Tricia Meyer

Affiliate Marketer, Blogger, and Consultant

Affiliate Summit East: Memories of the Way We Were

by

Now that almost 24 hours has passed since I left New York City, I am finally getting around to decompressing and reflecting on Affiliate Summit East. When I tell people that I have been to 7 Affiliate Summits, they always ask me if it is still worth it every time. “Don’t you just see the same people and hear the same things over and over?” Yes, and no. I see the people that I like to network with again to touch base and find out what is new with them. But I also meet new people each time and learn more than I can every imagine.

I could blog about all of the great friends I met with, the merchants that I now want to add to my site, and the swag I brought back for my members. I could drop in a few digital pictures (even video!) or complain about my feet hurting. But I would rather step back and give you the big picture that I ended up with.

Every Affiliate Summit turns out to be a different experience depending upon where I am in my career and what my goals for the conference are. In the beginning, I learned about affiliate marketing in general. Then I started making connections. After a few more, I started working on getting out the name of my business. Last time, I worked on getting out my personal brand.

For ASE09, my biggest takeaway way in getting up the courage to introduce myself to more of the “heavy hitters” and learning by their examples. For the first time ever, I introduced myself to the keynote speakers. I actually met and chatted with Chris Brogan, Julien Smith, and Peter Shankman (HARO). I even introduced myself to Ted Murphy (CEO of IZEA) at an after party and managed to get a couple of pictures with him. Each of them was engaging and conversational and made me feel like he was pleased to meet ME.

As I clean up my email and start sorting through business cards, I can’t help but keep peeking at Trust Agents (by Chris Brogan and Julien Smith). It really sums up my experience at Affiliate Summit this year. I trust some industry professionals because of the way that they act and the information that they provide. I do NOT trust some of the people in my industry because I see how they act when they think no one is looking (at least not the people who are important to them). I want to build a business that people trust because I treat people right and give them something of value in some way. Thanks to ASE09, I’ve got more tools to accomplish just that.

Petition Against Pittsburgh Steelers Signing Michael Vick

by

People who know me know that I am extremely passionate about very few things. But the Pittsburgh Steelers are at the top of that short list. I was born in Pittsburgh in the 70s and was raised a Steelers fan. I truly understand the whole “bleed black and gold” thing. Even living in Indianapolis, I have never waivered in my love of MY team.

However, the rumors that the Steelers are looking at signing Michael Vick just make me sick to my stomach. I’ve read all of the commentary. Stallworth gets drunk and drives and accidentally kills someone. How is that different? First of all, I didn’t say that I wanted Stallworth either. But second, and more importantly, it is the CHARACTER of Michael Vick that I can’t stand the thought of. I know sports figures aren’t super heroes. They aren’t supposed to be perfect. But at the same time, I can’t help but think that a person who used his bare hands to torture animals and found it funny is not the kind of person I want my kids to cheer for. EVER.

Yes, he served his time. That’s why he isn’t in jail anymore. Does he deserve a second chance? At what? Having a life? Sure. Being looked up to by thousands of kids and making millions of dollars to do something he loves doing? Nope. He lost that right. He can start his life over as a garbage man for all I care. He can make an honest living doing something that doesn’t involve me and my kids cheering him on. Would I want my kid wearing his jersey? Never in a million years.

People say that our team would be better with Michael Vick. It is true that he might elevate our skill set. But would the TEAM all like working with him? I’d rather lose every game this season than win with Michael Vick on the field.

If the Steelers sign Michael Vick, I will end my time as a fan. It will hurt for awhile because the Steelers are such a huge part of my life. But sometimes you feel so strongly about something that you are willing to take a stand. As such, I have created an online petition. No one will probably care how many signatures we get,  but I will feel better that I did something rather than just sat back and watched it happen.

http://www.petitiononline.com/stlrs09/petition.html

Comment away. I encourage the discussion. Just don’t be surprised if you don’t change my mind.

Indy Business Rally Energizes and Educates

by

I had the pleasure this morning of attending the Indiana Business Rally, sponsored by Bitwise Solutions and Inside Indiana Business. The event was held during breakfast at McAllister’s Deli. Over 200 local business leaders were in attendance. In addition, donations were collected for Big Brothers, Big Sisters.

As an affiliate marketer, I do not attend many local networking events. However, I was inspired by Gary Vaynerchuk at the last Affiliate Summit to start networking more outside of affiliate marketing conferences. I am glad that I did!

The event was low key, starting with a $5 breakfast buffet and some opening announcements. Gerry Dick from Inside Indiana Business relayed some great news about 1300 new jobs coming to Connersville. It was a great way to kick off our networking with encouraging news for our local economy. Others spoke briefly about the need for us to take economic recovery into our own hands by being positive and networking to build trust relationships.

I was able to speak with people about affiliate marketing because most of them have never heard about it. In addition to spreading my own Sunshine Rewards brand, I think I educated some consultants about what affiliate marketing could do for their clients. I also met interesting people from places like Comcast (who is hiring!), Bitwise Solutions, and Sandler Training. I had a particularly good discussion with Amy Lemen of ALL in One Marketing about how she started her own business after many years in corporate America.

The rally was a perfect opportunity to 1) brush up on my elevator speech for upcoming Affiliate Summit, 2) spread the word about Blog Indiana, 3) meet new people, 4) learn about other businesses, and 5) remember why I am excited about what I do.

If you have the chance to attend an Indiana Business Rally or something similar in your town, you absolutely need to give it a shot. For $5 and a couple of hours of my time, I walked away feeling like a million bucks.

Real Scoop on Preparing for Affiliate Summit

by

I’ve been reading a lot of really great blog posts on how to get ready for Affiliate Summit. There are some great tips out there from people like Shawn Collins and Ayako Bingham about things like business cards, networking, and reviewing the agenda. But as a 7-time-returner to Affiliate Summit, I wanted to share a few tips that are NOT talked about so much but still essential (in my mind).

  • Shoes. This is important because you may be walking a lot. If you plan on hitting the Meet Market, a couple of parties, and the Exhibit Hall, be sure that you are comfortable in your shoes. I usually plan on starting the trip with my sassy strappies but then moving into the second/third days of the conference with my sensibles. This tip especially applies to women who are packing all of their cute shoes that they never get to wear at home because they are usually barefoot or in slippers while they work.
  • Eye drops. This is mainly for the contact wearers but also for those who may like to stay out a little later than usual. Unless you want to look like you have been on a 3 day bender by day 3, bring eye drops. They help with both the dry air of the hotel rooms as well as the nights where you get less than your normal 8 hours (ha!) of sleep.
  • Gum or breath mints. This isn’t so much a tip to help YOU as it is to help those around you. Y0u’ll be doing a lot of talking and some of it is very close up. Whether you’re whispering to someone in a session next to you, leaning across a Meet Market table, or yelling in someone’s ear at party, you will be up close and personal. Bring some gum…or breath mints…or both….
  • Plan not to work. At least your normal work. I know some of us are used to eating and breathing affiliate marketing. And you will be while you are there. But know that even the best plan to “come back to the room early to get a little work in” can be foiled by a networking opportunity. Just expect that you will not spend much time in your room. Then if you get some free time, it’s like a bonus.
  • Pack light. And not because of the airline charges (well…that, too). Be sure to leave room in your suitcase for all of the great things that you get to bring home with you. You’ll get samples of products to try that you might want to promote. If you have a blog or community site, you can bring home some great things to use as giveaways to thank people for being patient while you were away from your site. You may even score some free souvenirs for your kids. (Thanks to my mom, Cindy, for this reminder!)

So there it is. My top Affiliate Summit tips. I’ve got a lot more, but you’ll have to ask me privately for the rest (*cough* good deodorant *cough*).

Update for Vegas Affiliate Summit.  One more big one! WATER. Start drinking water before you fly to Vegas and drink it the whole time that you are there. Between the chances of getting sick (flight, shaking hands, close quarters), the alcohol you are likely to consume (be honest with yourself), and the dry air, you will need to increase the water that you drink. Try to follow that old rule of drinking at least one glass of water for every glass of something else that you drink. People don’t realize until it’s too late that they are dehydrated and you don’t want to end up feeling terrible when you head home.

Affiliate Marketing Session at Blog Indiana

by

Yesterday afternoon I had the pleasure of speaking with my fellow presenters for the upcoming Blog Indiana, Kristen Kinsey and Carolyn Tang. We are working on a presentation about affiliate marketing and blogging.

As I begin work on my part of the presentation, I’m having to take a fresh look at my blog sites and how I am monetizing them. Is there enough content? Do the affiliate links flow naturally from the content or am I forcing the links in the hope of making an extra buck or two? It’s a good chance to look at my own blogs and evaluate them in the same way that I would look at someone else’s blog–with fresh eyes.

Speaking about affiliate marketing is a pleasure but is also going to be a little bit tricky because we are not sure just how much Indiana bloggers already know about affiliate marketing. Judging by the attendance of Hoosiers at Affiliate Summit and the lack of discussion on Smaller Indiana about affiliate marketing, I’m guessing that there isn’t too much of it going on here. Hopefully our session at Blog Indiana will change that!

If you are planning on attending Blog Indiana (taking place August 13th and 14th in Indianapolis), please leave me a comment and let me know if you are already using affiliate marketing, plan on using affiliate marketing in your blogs, or do not even know what affiliate marketing is. Hopefully we can tailor our presentation so that everyone walks away with something useful.