Ok Everyone, I told you I’d get you some great shots from the Affiliate Summit Triathlon, and they’re here.  I’ll let the video do the talking.

Affiliate Summit West 2009 Bonus Video is a post from: jtGraphic: James Thompson

Ok everyone, here is part three of the pictures.  They’re somewhat out of order from the other posts.  Imagine that they go between the two sets.  These are from the “missing” memory card that my wife had!

Affiliate Summit West 2009 Pictures (Part 2) is a post from: jtGraphic: James Thompson

Ok everyone, I misplaced a memory card and I’m waiting for some pictures from others, but I have some pretty good pictures from Tuesday night.  When I find the other memory card and get the other pictures, I’ll post a final gallery.

Affiliate Summit West 2009 Pictures (Part 1) is a post from: jtGraphic: James Thompson

So Affiliate Summit hasn’t officially started yet, but check out some of the cool things Michelle and I have been up to – mostly pics.  I’ll be adding captions later, but I need to hurry up and get down to registration.

Affiliate Summit: On Location (Pre-Conference) is a post from: jtGraphic: James Thompson

Hey Everyone,

I’m laid over in Manchester, New Hampshire right now killing some time writing up the intro post.  I’m headed to Affiliate Summit West 2009 in Las Vegas, Nevada.  I’m going with my lovely wife, Michelle, and we’re going to have a friggin awesome time.  We’ve both got Platinum Passes to the conference, which means that we pretty much have access to everything except the really exclusive VIP parties.

We’re also planning on checking out CES (Consumer Electronics Show for those of you that live under a rock) when we get there.  We should get there around 8:00PM tonight, and we’ll probably jump right into some gambling.  I’ve set up some meetings with people – details to come later.

I’ve been checking out some of the other ASW arrival posts, like Shoemoney and Robb Cheuvront.  I hope to see you guys there!

More information to come.  If you’re going to be at ASW or are already there, please leave comments and I’ll buy you a drink sometime when we’re there.

Affiliate Summit West 2009 – Here I come. is a post from: jtGraphic: James Thompson

Lose 33 lbs

I currently weight 213 lbs, and I would like to slim that down to a cool 180.  I have a treadmill and a rowing machine, so it should be pretty easy to exercise.  I will post my workout strategy in another post sometime.

Put $10,000 into my IRA

This goal may actually change, depending on what my financial adviser says about contributions to my IRA.  Essentially I would like to put the maximum legal amount into my IRA that I can.

Make $10,000 from affiliate marketing

I’d like to make what I put into my IRA from affiliate marketing. ’nuff said.  I think I can do it if I really put my mind to it.  I’m going to Affiliate Summit right at the beginning of the year, so there is no excuse for not reaching the goal right?

Shake Shoemoney’s hand

I think this would be great.  Shoemoney will have a booth at Affiliate Summit, so this should be easy.  He’s somewhat of a role model for where I’d like to go in the industry.  I’ll see you soon Shoe.

Reach 1,000 unique page views per day on this blog

I’d like to make this blog something people look forward to looking at each day.  I need to drive traffic here to create a more interactive, richer environment.  I think 1,000 uniques a day is very feasible.

Finish the concrete work in my basement

My basement has a whole mess of concrete issues that I need to clear up.  This is a big project, but it needs to get done in order for me to set up an office down there.  I hope to get it done by mid-august.  We’ll see how it goes.

Go to Las Vegas

This is easy.  I’m headed there for Affiliate Summit West next week.  I’ve never been to Vegas or a conference before, so this should be fun.

Make at least 250 blog posts

250 posts is about 2 every 3 days.  That kind of number will keep me honest.  I plan to put a counter somewhere…

Take a vacation that is not work related

The trip to Vegas does not count for this one.  My wife and I are planning a trip to Mexico sometime near the end of the year.  This one may happen early January 2010 if scheduling doesn’t permit during 2009.  We’ll see what happens!

What are your goals or resolutions for 2009?

My Goals for 2009 is a post from: jtGraphic: James Thompson

Thanks Shoe

I just picked up some passes for Affiliate Summit West 2009 in Las Vegas courtesy of Shoemoney.  Thanks Shoe, I appreciate it.  I hope to see you there.  I’ll buy you a drink or two if I see you.

Background and Information

Affiliate Summit is a great affordable conference for people just coming into affiliate marketing, because there is such a low barrier to entry (cost).  Overall the conference gets pretty good reviews, although I hear that after a while, you get used to – or tired of – listening to the same sessions all the time.  I’m looking at the session schedule and couldn’t imagine being able to visit the entire show floor as well as every session in just one visit.  I’ll try though.  It looks like there will be upwards of 3,000 people attending and a ton of exhibitors.

What am I getting from this?

I think there are three major things I’m going for:

1. I need something that resembles a vacation, and I think this is it.  This is a good way to expense some R&R to the company.
2. I’d love the chance to meet some of the major players in the industry and do some networking.
3. I know I have a lot to learn, and I think this will give me a barometer as to how much.

The Cost vs. Return

This is my first big conference, so I’m pretty excited.  I booked my flight and room and the Rio for just over $1200 with my travel agent.  I’ll be there from the 9th until the 13th.  If I didn’t win them, conference passes would have cost $700 more than that.  I would imagine that I will spend at least $1000 additional to that while I’m there.  On top of all of that, I will be missing 4 work days, with reduced productivity at best, reducing my normal income.

All in all, adjusted for R&R, I think I need to probably get a return of about $3,000 to break even, and we all know business isn’t about breaking even.  I think I can do it pretty easily.

I plan to cover the event and give updates every night (or maybe the morning after).  I’ll see you there!

I’m going to Affiliate Summit West 2009. is a post from: jtGraphic: James Thompson