The Inaugural Affiliate Summit Central
[singlepic id=122 w= h= float=left]Another conference down, another Affiliate Summit for the record books. The first ever Affiliate Summit Central has drawn to a close. This time around, I attended as a humble affiliate instead of a vendor. Sessions galore were on my agenda for this show, with my only real goal being to get some tips for my sites and Dominic’s, so mission accomplished! I even got some work done for the good ‘ol day job while I was at it!
The mini conference, just a day and a half long, kicked off Monday night with an official welcome party at Maggie Mae’s. It was a terribly crowded joint with a muggy heat and amped up band, so I didn’t end up staying long. Instead, we wound up in the hotel bar chatting for quite some time and enjoying a glass of one of my favorite wines.
I started out Tuesday morning for a day full of sessions. I hit the second half of a session on optimizing WordPress for speed and sat in on a session for merchants on deals and coupons before a Texas style BBQ brisket lunch. After some grub, I learned more about compliance from Kellie Stevens than I knew existed and got some awesome tips from Jeremy Palmer. The day was rounded out by some great brainstorming with Karen Garcia and others on Pinterest marketing and a surprise balloon artist!
[singlepic id=131 w= h= float=right] The Austin Hilton was a terrific venue for this smaller show. It had the perfect sized conference facilities, while being just a block away from historic 6th St., with many live music venues. If you were so inclined to explore further, the metro station was right outside as well. I stayed after many folks left for ShareASale’s Think Tank at Lake Travis, so I had the pleasure of dining in the Liberty Tavern for lunch and Finn & Porter for dinner. Both great places.
Affiliate Summit would not be complete without an Under the Stars party by ShareASale, of course! Before hand, food was needed! A group of us headed to a nice place called Haddington’s, a gastropub where we were not disappointed with the upscale pub grub. Then we walked over to the party at the Hangar Lounge, a three story venue with a live band on the rooftop area. It was a grat party, complete with a photo booth. Brian Littleton does not disappoint!
All in all, I’d say I got out of Affiliate Summit Central what I wanted. A nice trip to Austin, seeing some good friends, and a lot of great nuggets of information to bring back to my personal affiliate endeavors!
Most are not from the conference itself, but see all of my photos from Austin:
[nggallery id=2]
Read MoreThinkTank Remix 2011: Quinn’s Tax Law & FTC Compliance
You might be asking yourself “Wasn’t ThinkTank, like, 6 months ago?” Well, yes, almost… ThinkTank did take place at the end of May. I’d taken these notes, but never got around to posting them. So, now that I’m rededicating myself to the blog, here they are for your enjoyment!
- We’re pissing off Walmart as they’ve made it their goal to “take down Amazon”.
- Sacramento bill sponsors had a press conference Wednesday as a direct result of our meetings on Tuesday. They’re scared.
- The PMA blog is all facts, no opinion or speculation because we’re being watched.
- It definitely helps to make a relationship with your state reps. It will help us win the war.
- There’s a waiver if an affiliate signs an affidavit that they only advertise online. NY affiliates can give ShareASale their docs to assist getting into programs.
- In other states there’s no compromise, but that’s okay for Rhode Island & North Carolina as we’re aiming for repeal.
- There are stories from North Carolina about the state going after people under the laws.
- ShareASale is attempting to keep their merchants in the loop but there’s always the chance they may be late to the game.
- In Arkansas they included language to apply the law to the previous 12 months.
- In some states you can trip nexus just by sending staff to conferences for a specific number of hours or exhibiting with a booth at a trade show.
- You’re not going to give them an idea… They already know, so go take them on.
- Some states are in support of a federal streamline tax but that’s been in the works for 10 years & isn’t necessarily close to anything.
- It’s different in certain verticals, but generally it’s supported when a merchant decides to just charge tax.
- Merchants doing local deal stuff create nexus under existing laws as they accept money & act as a sales agent.
- As an affiliate, you need to state that you’re getting paid.
A Re-Committment to TrishaLyn.com
Ah, how I’ve seemed to turn my back on this website! This wasn’t my first website I ever built, but it was the first domain name I ever bough and started hosting after tiring of Freeservers and Blogger. Including the time this blog was on Blogger, I’ve been blogging here for the last 4 years. I started in August of 2007. This blog started out as a way for me to share my knowledge about professional printing, graphic design, and what I was learning about affiliate marketing. This was right after my first Affiliate Summit in Miami in July of 07 and I wanted to share what I’d learned – which was so much! I quickly started blogging more about my career and affiliate marketing and less about professional printing and graphic design. I have no formal training in graphic design – I’m just some jackass with a good eye for layout and Photoshop – so I felt I had no business telling anyone how to do anything in the realm of design.
As I progressed in my journey into affiliate marketing, people started reading my blog, and noticing who I was online. By the time Affiliate Summit East 2008 in Boston rolled around, I’d been asked to lead a roundtable discussion on self branding at a pre-summit event held by Affiliate Classroom. I was asked because people had taken notice.
Not to bore you, lets fast forward to today. I’ve been working in affiliate marketing for about 5 years (since late 2006). I love it. It allows me to work with intelligent people, work from home, work on my schedule, make the money I want to be making, and I don’t feel like my Theater Arts degree is a hindrance since I write a lot and use those creative writing skills – just not in the same way I used to. There was a point at the end of 2008 where I had to fight to stay in this industry, and that meant leaving my job just shy of my 5 year anniversary there, working at a start up marketing agency for awhile, then an OPM agency, until finally settling down at For Me To Coupon. And I love it, and I’m approaching my 2 year anniversary with FMTC in January. Today I’ve spoken at 3 Affiliate Summits and two other trade shows. I’ve been included in Internet Marketing from the Real Experts and written several articles for FeedFront Magazine. I walk around a conference and can’t get from one room to another without seeing someone I know or getting stopped by someone. It’s a great feeling of professional pride and acceptance.
I realized recently that through my difficulties with a couple jobs and working my butt off, I lost the desire to blog. There’s a long string of time where the only thing on my blog was Affiliate Marketing Fanatics. But I’ve decided to kick some life into this old horse yet!
To the faithful that still subscribe (or were too lazy to remove me from their feed readers, whatever) I thank you. You may have noticed a lot of guest posts lately, and that’s helped me to reinvigorate the site and renew my spark. More are in the hopper, along with some notes I took at Think Tank (yes, I know that was in May, SO WHAT?!), some notes on sessions I attended at Affiliate Summit East 2011, and some general affiliate marketing stuff.
I’m going to pare down the categories here, and redirect my energy into just a few. Please, tell your friends I’m back. Add me to your blogroll and I’ll add you to mine. Let’s DO THIS!
Read More
What You Should Know About Industry Conferences
Guest Post by James Martell
Do you ever hear about conferences for your particular industry and wonder if you should go?
Do you worry about whether a trade show is worth the time and expense involved?
I was struggling with those issues when I went to my first affiliate marketing conference in 2002. I had been an affiliate marketer for about three years, and I wanted more information on growing my business. Yes, I enjoyed the travel opportunity. Yes, the weather in Santa Barbara was gorgeous and the hotel was nice as well.
Seriously, though, if I were only looking for a short vacation, Seattle is closer and Portland is much more affordable.
Specific to my situation, I would have had a hard time convincing my wife Arlene to cut me loose for three days if all I could promise her on my return was a suitcase full of dirty laundry.
Fortunately, I was able to attend the conference because both Arlene and I knew why I was going. Better yet, our expectations for the trip were met and then exceeded.
Reasons to Attend Online Marketing Conferences
When I returned from my first Commission Junction University, Arlene and I were more than satisfied with the benefits I brought home. That’s why, when I returned to CJU the next year, I was accompanied by Arlene and 40 other people.
These days I attend several marketing events every year, and I advise all of my affiliates and colleagues to attend at least two per year. The primary reasons include;
- The time spent at these conferences is actually an investment. When you get back to the office, you’ll be working better, working smarter, and you’ll be far more motivated.
- The money you spend attending these conferences, to include travel and meals, is normally tax deductible. If you happen to own the business, I don’t have to tell you how important that is!
- You’ll have the opportunity to speak with and listen to leaders in your industry, and will probably come away with a few new ideas.
- You’ll be able to tap into a knowledge and experience base far larger than anything you would be able to accumulate on your own.
- The most important reason to attend an industry event, however, is the same reason I kept going back to the Commission Junction Universities; We need to grow.
Over the last decade, I have attended many trade shows and industry conferences, and I have listed a few of my favorites below. I have personally attended each of these events, and I have been invited to speak at several of them as well.
Whether you are an affiliate marketer, or are just interested in what the Internet can do for your business, one of these events offers something you can use.
The Best Online Marketing Conferences 2011
Affiliate Summit
This event is described as the premier affiliate marketing conference, and with good reason. The Summit is held in New York and Las Vegas, and offers a variety of educational events in addition to top industry speakers and acres of merchants and vendors.
Blog World Expo
The Expo gathers bloggers from the four corners of the earth to Las Vegas for three days so they can take advantage of networking events, presentations, and of course, vendors and merchants galore. You don’t need to be a blogger to enjoy this conference, though. If you are just looking for a way to use social media to promote your business, you should plan to attend.
Webmaster World’s PubCon
Most people expect this to be a publishing convention, but the first one was actually held in a pub, so the name actually describes a group of colleagues around a pub table. Well, Webmaster’s World has outgrown the pub, but it still provides an informal, relaxed venue to share marketing strategies and advanced SEO methods.
Commission Junction University
I cut my teeth, so to speak, on this event, and if you actually need a reason to spend three days in Santa Barbara, this conference is a really good one. You’ll get a chance to meet with over 800 industry leaders and top Commission Junction affiliates, like me. You should attend just to find out what affiliate marketing can do for your business.
AffCon
The cool part about newer industry shows is that they’re usually inexpensive, and this one is free, for the moment. This may not last long, though, because AffCon is still packed with leading panelists, all the usual vendors and merchants, and lots of great information for beginners as well as experienced affiliate marketers.
ShareASale Think Tank
What is the difference between a Think Tank and a regular conference? Imagine the level of creativity inspired by great parties, a sports event or two, and one of the best assembled brain-trusts in the industry. Affiliates, managers and merchants would all benefit from this event.
Every business relies on marketing, so it’s likely that your business would benefit from any of these events. If you’ve never attended these or any other online marketing conferences, 2011 might be the year your business really takes off.
Of course, if you aren’t a full-time marketer, there are probably other gatherings which are more focused on your specific industry. You should also least check out the ones that sound interesting.
Shopping for Your Own Trade Show
Matt Papas is an associate of mine who has a weight loss website. Matt could benefit from nearly any Internet marketing conference, but he could also get some great information at fitness or medical conferences. For instance, he could learn more about how to market to clients who are looking for a Medifast coupon code, or looking for the right answer, complete with details, to the question, “Does the Nutrisystem diet work?”
Arlene, of course, attends some events with me, but occasionally she should take in other events as well. Arlene’s website, epliepsymoms.com, offers support and information for parents of epileptic children, so she could also benefit from medical conferences. She could also add conferences specific to epilepsy support organizations and other childhood diseases.
Regardless of your industry or interest, finding the right trade show could only take a minute or two on your favorite search engine. Search for a phrase like “Restaurant Trade Shows” and you’ll find a list of events and probably a Facebook page or Twitter account you can connect to as well. Someone out there is dying to show you how to attract more customers using Google Plus or how the right color of interior paint will keep customers in your store longer.
Will You Be Attending an Industry Conference This Year?
Well, why in the world not? If you have yet to attend one of this year’s online marketing conferences 2011 is not quite over yet . The amount of time and money you’d put into a conference will be more than justified by the ideas and motivation you’ll bring home. The only real question, then, is;
Which of these conferences will you attend?
—
Author and website developer James Martell is the President of Net Guides Publishing Inc. and is a popular speaker at many national events all over the country, including Commission Junction University and the Affiliate Convention. When James isn’t working or traveling, he enjoys the coastal life just south of Vancouver, BC with his wife, Arlene, and their four children.
Read MoreAffiliate Marketing Fanatics 14: Eric Nagel in the House
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Affiliate Marketing Fanatics – A Publisher (Mike Buechele) and an Affiliate Manager (Trisha Lyn Fawver) talk about all things Affiliate Marketing. From blogging to branding, social media to search, video and more!
Once again, our schedules just were not fated to correspond this week. So we enlisted the help of good ol’ Eric Nagel, the king of awesome business cards, to co-host with me. Watch out Mike – Eric may give you a run for your money! It was a good conversation, a bit more focused than some. And in Eric’s honor – no intro music! It’s a short & sweet episode coming in at 42:30. In in this episode we discuss:
- CJ Keyword Links expiring – how will this affect affiliates?
- Affiliate Day on Monday September 14th
- Twitter changed it’s Terms of Service, and strangely announced it via email.
- WordPress getting hacked last week and some discussion of upgrading WordPress, plugins, and WordPress MU.
- CJU, ShareASale ThinkTank, Affiliate Summit West, Affiliate Convention all on the West Coast – no love for East Coast!
- The phenomenon of Poken, custom logo Poken, and more business-like Poken coming soon.
