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Good Intentions Meet Real World:
5 Things to Do After a Conference-and One Not To Do
 I just returned from an incredible, passion-filled event: The Strength2Strength Conference in Bellevue, Washington: 200+ women of faith who also happened to be business owners.
I only knew four people before I got there, and two of those I had not met in person yet-just online. By the time it was over, I had connected with several women in all fields and industries, doing amazing work.
Conferences offer many opportunities for networking and growing your circle of friends. But only if you follow up.
On the way home I am giddy with the possibilities. All those what-if's.
Then life gets in the way. Sort through the snail mail. Unpack the suitcase. Answer the phone messages. But on the times I do get the follow-up right, this is what I do:
1. Document new contacts. I go through the business cards I've collected and put the names and contact info into my networking database with a brief note to remind myself of the nature of the connection.
2. Reconnect with attendees and presenters. I send e-mails to attendees I want to stay in touch with, briefly saying who I am again, something specific about our conversation and perhaps one thought on how we might work together. I try to connect with presenters whose sessions were particularly helpful. And I mail hand-written notes to people I connected with on a deeper level, who are potential partners for cross-promotions.
3. Connect new friends with old ones. I look at my new connections with an eye toward which people in my existing network they might benefit from meeting. Then it's just a simple e-mail to one, telling them I'd like to introduce them to the other, and why.
4. Write a blog post and/or comment on other blogs. This is a strategy that takes little time. There are golden opportunities to give "love-links" in the form of connecting to another attendee's blog on yours, or even just leaving a comment on a presenter's or participant's own blog. Always fun because it is totally unexpected (and appreciated).
5. Keep my promises. All of them. I'm not just talking biz-related ones-but articles, links to resources, etc. Once I e-mailed a list of my favorite books to someone who was looking for books to relax with on a cruise and who loved memoirs as much as I do.
And the one thing I won't do? I will not add someone to our weekly marketing e-tip list just because I collected their business card and email address. I'm still amazed at how many people break this cardinal rule of e-mail marketing. It's a fact: my well-intentioned e-newsletter is still spam if I don't get permission to send it first. Instead, I send a "glad I had the chance to meet you" e-mail and put a link to our e-tip (and sometimes to the archives so people can check out past issues first). But unless they go there and sign up, they won't receive an issue-not even one.
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