Are Events Worth It? Here’s What We’ve Learned

In episode #2864, Eric Siu and Neil Patel share key lessons from speaking at This Is Marketing in Frankfurt, Germany. They reveal what to look for in event attendance numbers, the power of focus for long-term success, and why they’re scaling back on events. Stick around! Don’t forget to help us grow by subscribing and liking on YouTube! Check out more of Eric’s content (Leveling UP YT) and Neil’s videos (Neil Patel YT) TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES: (00:00) Insights from a Major Marketing Event (02:58) The Importance of Focus in Business (04:23) That’s it for today! Don’t forget to rate, review, and subscribe! Go to https://www.marketingschool.io to learn more! Leave Some Feedback: What should we talk about next? Did you enjoy this episode? If so, please leave a short review. Connect with Us: Single Grain << Eric’s ad agency NP Digital << Neil’s ad agency X @neilpatel X @ericosiu

• 0:00Speaker 00

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• 0:54Speaker 00

  What are some key lessons we can call out? Like, what do we talk about there? Let's start with that. You go first, and then I'll go.

• 0:59Speaker 01

  So I'll start with a lesson that I learned from the conference organizer before we get into our own lessons. The first lesson is, when you go to an event, of course, you're looking for the right audience. On top of that, you're looking for more people to attend. Most conferences, when they say they have 5,000 attendees, have, and if it's a two-day event, they have 2,500 attendees per day, so they add it up to 5,000.

• 1:25Speaker 00

  Fake news.

• 1:25Speaker 01

  It's the same people over and over going to the event, so it's really, in my eyes, 2,500. But this event, they actually had 5,000 attendees per day. And I learned this from the organizer, because they were breaking down a lot of the events Eric and I go to or know about, and how they skew the numbers. I'm like, oh, this is really important for us to know as marketers. If you're going for networking, or speaking, or sponsorships, anything like that, you want to make sure you're going to events that have a real number. So you want to ask them, how many people per day are going to the event, versus what's the total number?

• 2:01Speaker 00

  And by the way, Marcel and his wife Luisa, so they threw this conference, and they've been growing this conference every year. Last year was actually 2,500 people. This year is 5,000 people concurrent at the event today. And- I think what's also inspirational is that Marcel watched one of the biggest marketing conferences in the United States grow and he's actually surpassed them in terms of size this year, right? And it just goes to show you that as long as you continue to focus on a thing, it will eventually compound and all of a sudden he's like, oh my God, it's bigger than what inspired me to start this in the first place. And having a conversation too, he loves doing this event, but his main business is growing. And we did have the conversation about focus is what we've been talking about over and over. And even at dinner yesterday, we had a dinner and there's

• 2:43Speaker 00

  a 20-year-old kid, very smart kid, right? And he was asking, you know, what's kind of the secret? Like, what do I need to know to be successful? And then we kind of all just said the same thing to him, like, you guys focus on one thing and just do it for a very long time. And we're seeing the same thing play out here, too.

• 2:57Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 2:58Speaker 00

  All right. So I wanted to take a second to tell you about the Agency Owners Association. So this is a agency peer group ran by my podcast co-host Neil Patel and myself, Eric Su. And these were nine and eight-figure agency owners, respectively. And what I will say is, at the end of the day, you want to learn from people that have been there, done that. If you want to grow your agency to seven figures, eight figures, and beyond, this is the group for you. And we bring in other agency owners to speak as well. And it's a great peer group where you can help each other out. And you're going to learn how to acquire more clients, you're going to learn how to take yourself out of the day-to-day, and to build the business of your dreams. And the cool thing, till November 30th, we are holding a special price, and you can apply at marketingschool.io/agency. And the great thing about it as well, if you try to get into group, there's a seven-day free trial, right? So, once November 30th hits, we're going to increase the

• 3:43Speaker 00

  price by $200 per month. So right now, you're getting it at the lowest price possible. So go to marketingschool.io/agency to learn more, and we'll see you inside. You guys even do events yourself, too, right?

• 3:53Speaker 01

  We do events, although we're slowing down on the conferences and events for 2025.

• 3:58Speaker 00

  We should talk about that. So, interestingly enough, we did an episode maybe like a month ago or so, and Neil was like, you know, I think I'm gonna do three events a month, and you know, I'm gonna set a budget aside for it, and let's just go, right? And then we had a conversation a couple of days ago. He's like, yeah, you know, I think I'm gonna dial it back, so go ahead.

• 4:17Speaker 01

  Yeah, I think events are amazing place to generate business. And...

• 4:23Speaker 01

  I do think if I spoke at one event in EMEA, one event in Americas, and one event in APAC on a monthly basis, my business would grow much faster. But then I also look at family and how me traveling so much impacts family. And at the end of the day, I was like, is extra money not worth not being home? And I'd rather not have the cash or the growth or the net worth than seeing my kids grow.

• 4:56Speaker 00

  Yeah, that is it for today. Again, from Frankfurt, Germany, this is Marketing School. And don't forget to rate, review, subscribe, and go to marketingschool.io/agency if you want to join the Agency Owners Association. And we'll see you tomorrow.