The team behind the Elite Retreat conference series has been diligently requesting some press coverage of their San Francisco event in March. I have to say that I'm extremely impressed to hear that they've recruited Guy Kawasaki to speak, and certainly the speakers themselves (Aaron Wall, Darren Rowse, Neil Patel, et al.) are leaders in their respective fields. The $4,950 price tag for two days ensures that the audience will be quite exclusive - I'm guessing that somewhere between 15 and 25 people will show up (the organizers have capped attendance at 30), and this is part of their marketing:
It’s logical if you think about it. What would be the ultimate in valuable communication with a leader or instructor? One-on-one time. It’s why people mob good speakers after a conference talk: everyone wants to have that few minutes of valuable interaction, that ability to talk about their own situation and hope to gain some insight, even if just a tiny taste.
The exclusivity of the first event received some criticism the first time around, but I'm not sure it's well deserved. From the feedback I received, the attendees seemed to be very pleased with the networking opportunities and in-depth, expert-level coverage. It seems to me that ER (forgive the acronym) is trying to position itself more as a consultation workshop for website owners, rather than a true conference.
The fundamental problem that I see is how ER can stand up to competition. I know of at least two events planned for rollout in the next 12 months that are designed to go head-to-head with the "exclusive," "one-on-one" style of ER (obviously featuring different groups of experts). ER not only has the competition of other events to deal with, but standard SEO service providers as well. Although SEOmoz's price range doesn't compete with ER, they're certainly positioning themselves as an alternative to getting a day or two of in-person consultation on a specific project with many of the experts on this list.
What's your opinion? Is ER a long-term business model that has merit? Is the price going to drop in the future? Does the value of having great minds in a sphere together outweigh the personal attention you could receive by buying 10-20 hours of consulting from a single expert?
I hate to blame things on others, but… My wife just wouldn’t understand the expense. If I were single and had more freedom to spend my money how I would like, I would go. I would also have a new custom chopper with lots of chrome. Wives... They just don’t understand sometimes. It’s all her fault.
If you look at this from a pure ROI aspect, $5,000 is a drop in the bucket for Elite Retreat. Between Jeremy Schoemaker and Kris Jones, they can teach you everything you need to know to make $10,000+ a month easily using pay per click traffic and affiliate programs. That alone would make this retreat pay for itself. Add in a blogging expert, SEO expert, and people who know social networking. That is a formula that equates to some serious business potential for anyone willing to really listen to these guys.
Maybe but I'm sure these guys don't want to market it as "come to Elite Retreat and learn to make $10k/month"
I thought they wanted to help your already existing company or idea improve and not learn how to make my from the beginning.
Hell if they'll teach me how to be successful in ppc arbitrage I'll tap the credit card for $5k
Almost like a "bubble"...the prices keep going up. Good while you can get it.
I think there is a lot of opportunity for a similar ER event, that would allow more corporate buy-in. There is a need for an event that limited it's registration to 75-100 people, focused on relavent, thought leading strategies on SEO, SEM and Web 2.0 for two days and cost around $2,500 versus $5,000. Those that are bored with topics at SES and require more depth in the discussion could justify to their executive team this cost compared to an ER cost of $5,000.
I think it has the potential for long-term success. Replicators will surface (as you have already prophecized), which probably just means people will flock to the ones that are headed by their favorite SEO bloggers / authorities.
These guys sell themselves with the quality they put forth in their blogs and speaking arrangements, and if that holds constant, ER will be around for awhile. In the same light, the feedback provided by others will play a big role (at least in my opinion). Reading some of the praises of ER from those that attended the first one got me interested, and chances are potential attendees will be keeping an eye on its buzz in the blog-o-world. And it's more fun than regular consulting - SEO's love a good reason to take a trip.
Funny thing is, when you hear us (the people who went to ER1) talk about it, you might think we all drank some kind of KoolAid while we were there. Everybody had a good experience and is pleased with their decision to go. I don't think there are many people left who still think it is overpriced.
ok so SearchStudent, have you began to be more successful (and not just plan to) since going to ER?
He's already pretty successful Ken. And yes, he has done some things to make back the expense pretty easily. I only know because we met at the ER and have been going back and forth quite a bit since then.
Speculating on the long term viability of it as a business is futile without actually being a part of it at this point.
The idea of the conference seems great though, it looks like it provides the best of everything. You get more time with the speakers and you get more networking oppurtunities with your associates. The one on one time with a single consultant might be great but the cross pollination of ideas that can occur with a crowd can be just as valuable.
In short... it all depends on where you stand and what your needs are.
I personally would not pay for such a thing because I do not believe there would be anything new to learn BUT like the comments before, there are people who find this stuff of value. If they get inspired by being close up to Shoemoney and Wall great, have fun! :)
But a Danny Sullivan size event with more speakers might be fun if it was affordable.
No wait, how about a Danny Sullivan size event that is free and paid for by sponsors.
That's it! ;)
I think a "free" event would be unwieldly. You need a certain price level to keep away folks who aren't really valuable for advertisers to reach and who haev enough dedication that they'll pat attention.
The old rule - "you get what you pay for" and the newer rule that "people value things at what you charge for them" both apply. A free event would, in my opinion, be a waste (unless it's invite-only).
Aaron its nice at your level when you know everything and you have nothing new to learn. Someday I hope to achive that.
I have to pipe up on this one because I've been in the industry at some capacity since the summer of '97 and I was still able to walk away with something. While I believe in my abilities enough to probably act as a speaker on some of the subjects covered, it is impossible to know everything, so a motivated individual capable of using the slightest bit of information on a grand scale can easily flip the investment...I think it took me a weekend.
Knowledge is not static, nor are personal connections.
I second that. I ponied up the bucks and easily got my money's worth. Knowing and befriending a bad ass like Cygnus was huge, a few little nuggets about working wikipedia without spamming was cool (a good SEO like Aaron or Cygnus can give you a fresh perspective on your campaign no matter HOW GOOD YOU ARE) and learning things about monetizing forums and the like was bad ass.
Having Neil and Darren on the next one is impressive and I didn't plan to go to the next one (too many conferences and I'm corporate, they need me at the office at least part of the time) but I may lobby the owners to give me a few more days to go again.
It's not really a new pricing model - this type of high price one-on-one boot camp session has been done in the Real Estate consultation market for years. I think they are right on track...it would be nice to have a professional review something you already had running and help you fix it.
The other major benefit is that it allows you entry into a network of folks that can help give you a nice boost if you end up striking up a relationship.
I think something like this would make sense for companies to get a deeper sense of SEO than perhaps they get at Danny's SMX or SES events.
But as far as making specific recommendations / or implementing a particular campaign as it pertains to their business, I still think they'd want to get one or two experts to actually spearhead the project, unless their in-house person was really with it?
I do think it's a viable business model, and I'm sure there will be enough demand with the list of speakers they have assembled, to keep the ER series going for awhile.
David to be honest there is no business model we are just flying by the seat of our pants. Its really a great time for us and we will do it aslong as there is demand. Its not a primary source of income for us... just like speaking at SES or Pubcon its just a different sort of conference. If it did not work out and it ends then o well ;) For now seems to be going ok
What needs to happen is that major conferences need to create opt-in sessions following presentations where individuals can buy additional time w/ speakers. Instead of the free-for-all questions at the end of a session, only those willing to fork up can get direct access. Just a thought.
Or instead of acting like a "back stage betty" you can just wait to bump into said speaker later in the show and strike up a conversation and then ask your questions.
I had a great chat with Adam Lasnik at pubcon vegas "after-hours" that most of the people who rushed the stage would have died for.
That is very true. Its one thing that inspired this whole elite retreat. Many time people come up and talk to us but you dont get to spend much time talking with them. Also you are just not prepared for them. That is one of the aspects we wanted to cater to
rjonesx - I believe Andrew Goodman and others do this now at some SES sessions
It depends on what you're looking for. If you need an expert analysis of your site, then paying for some one-on-one time might be more valuable. If, on the other hand, you're looking to be exposed to a very wide range of expert experience on a variety of topics, the ER model is the way to go.
I actually attended the first ER, and it was well worth it. If anything, it was too much information. It will take me a year or more to fully assimilate all my notes and audio files, but I was able to make changes in just a few hours that will make the conference more than pay for itself.
If you're involved in a wide range of things, or just want to be exposed to an extraordinary range of viewpoints, ER is an outstanding opportunity.
It is an interesting formula.
Another alternative very similar was a bonus John Reese offered when Stompernet was first launched, a whole day of consulting with his team.
If you have a project for which you want to gain some "mind share" with key players, paying some money for them to analyse your business, and in some ways become part of it could well be highly profitable.