I was fortunate enough to be Invited to Shareasale’s ThinkTank 2008 event. It was held this past weekend in San Diego at a beautiful hotel. The Grand Del Mar was absolutely fabulous from the service, to the room, and the food. I don’t think I ever passed an employee without them smiling and saying hello. I also loved how the valet parkers always seemed to color coordinate the cars parked in front of the hotel.
The first night was a welcome reception with food and drinks. I spent a little time sizing up the room and hoping for a familiar face. When one did not present themselves I did the next best thing. Scanned the room for a person by themselves and just started talking. That led to another person and then another. I met quite a few people that night and was very thankful everyone had nametags on.
The next morning was breakfast and then meetings with the merchants. I met with three different merchants and offered feedback on everything from their affliate program to their website from a consumer standpoint. I spent a few hours working on each and it really helped me as an affiliate look for things that mark a great program versus an okay one.
The afternoon was spent on roundtables. We talked about everything from PR campaigns to selling to the demographics of men and women. Very interesting conversations and they gave me a few ideas for my business. I even picked up some cool swag. My daughter has already claimed the lollipop from Birthday in a Box and the stainless steel water bottle from Shareasale.
Breakfast on Sunday was served on the lawn. It was kind of sad knowing in a few hours I would have to leave. I would have loved the chance to talk to certain people more and meet some others. Breakfast was awesome and indulged a bit with a croissant, lemon curd, and cream. Yum! The omelettes looked fab too but alas I had no more room for one.
We then had a feedback session with Brian Littleton. He wanted to know what we thought of the event and Shareasale in general. I have heard that he is great in implementing suggestions and really listens to what people have to say. I found him super approachable and enjoyed chatting about our common backgrounds. I will definitely make his company my first stop in searching for an affiliate program to fit a niche.
Overall I am very happy that I went and I can’t wait to go back next year. I already have a brand new site up and running from a tip I received. It should be a very busy next few weeks working on things 
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My wife Arlene and I was in attendance this year as well at the Grand Del Mar. As usual, Brian Littleton out did himself hosting yet another great event. The hotel itself was just amazing. I posted a 6-minute video from the event on my link above.