Affiliates, Tradeshows and Gossip

The “Weekly Insight”
I just finished listening to the newest episodes of Weekly Insight from last Friday. Its a new podcast (explicit ) that was launched two weeks ago by Jeff Molander and made available at thepartnermaker.com.

Its planned to become a 1/2 hour podcast that is being recorded each week on Friday via teleconference to review current news and gossip in the Web marketing Industry. Jeff, the last 1/2 hour podcast was 60 minutes long and Daron Babin would “kill” you, if you would pull that off at Webmasterradio.fm hehe.

Anyway, here is the URL to the Podcast RSS Feed.

Here is “The Skinny” of the podcast as Jeff himself puts it.

— what’s happening in the world of Web marketing featuring insights and gossip from Amanda Watlington, Lee Gientke, Wayne Porter, Sam Harrelson, David Lewis, Patrice Colancecco and Mike Payne among others

I’d like to comment on the discussion about tradeshows.

eComXpo
Regarding eComXpo, which is happening online between Tuesday October, 24 and Thursday October, 26. It is well visited by Affiliates, because it is online and also free, including attending the keynotes and presentations.

You might want to listen to the “Domain Masters” Episode from 10/11/06 “Monte talks to John Bolden and an eComXpo preview” (mp3). It explains pretty well what eComXpo is and what it not is.

The eComXpo has a lot of advantages to attract affiliates of all levels:

• The free admission makes it possible for any affiliate to attend regardless of available budget, newbie and supper affiliate.
• There is no need to travel to get to the show, you just go to your computer and you are there. You can attend as long as you want, 5 minutes or 5 hours or every hour for 15 minutes. Its up to you or the time available, especially for affiliates that still have a day job.
• Affiliates that can afford to spend the time and money for the trade show pass, flight, hotel, taxi etc. (which is not cheap) have a hard time to believe and see for themselves that the investment is worth it. eComXpo is a good introduction of those Affiliates to the principle of those tradeshows and the opportunities that can come from it.

Entirely virtual Tradeshows like eComXpo will never replace the real live human contact of tradeshows in the real world, not to mention the socializing and networking opportunities at the parties that are organized by show organizer itself and various sponsors.

I was one of those affiliates and eComXpo (among other things) made me attend SES 2006 San Jose and CJU 2006 last September. I want to go for sure to the next Affiliate Summit West, January 21 – 23, 2007 in Las Vegas, Nevada.

A note on the side to one specific comment made at the teleconference:
Patrice misconception about affiliates made me chuckle and I like to refer to my Article from this March called “Are Affiliates Not Social?“.

PubCon
The 2nd tradeshow that was speculated about was PubCon, which happens next month, November 14 -17, 2006 in Las Vegas, NV. Nobody at the Teleconference has been to PubCon and knows what to make of it.

You should listen to this Podcast episode (mp3) of the GoodKarma show at WebmasterRadio.fm. Greg Niland aka GoodROI talks with Brett Tabke of Webmaster World (organizer of PubCon).

I haven’t been at a PubCon, which is also called “WebmasterWorld”, myself and are seriously thinking about going this November, but I am not sure, if I can make it for a number of reasons. Multiple people that are attending various Tradeshows every year, including PubCon say that PubCon is more for the small SEO Shops and Do-It-Yourself Webmaster (and Affiliate) and not like Search Engine Strategies which is much more “Upscale” and Corporate business dominated. The SES Pass also cost more than twice as much as the PubCon pass which is a bargain in comparison for only $489 (online registration).

The Sessions and Discussions are supposed to be more “hands on” and down to earth (or “Gray Hat”) compared to the more “slick” and “White Hat” SES equivalents. Check the PubCon Session Grid and look at the speakers. Well known names in the SEO/SEM Industry as well as the Major Search Engines are there.

Even Danny Sullivan is there as a Guest Speaker which is a first and due to the fact that Danny has a lot more time since he does not have to organize future SES Tradeshows for Incisive after SES Chicago beginning this December.

Other well known names are Jennifer Slegg (JenSense.com), Vanessa Fox and Matt Cutts (Google), Barry Schwartz (SERoundTable.com), Rand Fishkin (SEOMoz.org), Bill Slawski (SEObytheSea.com), Andrew Goodman (Book: Winning Results with Google AdWords), Thomas Bindl (ThomasBindl.com), Lee Odden (TopRank Online Marketing), Aaron Wall (SEOBook.com), the “SEO Rock Stars” Greg “WebGuerrilla” Boser and Todd “Mad Oilman” Friesen, Eric Ward (URLWire.com), Greg “GoodROI” Niland , Vinny Lingham (Clicks2Customers) and more.

I hope this helps…. somebody mentioned a free DVD at the Podcast.. mmh. Here is my address to send it to , thanks .

Affiliates vs Publishers Discussion
p.s. Jeff: Google calls the Webmasters that are using AdSense Publishers and not Affiliates. What Google thinks about “Affiliates” provides this little “Inside Scoop“. I don’t think that Google would talk like that about their “high quality” AdSense publishers, wouldn’t they? Imagine what Advertisers the run Ads in the “Content Network” would think and as a result of it do.

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