This is a somewhat belated post, as I had hoped to publish it straight after the Affiliate Summit event, however due to various circumstances I did not get around to it.
In the run up to Affiliate Summit East in NYC, John Chow ran a small competition on his site to win a free gold pass to the Summit. I was lucky enough to win one of the passes and so decided to make the trip from the UK to attend. Being very new to the Affiliate marketing business I felt that this would be a great opportunity to connect with not only the Affiliate networks but also other affiliate marketers.
So I packed myself up and made the journey to NYC. I was full of trepidation, not ever having done an Affiliate Summit but at the same time I was excited at the prospect of meeting other like minded people.
Registration was very slick and organised and the bag of goodies I received was a nice touch. Armed with my business cards I headed off into the meet market on Day 1. The meet market was essentially an informal networking opportunity to connect with Affiliate networks, merchants and other affiliate marketers, to say the room was packed was quite an understatement, I could not believe how busy the room was. For a newcomer like me it was quite a daunting experience, however I was struck by how friendly everyone was. In fact when I mentioned that I was a newcomer to the industry everyone was more than happy to share experiences and offer guidance and advice. I spent several hours working my way around the the room and had some very interesting conversations with a variety of people. I left for the hotel laden with business cards and various promotional materials – read T-Shirts!!
Day 2 was a mixture of speeches and the main show similar to the meet market but with far fancier stands! I did not manage to get to any of the speeches mainly due to the limitations of the gold pass but instead spent most of the day talking to various networks in the main exhibition hall. Having the opportunity to talk to Affiliate networks was a real benefit to me as it gave me the opportunity to understand their business and also for me to let them know about my business and the things that I want to do with it.
Unfortunately I could not attend the third day as I had to return home.
So was it worth it? Yes, absolutely, I learnt a lot and connected with people that simply I would not normally meet but I guess that the biggest thing I took away from the event was how upbeat and enthusiastic everyone was. With the state of the economy weighing heavy on business it was a refreshing change to be in a room with so many happy and focused people.
Thanks to everyone who I met and made me feel welcome and special thanks to @johnchow for the free pass
Hopefully I will see you in Las Vegas next year.
Good post.
I wonder how many of the guys you met will be reading this blog!
Will you be going again next year?
Hi Paul,
Hopefully will try and get out to the LV summit next year.