Before I go into this post, I went through and found which session during which time frame I would attend if I didn’t have meetings set up. I have a lot of friends who are speaking that I don’t mention in here and it is nothing personal. These are selected based on descriptions, interactivity at the show so I can ask about confusing concepts (the videos are available after the show depending on your pass, so sessions I won’t have questions about I would not go to because I can watch them later on) or because they could generate a lot of thought and help me with my company and my clients.
There are a ton of incredible speakers and sessions, but I look for mid level to advanced sessions and things that interest me personally. Please remember that this is not based on friendship, etc… This post is based on what sessions I would personally attend based on description, topic and interactivity.
Here are the sessions that I would recommend and will try to be at at Affiliate Summit East 2014. Please feel free to add your session and why people should attend in the comments section below.
Affiliate Summit East 2014 Sessions to Attend
Sunday August 10th
11:00 am – 12:00 pm in the Astor Ballroom (Session 1b – Monetizing Your Site – Missed Opportunities & Live Reviews @ SoHo Complex) – My session on monetizing your site. I’ll be going over places to make money with your site that you may or may not have thought of, how to do it and a few tools that you can use. I’m making the presentation a bit shorter so we have time for live reviews and a longer Q&A based on feedback from past sessions. If you don’t want to see me speak, David Vogelphol and Jeremy Palmer are always good and at the same time. That is the session I would go to if you don’t want to go to mine.
12:30 – 1:30 – (Session 2a -Six-Figure Mastery: The Cure for the Common Blog @ Astor Ballroom) – I’m torn on this. I would normally recommend going to the session on 6 figure mastery because John Rampton, Zac Johnson and Syed (and John) are on it. They are amazing marketers and very smart people that I follow and listen to a lot, but the link building session is also amazing and edges just over on takeaways and questions. This decision is based on takeaways and interactivity for me as an SEO.
Roger Montti has the best link building newsletter! You can find it through his company Martini Buster. Scott Polk from Obsidian Edge is also a very talented SEO. Both of them are going to give you a ton of take aways that you can use directly to grow your business. That is why this one wins for me. The blogging one can be helpful, have awesome information and help inspire you, but this one will be pure information overload with a ton of take aways which is why I would go to this one. I will definitely be watching the blogging one after the show is over on video though. Both are great sessions and neither one will be a bad choice.
2:00 – 3:00 – (Session 3a – SEO, Link Building, Authorship, & Surviving Google Updates @ Astor Ballroom) – This is Jim Boykins from the Internet Marketing Ninjas session. I was torn between this and Matthew Woodward’s session because Matthew is very smart and always gives me good takeaways. Ashley, Shannon and Nate have a session during this time as well that I would love to have gone to, but when I need to know about Google updates, Jim Boykin is one of the only people I go to and trust with this information. I would not miss this session if I were you!
3:30 – 3:48 – (Session 4c – 3 Tips for Optimizing Conversions Using Math, Not Feelings @ Majestic Complex) with James Thompson – I’ve never heard him give a solo presentation before, but I love the title and he’s a smart person and always has something good to add to a conversation. The reason I would go to this session is because of the title and topic.
A lot of times when we make decisions about our sites, and what to do with them, we let personal feelings cloud our judgement. It is ok to do sometimes, but if your income depends on your sites, sometimes it is important to use a mix that can properly optimize your revenue while still feeling good about yourself and helping your friends. I would go to this session because I like the title and description and James can be a good speaker with great takeaways.
Monday August 11th
10:00 – 11:00 – (Session 5a – Surviving the SEO Evolution @ Astor Ballroom) – Rae Hoffman (Sugarrae) is going to go over what has changed with SEO, what you can do and what you should know. Much like Jim, Roger and Scott she is one of the people I trust most with advice and always delivers an awesome session. Do not miss this one!
If SEO isn’t your thing, Evaluating a program with Greg Hoffman, Jennifer Meyers Ward, Michael Buchelle and Christen Moynihan can deliver a good presentation. Make sure to ask about potential losses with adware, sites ranking for url + coupons, leaks, tracking solutions and trademark bidders. These guys are smart and you may be surprised with some of the solutions they have implemented.
2:00 – 3:00 – (Session 6b – Content-Driven Commerce: Affiliate Marketing Gets a Makeover @ SoHo Complex) – This session sounds really interesting to me. I’m not exactly sure what will be talked about, but it could be worth checking out. There could be some good takeaways and things to watch out for (whether you think its good or bad) from this session and I would definitely attend it. The other session I would go to during this time slot is Sarah Beeskow from ShareASale. She’ll be going over different tools that work for Affiliates to generate revenue. Because she works for a network, she may be able to bring in solid data for an awesome presentation based on facts with a very large database of data to pull from.
3:30 – 4:30 – (Session 7b – 21 Advanced Paid Search Tips You Can Implement Today @ SoHo Complex) – Don Batsford JR. from Maqq is an awesome PPC Marketer. I have seen his work in some of my programs and this is one you don’t want to miss. However, if you don’t do PPC or it isn’t interesting to you, Check out Tricia Meyers, Vanessa Branco and Eric Nagel’s session on networking to maximize your relationships. It could help you with the rest of your show and the events at night.
There wasn’t much that interested me in the next round of sessions. I would probably show up to the one about CPC and CPM and how to maximize your revenue, but if it wasn’t case studies and detailed information with tools, I would not stay. That is your best bet for this round of sessions.
Tuesday August 12th
10:00 – 11:00 – (Session 9a – Content + Context = Cash: The Power of Original Content @ Astor Ballroom) – I’ve never met David Palmer from Dedicated Media or heard him speak, but the topic sounds interesting. This is one I would probably go to to see what his recommendations on content and monetization are. I also really like the session description. If you’re not interested in that, there is another session with some people I have heard speak and know, Kim Salvino, Amy Ely, etc… where you can learn about choosing an affiliate program. Feel free to ask the same questions above that I mentioned with the other session about this topic (adware, tracking, etc…). You may get even more unique answers and solutions since they all work in different parts of the industry.
2:00 – 3:00 – (Session 10b – Blurred Lines: Affiliate Marketing and Public Relations @ SoHo Complex) – I’m stuck with this time slot. Debbie Bookstaber is interesting. I don’t think I’ve met her in person but I could be wrong. Her session sounds good and I’d have a lot of questions, so I’d love to see it. The other one about legal mistakes Affiliates make could also be good. That one sounds like it could have a lot of actionable takeaways so I would probably bounce between the two.
If I could only do one, I would go to Debbie’s because it could be more conversational and you could ask more questions. Because the sessions are recorded and made available after, I would watch the one on legal mistakes after the show is over. With that said, I would also want to ask and get clarification on legal issues without having to pay a Lawyer, so it could be better to go to the legal session instead. I really don’t know which one I would go to so I would probably bounce in between the two. One other option during this time slot is the SEO site reviews session. Michael Gray, Kenney Heyder and the others are awesome resources. You will definitely learn some things from watching sites get reviewed that you could apply to your own site.
There are a lot of amazing speakers and sessions at this show. Unfortunately there is not enough time for all of them, but you can watch the videos after the show is over depending on what pass you have. The ones I selected above are based on interaction that you cannot get with the videos, interest to me (not because they are my friends or because I know them) and because I feel I could get something out of them. If you have your own session and want to mention it and why people should attend, or you have one you are excited to see, please feel free to leave a comment with the date and time of the session below.
