Top 10 Affiliate Marketing Conferences of 2013

With Affiliate Summit West just around the corner, I was inspired to write a post about some of the top affiliate and internet marketing conferences to attend this year. There are more than the list below, such as LeadsGen, the Performance Marketing Summit, LinkShare Symposium, and so on, however here are the Top 10 "must attend" conferences on my list for this year:

1. Affiliate Summit

Affiliate Summit West, East and Central are THE hottest affiliate marketing conferences in North America. With over 5000 attendees at both the East and West shows, with the latter next weekend in Las Vegas, attendees will get an incredible taste of the excitement of affiliate marketing through educational sessions, meet markets, networking events, an exhibitor hall, new comers program and more. I will be speaking at Affiliate Summit West at 12:30 Sunday about Affiliate Strategies for a Post Penguin World.

2. ShareASale Think Tank

One of my favorite affiliate networks holds their annual Shareasale Think Tank once a year and although in the past this has been an invitation only event for top tier affiliates and merchants to meet (very exclusive with about 100-200 attendees), last year this event opened to the public and was a great success. We will absolutely be attending this show this year.

3. Pubcon

One of North America's largest Digital, Search and Social conference with several thousand attendees, Pubcon also boasts a strong affiliate presence. I haven't personally attended a Pubcon event, however it is on my list for this year as I've always heard positive reviews about it. This conferences is supposed to be especially good for those interested in both affiliate marketing and other channels, as the caliber of speakers on various digital topics is great.

4. A4U

Europe's largest affiliate event, A4U is like the European version of Affiliate Summit. This year they will make their debut in North America.

5. AdTech

One of the largest digital marketing shows of the year, AdTech will be hosted in New Delhi in February, San Francisco in April, Sydney in March, Singapore in June, London in September and New York in November. Be sure to check out their website for a full list of dates and locations.

6. Internet Retailer

Host of the Internet Marketing Top 500 Guide and all Internet Retailer Conferences, Internet Retailer is the largest e-commerce show in the world. If you're going to attend this event, but sure to pack some solid walking shoes and some Halls, because you will be walking for days and speaking non stop.

7. Affiliate Management Days

One of the new kids on the block, Affiliate Management Days debuted last year to help affiliate managers and merchants interested in the performance marketing space to be trained by some of the top affiliate marketing experts in the world. Having several shows per year, merchants and affiliate managers alike can travel to the destination closest to them for easy access to experts and high level learning opportunities.

8. CJU

Commission Junction University is an affiliate marketing website and event designed to help affiliates and merchants involved in Commission Junction (and the affiliate marketing space in general) succeed. It has been running since 1998 and showcases useful networking , educational and growth opportunities.

9. Online Marketing Summit

One of the fastest growing shows in North America is the Online Marketing Summit. This three day event showcases in depth educational workshops, speaking sessions and networking opportunities with leaders in the digital marketing space. Though mainly focused on mobile, social and search marketing, in 2012 they introduced an affiliate marketing workshop (taught by yours truly) and have now expended to welcome several speakers in the affiliate marketing space. I will be speaking at their show in San Diego next month.

10. BlogHer

From their site "In 2005, BlogHer Co-founders Elisa Camahort Page, Jory Des Jardins and Lisa Stone held a conference to answer the question, "where are all the women who blog?" Today, BlogHer conferences bring together thousands of these women from around the world to discuss, inspire and connect with each other." BlogHer has become a must attend phenomenon that cannot be overlooked.

Which are your favorite and "must attend" events of 2013?

Geno Prussakov

10 years ago

Great list, Sarah; and thank you for including Affiliate Management Days. Our next conference is set to take place in San Francisco on April 16-17, 2013. We look forward to having you speak at it too!

Sarah Bundy

10 years ago

My pleasure, Geno. I enjoyed your conference last year and look forward to the one in April as well!

Stephanie Lichtenstein

10 years ago

I would say if you are looking to pick between Summits, Affiliate Summit West coming up next week is the best conference of the year! I spoke at Affiliate Management Days in 2012 as well and the conference was full of quality content and attendees. Another conference you mentioned that I am interested in attending is Internet Retailer and BlogHer. Thanks for sharing Sarah!

Sarah Bundy

10 years ago

You're welcome Steph, I couldn't agree with you more! Also, keeping in mind there are more affiliate marketing conferences than these, and even local meetups - these are just the top 10 I personally will be attending this year that have an affiliate marketing piece attached, or would be useful for those in the affiliate marketing space. Thanks for sharing Steph 🙂

Geno Prussakov

10 years ago

Steph, thank you for the kind words about AM Days. It was great to have you speak at our October 2012 show in Ft. Lauderdale too.

Kush Abdulloev

10 years ago

Excellent list, Sarah: Pubcon, Internet Retailer, CJU & BlogHer are on my radar now thanks to your post. Also wasn't aware that A4U will be debuting in NA soon, exciting!

My favorites so far include Affiliate Summit, SAS ThinkTank and AMDays. The amount of networking that goes on at the Affiliate Summit & ThinkTank is invaluable, and worth every penny.

To folks who manage online marketing efforts, I strongly recommend attending Affiliate Management Days; invaluable lessons were learned, great friends were made (points @Sarah 🙂

Sarah Bundy

10 years ago

lol aww thanks Kush, yes, that is where we met, wasn't it! You listened to my speech and I blogged about yours 🙂 Ah, memories 🙂 Love your list here too Kush and look forward to your feedback on the new events on your radar for this year. Let me know what you think if you make it to any of them this year!

Geno Prussakov

10 years ago

Thank you, Kush. We missed you at our East Coast show in 2012. Hope to see you again in San Francisco in 2013, though.

Tricia Meyer

10 years ago

I've been considering mixing up my schedule a bit this year. Last year I basically did Affiliate Summit twice and Google Summit. I'm considering CJU again because I felt like it was a good opportunity to meet with a lot of merchants in a short amount of time. I'm also anxious to see where ShareASale Think Tank will be since I couldn't make it last year. And I may consider BlogHer for the first time since Chicago is super easy for me!

Sarah Bundy

10 years ago

Thanks for sharing your thoughts on this Tricia - I find there are some really great conferences out there (actually way too many to name that I would like to attend, about various topics) however the one that FOR SURE I want to check out this year is BlogHer because as an affiliate program manager, what better place to find high value content writers than a blog seminar targeting women 🙂 When you're in Chicago you should stop by and say hi to Carolyn - she can treat you to lunch on me 😉

Matthew Wood

10 years ago

Hi Sarah,

A great list of events. I wanted to say thanks for mentioning our new 2 day conference (http://www.performancemarketinginsights.com) from A4U. We are really excited to be launching in the US, with our debut show in New York this March 12-13.

It's a very different type of show built using 14 years of experience in the channel - and after successful events in the UK, Germany, Netherlands and Spain it's an absolute pleasure to cross the pond!

Best,
Matthew

Sarah Bundy

10 years ago

Thanks Matthew, looking forward to hearing more about it - keep in touch so I know how it goes!

Andrew Kardon

10 years ago

Great post, Sarah. I knew about half of these, but you put together a real nice list. I attended BlogHer last year (as a daddy blogger) and had an absolute blast! Was fantastic for networking with both companies and other bloggers.

Now that I"m working at an agency that handles some affiliate programs, I'm wondering if BlogHer would be worth attending for work. I've always wanted to attend PubCon, and the IRCE sounds both fantastic and exhausting! Thanks for the great list!

Sarah Bundy

10 years ago

Hi Andrew, My pleasure! I'm so glad you got to enjoy BlogHer in the past already! Yes, I would recommend attending with the agency. It's a great place to meet content writers either from a social media / PR partnership opportunity or from an affiliate recruitment standpoint. I love your thinking here and think you should run with it! Congrats on the new gig too!

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