily strategy around blog content. I want to thank Joe Sousa and Scott Jangro for being awesome panelists to speak with.
Then I headed over to some final meetings with Shareist. Then to the closing remarks where Brian Littleton and Carolyn Kmet had a nice back and forth. The panelists discussed the importance of getting involved with the affiliate nexus tax in all states, mobile, daily deals, apps, and more.
The last part of the day involved heading to the Yankee Game to the box seats that Shawn and Missy setup for us. I have to say after being treated like that I am spoiled. We had our own Yankee hotdog machine and it was delicious.
The night ended with some piano time and of course Halal street meet.
For those of you that have not attended an Affiliate Summit it is jam packed with events, sessions, energy, and a place to make lasting connections with some fun smart entrepreneurs. I would definitely recommend being at the next one in Vegas taking place in January.
The Affiliate Summit Tuesday Guide will include our top session picks and how to get the most out of the conference. It's the last day so even though the NY scene might make you tired you still want to make the most of your day. If you wake up early Eric Nagel is having his feedback sessions again. He is an awesome affiliate marketer to get to spend one-on-one time with to discuss your site.
Early Bird Whiteboarding
Location: Clinton Suite
Time: 8:00am – 9:00am
Are you an early bird? Nothing to do before breakfast? Want free coffee? Bring your sites to this open session and get advice on usability, SEO, conversions and revenue streams.
On Tuesday the Exhibit Hall is only open until 4:00pm and then sessions end at 4:30pm. This is your last chance to meet with all the exhibitors. Check out the map listed below to spot who you would like to meet easily.
Bryan Eisenberg, Co-Author of Call to Action, Waiting For Your Cat to Bark? and Always Be Testing (Twitter @TheGrok)
Sessions on Tuesday start at 11:30 am. Here are our top picks for the day.
Secrets to Buying Established Websites for Profit
Mobile Marketing Campaign Optimization
The Importance of Relationships in Affiliate Marketing
Our Tuesday Morning Top Pick is:
With Micro Media Marketing's President on the panel you can guess one of the reasons we picked this session. That's not the only reason! The passion and experience behind this session is going to give you ideas that turn into success. If you want to learn more about social media, how to run things the right way, and some insider tips you should attend this session.
Social Media in Niche Markets
Session 8b
Location: Murray Hill Suite
Time: 11:30am-12:30pm
Learn how to utilize social media marketing in conjunction with niche markets to generate followers, traffic, and sales.
(This Session is Open to Platinum and Diamond Pass Holders Only)
Time for lunch! Mosey on over to have a quick lunch without having to leave the Hilton NY. Get reenergized after learning in the morning.
Luncheon
Location: Americas Hall 2
Time: 12:30pm-1:45pm
SEO For Large Sites
UnNetworking and How Your Business Can Benefit
Social Games: The Next Big Opportunity
Do-Not-Track? Not-So-Fast
The Tuesday Late Afternoon Pick is:
The Speed Round
The Speed Round with the top industry leaders discussing important industry issues. This is the best way to end your Affiliate Summit Experience without a doubt! Just check out a list of who is speaking and you will geek out.
Location: Grand Ballroom
Time: 3:30pm-4:30pm
Moderated panel that is a speed round with panelists having short, timed segments to share opinions on industry issues.
And there you have it. Just like that in the blink of an eye Affiliate Summit East has come to a close. What an experience. We hope you made some great business contacts and better yet long lasting partnerships in the works. Be sure to stay in touch with the awesome affiliate marketers you met and you will be greeted by friends at the next Affiliate Summit in…Vegas baby!
After going to one or two parties for Affiliate Summit you should take a red bull or a 5-hour energy drink because the real fun begins on Monday. The exhibit hall opens and is full of people all day long. You need to grab some business cards and go to where the action is at. That means being ready go to around 9:00 am. Monday is the busiest day at Affiliate Summit and where the most networking gets done.
If you are an early bird and are up before the exhibit hall opens at 10:00 am then there is a treat for you. For the first time there will be an early bird session where Eric Nagel affiliate and entrepreneur extraordinaire will be giving SEO feedback and more for your site. I know Eric and he is one smart businessman. If you are at the Hilton there is no reason why not to attend his Early Bird Whiteboarding session at 8:00am details are below.
Early Bird Whiteboarding
Location: Clinton Suite
Time: 8:00am – 9:00am
Are you an early bird? Nothing to do before breakfast? Want free coffee? Bring your sites to this open session and get advice on usability, SEO, conversions and revenue streams.
Then the exhibit hall opens at 10:00am everyone is there at their booths and walking the floors. You should take a look at the Exhibit Hall map listed below in advance. That way you can get an idea of who you would like to meet and plan ahead. Either way you never know who might draw the most attention so make sure to give it a good walk through and meet the right contacts at the big affiliate marketing companies. Details on the Exhibit Hall are listed below.
Now for the learning part of the show. Whether old timers or newbies everyone could stand to learn something new to advance their marketing efforts and ROI. At Affiliate Summit there is something for each attendee to grow from. Let's not kid ourselves it's an ever growing industry with lots of change and innovation. Here are some of our top picks from the list of sessions. I would recommend going to whatever suits you the most for your business at the time. Whether it be learning more about a current strategy you are working on to make it better or learning something completely new that you plan on trying out in the near future. This can help your business grow!
SEO – Ask the Pros
Using Testimonial Claims in Social Media Platforms
Microbrand Affiliate Marketing: Keys to Long-term Success
Session Spotlight of the morning goes on Deborah Carney. She is a fantastic educator in the industry for newbies especially merchants. She has a podcast that goes over the Merchant ABC's on geekcast and this should be a great session for any new merchant.
Merchant Basics – Launching a New Affiliate Program
Session 5d
Location: Sutton (South & Regent)
Time: 11:30am-12:30pm
This session will combine the fresh perspective of a new merchant with the seasoned perspective of a pro that has advised many companies on how to get started.
(This Session is Open to Platinum and Diamond Pass Holders Only)
Then it is time for lunch if you don't have the time to go elsewhere and you have a pass you should take a break and sit at a table and talk to new people.
Luncheon
Location: Americas Hall 2
Time: 12:30pm-1:45pm
(Lunch is Open to Platinum and Diamond Pass Holders With Lunch Tickets Only)
Not Getting Enough Sales and Leads?
Research Highlights from AffiliateBenchmarks
Affiliate Improv!
Live Merchant Site Reviews
Customer Behavior in a Hyper Connected World
Key Affiliate Program Components You’re Probably Missing
Content Marketing – The Inbound Recipe for Success
The late afternoon must-see session is killing the Affiliate Nexus Tax dead! We are fighting to keep the affiliate nexus tax away for years. It is important for us to learn how to make it go away for good. If you want to learn how to help us do this then please attend this session.
Killing the Affiliate Nexus Tax Dead!
Session 7d
Location: Sutton (South & Regent)
Time: 3:30pm-4:30pm
How the “affiliate nexus tax” was killed once and for all – and launched performance advertising onto the national e-commerce stage.
(This Session is Open to Platinum and Diamond Pass Holders Only)
If you are not on knowledge overload or even if you are and you can't get enough. Learn from the best at the Ask the Experts session. This is different than a regular session where you can come and ask industry leaders for feedback. If you are a newbie or are interested in learning more come on by! The experts are listed below.
Ask the Experts
Location: Grand Ballroom Foyer
Time: 5:00pm-6:00pm
(This Session is Open to All Pass Holders)
Ask the Experts will be an opportunity for merchants, networks and affiliates to ask questions about various specialties and issues.
Hand picked experts will handle topics in their specialty, and conduct chats, answer questions and share opinions during this networking and education session.
Before heading to one of the many Monday night events listed in our Affiliate Summit Events Guide be sure to check out Affiliate Karaoke. It's sure to bring you tons of fun and new friends.
Affiliate Karaoke
Location: Mercury Ballroom
Time: 9:00pm – Midnight
(This Event is Open to All Pass Holders)
Back by popular demand! Affiliate Karaoke is the ultimate stage that will give your amazing (or not so amazing) voice a chance to be heard. Channel your inner Susan Boyle and head on over for your chance at affiliate marketing stardom.
Remember to tweet with the hashtag #ASE11 and follow us @MicroMediaMktg
Affiliate Summit East is less than a week away with the Meet Market opening on Sunday afternoon. If this is your first time attending Affiliate Summit you are in for a treat. You are going to learn many new things about affiliate marketing and meet some of the best contacts in the industry.
If you get into town on Saturday be sure to go to the Early Registration so you can save yourself time before the Sunday Rush.
Early Registration
Location: 2nd Floor Promenade
Time: 4:00pm – 8:00pm
If you get in on Sunday, Registration is in the same location from 8:00am – 6:00pm.
There is a First Timer's Guide to Affiliate Summit. Below is a video of the First Timer's Guide put together by the co-founder of Affiliate Summit, Shawn Collins. I also recommend following him on Twitter @affiliatetip.
If you want to attend his session while at the conference here are more details.
First Timers Guide for Affiliate Summit
Location: Gramercy Suite
Time: 10:00am-10:45am
Advice for people attending the Affiliate Summit conference for the first time.
If you are not new to the conference or industry I recommend checking out other sessions. Here are the other sessions going on from 10:00am-12:00pm on Sunday.
Industry Clash: Balancing CPS & CPA Marketing
How to Pitch Your Company
5 Software Niche Affiliate Success Stories
Are Your Affiliates Adding Value?
Our Sunday Morning Featured Session Pick is:
Got an Idea? Make it a Reality
Session 1c
Location: Sutton (Beekman & North)
Time: 11:00am-12:00pm
Have a great idea for starting an affiliate site, but not sure how to turn it into an actual business? Learn the steps you need to take to outline an executable plan – turning your ideas into reality.
(This Session is Open to Gold, Platinum, and Diamond Pass Holders Only)
Affiliate Summit is all about ideas and growth. This session looks like it will help affiliate marketers grow their companies and turn them into a success.
After catching a session or two you should definitely head over to the Meet Market. Sunday is more of a calm day and the Meet Market is the right place to meet new merchants. Below is a list of who has a table at the Meet Market. Tip: I recommend going to the ShareASale table to pickup your invitation to their party which is the only way to get in.
Meet Market
Location: Americas Hall 2
Time: 12:00pm – 6:00pm
Exhibitor Move In: 9:00am – 12:00pm
Affiliate Summit kicks off with an extended session of structured, face to face networking. Merchants will have tables set to meet with affiliates to discuss their affiliate programs and cut deals. Vendors that cater to affiliates and merchants will also have tables to share information about their products and services. Each table is a meeting spot for teaching, learning, closing deals, creating partnerships and finding new opportunities.
After taking an hour or two to meet with merchants at the Meet Market there are a ton of other sessions to check out including the following topics listed below. But before that if you have a Platinum or Diamond Badge take a snack break, details below:
Platinum and Diamond Badge Holder Snack Break
Location: Nassau Suite
Time: 1:00pm – 3:00pm
After drinking some caffeine and refueling I recommend focusing on one or two topics you are interested in and attending sessions related to those topics. Whatever marketing tools are working the best for your company or you would like to try to increase your existing marketing efforts should be your focus for picking sessions. Here are the late afternoon session topics:
Taking Advantage of Seasonality in Affiliate Marketing
B2B Affiliate Marketing Tool Kit
Feng Shui Your Pages for Maximum Conversions
SEO Clinic
Advanced ROI Driven Internet Marketing Strategies
The Future of Coupons in Affiliate Marketing
How to Maximize Your LinkedIn Presence
Improve ROI with Call Performance Marketing
Making Affiliate Marketing a Career
Making Money with Facebook, Twitter & Blogging
Here are a couple sessions I find interesting. Both speakers are highly respected and know what they are talking about. Whichever subjects interest you the most I say they are worth checking out!
Our Sunday Afternoon Featured Session Picks are:
A Blueprint To Blowing Up A Site
Session 2b
Location: Murray Hill Suite
Time: 12:30pm-1:30pm
Learn how to explode your online business using a multi channeled approach with a case study taking a site from creation to over 3000 Facebook fans, first page of Google, and multiple sales per day.
(This Session is Open to Gold, Platinum, and Diamond Pass Holders Only)
How to Produce 6 Figure Affiliate Webinars
Session 3c
Location: Sutton (Beekman & North)
Time: 2:00pm-3:00pm
Webinars are one of the best ways to increase sales and new leads. This session will show the exact formula for running successful webinars that convert in 6 figure sales and attract big affiliates.
On Sunday night be sure to go to the Opening Remarks & Keynote session. If you are a newcomer there is an event for you to follow and you can end your first full day of Affiliate Summit with the ShareASale Barn Dance. It is open to all Affiliate Summit attendees just be sure to pickup your pass at their Meet Market table during the daytime. Details of the ending events are listed below. Remember to bring your business cards and a smile. There are plenty of opportunities going on starting on Sunday.
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