Run a Conference, Then Invite Bloggers
If you run any kind of industry event, be sure to put bloggers on your invite list. It's a no-brainer. That's what our team did with the Association of National Advertiser's Marketing Accountability Forum yesterday. We invited Tom Biro to blog it over at AdJab.






I agree! There's something in it for both the conference and the blogger. I blogged the ad:tech conference in Chicago for adrants and will also be blogging the Search Engine Strategies Conference in San Jose next month. As a blogger I have a strong motivation to promote those posts, which are in turn, great promotion for the conference.
Posted by:Lee Odden | Thursday, July 21, 2005 at 05:21 PM
It's anything but a no-brainer, but the exact opposite.
Where do you draw the line? Anyone can set-up a blog, claim to be part of the media, and demand to come to a conference for free on a press pass. There goes the revenue stream - sorry, conferences are about money or at least recouping costs - and then there goes conferences.
Yes, inviting bloggers is a tactic, just like inviting freelancers or pundits. Inviting the right blogger is what matters ... but, as always, it isn't the silver bullet ... just one more part of the mix.
Posted by:Jeremy Pepper | Thursday, July 21, 2005 at 10:14 PM
Jeremy,
As a person who has been a conference organizer at my last two day jobs, I know exactly what you're saying. I don't think that Steve was suggesting inviting bloggers willy-nilly. I was invited as press, and attended as such. Your points are valid, but I think Steve's point was that there is more to "press" than just some trades and newspapers, when you make the right contacts.
Posted by:Tom | Friday, July 22, 2005 at 03:15 PM
Tom, I agree, but where do you draw the line? If we talk about citizen journalism, and how even that one small blogger can lead to a groundswell of posts, who do you turn away at the door?
Yes, bloggers do need to be on the media list - but I'm asking who do you end up deciding to turn away?
Posted by:Jeremy Pepper | Sunday, July 24, 2005 at 11:17 PM