Affiliate Management Days Preview: A Time to Learn

It’s hard to believe that Affiliate Management Days is almost upon us. Running March 8-9, AM Days promises to be one of the more interesting conferences I will attend in 2012.

It might seem like an easy thing for me to say since I’m speaking, but I’m even more excited about the other presenters that I plan on hearing. I also think one of the most interesting aspects of this conference is its diversion from the larger, affiliate marketing industry, including the quintessential Affiliate Summits. In this case, I see an opportunity for affiliate managers to really focus on program improvement as opposed to recruitment, glad handing, and event hopping.

Not that there’s a problem with that option. Communication between affiliate managers and affiliates is one of the key success factors for program growth. At the same time, I see AM Days as a valuable branch of the affiliate conference circle because it gives program managers time to learn from each other. They have a chance to reflect on what has worked, hasn’t worked, or isn’t working in their own programs.

Start As You Mean to Go

Right from the Opening Keynote, featuring Tim Ash of SiteTuners, affiliate managers will be presented with information that is meant to improve their programs and enhance the visitor’s experience of their websites. Website quality is, of course, a huge factor in the success of an affiliate program, from recruiting top affiliates to baseline success as a business.

Other website-enhancing presentations are expected from Chris Goward, Linda Bustos, and Lena Siara Huang, amongst others. Recruitment strategy will be discussed by Sarah Bundy and Kush Abdulloev, with several other presentations in a similar vein.

I’m happy to report that analytics and measurement is a big part of this conference as well. Todd Crawford will dissect attribution data in the affiliate channel, and Jared Saunders will take a look at interpreting trends and metrics. I’ll try to keep up with them as I present on using web analytics to grow an affiliate program.

A full agenda can be found here: Affiliate Management Days San Francisco

Bright Minds, Big Ideas

Like other affiliate-themed conferences, there will be a lot of bright minds in one place. Participants should really come away from this event with the means to make their programs stronger, which is a tremendous benefit to their affiliates as well.

I’ll be posting a wrap up each day of the conference this week, on Thursday and Friday evenings. While I won’t be able to see every seminar, I’ll do my best to get a good sampling of a variety of topics.

About Kevin Webster

Kevin Webster manages web analytics, SEO, and SEM accounts for www.growthspurtmedia.com. He also assists in OPM duties there, and blogs on his own at www.kevinwebster.us. Kevin has been in affiliate and online marketing since 2003, and web analytics since 2005. Over his career, he has worked in B2B lead gen, outdoors/recreational SEO and SEM, and in the manufacturing space.

Website: http://KevinWebster.US