Conference Hack

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

Archives for February 2019

Bryan Eisenberg Keynote on Video

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Bestselling author and Co-Founder of Buyer Legends, Bryan Eisenberg, delivered a keynote at Affiliate Summit East 2011 on Tuesday, August 23, 2011, at the Hilton New York.

Missy Ward, Bryan Eisenberg, and Shawn Collins

The topic of Bryan’s keynote was 21 secrets of top converting websites, and he shared a whole bunch of awesome, actionable information.

This is timeless, super useful information from Bryan – he knows conversion, so watch and take notes.

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.

Gain Competitive Intelligence at Conferences

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You’re at a conference for your industry, or it has some relation, so it’s likely that your competition is there, too.

Conferences are rich with new ideas

Maybe they even have a booth in the exhibit hall or some other sort of fixed presence where their employees are gathering and speaking with current customers and prospects.

If that’s the case, take the opportunity to pick-up their collateral. It’s a great way to stay current on what they are doing and to help you come up with ideas for your business.

Also, try engaging them in conversation. Don’t hide your identity – be who you are and have a chat.

But don’t be a creeper that hangs out on the outskirts to eavesdrop on their conversations.

That’s just tacky and embarrassing.

Say What You Like and Dislike in Conference Feedback

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Be sure to provide session and conference feedback, so conferences can fix the broken stuff and accentuate the positive.

Give conference feedback

This goes for the topics, speakers, venue, staff, food, and really any element of the conference.

As a conference organizer, I LOVE receiving feedback. It has led to many of the changes and innovations we’ve made over the years.

Unfortunately, most people don’t bother to do it.

I get the apathy and I’ve been guilty of it with other events and businesses. I think part of the problem is that people can tend to feel like they are sharing their feedback into a black hole.

And I can only speak for Affiliate Summit, but we listen and act on it, just as any business should.

The Benefits of Attending Conference Sessions

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The chance to learn is an obvious reason to attend sessions, but also you get access to the speakers, who are industry leaders in their specialty.

Shawn Collins chats with an attendee after his session

In addition to having the opportunity to ask questions during the Q&A period, it is also a big plus to be able to introduce yourself to the speakers after the session and set some groundwork for a relationship with them.

If you don’t have a question for them after the session, just take a moment to introduce yourself and request their business card to follow up later.

And be sure you actually do follow up, preferably with a thank you card via snail mail.

Also, during the Q&A period, be sure to listen to who is asking questions and what they are asking – it’s a good opportunity to identify bright folks you might want to hire, work for, or work with in the future.

Rae Dolan Keynote on Video

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Rae (Hoffman) Dolan, then the CEO of PushFire, delivered a moving keynote at Affiliate Summit East 2013, which took place August 18-20, 2013 at the Pennsylvania Convention Center in Philadelphia, PA.

Rae Dolan Keynote in Philadelphia

The keynote was inspired by a blog post Rae wrote earlier that year about her son, CJ: 11 Things My Son Taught Me About Life & Business.

About ten years before the keynote took place Rae started a small website about her son and his medical condition that became one of the first international support groups and largest website in general on the topic. It earned national media coverage and helped further medical research in the field.

Investigating ways to support that site, she found affiliate marketing and became one of the most well-known voices in the affiliate landscape and organic search engine optimization.

The “11 things” Rae shared were a whole bunch of great advice and many in the crowd were wiping tears from their eyes as they listened.

Rae Dolan Post Keynote Hug in Philadelphia

Watch Rae’s keynote for the kick in the ass and clarity in your head you need right now.

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.