🧭 1. Introduction: Why Go to Affiliate World Affiliate World is one of the largest global conferences for affiliate marketing, held twice a year in different locations around the world (traditionally in Asia and Europe)[1]. Each of these events brings together thousands of industry participants: affiliates, publisher teams, CPA networks, advertisers, and tracking and tech platforms. The scale is impressive: for example, the recent conference in Dubai had over 6,000 attendees from all over the world[2], while the Asian Affiliate World was attended by 4,500+ people from 110 countries, 170+ affiliate networks, 120+ advertisers, and 40+ traffic sources[3]. This shows that the entire market cross-section is concentrated here – it is the perfect place to learn about current trends and make useful connections.
For the affiliate marketing industry, Affiliate World has become more than just a conference. It is a growth point for your business: in two days, you can directly talk to top specialists, exchange insights, and find new opportunities for scaling. Our Affiliate Dragons team attends AW every year. We know that missing out on such a gathering means missing the chance to strengthen your business. Below, we share our experience from the latest conference and explain why Affiliate World is a must-have event for 2025.
🔍 2. What We Were Looking For (and Found) at the Conference Any trip to a conference begins with clear goals. Our objectives for Affiliate World Dubai 2025 were the following:
- Find new partners and establish more direct connections.
- Strengthen our offer pool – negotiate exclusive deals and the hottest products.
- Study new traffic sources and tools for affiliate marketing.
- Analyze fresh trends in verticals and technologies to stay at the cutting edge of the market.
In an intense 48 hours, we managed to achieve a lot. Here’s what we got:
- 💼 We concluded 12 new partnership agreements. These were with both traffic sources and offer owners – we now have a dozen new opportunities for launching campaigns.
- 🌍 We initiated tests in 3 new GEOs. Thanks to connections with local specialists, we decided to enter regions we had not tried before (especially in promising Tier-3 countries).
- 📈 We confirmed that mVAS is once again a top vertical. Our key vertical – mobile subscriptions (mVAS) – seems to be experiencing a new boom. At the conference, many were discussing a return of interest in mVAS, and we felt this from the number of inquiries.
- 🏆 We validated our trend hypotheses. What was discussed on the sidelines – AI tools, automation, the “return” of old verticals – all of this is truly moving the market (more on this in the trends section). Our notebook filled up with ideas that we are already implementing in our work.
Thus, the conference paid off 100%: we came with goals and left with concrete results that will immediately scale our business.
🤝 3. Networking: All the Magic Happens Beyond the Booths The official part – presentations, the exhibition hall, booths – is only half the value of Affiliate World. All the real magic happens outside the booths – in one-on-one conversations in the corridors, during coffee breaks, and especially at the parties. Over two days, we talked to everyone we possibly could: from major publishers (affiliate teams that drive hundreds of thousands of traffic), representatives of ad networks and traffic aggregators – to opinion leaders and industry gurus who shared insights over a cocktail.
The evening parties and private events were particularly memorable. Typically, 5–10 official parties take place during the conference – some are organized by Affiliate World itself, some are sponsored by large partner networks, and some pop up spontaneously when hundreds of affiliates are all looking for a place to continue networking after a long day on their feet[4]. We managed to attend a couple of private parties where, in an informal setting, we made arguably the most valuable connections. There is a saying that the best networking happens at the after-party – sometimes, one friendly conversation over dinner is enough to close a million-dollar deal. By the way, one experienced colleague joked: “If a drunk super-affiliate starts sharing an insight – write it down immediately!” – there’s a grain of truth in every joke[5]. We also confirmed that the trust and openness that arise from these informal conversations lead to long-term partnerships. In short, if you are going to AW, do not plan on going to bed early. 😉
It is important to note: real affiliate business is built through small talks and trust. You can exchange Telegram messages all you want, but nothing can replace a face-to-face meeting. After the conference, our relationships with old partners significantly strengthened – everyone was happy to see each other in person. And the new partners we found speak for themselves: joint dinners and shots of tequila bring people together better than any calls. Therefore, networking at AW is an investment that pays off many times over.
💡 4. 2025 Trends Through the Eyes of Dragons A conference is not just about networking; it is also about knowledge. What are the 2025 trends that we picked up on at Affiliate World? We share the main insights that were discussed on stage and behind the scenes:
- The rise of AI affiliate marketing. No surprises here: AI was mentioned in every other conversation. The use of neural networks and automated algorithms to optimize campaigns is rapidly moving from the realm of experiments to a must-have practice. At one of the panel discussions, it was noted that “the new trend is the widespread application of AI tools to simplify and speed up processes”[6]. And it’s true: from generating creatives to selecting long-tail keywords via ChatGPT, smart algorithms help affiliates. Our team is also actively testing AI for data analysis and even automatic bid adjustments. The main thing is not to overdo it and not violate compliance, but the trend is obvious: AI allows you to squeeze out maximum ROI.
- Automation of trackers and funnels. Routine operations are increasingly being entrusted to scripts and services. Many teams are integrating their trackers with AI tools, setting up automatic bid updates and budget scheduling via API. On stage, people shared life hacks: for example, pulling data from ad accounts into Google Sheets in real time and instantly correcting campaigns based on that[8]. That is, “funnels” (offer + source + creative) are now being assembled and optimized on the fly thanks to a bunch of automated software. We saw a number of new solutions for auto-piloting campaigns – it seems the future lies in minimizing manual labor and speeding up the testing cycle.
- Verticals that have returned to the game. It’s interesting to see how some niche verticals have gotten a second wind. First, almost everyone was talking about sweepstakes (lotteries, giveaways) – the good old “win an iPhone” is again bringing in stable conversion volumes[9]. Second, dating: it would seem like an oversaturated dating market, but no – online dating is eternal, and offers in this niche are on the rise again[10] (perhaps due to new approaches in creatives and GEOs). And our favorite mVAS – mobile subscriptions (WAP clicks) – is definitely returning to the top. A couple of years ago, many were moving away from mVAS, but now the topic was constantly popping up at AW: from roundtables to personal conversations. Apparently, improvements in billing and adaptation to local markets have had an effect – people are subscribing to mobile content again, and this is a great opportunity for affiliates. Also, the PIN submit vertical is now a trend, pouring through IOS/Android apps with built-in webview. As mVAS experts, we are especially happy to see the industry revived.
- New regions: MENA, Tier-3 and local subscriptions. The geography of affiliate marketing is expanding. Many noted the rapid growth of interest in the MENA region (Middle East and North Africa) – where the solvent audience is growing, and competition is still lower than in the usual Tier-1. Also, there is increasing talk about Tier-3 countries in Asia, Africa, and Latin America: there is still a lot of “free” traffic, cheap clicks, and the opportunity to earn on volume. A separate trend is local subscription services: be it entertainment subscriptions, educational services, or content adapted to the local language and culture. Localization is everything. Therefore, the strategy for 2025 is not to be afraid to go beyond the beaten path of GEOs and try new markets while they are hot.
Our view: we find AI/automation most promising (it increases efficiency and gives you a head start over competitors) and the return of mVAS with sweepstakes (we have a feeling that there will be growth here in 2025 until the verticals overheat again). As for new GEOs – you need to approach each country carefully, but the potential is huge, especially in MENA. But there is also a lot of hype: for example, everyone talks about AI, but we saw that not everyone knows how to apply it correctly – simply adding a neural network is not enough; you need expertise. Nevertheless, these trends cannot be ignored: the conference clearly highlighted where the wind is blowing in 2025.
🧩 5. How to Prepare for the Next Affiliate World We share a couple of tips for those who plan to go to the next conference to get the most out of it.
- Arrange meetings in advance. Ideally, start scheduling 1-2 weeks before the event: write to key partners, network managers, and familiar webmasters – and arrange to meet. Believe us, there is nothing worse than walking around the hall without meetings when everyone else is negotiating something[11]. We usually have a packed calendar of meetups for each day by the start of the conference, plus we know which booths and people to approach. Plan for at least 2-3 meetings a day (and leave time to just walk around the exhibition and stop by parties)[12].
- Prepare presentations and case studies. If you have something to brag about – cool funnels, results, case studies – format it into a brief presentation or even just talking points. This is very helpful during meetings: you show a partner your numbers, and it’s a completely different conversation. For example, we prepared a slide with our top offers and GEOs where we are strong, so that potential advertisers could understand what we are capable of. Also, make sure you clearly state who you are and what you need: your vertical and traffic, and what you are looking for (offers, buying, technologies) – then the conversations will be substantive, not just general phrases[13].
- Make merchandise and business cards. A bonus for teams attending: dress everyone in branded T-shirts or hoodies – it gets noticed at the conference. A lot of people came up to us just because of our bright merchandise with the dragon 😊. Plus, hand out souvenirs: stickers, badges, maybe small gadgets with your logo. It’s a small thing, but people remember it. Business cards are also a must – exchanging contacts is non-stop, and although digital connections are common, a physical business card is still a cool way to stand out (you can add a QR code to your Telegram so people can scan it right away).
- Life hacks from our team. We noticed that the first 2 hours of the first day are the most productive. While people are fresh and haven’t dispersed, we visited 80% of the booths we needed to in the first few hours, collected contacts, and said hello to old partners. After lunch, the day is usually spread out between presentations and meetups, so use the morning wisely. And one more thing: the best deals are made over dinner. Don’t be shy about inviting potential partners to dinner together (or accepting an invitation). In an informal setting, people are more open to offers, and you will have time to discuss everything in detail without the hustle and bustle of the exhibition. In the end, we signed several agreements in restaurants in the evening when everyone was relaxed.
A little preparation and your trip to Affiliate World will be truly mega-useful. The main thing is to know exactly why you are going there and not be afraid to be the first to introduce yourself.
🎁 6. Bonus: How We Designed Our Booth (Exhibitor Experience) At some conferences, we participate not only as guests but also as exhibitors – we set up our own booth. This was the case, for example, at Affiliate World Dubai 2025, where we had a booth. We would like to share our experience in designing it, just in case it is useful.
Our approach is maximum creativity and activity. The Affiliate Dragons booth was designed in our corporate style: a purple background with a fiery dragon logo to catch the eye from afar. We added large banners with numbers of our achievements (100+ GEOs, 10,000+ conversions/day, etc.) to immediately attract attention with our results.
Of course, merchandise was a priority. Every visitor left our booth with a souvenir: branded T-shirts, caps, and metal water bottles with the dragon logo. Over the two days, several hundred pieces of merchandise were distributed – now our logo is flying all over different countries!
And, of course, contacts: we collected the contacts of everyone who came up to us via QR codes. There was a QR code at the booth that, when scanned, took people directly to our Telegram bot, and they received a presentation about us. Many liked this more than carrying paper brochures. We also handed out our business cards, but the QR code worked better – as a result, our contact database grew by a hundred potential partners after the exhibition.
What worked best? Smiles and sincerity. 😊 A beautiful booth attracts attention, but the atmosphere holds it. Our team was constantly at the booth, chatting, joking, and offering Red Bull to tired visitors. Many said that they remembered the “friendly dragons” the most. So if you decide to exhibit, bet on the human factor. The design, merchandise, and games are just a nice catalyst for starting a dialogue.
📸 7. Photo Report: Emotions and Behind the Scenes
Photo: Our team at Affiliate World – smiling after two incredibly productive days. These two days flew by in one breath! 📷 In the photo, you can see part of our Affiliate Dragons team along with new friends and partners we met at the conference. You can see that everyone is a little tired but happy: so many impressions, knowledge, and contacts were gained. Many funny moments were left behind the scenes: how we lost our voices trying to talk over the music at the party; how we dragged a suitcase of merchandise in the heat; and how we competed to see who could collect the most business cards (spoiler: our CEO won 😁).
For our team, this conference is always more than just business. It is an opportunity to shake things up, get inspired by new ideas, and simply spend time together outside the office. Such trips bring the team closer together: after joint adventures in Budapest, Bangkok, or Dubai, we return not only with leads but also as a more cohesive “pack of dragons.” Our eyes are on fire, and our heads are full of thoughts like “hey, let’s test this, too!” And perhaps it is for these emotions that we love our work.
🚀 8. Conclusions and Call to Action
Photo: The next Affiliate World conference – Asia 2025 in Bangkok, December 3-4. Don’t miss your chance, let’s meet! Affiliate World is a must-have event for everyone who wants to grow in 2025. Our report shows how much you can get out of two days: you will find partners, learn about trends, and get a motivation boost for months to come. If you are serious about affiliate marketing or a related business, you cannot afford to miss such conferences. We, Affiliate Dragons, plan to attend all key AW events and will be happy to see you there.
By the way, if you are reading this and want to collaborate – to connect to our traffic, get our exclusive offers, or come up with a collaboration – write to us right now. You do not have to wait for the conference; we are always open to new partners (contact information in the description 😉).
And we will see many of you at the next conference. The closest one is Affiliate World Asia in December 2025 in Bangkok. Our team is already preparing new features and will be there in full force. Come and meet us; we can discuss how to make money together in the new year! We are sure it will be an unforgettable 48 hours. See you at Affiliate World! 🚀
