After a string of quite a few years I am gonna be taking a break from Affiliate Summit West this time. The biggest reason is because I have a new baby boy that was born last Thursday I will need to take care of. I can’t leave a 2 week old child that is this cute!
Anyway, there are tons of things I will miss about Affiliate Summit and most of all I will miss the people. The Affiliate Summits are always a highlight of my year and they are the only time I get to see and talk to many of my friends in the industry. I could name names here but these people know who they are and I don’t feel like typing out a hundred names.
I will miss the parties, I will miss the dinners, I will miss hanging in Vegas, I will miss the fried baloney sandwich from Toby Keith’s, I will miss golfing with some great guys, and I will miss the new friendships I would build.
But also there are a number of sessions that I will miss. If I were going to Affiliate Summit West 2012 these are the sessions I would have tried to be at and ones you should make a point of being at. I don’t really go to a ton of sessions and like to leave plenty of time for the Meet Market, Exhibit Hall, and just hanging with friends so I am not gonna have a session for each time slot, just the ones I would try to make it to:
Sunday, January 8:
11:00-12:00 – 25 Ways You Can Improve Your Website – Vincent O’hare – I know when I am building websites there are always things I forget to do and things I miss. Vinny has a list of 25 things webmasters should look at when building a site or looking to improve an existing site. This is a session targeted for beginners but I am sure there will be some things on his list that I would miss.
2:00-3:00 – Link Building – The Reality in Practice – Robert Adler – I suck at link building. It is one of the weakest areas of my business and something I need to work a lot harder at. And I know many of you affiliates out there are in the same boat. I am always looking for some good link building tips beyond “make good content and people will link to it”. In theory that is good but in practice? Very difficult. I have never really met Robert Adler or heard much about him but it could be good to hear from someone I don’t know and see their perspective.
3:30-4:30 – SEO Site Clinic – I have been to this session before and there is almost always a nice bit of info that I can take and apply to my sites. This isn’t necessarily a “can’t miss” session but if you are free during this time I would check it out.
Sunday evening don’t forget to check out the Shareasale Under The Stars party at Chateau Nightclub at the Paris Hotel from 8-midnight. Pick up your invitation at the Shareasale booth at the Meet Market and while you are there make sure to take some time to talk to any of the Shareasale crew about how they can help you grow your business. They are a great group of people.
Also be sure to wish Daniel Clark a happy birthday.
Monday, January 9th
8:00-9:00 – Early Bird Whiteboarding – Eric Nagel – I know a lot of you will probably be getting to bed right around this time but if you are staggering back to your room take a detour and go listen to what Eric has to say. Bring your site and get some feedback from Eric and the crowd about how you can improve your SEO, usability, conversion, and revenue. This session is also available on Tuesday so be sure to make it to both.
11:30-12:30 – Mastermind Groups Exposed: Success in Affiliate Marketing – Eric Nagel, Todd Farmer, and Tricia Meyer – Learn how you can utilize each other to grow your business through a Mastermind group. I have been part of a few different groups and for me Masterminds are always good motivation since I am usually the dimmest bulb in the bunch. The other people I talk to always motivate me to do better. Learn why you need to be in a group like this if you want to grow your business.
3:30-4:30 – Digital Curation: What It Means To Affiliates – Scott Jangro – We all know it is tough to crank out quality content day after day. Content curation helps ease that burden and allows you to pull in the best information available on a specific topic and get rid of the junk. Learn from one of the best in the business in this session.
Tuesday, January 10th
10-11:15 – Affiliate Summit Pinnacle Awards and Keynote – Eric (ET The Hip Hop Preacher) Thomas – Keynotes are usually hit and miss. Some of them are great (Wil Reynolds in NY? Awesome) and some are less than stellar. But regardless of the content Eric Thomas in passionate, entertaining, and will bring it for this keynote.
11:30-12:30 – Does Your Affiliate Program Have The Juice? – Greg Hoffman, Jeremy Palmer, and Wade Tonkin – Wade, Jeremy, and Greg have many, many years of experience in this business. They have dealt with good affiliate programs, worked with bad ones, and know what it takes to have a successful affiliate program. These three experts will review different merchants and show what they can do better and how they can improve their program. If you are a merchant check out this session to learn how you can improve your program. If you are an affiliate go to this one to learn what to look for in a good program.
3:30-4:30 – Closing Keynote – Jeremy Schoemaker – Some people like him, some people hate him but Jeremy has been one of the most successful people in this industry over the past decade. I am not sure what he will be covering in this keynote but when I have heard him in the past he does share some very solid information.
Check out the full Affiliate Summit West 2012 agenda and see if any of these sessions will work with your schedule. I know many of these speakers and I know they won’t disappoint.
We'll miss you – have fun with Clyde the Glide.
Enjoy that newborn, papa…
On a positive note, you'll probably get more sleep at home with your newborn than you would in Vegas 🙂
See you in Austin for Affiliate Summit Central?