Advice for people attending the Affiliate Summit conference for the first time. Affiliate Summit East 2011 is taking place August 21-23, 2011 at the Hilton New York in New York City.

1. First Timers Guide to Affiliate Summit Shawn Collins, Co-founder, Affiliate Summit

2. Registration Opens Saturday Saturday: 4:00 pm – 8:00 pm Sunday: 8:00 am. Monday: 7:30 am. Tuesday: 8:00 am. Networking goes as late as you’re willing to participate in the evenings.

3. Stay in the Conference Hotel Hilton New York: $235 per night. Informal networking all over the hotel before and after conference hours. SOLD OUT! Be an early bird next time.

4. Dress Code: Corporate Casual

5. Develop a Game Plan What do you hope to accomplish? Whom to meet. Booths and tables to visit. Sessions to attend.

6. What to Bring Cough drops or gum – lots of talking. Luggage space for booth give-aways. Lots of business cards. Purell to keep clean. Comfortable shoes. 15 second description of your business.

7. Business Cards

8. Pre-Engage Become part of the conversation with industry leaders. Call in to podcasts. Post comments to blogs. Send feedback to newsletters. Respond in forum threads. Add them on Twitter, Facebook, Google+, etc.

9. What You’ll Get Attendee bag. FeedFront Magazine with speaker bios and session descriptions. Exhibitor guide with map of exhibit hall and Meet Market.

10. Educational Sessions See the agenda at AffiliateSummit.com for which sessions you’d like to attend. Got a conflict – no worries, sessions are filmed and free to Gold, Platinum & Diamond pass holders.

11. Prepare for Networking Opportunities Meet Market Exhibit Hall Meals Ask the Experts Before/After the Sessions Affiliate Karaoke Parties

12. Cell Phones Set to vibrate, please.

13. Name Badges Color coded for type of attendee. Figure out the color of the people you want to meet when you check-in.

14. http://forum.affiliatesummit.com

15. http://ase11.sched.org

16. Make Friends Plan to meet with people you already know. Initiate meetings with people you meet on forums and blogs.

17. Perfect Your Elevator Speech An elevator pitch (or elevator speech) is a brief overview of an idea for a product, service, or project. The pitch is so called because it can be delivered in the time span of an elevator ride (say, thirty seconds or 100-150 words). - Wikipedia

18. Do Your Homework Want to meet a speaker… read their bio on the Affiliate Summit site. Looking for a rep from a certain company… read up on their recent news and “About Us” page.

19. Be Memorable! The way you dress. Opening lines. Presence at the show as a sponsor.

20. Orient Yourself Register when you arrive. Look through FeedFront Magazine to find rooms where events take place. Find the rooms to make things easier when the conference starts.

21. Follow on Twitter http://www.twitter.com#ASE11

22. Speakers on Twitter @affiliatesummit/ase11-speakers

23. K.I.S.S. Method Keep It Simple, Stupid. Surgical strike – be focused and concise. Leave the details for later.

24. Follow Up All the networking is for naught if you don’t follow up. Forget e-mail and phone – lead off with a hand-written note.

25. Questions in New York City Visit the registration booths. Seek out staff members – wearing black shirts labeled “Staff”.

26. Feedback Fill out the forms in each session. We can’t fix things unless you tell us they’re broken.

27. Here’s My Business Card

29. realdeal@affiliatesummit.com

30. 417-2SUMMIT (278-6648)

31. http://www.Twitter.com/affiliatesummit

32. http://www.Facebook.com/affiliatesummit