The New Rich Blog

Well, day 3 of the Affiliate Summit was really calm. Most of the people were tired from the last busy 2 days. A lot of people slept late or just didn’t arrive… Actually, from the morning of the third day it already felt like the Summit is over. I’ve been to two sessions, ate lunch, met some people and went to the apartment to rest a little before the final party - party202 held by the 202 group.

Before I will tell you about the party, I want to try and sum-up Affiliate Summit East 2009:

The Good

• It was a lot of fun - above all the other benefits, it was big fun! I had a great time meeting people, traveling, going to parties, drinking cocktails and eating great food.
• Ideas - during the Summit I always carried a small notebook in my pocket. While I was meeting people, listening to sessions and thinking, every now and then a new idea has popped into my head. So I just wrote it down. Now I have a notebook full of great ideas!
• Cooperations - Being an affiliate doesn’t have to be a one man show. I think that maybe the best projects are created by groups of talented people. In the Summit, I have started some cooperations with great people and talked about potential cooperations for the feature.
• Seeds - I really feel that when you go to a convention like this, you planet seeds. You get to know a lot of people, you give most of them your business card. You hear a lot of new information. You get motivation. The real benefits of convention like that, doesn’t have to be instant. It can take a week, a month or a year. But the seeds will grow and the benefits will blossom, of course, as long as you water them enough

The Less Good

Although I always like to look only on the bright side, I want to be objective.

• The sessions - I was a little disappointed with the sessions. For me, most of the sessions were irrelevant, not practical and minimally beneficial. I wanted to hear more about: traffic sources, media buy, email marketing, landing pages, self-management, product types and from the merchant side - how to recruit affiliates. The are so many interesting subjects to talk about and I feel this was somehow missed.
• The exhibition - The exhibition was really big, but most of the booths were controlled by affiliate networks. A lot of networks are similar and have the same offers. You don’t need to be a member of hundreds of networks… I wanted to see some more interesting stuff - services for affiliates, tools and unique merchants.
• The space - I think it was a bit too crowded, there was no specific place to just sit down, relax and network. I was looking for a place to chill out and there wasn’t any good place for that.

For me, the Affiliate Summit was great and valuable. And each time I realize that more and more - the real value comes from the people! There are so many interesting and talented people and I believe you can learn something from each and every person out there.
There is no greater way to finish the Summit than a party… So at the evening, at sunset, we arrived at this amazing penthouse downtown. The view was beautiful and calming. We have been there for a short time but because there was a problem with the bar, the party had moved to the bar across the street.

View from the penthouse

From left to right: Ori Manor, Ilya Glezer, Myself

I had a burger and couple of drinks, hanged out with a couple of friends and talked about interesting ideas and cooperations…

Now I am sitting at Starbucks, writing the post and working a bit. Life is good.

Have a great day
The New Rich