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. Time Stamped Show Notes: 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! 3 Key Points: 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. “People like doing business with people.” When you build relationships, other things happen that you couldn’t have predicted. When throwing your own live event, don’t expect to make a lot of money – that’s not the goal. Leave some feedback: What should we talk about next? Please let us know in the comments below. Did you enjoy this episode? If so, please leave a short review. Connect with us: NeilPatel.com Quick Sprout Growth Everywhere Single Grain Twitter @neilpatel Twitter @ericosiu Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.