In Episode #472, Eric and Neil discuss what they learned from throwing their first conference. Tune in to hear about the benefits and value of throwing a live event or attending other events, the importance of connecting with your audience, and why making money is not the goal.

• 00:35 – Today’s topic: What We Learned by Throwing Our First Conference
• 00:40 – Marketing School has had over 6 million downloads in a little over a year
  • 00:45 – Decided to throw their first live Marketing School event
  • 00:54 – It’s always good to build relationships
• 01:08 – Got to connect with people who listen to Marketing School – entrepreneurs and marketers – and answer their questions in person
• 01:20 – Never forget that the audience listening to your podcast, watching your videos, visiting your website – it’s a person in front of that computer screen
  • 01:40 – If you don’t really connect with these people, you’re not going to know what makes them tick, how you can provide a better experience for them and, at the end of the day, how you can increase your sales
• 01:55 – “People like doing business with people.”
  • 02:05 – When you build relationships, other things happen
• 02:26 – Eric and Neil see each other maybe once a month, but that in-person conversation before they record the show is really valuable
• 02:41 – The most value Eric gets from every conference he attends is getting to hang out with the speakers, going to those private dinners, etc.
• 02:56 – And you don’t have to throw your own event – go to other industry events; the more you go to, the better
• 03:22 – Neil’s goal is to connect with more people, so he was considering not charging for his public speaking but just attend as many conferences as possible in one year and see what happens
  • 03:25 – The long-term benefit would outweigh the loss of income
• 03:35 – If you’re going to throw your own live event, don’t expect to make a lot of money
  • 04:04 – It’s not about making money, it’s about connecting great people
• 04:09 – Eric’s team put this Marketing School event together
  • 04:13 – Make sure you have a checklist so you have everything covered
• 04:30 – Marketing School is giving away 90-day FREE trial to Crazy Egg which is a visual analytics tool
  • 04:38 – Go to SingleGrain.com/giveaway to get your FREE copy
• 04:47 – That’s it for today’s episode!

1. Connecting with people at live events (yours or others) allows you to really understand what makes your audience tick so you can provide a better experience for them and, at the end of the day, increase your sales.
2. “People like doing business with people.” When you build relationships, other things happen that you couldn’t have predicted.
3. When throwing your own live event, don’t expect to make a lot of money – that’s not the goal.

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Connect with us:

• NeilPatel.com
• Quick Sprout
• Growth Everywhere
• Single Grain
• Twitter @neilpatel
• Twitter @ericosiu

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