Ad HustlerConfessions Of A Serial Internet Entrepreneur

I heard a lot of comments at affiliate summit about my previous SocialMedia.com case studies.  People wanted to know if I’m still running there and if it’s still profitable.  Yes, I have had profitable campaigns (very profitable) at SocialMedia.com but I am not currently running there.

I’ve ran into a lot of problems with getting ads approved, the system itself and the quality of the traffic.  At some point I figured it wasn’t worth my time and gave up on working with the system.

The original reason that I did the case studies was because all I heard was that the traffic was garbage, doesn’t convert etc..  I don’t like to just take other peoples word for it so I tried it myself.  In that process I discovered a very profitable campaign.  I am now battling my own self doubts about the traffic source so I have decided to go at it again.

What this means is that I am going to do a few more SocialMedia.com case studies.  I’m going to test some different niches and see what happens.  I will report back and we can all critique together.  I love case studies and plan on bringing more and more of them to AdHustler.com.

P.S.  I still haven’t mustered up the time and effort to write an affiliate summit wrapup post.  I’ve seen so many out there already and don’t want to just rehash what everyone else wrote.  I expect to write something on the topic within the next few days.

Ad Hustler

It’s going to take me forever to talk about Affiliate Summit so in the meantime I want to mention some people I met and my thoughts on them:

Bryn Youngblut – This guy is the chillest, coolest dude ever.  Success has not gone to his head and I hope he kills the numbers he’s been doing.  I wish you only success man.

Ruck, Steve, Ryan & Mike From Convert2Media – Affiliate networks don’t get cooler then these guys.  They know how to have a good time and genuinely want to see affiliates succeed.  What other network TEACHES you to run their offers?  Sign up with these guys and you won’t be dissapointed.

Kris From CashTactics.net – Kris is down to earth, knows his stuff and is an Eagle Scout.  How can you beat that?

Jon Fisher From Wickedfire – Love him or hate him, you have to admit, this industry would be a lot different without him.  Personally I think Jon has a heart of gold underneath the tough exterior.

Wes Mahler From Tracking202 – Theres not a bad thing you can say about Wes.  He’s almost too nice.  I don’t think Wes has a mean bone in his body and has done SO MUCH for affiliate marketing by giving away his tracking system that it’s unbelievable.  I also taught Wes how to gamble in Vegas so if you see the site go down, he gambles away tracking202.

Steven From Tracking202 – Steven is like the unsung hero of Tracking202.  He’s always in the background.  Everyone knows Wes but you don’t hear as much about Steve.  Steve is friendly, smart and absolutely loveable, LOL.  I hope the tracking202pro takes off for them and they get very very very rich.

Jason from Ads4Dough – Jason was pleasant and became an instant friend.  This dude is a lot taller then I expected.  I hope he got himself a whole lot of new affiliates.

Nickycakes – I didn’t really get to talk much to Nicky but did run into him a few times.  I also saw his panel with Andrew Wee who called me Ad-a-Hus-a-La the whole ASW.  Good stuff.

Digga – Digga is the man.  He sort of has the columbine, I’m gonna shoot up a school look, but it works for him.  Nice to have met Digga and will definetly stay in touch.

BB Wolfe AKA Nick Mattern – Nick put together the wickedfire get together.  Much props to him for that.  For the amount of crap this dude can sling on wickedfire he is super pleasant in person.

Rob Adler AKA Bofu – Rob is fun and we went gambling together.  He takes his gambling very seriously.  He is also releasing a product called Site Snatcher.  Only a WickedFire member would have the word snatch in their company name.

Barman of PPC.BZ Fame – Barman is a man of mystery.  You may think he’s just some skinny kid sitting in his parents basement making fun of other bloggers.  You would be wrong, this dude is huge and could beat your ass, so you better take his e-insults or he’ll kick yo ass in person.

Lorenzo – I didn’t catch Lorenzo’s last name but he was from New Zealand or one of those far off countries.  Nice guy and a lot of fun to chill with.

Shoemoney – I always hear about what a douche shoemoney is.  This is totally not the case.  He’s very approchable and not douchebaggy at all.

Mike From Firelead – This is my straight edge brother.  Good guy, good network, check them out.

Charles Ngo – I never met charles before Hydra took us out to lunch together.  Seems down to earth and obviously knows how to sling berries.

Eli from BlueHatSEO.com – This dude is a genious as you would know if you ever read his blog.  He’s a friendly guy who greets you with a hug.  Totally not what I expected, much much better.

Konrad – I played some blackjack with Konrad.  He’s really reserved but obviously knows his stuff.  This guy is a baller and I forced him to walk to The Gold Coast to play $5 a hand blackjack because I’m cheap.

Jaime From Yep Revenue – Jaime is an affiliate manager at Yep Revenue.  His boss Elias actually made him read and create a book report about all the important threads on Wickedfire.  Apparently this worked because Jaime is quite fluent on the industry and a smart dude.  This guy shows great promise and if you join Yep make sure to ask for him as your affiliate manager.

Elias AKA The Big L – Last but certainly not least is Elias.  Elias is the owner of Yep Revenue.  Hopefully you have tried this network but if not sign up now.  Seriously, stop reading this post and sign up NOW.  This guy has the most mobile offers in the industry and treats his affiliate like GOLD.  Want daily payments?  You got it!  Elias went above and beyond in Vegas, taking myself, Ian Fernando and Waynedog to a great Steakhouse and to hang out in his Villas.  With Elias as captain of the ship, Yep Revenue is the network to watch in 2009.

I know for a fact that I forgot to mention a ton of great people here.  I just don’t have any more patience to write this post so please forgive me.  If we met in Vegas make sure to stay in touch.  It was a pleasure meeting everyone.

Please Note: I do receive a Press Pass to Affiliate Summit which get’s me in for free however, all statements and thoughts are my own opinions.

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This wrapup will concentrate more on Affiliate Summit itself rather then other eventssuch as parties.

Day 1

Affiliate Summit West 2009 took place at the Conference Center at The Rio in Las Vegas January 8-14.  The RIO is an excellent place for this event.   It’s a bit less busy then the strip hotels, the rooms are awesome and the conference center is top notch.  The first thing I did was go to register.  The line was crazy long which showed the huge amount of people that were attending this event.  This is no small get-together, Affiliate Summit is a serious conference attended by the best in the business.

The most memorable session I went to that day was Nickycakes panel hosted by Andrew Wee.  A lot of good information was given and the seminar was packed.

The other main draw of day 1 was the Meet Market.  The Meet Market is basically a stripped down version of the exhibition hall.  A lot of companies that either didn’t have the budgets to be in the exhibition hall or wanted to be in both places were at the meet market.  Companies from all verticles attended.  There were Affiliate Networks, tools for affiliates, advertising platforms and much more.  Meet market was also a great place to meet up with people you have only met online but not in person yet.

Day 2

Day 2′s main draws were more Seminars and the opening of the Exhibition Hall.  The exhibition hall was huge.  Just about every major affiliate network was in attendance with really nice displays and giveaways.  I spent a  lot of time wandering the hall, talking to people and doing some business. Thinking back, I spent most of my day 2 in the exhibit hall.  There were tons of good seminars going on as well.

Day 3

By day 3 I was burnt.  I did some more exhibit hall and attended Ian Fenando’s seminar on Keyword Blasting.

Why YOU need to go to Affiliate Summit

I have never been to a conference with even close to the vibe of Summit.  People want to help each other and see each other succeed.  Summit has so much going on all hours of the day that you can’t even catch it all.  The price of the pass is an investment that you will reap benefits on for years to come.  If you have never been to a Summit you have no idea what you are missing.  This business may be an online one but you need connections to make it work.  Get tickets NOW for Affiliate Summit East in NYC.  You won’t regret it.

Please Note: I do receive a Press Pass to Affiliate Summit which get’s me in for free however, all statements and thoughts are my own opinions.

Ad Hustler

Copeac put out an email yesterday detailing some changes they are making to their network.  A lot of them have to do with the look and feel of their interface.  One change they are making that popped out at me is:

We are also excited to announce the launch of the Copeac Leaders Section. This is a separate section of Copeac that is only available to high volume producing affiliates that we have met personally. Copeac Leaders will have access to some offers that the rest of the network can’t see, Leaders will also get first crack at popular offers prior to their release to the rest of the network. In addition Leaders will have exclusive invites to events and shows (such as the party at the palms this year http://www.copeac.com/PalmsParty2009/) a different bonus program than the rest of the network, no wire fees, faster payments, priority on IT and Design requests and much more. To learn more about becoming a Copeac Leader please speak to your AM.

I find this little announcement interesting.  They are basically saying that they are going to give special offers, payouts etc to affiliates the KNOW and have met in PERSON.  It’s a little bit of a slap in the face to new affiliates but it’s also a bit of a reward for SERIOUS affiliates.  With this industry growing as fast as it is, new fly by night affiliates enter every day.  Some do some sketchy stuff out of wanting to make a buck or just pure ignorance.

Theres also a whole other breed of affiliates that attend conferences and have a personal relationship with their affiliate managers.  In my opinion, these type of affiliates a a whole lot less likely to commit fraudulent activities or try to screw advertisers/networks out of money.  These affiliates are people who take this business seriouly and consider it a career, not a get rich quick scheme.  These are obviously the type of affiliates Copeac wants and will reward for developing a relationship with them.

Copeac is a good network.  My AM, Jeff over there is great so if you are signing up, request him.  

(Please note, there are no affiliate links in this post.  I don’t care if you sign up or not, just giving you guys some info about a good company)

Ad Hustler

The schedule for Affiliate Summit is filling up like crazy.  In “What Networks Are Doing For Affiliates At Affiliate Summit Part 1” I wrote about some of the parties and events that affiliate networks are having for their affiliates.  A couple of new things came up so I figured it would be fair to update with some of the added events.

CX Digital Roll Like A Billionaire Party

This party seems like it’s going to be pretty cool.  The promotions for its state “money is no object” so hopefully the party lives up to the expectations.  I’m sure it will considering they are picking everyone up in Limos.  Pretty crazy but sounds like lots of fun.

XY7

XY7 apparently does not want to disappoint.  They are now throwing 2 parties.  One on Sunday where they are taking people to an MMA fight at Planet Hollywood.  The other is a kick off party for the event.

That’s the update for now.  Expect posts throughout the event.

Please Note: I do receive a Press Pass to Affiliate Summit which get’s me in for free however, all statements and thoughts are my own opinions.

Ad Hustler