How to Network at Internet Marketing Conferences

It’s a fact: Internet Marketing (IM) conferences are 80% networking and 20% learning.

Why? Because meeting people the old fashion way—face to face without the interface of an electronic gadget—is still the best way to build relationships.

So whether you’ve been building your IM business for 2 weeks or 2 years, it’s never too late to pack your bags, hop on a plane and face the crowd.

Trust me, it’s worth it.

Go in With a Strategy

Since conferences are so short-lived, you need to extract the most value from the limited time that’s available.

Keep in mind that there’s more to networking than meeting as many people as you can and thereby over-committing yourself to too many relationships.

You have to know who to seek and who to avoid. In other words, have a networking strategy: Connect with a small number of high quality people rather than a large number of mediocre or shoddy people.

Having snappy judgement is key. It’s part-intuitive and part-subjective. You should be able to discern fairly quickly if the person you’re talking to could result in a relationship that benefits both of you.

Shoot Straight for the Top

Brian Solis shaking my hand. I'm about to give him my card.

With some people, it’s obvious: they are the big timers, the heavy hitters, the big names in the industry.

These are the people you should bend over backwards to introduce yourself to—even if it’s for 30 seconds. It will make your whole conference experience (time, cost, energy, disruptions, etc.) worth it.

I find the best time and place to meet a heavy hitter is right after they’ve given their presentation.

Usually they stick around to meet people and answer questions, and you’ll have to awkwardly line up behind others, but then you get your turn (especially if you sit front and center during their talk and go straight to the podium right after).

When it’s your turn, offer a firm handshake with direct eye contact, state your full name and make yourself memorable. Be confident and assertive but above all, just be yourself and be cool!

Once you’ve broken the ice a bit by showing some genuine interest in who they are and what they do, it’s okay to talk a little bit about yourself. Give them your card and ask for theirs in return.

You can even ask to take your photo with them, although sometimes this makes you look like a groupie, so it’s best to very selective with the photos.

When I left Affiliate Summit West earlier this month, I felt like my time and expense was worth every penny because I took the time to shake hands and chat with Chris Brogan (found him standing the hallway), Brian Clark, Brian Solis, John Chow, Jonathan Volk, Shoemoney, Shawn Collins and Missy Ward—all very cool movers and shakers in the IM space.

Don’t Forget to Make Friends

Of course, it’s highly likely you won’t be hanging out with someone like Brian Clark your first time around. But that’s okay—if you’ve done your job he will at least have a real-life impression of who you are.

Now for everyone else: there’s going to be a ton of people just like you—undiscovered but eager folk working their way to the top. So what not a better time and place to strike up a friendship?

Again—exercise your judgement. Not everyone you meet will be a good fit. Maybe they’re into something you have no interest in, or there’s just something about them that just bugs you. As mentioned before, you should know right away if going to work out or not.

I’ve already made some excellent friends from the conferences I’ve been to. Some of us even started a mastermind group dedicated to helping each other succeed faster.

Avoid Certain People!

I’ve also written a post on the 5 kinds of people to stay away from at your next IM conference.

Top photo and Brian Solis by Affiliate Summit on Flickr.
Speeder bike photo by pasukaru76.