Affiliate Conferences, Events and Trade Shows

Although there have been numerous success stories associated with the Affiliate Marketing industry (from the supplier, affiliate and network perspectives), many in the industry – even some of the most seasoned observers – still lose sight of the fact that the industry is still in its embryonic stage.

As such, the few industry trade shows and conferences that exists, though commendable, have yet to blossom and reflect the same breadth and depth of cutting-edge content, attendee scale and polish of many of the standout conferences representing more mature industries.

But in some way, we think that’s a good thing…for based on our experience, there is a striking similarity between going to an Affiliate Marketing conference today and attending the early years at Comdex, when Bill Gates was in the MS booth chatting with everyone – but not making eye contact.  Bottom line – if you use your time wisely, and pick your spots, these conferences can pay back your investment in spades.

Best Pure Affiliate Conference

www.AffiliateSummit.com When it comes to conferences and trade show for affiliate marketers, there is only one company, Affiliate Summit, which hosts decent shows. Recognizing that air travel costs may be a barrier that prevents some affiliates from attending their conference, Affiliate Summit puts on two summits each year, Affiliate East (held in NYC or Boston) and Affiliate West (usually held in Las Vegas). Their conferences attract a solid mix of attendees – novice affiliates looking to absorb all the knowledge they can, successful veteran affiliates looking for new products, and many of the senior executives and staff of affiliate networks (large and small).

Best Digital Marketing Conference

www.Ad-Tech.com If you prefer to hang with SuperAffiliates, and spy on non-travel competition while learning a ton about digital advertising, then Ad:Tech is the conference for you.

Ad:Tech covers a lot of ground, both literally and figuratively – there are actually ten annual Ad:Tech shows held in 7 countries (3 are in the US – New York, Chicago and San Francisco), and Affiliate Marketing is just one of many sales channels and business topics you’ll find on their typical conference agenda.  We view Ad:Tech as a great place to discover what’s working, what’s changing…and ‘where they (competitors) ain’t’ in the digital marketing world.

Sidebar
All of the big affiliate networks like CJ, Linkshare, Google Ad Network, and Share-A-Sale, etc., hold their own conclaves to showcase their products, pamper their suppliers and Super Affiliates and teach newbies on the finer points of affiliate marketing. These mini-conferences are a good place to learn what makes big networks tick, or build relationships with other like-minded suppliers and / or affiliates.