The AffStat 2009 Report, a compilation of survey data from more than 450 affiliates, has been published. This is the seventh annual edition of the report.

The survey covered a wide array of issues from the affiliate perspective.

Areas covered in the survey included favorite affiliate networks, preferences of network vs. independent affiliate programs, where affiliates find affiliate programs and more.

The report is currently available from to download free at http://www.affstat.com

Amy is the Conference Director at Affiliate Summit, and Shawn is a Co-founder of Affiliate Summit and Co-Editor-in-Chief of FeedFront Magazine.

Download the entire FeedFront issue 6 here – http://feedfront.com/feedfront-issue6.pdf
FeedFront issue 6 articles can be found here as well: http://feedfront.com/archives/article00date/2009/06

With more than 3,200 in attendance, Affiliate Summit West 2009 in Las Vegas goes down in the record books as a sell out and the largest show to date.

Opening up the conference on Sunday was the Affiliate Meet Market; the room was full of energy. A scaled down version of the exhibit hall (tables instead of booths), the Meet Market was the place to be for networking and continues to be a show highlight.

Concurrent breakout sessions took place on Sunday as well. Hot topics of the day included monetizing chat, automating websites, merchant mindsets, ethical issues, and expected trends.

On Monday morning, Gary Vaynerchuk spoke with vigor and intensity. His excitement and motivational keynote set the tone for the rest of show. You’ve got to love how he said “I think what I’m passionate about, is crushing it every day for making yourself happy. And I think when you talk about, and you build a business around a passion, that’s when you can really knock it out of the park.”
Gary oozed enthusiasm and it was infectious.

Days 2 and 3 also brought a full agenda of breakout sessions via panels and solo presentations. Session themes included anything social media, SEO, PPC, videos and mobile. Audiences were thrilled with the lineup of speakers and the rooms were packed with eager attendees ready to learn.

Traffic and networking in the exhibit hall were awesome on Monday and Tuesday, with attendees visiting over 100 booths. New products and tools in the industry were demonstrated and lots of business cards were exchanged.

One of the culminations of the show was the annual Affiliate Summit Pinnacle Awards, which were given to affiliate marketing leaders in six categories.

Congratulations to this year’s winners: Affiliate of the Year – Mike Allen, Affiliate Manager of the Year – Angel Djambazov, Exceptional Merchant – CelebrateExpress.com, Affiliate Marketing Advocate – Melanie Seery, Best Blogger – Scott Jangro and Affiliate Marketing Legend – Kellie Stevens.

As the show drew to a close, everyone let loose and had some fun to raise money for the National Breast Cancer Foundation at the Affiliate Summit Triathlon. Dozens made donations to enter the 3 events: adult tricycle, virtual golf and basketball challenge.

Congratulations to the winner, Charlie Calabrese of Buy.at.

Lastly, special thanks to all of our distinguished speakers, exhibitors, general sponsors and metal sponsors: AzoogleAds, ShareASale, OneNetworkDirect and Buy.at. Your contributions helped make Affiliate Summit West 2009 a huge success.

Like folks did at this past show, instead of concentrating on the country’s troubled economy and uncertain future, focus on working smarter and more efficiently. Learn ways to adapt and grow despite the nation’s challenges. This will be pivotal to making it a banner year.

See you in the Big Apple, Affiliate Summit East 2009 – August 9-11, Hilton New York.

Amy Rodriguez is the Conference Director at Affiliate Summit.

Download the entire FeedFront issue 5 here – http://feedfront.com/feedfront-issue5.pdf
FeedFront issue 5 articles can be found here as well: http://feedfront.com/archives/article00category/issue-5

In October 2008, Affiliate Summit had a niche one day show at Baruch College in New York City focused on the different aspects of social media in affiliate marketing.

Lots of exciting buzz around Facebook, MySpace, Twitter and making videos but how can you make money from them? How can you use social media effectively within your business? How do you get started? The keynote and breakout sessions tackled these topics head on and gave the attendees lots of useful tips and ideas.

Don Crowther, social media guru and blogging expert, delivered the day’s keynote setting the tone with electrifying energy. He captivated the audience with stats, tips and ideas. This is definitely a session you can watch multiple times and learn something new each time.

Kudos to Kukral. Jim kept the show moving along as the Emcee and panel moderator. He did an excellent job engaging the speakers, keeping them on their toes and on task. Shawn Collins and various other tweeters kept everyone connected with live twittering throughout the show up on the big screen. Good stuff!

The first panel of the day was Gain Friends and Influence, With Video featuring Steve Rosenbaum, CEO/Founder, Magnify.net and Melissa Salas, Director of Marketing, Buy.com. They concentrated on tailoring videos to your audience and selecting the right content while using lots of first-rate examples.
Next up was Social Media Case Studies, presented by Michael Jenkins, CEO/Founder, MarketLeverage; James Keating, VP of Marketing, ShopWiki; and Jivan Manhas, President, Advaliant. These gentlemen detailed the fundamentals of their own successes with social media – how they got started and what makes them profitable.

The third session was Making Social Media Make Money featuring Larry Bailin, CEO, Single Throw Internet Marketing; Shashi Bellamkonda, Social Media Swami, Network Solutions; and Jay Berkowitz, CEO, Ten Golden Rules. They addressed what blogs and podcasts you should be following, as well as increasing return visitors and how to make them want more.

The last session Leveraging Social Networks with Sachin Agarwal, President/CEO, Dawdle.com; Zac Johnson, President/CEO, MoneyReign, Inc.; and Adam Alter, Head of Network Management at Epic Advertising. They talked about setting up ad campaigns, custom banners and creating landing pages. The panel also discussed how to find what works for your site and building profitable relationships.
Thanks to Platform-A for sponsoring the cocktail hour. It was a nice way to wrap up a fruitful conference day.

To cap the night off, folks headed over to Room Service NY for a party hosted by ShareASale to continue networking. What a terrific venue.

I encourage you to check out the videotaped sessions from the show. Don’s keynote and all of the panels are available on AffiliateSummit.tv.

A special thanks to all of our sponsors, including oneNetworkDirect (Platinum Sponsor) and NextWeb Media (Gold Sponsor).

Thanks to everyone that attended, we appreciate you coming out. It was a lot of fun to have a smaller focused show with attendance capped at 300 and only one track of sessions. Next up… Vegas!

Amy Rodriguez is the Conference Director at Affiliate Summit.

Download the entire FeedFront issue 4 here – http://feedfront.com/feedfront-issue4.pdf
FeedFront issue 4 articles can be found here as well: http://feedfront.com/archives/category/issue-4/