Conference Hack

Business and travel tips for people attending conferences, tradeshows, conventions, and meetups

Archives for October 2018

Participate in the Conference Social Network

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Most conferences will have some sort of network or group set up for the purpose of bringing together conference attendees for advance networking.

Conference networking timeSome might have software dedicated to networking, while others create a private group on Facebook or somewhere else.

After you’ve joined, fill out your profile, so people are able to determine if you are somebody that makes sense meeting. If there is no profile in your particular social network, post an introduction that provides a brief bio and what you’re trying to accomplish at the conference.

That will make it easier for relevant attendees to come to you. Also, seek out others who you hope to meet and make that initial connection.

CLEAR is Essential for Any Frequent Flyer

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Pretty much all frequent flyers I know are signed up with TSA Precheck to help expedite their security screening at the airport, but I am surprised how far fewer people are away of CLEAR.

CLEARWith CLEAR, your eyes and fingertips get you through security faster at airports and stadiums. Faster than Pre – CLEAR jumps in front of Pre people.

They use your biometrics to identify you, and this data is transformed into an encrypted code to protect your privacy.

When you get to airport security, there are CLEAR representatives who take you over to a kiosk to get “cleared”.

CLEAR is already available at 35+ airports, stadiums, and other venues around the US, and new locations are added all the time (still waiting on EWR, though).

Subscribe to the Conference Newsletter

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There are lots of opportunities, events, tools, deadlines, and tricks shared by conference organizers in their email newsletters, and I would highly recommend subscribing.

Subscribe to email newsletterI can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard attendees say, “I wish I knew about this before the conference…”

Additionally, keep an eye on their Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube accounts for information related to the upcoming conference.

In the case of the Affiliate Summit conference, we post all of our news to our blog, and then it’s summarized weekly in our newsletter.

That information also goes out to Facebook and Twitter, so attendees can consume it in the place they prefer.

Gary Vaynerchuk Keynote on Video

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Gary Vaynerchuk delivered the keynote address to a packed room at Affiliate Summit West 2009 in Las Vegas on Monday, January 12, 2009.

At the time of this keynote, Gary was still very involved with his family wine business, which he grew from a $3M to a $60M business in just five years.

I used to live in walking distance of his family liquor store, and I’d go there regularly. Years later I saw billboards on I-78 in New Jersey for WineLibrary.tv when I’d go to the airport. I didn’t even like wine, but I checked it out and I was hooked.

My partner Missy Ward and I are both New York Jets fans, and so is Gary, so we gave him a custom Jets jersey with his name and the number (73) for Jets legend Joe Klecko.

It just so happened that a year or so later I got to meet Joe Klecko at Wine Library when he was there signing bottles of a Jets wine.

Joe Klecko

Anyhow, shortly after this keynote, he started VaynerMedia, one of the world’s hottest digital agencies.

He is also a prolific angel investor and venture capitalist, and he has invested in companies like Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Uber, and Birchbox before eventually co-founding VaynerRSE, a $25M angel fund.

Attending keynote speeches can be valuable because you can gain and implement some knowledge right away or act on inspiration from the talk, as well as have the unique opportunity to get face time with the speaker.

Read Your Conference Confirmation Email

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You ought to receive a confirmation email shortly after registering for the conference. Be sure to read it, so you don’t miss any important information.

Also, whitelist the sending address and keep that email.

Check whether it has your registration information in it, and be sure there are no typos because that’s what they’re going to use for your badge.

If you made a typo, reach out to the conference organizers to update your information, so you don’t have to deal with it at the conference.

If you don’t receive the email confirmation within an hour or so, contact the conference to inquire about your registration. Maybe there was a problem processing your payment or some other issue.