For those who have never attended eComXpo, it is definitely something you should consider. eComXpo is the first online virtual tradeshow for eCommerce Marketers. It allows most of the benefits of a traditional tradeshow but without the costs associated with travel and hotel. It’s completely free for all attendees. So at the end of Day 1… my thoughts? Here we go.
User Interface
Logging in was painless, my ID + password worked flawlessly. Once logged in, however, user experience was pretty horrific for the first hour. Mail and chat functions took as long as 30 seconds to load. While it was loading, my Internet Explorer would be locked out so you could not visit other booths or tradeshow areas. Users were sending in feedback about the slowness and sure enough, a global note is sent out. There seemed to have been an issue with a firewall somewhere. Throughout the day, connection and usability got better. Guess they sorted out the problem.
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The interface was pretty much the same as previous events. You can visit the affiliate marketing show floor, the education center, the search show floor or the prize center: pretty intuitive and easy to navigate around. The system also allows you to chat and email others who are attending the tradeshow. There is even a lounge area where you can group chat with others.
Presentations
One of the best features about eComXpo is the presentations. I enjoyed listening to most of the presentations today but wanted to highlight a few that I personally found helpful and interesting.
1. The first panel I listened to was “Next Generation Affiliate Marketing: Taking Affiliate Marketing to the Next Level”. Moderated by Kris Jones from PepperJam, Linda Woods, Chris Henger and Todd Crawford. It was a pleasure listening to leading experts and pioneers of affiliate marketing discuss and talk about problems, solutions and opportunities facing the affiliate marketing community. This session was well presented and I especially enjoyed the closing comments where Kris asked panelists to give a 30 second message targeted to all in the affiliate marketing industry. Well done!
2. The second panel I listened to was “Google Analytics: Converting Visitors into Buyers”. Paul Botto and Nick Mihailovski from Google discussed how Google Analytics can help users monitor, track and optimize website content. After listening to this presentation, I am now ready to dive in and implement Goals using Google Analytics. For those of you who use this free service, but need a little help in setting this up, here is a tutorial.
3. The last panel I had a chance to listen to was “Emerging Trends and Tactics in Super Affiliate Marketing”. Anik Singal moderated a panel consisting of Rosalind Gardner, Colin McDougall and Jeremy Palmer. This was a great discussion from 4 top affiliate marketing experts. Take home message? Make websites that add value for the user. Definitely no arguments here.
I will definitely be back tomorrow to check out Day 2 of eComXpo.
