Affiliate Summit West 2009 in Las Vegas is right around the corner. I’ve been to dozens of conferences in the past 10 years and have put together a summary of my experiences in the hopes that your first ASW experience is a positive one.

Planning your conference session itinerary.

The session schedules and topics are posted beforehand, look at the descriptions and throw a schedule together in Outlook.

Subscribe to the blogs of the speakers you plan to attend and follow then on Twitter. If they don’t have a blog and/or Twitter account, consider the reason why and adjust your session itinerary if needed.

Find out what parties they’ll be at and get an invite.

How to act

Leave your ego at home, no matter what you know, someone else knows more.

In 2008, I attended a conference in Florida that was intentionally small. This meant many people had the chance to question the speakers and panel members. There were two guys who were the stereotypical know-it-alls that every conference seems to have. The first guy was questioning a panel member, but when the panel member answered the question, the two guys proceeded to argue the point and give the rest of us their take on the topic. The panel member was left thinking why they even asked the question and the rest of us all pretty much rolled our eyes because this d-bag kept on being a broken record. This guy was of Eastern European descent and got a reputation as “the Russian mafia guy”, though this title was purely sarcastic as the dude was a skinny pencil neck dork.

Why is this story relevant? The panel member mafia guy insulted is a pretty popular blogger, other people in the conference were prolific bloggers, and the event was broadcast live on the internet. The mafia guy was listed in many blogs as being a d-bag. No matter what the reason you disagree with someone, try to act as professional as possible. If you go the d-bag route, don’t be surprised when your photo ends up on a blog and find the article is entirely negative concerning you.

Don’t fight, period. Jail in Las Vegas is not fun, and you don’t have anyone locally to bail your ass out in less than 3 days… By that time, your plane ticket is worthless, the hotel has your stuff thrown in the lost and found, you’ve missed most of the conference, and worst of all, you get to come back to Nevada to resolve your case…

Be friendly to everyone, even the D-bags. You never know if this year’s conference D-bag will be next year’s smashing success. You don’t want any bridges burned.

As permission before you snap a photo. Double ask permission before you post it online.

When to come and go

Don’t plan on coming the day of the show and expect everything to run on time. Get there the day before and be ready for the start of the conference session series. Vegas can get really old, really fast, so be sure to have a good idea of what you want to accomplish while there. The key to a successful experience is planning ahead. Prepay for everything you can and keep copies of the confirmation numbers. A serious delay at the airport or hotel can absolutely kill your experience.

This isn’t an 8-5 conference, it’s a 10 to whenever schedule, so plan accordingly.

Airport to Hotel Travel Info

Taxis will charge you about $30-40 to get from the airport to your hotel. Make sure you tell them to take the direct route and say it like you’ve taken this ride 1000 times before; otherwise it’s not uncommon for them to squeeze a few more dollars out of you by taking the scenic route. Tip the taxi driver $5 for every $50 you spend. Remember to get a receipt from the driver; this is an expense you’ll want to claim on next year’s taxes. Save all the receipts from your trip.

Taking a limo or metro car (NorthShore Limos is my company of choice!) will allow you to ride in style and take your time. They charge by the hour, not by the mile. You can also pool a bunch of buddies in if you coordinate it with their travel plans. This is a great way to start the conference and break the ice with people you may have never met in person before.

Most limos can be had for $40/hour. If that’s too high, ask what their metro car rate is. Metro cars are luxury vehicles such as Lincolns and are 100 times cleaner than taxis. With a metro, you’re paying by the hour and that evil little mileage/charge box isn’t staring you down the entire time.

Hotel Info

Before you fly out, enroll in the hotel’s VIP club. It’s a membership that allows for a quick and easy check in. Don’t wait in line with 75 other people for the first hour when you get there.

Choose to stay at the same hotel as the conference. Others may be cheaper upfront, but the expense of going back and forth, and the time expense all balance out in the end. For ASW, the cost for one night at the Rio is only $150, or about $300 less per night than other hotels on the strip.

If price is a constraint, consider sharing a room. Find a buddy through affiliate marketing forums or Twitter and split the cost. Get their share of the room before you check in, or don’t plan on getting reimbursed for their ½.

Food/Drink info

Plan on the following to be true for Las Vegas:

Gratuity will sometimes be automatically added to a bill at 18%, make sure you look at the receipt to see if the tip is already included before you throw a few extra bucks on the bill.

Everything has a delivery surcharge; sometimes hitting a restaurant in the hotel is cheaper than room service, and much better food/portions.

Booze

Booze can be done on the cheap in Vegas. Plan on stopping by a liquor store AFTER you get off the plane and BEFORE you check in to the hotel. I always leave 50% of my carryon bag empty for this purpose. Have the limo stop by a liquor store on the way to your hotel. Buy 1-2 bottles of your favorite brand and a few mixers. Throw them in your carry-on since sometimes hotel employees can be real pricks about folks carrying in booze. Now you have your own little bar in your room and can hit the room between sessions on the cheap.

Meal Costs

You’re in a city with a 5-star restaurant in every major hotel, take advantage of that! I budget accordingly and it almost always ends up being the amount I pay.

• Breakfast: $30 per person
• Lunch $50 per person
• Dinner $100 per person

Drinks

FREE on casino floor if you’re playing. It takes forever for her to return though, so plan on playing a while. Don’t let your free drink be invalidated by the $50 you just lost playing the slots. Be sure to tip her when she returns, a $1 bill or a $1 chip is ok as a tip.

• Drink Prices:

o Beer $7/bottle

o Mixed $8-$10

o Shots $7-$50 depending on bottle.

o Bottle service; Normal price of bottle times 4 or 5. $10 bottle of vodka sells for $44 at the club or through the hotel’s room service

Buy from a liquor store before you check in, there’s ALWAYS a store less than 2-3 blocks from most strip hotels, it’s only a few bucks per bottle more expensive than home, and a LOT less expensive than the hotel.

Don’t be obvious when you bring booze into the hotel, throw it into a duffle or carry-on bag.

Party Info

Most major ad networks have parties, if you are signed up with a network, ask your account manager for an invite.

Don’t overdo it with booze. The purpose of these things is to network and learn; not to become the latest “Maker your own {you}” joke on the forums…

Don’t forget your ID, seriously, this is the dumbest thing I’ve seen anyone do at any conference. Even if you look 40, they all ID, so make sure you bring it.

If your network account manager is there and they’ve been really good to you, buy them a few rounds. Same goes for online friends who have helped you out.

Conference Pass Options

Look at the entire schedule, document what you want to attend, and base your decision to purchase a Silver, Gold, or Platinum pass upon those sessions. Keep in mind that this pass is not a vacation expense, but a business expense. You should consider 2 things: first that the pass is tax deductible and second you should be able to learn enough from the sessions the pass allows you to attend that future earnings will cover the cost of the pass.

Free passes

Keep an eye out on the affiliate summit site/twitter/Facebook pages for free pass offers. I’ve seen a lot of offers through Shawn Collins’ Facebook page for Gold passes, and it’s not unheard of for the folks at Affiliate Summit to have a 1-day giveaway for a Silver pass. Keep up with the forum banter and set a google alert if you need to.

Some bloggers like Shoemoney give away free passes. Contests on Twitter are a longshot, but are becoming more popular as Twitter readership grows. Contact your network Account Manger and see if they have any free passes.

Networking Info

You come to this conference for two equally important reasons: to learn affiliate marketing and to network.

Create accounts on Facebook, Twitter, Sphinn, Digg, and AOL Instant Messenger if you don’t already have them. Make sure to include your Twitter URL on your business card. Populate the BIO fields in these accounts so when people hit them, they know WHAT you do, WHO you are, and WHERE you are in the world. This is also an excellent way to find out who the big players in the biz/niche are.

Populate the BIO fields, there I said it again, it’s important, do it.

Don’t burn bridges. Don’t join the mob when they inevitably start to persecute some d-bag. At every conference I’ve ever been to, there’s always that one guy who thinks they know more than everyone and subsequently alienates himself from everyone with his attitude and actions. He becomes the target of jokes and hostility quite easily. Don’t get caught up in this, just play it cool and be the peacemaker.

Change the subject and move on as the opportunity arises. People will learn quickly that you’re trustworthy and honest, two qualities that lead to and build long lasting business relationships.

What to bring

Bring a laptop with a GREAT battery or extra battery. Don’t plan on electrical plug-ins being easy to find or use. You’re competing with 400 other people for the only 12 plug-ins in a 50 square mile radius. Make sure your wireless NIC works, however the wireless at the conference and hotel will be crap. You will also likely pay $9-20/day for AOL Dial-up quality Internet, so plan accordingly.

Bring a notebook (paper kind!) if you don’t have a laptop. You don’t need a laptop of course, but you MUST have something to document notes with.

Get a 2GB flash drive, you never know when someone wants to share, be ready!

Business cards – make sure they have your URL/Blog URL/Twitter URL/Email/Cell on them. These are not normal business cards; these are devices that encourage people to REMEMBER you. Give them a positive reason to remember you.

Get 250 free business cards by following this link: VisaPrint Free 250 Business Cards

Make sure you have adequate funds.

Food should average you $150/day if you eat anywhere around the strip. There are 3 diamond restaurants on the high end and Burger King/Subway/Etc., on the low end. Like I said before, you’re in Vegas, the land of the great cuisine, take full advantage of your options.

Limo/Taxi fares are about the same, $40, but with a Limo, you are paying per hour, with taxi, by the mile. Use each according to your actual need to mitigate cost

Car parking / airport garage fees once you return home are pretty insane and range from $15/day to $45/day. It’s not uncommon to run up a $65-$100 parking bill while at a conference.

Entry fees in some establishments such as bars, clubs, parties, etc., are pretty steep if you’re a single male. Some entry fees run upwards of $50. Women typically get in for free and couples often have reduced rates as well.

If you’re using only cash, make sure to tuck away $100 for the trip home. I’ve seen guys come to Vegas, hit the slots drunk, and wonder why they don’t have ANY cash for the fare back to the airport.

What not to bring

Wife/Husband/Kids/Girlfriend/Boyfriends are a bad idea.

This is not a couple’s vacation, especially if one spouse isn’t an AM and doesn’t care about the conference. Once it starts, the conference does not end until the actual night of the last day. Parties, dinners, events, etc., all keep a person busy and that leaves no time extra for the spouse. Leave them at home.

EBooks, financial systems, site subscriptions, or any other marketing material are all guaranteed to make people hate you. People come to these conferences to network, not to buy your shitty E-Book. If you want to sell your product, buy a booth and do it the right way.

Business cards are excluded in this rule. Sell yourself or your service in casual conversation when appropriate, just throw a biz card down, make your elevator pitch, and let that be that.

Conclusion

You attend a conference to learn and network, make sure that your activities and actions push you closer to achieving those goals.  Affiliate marketing is one of the funnest and most lucrative businesses outside of being Governer of Illinois, here’s to a great conference in January!

]]> http://www.nickmattern.com/how-to-plan-attend-and-thoroughly-enjoy-your-first-affiliate-summit-conference/feed/ 4 http://www.nickmattern.com/affiliate-summit-west-2009-las-vegas/ http://www.nickmattern.com/affiliate-summit-west-2009-las-vegas/#comments Tue, 09 Dec 2008 18:23:44 +0000 Nick http://www.nickmattern.com/?p=83 With only a month to go until Affiliate Summit West in Las Vegas, NV, I’m down to the final days in my search for the perfect blog series about the event.

I don’t want to live blog about every little detail for two reasons…

1. Liveblogging is teh ghey, and I’m certainly not teh ghey.
2. It depreciates the value of the conference if the blogging community continually publishes the golden information after each session.  Why would anyone come to the conference each year if one person continually gave away all the secrets other folks paid $2K for?

I want to cover the event and publish quality information, but the question is for whom and why the heck should they care?

In the end, I’ll likely end up detailing the experience in all is frivolous glory – sessions, bar fights, geek fights, and other not-so-lame occurrences.

I plan on taking a TON of video, TON of photos, and doing a lot of unusual interviews. If you haven’t subscribed to my blog yet, I know it’s not likley your flavor of vodka, but subscribe anyway, I’ll be sure to deliver this January, just wait!