Wey hey! I’ve just realised the clock has just gone into single digits – it’s 9 weeks and 6 days till I’ll be at the A4U Expo in London. No pressure Matt & Team, but much like the 2008 re-organisation of my honeymoon to attend, I’ve ended up missing my Father’s 60th birthday so that I could tie in my visit to the UK with the conference. So don’t let me down.

Bigger & Hopefully Better!

The event has obviously grown considerably in my absence, the gig has had to switch locations to the larger ICC @ ExCel Capital Suite to accommodate all the affiliate type fun and games that the Existem team have in store for us.  I’ll be interested to see what conference sessions are included in the line up. The agenda has been released, I’ve just not read it properly yet! There’ll be no less than 36 sessions to choose from so this year I may actually have to plan in advance what I want to see rather than my usual routine of asking whoever I happen to be standing near “what are you seeing then?  Ooh, yeah. That does sound good!” five minutes before the next round of sessions is due to start.

I hear on the grapevine there’s to be a chance to grill / slag off the networks on key issues like closed groups, affiliate payments, preferential treatment of some affiliates and just about anything else us affiliate masses want to hear about from the horses mouth.  Sanjit Atwal of Tradedoubler and Daniel Powel of CJ will be in the stocks. BYO rotten fruit and tough questions!

And Of Course, I Can’t Wait For The Essential Affiliate Parties

I’ve been sitting here in Australia absolutely writhing with Jealousy at the two glittering A4U Awards ceremonies that I’ve missed. Hopefully I can make up for missing them with the 3 shindigs that are being lined up to keep all the thirsty attendees well oiled.  Free champagne has been mentioned, and I like the look of the venue for the middle evening party. My hot tip for dealing with all the free booze on tap is not to peak too early and get hammered on the first night. Jury’s out on whether I’ll take my own advice this year. I certainly didn’t last time!

I was also intrigued at the prospect of “Speed Networking” on the 12th – possibly of limited use when you work in such specific niches as I do but probably a great way to meet some new faces in a very short space of time and a good laugh as well. Specially if there’s free drink.

Did I mention that I’m looking forward to all the free drinks? Yes?  OK. Just making sure. Maybe I should drop Matt Wood a line and suggest they put a little bit extra behind the bar now that I’m definately attending!

And The Issue Of This Year’s Price?

The cost of the Expo has risen considerably this year which has prompted some discussion of whether or not it’s worth attending. Personally, not attending simply isn’t an option for me. It will be my only opportunity for quite some time to network, see some information sessions of direct relevance to the UK industry, and generally catch up with what’s going on in the industry at the moment.

At £395 for an affiliate ticket on the early bird rate it is a lot more expensive than before. However that is an “all inclusive” price.  I like the fact that once I’m there I don’t spend any more money (other than a taxi to the airport and a mega pack of panadol for the affiliate hangover).  It’s still a lot cheaper than other affiliate conferences, and most importantly I will not be subjected to any sales pitches whilst attending. I have a friend who paid a LOT more than that to go to a conference which simply turned out to be speaker after speaker trying to sell their fantastic make money online products.

Of course, I am going to sit down after the conference and really work out if the money I’ve spent is worth it. In the past I’ve always found the expense was more than covered by new contacts who’ve helped me out here and there over time, handy tips from loose lips thanks to the booze, and of course the information content in the seminars.

I hope to meet lots of people there, Duncan and I are both really excited about going and seeing our affiliate pals

P.S. When I was chatting with the guys at Existem about the new ticket prices they sent over a £25 off discount code. Nearly forgot to post it! AFFSTUFF25

• Hey! We’re Going To A4U Expo!!
• Notes From The Expo…
• See Y’all At The Expo!