Affiliate Convention Denver Review
Today I had the opportunity to attend the inaugural Affiliate Convention conference in Denver, Colorado. I wanted to come for a few reasons. First, it was close to home as I live in South Dakota. Second, it had a few familiar names, such as Jeremy “Shoemoney” Shoemaker, David Snyder from Search and Social, and Tim Ash of Landing Page Optimization fame.
The convention started with a golf tournament on the 17th of June. Lots of folks were confused and thought there was an exhibit hall opening that day too. I met at least 6 affiliates who flew in on the 17th so they could see the exhibit hall, only to not have it there.
Walking into the Korbel Ballroom in the Denver Convention Center was a little out of the normal for a convention. Most conventions I’ve exhibited at or attended are massive, with hundreds of exhibitors and a long rows full of t-shirts, pens, and business cards. Walking into this one made me wonder if I walked into the local VFW for a craft fair. I’m not kidding when I say there were less than 2 dozen exhibitors, and only 3-4 major networks (Neverblue, Copeac, XY7, and that’s about it.) were exhibiting. Then you had some 3rd tier service providers who were selling solutions geared at the guys doing $100K+ a month in sales/traffic, a vastly different audience than the largely beginner population who actually attended the conference.
In addition, it seemed to me that some of the companies sent their B teams. A number of the exhibitors were obviously not used to trade show formalities and subsequently acted like total jackasses on more than one occasion.
The keynote comprised of the CEO of Pepperjam, Kris Jones, with special moderation conducted by Jeremy Shoemaker. This was actually a nice presentation to listen to. I did not know that Pepperjam was a $100 million dollar company, that Kris had a law degree, or that the word Pepperjam came from his grandmother’s gourmet jelly (She called it Mississippi Mud) which he sold commercially. This session was the one I most wanted to see, and I found out 2 minutes into it that they were streaming it over webmasterradio.FM for FREE, which pissed me off, and rightfully so, because there is nothing I hate more than wasted time. I’d have paid a $300 fee to catch the sessions live streamed had that been an option, but instead I spend $1K coming in person. Kinda miffed..
The conference had 1000 people preregistered and I counted approximately 300 people at the keynote. A quick once-over of the checking station outside the conference main entrance indicated a LOT of badges had not been claimed.
Not everything about the conference was bad, this is what I actually liked:
- The conference was uber organized. These guys obviously know what they are doing. Top notch experience in that area.
- Things started on time
- Sound/display equipment WORKED
- Free broadband Internet (hard wired) in our rooms and it was actually pretty damn fast. Not sure what company sponsored this, but it was VERY much appreciated.
- The exhibit hall had plenty of sit down space for one-on-one meetings
- The party hosted by Wickedfire, Shoemoney, and others was OFF THE HOOK fun. No drama/fights, just a lot of boobs and booze.
- The conference hotel was SUPER pimp and VERY affordable at $150/night
- Hotel was next door to conference
- The session rooms were very spacious and sound was not an issue.
What I did not like about the conference:
- The keynote broadcast for free. Seriously, I’d pay a few hundred for an “online pass” to pretty much every conference if I could listen in to the keynote/sessions. I’d get a shitload more work done as well.
- The exhibit hall was painfully lacking, especailly for a conference with 1000 preregistered.
- The conference was just too void of content to justify a 4 day stay. I chose to come on the 17th and leave at noon the 19th because though the sessions on the 19th/20th would have been interesting, they did not seem to have the deeply targeted content that one would find at other conferences, specifically Affiliate Summit. When I come to these things, I expect to find new perspectives, see how other people interpret topics such as how negative rebill offers are being developed, etc., and the sessions at this conference, though interesting, did not warrant an extended stay past the first day’s agenda.
- At the pre-conference party, the average age was 24. During the KEYNOTE, the average age was at least 46 and there were white/bald/grey heads EVERYWHERE. Wasn’t sure if this was a Vietnam vets meetup or a tech-heavy affiliate conference.
Overall, I’d rate the conference a 6/10. There were an assload of beginners, old people, and ebook/clickbank geeks. That in and of itself made the conference pretty intolerable, but thanks to a few hardcore workaholic friends, I got a lot out of the conference and depending on the session content, may attend the next Affiliate Convention, scheduled for December 3rd-6th in Los Angeles, California.
Popularity: 9% [?]
Nice review. There was loads of old people at ASW09 sessions as well, I don’t know what they’re at
Ha Ha, all them old guys make ya nervous do they? Just think sonny, some day you will be one of em. Heh, Heh, (Wheeze)
So, up thar in SD them oldsters probably sit around the old barber shop and tell them tall tales eh?
The old guys do not make me nervous. Far from it actually. I feel a great swell of pity for those guys, they don’t stand a chance.
yeah those old guys really are losers eh? What were they thinking, coming to a “young punks only” convention? The nerve! They probably got mixed up on their way to the oldtimers clinic eh?
So what do ya do for fun up there in SD? Cow tippin?
Good review actually, glad I didn’t miss too much (except the panzer)
@franklin Aside from the guys who started doing IM in their 20s/30s, the old guy don’t have the depth of technical knowledge it takes to crush a niche. Any idiot can throw a lander and some scammy clickbank products up, but to know exactly who your major competition is, their predominant strategy, and still automate your strategy to the point it bumps the other guy out… Old guys have no fucking chance.
Kind of like a mouse in a snake pit really. You can run and squeal all you want!
[Disclaimer: This will be true until I'm an old guy, then all the young punks can piss off and 'get the hell off my lawn'.]
Thanks for the honest review. I enjoyed it.
Sorry you didn’t get more from the conference.
Jeff
Cool review of the denver conf, it was a pleasure seeing you there man, thanks for the cool pics, see ya at the next time. I’ve finally now matched up your blog to the wf username!
-wes!
Affiliate Convention was a great time with lots of eager new affiliates and good presentation. I actually didn’t like the keynote, I thought it was too self-agrandizing and lacked meat. Kris Jones as usual used it as a platform to talk about how great Pepperjam is…100 million company…please…how own valuation.
Nick, it was really great to meet you finally! Thanks for voicing your opinion from an affiliates perspective, very interesting… and I agree I was quite surprised at the show floor as it was what maybe 6 booths total!?? Quite a different change from the crowded packed 4 story or sprawling Adtechs and summits I am used to. Even tho the showroom was lacking the speakers and parties were good and I did manage to drum up a few new contacts. Plus its always fun to have a reason to meet with your affiliates and let loose a little
. Keep in mind its their first launch so there is nowhere to go but grow, I hope to see you in LA for the next one!
The comment about “all the old people” in attendance is pretty funny – with all the layoffs that have occured there is no doubt that many of the people in the room (unemployment is at 10%) were unemployed bec/ of layoffs and looking for a new angle – it’s just the new reality.
Evan – not sure you were at the same keynote as me – I thought Mr. Jones was amazing – he and that moderator covered a ton of topics and Jones was very outspoken about what is going on in the affiliate space and on how some of us can take advantage of the good and bad. BTW – I think I know who you are – you lurch on boards like ABW and DP and critize – from what I see about you you don’t offer solutions; instead you critize – I wouldn’t hire you if you were the last affiliate manager in the business, because you are just so negative every time you post anywhere….unless you are pumping your OPM business…there are many other OPM businesses that are much better than yours – what do you have – three employees?
Nick – thanks for the post….very thoughtful. Sorry I had to bitch slap Evan, but the guy is just so negative – how can anyone work with him…..the sky is falling.
Hi Nick
Thank you so much for attending the FIRST of our series of Affiliate Conventions. I would like to note that this was the first large scale conference WebmasterRadio.FM has ever organized. As conference chair, I was very pleased by the outcomes of the event.
We screwed up in a couple areas, most notably around the dates. This was an amateurish mistake and will not happen again. Our other major screw up was my own, scheduling certain speakers in rooms that were too small for their audience. Next time, Tim Ash gets the biggest room I can find for him!
Given our lack of experience, I am glad you found the event well organized. I am very proud of our team and very proud of the Convention as a whole. I deeply value your critiques and will use them to plan a better second show scheduled for the first week of December in Los Angeles.
One last point… I am one of those guys with “white/bald/grey heads”, though I am only 40. While I appreciate your pity for our age, I would like to assure you that all the stuff you hear about life beginning at 40 is true. I am having more fun (and making more money) this year than ever and I have a career in tech that goes back over 15years.
Thanks for attending Affiliate Convention. We very much want to hear what attendees thought so we can build a better schedule for next time.
best,
jim hedger
Jim,
If you broadcast the event in LA for free on webmasterradio.fm, don’t plan on a lot of folks attending. I feel really ripped off that I spent money on something I could have gotten for free via your site.
I’m giving you the honest review as I see it.
RE: greyhairs, take it with a grain of salt. My wife informs me I have a few popping up on my own head at my ripe old age of 29. Point being you just don’t see a lot of big affiliates outside the 16-36 age range, that’s all.
If you’d like to add me to AIM, I’d be happy to chat with you about things I would have done the same or different. nickmatternTMG
Nice review, thanks for the feedback. I haven’t been downloaded yet from our team who went there, but was curious what you thought of Peter Bordes and Jivan Manhas (both from MT) presentations. Not sure if you got a chance to see it…?
@Geoff,
I did catch Peter’s keynote, the last one I attended actually. He’s a VERY good speaker. I would have loved it if they allowed more time for questions at the end however.
http://www.nickmattern.com/how-to-get-epn-to-approve-your-website/
Nice review. I think it’s pretty accurate but you forgot about Hydra and Clickbooth – they were both there. I pretty much agree about the content but that’s kind of what I expected and definitely not the main reason I made the trip. I did however like how they made an effort though, especially with the aggressive (and funny) moderator on the last day and serving beer at the event. All the parties were solid and so was the networking. And overall, Denver is really the perfect city for an event like this… As you mentioned, the hotel was great and the convention center was pretty nice too.
Does that mean I got to get all my grey hair cut off and get a new passport with the age changed.
I think the issue with the age is that a lot of the people who have come into the business have done so late and it’s not an older persons game.
I on the other hand have been around a bit and know the game, have crushed the odd vertical from time to time (payday, ringtones to name a few).
I do have to say though that coders are the current stars of the show, and for that reason age is clearly not a good thing to have on your side.
Still, sitting in Cyprus is taking years off me, I am sure I’ll be in my twenties by the time ASE comes around.
Looking forward to catching up and doing some drinks.
Comprehensive write-up.
Doesn’t sound like too bad an event if you’re double barrelling it with another event in CO (or a neighbouring state).
Re: “Then you had some 3rd tier service providers who were selling solutions geared at the guys doing $100K+ a month in sales/traffic”
Sounds like an oxymoron.
Wonder how many will be repeat exhibitors.