Tricia Meyer

Affiliate Marketer, Blogger, and Consultant

Counting Down to #ASE11 and Getting Prepared

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With just a little over a week until I leave for Affiliate Summit, the excitement is starting to set in. Are you almost ready? The crazy planner in me is going through all of this:

Packing: I posted in 2009 in my Real Scoop on Preparing for Affiliate Summit article the kinds of things that I pack that you might not think about: comfortable shoes, eye drops, gum or breath mints, and bottled water. I also now include hand sanitizer and ibuprofen. Don’t forget business cards! I’m taking some postcard-sized promotional sheets this year about my company that give more information than what I put on my business cards.

Scheduling: This is probably the most important thing that you should be working on right now. Print out the full Affiliate Summit East 2011 Agenda and start making notes on what you want to attend. Then check out the Affiliate Summit Parties list and add those to your calendar (be sure to RSVP!). Finally, start working in all of the people you want to schedule 1:1 meetings with. Don’t plan on just hitting people up once you get to the show if you really want to meet with them. They might be booked by then!

Pre-Network: Networking is already happening now and you should be a part of it. That includes following the #ASE11 hashtag on Twitter and responding to others who are attending. It’s also helpful to visit the Affiliate Summit Forum to keep up with who is attending and what is going on.

My Best Tip: Be flexible!! A lot of what you get out of Affiliate Summit comes from the unexpected.  Be ready to change plans, stay out later, get up earlier, or give your elevator pitch at a moment’s notice. You might have a chance to meet someone you never thought that you would meet. You might even end up participating in a panel or presentation that you didn’t know was happening. Just be prepared to take advantage of every great opportunity that comes your way.

Looking for more tips and advice on which sessions to attend? Here are some posts that might be helpful. If you have written one as well, please drop a link in the comments!

Comments

  2. Thanks for this very useful tip of yours 🙂
    …this should be reminded at all times !

  3. I love your best tips! I’ll make sure that I’m really ready for meeting someone unexpected.. hope it would be the manager..

  6. Seems like I still got quite a bit to do to get ready. Every year I say I am gonna take it a bit easier at Affiliate Summit but that never happens. Some good advice for newcomers is be ready to go hard. Lots of walking, lots of talking, very little sleep, crazy schedules, etc. You can always sleep when you get home.

    • You are right about that! Might as well take advantage of the opportunities while you have them. Sleep is for home. 🙂