Greetings, community! Today, we have a wonderful guest – Ms. Svitlana Rossi (Lana Rossi). We had a conversation about how she manages to combine multiple talents and what to expect from the upcoming conference. The conversation turned out great!
Hello, Svitlana! Before we get to the main topic, we must mention that it’s not often you see successful women in affiliate marketing. And successful women in affiliate marketing who can also create great music is simply amazing. How do you manage to combine it all?
Thank you, it’s really nice to hear that. Honestly, I haven’t yet labeled myself as a “successful woman,” but I’m working hard to achieve all my goals and desires.
As for successful women in affiliate marketing in general, I believe that women, by their nature, are not inclined to take risks. They are meant to protect their offspring and children, while men are genetically programmed to take risks. That’s why women often hold positions like executive director or CMO and don’t take the plunge to start their own business, fearing financial losses. Private business involves a lot of risk. But there are also some crazy ones like me who say: ‘Let’s go all in!’ 😂
Regarding work and music, I really miss my DJ and sound production life when I spent 5-6 hours a day in the studio because I’m a very creative person. I miss releasing creativity and creating something eternal like music and art. However, I want to find time for creativity, as it inspires and gives me the emotional energy to keep working. Unfortunately, leading a team is not just about events; it’s about working with people, which can sometimes be very challenging.
Lana Rossi, founder of Conversion Club
Do you feel the pressure of gender stereotypes? Does it push you to work harder or does it lead to frustration? How do you feel about the sexualization of women in marketing, especially in affiliate marketing?
In general, I believe that there isn’t as much discrimination against women in affiliate marketing as there is in the music industry. There was a lot of hate when a girl would perform as a DJ, with accusations that it was all fake. It was very difficult to break the stereotype that a woman could compose music, perform, and work with DJ equipment. When I started at 13, there was a lot of hate not only in Ukraine but abroad as well.
As for affiliate marketing and women, I can say that our girls are now shaking up the industry. You can see very successful cases, with many women working as media buyers and affiliate managers.
So, I wouldn’t divide our industry into men and women. If you’re converting, we’re all here to make money, and no one will work with you just for your looks.
Lana Rossi, founder of Conversion Club
Conversion Club is undoubtedly one of the gems of Ukrainian affiliate marketing, recognized worldwide. How did the idea of such a project come about? Did you realize at that time the scale your startup would reach?
When I started organizing the first events in Kyiv, the main goal was to gather the right community and a large base from our industry to help the project grow and gain momentum. I won’t say that the goal from day one was to create conferences, but yes, from the first months of the project, I was already planning to hold large events not only for networking but also with a full panel of reports and an exhibition.
If we talk about how this project grew, it all started with my experience as an in-house media buyer for a Ukrainian casino (this casino now takes stands at my conferences, which I’m very proud of). I started writing my blog about affiliate marketing in English. This was on Facebook, and then it turned into a website.
On the website, I began doing various product reviews. First, I launched awards, and then after COVID, I tried my first event, reached out to my friends from various Ukrainian brands, and asked if they wanted to sponsor it. They liked the idea and believed in me because they knew my work results from when I was the marketing director at a spa affiliate program. So, it’s essential for the development of your business to be known in the industry.
Lana Rossi, founder of Conversion Club
Let’s get to the most important part. Next week, Conversion Conf will take place. Who do you want to see at this event? Is it a platform for people with experience in certain verticals, or can it also interest ambitious beginners who just want to start driving traffic to hair curlers from AliExpress? Who’s your target audience?
Currently, I’m trying to develop Conversion Club in different directions, such as e-commerce, nutraceuticals, education, and iGaming. Therefore, I want to involve different speakers from various verticals. Also, an agency that specializes in Amazon development will present real figures at the conference.
I believe that in affiliate marketing, you shouldn’t limit yourself to just one vertical or one direction. You need to grow, analyze competitors, explore other niches, and make money. For example, if hair curlers on AliExpress bring in money and are profitable, why not? If there’s a great case study on AliExpress curlers, I’ll be happy to present it to our audience.
Overall, Conversion Club is not limited to one vertical. Our main goal is to adapt to the market, keep up with trends, and share this information with our listeners and visitors. The industry can only develop with a constant influx of new people. That’s why we invite industry leaders, beginners, and those looking for jobs because the labor market is experiencing a shortage of personnel. It would be great if more specialists from various industries joined and improved our sector.
Lana Rossi, founder of Conversion Club
You’ve managed to secure a large number of top sponsors for the conference. There must be a minimum goal you’ve set for yourself, even if it doesn’t align with theirs? A certain number of attendees, quality new connections, or maybe just a lot of hype?
When we work on the conference, we set KPIs, analyze the market, and determine how many sponsors and guests we can attract to the event. Our KPIs are not drawn out of thin air. We held a small mini-conference last year, so we have data on how many guests to expect and how many brands we can attract. This conference will feature 25 different booths, so guys and girls, come meet and greet because that’s the goal of our event.
We expect around 1200-1500 guests, so we invite everyone who wants to get into the industry, who’s already in the industry, to learn about affiliate marketing, talk to partners at the booths, or listen to our speakers’ presentations. We have already announced 10 speakers and 2 guests for the panel discussion. Visit the website to see what awaits you.
As for the hype – I think that’s not really my thing; I’m more of a planning person. Sometimes the team calls me a spreadsheet person because I don’t do anything without analysis and calculations.
Lana Rossi, founder of Conversion Club
In one of your interviews, you mentioned that Conversion Conf will visit several other countries, including the Netherlands, Hungary, Poland, and others. You already visited Poland last year. How different are the conferences in different countries? Is there as much demand for affiliate events in the rest of Europe as in Ukraine?
In general, Conversion Club is an international project since we host 9 events a year worldwide and only one event a year in Kyiv. Why is there hype globally about affiliate marketing? The industry is more developed worldwide than it is here. Here, it’s still in its development stage and is gradually transitioning into a business. Affiliate marketing actually started with Amazon, and many brands, which we’re not familiar with, have been in the market for over 20 years.
For example, Affiliate World has been in the market for over 12 years and successfully holds global conferences. Worldwide, such events are more focused on informative content and networking. If our potential guests want to both have fun, eat, and drink, with the success of the event measured by the amount of alcohol consumed at the conference or after-party, then globally, people go mainly for useful contacts. People actually sit in the presentation halls, take notes, and make summaries of everything presented to them.
I really want our potential guests to grow emotionally and professionally, and to place more importance on the quality of contacts and networking rather than on the availability of free alcohol at the bar.
Lana Rossi, founder of Conversion Club
UAGEEK.MEDIA is one of the media partners for Conversion Conf. It’s likely that some of our readers will attend your event! How and under what circumstances did you learn about us and what advice would you give us, as a media outlet, to help us get even better?
We found out about you through Instagram. We analyze the Ukrainian market and the information flow a lot. As for your improvement, I believe you know what you’re doing, your content is interesting, and you’re growing and responding to the information needs of the younger generation. So keep going, believe in what you’re doing, scale up, and attend Conversion Conf to find even more useful contacts.
We are very grateful to Ms. Svitlana for a sincere and extremely interesting conversation. We wish you success with the upcoming conference and believe that it will definitely become the top event of the year in the world of affiliate marketing. At least here, in Ukraine!
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With respect, Your Geek!
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