Samantha Pilling’s Post

5 lessons I learned from successful conference marketing: ❌ Just showing up generates quality leads! ✅ Pre-conference promotion drives interest. ❌ A flashy booth guarantees success! ✅ Real conversations matter more. ❌ Business cards are enough for follow-ups! ✅ Automated emails keep you top-of-mind. ❌ Success happens immediately after the event! ✅ Nurturing leads turns prospects into clients. ❌ Focus only on the main keynotes at the conference! ✅ After-hours networking builds deeper connections. Conferences are about how well you work the room... ...and what you do after.

Bill is on to something… In 3 years as an attorney, I’ve attended 1 industry conference & 2 local bar association events. The 2nd ever bar event I attended was on building a book of business. While every panelist is great a generating business, I couldn’t help but think how much more impactful their strategizes would be if they leveraged the internet and social media to build their brand & grow their business. I’ve built a multi-8 figure book of business. With zero in person networking and zero asking to be referrals partners. I talk into a camera and share my knowledge and story every single week. I’m never dependent on anyone else to generate business. Bill gets hundreds of attorneys to show up every quarter to see what they have to offer. I have millions of impressions on social media talking to my ideal client. Getting attention is the number 1 skill you can possess. The world is changing. The attention of your ideal customer is your number 1 asset. To succeed in business moving forward, you must be a media company first and deliver a great product or service on the back end.

In 5 years, I've only attended 5 events in the legal industry... one event per year (on average). In that same timeframe, I hosted over 300 of my own webinars and 30 of my own multi-day events. People ask why I don't go to industry events. It's because I know my 3 main priorities in business: Priority 1. Build a highly differentiated portfolio of services that have a big positive impact on my industry. Priority 2. Optimize my sales & marketing strategy around scale, LTV (Lifetime Value) and CAC (Cost of Acquisition). Priority 3. Recruit the best possible team to execute on # 1 & # 2. Because of how differentiated our services are (# 1), we don't have to market where everyone else markets. We choose where we want to make people aware of us. Which leads to # 2... We have other sales & marketing channels that produce a lower CAC than attending in-person events. And these channels are scalable. Don't get me wrong, it's always a work in progress. I had to make a ton of mistakes to learn these principles. But, making decisions on logic and from a place of centralized principles is probably the best way to grow your business. I had to suck at webinars before I got good at them. I had to spend money on bad marketing before I learned good marketing. I had to lose clients in order to learn how to improve and differentiate our service to get to a 97.5% quarterly retention rate like it is now. So, don't be hard on yourself if you feel you've veered away from your priorities. Your failures are your raw data for your next battle plan.

Hey everyone, let’s get real about online summits. As someone who’s organized more than 400 summits over the last 12 years, I’ve seen both the brilliance and the mistakes that can hurt your event—and your reputation. Here are some red flags to watch out for, whether you're hosting or speaking: 1. List Sharing Without Permission Not only is it unethical, but in countries like Canada and the UK, it's illegal. Always get explicit consent before sharing or using subscriber data. 2. Over-the-Top Upselling Monetizing your summit is fine, but if your attendees feel like they’re bombarded with sales pitches and minimal value, you’ll lose their trust. 3. Poor Speaker Treatment Your speakers are not just there to bring their email lists— they’re partners in the success of your event. Keep communication clear and respectful. 4. Transactional Mindset If your goal is purely to collect emails or make quick sales, you’re missing the point. Successful summits are about building lasting relationships and providing genuine value. Summits can be game-changers when done ethically and with care. If you want to learn more about running your own successful, relationship-driven summit, drop me a message—I’d love to help you get started! #SummitsDoneRight #EthicalMarketing #DigitalEvents #OnlineBusiness #CommunityBuilding

So, no one is showing up for your event? Well… If you sell any form of online course, Chance are you have virtual events that you organize to sell more people; But sadly, you sometimes spend thousands of dollars on ads and many people end up not showing up. Well, let’s face it, 90% of people subconsciously expect online events to be a waste of time, And we can’t blame them really as I am sure you have attended a few ‘not so good’ online events as well; This preconceived notion means you’ll have to work extra hard to get more people to your online program. No, I am not talking about tilling the ground 😁, Well, unless that’s what your online program is about; What I mean is that you have to give people better incentives to join your live events; You have to make it so good that they won’t mind wasting however long your webinar takes to get the free stuff. If your webinar is good enough, you’d then be able to sell them on your program. And worst-case scenario, The free gift is so good that they return to get your paid stuff. Well, there you have it, how to market your webinar so you get more people to sign up. You’re welcome #marketing #sales #business #people

I was talking with Kyle Jepson over lunch about the power of events -and something people don’t realize, or doesn’t find its way to the P&L right away. And it’s this 👉🏻 We can all go to a webinar online, or network in a zoom room. But we tend to jey off to the next thing as quickly as we came in. Heck, we even leave the virtual event early cause we schedule ourselves so tight. We don’t have “event dwell time” like you do in person. What do I mean by dwell time? With in person events, there’s the conversation that follows the presentation. And then the random meeting in the hallway. And the exchange of information and the conversation keeps going after that. That’s how trust is built. That’s how you get to know peoples’ expertise. That’s how you learn about opportunities. That’s how you connect the actual “what you do” with “how people actually talk” (vs marketing speak). While we’ve know “about” each other for while online, this group of content creators in the HubSpot ecosystem is hot with ideas for collaborations, better ways of educating our target audiences and delivering value. If you happen to be at INBOUND or any other conference this fall, 2 words of advice: 1. Put in the time in advance to know people online 2. Leave room for conference “dwell time” You won’t regret it.

Great advice to think about as you look at your marketing budget for next year.

🎙️ Attention Coaches & Vizionaries! 📣 Do you want to fill those seats at your next event, whether virtual or in-person? 🪑💻 In this video, I break down the 3 TOP marketing strategies to promote your upcoming events: 1. Paid Traffic 💰 2. Borrowed Traffic 🤝 3. Organic Traffic 🌱 Learn how to leverage these powerful methods to boost attendance and engagement for your: • Webinars • Challenges • Summits • Workshops • And more! Don't miss out on these game-changing tips to elevate your event marketing game! 🚀 Ready to generate consistent leads and revenue in your business? 💼💰 👉 Visit https://lnkd.in/ep2Sa8S3 for a FREE video on the 3 essential elements for creating consistent revenue in your business! #EventMarketing #LeadGeneration #BusinessGrowth #WebinarStrategist

WORTH THE PRICE? YOU DECIDE I was intrigued by an invitation to a business conference, requiring a hefty investment of over $5,000 and a long-haul flight. The organizers' pitch centered on "networking opportunities" and "classes". However, the actual value of attending was unclear to me as they listed features, not benefits. I reached out for a clearer explanation, asking simply, "What will attendees gain specifically, not generically from this event?" I wanted to be sold on the event. Rather than providing a persuasive answer, the organizers responded defensively, even resorting to personal attacks via direct messages. This scenario highlights two fundamental sales and marketing principles: 🔵 First, always be ready to explain the direct benefits of your offerings. Customers deserve to understand how your service or product fits into their professional landscape and budget 🟡 Second, never underestimate the power of a well-handled inquiry. Every question is an opportunity to strengthen a relationship, not sever it. What are your thoughts on our exchange? Have you encountered similar experiences? Like, comment, and share your experiences below. Follow Chris Ruby at Impactful Digital Marketing for insightful Sales & Marketing content. #Sales #Marketing #EventMarketing #SalesStrategy #CustomerEngagement #BusinessEthics #SalesTips #EventPlanning #DigitalMarketing

Why aren't people attending your webinar? There could be several reasons, but in my experience, the most common issue is the failure to recognize that time is a valuable commodity. If you want individuals to invest their time in attending, you need to ensure your webinar offers clear value to their business. Otherwise, why should they bother? I've seen hosts try to attract participants by offering incentives, such as monetary rewards, or resorting to pleading, while others simply assume attendees will show up without giving them a compelling reason to do so. The problem with these approaches is that they overlook the most critical factor: value. If your webinar doesn't provide meaningful insights or tangible benefits, offering small incentives won't be enough to attract an audience. Simply holding a webinar isn't sufficient reason for people to participate. If you're struggling to attract registrants, start by reevaluating your value proposition. Are you clearly communicating the benefits of attending? What are those benefits, and would you attend your own webinar if you weren’t the host? Only after clarifying the value should you reconsider your promotional strategy. Merely placing an advertisement on LinkedIn likely won't effectively communicate the value of your event. In many cases, a personalized invitation can make all the difference. While this requires additional effort, if you're asking others to invest their valuable time, it's only fair to invest yours in sending thoughtful, targeted invitations. If you want people to invest their time, you need to invest yours. Full stop. #Marketing #Webinars #EventPrep #Thoughts