A New Beginning at the Affiliate Summit Conference #ASE17

Now that the dust has settled at home and emails sent to new folks and old acquaintances from ASE17, I am actually finding the time to sit down and write about another fabulous conference experience.

This year was a bit different for me as I attended as my own boss and was able to control my own schedule and meetings. I have to admit, it sure was fun.

Sunday morning kicked off with a PMA brunch and I was asked to guard the door, checking the invitees in and handing out name tags. This was so much fun for me since I was able to connect with people that I had not seen or talked to the past couple of years.

Keynote Touchdown

Kickoff was with Joe Theismann and his opening keynote. I found it to be exhilarating. Not only because I am a huge football fan, but also because he seemed so genuinely honest. He elaborated on his past ego, how he learned lessons the hard way and being fortunate to do what he loved and make money at it. I was able to identify with all of that, since in my past my profession involved one of the things I love most, animals, and now its affiliate marketing which I love also (I know most of you thought I was going to say wine taster, maybe someday). This was truly one keynote that initiated a lot of excitement for those that attended and I hope it pumped up everyone there as much as it did me, a fabulous way to start a conference.

After the keynote motivation it was easy to start introducing myself around at the Meet Market and attend the snack breaks. I could feel the jitters for Monday morning’s session already surmounting so I wanted to keep busy, and I did. Though there weren’t many opportunities for me in the Meet Market since there were a lot of CPA and Traffic buying booths, I managed to snag a little swag and hang out until my slotted time to also work at the PMA booth.  This gave me the opportunity to talk to a lot of strangers and explain the importance of the PMA and their role in representing the Performance Marketing industry. I’m hoping that from the many cards that were collected they have received a lot of new members because they are the only ones to represent our industry, a much needed and at times troubling task.

Session Jitters

Monday morning I don’t even remember eating breakfast but I’m sure I choked down a little bit of food, along with a lot of coffee thinking about my 10:00 session with Tricia Meyer of Sunshine Rewards. Our topic, Affiliates and Affiliate Managers: A Show in Partnership was well received. I’m not sure if it’s because everyone likes the mother/daughter banter or because we offer great information or a little of both, but we do always have great audience participation and a good crowd even when pitted against other well-known sessions. So much relief after and then on to really enjoy the conference with that behind me.

Renewed friendships and meeting new people

The rest of the show entailed meetings with Nathan from FMTC, JT from Daft Labs, Todd from Impact Radius, Michele from Pepperjam, Choots and Tara from Link Connector and many more which were equally as important. As time progresses so have their companies, so staying up to date on what they offer is so important for someone like myself in affiliate consulting.

All in all it was a fantastic conference and anyone in the affiliate marketing business should make it a point to attend at least one conference. If you want to progress and make money in affiliate marketing, love making friends and love bacon, this is the conference for you.