Shawn Collins just announced Affiliate Summit West 2011. Next year it is going to be at a new location the Wynn Las Vegas! I must admit that old Rio has grown on me but it will be nice to be on the strip. Save the dates for January 9-11, 2011.
Before we start thinking about next year I want to finish up my recap of what really happened in Las Vegas. I am going to post the remaining days with pictures to sum the events up for you. Don’t worry these pictures will not be anything like the pictures from the end of the Vegas movie The Hangover…
To start the evening Lisa Picarille was the host of the first ever Trivia Tweetup where Todd Crawford was our fearless leader:
With Todd Crawford and I got to meet Corey Newhouse at the Trivia Tweetup before I was even around he was huge in affiliate marketing:
We head to the ESPNZone to a GTO Management event hosted by FanDuel.com an affiliate program that turns fantasy sports betting into a social game:
We attended the MakeBeer.net event put on by GTO Management and had some fun Joe Sousa was the winner!
It would not be a complete Affiliate Summit without wearing Brook Schaff’s famous frames:
Squeezed into a limo to go to XS because Paresh Vadavia knows how to throw great parties so we couldn’t miss it:
Tuesday Morning, I got out of bed to see my mentor, Scotty Jangro, win Legend of the Year at the Annual Affiliate Summit Pinnacle Awards:
HeatherinBC hosted the Blogger’s Lounge where we blogged and played some wii bowling. I also met fellow blogger @JustJulie:
The session we attended was Jim Kukral’s Get Motivated Session. There is @jgoode sitting in the front row. The main point I took away was to never let fear get in your way. Also not to think about things so much but to take action now:
Then we headed to the Impact Radius room where we learned everything about the new company from Co-Founder Lisa Riolo:
It was hard to believe but Summit was coming to a close. We headed to GeekCast.fm Live where I asked this question: ¿Hay una audiencia para un podcast en español?
Time for the BlogUp except for the VooDooFail that took place we still had a good time and the Bloggers ended up winning. Here I am with fellow New Yorker @Ianternet and my friend @EricSchechter:
Buffet time which plate do you think was mine sushi or carbs?
After the show was over I took some time to be a tourist!
It was my third Affiliate Summit West but I had never gone to the Bellagio Fountains! This time I made sure to go check them out. I will leave you with this short clip and the ending shares how I feel about #ASW10 WOW:
All of these amazing ladies have made an impact on my life in one way or another whether they realize it or not. From them I have learned and grown as a professional and as a person. I am happy and thankful that the beautiful industry of Affiliate Marketing has brought us all together. A special Happy Birthday wish to each and everyone of you!
Trio of Birthdays - Feb 6!
I want to take a moment to share a paragraph about why I care about each of these lovely ladies:
Lisa is a natural leader. She is always in control and knows how to say anything with grace. From the moment I started talking to her I knew I could confide in her judgment. I must confess I am a terrible listener but I always listen to what Lisa has to say. I guess when Lisa calls me Lil Steph, she is right because I look up to her.
Trisha Lyn is actually Trisha. Just like me social media has changed her nickname! Sharing an exciting panel with Trisha at Affiliate Summit East brought us close together in our common love for interacting with others. Trish is savvy and diligent in everything she says and blogs. She is one of the only people that I can be completely blunt with and her sense of humor rocks. Trisha is a bubbly and caring lady that I am lucky to call a friend.
Mellies is a New Yorker #nuffsaid. She is passionate and she is a fighter for justice. I respect and am proud of everything she has single-handedly done for our industry. She is someone I can talk to about anything and trust with everything.
Mellies is up for an ABW award for Best Service to the Industry 2009. She deserves this recognition big time! I was nominated and am honoured to be mentioned but FYI I have not done a fraction of what this woman does everyday for our industry. Mellie you are an inspiration!
A Triple Toast to Influence, Wit, and Strength:
I am better for knowing each of these women. We are a tight knit group of people. So this is a special day for all Affiliate Marketers to celebrate. We have three reasons why all Affiliate Marketers should raise their glass tonight and cheers from wherever they are in the world. If you are sitting in front of your laptops or if you are out and about in the city.
Tweet Three Wishes!
When you do make that wish or toast send it out on Twitter: @LisaP @Mellies @TrishaLyn
I made my picture toast on: http://dailybooth.com/MicroSteph add me if you are on this picture sharing social network or come check it out!
I just finished unpacking my bags from Affiliate Summit West. It turns out I am off again for a family matter. Since family comes first I repacked my bags tonight and am leaving in the morning. Before I go I had to post a recap of yet another phenomenal Affiliate Summit. Since my blog posts are lengthy I am going to break it down into a couple posts. Here goes part one covering Saturday and Sunday.
Before each conference I post a daily guide of my recommendations. I usually follow my own guide as an outline of what I will attend during the conference. As you know things don’t always go as planned especially in Vegas, you end up making new plans. I wanted to share my daily summary of Affiliate Summit West as it really happened!
Enjoying Shawn's drink of choice with him
My Saturday Guide and My Real Saturday, The Pre-Parties:
Many people arrived to the conference on Friday or early on Saturday to get a head start. There were several events going on this night. I am proud to say for my first night the plans remained the same. I was able to make it to all the events.
I started off the evening by attending an intimate dinner put together by my friend Joe Sousa. This was a relaxing time to spend at the American Bar and Grill which I would come back to frequent on more than one occasion. Joe also posted his own recap of events he attended during Affiliate Summit. I then headed to the ABW gathering within the Rio. It was a low key get together where I got to see many familiar faces before the conference started.
I then went check out how the poker players were doing. The poker tables were filled for a great cause the National Breast Cancer Foundation. Then I headed to Carolyn Tang’s bachelorette party in McFadden’s which was also at the Rio hotel. She was having the time of her life. From there I headed to the Buy.at event at Rain in The Palms. They had the top level rented out. Buy.at knows how to throw a party.
Buy.at Affiliate Summit West Party
I ended Saturday by going back to the Rio and checking out the Charity Poker Tournament. It was still going on when we returned to the hotel. Skimlinks.com had sponsored someone to play and then ended up winning the tourney! Then it was time for bed and luckily on Sunday the conference started at noon.
My Sunday Guide and My Real Sunday, Meet Market:
On Sunday the first thing to check out was the Meet Market. This was the perfect time to get to know some merchants and network. At the same time there were sessions going on. I got to attend the panel on Monetizing Blogs for Affiliate Marketing and SEO. The panelists were Drew Bennett from BenSpark.com, MurrayNewlands.com, John Carcutt from MediaWhiz.com, and TheRealTimJones.com. Here is my full review of the Monetizing Blogs panel.
I had a chance to interview John Carcutt from Media Whiz. He was on this successful panel and I think he brought on a different perspective. John normally attends nationwide conferences more search focused. This was his first Affiliate Summit. Since he knows his SEO I was interested to hear his thoughts on recent trends such as social media which also affect Affiliate Marketing. Check out our interview below to see what John has to say…
***Disclaimer: Please disregard the #tripodfail which makes me look like a bobblehead!
After learning from John and his panel I went back to the Meet Market for a while to mingle with the crowd. I got to talk to some new people. As soon as I knew it I was running over to the Affiliate Summit Mentor Meetup where I was heading a roundtable discussion. I had a great time talking to new attendees and answering their questions about the conference. Many of them wanted to learn about affiliate marketing in general. It is great to see others discovering how to market online through affiliate marketing.
Cooling off after running to the Affiliate Summit Mentor MeetUp
It was time to have dinner with Jay Berkowitz and a nice group of about 30 marketers. I invited Joe Stepniewski from Skimlinks.com to come with me. While I was there I got to say hello to John Fischer from StickerGiant and JB Glossinger also known as MorningCoach. The dinner was fantastic and both new friends were a delight.
Testing out the Chocolate Fountain at the ShareASale party
The ShareASale party is always a good time so I headed there after dinner. I got to jump in the photobooth and also into the bouncy castle. That is what I like about ShareASale they know how to have fun and don’t take themselves too seriously. I also got to play blackjack and try out the chocolate fountain!
Chocolate Fountain MicroSteph Approved!
I got to end my night with the best thing in the world which included a wardrobe change. Bowling for boobies had to be a highlight of the conference for me. Again it was fun with a cause tied into it which made it all the better. People for some reason can’t get enough of my bowling technique see below for an example.
If someone has a video of my bowling skillz please do send it over. I would love to share it on my blog. Also a big thanks to BowlingShirt.com thanks to them I have that sweet hawt pink bowling dress. They are run by GTO Management which also sponsored the bowling event as well as the great guys at TFAW and AffiliateMarketersGiveBack. If I were an affiliate I would definitely check out the BowlingShirt.com affiliate program. It is on ShareASale and for details on joining you can check them out here.
Brent, Joe and I bowling for boobies
There were over 150 bowlers staying up late. I cannot wait until next time! This happily ended my Sunday night. What a great start to Affiliate Summit West! Monday and Tuesday are where the games and networking really begin. Even though I will be out of the country for a week I hope to post the rest of my conference events as well as more video interviews I made live from the Blogger’s Lounge.
