5 Reasons Not to Attend a Conference

The age-old question: to attend a conference or not to attend? As conferences become more ubiquitous, it seems there are a lot of reasons not to attend.

Marketing conferences are ubiquitous these days. There’s one in every city, one every month (and probably every week) of the year. With so many conferences out there, how can you tell the good ones from the bad? How can you be sure attending a conference is worth the money?

When it comes to the choice to attend a conference or not to attend a conference, not attending is always the easier choice. And we understand. There are a lot of reasons not to go to most marketing conferences. Reasons like…

1. Networking is exhausting.

You make a good point. Who wants to rub shoulders with leading digital marketers for 48 hours straight? Plus you’ll probably have to reprint your business cards. What a pain! That's a good enough reason to sit one out.

But… we have inside information that teams from Aetna, Microsoft, StubHub and more will be at C3 this spring. Those conversations could take your marketing strategy to the next level. (Past attendees certainly think so.)

2. You’re saving up money for your Q4 marketing team bonding activity.

Hey, we get it. Everyone has done the happy hour, escape the room, shuffleboard bonding event. You’re trying to step up your game. And while we fully support your team’s plans for that retreat in the Catskills, we want to see you in New York in March.

And besides, don’t you know how cold it is in the Catskills this time of year? So come to C3 instead, and have the time of your life.

3. The food at marketing conferences always sucks.

There’s nothing worse than a cold lunch served in a dingy conference auditorium. But word on the street is that there may be a repeat appearance of cake pops at C3 this year. And did you hear that last year there was a Bloody Mary bar?

When it comes to conference food, we’re balling out with Marie Antoinette-like decadence. The time has come to let conference attendees eat cake (pops).

4. You’re worried the speakers are going to try and sell to you.

Ugh, we’ve been burnt before too. Inevitably there’s always one speaker at a marketing conference who tempts you with the promise of an amazing session and then launches into a product-demo.

But take it from us, C3 won’t be about selling you something – not from us or any of our speakers. We’ll take the time other speakers have used to sell to you, and instead deliver insights, actionable strategies and the quality marketing tips and tactics you’re hungry for.

5. Your workload is way too crazy for you to take two days off and come to NYC.

We understand your pain. Does the marketer's workload ever stop piling up? And, while taking time off for any conference can delay getting work done, every once in a while you need to step back and look at the marketing masterpiece you’re creating.

You’ll walk away feeling reenergized and excited to get back to work. Not to mention, the insights you'll bring home will take your marketing strategies to the next level and more than make up for your time away. So take a load off for a few days and join us in New York City. Share your ideas and learn fresh strategies from leading marketers.

As we said from the start, there are a lot of reasons not to attend a conference. Our advice? Attend a conference for the people, for the opportunities to learn, and for the insights that you can bring back home.

We’re a little biased, but C3 is one you won’t want to miss.