You all know Heather Robson, Wealthy Web Writer’s managing editor. Let me also introduce Michele Peterson and Kimberly (Kim) Weitkamp. They joined Heather to discuss how a little planning and preparation can help you get the most out of attending a live event, whether that event is in person or virtual.
Michele has been a freelance copywriter for 11 years. In addition to writing for Wealthy Web Writer, she has a number of small companies as clients. She writes emails, landing pages, funnels, and other types of copy. She enjoys helping her clients get their messages out and make some money.
Kim has been a full-time copywriter for about six years. She writes for Wealthy Web Writer and AWAI, and her other clients are all entrepreneurs. She writes landing pages, funnel copy, emails, and launch copy.
Like Michele, she loves talking with business owners and making sure their messaging matches what it’s like to work with them. She enjoys helping them stand out online.
Heather told us she met both Michele and Kim at live events. That’s one reason she loves live events — the connections she makes. But they also give her a chance to hone her existing skills, market herself, and learn new skills.
Without in-person events during the past 18 months, and the pivot to virtual events, it’s important to get the same advantage from a virtual event as you would in person.
Michele and Kim each have some favorite things about live events, whether in person or virtual.
Kim likes the opportunity to meet a lot of people. “That’s my purpose for going,” she explained. “It’s a great way to get information, but also to meet other people who could become clients, colleagues, or referral sources.”
Michele’s favorite moments from in-person events almost always revolve around connecting with other people. “You get the learning,” she elaborated, “but my favorite moments at live events are having coffee or lunch with others. Those really stand out.”
Heather pointed out that, as writers working from home, we risk feeling isolated. She loves the learning, but “it really is the chance to make connections. It’s wonderful to hear other writers’ stories and their successes.”
Through live events, Heather has made connections that have led to friendships, as well as “excellent colleagues and collaborators.”
Michele agreed, reminding Heather of a time at Bootcamp when she had a chance to hang out with Heather and Brian Clark. “I had a little bit of a fangirl moment with Brian,” she added. “He was so great.”
Kim told us about a group she connected with even before attending her first Bootcamp.
She was looking for a roommate, and a forum had been created for that purpose. Kim met her roommates virtually before the Bootcamp, and from that came a group of people who are still meeting together every week.
Her favorite memory was “sitting down to coffee with these people I had connected with online and getting to meet them in person and really make that connection.”
Heather noted that sometimes something will happen at an event that will “trigger a whole domino effect.”
She told us how she watched an epic, two-day tennis match at Wimbledon in 2010, and read the accompanying live blog. As the match went on and on and on, “the blogger got punchier and punchier,” Heather recounted.
“Then I had this moment,” she said. “I thought, I should do a live blog of Web Intensive.” Heather pitched the idea of bringing real time updates of the live event to the Wealthy Web Writer audience. Rebecca Matter (AWAI’s president) thought it was a great idea.
While live blogging at the Web Intensive, Heather met Mark Everett Johnson, copy chief at Rodale. “He had a control for Prevention magazine that ran for a very long time — it might still be running,” she told us.
Heather had a casual conversation with him before she knew who he was. “He was just a person in my vicinity,” she told us. “We really hit it off, and I ended up working with him for six years.”
You never know where the conversations you have during an event will lead.
How to Prepare for a Live Event
Heather asked Michele and Kim what they do to prepare for a live event, whether it’s in person or virtual.
Kim commented that, outside of packing, her preparation is the same for both.
First, she makes sure her schedule is clear during and for a couple of days after the event. “I find it’s really important to be there 100 percent,” she said. “You only get as much as you give.” If you’re going to spend time away from your business, you want to get the most out of it.
One of Kim’s most important goals involves meeting people. She decides how many people she wants to have a real, in-depth conversation with, not just an introduction. “If you don’t set those intentions, they’re not going to happen,” she said.
Michele also clears her schedule completely. If there’s a speaker she’s not familiar with, she researches them ahead of time. If they’re active on social media, she’ll also follow and start commenting on what they post.
If there’s a social media hashtag for the event, Michele uses it. “I’ll start posting that I’m going and searching the hashtags so I can see who else is going,” she told us. Doing so has helped her meet people who’ve become friends and colleagues.
Heather agreed that clearing your schedule is vital. “I’ve been to some where I haven’t managed to clear my schedule, and there’s a night-and-day difference between the experience,” she said.
Heather noted that both Michele and Kim have planned online events. “What suggestions do you make to your attendees to help them prepare?” she asked.
“Make sure you clear your schedule,” Kim said with a laugh.
She tells attendees that it’s tempting, since you’re on your computer anyway, to check email or do something else. “That stuff will still be there,” she tells them. She advises them to “treat it like an investment in you and your business” by telling family and friends you’re unavailable and setting an out-of-office reminder.
She also advises attendees to have a calendar, pen, and paper in front of them, and gives them tips on how to be fully present.
Michele agreed, adding that some people prefer to take their notes digitally, “but I encourage people to take notes with pen and paper to cement what they’re learning.”
Michele also suggests that they set their intention at the start of each day, and each time they come back from a break.
Using Social Media During an Event
“How do you use social media during an event?” Heather asked next.
Michele posts and uses the event hashtag, “which helps visibility and lets you connect with people who’ve also been there.”
Another advantage of being social — when you let people know you’re investing in yourself, “they’re more likely to want to connect and work with you,” Michele said.
Kim’s approach is different. She finds it distracting to post on social media during an event, so instead she joins groups that are part of the event. She starts making connections prior to event and maintains those connections afterward.
When Heather sees people hashtagging an event, she says, “I’ll often seek them out and get feedback from them. Sometimes that leads to a writing relationship.”
Using Chat Rooms at a Virtual Event
Finding ways to interact with people at a virtual event, where you’re usually inside a chat room, is different from striking up a conversation at an in-person event.
Kim noted that chat rooms can get overwhelming, so for her it’s all about setting intentions. Decide what you want to do, and find topics around that, she suggested.
Before joining a chat room or breakout room, write down two or three things you want people to know you for and two or three things you want to provide advice on. Also jot down the types of people you want to meet. “That helps you navigate and find which conversations you want to participate in,” she told us.
Michele explained that it’s important to “just do it.” It’s tempting, when there’s an optional breakout room, to take a break instead.
“You don’t have to be everything to everyone,” she reminded us, so decide what you want to be known for and “use that to guide you in your conversations. Stick with what you do best.”
She also described a pet peeve. Unless a speaker asks for specific input in the chat window during a session, Michele noted that carrying on a conversation in the chat window means you’re not being 100 percent present.
Note Taking
Heather wanted to know what tips Michele and Kim could offer about taking good notes during a session.
Michele uses pen and paper, and either a spiral notebook or a clipboard with sheets of paper. She uses one side of the page for notes, and the other side to jot down ideas that come to her during the session.
Afterward, she goes back with a highlighter. She highlights ideas in yellow and action items (things she wants to implement) in green. If there are people she wants to connect with, she highlights their names in pink.
Kim agrees that taking notes by hand is “more impactful.”
She has a designated notebook for events, and she also brings her calendar and planner. “When I want to make note of an action item I want to take, I put it on the calendar. Then things actually get done,” she said.
Heather added another tip. She also uses a spiral notebook, and at the top corner of each page she notes the speaker and topic, making it faster to find things later.
How to Introduce Yourself
One of the live webinar attendees asked for suggestions on how to introduce yourself at an online speed networking event when there’s no way to connect ahead of time.
Kim suggested writing an elevator pitch beforehand and creating a shareable document with “the most common things you’ll want to share. Include your name, specialty, and who you help.”
At a speed networking event, “you don’t have a lot of time,” she added, “so set aside time afterward to follow up.”
Michele suggested keeping that document open in front of you during the event so it’s easy to copy and paste into the chat window.
“You have to follow up,” she agreed. “The only thing you can do at a speed networking event is to figure out who you want to connect with later.”
For quickly conveying what she does, Heather writes a sentence that tells the reader or listener, “I do X for Y to help them get Z.”
How to Connect with People at a Hybrid Event
Another webinar attendee wanted to know how she could effectively connect with both in-person and virtual attendees at a two-and-a-half-day event she’s sponsoring and speaking at.
“Trying to connect with both is like trying to focus on an elephant and the Statue of Liberty at the same time,” Michele observed. “Our brains don’t multitask. I think you have to focus on one at a time.”
“While you’re in person, be fully present with those people,” she advised, “then with the virtual, set aside a separate amount of time to connect with them so you’re not trying to do it all at once.”
Kim advised her to maximize her in-person time by being present anytime there’s live networking going on in the room. “If there’s a time in the schedule when you don’t have to be in the room, you can use that time to join the virtual group,” she added. Use online groups before and after the event.
As online liaison for Wealthy Web Writer events, Heather often has to divide her time. Typically, she’ll listen to the speaker and take notes for about 15 minutes, then duck out and put the top tip she’s heard into the live blog and social media. Then she returns to the live session.
“Outside of that, when I’m in the hallways or in the bar, I don’t do social media,” she said. Instead, she puts the phone away and focuses on the people.
She blocks time to go to her room a couple of times a day to handle the virtual tasks.
Sometimes during the event, Heather shoots some video to use on social media. She plans ahead of time and makes sure she has all the equipment and cords she needs.
How to Offer an Incentive
A webinar attendee wanted to know how to offer something like a free report during an in-person event, as an incentive to connect later.
Michele suggested using the back of your business card. “It’s prime real estate” for a call to action, she pointed out. As you hand the card to someone, mention what’s on the back.
Kim also uses her business card but creates a special event page to link to on the card. Instead of sending people to her homepage, she sends them to the event page, which she created especially to network with people she meets at events.
“It links to a calendar, a free report, and it also has a really short summary describing where we met,” she explained.
Kim also recommended tailoring your follow-up free report specifically to what you discussed at the event. “If you have a free report you send to everybody but your conversation with that person was something different, don’t put it forward in your follow-up email,” she suggested.
Have a Follow-up Plan
“What do you do to make sure you have a plan to follow up with the people you’ve met once the event is over?” Heather asked.
Kim uses the day immediately after the event to rest and recover, then starts her follow-up on the second day. She prioritizes, reaching out first to the best leads. She also sets aside a couple of hours every day for follow-up during the week after the event.
Michele also plans to rest on the day after the event, and then she prioritizes her follow-up efforts and spends some time each day for the next few days reaching out to her connections.
She reminds people when and where they met, and always tries to provide some value. “I like to lead with helping somebody first so it’s not just me trying to get something from them,” she explained.
She also looks at the action items she’s written down, and assigns herself time to work on them this week, this month, and at times in the future.
Best Advice for Future Events
“What’s your number one piece of advice for someone with a virtual event coming up?” Heather asked.
Michele responded succinctly. “Be present. Take good care of yourself physically. Drink water, get up and stretch.”
Kim’s best advice was a reminder to set goals ahead of time and write them down. The goals should focus on the conversations you want to have and what you want to get out of the event.
Don’t write down money goals, she said — you’re not likely to book work at the event.
Heather added one more piece of advice — clear one or two days after the event to start your follow-up. “You get so much more out of the event when you take that time to implement all the good things that happened during.”
And if you plan to attend AWAI’s virtual Bootcamp next week, “you can definitely approach me in the chat rooms,” she added.
