{"id":229,"date":"2007-07-23T11:56:00","date_gmt":"2007-07-23T16:56:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/69.80.208.152\/affiliateprogramadvice\/?p=229"},"modified":"2008-02-21T17:54:28","modified_gmt":"2008-02-21T22:54:28","slug":"miami-affiliatesummit-feedback","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.affiliateprogramadvice.com\/index.php\/2007\/07\/23\/miami-affiliatesummit-feedback\/","title":{"rendered":"Miami AffiliateSummit feedback"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/span><\/a>We arrived<\/strong>
\n<<>webgains.com<\/span><\/a>)and I had a great flight from the UK to Miami, I only got a bit nervous upon approach to Miami airport when the captain announces that due to a storm in Miami, the airport was closed and the ETA for re-opening was in about thirty minutes, how ever there was not enough fuel to last that long so we were being diverted to the Bahamas which was forty minutes away. I wasn\u2019t alarmed, just curious to know if we were going to have to glide the last ten minutes or swim???<\/span><\/span><\/span>We laughed in the face of death
\n<\/strong>Ok slight exageration, ok an out-right lie! Thankfully we did not have to do either, but the breaking upon landing was hard due to the short runway. This airport I don\u2019t think has too many planes of our size and we were all bemused as to refuel, they had to get three little fuelling vehicles and pump the fuel from them into a larger vehicle so it could reach the part of the big plane where the little fuel tankers could not reach.Make Like a Ninja
\n<\/strong>Arrived at hotel unpacked and Hero and I headed for the bar. I noticed Shawn & Missy who were propping up the bar and went into ninja mode and scared the crap out of them with my stealth surprise approach. I was introduced to Mohitas (very pithy and a little sour) and we spent a while swapping slang. Missy had whacked off her bands.
\nBless their cotton socks!<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/span><\/a>Walked off to look for Miami<\/strong>
\nFollowing day Hero and I walked off to look for Miami.
\nWe went on a boat trip around the local harbour and the highlight of the tour was cruising past the homes of the rich and famous which were dotted about on little islands. My only question and thoughts were about the inaccessibility to shops, should you run out of Milk, or\u2026 toilet paper. No matter how rich or famous you are, you always will need milk and toilet paper, am I right? So\u2026.I feel a new business venture coming on. The mobile door to door milk and toilet paper ferry :0) Hero and I, then went to find the hip and happening place called coconut grove. All I can say really is that this happening place only happens with the college kids are around and as every one is on school break, there was no happening or hip things going on at that precise moment in time but we would find out that this would all change when the sun goes down.<\/span>Little Havana<\/strong>
\nWe grabbed a cab and went to the recommended hot spot called Little Havana, hot spot as defined in Hero\u2019s travel guide. Again a little on the quiet side but found a great restaurant with superb Nicaraguan food. Sad but true, we stopped and had a look at a grocery store and I can tell you, cheese biscuits with peanut butter filling is just wrong, no really it\u2019s so wrong! Also note to self, when in a very hot city, do not buy cheese unless you can get it from the store to fridge within half an hour. It is not wise to buy cheese and take it for an extended journey of distractions and sightseeing, as the end results are just too horrific and disturbing to publish.<\/p>\n

<\/span>Hotel Intercontinental
\n<\/strong>Is possibly one of the best hotels I have ever stayed in.Perfect harbour view, clean, attentive daily house keepers. One house keeper, was sooooooooooooooooo lovely and chatty that it almost did not matter that she could not speak English nor I Spanish and had no clue what either of us were saying. A smile and waving your arms about, pointing and drawing pictures can break down any language barrier.<\/span>The Summit
\nAffiliate Meet Market & Vendor Showcase<\/strong>
\nThis was a great idea, merchants displaying their products and showing off their affiliate program. Lots of really cool freebies to be had. AffiliateWindow.com were there passing out post cards (with Buckingham palace, saying Awin part of the London tourism board) ok that part is not true, but they were passing out post cards where by you stood to win the chance of winning thousands of US dollars if you could find two post cards that matched.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span>Buy.at <\/span><\/a>were giving away beach balls and memory sticks.I believe I have complimented the buy.at team re their penetration of the US market, I was not so sure about how far they had managed to get, when I was at the Vegas aff summit, but I felt this time round that had made some significant inroads<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/a>ABestWeb & ShareASale “Under the Stars” Party<\/strong> was certainly, a good time had by all, tequila, good company and very well organised. I believe there are loads of photos flying about and here is my contribution \u2013
\nBig thanks to Brian Littleton and Haiko of abestweb.comDefinitely the best one for me as I managed to land two new business deals, ironically one of them was with a chap from the UK. The other, very <\/span><\/a>interesting and my lips are sealed.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span>AffiliateDinner.com<\/span><\/a>
\nAt Bubba Gumps, specialising in sea food. Sorry, the food was poor, <\/span>Matt<\/span><\/a> and I had a bucket of shrimp and what looked like an extinct prehistoric mollusc called a trilobite<\/span><\/span><\/a>, had the consistancy of one too, I would imagine and in my personal opinion. The service was anarchic but the company and people at my table was great. I had Matt Wood to the right of me, Jon Levine of <\/span>TheNerds.com<\/span><\/a> adjacent and Hero opposite me. Speaking of Hero\u2019s, Matt definitely saved the day when he did an emergency drinks run for us as the waiter seemed a tad busy and a little forgetful, you need fluids in Miami, its hot and humid and uncomfortable .It was great speaking to Jon and swapping information about working as an online merchant I the US and UK. This kind of information is invaluable. TheNerds.com use google cart and they support and promote it hard. It saves the company money, which is their primary reason for using google cart. They are real supporters of this cost cutting check out method. The consensus was, the data google gather is no different then all the other organisations out there that gather data and Jon went as far as to say, most Americans will happily hand over their details, and especially if there is a bargain to be had. This would be backed up in the Performics seminar, more about performics later on.<\/p>\n

Matt felt that the whole google cart thing had been blown out of all proportion in the UK, I think he is right up to a point, a lot of knee jerk reactions back then. Im still not swayed into believing that google cart is a good thing, not in the cases where by merchants are so heavily reliant on google and not just in terms of the shopping cart. \u201cAll they do is collect data\u201d For me, its not so much about collecting data, it\u2019s all about how google are going to use that data that concerns me, it worries me that so many people\u2019s businesses rely on google. To have so much information about who, what, when, where, how much.. Whilst facilitating your company growth could potentially wipe you out tomorrow. George Orwell, big brother\u2026 its no longer fiction, it\u2019s a reality, I for one would not be putting all my eggs into one basket.<\/p>\n

The topic moved on to affiliate marketing and paid search. Matt Wood and I agreed that the industry seems to be obsessed and too focussed in this part of affiliate marketing, that it over shadows all the other aspects of affiliate marketing. Organic SEO is still up there and this is what affiliates need to focus on for the long term. Good quality websites with a heavy emphasis on value ad. Organic SEO is the way to go for longevity as was reinforced and so eloquently expressed by Wil Seer in his seminar, more about this later. The people at my table were such great company and the irony is, two of them were from the UK but talking about the US market.<\/p>\n

<\/span><\/a>AffiliateDinner.com ended with a tribute to Missy Ward, various people got up and spoke about her. I think this was more aimed amongst the friends of Missy Ward, all very tongue and cheek and a few of us got a bit lost and whoosh, but all high spirits and lots of clapping and a bit of poetry, all good fun.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

Opening key note <\/strong><\/span>Ze Frank<\/strong><\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

Was stand up comedy, he was truly very witty and probably the best opening key note to any event I have ever been too, amongst some of the topics was on airline passenger safety cards and information given to internal employees and the information given to passengers. A great topic considering how many had flown to Miami. So ten out of ten and got the summit off to great start. And if you ever want to know <\/span>how to dance properly<\/span><\/a> <\/span><\/p>\n

Our UK own, home grown<\/strong>
\n<\/span>David Hall<\/span><\/a> of affiliatewindow.com seminar was a taster to the US people in our industry about what is going on over the pond, here in the UK. I believe you can download the points from here. It was informative with relevant and digestible facts and figures and a nice gentle introduction. I guess with most events like these, if you have never been to one, it\u2019s difficult to know who to pitch to and at what level. This is a skill in itself, which I felt David had taken into consideration.I would agree with David and the guys from affiliatewindow.com that the US is different in terms of how we both operate and with specific reference to affiliate, merchant and even some networks expectations.<\/span>Wil Reynolds<\/span><\/a>
\nMy second time round attending one of his events. The way in which Wil glides effortlessly and in layman\u2019s terms point by point and using examples as he goes in organic search, is the formula that other should follow. Easily digestible and as always, I came out with more notes then any other session. Whist the subject matter is quite meaty, the way Wil explains it, you feel empowered and convinced that its not all quite as hard as you originally thought. You come away with new tools to look at and the current trends in main stream organic search.<\/span>It\u2019s really a strange place that I am at re organic search, on the one hand this is a \u201cstick to the path and beware the moon\u201d approach, yet I am aware of practices of negative SEO of which I believe an associate has become a victim of. All fascinating information and one session will never long enough.<\/p>\n

Wil is coming over to <\/span>AffiliateSummit.com UK <\/span><\/a>and if there is one session not to be missed, this is it! Truely a top man!<\/span>Perfomics Seminar presented by <\/span>Chris Henger<\/span><\/a> of <\/span>Double Cick Performics<\/span><\/a>
\nHad a really interesting case study about the quality of affiliate referred traffic versus the rest, in the case study he revealed that affiliate referred traffic had a higher order basket and better conversions and longevity. Now he did provide a link to this case study, but I can\u2019t locate it, so if any one has this, shoot it over happy to provide a link back.<\/span>People that have really stayed in my mind<\/strong>
\nEric Nagel, Paul Wheatley\u2019s<\/a> colleague, was absolutely delightful and such good fun. I really look forward to seeing you again in London.<\/p>\n

I spent a lovely time with Share Results Network<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

the guys and girls were so cool and Im definately interested in doing more business with you!The people at <\/span>rocketprofits.com<\/span><\/a> affiliate network were so down to earth<\/strong> and just charming.<\/span>It just made you want to do business with these guys n gals. I think this reinforces that some times it is about the people who give off good vibes.<\/p>\n

They all impressed me and I hope to meet up with them again very soon.<\/p>\n

Summery<\/strong>
\nI do think there is a long way to go in terms of the US accepting that the UK does have something different to offer US affiliates and vice versa. The mindset overall is still US for US and UK for UK and never the twain shall meet. Xenophobia which some people have felt in the past, I now believe mistook for something else, I don\u2019t think this was the issue in the past or present, I simply think we are all a little hesitant in venturing outside our own comfort zone, be we affiliates, merchants or networks. I don\u2019t think any one would argue that stepping into un-chartered waters can make you feel insecure and feel excluded from conversations, events and ultimately the very vehicles that can provide the information that you seek, knowledge is power and with knowledge comes confidence. I\u2019m not arrogant enough to say that I know how the US operate now, but with each and every trip that I have made, I learn a little bit more, I meet a few more people and I always come back and say the same thing every time, the possibilities are infinite and this is why I keep going back.
\nI would urge UK, US, EU, the world… to just take a risk. Stick your hand up and don\u2019t be scared to say, hey I know jack all about this market, what do I need to do to penetrate it, who do I need to talk to. There is no room in this industry for ego if it restricts your own business growth and prevents those burning questions you have, from being answered.<\/p>\n

After the Summit<\/strong>
\nHero and I went back to coconut grove to the comedy store called improv, that was such a great evening, an evening of taking the piss out of Cubans, Arabs, white people, black People and everything and everyone, all courtesy of Angel Salazar \u201ccheck it out\u201d he was ace.<\/p>\n

<\/span><\/span><\/a>Went to the Everglades with Hero, Eric and <\/span>Paul<\/span><\/a>, the boat tour was way too short but the scenery was stunning.Went to South beach and could not get over how un-crowded it was, people of all shapes, sizes and ethnicity.<\/span>Back at my hotel we had Arnold Schwarzenegger and the Governor of Florida staying at the hotel as this was the venue for the global warming summit (florida).<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/span><\/a>I enjoyed my stay in Miami but would not come back as a tourist, my party animal days are winding down and sunbathing all day and drinking all night may be a lot of people\u2019s utopia, gimme a quiet beach, a lap top with wifi and a good book and this is my utopia.<\/span>But nothing is better then walking through the door after a long trip and seeing your family and being pleasantly surprised that …
\na) They missed you too
\nb) The house did not burn down to the ground
\nc) The cat has not lost weight<\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

We arrived <<>webgains.com)and I had a great flight from the UK to Miami, I only got a bit nervous upon approach to Miami airport when the captain announces that due to a storm in Miami, the airport was closed and the ETA for re-opening was in about thirty minutes, how ever there was not enough […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.affiliateprogramadvice.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/229"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.affiliateprogramadvice.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.affiliateprogramadvice.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.affiliateprogramadvice.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.affiliateprogramadvice.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=229"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/www.affiliateprogramadvice.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/229\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.affiliateprogramadvice.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=229"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.affiliateprogramadvice.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=229"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.affiliateprogramadvice.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=229"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}