In no particular order…

To Matt and the Existem/a4uexpo team – For putting on another top notch a4uexpo. I know how stressful the few days are for you guys (especially around 9am on Day 1 when the printers died just as everyone arrived en mass expecting delegate badges.. not to mention the power cut!)

To ExCel itself – The new venue is much improved on the old Platinum Suite of previous years – lighter, brighter, more spacious, and not as tired looking. There was ample space to mill around and chill on the comfy sofas between sessions.

To Mark and the Existem AM crew – For keeping me fed and watered (ok.. stella’d) for the last couple of days. The EAM Loft was the place to be for the after-party (and pre-party) experience, with Beer, Pizza, Beer, All-day Breakfasts and Beer on the menu (did I mention beer?)

To Karl and Ben from Conversion Rate Experts – For two fantastic sessions that gave me pages of notes, tips and ideas to improve my sites performance. I was really hoping that they would have had enough time to critique one of my sites that is in desperate need of improvement in their “conversion clinic” session – however it seemed that 20 other people had the same idea, and sadly their allotted time ran out long before they got to laugh at, erm I mean slag off, err critique my efforts

To Affilinet – For kindly sponsoring my a4uexpo ticket, providing me with regular coffee hits, and persuading me to bite the bullet and take part in a panel session.. which leads me to…

To everyone who attended both my panel sessions – I mentioned last week my fear of public speaking, and was amazed to find that the nerves didn’t really appear until the session actually got underway (I probably thought I could always back out at any point up till then! Whilst listening to my fellow panellists Kirsty and Nick making their points (and trying desperately to think of something insightful, useful or just desperately trying to avoid making an arse of myself), I felt sick with nerves, but eventually settled, and having looked at a photo taken from the audience, I actually look like I’m enjoying it!

I’ll probably do a panel session again, as long as it’s a fun subject that I’m comfortable with (I felt that the “Role of the networks and Industry Bodies in shaping the user experience” session I did later in the day was a little above my paygrade, but I think I bluffed my way through it.. just!

To Dan @ CJ – For persuading me to do said session.. Even though I found it tough going, it was worthwhile pushing myself outside of my comfort zone, and got me thinking about some in-depth matters and gave me a good insight to the “other side” of AM.

To Webgains – for the speed networking event, which was fun. but very tiring.. oh, and for the iPad that I’m sure you’re about to tell me I won in the raffle

To the FOUR guys from Mattress Man – who thought it would be a good idea to ALL take part in the speed networking, denying other merchants (at least 3) slots and flooding what was otherwise a good event.

To the guy at the speed networking.. - Who said “I tried selling retail products as an affiliate but struggled to make any money. Now I make a fortune, writing eBooks about how to make money online” – That’s the best laugh I’ve had in a while!

To Affiliate Future – For Rum ‘O’ Clock – now an institution at expo.

To the networks, merchants etc that are going to send me prizes (especially iPads!) – in advance of course.. I made sure I entered EVERY stand competition this year – I am determined to get an iPad!

To whoever had the idea of ordering a cup of tea at 2am on the last night – After mucho Stella, Guinness and Champagne, a good old cup of tea really hit the spot!

And last, but by no means least..

To everyone else I’ve forgotten to mention - I blame the alcohol for making my memory somewhat hazy!

Who would YOU like to thank?

Originally written by Lammo.net, a blog all about Affiliate Marketing

a4uexpo thanks

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It’s that time of year again, when affiliates arm themselves with business cards, Pro Plus and Headache pillls, dragging themselves the length of the country to London’s ExCel centre for the annual a4uexpo. It’s going to be a very different experience for me this year, not only as I’ll be attending on my own for the first time (It was difficult to justify the cost of bringing a colleague this year), nor because many of my affiliate buddies have opted to give it a miss this year, making it a less social event for me than in previous years.

No, the main thing that’s going to be different for me is the fact that I’ve agreed to sit on two panel sessions this year, having previously declared that there’s no way in hell you’d get me up on stage with a microphone in my hand. I suffer from awful stage fright you see, and have a massive fear of public speaking. However the nice people at Affilinet pitched the idea of a panel session to me that seemed to be along the lines of the “modcast” that a few of us did with Fraser back in 2007 – just some affiliate buddies chewing the fat about the topics of the day. That didn’t seem like too much pressure, so I agreed to my first ever session, at a4uexpo (or anywhere else for that matter!).

I’m pleased to be on the panel alongside fellow affiliates Kirsty and Nick and withPaul from Affilinet making up the non-affiliate bods and keeping us in check, it should be a fun session – even if it is at lunchtime, so expect a lot of munching and nom nom nom’ing during proceedings!

I then managed to get roped into doing a much heavier session, entitled “Role of Networks or Industry Bodies in Shaping the User Experience”. Whilst a much heavier topic, it’s something that I feel passionate about, and it’s still only a panel session, so I’m having to overcome the nerves twice in one day – I will be in desperate need of a drink by the end of those two sessions, so might head over to AF’s stand to see if Rum ‘O’ Clock has kicked off yet

I’ll also be taking part in the “speed networking” event at the end of Day 1, getting the chance to say “what’s your name and where do you come from?” to 25 merchants, and hopefully without managing to bore people stupid about Easy Content Units and Link Builder.. (well if I do bore you.. at least it’s only for 2 minutes.. think about the poor people who will have sat through an hour long session with me earlier in the day!)

If you’re going to expo and want to say hi, meet up or (always a popular choice) buy me a beer, then the easiest way is to stalk me on Twitter.

Originally written by Lammo.net, a blog all about Affiliate Marketing

Where did I put the Pro Plus?

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I stumbled across GeoffBlog’s review, and agreed with pretty much every word of it, so rather than post the same things, I thought I’d just link to the post (maybe I could do a session next year on entitled “How to be a very tired, still-slightly-hungover and thoroughly lazy blogger”) instead, and bullet point the main things that stood out for me:

The Twitter wall was a brilliant addition, and kept me entertained throughout – it was useful to see where the good sessions were, what others were doing, or for the daily announcement of “Rum O’ Clock” by the AF team

Roll on a4uexpo 2010!

Originally written by Lammo.net, a blog all about Affiliate Marketing

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So that time is very nearly upon us again when the great and the good in Affiliate Marketing descend upon London Village for three nights and two full days of networking, education, and maybe a tiny bit of drinking until 5am.

As a veteran of the previous two expos, I thought I’d share some essential tips with you to ensure you make the most of a4uexpo 2009..

Pack the right equipment..
Essential items to survive a three-night, two-day conference include a decent supply of Paracetamol, ProPlus and business cards. I wouldn’t worry too much about paper or pens, as they are usually provided for you within the delegate pack, and if not, there’s bound to be a promotional pen or twenty lying around that you can lay your hands on.

It’s worth remembering that you’re out on a limb somewhat at ExCel, so it might be an idea to take some snacks and drinks with you (you can always leave them in your hotel room) – Food and drink is provided at regular intervals throughout expo, but when you’re starving hungry and fighting 300 other hungry people for tiny bowls of salad as they arrive 10 at a time, you’ll be thankful you nibbled on a cereal bar a few hours earlier

Prepare Properly..
There’s no reason whatsoever to wander around ExCel aimlessly looking for people you might want to speak with – The a4uexpo team have provided a complete list of all the exhibitors, sessions and attendees, so you can plan exactly who you want to speak to, what sessions you’re going to, and whose stands you’re going to visit. You’ll get much more out of the conference this way, and avoid sitting through boring sessions and speaking to hundreds of irrelevant people.

The “appointment” system of the last couple of expos appears to have been dropped (looking at last years, it wasn’t that greatly used), so there might be a small wait to speak to people on the more popular stands. We’re not exhibiting ourselves, but if you fancy a chat with me or Jason about Easy Content Units or anything else we do, the best thing to do is drop me a line via Twitter (@lammo77), as I’ll be tweeting live from expo.

Don’t be afraid to speak up..
If you’re in a session, and don’t understand a point being made, don’t be afraid to ask a question – You’ll probably find that ten other people are thinking the same but are too nervous to put their hand up. The speakers love questions too – It’s much easier to answer a question than it is to think of something interesting to say yourself!

On a similar note, don’t be afraid to introduce yourself to other attendees – affiliates are (mostly) a pretty friendly bunch.. There’s no cliques here, and most affiliates get one really well and are happy to chat with anyone, regardless of how long they’ve been an affiliate or how successful they are deemed to be. Come and say hello – we don’t bite!

Pace yourself..
I will not be naming names, but a certain person who works at an agency caused much amusement last year on the middle night, being completely unable to co-ordinate his hand in order to pick up the drink that was in front of him – The look of sheer frustration and confusion on his face was priceless. Then there’s the network employee who fell asleep on the final night – his colleagues had abandoned him and he had to be put in a cab and sent on his way. Or the handful of people who seem to throw up in the toilets every year…

Yes, it’s a free bar – everyone does tend to like a drink at these events, but if you’re getting this wasted, then you’re not going to be doing much business are you? And isn’t that why you’re going to expo?

Send me to bed..
This is my first expo since Little Lammo was born, and I’m determined to make the most of the event. For me there’s an added bonus this year – the opportunity to have a good 6 or 7 hours uninterrupted sleep for three nights!

I’m therefore imploring anyone who sees me in the hotel bar anytime after 1am to please send me to my bed, rather than letting me chew the fat until 5am every night like I did last year!

Any other tips you’ve got to share?

Originally written by Lammo.net, a blog all about Affiliate Marketing

The a4uexpo 2009 Survival Guide

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