Another Amazing Affiliate Summit East 2014

Last week I attended another amazing Affiliate Summit East 2014 – big thanks up front to Shawn Collins & Missy Ward for their tireless organization of a terrific conference.  I was very excited to return to New York again after missing Affiliate Summit East 2013 in Philadelphia.  This was my 15th Affiliate Summit, and as usual I got more out of it than I ever thought I would.

Information

The sessions I went to this time around were all spot-on!  Usually there’s a session or two that end up being a disappointment, but all of the sessions I took the time to go to were top-notch and chock full of information.  I learned so many good content tips from Scott Jangro, excellent network stats from Sarah Beeskow-Blay, and a great bit of trivia about the color chartreuse from James Thompson.  I also learned how I can utilize affiliate marketing better as an affiliate to help the San Leandro Historical Railway Society from Robert Glazer, and learned that I’m not at all alone in my apprehension of click-stream attribution from Jeannine Crooks, Rick Gardiner, John LoBruto, and Alan Rapoport.

I can’t wait to watch the videos of the great sessions I couldn’t make it to and check out the slides on SlideShare!

Helping

For the first time, I was a speaker at a round table “Ask the Experts” session on Utilizing Affiliate Manager Relationships.  It was great to connect with people, though I wish I’d been able to connect with more!  I was also very happy to chat up some people at lunch and help them immensely with some newbie issues they were struggling with.  It felt really good to get into a casual conversation with someone and, by the end, have them hugging me and thanking me for all the help.  I’m very happy to share what I’ve learned over the last 7 years in this business with anyone just starting out, and I don’t get to do it that often in my little bubble.

Fun

You may not think a conference can be fun, but it SO is!  With an industry such as ours being very driven by relationships, it’s like a big family reunion.  I got to sit down and chat with friends and colleagues from all over the country about work, families, and so much more.  ShareASale, as always, put on an excellent party Sunday night and raised quite a bit of money for the Performance Marketing Association and Affiliate Marketers Give Back (I don’t know the final figure).  I had a fantastic time despite not being able to come up with a 007 themed costume to defend my title from Affiliate Summit West 2014!

I was also lucky enough to be asked to photograph the private Affiliate Karaoke event!  I enjoy going but don’t enjoy singing in front of people, so it was terrific fun to have the excuse of taking photographs!  I took nearly 1000 pictures and after deleting duplicates (rapid fire trigger for the win!) and blurry shots, there ended up being almost 400 for the organizers to choose from.  It was a great time, so big thanks to Eric Nagel, Tricia Meyer, and Nathan Smith for giving me that opportunity!

Finally, the Wine & Cheese Pairing cruise for speakers aboard the Yacht Manhattan circling the island was amazing!  Fantastic wines and amazing pairings, coupled with stunning views of the city.  I was also able to see the Statue of Liberty in person for the first time, and get some great shots.  Despite some weather difficulties, it was totally worth getting dripped on to get those shots.  And, as I mentioned, the food and company were terrific!  I want to take Dominic back and go on the same cruise with him 🙂

Confidence

Yes, that’s right.  Most people who work in an office take for granted the feedback they receive from coworkers, clients, customers, and managers/bosses on a daily basis.  Working from home as I do is very solitary, and while I’m in constant contact with my coworkers throughout the day via Skype chat, we’re in a bubble.  We’re all pushing along trying to get all of our individual work done and collaborating when we need help.  It’s only until I get to Affiliate Summit and chat in person with affiliates, colleagues, and vendors when I’m complimented and told what an awesome job I’m doing.

It’s really something I needed.  So I want to specifically thank Nick Marchese. Tiffany Tse, & Sarah Beeskow-Blay from ShareASale, Christen Moynihan from Broke-Ass Bride, Greg Hoffman from Greg Hoffman Consulting, and Stephanie Lichtenstein-Ramos from Micro Media Marketing for some super kind and encouraging things they said to me over the course of the Summit.  It sounds cheesy and like I have a big ego or something, but I really did need to be reminded that I am awesome.  I tend to forget it while stuck in my bubble.  I needed that kind of pick-me-up to boost my confidence that I am doing the best I can, while always working on improving, to keep me going.  So thanks so much for that.

Pictures

Yes, I have some pictures from my trip for Affiliate Summit East 2014 … not many from the conference itself, mostly from the surrounding events.  I won’t be sharing the Affiliate Karaoke pictures here because I believe Eric, Tricia, and Nathan just want them for their site, so you’ll have to go there to find them later 🙂  Enjoy!

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Have you registered for Affiliate Summit West 2015 in Las Vegas?  DO IT NOW!