There are some events out there that are heavily pitch fests and not focused on content and they don't have many experienced marketers in the crowd to build relationships with nor networking opportunities. With that said, most of the events I've been to have been phenomenal for networking.Originally Posted by Emjay Burton
I didn't really want to name individual events but I will because this one in particular has been instrumental in helping me start and then grow in this business and I've gone the last handful of years....and the event is Yanik's Underground event. There are many presenters and it's very rare that there are any real "pitches" from the speakers...probably because it's mostly "underground" type guys that are killing it online and many times it's their first time on stage.
But, the audience is filled with people of all experience levels. Many are hugely successful marketers and of course many of the big gurus are there as well. The networking opportunity is massive. The great thing about this event in particular is that Yanik has all kinds of crazy fun activities that aren't even IM related, things like disco parties and stuff that are super fun and make "networking" super fun, friendly, a non-pressured
The thing to remember is the value of many events is therefore the networking, not even the actual presentations. Many times the conference room has less people in it than the hallways...because that's where people are meeting each other, talking biz, and establishing relationships.
If you go to a lot of the small-time local type events, the pure purpose is to sell to the crowd, but many of the big events out there (though expensive) are super networking opps
Just my two cents
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