ASW 2013: THE Affiliate Marketing Conference

Affiliate Summit West 2013 is only 17 days away! On or around January 12, 2013, thousands of Affiliate Marketers will descend on Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas for three days of intense education, networking, and partying! The conference is the biggest in the affiliate marketing industry and countless fortunes will be made from the deals put together in the conference rooms, hallways, and nightclub tables throughout the three day affair.

This year, I will be speaking at the conference in a session entitled SEO for Beginning Bloggers and Affiliate Marketers. This session will focus on SEO through unique content and sound on page site structure, keyword targeting, social media strategies, WordPress tools, and overall best practices. With me will be John Carcutt, Director of SEO and Social Media, Advance Digital Inc. and Stephanie Lichtenstein, President, Micro Media Marketing. Make it a point to stop by!

Affiliate Marketing Opens lots of doors

I made my bones online as the Hotdogman. I write about, photograph, and shoot video of hot dog joints all over the place. This year, I will be doing a Hot Dog Story at American Coney Island in Las Vegas! American Coney Island is a 3rd generation family business that is a Detroit institution. They recently opened a Las Vegas store, and I am going to get a taste of a hot dog icon while in Las Vegas. While hot dogs may not seem like a sexy topic, it’s a fun one and these sites have gained momentum over the past few years. They also have provided a tidy affiliate marketing income.

Without many of the things I learned at past Affiliate Summits, I never would have had the success with a seemingly small stable of niche websites. I branched out to a very successful blog called SharkTankBlog just after Affiliate Summit last year. The site is based on the hit ABC TV show, Shark Tank. My friend and business partner, Kirk Taylor, and I have taken that site to over 200K views a month (and growing)! We met at Affiliate Summit and we have made many Shark Tank connections that resulted in profitable affiliate marketing relationships as a result. We also continue to build out other niche sites.

Without Affiliate Summit, these successes and others would not be possible. The connections and knowledge about affiliate marketing I made at the conference are priceless!

Keynote Speakers

In addition to the panels, there are seveal keynote speakers on the docket for Affiliate Summit 2013. Usually one or two speakers are relevent to the Affiliate Marketing industry, while others are strictly motivational. I am looking forward to the keynote speech by Daniel “Rudy” Ruettiger, the little guy that could! His story was the basis for the popular movie “Rudy,” about a never say die under dog who wanted to play football for Notre Dame and didn’t let size or talent get in his way. It’s one of my all time favorite movies and I still get verklempt at the end! I will certainly be speaking to Mr. Ruettiger and asking him “the question.”

The Parties

The parties at Affiliate Summit are loaded with the heavyweights in the affiliate marketing industry. Share-a-Sale always has a great “Under the Stars” party with all kinds of surprises and an OPEN BAR all night! I always hit the Tip Off party at the Hardwood Suite at the Palms with my blogging friend and mentor, John Chow. The Affiliate Ball is a big blast too. In addition to these parties, there are many small gatherings that happen throughout the weekend. There are also several affiliate marketing poker tournaments! While the parties are a blast, they offer fantastic networking opportunities.

I will be blogging the entire event and I will have my Affiliate Summit albums posted shortly after my return to “the real world!” See you in Las Vegas!