If you’re serious about growing your website, you can’t miss these two conferences: Affiliate Summit West 2011 and SOB Con 2011.
Why should you attend these conferences? The sessions are helpful, and there’s a lot of opportunity for networking. Also, you can meet someone from the DIYthemes.com team—both Chris Pearson and I have speaking engagements.
For more information, keep reading.
1. Affiliate Summit West 2011
Affiliate Summit is the premiere affiliate marketing conference. I know that sounds like hype, but Affiliate Summit is put on twice per year and thousands of people attend for the exhibition hall, conference sessions, and keynotes. You really don’t want to miss it!
The next Affiliate Summit, which takes place on January 9th through January 11th at the Wynn in Las Vegas, will be awesome also. Missy Ward and Shawn Collins, the founders of Affiliate Summit, lined up two fantastic keynote speakers and 3 days of presentations. More specifically:
Keynote #1: Drew Eric Whitman
Whitman is an internationally renowned advertising trainer who specializes in teaching the psychology behind the response. He’s also the author of “CA$HVERTISING: How to Use More than 100 Secrets of Ad-Agency Psychology to Make BIg Money Selling Anything to Anyone.”
Keynote #2: Brian Solis
Brian Solis is Principal of FutureWorks, an award-winning New Media marketing and branding agency in Silicon Valley. Solis is globally recognized for his views and insights on the convergence of PR, Traditional Media and Social Media. Considered one of the original thought leaders who paved the way for Social Media and PR 2.0, Solis is co-founder of the Social Media Club and is an original member of the Media 2.0 Workgroup.
Oh, and, both Chris Pearson and I will be part of the conference, too. Chris will talk about some conversion rate best practices and I’ll talk about what I call the “body language of the web.”
For a complete list of the other information-packed conference sessions, I suggest you check out the Affiliate Summit West website.
2. SOB Con Chicago 2011
SOB Con is the perfect conference for anyone who’s looking to build a successful business using online tools. It’s also one of the best places to meet some of the most influential people in the business blogging world. Let me explain.
Most conferences attract thousands of people, but SOB Con is different because they only let 150 people attend. They limit it to 150 people because Liz Strauss and Terry Starbucker, the founders of SOB Con, use what they call the “models and masterminds” format for speaker presentations.
What are the “models and masterminds?”
It’s intense, hands-on training that simply can’t work with thousands of people. The group needs to be small because each speaker breaks down their own methodology for building a business(the model) and then they help you apply it to your business (the mastermind). It’s truly an awesome way to learn.
Also, since the group is so limited, it’s a huge opportunity to network with people. At large conferences, many of the heavy hitters are bombarded with people, but since SOB Con is so personal, it’s easy to meet and build relationships.
The next SOB Con takes place next year in Chicago on April 29th through May 1st. If you read my report “Nonverbal Website Intelligence,” and liked it, you’ll absolutely love the presentation I’ll be giving. You’ll also love the rest of the speaker lineup, too.
The Bottom Line
I first started attending industry conferences back in 2009, and I haven’t looked back. Sure, they can be quite expensive, but in my opinion, they’re completely worth it. I’ve met tons of great people and learned a lot.
