My Affiliate Management Days Goal
I’m always looking to learn from those colleagues in our industry who have been doing this longer than I have. It’s for this reason that I’d LOVE to attend Affiliate Management Days 2013 in San Francisco. I wouldn’t have to pay for a hotel, or flight, or much of anything outside of my normal daily expenses since it’s just across the SF bay from me. There’s just one not-so-tiny problem.
The registration price tag.
It’s a lot to ask – $1200 – not that it’s not worth it. This will be their second conference in San Francisco and I heard terrific things about last year’s show. Which was their first-ever, so that’s considerably impressive. I’d love to go hear insights from folks who do the same things I do. They’ve been where I’ve been. They know the daily stresses, challenges, and rewards that being an affiliate manager holds. So I’d be pretty crazy not to want to go!
These are challenging economic times. While it’s an incredible investment and can easily be claimed as a business expense (because it is), bills are still due. In an effort to offset the costs and make my goal of attending a reality, I’m asking for your help. You can help in a number of ways:
- If you’re a fellow affiliate manager and haven’t already registered, but intend to, please do so through my affiliate link. The commission I earn will help me to pay for the pass.
- Share my post so others can potentially help.
- If you’re not attending, but want to help me reach this goal, I’ve set up a ChipIn campaign to help raise funds towards the conference registration cost. If I do not make my goal, you will be refunded your donation. You can donate through the widget below:
Thank you so much. Please – share my goal and help me contribute to the industry I so love by learning more and sharing my own knowledge at Affiliate Management Days SF 2013!
Read MoreThe Story of My Stolen Purse in Las Vegas
I can now cross “having my purse stolen in Las Vegas” off my life experiences check list. Here’s how it went down.
While in Las Vegas for the fabulous Affiliate Summit West 2013, on Monday evening I took some time away from parties and happy hours to have dinner with my friend & former boss Connie and afterwards we went off in pursuit of the golden slot machine that would pay for our trips. After some trial & error, we found ourselves in the Forum Casino area of Caesars Palace. Connie had settled in on an older vintage machine whereas I wanted the newer machines with all the video game-like bonuses, so I told her where I was going & wandered off to a neighboring bank of penny slots. After awhile, I decided I was done with that machine & wandered back. After a minute or two playing some 25¢ slots behind her, I told Connie I was going to go to another bank of slots across the way.
After making my way around a kiosk of machines to find which one “spoke to me”, I went to insert my players card and voucher. That’s when I realized… WHERE IS MY PURSE?!?!
I jogged back to Connie, hoping I’d just set it down in the chair next to her. No such luck. She hadn’t seen my purse, but of course, hadn’t really been paying attention. I look behind her where I’d been sitting, no purse. Jogged over to the other bank of slots, NO PURSE! I looked beside the machines, in the old coin areas that are merely decorative now, and under all the chairs. WHERE IS MY PURSE?!
I’m glad I was with Connie, because she had the presence of mind to tell me to go tell a security guard that I’d lost my purse. I’m not sure I’d have thought of that in my panic.
The security guard radios it in and I take him to where I last saw my purse, the first machine with the bonuses. He asked how long ago was it, and was I SURE that’s where I last left it.
It’s a good thing I have a photographic and sensory memory. I told him it was less than 5 minutes because the last time I had my purse I remember vividly pulling a cough drop out & putting it in my mouth. The cough drop is still in my mouth & not even halfway gone. See? There’s the wrapper sitting in the ashtray next to the machine. I could still taste the lip butter I’d put on from inside my purse and, of course, the last thing I remember was tilting my phone out to see that it was just before 11 o’clock. So yeah, I’m sure.
I tell him the general description of my purse (again, very vivid since it was a Christmas present) and he makes some calls. He points himself towards a specific camera in the ceiling and waves, which is when I start to remember the MANY shows I’ve seen on cable about how well oiled a machine the surveillance system at Las Vegas casinos are. We wait awhile, the security guard explaining that they’re putting a rush on looking at the tapes and if a cleaning person or server picked it up, it’ll take 10-20 minutes for them to get back to their stations to report the found object.
My LuLu Rouched Clutch
After waiting a few minutes with Connie for someone to turn it in, crying a bit because I can’t believe what an idiot I am to lose my purse, the guard decides that it’s been enough time waiting to hear someone turned it in that he’s going to go ahead and take me to the security booth to fill out an official incident report so they can “continue their investigation”. Connie assures me that she’ll wait right there for me, and I head off.
Of course, after I fill out the incident report, my current boss Roger, his friend, and my co-worker Randy come wandering by. Randy, being the consummate joker, asks if I’m in trouble of course. I tell them that I lost my purse & Roger says to text him when I get my phone back. Like Connie, they all tell me to think positive & that they’re sure it’ll turn up. Being a pessimist, I was seriously doubting that.
The guard tells me he has to get back, but another person on their team, a woman, was going to come talk to me. I chat with the guard stationed at the booth – super nice guy that actually used to live in the Bay Area. We talk about housing prices and whatnot, and it really helps to distract me from the horror show that my night has turned into. I finally see this woman who fit the first guard’s description walking towards us, when all of a sudden she stops short, listening to her radio on her shoulder. She turns back around and walks towards the Forum Casino, where we’d just come from.
A minute later, the guard in the booth listens intently on his shoulder radio and says, “They think they got the guy”.
“So it was stolen after all?” I ask. He nods. At least I didn’t lose it, I think, but I still have no clue how someone got my purse away from me considering it was more of a clutch with a wrist strap that I had on the whole time (or so I thought). Another moment goes by and he listens in then says “Oh, they think it was a woman”.
That bitch! I think… then the guard asks if I’d like to press charges. Now I’m conflicted, because I do want to, but I don’t know if I’ll be able to go to the last day of the conference, if I’ll have to stay in town longer, or if I’ll have to come back at some point. So I ask what pressing charges would entail. When he tells me that it would just be 45-60 more minutes of my time to fill out extra paperwork, I
quickly agree to press charges. He said it best when he explained that he’s glad I’m pressing charges – most people are on vacation & don’t want to be hassled with it as long as they get their stuff back, but if I don’t press charges then they just have to let the perp go, and then they’re going to do it to someone else.
Yeah, I said perp. I watch a lot of Law & Order.
We chat some more, about a case they had where a man picked up some woman’s $50,000 bracelet that she’d dropped in the casino & went to jail for 5 years, essentially for not turning it in to Lost & Found since he didn’t actively rob her, and soon enough a manager type guy (suit & earwig, no uniform) comes walking our way with my little silver purse in hand.
YAY! I clap for him to signal I can tell it’s my purse! He comes over and asks me to verify that everything is in my purse, and it is. Including more cash than I actually thought I’d had. I ask about the paperwork and he says it’s not necessary, and that I should enjoy the rest of my night and that they’re sorry for my ordeal. All told, it was about an hour between reporting my purse missing to the security guard and the manager bringing it back & sending me along on my way.
I never did meet the person who stole it. I never did see the tape or learn how exactly she got my purse away from me. I’m assuming that the video evidence was clear enough that they didn’t need any additional paperwork from me. They have all my contact information on my incident report, so if they need me, I assume they’ll call.
I was happy to find Connie sitting right where I’d left her, and flashed her my (tightly clutched) purse as I made my way back to her. We ended our night with some celebratory over-priced drinks with some folks we knew already holding court in the Galleria bar & then I was back up to my room! I te
ll ya… next time it’s over-the-shoulder purses for me that I can keep a better eye on!
Read MoreAffiliate Summit Reviews Coming Soon – Promise!
Everyone who’s ever handled multiple clients at once knows that the end of the month is a nutty time. Reports! Preparations for next month! ACK!
So in that spirit, I WILL post my notes and reviews from Affiliate Summit East AND Affiliate Summit Central soon. Sure, that was at the beginning of this month… but lots of client stuff takes priority! In the meantime, take a listen to the inaugural episode of Affiliate Marketing Fanatics on QAQN – our rebooted podcast with Daniel M. Clark as my co-host!
In that spirit, stay tuned… some awesome resources from the likes of Chris Pearson, Wil Reynolds, and more are coming soon!
Read MoreReflecting on an Origin Story: Affiliate Summit East 2007
Yes, you read that right. After a whirlwind trip to Oregon this week for a wedding, I’m making off into the night on a red-eye flight to New York for Affiliate Summit East 2012.
This marks a milestone for me. Affiliate Summit East 2007 in Miami was my first Summit, so this will be (counting last May’s Affiliate Summit Central) my 10th Summit and the 5 year anniversary of this blog and my participation in Affiliate Marketing. I was just a baby in affiliate marketing back then.
Wow… how things have changed! Back then I didn’t know what I was doing at ALL, somehow teaching my co-worker everything I knew about affiliate marketing on our red-eye flight from Oakland to Miami. And by everything I knew – that means everything I’d learned since about November of 2006, so not much. How naive we were – we totally blew off the Meet Market thinking it would be lame (maybe back then it was, I wouldn’t have known) and didn’t participate in hardly ANY networking. We were more interested in South Beach every night to eat dinner on the strip.
The trip was not all fun, and I did take it seriously and so glad I did. I still use the same college-ruled composition book for notes. The sessions I went to at that Summit might make you chuckle:
I remember some of the speakers, but not all… Jeremy Palmer, Scott Jangro, Rosalind Gardner, Stephanie Agresta, most notable in my mind at the time was Jay Berkowitz and his 10 golden rules session. I remember offering up the merchant I worked for at the time for analysis in the Conversion Rate Clinic and going back to my manager at our booth saying, “We have a LOT to fix when we get back! Josh Sloan made a magical impression on me with his magic tricks as we exhibited beside 1&1,. We went to ONE networking event and only because we were told we could win some sweet prizes. It was there that I met Karen & Joel Garcia, who I count as friends now. I remember returning from that show and deciding that I should start a blog. I started it on Blogger (I know, I’m ashamed too…) and later got with it and ported it over to self-hosted WordPress. Want to read my first post? It’s a doozy… but it was 5 years ago on 8/2 (also my wedding anniversary & Kevin Smith’s birthday).
So in a few days I’m off to Summit again, and I’m so glad I went to summit back in ’07. It set me on this career path when I just had a job, so I’ll be forever grateful to the speakers in the sessions I attended and the people I met back then that ignited this spark. I’m proud to say that 5 years later, I’m still loving it!
Want to sit down with me and chat about any of the affiliate programs I manage? Check out my schedule at Tungle.me/trishalyn and let’s set something up!
Another laugh… my random photos from Miami in 07!
Getting a Job is As Easy As 1, 2, 3
Guest Post by Emmy Wilford
I am looking for a recent college graduate with a degree in Marketing. I have a good job. Of course, any job is a good job in this economy. I have some advice and, since I am the one hiring, it is probably a good idea to pay attention.
Lesson 1
It is easier to get a job when you have a job. Just ask someone who has been unemployed for more than one year. Chances are, your employer knew you would be leaving when you graduated and was glad to have you as a part-time employee while you were in college. If you stay on the job and, especially, if your supervisors will provide a reference, that is a real plus. If you are returning to your home and cannot keep that job, see if you can get a transfer. They will not pay relocation expenses, but that probably does not matter. If the company allows you to transfer, that says a lot about your value as an employee.
If you decide to keep your part-time job, that will give you a little income. That takes a bit of the pressure off. The next thing you have to do is accept your first marketing assignment – yourself.
Lesson 2
You are the first product you must market. If you envision job hunting this way, you should slip comfortably into the marketing techniques you have spent the last four years learning. What better way to demonstrate your competency? Identify your strengths. Create a resume that concentrates on them and presents them in the best light. Your resume is the place to shine. It will be speaking for you, so make sure it has nice things to say. Your cover letter is important, too. Do not be too friendly. We do not know each other, but do not be aloof, either. Instead, focus on convincing me I want to get to know you. That gets you to the interview, and that is critical. Once there, you will have the opportunity to speak for yourself.
Apply for every job that seems reasonable which brings us to the third lesson. In this economy, the value of this approach cannot be underestimated.
Lesson 3
If you cannot get in the front door, try the back. For instance, while I am looking for a new member of my marketing team, I am also looking for a mailroom clerk, secretary, and janitor. Those might all seem beneath you, but they are not. First of all, the people who do those jobs are important. With your background, it is not difficult to imagine that any one of these jobs could lead to a future marketing job with my company. Remember to do your homework before trying the back door. Make sure it is a company that encourages internal upward mobility. Otherwise, it is a waste of your time.
The back door can lead to a dead end, as well. Think carefully before pursuing any of these kinds of jobs. For instance, if it is a nighttime janitor, there is little chance you will ever see anyone on the dayshift. A mailroom clerk stuck in the mailroom all day will probably never get out, but one who makes the rounds might get to know the right people. Think, How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying. As a secretary for the right person, you might meet me, the one who can be so impressed with your skills and attitude that a marketing job might be in your future.
Creativity is the key to standing out. These three lessons should help. There are jobs out there. You want to position yourself to be the best candidate. That is the secret to good marketing.
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Emmy Wilford works with The College City as an online instructor. Marketing is her passion, and it shows.
Read MoreHow to Determine if Your Business Needs a Social Media Manager
Guest Post by Melanie Slaugh.
Unless you’ve been living under a rock, your business has probably made the wise decision to incorporate social media into its marketing scheme. Social media and the Internet give you a chance to reach thousands of new customers on a regular basis and who wouldn’t want to leverage that to their benefit? Of course, it only works if you’re doing it right. If you’ve been on the fence about hiring a social media manager or not, here are five signs that it’s time to do so.
You don’t know the first thing about social media and you have no desire to learn
Easy. Hire someone to do it for you. It’s not worth the back and forth or the stress over if you should learn how everything works or not, nor the worry about if you have the time to learn the tricks of the trade or not. You would be better off hiring someone with the technical know-how so that you can focus on what it is you do best for the business.
You’re spending more time trying to figure out how to tweet than is monetarily feasible
If you’ve made the leap into social media marketing but you’re going into it blind then it can go one of two ways: either you’ll pick it up quickly or you will spend countless hours trying to learn to the point that it’s not worth it. When attempting to learn social media starts cutting into your productivity (and subsequently, company money) then it’s probably time to put that money to better use and to hire someone that knows what they’re doing.
Your automated messages aren’t generating the buzz you wanted
Successful social media is so much more than just scheduling automated tweets or Facebook posts, and if you go into it thinking that all you need to do is send out automated posts you’re going into it destined to fail. The reason social media is so successful is because of the personal interaction that it allows members to feel. Having a social media manager means you have someone who is capable of developing these relationships and building your brand.
You don’t have time to maintain the accounts
Social media success is a direct result of the time that is spent being active online and maintaining the accounts. If you don’t have the time to dedicate to the different social media then you’re better off hiring someone whose sole job is to promote and engage with customers via those accounts.
Not everyone needs to hire a social media manager, and many businesses do just fine passing off those responsibilities to employees who can pick up the slack. However successful social media does require being savvy enough with it to not only keep the accounts alive, but also to grow them. If you’re finding your businesses’ social media is lacking, it might be time to hire a professional to take it over.
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Melanie Slaugh is enthusiastic about the growing prospects and opportunities of various industries and writing articles on various consumer goods and services as a freelance writer. She writes extensively for internet service providers and also topics related to internet providers in my area for presenting the consumers, the information they need to choose the right Internet package for them. She can be emailed for follow up.
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