Because you are on this site I guess you’re serious about making money online.
If you want to make serious money online you have to dance with successful Internet money-makers. Why do I use the ‘dance’ instead of hangout? Well when you hangout there’s nothing you have to do. You are just there.
When you ‘dance‘ with someone you have to know the right steps and rhythm or you’re another clumsy wannabe. Now, there is only so much you can learn online. Yes, you can learn a lot. But to fully understand online business there is no alternative to learning directly from the professionals – those top 2 or 3% of all online money-makers.
And you want to get to know them. At live events the people you may know from Internet activities get to know you . . . the real you. There are many, many advantages to getting face-to-face with presenters and engage them in conversation after they leave the stage.
I’ve never attended an event where the presenters didn’t speak to me and other audience members one-on-one. These conversations, no matter how brief are the beginning of a relationship.
Remember, it’s not who you know. It’s who knows you.
So, make yourself known. Attend events where top earners speak.
Here’s a list of key affiliate marketing events scheduled for this year. If you are serious about making money online and want to be a successful affiliate marketer an important path is networking with successful marketers. Use this list as a starting point for planning your event schedule.
We also suggest investigating Meetup.com events in your area. There are many across the nation that promise solid networking opportunity.
This list was compiled and published by CAROLYN KMET. Click on her name for Carolyn’s bio and list of other articles.
Industry Wide
Affiliate Summit West
Date: January 18-20, 2015
Location: Las Vegas
Main Purpose: Learn about affiliate marketing and meet affiliates
Affiliate Summit was launched in 2003 with the purpose of educating both affiliate managers and affiliates about industry issues, and to provide a productive networking environment. The first of two shows, Affiliate Summit West, takes place in early January in Las Vegas. Affiliate Summit East occurs every August at an East Coast location. Both are three-day conferences that bring together affiliates, merchants, vendors, and networks, and provide multiple tracks of educational sessions covering the latest trends and developments in affiliate marketing. Keynote speakers include Chad Hymas of Chad Hymas Communications, and Noah Kagan, founder of AppSumo.
We included Affiliate Summit West, although the event was last week. Click on the link for Affiliate Summit West and sign up for advisories of future events.
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Affiliate Management Days
Date: March 30-April 1, 2015
Location: San Francisco
Main Purpose: Learn about affiliate marketing
Launched in 2012, AM Days is a conference for affiliate managers and marketing executives. Topics include affiliate recruitment techniques, communication with affiliates, and affiliate marketing fraud. There is also an “Advertiser’s Crash Course in Affiliate Marketing” workshop scheduled for March 30, prior to the start of the conference. This is an interactive and case-study-based half-day workshop that will walk merchants through the entire process of researching, setting up, launching, managing, and building an affiliate marketing program. Keynote speakers include Ben Edelman, an associate professor with Harvard Business School, Kerri Pollard, president of CJ Affiliate by Conversant, and Declan Dunn, CEO of Dunn Direct Media.
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BlogHer
Date: July 16-18, 2015
Location: New York City
Main Purpose: Meet affiliates
BlogHer is one of the largest conferences geared toward women in social media. In November 2014, the conference was acquired by SheKnows, a digital-media company that publishes articles and videos aimed at women. The acquisition expands the base of female influencers and writers, so we could expect to see a larger conference this year. In 2014, BlogHer had approximately 2,500 attendees, and counted more than 130 brands, such as Coca-Cola and Samsung, as sponsors.
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Affiliate Summit East
Date: August 2-4, 2015
Location: New York City
Main Purpose: Learn about affiliate marketing and meet affiliates
Like Affiliate Summit West, which occurs in January, the objective of Affiliate Summit East is to educate both affiliate managers and affiliates about industry issues, and to provide a productive networking environment for all.
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Type-A Parent
Date: October 8-10, 2015
Location: Atlanta
Main Purpose: Meet Affiliates
The seventh annual Type-A Parent Conference brings together moms and dads who blog and the brands that want to engage them. Brands that have attended include Disney Parks, Johnson & Johnson, Beech-Nut, iRobot, and Little Debbie. The Type-A Parent network counts over 10,000 bloggers, but conference attendance is capped in the hundreds to create a more intimate experience.
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Network Specific
The events below are sponsored by various affiliate networks, and are designed to facilitate in=person engagement between affiliate managers and affiliates, as well as to educate all entities on industry and network-specific issues.
Linkshare Symposium San Francisco
Date: January 28-29, 2015
Location: San Francisco
Linkshare (now Rakuten Marketing) hosts multiple symposiums around the world throughout the year. Events run from January through October, and are held in locations such as Toronto, London, and Tokyo. Two of these events are in the United States: San Francisco in January, and New York in June. Events are designed to facilitate networking between Linkshare advertisers and affiliates.
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Linkshare Symposium New York
Date: June 29-30, 2015
Location: New York City
This will be the second event hosted by Linkshare (Rakuten Marketing) in the United States in 2015. The Symposium brings together Linkshare merchants and affiliates and provides education, business planning, and networking opportunities.
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AvantExpo
Date: June 18-20, 2015
Location: Park City, Utah
Hosted by AvantLink (an affiliate network) AvantExpo limits attendance to top affiliates within the AvantLink network. The agenda is designed to encourage the growth of existing relationships and establish new ones for merchants, affiliates, and agencies within its network. The conference is limited to 70 attendees, to allow for maximum face-to-face time between retailers and top affiliates.
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CJ University by Conversant
Date: To be determined (likely September 2015)
Location: Santa Barbara, Calif.
This annual event debuted in 1998. Registration includes access to an online social community so networking can begin in advance of the event. CJU also enables conference participants to schedule one-on-one consultations with Commission Junction experts for program reviews and platform walkthroughs. In 2014, the keynote speaker was Magic Johnson.
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ShareASale ThinkTank
Date: To be determined (likely October 2015)
Location: To be determined
The ShareASale affiliate network has hosted this event since 2006 with the intention of connecting retailers and affiliates, educating all parties on new network tools, and to gather user feedback to help drive network development. Attendance is limited to fewer than 200 attendees, who are selected through an application process to ensure a diverse mix of affiliates, bloggers, and retailers.