3 Ways to Attend Conferences for Free

by JJ Ramberg

Going to industry conferences is a great way to make valuable contacts and gain industry insights, but for many small business owners and would-be entrepreneurs, the price of a ticket can be cost-prohibitive.

Over the past nine years of interviewing entrepreneurs and small business owners for the msnbc program Your Business, I’ve heard a lot of different tactics to deal with this challenge. Dee Marshall, founder of the company Raise the Bar in New Jersey, gave me three tips on ways to get your registration fee waived or paid by someone else.

1. Volunteer to work for the conference organization in exchange for waived registration.  Some conferences have a structured volunteer program which you can apply to on their website.  Others may have something more informal. Just find out who is running the event and offer to help, for example, at the registration desk or with seating people during the sessions.  It’s just a phone call and worth a shot!
2. Volunteer to work for vendors and exhibitors in exchange for a ticket.  Simply take a look at the list of companies that are going to have booths at the conference and, again, just give them a call.  There may be one who would welcome the chance for your help.
3. Ask a sponsoring company if they would be willing to provide you a ticket in exchange for some help during the event.  Similar to calling the vendors and exhibitors, one of the sponsors may be in need of some more warm bodies to work the conference. 

Keep in mind, though, if you are going to offer to work for someone, you have to actually do the work. So, be very clear about your hours and responsibilities ahead of time. If the task at hand will not give you any time to walk around and make the contacts you need or attend any of the sessions, chances are, this will not be worth it.

Guest Blogger JJ Ramberg

About the blogger:

JJ Ramberg is the host of the weekly msnbc show Your Business.  JJ also co-founded Goodshop.com which makes people feel good about their online shopping. Goodshop lists more than 500k deals for retailers including Apple, Gap and Vistaprint and donates a percentage of revenue to nonprofits and schools. To date, Goodshop has saved shoppers more than $100 million and donated nearly $12 million.