During the weekend of August 20-22 I won the NAMS affiliate contest in Atlanta. In addition to the money I earned for recommending 69 people to the MyNAMS membership site, event founder David Perdew awarded me a Toshiba laptop computer. Because I had already won another laptop computer and an iPad 2 earlier that weekend, I chose to take five hundred dollars in cash instead. As of today I have now made 100 sales, and David just announced another contest for the month of September.

If you were at the event you know that I took the microphone on Sunday and described exactly what I did in order to win the contest. If you’re a member of the MyNAMS membership site the PDF of my detailed marketing plan is available to you as a download.

The first thing I did was to make the decision to promote this membership site. This starting point is often overlooked, but it is the most important decision you will ever make when you are an affiliate marketer. I allow myself less than 30 seconds to decide whether the program is right for my people, based on a few things:

• Have I or will I be willing to spend money on
  this myself?
• Will it benefit all of us in what we are working
  to accomplish?
• Is the timing right, based on other promotions
  we are currently involved in?

Once I make that decision, I jump in wholeheartedly, whether there is a contest or not.

First, I hand-crafted some business cards. This meant that I printed my name and affiliate link on a piece of notebook paper. I cut up my ‘cards’ into little strips so I ended up with about 20 of them. During that first day, Friday, I gave them out to the people who had come to the event through my link, as well as to those I knew or had met that day. I asked them to please join the member’s site through my link, and told them I would be offering a bonus to those who did. Bonuses are an important part of the affiliate marketing process.

I was away from home during this weekend promotion, so I had to use what I had in order to start making sales. My computer that I use to make videos was at home, so I went over to Cinch.fm and recorded a short audio instead of a video. Then I sent out the first email to let my list know what was happening.

My next stop was on Facebook. I had already posted a few pictures about where I was and what I was doing at the event, so it made sense for me to tell everyone about the new member’s site. This is an important part of all this; let your community know

I am back home after spending an exciting and inspiring weekend in Atlanta at the NAMS – Niche Affiliate Marketing System – live event. I’ve been a super affiliate for two years now, so this was right down my alley. In fact, I won every contest founder David Perdew held for this, and came home with a new laptop computer, an iPad 2 (I’ve won 8 iPads in the past 16 months), as well as $500 cash David offered in lieu of a second computer.

This event is different from any Internet Marketing conference I have ever attended, and that’s saying a lot. I’ve been to more than 30 different live events since 2008, so I feel qualified to say that this one is the best, no matter what level you are at currently in your business.

NAMS is presented workshop style. This means that each day we all meet in the big room for the first hour or so. Then we can choose from four different classes at three different times throughout the day. You can go to all 12 classes of your choice over the three days of NAMS, or you can sit some of them out to network with others, catch up on some work on your computer, or to go sightseeing in Atlanta.

The workshops allow you to learn at your level, and from the people you most resonate with. There are now more than thirty on the faculty (including myself) who are each experts in a particular area. The classrooms are roomy, with lots of electrical outlets to keep you fully charged all day long.

I will again be at NAMS when it comes to Atlanta on February 10-12. 2012. Again I meet with the people who come through my link on the day before – this will be on Thursday, February 9. I have done this for the past two years at the events I have attended, and find that it is an excellent way to connect with the people who support me and to pay them back by teaching them on a variety of topics the day before.

I hope you will join me in February. Many of the people who came to NAMS 6 had never been to a live marketing event before, so please do not let that stop you. Your business – and you – will be changed forever once you attend an Internet marketing conference, and this is the one I am highly recommending. For now, take a look at the NAMS membership site where the training will continue until we meet again.

I attend many events each year, and I’d love to meet you in person. I find that connecting with people at live events is the very best way to get to know them, and I’m sure you would agree.

If you want to meet Connie Ragen Green during 2011, here are some of the places I will be:

UnSeminar 9 – This is an event hosted by Pat O’Bryan, creator of the ‘Portable Empire’ coaching program. This is the third time I have spoken at this amazing event, and there will be another one announced in the near future.

August 18-22 – NAMS (The Niche Affiliate Marketing System) This event is in Atlanta, and I’d love to meet you there. Go here to sign up, and use the code 100special to save $100 off the cost of the event.

November 11-13 – the Armand Live event – this will be in San Francisco this time, and you can sign up through my link here.

Jim Boat Caribbean Cruise – December 1-8 – I’ll be speaking on the topic of ‘Targeted Traffic to Your Sites Through Article Marketing and Content Syndication’. Contact me for more information on attending.

I will be adding two more events to this list, but I have not confirmed them yet. I always say that I would not have the business I have today if I had not started attending live events in 2008. What about you? Have you started attending conferences and workshops to build your online business?

Last year I attended 16 live events. Two of these were workshops I co-hosted with my partner, Dr. Jeanette Cates, several were conferences where I was presenting, and the remainder were events where I was attending as a student. These events have allowed me to continue to move to the next level in my business. Internet marketing workshops allow you to connect with others in the same way we build relationships in the offline world.

I worked as a classroom teacher in the Los Angeles public schools for twenty years before coming online. Every year I was required to attend classes and workshops for my professional development. The school district paid for these trainings, and most of the time we did not spend the night, but we went for three to five days at least once a year in order to learn new methods of teaching our students. This was also my connection to other teachers and other schools within my district. Over the years I formed lasting relationships with these people.

In addition, I still continue to take classes in order to renew my teaching credential every five years. These are taken at my expense and allow me to pursue areas that are of particular interest to me. Some of the people I meet through this activity are involved in areas I would love to know more about.

I am also a real estate broker, even though I have not been active since 2006. I am required to take continuing education courses in order to renew my license every four years. I always looked forward to these classes so that I could meet people from around the United States who were knowledgable in areas I knew very little about.

The idea is to get out of the house and meet some new people who are like-minded. Attend events where you can learn from the presentations, make new friends, find joint venture partners, and take your online business to the next level.

Attending a small business training seminar, also referred to as a hands-on workshop, is helpful in order to learn more about your business will enable you to achieve success more quickly. The best way to get started is to find workshops that teach the exact information that you need to know more about. These live events are held all over the world, and will help you to focus on your business exclusively while you are there, connect with other like-minded people, and to actually participate in the topics while you are there in person.

Getting away from your day to day life, as well as from your friends, family, and business associates will enable you to focus one hundred percent on your business during those days. This means that you do not have to be at your day job, engage in your normal activities, or be accountable or responsible to anyone else. This can be a refreshing way to learn new things that will grow your business. You will also be able to spend more time focused directly on your business, without having to deal with other, non-business issues.

Meeting other small business owners and entrepreneurs will expose you to