Since becoming a full time internet marketer, I wondered if going to internet marketing trade shows was a good value. After attending a few affiliate marketing trade-shows, I realized that these meetings can bring a lot of value. I have to admit that at first I was a little skeptical; why waste time and money when you could be doing more internet marketing activities to increase the bottom line? Well, there are many reasons. Here are a few of them:
– You will learn a thing or two: The internet marketing industry is so fast and dynamic you are bound to learn a few things at each conference whether directly during a session or by talking with someone in the hallway.
– You will realize how established this industry is and see it evolve live (not just from a computer screen).
– Being an internet marketer means that often you will be working from your home office. You lack the contact and social interaction that trade-shows will bring you. You will meet and interact with many interesting, like minded, people during these shows.
– You will come back energized and full of new ideas. For me this is nearly overwhelming, each time a return from a tradeshow I’m full of ideas and new energy.
– Trade shows are an excellent way to break the monotony of day to day work. Internet marketing, like any trade, can become repetitive and monotonous. By attending multiple internet marketing trade shows a year you can break that monotony and still do productive things.
The last show I attended was PM Expo (Performance Marketing Exposition 2010). Evan Webber was one of the sponsors of this event. It was a small but high quality gathering in beautiful Miami Beach. 
Got to dip in the beautiful ocean, take a bus tour of Miami, and eat on Ocean drive every night while interacting with other professionals in the internet marketing field. Booyah!
My next trade-show will be Affiliate Summit West. It will be at the Wynn hotel in Las Vegas early January 2011. This show is the oldest and largest tradeshow in our industry. It will be my first time but I’ve heard a lot of good things about it. I have to admit 4 to 5 thousand attendees is not exactly a selling point for me but again every person I have ever talked to about this tradeshow said it was The Internet Marketing Show to attend. I will try to take many photos and videos of this event and share then on my website. Stay tuned…
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