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Search Engines Strategies - You Are Losing Me

Posted By: mikelowery 629 days ago
Topic Type: News Story (Jump to http://www.shoemoney.com)
Category: Water Cooler

Jeremy Schoemaker gives some great points about why the Search Engine Strategies conference is going downhill fast.

13 Comments

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from zacharyfox 628 days ago #

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I was slated at first to attend SES but then after learning they are no longer compensating speakers like they have been in the past it made a super easy decision for me.

That would make my choice easy too. Not to mention the -10 degree weather in Chicago in December.

from JakePM 628 days ago #

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nice - well said. i hear you Shoe.

from toprank 627 days ago #

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Granted, I'm speaking at Pubcon and not SES Chicago, but characterizing SES as going downhill because they're changing their speaker compensation policy? Riiiight. I suspect SES won't be the travelling party it was under Danny's rule, but maybe there's a segment of the corp world that wants a more business oriented event? There's a place for both scenarios in my opinion: fun/casual and formal/corporate. In the end, it's just a business.

from JamesOmdahl 627 days ago #

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Hey - out of curiosity, what was the "compensation" that speakers recieved? Was it an actual fee or just money to cover travel and lodging costs? Thanks in advance!

from Lisaweb 626 days ago #

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I've posted my view in another thread, but it goes well here too. I've been to SES more times than I can count, and with the time invested vs. knowledge imparted, I can't see any further reason to attend other than if I got paid to go by an employer, like some who are able to attend do. Being self-employed, the last thing I want to do is miss an entire week of work for the esteemed privilege of seeing in person what will surely be reported, digested and regurgitated on nearly every SEO blog and here on Sphinn.

But then again - those parties! And all the inside stuff you can learn by slamming drinks down with those over-inebriated ego-filled Google employees - woo hoo! Almost makes it worth it!

from IncrediBILL 626 days ago #

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Any show in Chicago is just an excuse to get a chance to eat at Manny's Deli which was about a quick 2 mile cab ride from SES last December. The matzo ball soup, corned beef and pastrami were divine and worth the trip all on their own.

I guess some of us have hidden agendas for being speakers ;)

from johnandrews 626 days ago #

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I don't believe in "pay to appear" (or "sponsored panels", where you pay to be a speaker) and I think it lowers quality. But most conference people know that. I thought most speakers did, too.

Lee's right that SES is changing... partnership with Kelsey in LA is an example, and that Board of Advisors is another. Personally, I'd like to see someone other than the usual SES clique picking speakers anyway.

from EricaAdapt 626 days ago #

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I think the quality of the sessions & info presented is determined directly by the feedback received about the presenters. Good quality speakers will always re-present in the future, badly-evaluated ones will be naturally deselected. And the session topics as well. If something is poorly attended or rated, then it won't come back...

Yes, the event will be live-blogged to death (witness the SMX social coverage this week) and presentations available after the fact, so why attend? Well, I agree with one of Shoemoney's commenters in that the in-person attendance results in some great inspirations and ideas.

I believe the only "compensation" received by speakers in the past was a free conference pass. (still that's worth like $1700, so...)

from mikelowery 626 days ago #

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Well most people missed my points and focused on the "compensation" thing.. o well ;)

@Erica - I get the feeling either you have never been to a conference or you have never spoken or maybe both? If you think that speakers only get a free pass then you really dont know ;)

Also I would just like to be clear I never asked ever for any compensation to speak and also I have never pitched to speak. I have always been asked any any compensation I have recieved be it passes, hotel rooms and/or stipen was offered to me.

I dunno why everyone focuses so much on speakers being compensated...... I doubt any speaker is doing it for the money.

from randfish 626 days ago #

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Speaker compensation - I can certainly address that. I've spoken at 3 or more SES conferences each year since 2004, and was only "compensated" (given a free hotel room) once, when I flew to Germany to give a 1.5 hour session by myself. The only other compensation I ever received was a conference pass (which, granted, has a high value in itself).

I don't want to speculate or create or perpetuate rumors, but I do think it's valuable to at least share that relevant experience.

from dannysullivan 626 days ago #

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Well, I can address it better, since I programmed the majority of SES events :)

The vast majority of speakers receive no compensation other than a full conference pass and the exposure in presenting. The vast majority of speakers also find that to be plenty of compensation, in my experience. Passes are indeed expensive. If you suddenly find yourself no longer a speaker for some reason and having to buy one, you realize that real fast (I've been in this situation myself). FYI, for those that think passes don't cost anything, food alone (yes, even horrible box lunches) for three or four days costs per person over $100 if not more. Hotel food is a major rip-off over which conference organizers have little control). Speaking is also one of the ways many people gain new and qualified clients.

What speaking budget I had tended to go to the smaller more consultant-oriented people who didn't have a larger company that could absorb sending them out. It also tended to go to speakers who proved themselves repeatedly over time, with a little hotel coverage, maybe some travel coverage and in a few cases, actual speaking stipends.

As said, most speakers aren't doing it for the money. They're doing it usually because they simply enjoy being leaders, with the pass being a nice perk and any client gains a bigger perk. Few actually asked for compensation over the years, which underscores that it was more an effort of love. For those that did, if I could accomodate them, I tried. For some, I would actually surprise them with some coverage simply to reward what a great job they did.

And FYI, before you all hit me up for SMX, we're even tighter than however SES is/was. I was pretty up-front with folks about this for SMX Advanced, that we aren't a giant company and that we're still building up our attendance and presense in the space. It's still going to be largely a case of presenting because you feel the ticket, exposure and leadership position are the driving factors.

from johnandrews 623 days ago #

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Thanks Danny for two things: explaining your approach, and taking an approach that demonstrates you think through the details.

In other fields, the majority of the paying attendees fuel the conference business, and the conference makes sure the show is good for them by doing what it takes to book the desired speakers. Marketing seems to be one of those special cases, where every attendee is hirself a marketer... kinda makes it tough. Still, though, if you don't make an effort to bring people in, you run the risk of only presenting your friends and their friends, and the corresponding persepectives.

from Jill 622 days ago #

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From a speaker's perspective, this is a tricky issue. I can't say that a whole lot of business comes out of conference speaking. So taking a few days or a week out of a busy schedule when you could be working on billable stuff instead, is quite a trade-off.

On the one hand, speaking at conferences definitely builds credibility. But how much credibility does one need? Does speaking at a few provide the appropriate amount of credibility? Or do you need to be at every conference to really gain the benefit from your speaking opportunities.

This is not to say that clients don't come from speaking opps., it's just that it is more of a long-term proposition. The clients I've gained from past speaking, usually take 6 mos. to a year to cultivate. It seems that someone attends a conf. hoping to learn how to do it themselves, then in 6 months they realize they don't have the time or enough knowledge and they start calling around to some of the folks they saw speaking at the conference. Of course, when that happens, you're competing with the best of the best -- at least in terms of speakers. And although people might be great speakers it doesn't mean that they necessarily know how to do the actual work necessary for clients. (Which may be missed on many potential clients.)

So it's tricky. I'm always surprised at just how much money some in the industry pay out in order to speak at all the conferences. On the otherhand, that's often their 1 marketing activity that they have a budget for, in which case, it's probably good business sense. And of course, with 90% of speakers happy to do it without any compensation, it certainly makes it difficult to receive any compensation, whether you deserve it or not. It's always in the back of your mind that there's usually going to be someone happy to take your spot for free. Whether they will be as good, is hard to say, but will the average conference attendee know the difference? Probably not.

I don't blame SES for taking away the compensation they were giving some folks, but I do wonder if the quality of speakers and the information provided will decline somewhat because of it. It's one thing giving away all your tried and true methods when you're being paid to do so, but giving it away just to show you know what you're talking about is a trickier proposition.