photo credit: Daquella manera
I‘m going to Affiliate Summit West in January
First off, I’d love to hang out with any readers of Vacant Desk who happen to be there. It’d be great to hear what you’re up to and how you’re finding success online. (Let me know in the comments if you’ll be there.)
The reason I’m going to the conference is because I can’t think of a better place to get my head back in the game. I’ve been neglecting the daily practice of search engine marketing as far as PPC and Media Buys are concerned for the last 6 months. I’m very much into list management and have some valuable partnerships with list owners that have been very profitable. So there hasn’t seemed the need to spend much time working the search engines.
However, I believe that the most important business skill today is the ability to direct quality traffic to landing pages (sites) that convert into dollars. You can argue with me on that (I welcome it) but the fact is that you can have the greatest product/service in the world and go nowhere – because you have no eyeballs. No one knows you exist!
It really doesn’t matter who you are and what you sell – legal services, hose bibs, mail order steaks, or lawn care – you need more opportunity (prospects and customers) to grow your business.
Sure, there are some revolutionary businesses that just…grow. No advertising required because the word of mouth more than amply provides for traffic. But if I had to wait until I had a business like that to make money I’d probably get very hungry.
So one needs to adept at moving eyeballs from one place to another and then converting them into something meaningful. (A sale, lead, or referral)
What does this have to do with the Affiliate Summit West conference?
Well, I’m going to there to learn from and hang out the ninjas of the direct marketing industry.
Successful affiliates are probably the best people to learn from if you want to understand how to convert internet traffic into profits. Here’s why:
- Affiliates use their own money to promote merchants in the hope of getting paid. No advertiser will care as much about being successful in online marketing as someone who’s putting their own dollars on the line.
- Affiliates plumb the depths of trends and methodologies in order to maximize their ad dollars, conversions, and subsequent revenues from their merchant partners. I have found that affiliates are like the shifty ninjas of the online marketing world. They run circles around Madison Avenue guys with their knowledge of how to put together a high conversion ad campaign.
- Even though most successful affiliates don’t realize it, they are actually masters of direct marketing principles that date back to the 1940’s. They use time-tested techniques to create meaningful action on the part of the consumer. They just effectively leverage the internet to do it.
I plan to go soak up some great seminars, pick the brains of a few successful affiliates I know, and get some new ideas for my online marketing/affiliate activities.
Are you going? Let me know in the comments. Let’s grab a drink or meet in the hallway somewhere.
Affiliate Summit West – January 17-20 – Las Vegas
