Affiliate marketers who want to make money and explore new opportunities don’t want to miss Affiliate Summit, one of the most popular conferences in the affiliate marketing ecosystem.
One of them is Brian Hawkins,who has attended over a dozen Affiliate Summits. Currently affiliate manager for GhostBed.com, a 5th generation family mattress business and leading online retailer of mattresses and bedding, Hawkins says Affiliate Summit “is where I go to meet up with my affiliate family that I've known for almost decades. It's a great smart group of go-getters that know how to hustle, network and be true to win-win performance-based partnerships,” he explains.
Here’s when, where and why you should put this popular affiliate marketing conference on your calendar for 2023.
Affiliate Summit Events 2022-2023
Affiliate Summit typically hosts three annual events: Affiliate Summit East, Affiliate Summit West, and Affiliate Meet Markt.
The upcoming events for 2023 are:
Affiliate Summit West (ASW23): January 23–25, 2023 in Las Vegas
Affiliate Summit East (ASE23): July 31–August 1, 2023 in New York
Affiliate Meet Markt: Held in 2022, a date has not been announced for 2023
In the past it has also hosted Affiliate Summit Europe, its international conference, in Amsterdam and other locations, but it doesn’t appear to be on the calendar for this coming year.
Here is more information about each event.
Affiliate Summit West 2023: The 2023 Affiliate Summit West will be hosted at the Caesars Forum in Las Vegas, NV from January 23–25, 2023. The event which is being advertised as the biggest affiliate marketing event in the world is to have “6,000 affiliates, advertisers, ecommerce sellers, networks, and tech suppliers”. Full price tickets cost $499–$949 with discounts available.
Affiliate Summit East 2023: The 2023 Affiliate Summit East will be hosted in New York again at the New York Marriott Marquis. Tickets aren’t yet available, but you can sign up to get notified when tickets are released.
Affiliate Meet Markt: The Affiliate Meet Markt of 2022 was hosted in Berlin and was hosted by both Affiliate Summit and iGB Affiliate. Tickets were $649, while affiliates got in free.
Affiliate Summit West & Affiliate Summit East
If you missed Affiliate Summit West 2023, you still have the opportunity to attend Affiliate Summit East. It’s one of the top events for successful affiliate marketers. Both events bring together exhibitors, digital marketers, bloggers, content creators and others in the performance marketing ecosystem.
If you aren’t ready to attend, you will also find a variety of resources on The Affiliate Summit website, including articles and webinars about performance marketing, as well as SEO and social media strategy.
What To Expect At An Affiliate Summit Event
Both Affiliate Summit East and West include workshops, keynote speeches, exhibitions, meetups, and networking events. The Meet Markt has fewer workshops and speeches; it is more of a networking event focused on meetups and networking through social events.
The East and West events typically run 9+ hours a day over the course of three days. Speakers at the events come from a wide range of companies and cover a wide range of topics.
“This is not a make money overnight snake oil pitch show,” says Hawkins. “These are real people making a solid full time living doing affiliate marketing. It's a great way to network with publishers to understand how they drive traffic and convert it. The event is built for networking every area of the trade show floor.”
Ryan Turner, Founder, EcommerceIntelligence.com, which helps online retail brands grow with email and SMS marketing, attended his first Affiliate Summit in 2022. “It's most valuable for networking,” he says. “You get some very high level people there who are really at the cutting edge of digital marketing.” Turner says he met key affiliate managers in person. “(It) really strengthens the relationships compared to just speaking via email.”
Coty Perry, chief marketing officer of YourBassGuy.com, one of the most extensive resources on the web on fishing gear reviews, tips, and the best fishing locations in the US. has attended Affiliate Summit for the past five years. “Affiliate Summit provides a tremendous opportunity to network and learn from other marketers and industry greats while getting to know about the latest trends and opportunities with the affiliate marketing workshops and sessions,” he observes. “You may never know whom you may run into and create an unlikely partnership.” Perry says benefits of attending have included working relationships with some of the top influencers in his space, as well as new brand partnerships.
Sam Jacobs, chief content officer at Ammo.com, America’s number one online source for ammunition at a discount, says he’s attended Affiliate Summit for the past six years. “Connecting with peers, discussing ideas and making business connections in person are some of the reasons why I attend Affiliate Summit,” he says. “Every year I learn something new, something out of the box or techniques I may have never known or explored before.” He says he has developed profitable new business partnerships by connecting with new media buyers, advertisers and eCommerce sellers.
Who Should Attend Affiliate Summit
Anyone who is looking to learn more about the affiliate marketing industry, how to improve their affiliate marketing strategy, ways to make money with affiliate marketing, and connect with affiliate networks and others in the industry can find Affiliate Summit an excellent opportunity to grow their business.
Brands with affiliate programs can also attend the Affiliate Summit to connect with potential affiliates. The expo is expected to have over 100 speakers–including some of the top affiliate marketing experts–and more than 300 trade show exhibitors, along with over 6,000 attendees which makes it a great place to find networking opportunities, programs and affiliate marketing tools.
Whether you’re just getting started as an affiliate marketer, or you’ve been in the industry for years, it’s best to go with a plan.
Here’s how Hawkins approaches it. He does his research ahead of time to determine who he wants to meet. He has at least 500 business cards with him. He dresses casual, but he’s ready to do business. “Everybody has something to promote so have your story packaged up of who you are and what you can offer,” he advises.
He also recommends investigating this year’s trends so you can be prepared. “Last year it was data,” he says. “This year it's going to take some ‘pay to play’ to close some deals, so you need to know your numbers for earnings per click and conversion rates to talk about what your product can really do to get CPA or hybrid CPA/fee deals.”
It's a field of dreams and it’s two crazy nights of networking parties,” he warns. But the benefits are there if you put in the effort. “If you did your job, your voice will be shot from networking…and you'll build some great long-term partners.”
