Chris Dessi - Vice President zanox, Inc

As we slide into the last days of September suffice to say: Fall is officially upon us.

What does that mean if you're an affiliate marketer? Well, I thought I'd list the top 3 things that every affiliate marketer should be thinking about right now. Christmas is closer than you think, and Halloween is upon us.. So yes - you should be thinking about certain key things other than the Fall Foliage of course).

1. Halloween Offers
2. Christmas Offers
3. Ad:Tech New York

Regarding #1
For some networks this may be too little too late. Halloween offers are already converting like crazy, and if you don't have the bandwidth to get these offers up and running by early next week, then you're already behind.

Regarding #2
Christmas offers can mean simply reaching out to your best advertises on your network and requesting some great Christmas landing pages, or Christmas creative. Even requesting some special Christmas coupons, discounts, or any kind of "freemium" type of offering will help you out this holiday season.

Regarding #3
I'll be speaking at the show this year, and if it's even remotely near the insanity of last year than we're all in for a massive treat. The New York Hilton becomes a complete madhouse - and truthfully - I love it.

Finally - no, I have no idea what I'm going to be this year for Halloween -

Got any suggestions?

The 1/2 Marathon was a huge success! I'm still sore, but can't wipe the smile off my face at what I've been able to accomplish in such a short time. It was only a few months ago when I entered my first 5k that I really focused on taking this a bit further. I'm encouraged by my performance, and I'm looking forward to my next event.

This week has been busy getting ready for the eTail conference in DC, and then of course we're all very excited about the Affiliate Summit in Boston. Shoot me a note if you're planning on attending either event, and I'll be sure to carve out some time to meet.

So this morning I got into the office after a great long weekend to check my calendar. Holy Cow! I'll be out of the office 70% of the month bouncing around to come phenomenal places, and meeting with some of the best minds in the interactive industry. Next week I'll be in Cornado, California at the iMediaConnection Brand Summit. This is going to be phenomenal! They'll be more tahn 160 senior level marketing executives from major brand companies. Here is a brief sample:

The Advisory Board is composed of following industry thought leaders:

Jonathan Adams, VP, Director – Media, Digitas
Sean Cheyney, VP, Marketing & Business Development, AccuQuote
Jarvis Coffin, CEO, BURST! Media
Tom Hespos, President, Underscore Marketing
Clark Kokich, CEO, Avenue A I Razorfish
Scot McLernon, former SVP, Sales, CBS Digital Media
Dave Morgan, Chairman, TACODA
Mark Naples, Managing Partner, WIT Strategy
Correy Honza, Director of Internet Marketing, Quiznos Corporation
Sheryl Biesman, Manager of Online Marketing, Pharmavite
Bryan Stapp, CMO, Quicken Loans

I'll be at this show until Thursday of next week, and heading to Shop.org the week after in Las Vegas! Shop.org is the association for retailers online. I've attended this show in the past, and this is a top notch event that I recommend everyone attend.

I'll be sure to post a detailed review while at each event, and some post event thoughts

As the summer winds down with Labor Day weekend upon us it's a time to reflect on the great summer AzoogleAds had.

Our whole team did a phenomenal job, and the month of August will be a record for my own personal book of business (OVER $3million!).

We need to acknowledge all of the great work our Affiliate Managers, and Sales Managers did, slap the backs of the compliancy team, give a big round of applause for the executive team, and then get back to work all over again in September! LOL

There are a few constants in the interactive space; one of them is that there is never any down time....ever. While this is something that I love about it, this is also something that could potentially wear on you a bit. So what the heck are you supposed to do?

For me, I've started to get really involved in structured extracurricular activities. So instead of just going home and watching TV, I've scheduled guitar lessons, a helicopter ride around Manhattan Island, Golf lessons, and trips to visit friends and family.

My golf lessons seem to help my stress level the most. I rush to get out of the office by a decent hour, run to Chelsea Piers in the oppressive NY heat, and spend a blissful hour hitting a little white ball with an iron club into the Hudson (or in the Hudson's general direction)...if I'm lucky...but man...do I love it. Tomorrow I'll be out on the links as well as Saturday, playing golf and recharging my battery. I'll spend time at a BBQ with family and friends on Saturday, and look forward to fresh start on Tuesday!

The summer is over, and I'm ready to take on the fall!