Tara and I got back from ShareASale’s ThinkTank last night in Newport Coast, California at about 3:30 AM.  Our flight was delayed in Dallas which sucked but at least we are back!

I learned a lot there and truly met some awesome people, so here is my list of lessons learned at ShareASale ThinkTank 2009.

1. From Things from Another World (@TFAW), 33% of gift cards never get used.
2. From Mike Lyman of Signing Time, the Hawaiian island of Kauai is apparently infested with wild chickens…long story as to why but kind of funny!
3. Shawn Collins (@affiliatetip) is stronger than I thought and Jason Rubacky (@jasonrubacky) is lighter.


Soon after this we found out that Jason can't swim

4. That we should remind our affiliates that we DO allow trademark bidding so they are not fearful of violating this and getting reported to ShareASale.  Doing this soon!
5. That 4 desserts at lunch always sounds like a good idea at the time but never works out so well.  This is a picture of lunch from Shawn Collins:



6. That Joe Sousa (@drcool73) is like Rainman when it comes to naming that tune.  Dude knows half the songs written since 1970 in less than 5 notes. Scary!
7. That we need some shorter widgets…less content.  Let the affiliate get them to our site, then WE make the sale. Via Melanie Seery (@mellies).
8. That white chocolate shavings make for great tortilla chips when dipped into whipped cream. Just ask Wade Tonkin (@affile8warrior).
9. That ShareASale does have product level reporting.  Oops…kind of missed that one.  We are setting that up very soon!
10. That Shawn Collins will stop at nothing to promote Affiliate Summit, even going so far as to hijack the #thinktank09 hashtag.
11. That Jason Rubacky (@jasonrubacky) really gets a big head when you give him large signs commanding the audience to do things like clap or laugh.
12. That it is possible to whiff a putt in golf. Really, just ask Asif Malik (@asif_malik) of GoldenCan.
13. That I need to get more familiar with the affiliate interface.
14. The sunsets in California are amazing! This picture is from @Rehan



15. That Ballroom Dancing can even bring brothers closer together. Just ask the Schaaf Brothers (one part @brookschaaf).
16. That our mission, Bringing Personal Dreams Within Reach, really does drive everything we do. Until I heard myself talking about what we do, I didn’t truly realize this.
17. That it is possible to gain 5 pounds in 3 days.  The food was amazing!
18. I already knew this, but this event just further proved that ShareASale is without a doubt the best network there is.  Great job guys and thank you for a wonderful weekend!