November was another packed month for Affiliate Summit Meetups, with 16+ meetups taking place across the US & Canada.  Topics included email marketing, seasonal promotions, the affiliate tax, computer technology tips and tricks, as well as preparing for Affiliate Summit West.

Also, Affiliate Summit supplied many meetup groups with a $250 food and beverage budget as a gift for the holidays – thanks Shawn & Missy!!  As a result, many groups used the time for holiday parties, networking and fun.

Taking place on a monthly basis, these meetups are open to anyone with an interest in affiliate marketing or online marketing in general.

To see what’s happening in your local area, visit the Affiliate Summit FB page: affiliatesummit.com/meetups.  If there isn’t a group in your local area – start one today!  Email Mary Poiley to learn more.

In Baltimore, Amy Hollomon from WhatCounts (formerly Blue Sky Factory), spoke about Best Practice in Email Marketing.  She provided a very informative presentation: click here to view!

Key Takeaways Include:

Five components of a successful email marketing program:

1. Social media and email integration – encourage sharing via Facebook and other channels
2. Continuous and effective testing – A/B testing, creative testing, and more
3. Targeted messaging – collect user information at sign up or within emails, then set up segmented lists
4. Automated sending – including a welcome email and messages at different lifecycle stages
5. Strategic planning and analysis – review metrics and compare to campaign goals

In addition to elaborating on the information above, the presentation also includes best practices checklists and tips for improving performance.

In Denver, attendees talked about making the most of Affiliate Summit, regardless of whether or not everyone was planning to attend, although almost half of the group is going to Vegas!

Key Takeaways Include:

• - Check out the agenda in advance, so you don’t miss any of the sessions you really wanted.  The speakers are also very friendly and usually happy to speak with you after the session too.   (Durk Price, eAccountable OPM)
• - As a first-timer, don’t be afraid to ask questions and just start conversations.  People at Affiliate Summit are very friendly and welcoming to newbies, and attending ASW is the best way to quickly learn a lot about the industry. (Brad Crooks, TrippingTheGlobe.com)
• - DON’T SKIP THE EVENING EVENTS — When I first started attending professional conferences, I diligently went to every talk, took notes, and by the time evening rolled around was ready for some quiet time so I’d go up to my room and watch a movie on TV while catching up on email or relaxing. That’s exactly how NOT to attend Affiliate Summit, because you’ll get far more out of going to the dinners, parties and other evening activities (midnight bowling, anyone?) in terms of actually making connections with others in your industry and perhaps even making some terrific new friends. (Dave Taylor, GoFatherhood.com)
• - Don’t decide not to talk to someone just because their badge color code doesn’t seem to be a match – you’ll be surprised at how many people work in more than one area and could be possible business partners.  Just start the conversation and see where it takes you.  (Jeannine Crooks, buy.at)
• - There’s still time for first-timers with a Platinum or Diamond pass to join the Newcomer Program!  (Jen Goode, ProjectsforPreschoolers.com)
• - Even if you’re not attending Affiliate Summit, follow along on Twitter at #ASW12.  Read the thread posted by people in sessions you were interested in, and follow those speakers on Twitter as well.

Also, Jeannine mentioned that Denver set the record for “farthest distance traveled to attend an Affiliate Summit Meetup” – two attendees joined from Holland!

Liz Gazer’s robust recap of the Toronto meetup is written below.  Also, click here to view the presentation shared at their recap.

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Affiliate Summit Toronto 

November 2011

Tuesday, November 29^th, the Toronto Affiliate Summit community got together for their monthly event. The Clickzoom/Generex team kindly donated their boardroom for this month’s meeting and the group saw its biggest turnout yet.

Roughly 25 members attended to hear Liz Gazer’s talk on Ecommerce Seasonality: Promotional Partnership Value Throughout Peak Season & Beyond (topic inspired by Tricia Meyer of Sunshine Rewards – http://www.tricia.me) and ScaleEngine’s Allan Jude speak on Accelerating WordPress for Pagerank & Profit.

Key takeaways on the Seasonality presentation included:

• - Seasonality matters because it affects buyer behavior
• - We can influence buyer behavior by building promotions around seasonality
• - There is much more to seasonality than just Christmas/Black Friday. We can influence buyer behavior toward higher spends or more frequent buying by using seasonal promotions even regarding those products/services we wouldn’t typically think of as seasonal. It’s all in how you structure your strategy/content/campaigns.
• - Plan well ahead for best results. Use a campaign calendar – there are many templates you can find online or create your own. Get creative!
• - Don’t be afraid to speak to your partners about their plans for seasonality and see where you can ally for success. They may have unique ideas for how you can feature them (or for merchants, on how they can feature you) and how you can each benefit from the partnership. Remember it’s about creating a win:win. Communication makes a world of difference.
• - Historical data is always helpful if you have it, but doesn’t always tell the whole story. Common sense, good foresight and quick response to current events make up other parts.

Download the slide deck from this presentation by clicking here.

Key takeaways on Accelerating WordPress for Pagerank & Profit presentation included:

• - Site speed matters. Google now uses it as one of many key factors in determining your page rank.
• - The only way to know how your site performs is to test it! Test site speed at both peak and non-peak times regularly; watch for patterns/trends and interruptions in them to determine what is most affecting your site speed (positively or negatively). Weekly is recommended.
• - Using a CDN (Content Distribution Network) especially for image/CSS/Java heavy sites, can vastly improve site loading time.
• - Benefits of dedicated vs. shared hosting servers (Dedicated is better)
• -  Full admin rights, no shared resources, more control over performance, increased security
• - ScaleEngine.com offers scalable hosting/CDN services and dedicated server space
• - Plugins on sites like WordPress can bog down site speed.  Avoid plugins written by amateurs; check reviews for performance details before using and reduce # of plugins to reduce risk of crippling site with too much code
• - Ad Networks/social media plugins are usually slowest loading elements
• - Load non-critical elements after page has been rendered. No one will “like” your page in first 3 seconds but they will leave quickly if page takes too long to load.
• - Even Google Analytics should wait until page is loaded to fire

Download the full slide deck from this presentation here: http://www.scaleengine.com/media/Accelerating_Wordpress_for_Pagerank_and_Profit.pdf

Before & during presentations, the group indulged in a tasty spread (generously provided by Affiliate Summit), including sushi, crudites & dip, pizza, Christmas cookies and festive candy canes along with an assortment of wine and non-alcoholic beverages. After the meeting the group moved over to the Watermark Irish Pub down the street for some open networking & holiday cheer, where pitchers were on the house, courtesy of Affiliate Summit.

Photos can be viewed at http://www.meetup.com/astorontomeetup/photos/

The group will meet again end of January.

______________________

Find Tobias Brusegard on Twitter - @adbullpen
For more information about Generex Biotechnology, visit http://www.generex.com

Find Allan Jude on Twitter - @allanjude and/or @scaleengine
For more information about ScaleEngine Hosting/CDN services visit http://www.ScaleEngine.com

Find Liz Gazer on Twitter – @LizGazer
For more information about Growthspurt Media visit http://www.growthspurtmedia.com
Liz Gazer can also be found on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/growthspurtmedia), Twitter (@lizgazer), Google+ (http://gplus.to/affiliatemanagement) and at LinkedIn.

For more information about the Toronto Affiliate Summit Community, visit http://www.meetup.com/astorontomeetup.

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Thanks to everyone who attended meetups this month and we’re looking forward to the next meetup!

Affiliate Summit Meetup Day is next Tuesday, November 29th for many regions across the country (currently 16+ meetups scheduled!) Anyone with an interest in affiliate marketing or online marketing in general is welcome to attend!

We’ve highlighted a few below, but you can look for details on meetups in your local area on the upcoming events section of the Affiliate Summit Facebook group.

***This month, Affiliate Summit offered budget for drinks and appetizers to celebrate the end of the year, the upcoming holidays, and (for several locations) our last meetup before Affiliate Summit West!***

Baltimore
Time/Location: 6pm @ the buy.at Office – 921 E. Fort Avenue, Suite 200
Speaker: Amy Hollomon from WhatCounts (formerly Blue Sky Factory)
Topic: Best Practice in Email Marketing
Learn More: Meetup.com

Denver
Time/Location: 7pm @ Braun’s on Blake (2401 Blake Street)
Plans: Holiday Party!
Topics: Getting ready for Affiliate Summit & getting approved by merchants
Learn More: Meetup.com

Toronto  
Time/Location: 7pm @ Location TBD
Speaker: Liz Gazer
Topic: Seasonality in e-Commerce: Maximizing Promotional Partnership Value throughout peak season + beyond
Learn More: Meetup.com

Standard Agenda (timing varies by region)
6:00-6:30 Arrive and mingle
6.30- 7:00 Meetup leader welcome, guest speaker
7:00-7:15 Questions
7:15-7:30 Announcements/discussion
7:30-?? Networking

We’re looking forward to seeing you soon!

-buy.at US

Adding on new locations this month, affiliate marketers gathered  in the US and Canada to share knowledge, network and enter for a chance to win a ASW 2012 Gold Pass and DVD set from Affiliate Summit.  Topics included PPC, link building, SEO, the Google Panda update, affiliate marketing best practices, the changing affiliate landscape, working with networks and affiliates using Facebook ads.

Taking place on a monthly basis, these meetups are open to anyone with an interest in affiliate marketing or online marketing in general.

To see what’s happening in your local area, visit the Affiliate Summit FB page: affiliatesummit.com/meetups.  If there isn’t a group in your local area – start one today!  Email Mary Poiley to learn more.

In Baltimore, we welcomed more new attendees and Charlie Calabrese lead a discussion on PPC Challenges & Tips.  Rob Adler, Morgan Thomas and several others joined in to share insights.

Helpful Resources:

• - Charlie shared a pay per click search engine marketing flowchart which includes links from each stage in the process to additional resources
• - He also suggested using tools like Wordtracker for keyword research

Key Takeaways Include:

• - Pay attention to trending terms on places like Twitter, Google Trends, consumer news sites and news feeds
• - Keyword research is the single most important thing you can do
• - Consider intent to purchase (rather than Baltimore Ravens try Baltimore Ravens Apparel)
• - Copywriting is key!  Use your skills to stand out from the competition, capture the viewer’s attention and aim to answer their question to generate a response

Congrats to Susan who won the ASW 2012 Gold Pass and DVD set!

In Denver, Jim Kreinbrink spoke about “The Most Common SEO Mistakes” and covered topics including the Google Panda update.

Key Takeaways Include:

• - Be very aware of your site speed, as this is now part of the Google algorithm
• - Google has come to love brands, so include brand names, trust logos, etc to improve rankings
• - Including video on pages is a way to get into search engine results more quickly

Bottom line – ask yourself “Would you trust this page with your credit card?”  If the answer is yes, Google will probably like it.

Also, congrats to Wendy Pearson and Jim Brown who won the ASW 2012 Gold Pass and DVD set!

Moving on to New York, Deborah Carney posted a full recap (complete with pictures!) in the Affiliate Summit Forum.  From her post:

“We had a small group which worked out great because there were two newcomers to our group that had questions about getting started in affiliate marketing. Their questions were relevant to half the group so we informally split into two groups, one with basic discussion and one with more SEO focused discussion. Everyone came away with information they specifically needed, which will help them start or grow their businesses. It’s exciting to see someone hit that “ah ha” moment

There wasn’t anyone in the group going to Affiliate Summit that didn’t already have a pass, so the Gold Pass will be awarded to an attendee at our November AdTech Meetup. Elizabeth, who won the dvd set is anxious to learn about affiliate marketing and was very excited to have the set.”

Congrats to DVD winners – Elizabeth and Friend Patrice!

Providing another recap with a wealth of great information, Liz Gazer described the Toronto meetup below.  Also, click here to view the presentation shared at their recap.

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Affiliate Summit Toronto

On Tuesday, October 25^th, the Toronto Affiliate Summit Meetup community gathered in the semi-private California Room at Brix Napa Valley Grille & Wine Bar, for their monthly meetup hosted and organized by Growthspurt Media’s Liz Gazer.

Due to heavy rain and a transit strike, numbers were thinner than expected but only by a few. Members travelled from as far as 200+km away, for networking with fellow industry folks and a presentation given by the event’s host, on Affiliate Marketing best practices for merchants, affiliates and networks.

While the group had originally been slated to hear a talk on best practices for specifically Canadian merchants looking to compete globally, the agenda was changed last minute as more affiliates than merchants were expected to attend based on RSVPs. Instead, “Affiliate Marketing: A Changing Landscape” was presented.

Group members were reminded that for long term profitability in this business that we are each dependent upon successful relationships with other parties in order to succeed and that it’s counter-productive to the mission to operate with disregard for overall performance-partnership goals of the other parties.

The discussion gave some insight into what Merchants expect from their Affiliate channel in order to  justify the investment, as well as insight for what Affiliates look for before investing in  promotion of a brand. The presentation also covered some discussion on the Google Panda Update, and how online marketers can protect their online business efforts from tanking, in the face of those types of changes.

New members in attendance, included  Mark N. (an independent programmer/affiliate), Sharon Lee & Kat Ward from Gunggo.com, John Martinuk of SuccessfulMatch.com, Allan Jude of ScaleEngine Hosting and Marine Zhang of Zebra IT Solutions.

This month the group had some awesome goodies to giveaway courtesy of Affiliate Summit, including a Gold Pass to Affiliate Summit West 2012 at Caesar’s Palace, Las Vegas, and an exclusive DVD of all recorded presentations from Affiliate Summit East 2011 in NYC. A draw was held for those in attendance to select winners.

Congratulations to:

• - David Michaels of http://www.intelliguard.com for winning the coveted DVD
• - Allan Jude of http://www.ScaleEngine.com for winning the Gold Pass to ASW12!

For more information about Growthspurt Media visit http://www.growthspurtmedia.com.

Liz Gazer can also be found on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/growthspurtmedia), Twitter (@lizgazer), Google+ and at LinkedIn.

For more information about the Toronto Affiliate Summit Community, visit http://www.meetup.com/astorontomeetup.

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Thanks to everyone who attended meetups this month and we’re looking forward to next month!

Affiliate Summit Meetup Day is next Tuesday, October 25th for many regions across the country (currently 15+ meetups scheduled!) Anyone with an interest in affiliate marketing or online marketing in general is welcome to attend!

We’ve highlighted a few below, but you can look for details on meetups in your local area on the upcoming events section of the Affiliate Summit Facebook group.

***Also, October’s meetup has an added bonus!  Affiliate Summit is giving away a Gold Pass and DVD set with all the sessions from ASE 11 in NYC.  Join your local meetup this month for a chance to win!***

Baltimore - 10/25
Time/Location: 6pm @ the buy.at Office – 921 E. Fort Avenue, Suite 200
Speaker: Charlie Calabrese & open forum
Topic: PPC Challenges & Tips
Learn More: Facebook or Meetup.com

Denver - 10/25
Time/Location: 7pm @ Braun’s on Blake (2401 Blake Street)
Speaker: Jim Kreinbrink
Topic: The Most Common SEO Mistakes
Learn More: Facebook or Meetup.com

Toronto – 10/25
Time/Location: 7pm @ Brix Napa Valley Grille & Wine Bar
Speaker: Liz Gazer
Topic: Raising Canada: What Advertisers/Publishers need to stay competitive in the Internet Age (for merchants & affiliates)
Learn More: Facebook or Meetup.com (preferred)

New York – 10/25
Time/Location: 6pm @ Mimeo (450 Park Avenue South – Third Floor)
Speaker & Topic: Roundtable discussion about attendees sites and how we as a group can help people develop goals
Learn More: Facebook or Meetup.com

New York – 11/9
Time/Location: 7pm @ Playwright Tavern (202 W 49th St)
Speaker & Topic: Networking and mingling during ad:tech, open discussions
Learn More: Facebook or Meetup.com

Standard Agenda (timing varies by region)
6:00-6:30 Arrive and mingle
6.30- 7:00 Meetup leader welcome, guest speaker
7:00-7:15 Questions
7:15-7:30 Announcements/discussion
7:30-?? Networking

We’re looking forward to seeing you soon!

-buy.at US

Affiliate Marketers attended meetups this week spanning 15 locations across the US and Canada.  These included Atlanta, Austin, Baltimore, Boston, Cleveland, Chicago, Denver, East Bay, Indianapolis, Los Angeles, Montreal, Niagara Falls, Orlando, San Francisco, and Wilmington  to discuss various topics in online marketing.  Taking place on a monthly basis, these meetups are open to anyone with an interest in affiliate marketing or online marketing in general.

To see what’s happening in your local area, visit the Affiliate Summit FB page: affiliatesummit.com/meetups.  If there isn’t a group in your local area – start one today!  Email Mary Poiley to learn more.

In Baltimore, regulars and new attendees gathered for a presentation for both affiliates and merchants on closing out strong in Q4.

Kim Salvino and Amy Ely covered a variety of topics that were also recently covered on the following two podcasts:

How Merchants Can Make Q4 Better for Affiliates
How Affiliates Can Get The Most Out of Q4 by Talking to Your Merchants

Key Merchant Takeaways:

• - comScore 4^th quarter sales reached $39 billion in 2009 and $43 billion in 2010 – presenting a huge revenue opportunity this year
• - The largest online sales day in 2010 was Cyber Monday and the peak week was December 5-12^th
• - Plan out a promotional calendar and the dates you’ll provide relevant creative to your affiliates
• - Send a list of best sellers, new Q4 products, and (for PPC affiliates) suggested keywords
• - Update data feeds daily and consider “changes file,” top sellers, and category specific sub-feeds
• - DO NOT plan major site updates or affiliate network changes in Q4
• - If your gift cards are commissionable, let your affiliates know, if they aren’t – why not?

Key Affiliate Takeaways:

• - Don’t wait on the merchant – know what you need well in advance, and don’t be afraid to ask
• - If you use data feeds, ask for custom sub-feeds by age or gender that appeal to your audience or feeds with top sellers, sale items, or new products for the holiday shopping season
• - Plan out a promotional calendar and the dates you’ll need relevant creative from merchants
• - Click here for a great example from Tricia Meyer
• - Consider creating a media kit detailing your audience demographics, planned promotions, and communications channels you use (email, PPC, etc) and send to potential merchant partners
• - Ensure your content and ads aren’t displaying expired promotions
• - Consider posting gift guides, engaging your audience with email newsletters
• - Pay attention to top sellers on Amazon

In Denver, 18 attendees joined a presentation from Ernie St. Gelais on how to run the business aspects of your affiliate business.   His discussion covered several aspects of affiliate marketing, including working with multiple networks, promotion strategies, and best ethical practices in the industry.

In New York, Michael Streko from Knowem.com discussed treating your affiliate sites as a business instead of a hobby.  He gave examples of how to create a very tightly niched local site that can be monetized, not only with affiliate marketing, but also by advertising from offline businesses.  A key takeaway was “find a need and fill it.”

After a lively discussion with Michael, the 20 attendees broke into smaller groups based on the main discussion and continued to network.

In Niagara Falls, it was a mashup of Toronto-Meets-WNY, complete with their own hashtag (#ASEH). Liz Gazer provided a full recap below

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Affiliate Summit Toronto-Meets-WNY Meet-up in Niagara (#ASEH)

The Toronto Affiliate Summit Community met up with Fort Erie/Western NY area Affiliate Marketers at Syndicate Restaurant & Brewery in Niagara Falls, Ontario this past Tuesday for what may become a quarterly gathering of Toronto-Meets-WNY affiliate folks.

Organized by Liz Gazer, the event attracted a mix of 17 advertisers/publishers & agency reps.  The group congregated in a private area overlooking the microbrewery for a networking Happy Hour over Syndicate’s signature craft beer and wings courtesy of Growthspurt Media, before enjoying 2 informative presentations led by Eric Nagel of http://www.ericnagel.com & Eric Schwarzer of Caledonia-based AllSpun Monetization Consulting Services.

Happy Hour was followed by an insightful presentation on the fundamentals of improving on-site SEO by Eric Nagel of http://www.ericnagel.com and then, a fun, high energy presentation by Eric Schwarzer on “16 Random Things to Maximize Productivity, Mindset & Achieve Bigger Goals”.

Key takeaways from Eric Nagel’s presentation included:

• - On-site vs. Off-site SEO
• - You control on-site, others control the off-site SEO
• - Trust Rank – who shares and links to what you said and who you are,matter more and more each day
• - Microformats (the rich snippets of data that determine how your listing appears in the SERP’s) – know how to use them to give uniform structure and help search engines read your data
• - Quality back links from trusted/relevant sites/pages (quality vs. “just” quantity)
• - How to Optimize HTML tags for better indexing/page rank
• - How to Improve Site Speed (now also used by Google as one of 200+ factors in determining search rankings)

To review Eric Nagel’s full presentation, visit: http://www.ericnagel.com/conferences/on-site-seo.html
Eric Nagel can be found at http://www.EricNagel.com or on Twitter (@EricNagel).

Key takeaways from Eric Schwarzer’s presentation (primarily aimed at work-from-home types but offering sound advice everyone can use), included:

• - Activity does not = Accomplishment. Make sure the things keeping you busy are contributing to your success
• - Stay organized with lists:
• - To do (important tasks that contribute to overall business objectives)
• - To don’t (unproductive habits & distractions go here)
• - DONE (accomplishments/achievements to reflect on during times when you feel like you are spinning your wheels)
• - Find your ‘Zone’
• - Self-analyze your working habits/patterns and aim to tackle biggest tasks during your most productive time of day
• - Create a daily “get ready” routine and stick to it
• - Dress for success
• - Especially for work-at-home folks, the temptation to stay in PJ’s all day can be huge. Do whatever it takes to put yourself in a professional frame of mind each day even if it means just putting your shoes on, to work in your kitchen
• - Identify strengths and build on them. Identify weaknesses and either pay someone else to do it or study/train to turn them into strengths, but don’t waste time fumbling the ball
• - Everyone experiences failure – at some point
• - Successful people get up when they fall down and keep on truckin’
• - Don’t let failure keep you down. Learn from it and move on
• - Set realistic goals. Achieve them. THINK BIGGER. Repeat.

To review Eric Schwarzer’s full presentation visit: http://www.slideshare.net/schwarzer/niagara-falls-aseh-presentation.
Eric Schwarzer can be found on Twitter (@schwarzer) or on Facebook.

For more information about Growthspurt Media visit http://www.facebook.com/growthspurtmedia
Liz Gazer can be found on Twitter (@lizgazer).

For more information about the Toronto Affiliate Summit Community, visit http://www.meetup.com/astorontomeetup.

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Thanks to everyone who attended meetups this month and we’re looking forward to plans for October!

Affiliate Summit Meetup Day is next Tuesday, September 27th for many regions across the country (except for NYC)!  Anyone with an interest in affiliate marketing or online marketing in general is welcome to attend!

We’ve highlighted a few below, but you can look for details on meetups in your local area on the upcoming events section of the Affiliate Summit Facebook group.

Baltimore
Time/Location: 6pm @ the buy.at Office – 921 E. Fort Avenue, Suite 200
Speaker: Kim Salvino & Amy Ely
Topic: Closing Out Strong in Q4 (Affiliates & Advertisers)
Learn More: Facebook or Meetup.com

Denver
Time/Location: 7pm @ Braun’s on Blake (2401 Blake Street)
Speaker: Ernie St. Gelais
Topic: How to Run the Business Aspects of Your Affiliate Business
Learn More: Facebook or Meetup.com

New York – TOMORROW (9/20)
Time/Location: 6pm @ Mimeo (450 Park Avenue South – Third Floor)
Speaker: Michael Streko from KnowEm LLC
Topic: Turn an Affiliate Site Into A Business
Learn More: Facebook.com or Meetup.com

Toronto/Southern Ontario and Western NY
Time/Location: 5pm @ Syndicate Restaurant & Brewery
Speaker #1:  Eric Schwarzer
Topic #1: 16 random things you can do to improve your productivity, mindset and achieve bigger goals
Speaker #2:  Eric Nagel
Topic #2: Q&A + Live Site Critique/Whiteboarding
Learn More: Facebook.com or Meetup.com (preferred)

Standard Agenda (timing varies by region)
6:00-6:30 Arrive and mingle
6.30- 7:00 Meetup leader welcome, guest speaker
7:00-7:15 Questions
7:15-7:30 Announcements/discussion
7:30-?? Networking

We’re looking forward to seeing you soon!

-buy.at US

Following on from Affiliate Summit East last week, affiliate marketers attended meetups on Tuesday, August 30^th in Austin, Baltimore, Denver, Orlando, San Francisco and Toronto to discuss various topics in online marketing.  Taking place on a monthly basis, these meetups are open to anyone with an interest in affiliate marketing or online marketing in general.

To see what’s happening in your local area, visit the Affiliate Summit FB page: affiliatesummit.com/meetups.  If there isn’t a group in your local area – start one today!  Email Mary Poiley to learn more.

In Baltimore, 12 people (including several new attendees) discussed two topics:
1) A Spotlight on MD Businesses and 2) Affiliate Summit East Takeaways

Key points from the first topic include recommendations on fighting the affiliate tax, such as:

• - Get to know your legislator, tell them who you are, where you’re located (they pay most attention to those in their constituency), why the tax will harm your business and request their support
• - Visit the Maryland General Assembly website (mlis.state.md.us) to find your legislator
• - The tax threat is real and will probably hit in 2012, so it’s time to start talking to legislators NOW

On the topic of ASE, key takeaways include:

• - Relationships matter, be respectful and attentive to everyone you meet
• - Don’t judge people based on age, appearance, etc.
• - People in the industry are willing to help, get to know them and learn from them
• - There is a massive pool of young talent, seek them out and engage them
• - Watch videos from ASE to catch what you missed (2009 videos are now posted and available for free)

In Denver, Jen Goode led a discussion on feedback surrounding ASE.  Everyone agreed it was a great show with a good turn out.  Further, they thought the show provides valuable, actionable items instead of simply a networking opportunity.

In New York, the “meetup” was networking at Old Castle Pub during Affiliate Summit East.  This informal event enabled many industry professionals to gather on Monday and Tuesday evening after show hours.

New to our recap postings this month, Liz Gazer provided an excellent recap for Toronto – who’s Affiliate Summit meetup community is growing!

——————————

From Liz:

Thirteen innovative, bright and inspiring online marketing professionals came together at the August Toronto Affiliate Summit  meet-up on Tues. August 30^th to talk about their experiences at the recent Affiliate Summit East conference (for those who attended) and continue the discussion.

The twice-annual conference in NYC attracted nearly 4,000 online marketers August 21-23 and was the biggest one held, to date.

Toronto Meet-up host/organizer Liz Gazer of Growthspurt Media Affiliate Management welcomed the group and gave everyone a chance to share their elevator pitch, before beginning a discussion about best practices and industry trends. Topics touched on throughout the night included,

How to:

• - Get started as an affiliate for those new to the industry
• - Wade through “network overwhelm” and choose the right network for your needs
• - Determine which affiliate business model is for you
• - Optimize business relationships between affiliates/advertisers for better results/better payouts
• - Capitalize on existing traffic of high value domain names in a way that is long term/sustainable
• - Understand the differences between CPA and CPS networks, and the pros/cons of working with each
• - Understand the difference between white hat/black hat search engine marketing methods and the symbiotic relationship that tends to at times, exist between them

Live site critique for those who were bold enough to expose their online projects to the group was a key highlight of the evening. Overall, attendees said they enjoyed the opportunity to expand their network of contacts and left at the end of the night with renewed energy, fresh ideas/insight and a greater sense of purpose/direction.

Key takeaways included:

• - Google loves content! Quality content + white hat methods provide a longer lasting outcome to monetization efforts than do black hat efforts
• - Short term investment = short term potential for big lift (not guaranteed), short term results
• - Long term investment = slow going, but long term, sustainable results

• - Wil Reynolds is an SEM genius (@wilreynolds)
• - Some content which may not be “ideal” can still rank well, with age
• - Put your offer/call to action above the fold for best results.
• - Don’t send your site users on a scavenger hunt for what they want. Funnel them through from A to B quickly/efficiently for best conversion/sales results.
• - Less is more. Distractions = higher abandonment rates.

Attendees (in no particular order):

• - Khurram Virani & Farida Mohbat – Span6.com (@span_6)
• - Stefan Caunter – ScaleEngine.com (@scaleengine)
• - David T. Michaels – Patent Lawyer/Domain Investor, Mnext Corp.
• - Marc Fortin – Product Manager, DrinkOwl.com by EngagementMobile.com (@drinkowl)
• - Hammad Mahmood – IFZAMarketing.com
• - Ian Paul Marshall – IanPaulMarshall.com (@ianpaulmarshall)
• - Liz Gazer – Growthspurt Media Affiliate Management  (@lizgazer)
• - Eric Schwarzer (@schwarzer)
• - Shaharris Beh – Marketcrashers (@marketcrashers)
• - Nathaniel Taylor – SEM/CPA Affiliate (@internetbizz)
• - Ilona Webster – SendOutCards.com, Independent Distributor/Aspiring Affiliate
• - George Dedopoulos, Geomatrix Media (@geodee)

Next month the Toronto/Southern Ontario Affiliate Summit meet-up group looks forward to combining forces with the Western NY affiliate community, in Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada. More details to be posted via http://www.facebook.com/growthspurtmedia, and at http://www.meetup.com/astorontomeetup/.

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Thanks to everyone who attended meetups this month and we’re looking forward to plans for September!

Affiliate Summit Meetup Day is next Tuesday, August 30th (except for NYC)!  Anyone with an interest in affiliate marketing or online marketing in general is welcome to attend!

We’ve highlighted a few below, but you can look for details on meetups in your local area on the upcoming events section of the Affiliate Summit Facebook group.

Baltimore
Time/Location: 6pm @ the buy.at Office – 921 E. Fort Avenue, Suite 200
Speaker #1: Ron Wineholt, VP of Government Affairs, MD Chamber of Commerce
Topic #1: A Spotlight on MD Businesses – MD Chamber of Commerce business resources, tax and legislative updates
Speaker #2: Open Discussion
Topic #2: Affiliate Summit East Takeaways
Learn More: Facebook or Meetup.com

Denver
Time/Location: 7pm @ Braun’s Bar & Grill, 2401 Blake Street
Speaker: Jeannine Crooks
Topic: How to Choose the Right Merchant
Learn More: Meetup.com

New York – NEXT WEEK (8/22 & 8/23)
Time/Location: 7-10pm @ Old Castle Pub & Restaurant
Topic: Come and network with some of the industry professionals during Affiliate Summit at the Old Castle Pub located a few steps away from the Hilton where Affiliate Summit East will be taking place. Informal event where many of the industry professionals will be hanging out after the conference, all are welcome.
Learn More: Facebook.com or Meetup.com

Standard Agenda (although Denver’s meetup is at 7pm)
6:00-6:30 Arrive and mingle
6.30- 7:00 Meetup leader welcome, guest speaker
7:00-7:15 Questions
7:15-7:30 Announcements/discussion
7:30-?? Networking

We’re looking forward to seeing you soon!

-buy.at US

This week affiliate marketers gathered in Atlanta, Austin, Baltimore, Chicago Denver, New York, Orlando, San Francisco and Toronto to discuss various topics in online marketing.  Taking place on a monthly basis, these meetups are open to anyone with an interest in affiliate marketing or online marketing in general.  To see what’s happening in your local area, visit the Affiliate Summit FB page: affiliatesummit.com/meetups.  If there isn’t a group in your local area – start one today!  Email Mary Poiley to learn more.

In Baltimore, several people contributed to the topic of Getting the Most Out of Affiliate Summit East.  A few highlights of the conversation include:

• - Know your 30 second pitch, but don’t be too scripted and salesy – if you’re a network and say that you offer the highest payouts (said by many other networks), you’ll instantly turn people away
• - Bring plenty of business cards, pens to use for writing notes, hand sanitizer, several water bottles, and flats or flip flops to wear during the show
• - Write notes on business cards so you can remember your conversation and what day it occurred – this will help you create a personalized follow up message after the show
• - Use your conference badge to store/sort business cards so your hands are free to write notes
• - Talk to strangers – you’re next big business partner could sitting right next to you at the hotel bar
• - Attend parties for great networking opportunities, but be aware that what you say and do can (and will!) be photographed and posted online

Adam Riemer also shared a few tips from his posts on How to Prepare for Affiliate Summit and an Affiliate Summit East Checklist on what to bring.

In Denver, Dave Taylor spoke on the topic of Using Affiliate Marketing for Blogs.  A few of his tips for bloggers include:

• - Focus on one area rather than multiple areas, to improve Google rankings and draw targeted traffic
• - Look for programs that aren’t on auto-approve, because manual approval helps to screen out bad affiliates, making it easier for good affiliates to succeed
• - Don’t include an affiliate link in every blog post.  Sprinkle them throughout your content to gain added attention for them

In New York, Derek Halpern spoke on How to Turn Traffic into Sales and Leads.  This included how to use webinars with experts to build your list, then how to use your email list to create interactivity with your site visitors.

• - Be personal, ask a question, make the people on your list feel special
• - Always give them a reason to click back to your site, but don’t “sell” right in the newsletter
• - Provide valuable information

At this meetup, Deb and Vinny also handed out goodies from past Summits, spoke about the Affiliate ABCs series, gave out a copy of Internet Marketing by the Experts – The Gang of 88 and FeedFront magazines.

Thanks to everyone who attended and we’re looking forward to next month’s meetup!

Affiliate Summit Meetup Day is next Tuesday, July 26th!  Anyone with an interest in affiliate marketing or online marketing in general is welcome to attend!

We’ve highlighted a few below, but you can look for details on meetups in your local area on the upcoming events section of the Affiliate Summit Facebook group.

Baltimore
Time/Location: 6pm @ the buy.at Office – 921 E. Fort Avenue, Suite 200
Speaker: Multiple Speakers
Topic: Getting the Most Out of Affiliate Summit East
Learn More: Facebook or Meetup.com

Denver
Time/Location: 7pm @ Brooklyn’s (by the Pepsi Center)
Speaker: Dave Taylor
Topic: Using Affiliate Marketing for Blogs
Learn More: Meetup.com

New York
Time/Location: 6pm @ Mimeo (450 Park Avenue South – Third Floor)
Speakers: Derek Halpern
Topic: How to Turn Traffic into Sales and Leads
Learn More:Meetup.com

Standard Agenda (although Denver’s meetup is at 7pm)
6:00-6:30 Arrive and mingle
6.30- 7:00 Meetup leader welcome, guest speaker
7:00-7:15 Questions
7:15-7:30 Announcements/discussion
7:30-?? Networking

We’re looking forward to seeing you soon!

-buy.at US