Affiliate Summit East 2009 New York

21 June
50 Comments
by nickycakes

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That’s right, Affiliate Summit East in NYC is coming up quick!  It’s being held August 9th to the 11th at the New York Hilton.  Finally an Affiliate Summit at a venue that Nickycakes likes!

Over the past few months, Nickycakes.com has picked up quite a few new readers, so for their sake, this post will go over why it’s worth it to attend ASE.  It will also have info for everyone attending on what to do in/around the conf, hotels, restaurants, etc.

What is Affiliate Summit? Why Should You Go?

If you’ve never been to one of these conferences before, you’re missing out.  Even if you are 2 weeks new in the industry, the information you get just from talking to other affiliates at these shows is priceless.  Nickycakes’ first Affiliate Summit was in Vegas in the beginning of 2009.  He spent most of his time networking with other affiliates and being treated like royalty by Advaliant, who had a big hand in Nickycakes’ success in the industry (still haven’t forgotten about you guys!).  Going to that conference probably cost Nicky around $500 total including airfare and hotel stay and whatnot, and the stuff he learned paid for it many many times over literally within days.

Affiliate Summit is THE conference for Affiliate Marketing.  There are many impostors, and very few even come close.  For an idea of what actually goes on at these events, you may try to look at old posts on this blog for Affiliate Summit wrapups which go into pretty decent detail.  Basically, if you can make it to this event, you will be really sabotaging yourself by not doing so.  The Cakes has NEVER heard of ANYONE who has attended one and not felt like it was more than worth it.    Plus it is a great excuse for a vacation and an obvious tax write-off.

What Kind of Pass To Get

Ok, for Affiliate Summit, there are a few types of passes:  Silver, Gold, Platinum.  Most Affiliates will want a Silver pass.  Silver passes give access to the meet market, and exhibit hall, but none of the sessions.  Newbie affiliates are probably the only ones who would get much out of the sessions, and unfortunately, the platinum passes which include them are a little pricey ($999 for platinum $99 for gold.  If you are a veteran, you probably won’t want the Platinum pass either as you will probably just be there for the exhibit hall. Click here to register.

Where To Stay

Ok, so the conf itself is at the New York Hilton.  Unfortunately, the Hilton hotel itself blows compared to many of the hotels within 4 blocks.  Nickycakes’ personal favorite is the London which is a 30 second walk away from the Hilton, has huge comfortable rooms at great prices and incredible service, free wifi, and a world renowned restaurant (gordon ramsey) right downstairs.    For a good list of the hotels near Hilton, look here.  As you can see, the hilton is 6th place within 4 blocks with a 3/5 rating.

Travel

Unless you’re taking a train, everyone traveling to ny gets screwed.  The airports are too far away from Manhattan, the traffic sucks, etc.  If you live on the east coast anywhere north of DC, then hit up the Acela for a smooth ride right into Manhattan and take a 5 minute cab to your hotel.  Otherwise, enjoy crowded airport security and having your bags lost like Nickycakes does every time he flies into JFK.  If able, get a flight on Virgin America.  You won’t regret it.  First class upgrades are mad cheap if you do them the same day as your flight, and they have in-flight wifi, mood lighting, and a normal electrical outlet at each seat so your laptop wont die.  Pimppp.

Food

Nickycakes’ favorite part, of course.  Here are nickycakes’ favorites in several categories, pretty close to the conference:

  • Sushi – Bar Masa, hands down.  Warning: very expensive, probably not quite worth the price.  But, soooooo good.  If you can afford it, go.  Probably the best sushi on the east coast.  There is Masa next door which has an outrageously fixed price menu, so don’t accidentally go there unless you have $400 per person to drop on dinner.
  • Steak – Craftsteak.  Well known not only for their wide selection of steaks but also for their amazing raw oyster selection.  Eat here if you have a chance.  Sooo good.  Try the Wagyu skirt steak.  Not walking distance from the conference.
  • Brazilian BBQ – Churrascaria Plataforma.  Well, only if love all kinds of meat.  They pretty much walk around with all kinds of meats on big swords, and come to your table and cut you slices of whatever they have until you’re about to explode.  Everything from your basic steak cuts to chicken legs wrapped in bacon.  They have an awesome salad bar and their dessert cart is off the chain.
  • Italian – Bass056.  Great service, amazing food.  Try the lobster ravioli.  Not sure how they consider it ravioli since the pieces are gigantic but its probably the best Italian food Nicky has ever eaten.  In this country, anyway.
  • Thai – Wondee Siam.  Ghetto hole in the wall.  Soo good.
  • Japanese (not sushi) – Menkui Tei.  Another ghetto hole in the wall.  Best Ramen in Manhattan.  Not a huge menu, but if you like REAL ramen (not the freeze dried grocery store shit) then try it out.  Cash only, but there’s an ATM next door.  Very fast service and very close to the conference.

What To Do?

Have some free time to spare during the day?  Well, the area around the conference is home to a ton of great places to go see.  Just a few blocks north is Central Park.  Nickycakes gets lost every time he goes in there.  The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is a must-see if you haven’t been yet.  A couple blocks east of the conference is 5th Avenue.  Plenty of shopping there if you want to cop some gucci sneaks.  And just a few blocks south is Times Square.  You will also be close to all the Broadway shows.  Some that Nicky has seen that he really liked (in order of how much he liked them) are  Wicked, In the Heights, Jersey Boys, and Mamma Mia.  If you want a good view of the city, check out Top of the Rock.  It’s like $20 just to go up to the top of this building, but a pretty good view.  Oh and don’t forget to get your tickets to the new Yankees stadium, where you can see them get crushed at home by the Red Sox August 6, 7th, 8th, 9th and see them beat Toronto the 10th and 11th and 12th.

Parties, etc.

TBA, but there will be plenty.

See you there! Keep it real.

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