Shoemoney - Skills To Pay The Bills

How To Get Value From Search Conferences

Posted: 09 Dec 2010 07:14 AM PST

My friend Rebecca Kelley recently gave search conferences their walking papers, fiercely stating why she's over them. And I definitely feel her pain. I attend between 5-8 search conferences a year and sometimes they're so similar, not even I can tell you which show I'm at. However, people like me and Becs need to remember something pretty important. Do you have a pen? You'll want to write this down.

We're not normal.

Becs and I attend search conferences for different reasons than many of the other attendees – we're they're for clients. However, as an affiliate marketer, you're probably going for information, the networking and the events. And if that's the case, then search conferences are absolutely still valuable for you and you shouldn't be writing them off. Here are some tips for how to get value from attending conferences that may even help non-normal people like me and Becs.

Pick Better Search Conferences

When I was younger, my father would have a single chicken breast, vegetable and some form of potato every night for dinner. Even as a kid, the thought of having the same thing, served the same way, every day, made me cringe. You'd probably cringe, too. So then why are you on your fifth year attending Search Engine Strategies New York?

Don't get me wrong, SES NY is a great show – but if you've been attending it since 2001, I can see how it'd get a little stale. Anything would. So start switching it up, making better choices, and looking for conferences that can offer you more reward if the same show isn't cutting it year after year. [Switch out "conferences" for "mate," if needed.]

If you typically go to every SES NY, maybe this year try Affiliate Summit to expand your palette. If you're tired of going to search shows completely, then hit up a newcomer like BlueGlass to help you get your SEO with a flavor of entrepreneurship. If you want something more intimate, then maybe it's time you register for Elite Retreat. The point is, if things are starting to get stale at one show – THEN FIND ANOTHER ONE. That's the upside to there being a new marketing conference popping up every week – there are alternatives to the "same old shows." Take some responsibility and pick smarter.

Attend With A Purpose

The best way to get no value out of a conference is to have just a vague idea of why you're there. Instead, know what you want to learn, who you want to meet, and what you want to accomplish. If you're a small business owner and you're having a hard time wrapping your head around all the changes going on with local, write down the top questions you need answered and make it a point to get them resolved at the show. If you're trying to decide which affiliate program is right for you, then arrange face time with some of the representatives or track down people with experience. Whatever your goal for the show is – have a plan. Otherwise, you risk spending your day idly walking around the exhibit hall seeing how many pens and squishy balls you can pick up. Ooo, fun!

Get Out Of The Sessions

Before you even arrive at the conference, print out the session schedule. Pick two or three sessions a day that you think will be valuable for you and/or will help you solve one of your noted Things to Tackle. Attend only those sessions. Just because you're at Search Marketing Expo, doesn't mean you have to spend your entire day in sessions. And you can thank people like me for that – I liveblog Internet marketing conferences. Actually, I liveblog the crap out of them. You don't have to be present all day to get the information.

The fact is, the best part of attending conferences is not to sit in on the sessions. It's to create those connections and find people who can be your unofficial mentors over the next year. People you can team up with and learn from. That's why you're there. So get out of the goddamn sessions and introduce yourself to those around you. Make dinner plans. Take a long lunch with interesting people. You'll learn way more there than you will in the session on Keyword Research For Beginners.

Get Out Of The Circlejerk

It's inevitable. If you keep attending search conferences, you're going to start to see the same faces over and over again. On one hand, this is great. It means you've made friends with smart people and have built relationships with them. However, it can also provide a really damaging safety net. So cut out of it.

Just because many of the shows include the same faces, doesn't mean you have to hang out with them. If you're attending PubCon and hanging out with the same fifteen people you see at every show – that's YOUR fault. Thousands of people attend PubCon Vegas every year. Cut the security cord and go make some new contacts. That's part of why you're there. Stop being such a baby. You never know who’s sitting next to you at the hotel bar. Find out.

Act On What You Learned

Hopefully you're arriving home with the answers to the handful of questions you jotted down before you got there. Now that you have them – act. Put the knowledge that you gained at the conference to use. Otherwise, yeah, you just dropped a few thousand dollars to get a week behind on work and drift further away from your significant other. Make sure you're bringing something back; otherwise, what the hell were you doing out there?

Use the Feedback Forms

If you're tired of sucky speakers, then do something about it. Don't tweet in session about how much the speaker is dropping the ball, use the feedback form and tell the conference organizers who can actually do something about it. If there's no form available, drop the organizers an email and let them know. Will this totally eradicate the number of speakers who get on panels based on politics and charm? No, it won't. But you'll put the ball in motion to help make things better.

The truth is, while search conferences aren't always a perfect experience, then can provide value if you're an SEO or affiliate trying to problem solve a particular issue or if you're looking for ways to connect with other people in your industry. My two business partners today are people I met and created friendships with via search conferences. Had I not attended, we would have our baby, Outspoken Media. There is value there, but sometimes you have to create it yourself.