Internet Marketing & Home Business Articles and Reviews

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Update (14 Oct 08)

Only three days to go and this is the last chance I’ll get to post before I leave so I just want to say a quick thank you to all the peeps at Stompernet (you guys make SEO a doddle) and, if you’re attending the Focus Seminar event this weekend, challenge me to a backgammon five-pointer.  If you win, I’ll agree to do a promo to my list without an affiliate link (assuming you have a suitable product).  Feeling lucky?

Update (23 Sep 08)

I’ve been advised that there are less than 40 places remaining.  If you haven’t yet booked your ticket and plan to attend, go to www.focusmarketingseminars.com.and register ASAP.

Focus Marketing Seminar UK | London, UK | October 17-19, 2008

For the third year in a row I will be attending the UK edition of the Focus Marketing Seminar.

“So what?”, you may ask.

Well, I believe this is a good opportunity to discuss the relevance of seminars to aspiring internet entrepreneurs, and whether “offline” events should be considered an essential opportunity, or a dire waste of time and money.

For once - you’ll be pleased to hear - I’m not to going to launch into a lengthy monologue.  Basically, because I’ve already done so at www.networkingnightmares.com/

The report there on internet marketing seminars and networking events should make it pretty obvious that I’m very much in favour of home business owners getting out into the real world on a regular basis - and the Focus Marketing Seminar is an excellent opportunity to do just that.

The advantages in terms of what you can learn, and the contacts you can make should be fairly self-explanatory, but what I’m going to do in this blog post, is simply address some of the more commom myths about IM events.

MYTH #1 - “Internet Marketing Seminars are just pitch fests.”

Generally speaking, each speaker at these events will conclude their lecture with an invitation to purchase one of their products or services.  It may have a special price tag, or it may be an exclusive offer.

It would be a shame to dismiss these seminars as useless, simply because an hour of valuable information is concluded with a 10-15 minute offer.  Purchasing any offer presented is NOT mandatory, and certainly doesn’t invalidate the preceding talk.

Additionally, the time in between the seminar sessions (from breakfast, through to very late at night) is a valuable opportunity to meet like-minded people, and to talk to experienced and successful internet marketers from all over the world.  This makes the total time spent listening to promotions on any given day, just one out of 14-20 hours of informative and entertaining discussions.

It should also be noted that these promotions are how the organisers are able to offer such an affordable price of entry.  Many workshop and seminars in different fields can run into thousands of dollars, but by contrast, the UK Focus Marketing Seminar is just £97.

If you’re able to spend a vast amount of money to attend a pitch-free event, then go right ahead.  But if you’re on a tighter budget, then IM events like these are an affordable way to join in.

MYTH #2 - “I’m a newbie, so I’ll be out of my depth.”

At the first IM event I atteneded, I estimated that approximately 95% of the attendees I spoke to, were still juggling a day-job with their fledgling home business.

People from all levels attend these events, but no matter how green you might think you are, you can almost guarantee there will be others there who know less than you do.

And even if that wasn’t the case, it’s often the inexperienced who benefit the most.

There are a few things that can propel your home business forward faster, than meeting and forging business relationships with other internet marketers.

MYTH #3 - “I’m better at learning out of a book.”

You can hear something discussed in an IM seminar lecture that you’ve heard a dozen times before, but suddenly, hearing someone talk about in context causes the penny to drop.

You might be great at training yourself in the quiet of your office, but there will be nuggets of valuable information that you will discover at a marketing event, that would otherwise pass you by.

And the one thing a book can never give you, is the small stack of business cards you’ll take home with you from an event.  Each one, containing the email address and phone number of a person with whom you can keep in contact.

Emailing someone you’ve met and spoken to face to face is vastly different to communicating with someone you’ve only connected with through the net.

————–

Usually I conclude discussions on internet marketing seminars with a strong suggestion to find your nearest event and register without delay.

I’m not going to break that habit here, but I’m especially keen to encourage you to attend this years UK Focus Marketing Seminar on October 17-19.  It’s a great event, and one of the main attractions is the moderate size (approx 100 people attended last year).  It helps contribute to a relaxed atmosphere, and it means the speakers can mingle with the delegates at the end of each day without having to fear being mobbed.

And of course, it would be great to meet some of my readers in person.

If you spot me, come over and let me know you read The Lucid Blog and I’ll be first to buy you a drink.

For more information on the UK Focus Marketing Seminar 2008, click the image below, or CLICK HERE.

This entry was posted on Monday, September 15th, 2008 at 4:14 pm and is filed under Events, Home Business, Internet Marketing, Reviews, Training. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.