Marketplace Conference 2018 was a blast! Thirty speakers from different successful companies and ventures graced this San Francisco-based event. One of these is Brian Rothenberg.

Brian is currently the GM and the VP of Eventbrite. Aside from these, he is also the growth advisor/expert network advisor of reputable companies such as First Round Capital’s Expert Network. Given these titles under his belt, he worked his way to look for growth processes and channels that can be scaled and duplicated.

You can say that he got where he is now by due diligence and resourcefulness. One can be just as driven to only a point but simply went above and beyond the theories of marketing. He practically aligned the concepts of , engineering, and marketing
and turned it into a living, breathing manifestation of knowledge application.

Organizing Conference
Speaking of the hype from marketplace events like this one, what more awesome way to give back to your industry than by organizing a simple conference yourself. It doesn’t have to be as grand as this conference. Some helpful insights here can help you get started:

  • Determine the goal of the conference and set a theme around this.
  • Enlist interested people to collaborate with you.
  • Set a date and look for a nice venue.

List down established speakers and key people in the industry.

  • Raise your sponsors.
  • Set up an efficient ticketing system.
  • Advertise this event.

Raising Sponsors for Your Event
You can say this is a form of brand marketing. With the right people and resources, you can find the best ways to fundraise your event through your vendors. Take note of the following tips:

  • Ask away! There is no other effective way but this. A concise but well-constructed e-mail can get you started. Include important details such as date, place, and reason you want to push through with your event.
  • Set up a page where people and firms can provide funds.
  • Resort to social media pages for assistance.

Aside from fundraising, consider setting up a collaboration meeting with everyone
involved. This will help set expectations and delegate tasks before, during, and after the
event.

Inviting Talented Speakers
This is one of the most difficult yet important tasks in organizing an event. Here are some tips to make it easier:

  • Check for local personalities who live in your area.
  • Use e-mail campaigns to search for possible leads.
  • Look for public speaking groups and see if there are members who are interested
    to participate.
  • Use your social media accounts to conduct the search for the right people.

Create a good invitation letter for guest speaker and send them to the ones you shortlisted. Make the overall tone formal. Provide all the necessary info, in the same manner, you did when sending out your conference invitation to your potential sponsors.
Also state the theme and possible topics. This will help them gauge if they are a good fit for the event.

The Takeaway

  • Attending conferences and taking part in the organizing team can help you raise
    awareness for your brand and expand your network.
  • Keen perception to learn and the right outlook in organizing a conference will
    bring you great experiences and a new skillset to boot.
  • In raising sponsors, get straight to the point and have a systematic way to gather
    sponsorships and contributions. Thank everyone for their help.
  • When inviting speakers, set specific criteria for choosing key people to discuss
    topics. This will make the selection process much easier.