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The TES Affiliate Conference – Is It Worth The Plane Ticket? Our Review
Affiliate marketers are fully immersed in the digital world. It’s their job to make connections online and expand their business across multiple industries. But even though technology and time spent on the internet are key aspects of the job, it’s impossible to overstate the importance of in-person interaction.
For many people, networking is still the number-one way to make professional connections. Hubspot has found that 85% of jobs are currently filled by networking! So, where’s the best place to meet like-minded people in the affiliate marketing industry?
That’s where the TES Affiliate Conferences comes in. International conferences have long been a valuable way of making contacts, which comes in handy when making future job applications or professional collaborations. Of course, they are also a great way to experience the world beyond your computer screen!
We’ve reviewed the TES Affiliate Conferences to help you decide whether it’s worth the plane ticket.
What Is The TES Affiliate Conference?
The TES Affiliate Conference is a three-day networking event that aims to connect affiliates, advertisers, media buyers, and publishers. It was first launched in 2009 and, since then, has grown into a premier event in the European business calendar. (TES stands for ‘the European Summit’).
The conference takes place in either Prague or Lisbon, and its main aim is to provide ‘a great networking experience’ for attendees and delegates.
It’s got a stronger focus on fun than many other conferences, even offering a hospitality day to kick off the course. Previous activities that have been scheduled during the hospitality day have included a karting Grand Prix, golf, shooting, and even indoor skydiving!
But that’s not to say it doesn’t take affiliate marketing seriously. As well as seminars, presentations, speakers, and panels, the conference also hosts a ‘Meet Market’. This provides more than 150 exhibitors with the opportunity to showcase their services to attendees – an excellent chance to gain exposure in front of an international audience.
Should I Attend The TES Affiliate Conference?
If you’re considering visiting an affiliate marketing conference, then the TES Affiliate Conference could be a good choice for you. Before buying your pass, however, you will need to decide the capacity in which you want to attend the event.
There are three key options to explore:
- As an attendee, otherwise known as a delegate
- As an exhibitor
- As a guest speaker
Attending The Conference As A Delegate
As a delegate, you can expect three days packed with valuable content. This will include speeches, seminars, and presentations from some of the world’s most successful affiliate marketers and thought leaders.
There are two different passes available to delegates – the ‘corporate pass’ and the ‘sponsored affiliate pass’. The corporate pass is designed for people whose primary role is not as an affiliate webmaster. For example, this would include talent agencies, mobile solutions providers, broadcast companies, traffic brokers, content producers, and web designers.
According to the TES Affiliate Conference website, you are eligible for a sponsored affiliate pass if your primary role is as an affiliate webmaster in the online entertainment industry. This could include bloggers, review sites, or SEO professionals.
Those with a sponsored affiliate pass can enjoy a range of extra benefits, such as:
- Access to all trade show events
- Access to all speeches, seminars, and scheduled events
- Free drinks at the sponsored bar
- Access to all European Summit parties and entertainments
You can apply for this pass on the TES website once the booking has opened for the next conference.
Attending The Conference As An Exhibitor
During its 2020 conference, which was held in Lisbon, the TES Affiliate Conference welcomed more than 2,000 delegates – and the company expects this number to increase over the coming years.
As a result, exhibiting companies can pitch their services to a huge variety of potential customers. This makes it an effective choice for affiliate marketing businesses that want to gain international exposure.
What’s more, the conference also adds some low-cost exhibition spaces that are specifically reserved for start-ups or first-time exhibitors. Known as Silver exhibitor spaces, these enable businesses to experience the conference without making a large financial investment.
If you’re interested in booking one, you’ll need to be quick. Silver spaces are incredibly limited, with just 14 on offer last year.
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Attending The Conference As A Guest Speaker
For guest speakers, the number of delegates also provides a strong audience. If you’d like to apply to speak at next year’s conference, you can submit your speaker application via the TES Affiliate Conference website.
On a less positive note, it’s worth considering that speakers won’t receive a complimentary entrance pass or any form of financial compensation.
Who is The TES Affiliate Conference For?
Among other verticals, the TES Affiliate Conference is aimed at affiliate marketing professionals in the following sectors:
- Online entertainment
- E-commerce
- Financials
- Gaming
- Gambling
- Online dating
- Forex
- Nutraceuticals
- Health
This wide range of industries means that the scope of the conference is exceedingly broad. The guest speakers have included digital marketing strategists, attorneys, logistics developers, YouTubers, and webcam models in previous years.
The TES Affiliate Conference has been designed to help professionals meet potential business associates and learn from international experts. Examples of past seminars and presentations include ‘How to double your blog’s revenue’, ‘How to use viral content’, and ‘Blackhat SEO: Trick or Threat?’.
Although there are also industry-specific events on offer, general topics such as these are valuable for affiliate marketers from various sectors, regardless of their professional backgrounds.
How Much Does The TES Affiliate Conference Cost?
Delegate entrance passes for the TES Affiliate Conference cost €329.75 each (or €399 with VAT included). Without VAT added, that works out to around $391 or £293 at the current exchange rates.
This covers the cost of the conference itself. Considering the event is three days long, this price is very reasonable compared to other conferences. Tickets and passes for the event are sent via email, so there is no additional printing or postage fee.
Is The TES Affiliate Conference Worth It?
Ultimately, the TES Affiliate Conference is an excellent opportunity to meet, learn from, and have fun with other professionals. When compared to other conferences in the affiliate marketing space, the TES stands out for the variety of its speakers and its provision of recreational activities – as you might expect, given the number of attendees who are active in the entertainment industry.
As well as the hospitality day that we mentioned earlier in this TES Affiliate Conference review, entertainment sessions are scattered throughout the rest of the three-day schedule. From happy hours and jam sessions to an invite-only poker tournament, this conference blurs the boundaries between ‘networking’ and ‘socializing’ – with genuinely enjoyable results.
In case you’re still not sure whether the TES Affiliate Conference could benefit your business, we’ve summed up its pros and cons below:
Pros
- Fun event that focuses on great experiences
- Standard passes are a good price
- Its Silver exhibitor spaces offer start-ups an affordable platform
- Packed schedule aimed at a wide range of verticals
- Events suitable for B2B marketers as well as individual content creators
Cons
- No compensation or discounts offered to guest speakers
- Lots of the scheduled events clash, meaning you’ll need to choose your panels and seminars selectively and could miss out on interesting content
What If I Don’t Want to Wait For The Best Affiliate Advice?
Conferences might provide a welcome break from the daily routine – but if you’re looking for the latest affiliate marketing and SEO advice right now, you’ll have to look a little closer to home. You’ll need an optimized website you are proud to show off to potential clients and investors.
If you want to learn how to build a premium affiliate website, why not outsource the grunt work to ODYS Global?
Our brand motto is ‘Our Domains, Your SEO.’ Our selection of affiliate website domains is handpicked, fully optimized with technical SEO, and designed to hit the ground running.
With ODYS Global, you’ll have the chance to invest in a ready-made premium site – saving you the time, effort, and money associated with building one from the ground up.
Ready to get started? Contact us to learn more today!
- All Website Brokers - February 13, 2020