Since I’ve been to Content Marketing World several times and I spoke at the conference last year, I often get asked if I think fellow writers should attend Content Marketing World. I think writers assume that I’m going to wholeheartedly recommend the conference. But honestly, the answer really depends on the writer. Some freelance writers who have gone have found it worthwhile while others have not.

What is Content Marketing World?

Content Marketing World is a huge conference dedicated completely to content marketing and hosted by Content Marketing Institute. It’s held in Cleveland every year. Over 3,000 people who work for brands and agencies that create content attend. More freelancers have begun attending in the past few years, but freelancers are still a very small portion of the attendees, which is a good thing.

Wow, it’s an expensive conference.

OK, so that’s not a question, but it’s comment that I often hear. Yes, it is expensive, but it’s actually not as expensive as it appears on the surface. This is because the conference has a lot of events and meals included in the base price. Also, look at the main conference price separately; don’t just get stuck on the all-inclusive pass, which includes video recordings and pre/post-conference workshops. If you register before June 2nd, the main conference is $1095. And if you look on Twitter using the #CMW hashtag, you can often find $100 off coupons.

What makes the conference less expensive than it appears is that both years I have spent very little money once I arrived in Cleveland. The conference price includes a welcome party the night before the conference with drinks and food, definitely enough to make a meal. Breakfast and lunch are also included during the conference (and it’s really good food). Also, hotel rooms in Cleveland are reasonably priced, and the conference is located very close to great restaurants if you want to go out (so you can walk, rather than pay for Uber).This year the conference includes 2 1/2 days instead of two days so you get an even better value.

Do I need to attend the pre- and post-conference workshops as a freelance writer?

You can if you are interested in the topics, but I don’t think it’s necessary. The majority of attendees come for just the main conference so you won’t feel left out. However, if a topic interests you and you want to come, writers who have attended the sessions have said that it was easier to meet other people because it was a smaller and more focused group. But if you are trying to save money or are not interested in any of the workshops, attending just the main conference will definitely give you a complete CMW experience.

5 Questions to Determine if You Should Attend Content Marketing World

Here are five questions that I think will help you decide which category you are likely to fall into.

1. Do you really like content marketing? I have found that writers who attend CMW but are just doing content marketing to pay the bills or because they think they should do more of this type of writing are the less likely to think it was a good investment. Writers who focus the majority of their business on content marketing (or want to) and who spend time keeping up with the industry and learning more about content marketing are the ones who tend to find the event worth the time and money. I also think that if you are interested in learning more about content strategy as opposed to simply writing content, then I think that there is a higher liklihood you will find the conference valuable since much of the conference focuses on the strategy portion not just how to actually write a great piece of content.

2. Are there sessions on the schedule that genuinely interest you? Many writers attend CMW because lots of people who hire content marketing writers attend. While that is true, I find that the writers who attend CMW solely for this purpose are the ones who are the least happy with CMW. I personally find the conference very relevant and even inspiring, but then again, when I go through the schedule I have a hard time picking which sessions I want to attend because there are so many that I am interested in attending.

My biggest piece of advice is to go through the agenda and see if you can find sessions that you are interested in attending for learning’s sake. The sessions are geared at content marketers not specifically writers, but many contain information that are applicable to freelancers, such as SEO, Social Media and creating interesting content. If you find sessions you want to attend, then odds are that this combined with networking will make it worthwhile. If you really just aren’t that interested in the sessions, then I would recommend going to another conference.

3. Are you comfortable networking? At many writers’ conferences, meetings are organized by the conference for writers to meet with clients. At CMW you have to do cold networking throughout the conference to find potential clients and this means having a lot of conversations. There is a great app with information about everyone attending that can help you pinpoint people to target, but it’s such a big event that some of it is who you happen to run into or sit next to at a session. If you are not going to proactively approach people and strike up conversations, then you will likely not get enough ROI from the conference. But if you are willing to network, then you will more than likely leave with a pocket full of cards. I also found that, by going with another writer or two, we could be on the lookout for potential clients for one another, which is a huge benefit since with 3K people, you simply are only going to be able to talk to a small percentage of the conference attendees.

4. Are you going to follow up with your contacts? This may sound silly, but this is my biggest problem. I leave with a stack of cards and never follow up. You also have to be willing to continue to build relationships and follow up over time. While you might get lucky and get a new client right away, most often it takes time. I had several writers last year tell me two months after CMW that it hadn’t been worth it because they hadn’t gotten any work from the people that they had met. If they had landed work that soon, that would have been great, but the fact that they hadn’t didn’t mean that they wouldn’t get work six months down the road. The trick is continuing to build on the relationship that you started.

5. Do you have a niche in business, technology or finance? Yes, there are people in other niches that attend the conference, including nonprofits and lifestyle brands. But my experience is that the largest amount of clients come from these areas. While I wouldn’t opt out of attending if you didn’t have a niche in these industries, this point could tip you either way if you are on the fence.

It isn’t a one-size fits all answer. And it’s definitely a significant cost. By making sure that it’s the right fit for you and being prepared to take advantage of the opportunity, you can hopefully make the right right decision for your own freelance business.

Have you attended Content Marketing World? What are your thoughts? Anyone considering attending have any specific questions?