Another Affiliate Summit event went by and I’m happy to say that it was the most successful one so far for us – not only for the new connections we made, but also the number of folks to whom we got to introduce Avangate. A lot of people involved in the software business – merchants, affiliates and service providers – came to event making the 13+ hour flight there worth it … plus, of course, it’s Vegas :) Check out some nice pictures and videos on our dedicated Facebook page.

In terms of getting exposure, I hosted a roundtable discussion about selling software. We had a lot of fun – the table was full and we had a lot of interesting questions. I expected mostly affiliates wanting to explore the software niche, but was happily surprised to see that about half of the folks who came to the table were affiliate program managers looking on how to leverage affiliates to grow their business.

Getting to the title of this post, here are a few pointers that helped us get the best of this show – I recommend you keep these in mind when attending an industry event as big as ASW12 (5,000+ delegates):

1. Clearly set the objectives for attending the show. For example – we want to talk to X new affiliates, get in touch with our partners Y and Z at the show, learn more about this business, etc. You will have to measure them afterwards to decide if it was a good event or even if it’s worth for you to go there next time.
2. Start planning meetings as early as possible. Check your leads pool and see if they’re attending. Don’t forget to follow-up with the people you’re contacting at least once. Also monitor the event’s social media channels (Twitter, Facebook). We’ve also had success reaching out to leads attending by social media, so don’t underestimate this.
3. Get the attendees list early and scan for updates weekly. I like the fact that Affiliate Summit always makes the attending companies public on their website, which clearly helps you meet the right people for you. As for the early thing: it’s easier to go through a big list months before the event than rush this in a few days right before the event. Meet possible partners in the exhibit hall – this will be a time saver for both parties. For important leads, set up a time to meet them separately.
4. See what your competition is doing at the conference. Keep an eye on your competition for the show. They could be sponsoring the event or organizing a party. Or maybe they have a presentation or are involved in a panel discussion. Do drop by and say hello if you have the chance – after all, we’re only competition, not enemies ;)
5. Clients are your best asset. Set up meetings with them, even outside the event, if they’re based there. If there’s more from your company going to the show, you might want to organize a special event for your partners where they have the chance to talk to each other and to you. From my experience, schmoozing leads to best results and when you’re having fun it’s even better.
6. Take advantage of the live sessions. Check out the event agenda and join the sessions appealing to you. You can meet the big people in the industry and get their advice.
7. Follow-up after the event. Remember those business cards you received during the show? Now it’s time to follow-up with the people and get things moving. You don’t have to do it in the same day, but some 2-3 days after the event ends is a good period to reignite the discussion.

Do you have any other items to add to the list? How was Affiliate Summit West 2012 for you?

Affiliates in the Avangate Network already know this, but here’s the “official” announcement: we’re going to Affiliate Summit West 2012, set to be the largest event of such kind to date. And, of course, we hope to see you there, chat and maybe close some deals ;)

This will be our first Affiliate Summit West after 2 consecutive experiences on the East coast. To tell you the truth, we already have quite a busy schedule, filled with event-related activities and meetings we’ve set up there.

Avangate will be present in the Meet Market area on Sunday, January 8th 2012, between 12 PM and 6 PM – we’re waiting for you to drop by our table (#95) and we will be more than happy to meet you there during the summit.

Then, on Monday afternoon, I will speak about promoting software products as an affiliate based on some best practices from the Avangate Affiliate Network . You can join the discussion in the Ask the Experts Roundtable area starting 5 PM.

So, stay connected with our social media channels (Twitter, Facebook) for the latest updates related to our participation at Affiliate Summit. Whether you’re a software vendor, affiliate interested in promoting software or want to open a business partnership with Avangate, drop me a message to request a meeting at the summit – my colleagues and I will be more than happy to meet you there.

Viva Las Vegas! :)

It’s go time again for the Affiliate Department here at Avangate – we’re packing our bags and heading west to New York on August 21-23, 2011 to attend the Affiliate Summit East conference.

Software presents big opportunities for all online affiliates, so as an established software specific affiliate network, we will be on hand to offer insight on the benefits of promoting software online. We will do that both through networking during the event, and Avangate’s very own Michael Ni will be speaking on “5 Software Niche Affiliate Success Stories” (thank you for that!).

Be sure to drop by on the first day of conference (August 21^st), 11 AM, to visit us at the Murray Hill Suite. After 12 PM, you can find us in the Meet Market at booth #49, where we’ll be ready to exchange ideas and see how we can work together with some of the affiliate marketing industry’s best and brightest. We even have a few surprises in store.

Drop us an email to schedule a meeting or contact us directly to meet us in the Big Apple: Adriana, Corina, Mike (our speaker) and Cristian are looking forward to meeting you.

We’re heading off to Germany at the beginning of June 2011 to attend A4U Expo Europe – one of the largest European affiliate conferences.

I’m particularly excited because this year we’re going to have our own meeting room during the first conference day and already set up a couple of important get togethers.

So if you’re into the software business, as a merchant or as a publisher, drop by the Avangate hosted meeting room “Miro” on June 7th. Me and my colleagues Adriana and Sorin will be looking forward to meeting new partners. We also have lots of surprises for you there ;)

And speaking of surprises – if you haven’t yet booked your ticket for the event, do it today and use this special Avangate coupon for 10% off the registration price: AVAN_MUNICH_10.

Don’t be shy – ping us at affiliates@avangate.com or leave a comment here so we can schedule a meeting.

Outside the event, I’m looking forward to seeing Munich again and, of course, delighting myself with some unfiltered Bavarian beer :D

Shanghai, here we come! And it should be both business and pleasure, since this is one of the most fascinating cities in China.

Alexandra, Adriana, Florentina and Andy will welcome all of you software professionals at the conference. If you want to meet software experts, develop new business partnerships or just schmooze with key people from software & eCommerce industry, then don’t plan anything on Saturday, December 4th and join us in the beautiful Everbright International Hotel.

We’re going to talk about selling software in Europe and the US and see what the trends are for 2011. Also, speaking of international sales, there will also be an interactive panel where DVDFab and WinXDVD will share their best practices on this subject.

On top of this, you will learn how to optimize your conversion rate via practical tips from our experts.

And if you don’t know the Avangate platform and what it can do – don’t worry. We’ll have a live solution demo over there.

So, we’re looking forward to meeting and chatting to you there! See you in Shanghai!

How to make sure your affiliate partnership request is approved by the vendors

Before an interview for a job, university acceptance, membership to a super private club or whatever else you may want to obtain, it’s always ideal if you can talk to an insider, to properly prepare yourself for success :). In a similar manner, this article aims to offer you inside information about top vendors that are open to partnership requests from Avangate affiliates.

We asked some of the top vendors in the Avangate Affiliate Network about their expectations from new affiliates: how can they be convinced to accept you, what turns them off and what is their number one advice to you as affiliate to sell more of their products.

We got some great answers from:

• Claire Waledisch, Commercial Manager at VSO-Software,
• Frank Chang, Marketing Manager at DVDFab,
• Keros Tudos, Relationship Manager at IObit and
• Alex Lamba, CEO at RSJoomla!

So, here are their tips on how to make sure you will be accepted as an affiliate (can be applied to most software vendors):

1. What are 3 qualities you look for when analyzing a partnership request from an affiliate?

• VSO: The main thing we look at is the website associated with it.  Does it look clean, does it have any traffic and would the targeted traffic be interested in our products?  This means nothing however, as we have good affiliates in the past that either do not have a real website or haven’t yet finished it at the time they requested to be an affiliate.
• DVDFab: Affiliate website; Affiliate IDs (normally – the smaller, the better); Potential.
• IObit: We will firstly analyze his website based on three aspects:  the  category, the traffic rankings and the source of the traffic. This will allow us to provide the best suitable plan accordingly and calculate the affiliate’s earnings prospect.
• RSJoomla: The website has to be related to IT/software. Creating your own text about our products rather than copying it from our website really improves the chances to be found by greater audience. Product reviews and blog posts usually are the best ways to do so. Targeted communities or local communities that use our products usually get the most of the affiliate partnership.

2. What are the most common reasons for rejecting an affiliate partnership request?

• VSO: We do not reject affiliate partnership requests, we have not yet needed to.  However, if an affiliate does not go by the rules we have outlined, we will lower their commission.
• DVDFab: Spam promotion or violating our affiliate policy.
• IObit: Websites containing inappropriate content, malicious websites and illegal websites will be rejected. Affiliates without clear profiles will also lead to a rejection.
• RSJoomla: Websites that share false discount coupons or warez get rejected.

3. Do you have any special policies regarding pay-per-click advertising done by affiliates?

• VSO: We request affiliates not to use our brand name when doing pay-per-click advertising, i.e. VSO or VSO-Software. Eventually this will also be applied to product brand names. Affiliates should have the role of making the product known, offering it as a solution when user is looking for a tool to use to do a certain task. If a user is looking for “Product Name XYZ” because they already know of it, then the affiliate here does not really have a role in terms or advertising unless of course that vendor site is not appearing in an organic search. If the affiliate is providing added value then this argument could be contested. Added value content would be landing pages in specific languages that do not exist on vendors site, guides, coupons, etc.
• DVDFab: Currently, we don’t allow our affiliates to use PPC program on search engines to promote DVDFab products
• IObit: Our affiliates can promote our products through PPC, but it is not allowed to use our trademarks or any IObit product names as PPC keywords, for this is against our policy and the law.
• RSJoomla: We don’t have any special policy on the pay-per-click thing. Affiliates can use any politically correct marketing strategies to get more sales.

So, to put this in a nutshell, when requesting partnerships with software vendors, make sure your website has relevant content and it doesn’t violate the vendor’s affiliate policies, especially if you’re running pay-per-click advertising campaigns. If you don’t use a website for your affiliate marketing business, let the vendor know this.
Also, always communicate with the vendor – let him know how you’re promoting their products and ask if you have certain requirements.

We have more to share: stay tuned for the next part of this Behind the Scenes series!