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My Poken Travels, Devner and Las Vegas

So my Poken decided to travel with me again this time and it was his best trip yet.   My Poken (buy poken here, sell poken through here) came with me on a trip to Affiliate Summit 2010 Las Vegas with a quick stop over in Denver to visit some old friends.

When we got to Denver, he was completely overwhelmed, the vamp isn’t too excited about high altitudes, but he quickly calmed down and was ready to have some fun, especially after he met my friends there and had a glass of Chardonnay.  Unfortunately for him, there weren’t any other Poken in Denver for him, at least not in the group of people we were hanging out with, (I know Jen and everyone else there have Poken) so he really didn’t get to socialize as much as he would have liked to.  Instead he was able to get rested and relax for a while because he knew he was heading to Las Vegas where he would be going crazy and meeting a ton of other Poken 24 hours a day.

Anyways, we got on our next plane and headed into Las Vegas.  When we got there The Vamp immediately lit up because he knew he was about to finally get to meet a ton of other Poken Pals.

We went to our Hotel and immediately grabbed some of the door prizes from my Client Executive Gift Shoppe on Share a Sale, for the ABW inner circle networking event and the Carolyn Tang Bachelorette Party at the Rio.  Immediately when we got there the vamp light up with delight and started flashing because he instantly spotted some Poken Friends hanging on badges and when we found the iBar we saw tons of people Poking with their Poken.

Unfortunately for the group I sat with, no one had a Poken on them yet so the vamp had to wait for about 10 minutes until we went to the Miranda Room for the ABW Inner Circle party.

On the way to the party, the vamp wa feelin kind of down since he was left out of the events, but who wants to poke  stranger that you don’t know yet, so when we were heading to conference area he decided to leave my conference badge and drop into my pocket.  Luckily for him on his way to my front right pocket, we heard someone call my name.

It was Melanie Seery from Affiliate Advocacy, the leading Affiliate Marketing Industry Association for Tax Laws, and when she got there she had her very own Poken out and ready to roll and poke with the Vamp.  He couldn’t be happier, especially when we walked another minute down the hall and ran into the Girly Checks girls and guys, Jill and Bill, and they had their own Poken, Jill did, out and ready to bump.

Anyways, after a great meeting for the Poken and a ton of hugs for everyone like Lanadil from ABW, we walked over to the party where we were greeted by a ton more people and got to Poke Poken with a ton more like Sharon Moyston and other active ABW members.

Anyways, the event was amazing for everyone and we all got a ton of networking in as well.  The highlight for the vamp though was all of the great Poken Pals he met and made and for me it was being able to not loose a ton of cards and actually be able to remember the time and place I met everyone, as well as their websites and contact information.

Affiliate Summit West had everything from Poken Meetups and Pokes to bloggers who haven’t ordered theirs yet now seeing that although they are kind of stupid and lame when you first see them, they actually end up being an amazing tool to have at a show since it is much easier to hang onto one Poken than to have to keep track of a million cards and a million companies.  The Vamp Poken definitely made this trip easier for me and the other people who had Poken and if you haven’t bought your Poken yet, you are missing out.  Click the banner in the advertising section to go to my friend’s Poken Store and pick yours up before Ad Tech, SES or Affiliate Summit East.  Poken are picking up popularity and people are loving Poken so it is a definite must have over the next year for your Marketing shows.

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Affiliate Summit 2010 Las Vegas Reviewed

This was by far the biggest Affiliate Summit yet.  There were mostly new faces there, I didn’t make it in the exhibit hall but I was told it was overrun by CPA Networks, the Networking events were amazing but what I enjoyed most was the people.

This Summit, instead of killing myself over meetings, being everywhere all the time, I decided to focus on talking to people and not worrying about when my next weekend was.  I have to say, I got more out of this Summit than any other one because I got a lot of people interested in my programs that have established sites and niched sites, as well as motivated some newbies to join my new programs.

I got to talk to new Merchants, do live adware demos with others and more importantly I finally got to sit down and talk with people I have known for years, but never really actually got to talk to on a one on one basis for an extended time.  This really made the difference for me in my Affiliate Summit experience.

Anyways, lets start with the parties and events and I’ll ramble all of the rest of my stuff in between.

The first event I went to was on Saturday night.  It was the ABestWeb.com senior members invite only party.  Not only was it great to see a ton of great Marketers that I love seeing and talking to, but the members I absolutely do not like because of differences of opinions in business and ethics never actually showed up.  The entire room was filled with friends and even some people most of us had never met before.

The food was great and the drinks were almost a good as the Networking and towards the end of the event, Andy Rodriguez and Michael Coley announced the door prizes and I couldn’t be happier when Judi Moore (One of my very favorite people in the industry and one of the smartest) one one of my Client’s (Executive Gift Shoppe on SAS and Bridaluxe) prizes, a zebra print rhinestone women’s business card holder and Jake won another one.  Then we raffeled off two more of the fun prizes and everyone headed out to the Carolyn Tang Bachelorette Party at Mc. Faddens in the Rio.

This party was awesome.  Everyone danced, did shots, played beer pong and more importantly had a great Bachelorette Party for one of the best people in this industry Carolyn Tang.  Something else that was fun was that a couple people from another one of my Client’s which is also now launched, live and exclusive to Share a Sale, Thane.com and Thane.ca.  Unfortunately the night came to an end when we all went over to the Palms Hotel and Casino for the Buy.at Party.

The Palms used to be a great hotel, but unfortunately the security there was absolutely horrible.  Not only would they not tell us where the line was to get up to the club, but we were all compd, VIPd, guest listed and were told by Management to skip the line and when we went up to check in and go to the clubs, they pretty much told us to get lost, would not check our IDs, business cards, etc… to see we were on the list so we all missed the Buy.at party.  This is 100% not a reflection on Buy.at, this is a reflection on the Palms and their lack of grace, quality and that they have gone down hill 100%.  I highly encourage everyone to avoid their hotel and clubs as there are much better ones in Vegas, with more reasonable prices and when I threw a small event last year, guess what they screwed a bunch of stuff up with it as well.  Hotels can only last on image and trendiness for so long.  Aria and others will take you over Palms because in reality, your hotel and casino are not all that and I will personally never go back unless I have to or there is a really special reason and occasion.  You will always be last on my list, however, the grace and professionalism that Buy.at showed when they found out we got turned down (mainly Amy Ely, Kim and a couple others puts them way ahead of some of the other large Networks in my book) makes me want to shout to everyone to start promoting Ticketmaster on their Network.  I met the reps from Ticketmaster and they are fantastic!

Anyways, since we couldn’t get into the Palms, we went back to the Rio and I had an amazing time with Rexanne, Judi, Danny and we also ran into the GTO Management Team and one of their wonderful Clients who put on Bowling for Boobies (a breast cancer fundraising event) and had a wonderful night out.

On Sunday, I was wiped out but showed up for my first meeting around 7am.

The day was great.  I met with a bunch of Affiliates, caught up with some old friends and got my ticket at the Meet Market for the Share a Sale party.  I also finally got access to the Blog Room since apparently I am now officially a blogger, thanks to all of you for reading this =0), and met some really great people for conversation like Heather, Murray, Jon Chow, Andrew Wee, Tricia Meyer and a bunch of others.  I knew most of them before hand, but getting to finally talk and have fun was a whole new experience.  Bloggers and the Blog World really is an amazing, bunch, but don’t ever cross them because if you mess with the bloggers like the VooDoo Lounge did, you mess with some seriously negative PR that is a B*tch to try and reverse.  The one thing missing from the Blog Room was Rae Hoffman from http://www.sugarrae.com since she produced probably the only blog I go to when I have extra time to read something.  Be careful though, she definitely speaks her mind and doesn’t always keep things PC.

That evening I went to dinner with some good friends and more importantly, went to the Share a Sale birthday party with those same friends and got to hang out with a ton more.

Share a Sale went above and beyond again this year and they are still in my opinion the very best Affiliate Network on earth.  They are ethical, they are business minded and the best part, personable.  The other thing I noticed at this Summit and really enjoyed was the comradery between Share a Sale and Buy.at.   Both Networks did not pull the crap some of the other Networks do and let each others employees come to their events.  Heck, SAS even let some of the crapo CPA networks in which speaks wonders, but then again, when you run a Network like SAS, you don’t have to worry since there really is no competition.

Anyways, after the SAS party, we all went to Bowling for Boobies hosted by GTO Management which was an excellent event that raised a ton of money for a great cause, breast cancer.

The next day felt like a nightmare.  At least I thought it would. Surprisingly enough, I woke up feeling energetic and refreshed which is rare after you haven’t been to bed for two nights.

This day was the best.  I met with a new Client the day before and on Monday they began the decision process and are now moving forward with a program launch scheduled for February 1st and exclusive on SAS as always.  I went to my favorite buffet the Wynn Buffet, had a second dinner with one of my very favorite people in the world Melanie Seery from Affiliate Advocacy (The Affiliate Marketing Industry Association) and then went to Twitter Tweetup Trivia hosted by the famous and fabulous Lisa Picarelli.

I didn’t think there was a way to beat out a Share a Sale party at a Conference or event, and although this wasn’t flashy or over the top, It was just as wonderful, but in a different way.  It started with me and Melanie, then we ran into Beth, Lisa and Cory.  Then a few more people came.  Then Beachy showed up with even more people and soon enough, the event was filled up with the real old skool and long time Affilates, Managers and OPMs and not the CPA Networks, the drunks and some of the obnoxious Media Companies.

We all split into 4 teams and although our team almost won a ton of times, Missy and Shawn really battled it out for a free pass and since neither of their teams won, Missy gave everyone who played and stayed until the end a free Gold Pass to Affiliate Summit East 2010 in NYC.  Thanks Missy and Shawn, this is awesome!

Anyways, even though this event was seriously fun, the thing I enjoyed most was getting to talk to some people I have known for years, but never really sat down with and learned about them.  The main person was Michael Coley who is now the admin for ABestWeb.com and a top Coupon Affiliate.

I have known Michael for maybe 3 or 4 years in person, but never really actually got to talk to him and have a real conversation.  Not only is he way to smart for his own and our own good, but he is an amazing person too.  I have also met his wife and the two of them are incredible!  Anyways, getting to talk to people like Michael Coley and meeting new people like Garret, catching up with old friends in an atmosphere where we could talk easily and hear each other made this one of the top events of Affiliate Summit West 2010.

After the Twitter Trivia Tweetup we all went to another event hosted by GTO Management, except this time it was the MakeBeer.net party back at Mc.Faddens.  Although I am not normally a beer drinker (I actually asked if it came in Vodka, mostly a joke), MakeBeer.net is an awesome program again on Share a Sale and managed by a great company.  The highlight of this party though wasn’t watching people use their heads on the punching machine, but getting to spend time with another person I have known but never really spoken to Trisha Lyn.

Anyways, the parties were amazing, I signed a new Client with a program launching on Feb. 1st and I got to catch up with a ton of people.  I met new Affiliates who are going to push my programs, showed some of my current friends and Affiliate I have and currently work with my new offers so not only did I think it was a successful trip, but my Clients will also agree.

If you couldn’t make it to Affiliate Summit West 2010, you missed out, however there is always the East Show in NYC this Summer.  Just click the banner to the right of this post and buy your ticket today so you don’t miss out on Affiliate Summit East NYC 2010.

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Share a Sale and Bowling for Boobies

I have to say, Affiliate Summit this year has been unbelievably the most successful and educational one to date.  Not only is there a huge group of people I have never seen before, but there is a whole flock of new sites, new merchants and new industry vendors which are really pushing the boundaries of what we consider traditional Affiliate Marketing.  Before I get into all of the new vendors and Merchants I have met this trip, I wanted to focus this post on thanking a couple groups of people.

The first one is Share a Sale and their under the stars party last night.

Share a Sale completely had the most amazing event on earth last night.  They took a boring ballroom and turned it into the most amazing birthday party on earth.  They not only set up huge flat screen tvs with wii and bowling, an arcade with some seriously cool racing games, an ice cream bar, pizza bar, fondue fountain, cupcakes, (fruit and healthy food), and most importantly a Moon Bounce.  The party was amazing, until the Moon Bounce Bounced out of control but when the Karaoke DJ started the party kicked into full gear.  After having a few top shelf cocktails on the house, it was time to move onto the highlight of the night.  Bowling for Boobs, a breast cancer fundraiser put on by GTO Management and Bowlingshirt.com, Things from Another World and some other companies.

Not only was this an amazing event, but I am pretty sure that the sponsors were able to raise nearly $3,000USD for Breast Cancer.  This was an amazing event, an amazing time and The GTO Management team put on a class act which ended the Share a Sale party on a perfect note.

I just wanted to thank them all for an amazing night and if you are not currently working with GTO’s Clients and you are an Affiliate and you are not on Share a Sale, you are all missing out.  They have some amazing programs and both companies put on great events lastnight with amazing networking, a great time and they really showed that this industry is still strong and the most fun one out there.

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Hey Merchants, Here’s a Way To Get More from Affiliate Summit!

On facebook earlier I was commenting back to someone about one of my posts about Poken and I thought of kind of a cool way to be able to stand out against the other Merchants and programs at Affiliate Summit.

Anyways, if you are looking for a way to really stand out or to really get an edge over your competitors, or you just want to do something completely different from your competitors for your top Affiliates who will be there as well as a few for Affiliates you really want to have join your program, why not order a Poken for each of them through my favorite Poken Store where I buy Poken from as well.   However, instead of just wrapping them up in a box and handing them out as a gift, even though they would be cool and good enough just like that, why not open them up and store your information on them for the Affiliates already.

Ok, so here is what I am thinking. Everyone brings samples and giveaways to Affiliate Summit.  Everyone has business cards and there are only so many stressballs and pens you can handle.  Not everyone has a Poken or knows about them or can order them before the show, but during the show everyone will see them and if you are able to have them set up for the Affiliate ahead of time, you are completely going to stand out in the crowd because you are the Merchant that was able to make it so they could participate and interact with even more people and not feel left out.  Not only that but you can open all the Poken before the show, set up your own account and then also transfer all of your contact information onto their Poken so that when they get their Poken and plug their Poken into their computers so they can set up their Poken sites, they’ll already have your contact info, program info and picture so they not only get a perfect reminder of you and your program, but also remember that you gave them their new toy.

I think this is a seriously cool idea and giveaway for a show like Affiliate Summit and it is a great way to be able to stand out from the crowd, keep you on the good list with your top Affiliates who are attending and make an even better impression on new Affiliates who you want to join your program or ones that you want an extra push from.

Being creative and offering cool gifts can really make the difference for Affiliates and really help you stand out at shows like Affiliate Summit so if you have the extra budget, this is a must for the show.

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What do you need to bring to Affiliate Summit?

So you’ll see a million posts on what you need to bring to Affiliate Summit, and although most of the obvious things are covered, there are a lot of things most people don’t realize that they should bring which includes personality traits and knowledge.  You also need to put your ego aside and be opened to the fact that not everyone knows everything and Affiliate Summit is the perfect place to not only learn something new, but also get to teach things that you know.

Anyways, although there are the obvious things you should bring to Affiliate Summit, whether you are a first timer or a seasoned veteran, here is my list of what I think are the most important things to bring with you when you are going to Affiliate Summit.

1.  Bring an opened mind and no ego.  Even if you have been to Summit before, if you don’t feel you got anything out of it last time, you may want to try the Mentor program ran by Jen Goode.  Not only will you know someone when you get there, but the Mentor can help you map out which sessions to go to, make introductions for you and help you adjust to the show and get the most out of it.  I was a Mentor for the last few shows and loved it.  It was not only rewarding but I got to help some people feel welcomed and make the most out of probably one of my favorite shows.

2.  Bring ways for people to contact you and just so you know, at this show business cards are definitely not enough.  After getting to attend my favorite show on earth, Share a Sale Think Tank, I saw a ton of the top Marketers in the world playing and using these things called Poken.  Now everyone in the Affiliate Industry is starting to buy them and getting them ready for Summit.  Not only are you going to be a bit behind the times of everyone else if you do not bring one, but if you have gone before, you’ll know that you usually almost always run out of business cards at some point or ruin them if they are in your pocket so by having a Poken you will not only reduce the amount of cards you have to carry, but you will also be able to use your Poken and get to introduce other people to what they are.  Your poken will not only be a conversation starter, but it will also be a great way to keep in contact with people you wanted to meet.  If for some reason you don’t want to use a Poken or buy a Poken, you can always use business cards but if you are an OPM or an Affiliate and a Manager or other attendee who has multiple roles in this industry, bring two sets of cards or a card for each program and one general card with all roles so you can further target your services for the person you are talking to.  It sounds like complete overkill but when you have a million cards and you forget who is who and why you were talking, targeted cards are like targeted traffic, more easy to remember and convert into a relationship.  One other thing I learned is to bring a fake set of cards too for people you really don’t want to keep in contact with.  This becomes great when you have a million CPA Networks and Parasites trying to talk to you.

3.  Knowledge on adware and toolbars.  Come knowing who uses adware, who can use it to steal from you and who you should avoid.  A great place to read about this is the parasite and adware forums at ABestWeb.com.  Not only is there toolbar Affiliates attending the show, but many people there will never know they are using adware which can and in my opinion does steal from you.  If you want me to look through your program for this, please contact me for a free program review adamr (at) adamriemer (dot) me.  We can do it at the show as well.

4.  Come with a ton of rest and takes lots of Vitamin C.  Affiliate Summit runs around the clock and the parties last until 5 and 6 in the morning, even though the sessions and meetings start at 8 and 9.  Remember to either rest well or buy lots of coffee since the show goes on with or without you and if you are not at the parties as well as the meetings and events, you will miss out on all of the networking and bonding that makes the difference between a successful person in Affiliate Marketing, and someone who cannot keep up.  The Vitamin C is something I take with me because I think it helps keep the Affiliate Flu away.

5.  Anti Bacterial Hand Sanitizer or Hand Wipes.  Not only will you be shaking hands with a ton of people who may not wash their hands, but you will also want to keep your hands clean from spreading more germs and bacteria.  This is something you will thank me for when you get to have clean hands all day long and not feel completely dirty.

6.  Bring a pack of cigarettes and a non white lighter.  Although I don’t smoke, tons of top Affiliates do and being able to give one of them a cigarette when they ask is a great way to start a conversation.  Not only will you see tons of people outside in the cigarette area during the entire show, but even if you don’t smoke you won’t feel akward and can bum someone a cigarette to start up a conversation and make a new contact.  For the lighter, white lighters are bad luck and you never know who will believe the superstition so to play it safe, but a regular one that is not white.  Sounds crazy but hey, you never know if you are talking to someone who is superstitious.

7.  Throat Lozenges or Tea.  Bring something to help sooth your throat.  You might end up loosing your voice and you will more than likely get a sore throat from all of the talking so if you prepare a head of time and bring things to help your voice and your throat, you will not only thank yourself for remembering to take care of your throat, but you’ll thank yourself as well for being able to speak through the entire show.

8.  Bring comfortable shoes.  This is one show that I will wear tennis shoes at and dress business casual.  Affiliates normally dress comfortably while Network Reps dress formal and Affiliate Managers dress business casual.  One thing that I learned is to go business casual so you don’t feel out of place and the Affiliates feel more comfortable around you.  Sure you won’t look as professional, but at the same time you will be more comfortable and after being up for three days, you will thank me.  Ohh and btw, wear comfortable shoes and change your socks at least once a day so you not only have non sweaty and smelly feet, but your feet won’t hurt or get as many blisters from standing and walking all day.  The show is always a really long walk and you will thank your shoes for not killing your feet after walking the hall five times a day.

9.  Bring an extra bag for gifts and trinkets.  Affiliate Summit has some of the coolest giveaways and you won’t want to miss out on them so bring an extra bag for giveaways and souveniers from Las Vegas.

10.  Do not go to get laid.  You can definitely cause a permanent bad image for yourself in the minds of the people that matter most by using the parties as a way to hookup and flirt.  You can flirt and get laid on your own time.  I remember at the Under The Stars Party in Miami some guys stripped down to their underwear, did cannonballs into the pool and grabbed women’s asses (I’m not going to mention the company name though) and at a Party in the Palms in a two story suite people making out on the rotating beds and in the massage room and guess what, they not only lost the respect of many other Affiliates, but Vendors, Partners and Managers and I know that a lot of us will never work with those people again.  Sure you have been drinking and sure you are in Vegas and there are a ton of very good looking people, but leave the sex at home where it belongs and keep Summit a classy event.  This is a business meeting and you need to keep it professional.  All you need is a picture of yourself hooking up with someone showing up for your boss on facebook to not only get you fired but also damage your career for a long time.  Affiliates love social media and you don’t want to screw up your job and reputation over a one night stand.  Use your brain and leave the flirting at home.

There are a few more things to remember when coming to Affiliate Summit and if you look around at other blogs and forums you’ll be able to find even more advice.  If you are going and want to set up some time to meet, please feel free to comment here or to write me at adamr (at) adamriemer (dot) me.

Can’t wait to see you all there!