I’ve heard some great responses since my panel, Getting Noticed FAST, at Affiliate Summit East 09, and I wanted to share some of the major points.

Getting Noticed Fast is about effective networking using your personal brand, social media, and face-to-face. My fellow panelists were Trisha Lyn Fawver (@trishalyn), Jen Goode (@JGoode), Stephanie Lichtenstein (@StephARC), and the panel was moderated by Lisa Picarille (@lisap).

Personal Brand
Be consistent with the photos and avatars you use. Avatars appear in blog comments, your Twitter profile, your Facebook page, MySpace, FriendFeed, Disqus, and other social network platforms. Update them when necessary, but remain consistent. If your goal is to look professional, then present yourself that way.

Social Media
Retweet (RT) Tweets you like or mention and credit Tweeters in your Tweets. Join a Twitter directory like WeFollow.com or use it to search for others in your favorite topics and follow them.

Sharing your experiences and expertise will make others want to follow and engage with you. Giving before you get will get you a lot in return.

For Facebook, get your name, brand, or something easy to remember in the URL of your profile. You can find me at Facebook.com/mikebuechele. If your friend lists starts getting out of hand, you can organize them into groups.

Some of my groups are Old Friends, Business Contacts, and Co-workers. Use search to view topics your friends are posting and then comment and share your ideas. Stay at the “top of people’s mind” by wishing your friends a happy birthday from the list on your home page (thanks to Peter Shankman for the idea). Other ideas are to start a fan page and link your blog’s RSS into your profile.

Face-to-Face Networking
I don’t think anything is better than in-person networking. It leaves the best impression on people. Have unique business cards, or give swag like thumbnail drives, stickers, and buttons.
Wear a T-shirt with your blog URL or Facebook/Twitter name on it and give some out to people. There’s a good chance they will blog about you. Make an impression. Nothing beats a handshake.

Bonus Tips
Always say yes to an interview or guest blog post. Stay on top of your niche and blog or share links over Twitter and Facebook.

Follow people already known within your niche and comment on their blogs. There are other social communities like LinkedIn, Blip.fm, Ning, and many more, so find the ones right for you.

Create content in different media. You can use text, audio, and video. Some helpful resources are TubeMogul, Seesmic, and 12seconds for video; and TweetDeck, Seesmic Desktop, and HootSuite for Twitter.

Mike Buechele is an affiliate marketer, and he can be found at MikeBuechele.com and on Twitter at @mikebuechele.

Download the entire FeedFront issue 8 here – http://www.scribd.com/doc/20220412/FeedFront-Magazine-Issue-8
FeedFront issue 8 articles can be found here as well: http://feedfront.com/archives/article00date/2009/10

I’d been looking forward to Affiliate Summit in Boston for awhile now, and I prepared some goals to hit while at the conference.

Goal 1: Network with Merchants
I gave 100 business cards away, and received a stack to go through. The networking was great. There were two events set up for affiliates, publishers, merchants, and networks to get together.
Before the show really began there was the Affiliate Meet Market, which is a stripped down version of the exhibit hall. This was a chance for those that did not buy a booth, to have a table. It reminded me of a comic convention dealer section (yes I used to be that guy), with all the tables together and not much elbow room.

It was a bit of a whirlwind of exchanging information. I loved it though, and by the end of it I had a much improved pitch.

The other event was the exhibit hall held in a large open area with booths instead of tables. Some were plain and got right down to business, and others brought a little Vegas with them.
If you’ve been to an expo before, you’ll know what I mean. I found all of them to be sharp and helpful.

Goal 2: Meet Affiliates and Publishers
I also wanted to meet other publishers to compare notes, exchange ideas, and maybe do business. Everything at the conference was set up for interaction.

The breakfasts, lunches, after expo hours lounge, blog room and even just walking around the hotel was perfect for interaction. I met new people every time I took an elevator.

There were after hour parties and plenty of restaurants in Boston where I met more publishers. Jay Berkowitz of Ten Golden Rules scheduled a wonderful networking dinner and recorded a podcast at a restaurant around the block from the hotel.

Goal 3: Say Thanks to Some Bloggers
There were a few people I wanted to personally thank for their work on blogs, podcasts, and videos I’ve enjoyed. There is a willingness to share and teach in the affiliate marketing industry and I’ve learned from the work that these people have contributed.

I also wanted to stand out, so I gave them flash drives with personalized video messages. They came in handy since Sam Harrelson used his to save his presentation.

Goal 4: Get My Name Out There
Well those that got the drives know my name, but I really loved bumping into people that recognized me from Twitter, forums, and video posts.

With the mix of custom business cards, memorable gifts, a little pre-show personal marketing, getting on the mic for the Un-Keynote, and I’m getting contacted by more than just networks.
Affiliate Summit in Boston was one of the best things I’ve done to build my business. I have connections, a growing network, insight to affiliate networks, and a lot of phone calls to make.

Mike Buechele is a publisher and founder of www.1115media.com.

Download the entire FeedFront issue 3 here – http://feedfront.com/feedfront-issue3.pdf
FeedFront issue 3 articles can be found here as well: http://feedfront.com/archives/category/issue-3/