You are heading towards the fourth quarter with a game plan, and things are going right so far, but are you prepared to call an audible if need be?

Just like in football, you’ll sometimes have to call a substitute play in business to adjust to sudden changes that you see. It’s not ideal to have to switch things up to react to external events, but if you are prepared, you can make it work for you.

This is a tricky time of year, since it’s the crazy rush for commerce, and lots of people are o? for extended periods of time for the holidays.

What are you going to do when Muhammad Wilkerson (obligatory New York Jets reference) knocks your quarterback out of the game?

OK, that’s probably not a real scenario for you in particular, but how about if your server goes down, your site is hacked, or there is some other time sensitive disaster and nobody is around to help? How about if you are simply turning people away, because your site is slow or inaccessible?

Start preparing now for things that might happen, so you don’t have to pull all-nighters or run away from the Thanksgiving table to deal with messes during Q4.

Here are some tips to fortify your Q4 site o?ense…

Password security: First, change your passwords now, and make them stronger. Second, be sure you know all of your passwords, or use a service like RoboForm to keep them organized.

Monitor your site performance: If your site goes down, you’d better know about it right away. Don’t count on other people telling you. Instead, use a company like Pingdom to alert you immediately, so you can act on it.

Invest in quality hosting: Lots of people are tempted to go with the cheap hosts to save a few bucks, but at what cost? This tip ties into the previous point about monitoring your site performance. Basically, if your site is going down, it’s probably because you have a subpar host. Get a better hosting company now.

Speed up your site: People and search engines dislike slow sites. But do you even know if you have a slow site? Check out PageSpeed Insights from Google to ?nd out what you should ?x to increase the speed that your site loads.

Make your site responsive: Your site should be optimized for any device out there, whether it’s a mobile phone, table, or desktop computer. Test it in all of these environments, and evolve if it’s not responsive. Many WordPress themes will take care of this.

Stay on top of updates: If you are using WordPress or another platform, it’s vital that you update your version and related ?les as needed, so you can avoid making it easy for creeps to sneak in the back door and cause mischief.

Taking these steps should help to preserve some sanity, and to make it easier in the event you have to call an audible.

As Benjamin Franklin once said, “By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.”

Affiliate Summit West 2017 is more than a month away, but rooms at our group rate at Paris Las Vegas Hotel are now sold out.

The Affiliate Summit room rate was set to be available through December 21, 2016 or until the group block sold-out, whichever came first.

Usually, a sell out happens first, so I’d encourage you to get on it sooner the next time around.

If you want to get a hotel close to Paris Las Vegas Hotel, the address is 3655 S. Las Vegas Blvd, Las Vegas, NV 89109.

Affiliate Summit West 2017 is taking place January 15-17, 2017, and passes are currently available, but we expect those to sell out, too.

Issue 37 of FeedFront is headed to the printer and subscribers will be getting their copies in the coming weeks.

This issue of FeedFront Magazine includes 3 Ways to Love Your Work Life by Liliana Chan Ventura, Where Influencer Marketing and Affiliate Marketing Meet by Chris Tradgett, and the Affiliate Summit West 2017 Agenda.

Also, there is coverage on affiliate recruitment, bloggers, China opportunities, choosing a network, high risk merchant processing, mobile, multi-channel attribution, social media, and more.

Issue 37 of FeedFront Magazine can now be viewed online, downloaded, and printed from issuu.com.

Get the FeedFront RSS if you’d like to get all of the articles as they are published to the feed.

If you haven’t subscribed, you can get the magazine for free in the U.S. (sorry to everybody else, but mailing outside of the U.S. is very expensive). Also, become a fan of FeedFront on Facebook to see past issues, covers, etc.

I am organizing a team to walk in AVON 39 – The Walk to End Breast Cancer in October 2017, and you should join me.

The walk is taking place October 14-15, 2017 and it’s 26.2 miles on the first day, and then 13.1 on the second day.

It’s a way to see New York City like few people ever will – you’ll travel through the Upper West and East Sides, Greenwich Village, SoHo, and Chinatown, along Central Park, Rockefeller Center, and Radio City Music Hall.

There are bridges to cross, too – the Brooklyn Bridge, Manhattan Bridge, and back and forth on the pedestrian bridge to Randall’s Island.

Day 1 of the AVON 39 all done. Time to eat, clean up, and sleep. #avonwalk #powerof39 #breastcancer @avon39

A photo posted by Shawn Collins (@affiliatetip) on Oct 15, 2016 at 2:31pm PDT

And you will be doing it for a great cause by helping breast cancer patients in the NYC community and across the nation.

Net funds raised will directly benefit the New York area and help make sure that care programs nationwide, as well as national research programs, have the resources to make the most progress possible to help obliterate breast cancer.

AVON 39 NYC 2016 beneficiaries included…

• CancerCare
• Avon Foundation Breast Health Outreach Coordinating Center
• New York University School of Medicine
• God’s Love We Deliver
• Metropolitan Hospital Center
• Newark Beth Israel Medical Center
• Hauptman-Woodward Medical Research Institute
• The Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center of Columbia University Medical Center and New York Presbyterian Hospital

$7.6 million was raised for the October 2016 walk in NYC to accelerate breast cancer research; improve access to screening, diagnosis and treatment; and educate people about breast cancer.

Caity walking for her Abuela in the @avon39 #avonwalk #powerof39 #breastcancer

A photo posted by Shawn Collins (@affiliatetip) on Oct 15, 2016 at 9:13am PDT

No, it’s not easy. You’ll probably get some blisters and ache for a while after. Plus, you need to raise a minimum of $1,800 to walk. And it’s all worth it – this will be my fifth time.

Walk with the Affiliate Marketers Give Back team in the AVON 39 in NYC next fall.

Jay Berkowitz and his company Ten Golden Rules will be hosting the Advanced Digital Marketing Conference (ADMLive!) on November 12-13, 2016 in Boca Raton, FL.

I will be speaking there on “Tragedy, Conference Friends, and Evolving into a Successful Digital Entrepreneur“.

My plan is to get the audience to laugh, cry, and leave with a plan to change their lives.

If you register with the discount code SHAWN, you can save $300 off any ticket type.

Hope to see you there for a weekend of learning and inspiration.