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We are more digitally connected and technologically enabled than ever, with many business owners running their entire operations remotely – but when it comes to marketing, sometimes nothing beats face-to-face interaction.
You might have employees all over the world, be immersed in online communities, and enjoy the freedom that comes with location independence; however, keeping one foot in the physical world is key if you want to maximize your network and truly excel in marketing.
Not only is it easier to fully engage with people in person; marketing events often provide an immersive experience, where you get access to big industry names, useful information, education, skill-building, and networking opportunities – all in a condensed social environment of peers who share your passion and goals.
“In-person meetings provide a sense of intimacy, connection and empathy that is difficult to replicate via video,”
Paul Axtell, corporate trainer
Wondering what conferences you should consider attending this year? Check out this list for some ideas!
2000 attendees, 25 speakers, and a team with 22 years of experience teaching digital and affiliate marketing, this expo covers major marketing topics – from affiliates and analytics, to blogging and communications. Though the material is varied, a lot of emphasis is placed on affiliate marketing!
Set in idyllic Barcelona, Spain, Affiliate World Europe brings together performance marketing experts, advertisers, traffic sources, industry brands, agency representatives for successful companies like Shopify, Uber, and Hulu, plus over 3000 attendees. A lineup of CEOs and founders will be presenting speeches, panels, with industry mixers and after-hours events to top it off.
The Amsterdam Affiliate Conference has joined its sister events in Stockholm, Lisbon, and London as a part of a series put on by gaming publisher iGB Live! Focused on topics like marketing, acquisition, regulation and compliance, SEO, social media, and influencer marketing, this conference is geared toward affiliate marketers in the gaming industry, but is open to everyone – and free to attend!
It’s the main event when it comes to affiliate marketing, and according to the website, “Affiliate Summit runs the biggest performance marketing events in the world”. Needless to say, this conference is a solid choice if you want to improve your skills and network with 5000+ peers and industry leaders for three full days – in this case, in New York City. With 75+ expert speakers, dedicated tracks include affiliate, affiliate management, advertiser, OPM/agency, solution provider, and network.
Held at the beautiful Boston Westin Waterfront, this year’s Content Marketing Conference centers on the evolution of content marketing, content planning methods, technology, personalization, and the latest and greatest in the industry. With comedy marketing keynotes and a comedy marketing club, CMC is certainly a fun choice!
Hosted by the Content Marketing Institute, Content Marketing World is a great place to meet like minds and hone your content marketing skills. From beginners to pros, this conference boasts lead industry experts; this year, expect to see keynotes from CMI Founder Joe Polizzi, and others!
Content strategy, promotion, conversion, and analytics – these are the key focus of Chicago’s largest content marketing conference. Spend two days with 300 marketers and speakers like Andy Crestodina (Orbit Media Studios), Mary Garrick (Upward Brand Interactions), and Dana DiTomaso (Kick Point Inc).
With a variety of small-group workshop courses of 30 people or less, Interact covers “all things interactive” – content marketing, social media, and SEO included. Experience in-depth workshops as well as a full day of talks by industry names like Andrew & Pete (authors of Content Mavericks and YouTube show Marketing Unboringed), global marketing expert Pam Didner, and more.
The largest digital marketing conference in the Midwestern US, MDMC offers nine different tracks, including data, digital, social media, creative, eCommerce, innovation, academic/student, tech, and entrepreneurial. Reviews mention the inviting and supportive vibe, accessibility for people at all stages of their careers, as well as affordability.
The Brand Marketing Summit gives special attention to authenticity, engagement, personalization, storytelling, social media, and influencer marketing. With an affordable price tag and speakers that represent companies like Marriott, StubHub, and DHL, this conference (one of two different annual summits) advertises “a holistic cross-industry, cross discipline approach to effective and authentic marketing driven by innovation.”
Call to Action Conference (or CTA Conf) is unique in that it publishes all conference content online, making it easy for attendees to go back and review material later. Organized by the company behind popular landing page builder Unbounce, this conference is centered around digital marketing and providing actionable advice on things like effective advertising, social media tools, technology, and content strategies.
IMPACT Branding and Design puts on IMPACT Live, an immersive two-day, single-track event dedicated to educating attendees on inbound marketing and developing industry authority via content creation. Marketing expert Marcus Sheridan is the lead facilitator, with speakers from IMPACT, iSocialFanz, Drift, and more.
Building, selling, and marketing products (especially B2B) is what Hypergrowth is all about. Entrepreneurs and marketers will gather for a one-day event in Boston for a sponsor-free experience that’s entirely business growth-oriented.
This conference is geared specifically toward membership site growth, with a significant focus on marketing. “An event for membership site owners, by membership site owners,” Retain Live is hosted by Callie Willows and Mike Morrison of The Membership Guys, and will feature a variety of keynotes, power sessions, and panels – all without fluff and pitches. There’s also a 3-month payment plan available if you don’t want to pay everything upfront.
“The largest global event dedicated to brand marketers,” the Festival of Marketing is a unique conference that gives attendees an immersive experience with both business and leisure activities. 12 stages and over 250 speakers fill this two-day event, with a specific commitment to diversity and inclusion.
A particularly good option for SaaS business owners, MicroConf has several events globally, with this year’s European event happening in Dubrovnik, Croatia. Well-attended by WordPress companies, this conference is known for its high-quality business and growth marketing lessons.
Rhodium Weekend is a 3-day event dedicated to digital entrepreneurs with online businesses making 6-8 figures. Hands-on, community-building discussions, networking opportunities, and organized group meals with a curated group of attendees distinguish this conference as a more exclusive and intimate experience.
With presentations on email marketing strategy, technology, user protection, branding, persuasion, conversions, and best practices, this is a good event if you want to dedicate some attention to your email marketing. Organized by MailKit, this one-day conference is set right in the city center of historic Prague, Czech Republic.
With both a Las Vegas event in June and a London event in October, Email Innovations Summit has some interesting offers, exploring unique topics like segmentation, interactive email design, advanced animation, video, and HTML. As a bonus, attendees receive a free 6-month membership to the Only Influencers Email Marketing Community and Discussion Lists!
3000+ attendees are anticipated at this year’s Social Media Week, taking place at the landmark Sheraton hotel in Times Square. Big names like Seth Godin alongside representatives from some of the most prominent brands around will give talks, with 14 different tracks focused on things like social content, influencers, AI, B2B marketing, and paid media models.
A popular and well-known two-day conference, The Social Shake-Up has a lot to offer, with a variety of featured speakers from social media platforms like Reddit, Yelp, Facebook, and Twitter, as well as stand-out topics like live video, visual storytelling, social media crisis management, IGTV, and more.
A well-organized and business-focused single-track conference organized by WordPress hosting company Pagely, PressNomics is attended by all of the big names in WordPress and is a high-value event that also gives a portion of its proceeds to charity.
If you use WordPress and you don’t already attend local WordCamp events, check them out! Overall, WordCamp is very affordable, with all kinds of high-quality events dedicated specifically to the WordPress niche – in locations across the globe. There’s a good chance you’ll even see some AffiliateWP team members at WordCamps in Entebbe, Denver, Orange County, Europe, Kansas City, Jackson, Ann Arbor, as well as WordCamp US!
They may have already passed, but you can be sure not to miss them next time! Consider checking out CPA Conf, Digital Summit, Social Media Marketing World, SXSW, Traffic and Conversion Summit when 2020 rolls around.
Although conferences can be on the expensive side, there are several affordable options on this list for anyone on a budget – and you might just find that the benefits pay the costs of attendance back anyway! At the end of the day, whether you’re just starting out, or you’ve been around the block with marketing and digital business, you’re sure to find new connections, game-changing wisdom, and inspiration while engaging with like minds at these kinds of events.
What are some of the best marketing conferences you’ve attended? Did we miss any important ones in this post? Let us know in the comments!
Disclosure: Our content is reader-supported. This means if you click on some of our links, then we may earn a commission. We only recommend products that we believe will add value to our readers.
Any e-commerce conferences we should look out for? Especially ones with lots of WooCommerce store owner attendees?
Automattic puts on a WooCommerce specific conference: https://wooconf.com/
A nice list. Unfortunately, there isn’t any in Australia on this list 🙁
Hey, Daniel!
I’m not sure which part of Australia you’re from, but Digital Marketing Summit in Melbourne is coming up on April 4th!
https://1point21gws.com/digitalmarketing/melbourne/
Also, Content Marketing Summit Asia is actually taking place in Sydney as well, and soon (April 10):
https://www.contentmarketingsummit.org/anz/
DigiMarCon is happening in Sydney in August (28-29):
https://digimarconaustralia.com/
And, it looks like the Digital Marketers Australia event just passed, so look out for that next year!
https://www.digitalmarketersaustralia.com/