Why you should join a paid conference

"Hi bro, any complimentary tickets?"

A guy asked me after I posted about Underdog Ad Con.

"Oh, I don't have complimentary tickets. But happy to give you a small discount. Just to cover the cost of venue and food. I'm sure you'll understand", I said

"Didn't allocate tickets for giveaways? It'll create good buzz. It's good to give away a few tickets..."

Appreciate the advice, but no thanks.

Two quick reasons.

#1 - Everyone else does that!

Everyone wants you to be vanilla. Others are doing it, why aren't you??

Marketing is a battle of perception. You cannot be plain and regular if you want people to notice.

Taken from the 22 immutable laws of marketing:

It's better to be first, than it is to be better.

If you can't be first – create a new category and be first in it.

Every other conference organizer gives away free tickets to minimize the risk of having nobody show up at the event. What's the difference between Underdog Ad Con and every other conference – if we do the same damn thing?

#2 - Those who pay, pay attention

What's the reason you'd attend a conference?

To get access to key individuals.
To learn something new.
To network and promote their business.
For a change of environment & perspective – especially after being in front of the computer for too long.

Now who would you meet at FREE conferences?

Uncommitted & carefree people. They have not paid for the event, so it's their lowest priority to attend and take the event seriously. I've seen people turn up at free events and then spend most of their time scrolling on their phones. They are disinterested and they even hoard the buffet line.

Why attend an event if you're going to spend all your time scrolling on Instagram? Do that at home!

People at paid events are different. They show up early. They dress up. They come prepared and are present.

Who would you rather do business with?

Fight for value

It can be tempting – for any business, not just event organizers, to provide products and services for free. The logic is simple. Have people try your stuff for free and if they like it, they'll come back for more.

But free isn't a great marketing tool that many of us have been led to believe.

When you give away your services and products for free, you signal that you and your products have no value.

Meet great people at Underdog Ad Con

Underdog Con never gives out free tickets. I know that may sound arrogant. But it's because we fight hard to bring together only great, serious people. People that you'd want to meet.

That's why it feels different attending Underdog Con. The atmosphere is different. The speakers are different. The people are different.