Everyone always asks me why they should spend their hard-earned money in a crappy economy to go out to one of these trade shows like Blogworld or Affiliate Summit. They say, “Jim, what am I really going to learn that I can’t find for free online already?” Or, “Jim it seems so expensive when I can just watch the videos later.”
Good points… but wrong. You don’t go to shows like these to learn a ton of stuff (by the way you do). You go to shows like this to network.
There is absolutely no substitute for being seen. It’s the secret sauce that turns you from being someone’s recognizable Twitter icon, to being a real, human being. And in case you haven’t noticed, people do business with people… not icons.
There is a limit to how successful you’re going to be without being seen in person. You’ll never forge the friendships that will turn into business partnerships. You’ll never get in the “inner circle” of the top players in your industry without being seen.
You HAVE to get out there and mingle. You MUST!
By the way, if you haven’t been to a show in a long time, it’s not like it used to be where all the “big names” go and hide at a private party. Times have changed. Everyone is approachable. Everyone is accessible, just like social media.
Get out there and get in the game. See you at the Affiliate Summit in Jan. Oh yeah, another great reason to meet in person is to get disagreements or misunderstandings straightened out.
Believe me, pony up the dough for the next show in your industry. It will be the best money you ever spent.
Jim, timely post. Tomorrow I leave for EMS Expo – the premiere conference for emergency medical and fire professionals. A group of bloggers and podcasters is leading the social media efforts for the conference. We want to get out and be seen by our podcast listeners, blog readers, and Facebook/Twitter friends. It is really exciting because you are spot on – social media makes everyone approachable and that is what students and field personnel expect.
Follow us at http://emsexpolive.com
Glad to see you back in the blogging game in a big way, Jim. You belong here, among other places.
Jim, timely post. Tomorrow I leave for EMS Expo – the premiere conference for emergency medical and fire professionals. A group of bloggers and podcasters is leading the social media efforts for the conference. We want to get out and be seen by our podcast listeners, blog readers, and Facebook/Twitter friends. It is really exciting because you are spot on – social media makes everyone approachable and that is what students and field personnel expect.
It makes perfect sense. I am taking online marketing seriously although I have a day job as well, so it makes it difficult, how much time I can devote to these sort of things. But sometime I wish there were more seminars and more shows like this in UK. Most of these things happen in US.