Sunday (day one) of Affiliate Summit is always my favorite day of Summit, largely due to the Meet Market. First, if you did not already pick up your badge during Early Registration (Saturday 4pm-8pm) begin by visiting the Registration Desk any time between 8 am and 6 pm. I suggest doing this early so you do not get stuck on long lines. If you have never attended a conference, registration or “badge pick up” is easy. Assuming you are registered and bought or won/earned a pass, simply find the appropriate line at registration, show id and get your badge, lanyard and bag.
If you are a first timer at Affiliate Summit, Shawn Collins is holding a special session at 10 am designed to offer valuable advice to attendees. This hour long session is appropriately titled “First Timers Guide for Affiliate Summit” .
On Sunday from noon until 6 pm is the Meet Market, held in America’s Hall 2. During this time, merchants will have tables set up and are looking to meet and talk with affiliates, most will also have a small giveaway to draw you in. The Meet Market is a great opportunity for affiliates to meet with merchants they currently promote and to identify new merchants of interest. A few minutes meeting face to face with merchants can be very very valuable. Every Meet Market has resulted in a couple of new relationships and has often strengthened existing relationships.
A few tips to get the most of Meet Market:
- Have plenty of business cards and don’t be shy about approaching a merchant. Merchants are waiting for you – no matter if you are new to affiliate marketing, an old timer, a top producer, still learning…
- Try to stop at every booth; it does not have to be a lengthy stop. Be sure to grab merchant’s business card for follow up.
- Be prepared to tell a merchant the niches you work in. Quite often they will have products that you can feature, you just may be surprised. Adding new merchants helps you diversify which will offer you more income protection. It also helps you identify new niches again making you more diversified.
- Take a moment or two to find out about hot products, shopper demographics or other information that will help you.
- Many merchants will have a special commission rate for new affiliates and if you are an existing affiliate, be sure to ask for a commission bump. Remember, it is not always necessary to be a top producer in order to get a bump; it never hurts to ask.
- Most merchants will be prepared with a summary of their program and general product area but if they don’t tell you right away a simple ” What is (fill in merchant name)? What do you sell?” should get them started.
- Ask merchants about the tools they have available.
- When you step away from booth, jot down 1 or 2 key points on back of merchants business card or in small notebook. Sometimes I jot down a product, a tool or other subject I want to follow up on. Many merchants will have a handout summarizing their program so you may not need to write details. Sometimes I simply put a number on the card or handout that indicates follow up priority or interest level. When Summit is over and you are back to work, your notes and business cards will be important for effective follow up.
- I carry 2 small Ziploc sandwich bags to hold merchants business cards. Usually, one bag is for those that are of greater interest or that will require special follow up.
- Mentioned above but deserves repeating – Don’t be shy about approaching merchant tables! Merchants are there because they want to meet you.
- At each booth, this whole process only takes a few minutes. Relax and just make your rounds.
To get the most out of the Meet Market at Affiliate Summit talk to merchants; learn about new programs, merchants and products in order to diversify. Be sure to follow up after Summit; join programs of interest and shoot them an email with any follow up questions or even just to say “nice meeting you at Summit”. If you were told about a commission bump be sure to mention it.
In addition to the Meet Market, there are several sessions on Sunday. Most sessions are open to those with a Gold, Platinum or Diamond Pass. Read through the session descriptions (at the Affiliate Summit website or in Feed Front Magazine) ahead of time to identify those that are of interest to you. Sessions are for different experience levels and target different audience (Affiliate, Merchant or Network). More about the sessions in a future post.
If you see me walking about feel free to stop me and say hello. If you need a little help or have a question I am also more than willing to help.
Affiliate Summit staff are also plentiful and can either answer your questions or point you to someone who can. You will find Summit staff everywhere (especially at entrances to exhibit halls and registration desk), they will all be wearing Affiliate Summit staff shirts.
Affiliate Summit is an excellent opportunity to network and learn. The Meet Market is a great opportunity for both.
See you at Summit!
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