REW Conference - It's really happening!

[webmaster]

Hey guys,
Conference update - (The other thread kind of got off track a bit what with all the excitement around the great fishing we have here)

We are all set from a venue perspective and have confirmed dates for the REW conference - it will be held September 16th and 17th here in Nanaimo, British Columbia Canada (REW Home base)

This conference is open to anyone who is a member of Real Estate Webmasters in Good standing, and will focus on both education and networking (And some education about networking)

This will be a two day event with a standard web marketing conference format. Although not all class details and promotional materials are completed, I wanted to get this to you early - it is IMPERATIVE that you confirm as early as possible #1 because we want to make sure we have hotel availability for you and #2 because it is first come first serve and we are only selling 200 tickets for this our first (And very exciting) REW community event.

Day 1 -
Welcome members
Class one 9:30-11.00
Information Architecture - Plan your content / SEO strategy
Class two 11:15-12:45
Writing for the web - Putting your visitors and conversion first
Lunch 12:45-2:15
Class three 2:15-3:45
On Page Search Engine Optimization - Best practices for maximizing organic traffic.
3:45-5:00 - Networking / winding down -

7:00 Private networking event (Venue to be announced)

Day 2, rinse and repeat (different classes of course)

Catered breakfast and lunch will be provided at the conference center for attendees, so to allow for maximum learning and networking time.

Cost will be $499 USD for both days (Including breakfast, lunch and after hours event access)

For REW customers (Or potential REW customers) - I REALLY want you to attend, this is a great opportunity for everyone, but I have a vested interest in ensuring you are able to earn the most income possible from your online efforts (So you can spend a small chunk with REW) - so to make it as easy on the pocket book as possible, I am going to credit your FULL purchase to your account to be applied to future work. (All $499 USD of your ticket purchase is credited to your account to be applied against any future orders) - You will of course still have to arrange for your own hotel and transportation.

It's a Canadian Holiday tomorrow, so we will be running a limited crew, but if you could RSVP to Holly @ realestatewebmasters.com she will send you the necessary paperwork and secure your tickets for you on Wednesday.

I am VERY excited!

[waynelong]

Sounds like a great opportunity Morgan. What will be the extra cost if I bring my wife?

[David Abernathy]

Please sign me up! Sounds like a great event in the making.

[Malok]

You will of course still have to arrange for your own hotel

Any chance of leveraging the 200 persons to get a discounted rate at one of the hotels in the area?

[Never been up there, but from what I've read online, the Coast Bation Inn appears to be decent, and close to your offices.]

[John Allen]

Morgan,

This is a great idea. Do you have the classes for day two planned yet? It seems like many of the webmasters here are interested in Lead follow-up/conversions. Blogging and social marketing is another topic that would probably interest many.

[John Allen]

Morgan,

I was just checking flights and prices. What airport do you recommend? Vancouver?

[EFS Webmaster]

Just a thought however you might want to create a persistent post (w/out commenting permitted) with basic conference facts:

i.e. dates, venues, time, agenda, travel tips (traveling to Canada info, which airport, traveling from-to the venue / hotel, hotel information and cost, weather, activities to do in Sept).

Also, if you are fixing headcount at 200, you might want to add a registered attendee "counter" after you pass a certain mark - say 100 REGISTERED attendees - since this might help get people off the fence and solidify attendance for the program.

[gregharaksin]

how do we find out if we are in good standing?

[webmaster]

We are still batting around ideas for day 2 classes, and should have word soon - but for sure one that will make it on for day two is "Creating a diverse linking portfolio"

The idea here is to try to keep classes appropriate for all members (Not just users of REW Websites) and try to follow the natural flow of developing and optimizing your real estate website.

Thus you have step 1 - Planning your content and SEO strategy Step 2 Writing your content for your visitors and conversion (Always think visitors before search engines) Step 3 Adjusting developed content to maximize rankings Step 4 Creating a diverse linking portfolio Step 5 (TBA) Step 6 (TBA)

My other challenge is trying to keep this less technical - For myself, I could teach some very advanced techniques that require knowledge of both programming and server administration, however there quite simply aren't that many REW members (Or website owners in general) that could participate in classes like this. We have the luxury of a building full of programmers and designers that I have worked closely with, many of which for many years, and they inherently understand SEO from their perspective (Be it markup or programming) - Can't go there with this conference really.

Morgan,

This is a great idea. Do you have the classes for day two planned yet? It seems like many of the webmasters here are interested in Lead follow-up/conversions. Blogging and social marketing is another topic that would probably interest many.

[webmaster]

It means you don't have "banned" below your name and you are able to post here

how do we find out if we are in good standing?