Have you ever considered attending a trade show or industry conference? Did you decide against it because you felt you couldn’t justify the expense?
Do you ever wonder why certain people always seem to be going to conferences and trade shows? Are they really that worthwhile?
In 2002, I attended my first industry conference; Commission Junction University. I’ll admit it seemed a little pricey for me at the time. There was the cost of the event, the hotel, the airfare, and time away from the business. The thing is though, I quickly learned that the time and expense was minuscule compared to what I learned and who I met.
In fact attending the event had such a positive impact on my business when I returned the following year I had 40 students in tow.
Now, after nearly a decade of attending affiliate and Internet marketing conferences I still continue advise those truly serious about building an online business to do the same. Here’s why;
- You’ll be able to network with industry experts and leading vendors who can help you grow your business.
- The time spent at these events will be time invested; you’ll get more out of it than you put in.
- The expense of attending industry conferences or trade shows will likely be tax-deductible; be sure to check with your accountant.
- You’ll be able to tap into a huge reservoir of accumulated and knowledge, benefiting from the experience and imagination of others.
- The main reason, though, that I attend online marketing conferences is the same reason you should attend these events; the need to grow.
Below are only a few of the many conferences I have attended and found to be very beneficial. You don’t need to be an affiliate marketer to attend these conferences, by the way. If you want to tap into the Internet in a way that benefits your business, each of these events has something to offer.
Top Internet Marketing Conferences 2011
1. Affiliate Summit; this is the premier affiliate marketing conference. The Summit happens twice a year, once in New York and once in Las Vegas, and offers multiple track educational events as well as top industry speakers and a plethora of vendors and merchants.
2. Blog World Expo; this show draws bloggers from across the planet to meet in Las Vegas and take advantage of networking events, presentations, and of course, vendors and merchants galore. You don’t need a blog to benefit from this event, however. If you are simply curious as to how a blog or other kinds of social media could benefit your business, you should check this one out.
3. Webmaster World’s “PubCon”; this event is not a publisher’s convention, as the name may seem to imply. The first PubCon was actually held in a pub, you see, and the organizers have been successful in preserving that intimate and informal level of exchange as they trade marketing strategies. You could learn a lot about advanced SEO methods at this event, and of course that knowledge is useful in nearly any industry today.
4. Commission Junction University; this convention happens every year in Santa Barbara, which should be enough of a reason to attend. Of course, you’ll also get a chance to meet with more than 500 industry leaders. If you’re an affiliate or a merchant you will benefit greatly by attending.
5. ShareASale Think Tank; this event is exactly what it sounds like. A blend of educational presentations, great parties and even some sports action leads to free-flow exchange of ideas and information between affiliates, managers and merchants.
If you have any interest marketing, and you have never attended any of these Internet marketing conferences, 2011 might be the year for you.
However, don’t presume that you need to be a full-time affiliate marketer to benefit from these gatherings. Each event has something that could be applied to nearly every industry today. Of course, there are many conferences focused on different industries which would benefit you as well.
Finding the Right Event for Your Industry
I have an associate named Matt Papas who is an outstanding affiliate marketer. His his main focus is on his weight loss website. Consequently, he would benefit greatly from the conferences above, but he could also benefit from attending conferences focus on weight loss and health care. These conferences will show him how to better market to folks looking for a Medifast coupon code or who would like answers to questions like,”Does Nutrisystem work?”
My wife, Arlene, on the other hand, has a website called epilepsymoms.com which provides information and support for parents of children with epilepsy. She does attend all of the conferences mentioned above, but she also attends epilepsy conferences as well.
So, should you attend one of these conferences?
Actually, that isn’t the question. I can tell you that you should go, and I’ve already told you why; to help you and your business to grow. There’s only one real question left;
Which conference will I meet you at this year?
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Twitter: stevescottsite
says:
James,
You are right these events pass out the most current of information. Addtionally they can really motivate the attendee. That is something that we can all use from time to time.
But the key here is really the connections that you can make. I have made connections that have value far beyond the ticket price at these type of events. But when you go there it is absolutely necessary that you make an effort to really network!
stevescottsite recently posted..Affiliate Marketers: How to Bypass an Opt In Page
Twitter: JamesMartell
says:
Hi Steve, I so agree.
I have met so many great people at these events. It is the main reason I attend. I do pick up great tips and love to learn new things, but it’s really the between session meetings, the exhibit halls and the after parties. These are the places where the real business is done.
James
Twitter: Ileane
says:
James, great advice. At work there are a few industry related conferences that we attend annually and there are a few of them that are on the “must attend” list. When I was in sales, every year I would attend the Offshore Technology Conference in Houston and I’ll never forget those days. Thanks for the suggestions for those “must attend” Affiliate conferences.
Ileane recently posted..Why I’m Not Installing Livefyre on Basic Blog Tips
Twitter: JamesMartell
says:
Hi Ileane, my pleasure.
I hope to meet up with you soon at one of the events. I will be definitely attending Affiliate Summit West 2012 in Las Vegas in January. I am already looking forward to attending. I am considering attending Pubcon, but I might be in Maui with my wife.
James
Building a network is very important and to do that, attending some top conferences is a great piece of advice which will also help in gaining a whole lot of knowledge too.
Prachi recently posted..Google Acquires DailyDeal
Twitter: JamesMartell
says:
Hi Prachi, yes building a network is so important. Attending the conference simply speeds up the process. There’s also nothing better than meeting face to face.
James
Twitter: Chris_R_Keller
says:
I agree, attending trade conferences are great. There are so many benefits to any type of networking.
Here is my own summary of some of the benefits I have received from networking.
http://www.profitworks.ca/blog/162-business-networking-advice
Chris R. Keller recently posted..Increase Business Sales – Utilize Your Most Valuable Asset
I haven’t tried attending any conference and I think I have to and thanks to your blog…This gives me realizations in life…
Maybe ill try this one next year..i haven’t been to any conventions before maybe its time to be open minded with this type of opportunities…thanks for the good info
Timothy Smith recently posted..DoUpTo- The Fastest Way to Make Money Using Your Talent updated Tue Jul 26 2011 1:56 am CDT
Twitter: rafflesecrets
says:
Check out BlogWorld in LA or PubCon in Vegas. Either of them would be great conferences to attend.
Sandra Sims recently posted..Health and Wealth Raffle Early Bird Winner
Twitter: JamesMartell
says:
I’ve attended Blog World Expo in Las Vegas. It is a great conference.
Twitter: wordpresswb
says:
Hi James
I am in Australia so I miss out on everything! Yes we have some conferences and seminars but only on rare occasions.. I have just been invited to a Youtube Partner conference but I have to fly to Sydney, stay in a motel, and all that for a 3 hour meetup. I guess I really shouldn’t miss it though..
Mitz Pantic recently posted..10 Must See Tips for New WordPress Webmasters
Twitter: JamesMartell
says:
Hi Mitz,
I am surprised to hear there are so few conferences in Australia. I have a number of friends, business associates and bootcamp member’s in your great country. Maybe it’s time for you to start a conference of your own. It would be a great excuse to visit.
James
Twitter: wordpresswb
says:
LOL I couldn’t tear myself away from my computer!
Mitz Pantic recently posted..Making Money From a Wordress Website Even After it is SOLD
Twitter: lifenleisure
says:
Unfortunately, I live here in the Philippines, so I’m not able to attend those kinds of conferences. The closest that I’ve been is an event where a selected bunch of food bloggers were invited to attend. Even though it wasn’t a conference, it still offered me a chance to network with fellow bloggers and even got to learn a few tips from them.
Adeline recently posted..Discover Cuisine: An Exclusive Food Bloggers’ Event
Twitter: JamesMartell
says:
Hi Adeline, you may want to consider starting a Meet-up in your area. I am sure there’s lots of people involved in Internet or affiliate marketing who would love to get together.
You could post one on Meetup.com and see what happens.
James
Twitter: lifenleisure
says:
I’ll keep that in mind, James. Thanks for your tips.
Adeline recently posted..Trip Planning Made Easy with Duffel Trip Planner
Twitter: rafflesecrets
says:
I have gotten so much benefit from attending conferences. I’ve been to PubCon, Affiliate Summit and Blog World and recommend all three of them.
I have learned that to get the most out of conferences it’s important to do a lot of networking. Simply talk to the person sitting next to you in the sessions, you never know what you’ll have in common. Never eat lunch alone. Even if you don’t know a soul there, just introduce yourself.
Social media, blogging, emailing, etc. while at conferences is cool… but don’t overdo it. Otherwise you’ll miss out on real world connections. Follow the conference hashtags and converse with other attendees online. Then find a way to meet them face to face.
Sandra Sims recently posted..Raffle Video Builds Excitement
Twitter: JamesMartell
says:
Hey Sandra, great advice.
Especially the over doing it. I remember when I first started attending conferences. I would end up with way to many business cards. I also gave out too many — resulting in too many inbound phones calls. I am now much more selective and get much more accomplished with the people I am focused on.
James
Twitter: rtmixmktg
says:
James. I always get a lot out of attending an industry conference. I would add a couple more points. 1) Get some new inspiration by seeing others trying new things and 2) Get some cutting edge info to use for your business or with your clients. Thanks for your post which delivered a lot more than the headline – including some important conferences for people to consider attending.
Tom Treanor recently posted..18 Unique Ways to Find Blog Writing Inspiration
Twitter: JamesMartell
says:
Hi Tom,
Thanks for the additional points. I fully concur. It’s always wander out of a conference inspired to move forward. It’s also a great way to stay on the cutting edge.
James
Twitter: wpwebhost
says:
All those conference are top conferences and some of it is a must go. Unfortunately now i am into wordpress so we attend their fucntion more
Ricardus recently posted..How to trigger ideas to write new article
Twitter: JamesMartell
says:
Hi Ricardus,
Which WordPress conferences do you attend?
James
always get excited on conferences although a little bit pricey but when you’re in an industry that is constantly improving or should I say endless learning its just a penny.
where to get an advice?, conferences is a place to be.
Liana recently posted..Ideas to Help the World updated Tue Sep 13 2011 12:27 am CDT
Great post James. I have been reading hearing a lot lately about industry conferences. I would love to be able to attend one specially the Affiliate Summit conference. But none of them is happening where I live or close to where I live and with my 2 offline jobs and the online business, its hard for me to leave for few days to attend a conference in another city.
satrap recently posted..Legitimate Work From Home Jobs
Twitter: manishak2001
says:
Hi James,
I am into article writing and marketing business. So which is the right conference for me. I would love to join these conferences, and since this would be my first time, I would really like to know which one is best suited for me.
Thanks
Twitter: rohitbatra14
says:
Hey Mani,
I think that going into any above listed conference will surely benefit you as you belong to Internet Marketing field and all the above listed conferences are the top-notch events attended by people from across the Globe..
And if you still do not find time for all I think you should prefer WordCamp of WordPress, Webmasters con and Blog world expo..
Regards,
Rohit
Rohit Batra recently posted..Facely HD New Facebook App for iPod Touch 4G
Hey attending these kind of conferences boost up your confidence and your communication skills!!
Usman recently posted..Episode 50 (2011) DVDRip 300MB Mediafire Link
Twitter: Part_TimeTed
says:
I’ve been to local industry conferences for industries other than IM. Never been to an IM conference though. I’ve wanted to go to Pubcon for years. Never had the courage though having never been to any conferences about this stuff at all.
Ted recently posted..Do Bloggers Possess A Stronger Desire To Express Themselves – How About You
I too attend as many industry related conferences as possible. For me though, I have a somewhat different plan when going to a conference that is usually filled with many competitors. I have had great success with lending my services as an outsource to other companies in my niche. We have found numerous other companies that just don’t have the time to complete certain tasks for their clients. We target companies like that and have been able to service them very well in that regard. Many of our clients we have met at industry related conferences.
john recently posted..Three Ways Washington Coupons Help Save Time
Twitter: Burnworld
says:
I was hoping to finally meet you at Affiliate Summit East last month. Looks like I need to wait until next year. But yes I need to hit this up more often ASE was great for meeting new contacts.
Rob Boirun recently posted..Why WeBlogBetter Should Choose Me – Survivor Blog Contest
You are right. The knowledge and experience gained from these events is totally worth the time and investment. These conferences can really give small-business owners direction. Thank you for sharing.
Twitter: Exabytes_SG
says:
I love to attend Industry Conference.
Not only can build network, it help us to build awareness in related market.
Usually it help me learn lot of thing from competitors and improve my current marketing skills. It a good timing to know competitor current marketing strategies in conferences because they will mostly share out their difficulties on implement marketing strategies.
Twitter: budgetable
says:
We just got back from the first Financial Blogger Conference in Chicago where we were a sponsor. Great experience… We already have several interviews set up.
It is definitely worth going for a trade conference, show etc. It is a great way to learn something new, to be updated with new trends and new products, opportunity to meet new business contacts and advertise your own business as well. And very often it is the place where you can get some industry related tools/equipment much cheaper than anywhere else!