Affiliate Summit East 2009

This year’s Affiliate Summit West was taking place in Las Vegas, roughly the same time as CES. After I was done cruising through the Consumer Electronics Show, I hopped over to this other convention that is totally devoted to tools and programs dedicated to online and affilaite marketing. Affiliate Summit West markets itself as the premiere affiliate marketing conference and convention along with it’s other sibling, Affiliate Summit East.

Shown above is a brief glimpse into the “Meet Market.” Affiliate marketing companies set up their small tables, interacting directly with affiliates and other people interested in the industry. They can ask questions and gather information on potential new programs that can potentially make them more money. This is a largely informal affair, but can provide value to affiliate novices and veterans alike.

The main attractions at Affiliate Summit West, however, are the “multiple tracks of educational sessions covering the latest trends and information from affiliate marketing experts.” These lectures and discussions can feature such notable names as Gary Vaynerchuk and Jeremy “Shoemoney” Schoemaker. There are also numerous panels where star struck affiliate marketing newbies can ask questions and get answers from their favourite online money making celebrities and heroes. In other words, people that the public neither knows nor cares about outside the hallowed halls of this convention.

Attending an Affiliate Summit isn’t all that cheap. With the upcoming Affiliate Summit East in New York (August 9-11, 2009), the early bird pricing for a Silver Pass, Gold Pass, and Platinum Pass has been set at $149, $349, and $949, respectively. This is definitely serious business. With all the available seminars, summits and other educational sessions offered by “Super Affiliates” and organizations, it also isn’t cheap to keep up on the latest money making techniques.

Just One Piece of the Puzzle

Just like the secret world revealed in the Godfather, the online economy of affiliate marketing is incredibly complex and filled with many secrets of its own. The people in the industry have their own special vernacular and jargon, working through a series of specialized applications and strategies to generate the Internet income that they do.

The first piece of the puzzle is recognizing that this world exists. It’s certainly more than a few shady characters with a few “black hat” techniques, but there are some genuine and legitimate folks involved too. Even if they all have a tendency to sound a little like used car salespeople sometimes. However, if you’re willing to sell your soul to promote eBooks, affiliate offers, and other high paying offers, then this mysterious world might deserve a second look in this uncertain economy. After all, everyone can use a few extra dollars these days.

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