Is In-Person Networking Worth It? with Maria Guerriero

Have you ever thought about attending an in person event...

...maybe a conference or a trade show - where you could meet your ideal clients – the ones you’d really love to help – but then never pulled the trigger because, well, it’s a lot of money and a lot of time and what if nothing comes of it? 

Well Episode 564 of the Marketing Mentor Podcast may just motivate you to actually take action next time because there really is nothing more effective than in person networking: showing up live at a gathering where you get to meet your people and they are open and friendly and everyone is connecting and sometimes even learning something new together.

That’s exactly what returning guest, Maria Guerriero, owner of Germinate Creative in Portland OR, did last month. And today she shares exactly how she prepped for it and how she is following up – because she knows that the fortune is in the follow up. 

Here are the Top 10 Takeaways according to Artificial Ilise:

1. Go where your people gather. Look for organizations and events where potential clients and peers already spend time—and where you feel comfortable.

2. Treat networking as a long-term investment. Relationships deepen with repeated contact. The effort and the network compound over time.

3. Get involved between conferences. Maria’s participation in Slack conversations, local events, and a consultant circle helped her arrive with connections already in place.

4. Aim to build relationships. Getting to know people creates opportunities that may develop later. You don’t need to leave an event with a new client for it to be worthwhile.

5. Use your newsletter to prepare. Before an event, tell readers you’re attending, share what you’re presenting, and invite them to meet up. (Here's how Maria did that.)

6. A small email list can produce meaningful results. Maria’s roughly 300-person list keeps her visible—and helped sustain a relationship with a client who returned with substantial work.

7. Shared interests make memorable connections. Her “Book Lovers Unite” lunch brought together 14 new contacts and created a natural reason to follow up.

8. Capture details before you forget. Record names, organizations, where you met, and what you discussed. Those notes make follow-up more personal.

9. Make staying in touch easy and useful. Connect on LinkedIn, arrange selected one-on-one conversations, and share something relevant, such as the book list.

10. Invite continued connection when offering your newsletter. Frame it as “Here’s how we can stay in touch and help each other,” then ask whether that works for them.

So listen here (and below) and learn…

Doesn’t Maria’s story make you want to go right out and sign up for an event? If it does, do it before those voices in your head talk you out of it! 

I can tell you that in person networking has always been a huge benefit to my business, even when I didn’t "feel" like going.

In fact, watch me tell the story about how my very first networking event affected the entire trajectory of my business! I literally wouldn't be here today if I hadn't been there that day.

And If you want my help finding your people and/or figuring out which event is best for you, take advantage of my free mentoring session or check out my Simplest Marketing Plan.

And if you like what you hear, we’d love it if you write a review, subscribe here and sign up for Quick Tips from Marketing Mentor.

Read the transcript here
[0:00] ILISE BENUN: Hi there. This is Ilise Benun, your marketing mentor, and this is the podcast for you if and only if you are ready to leave the feast-or-famine syndrome behind—and I mean for good.

Have you ever thought about attending an in-person event, maybe a conference or a trade show, where you could meet your people—the ones you'd really love to work with—but then you never pulled the trigger because it's a lot of money and a lot of time, and what if nothing comes of it?

Well, this episode may just motivate you to take action next time, because there really is nothing more effective than in-person networking: being at a gathering where you get to meet your people, they're open and friendly, and everyone is learning something new together. That is how it usually goes.

And that is exactly what my returning guest, Maria Guerriero, the owner of Germinate Creative in Portland, Oregon, did last month. Today she joins me to share exactly how she prepped for it, how it went, and how she is following up, because she knows that the fortune is in the follow-up. So listen and learn.

[1:44] ILISE: Hello, Maria. Welcome back to the podcast.

[1:46] MARIA GUERRIERO: Hello, Ilise. I am so happy to be here with you.

[1:50] ILISE: Yes. And as always, just start by introducing yourself, please.

[1:55] MARIA: Sure. My name's Maria Guerriero, and I am the owner and lead creative at Germinate Creative. We're a graphic design studio. We work a lot with nonprofits and foundations, and we give them mission-driven graphic design that connects to their causes.

[2:13] ILISE: Beautiful. When you were here just over a year ago, we had our first podcast episode. It was episode 535, and you were kind enough and generous enough to share your experience of how you were handling a slowdown.

Obviously, you have handled that slowdown, because now we are back to talk about how to prepare for an event, a conference. So that's what we're going to talk about. How is your business now, one year later, and what has happened since September of 2025?

[2:57] MARIA: I think I addressed this the last time we met: having a big slowdown, being a studio that works with nonprofits and foundations, and current administration stuff. It was not a good time. And I think there was something going on for us small business owners as well.

It was about two years where I was struggling with cash flow. Probably about two months ago, there did seem to be a sea change. One of the big ones was an old client of mine reached out and said, “Oh my goodness, someone left our company, and we need all the hours you can give us to the end of the year.” And I was like, “Of course!”

I think that relationship was fed, honestly, by my newsletter. People will come up to me at a networking event or something and say, “Oh, I get your newsletter. I love it so much.” I hear that repeatedly, and I know that this particular client was on the newsletter as well.

That is really helping me this year. Now that I have a focus on some client work, it's also providing me some time to work on business stuff. So I feel like I'm coming into 2027 prepared.

[4:34] ILISE: Tell us a little bit about your newsletter. How often do you send it out? What do you put in it? How long is it? How long does it take you? Those are just a few questions off the top of my head.

[4:45] MARIA: I send my newsletter out once a month. Similar to other things in my life, I don't overthink it. I know I need to send a newsletter out. I don't necessarily have a plan: “This year, I'm going to talk about this in January, this in February.” I kind of go with what's going on.

For example, last month, in preparation for the conference I went to, I was presenting at the conference, so I talked a little bit about that. I addressed a rebrand I did for one of my clients. They were part of the presentation.

It wasn't very long. My newsletters aren't very long. How long does it take me to do one? I'd say a couple of hours from start to finish. I've got the format where I have the main newsletter, then I might put something in like, “Are you looking for this? Reach out”—a call to action after the letter part.

Sometimes I'll put in something I call “Bits and Pieces.” That's just stuff I'm really into. It might be an Instagram person I'm following or a book I just read. I think that speaks to my values and the things I'm into, and shows a little bit of that side.

Honestly, it doesn't go out to a lot of people. That's something I need to work on.

[6:17] ILISE: But it's enough, right? We're not focused here on quantity, but more on quality. You know who your people are, and you make sure they're on your list, right?

[6:29] MARIA: Absolutely, yeah. And I send it out once a month.

[6:29, continued] ILISE: I think it would help, if you don't mind sharing an approximate number of recipients, because there are a lot of listeners out there who have what they think of as really small lists and feel insecure about it, or like it should be more. So how many people are on your list, Maria?

[6:53] MARIA: I think I have 300-ish. I'd love for there to be 500, but honestly, for the past five years, I've been trying that. I think that's more of a time thing, where I could be better at adding people. But it seems to be working.

I do want to say that I also post the newsletter on LinkedIn.

[7:18] ILISE: As a LinkedIn newsletter?

[7:18] MARIA: Correct. Yeah.

[7:19] ILISE: Do you do that at the same time or with a little lag? What's your strategy there?

[7:25] MARIA: I do a little lag. I'll leave myself a note for the following week to send it out.

[7:31] ILISE: Do you know how many people are on that list? How many subscribers you have?

[7:37] MARIA: I don't. Can you see that?

[7:39] ILISE: Yes, you can.

[7:41] MARIA: Oh, I didn't even know.

[7:43] ILISE: Let's go there right now.

[7:45] MARIA: Let's go there. To the videotapes! So what do I do? Go to my profile?

[7:52] ILISE: Go to your profile. Let's see who can see it first. Then scroll down to your activity and click on “Newsletters.”

[8:00] MARIA: Okay.

[8:02] ILISE: I can see it. Can you?

[8:04] MARIA: 360.

[8:05] ILISE: Yes. One little tip I like to give in general is that you can see how many subscribers you have, and if you click on it, you can see who they are. I can't see that as a subscriber, but as the person sending the newsletter, you can see who's a subscriber.

That's a list of people you could do outreach to. You could thank them for subscribing or ask them what they think. There's a live list right there, and they could be the same 300 or so people, or totally different.

[8:38] MARIA: It seems like a big mix of people, so that's great.

[8:45] ILISE: All right, let's come back. It's a nice segue. You said you used your newsletter as part of your preparation for this event. Tell us: What is the event? How many times have you been there? What were you doing there? Then connect it to your newsletter as the prep, and we'll talk about more prep.

[9:05] MARIA: Okay. The conference was the Communications Network yearly conference. This year, it was in San Diego, which I'd never been to, so I was very happy. And I believe the birthplace of Ilise Benun. Is that right?

[9:24] ILISE: That's right. I was born in San Diego.

[9:26] MARIA: I'm sorry, I forgot to go to the commemorative plaque at the Stork Club.

[9:33] ILISE: There you go.

[9:36] MARIA: The Communications Network is a network of communicators, primarily—but not only—people who work in nonprofits and foundations and are really into creative storytelling and communications. I'm not sure how many people are part of the network. I will say there were probably about 1,400 people attending the conference.

I'd been in person once before, and I think it's interesting to talk about that first time I went versus two years later, this time. I might be going off-piste with your questions, but when I went two years ago, I did this thing called a poster session. There are certain areas on the sides of the main ballroom, where the keynotes are. It's like a little science fair for communicators. I did a poster session then.

When I went a couple of years ago, I was a member, but I wasn't very involved. They have a very active Slack group and other opportunities. I knew some people, but I didn't know a ton of people. So I went, I had a really good time, and I met some people. I was a little shy about connecting with folks, only because I didn't know that many people.

In the two years from the first conference to the one I just went to, I became very active. They have these things called circles, little areas where people can meet and talk about things that are important to them. I'm what they call a leader for the Consultant Circle. We meet once a month and talk about what it's like to be a consultant in the Communications Network. We also talk about things that work for our businesses.

I was really active in that this past year. I was active in helping out with some local events in Portland as well, and being very active on Slack. They have all these different channels for posing questions or posting jobs.

I came into this conference having tons of people to connect with, people wanting to meet up with me. In the newsletter I sent out before the conference, I said, “Are you going? Let me know.” Only a few people said something, but I met up with every single one of them.

I also kept bumping into the same people, which was really nice. I felt way more comfortable and ready to go and network and meet people.

[12:41] ILISE: Let me say something about that, because I love the fact that you went back, even though it's expensive and it was far. The first experience was, it sounds like, okay, not wonderful. A lot of people in that situation would say, “I don't know if that was worth my time and money, so I'm not going to go again.”

But I know from my own experience and that of people like you that if you keep building on the investment, this is one of the things that compounds. The effort compounds and the network compounds. As with everything, the more you put in, the more you get out.

So my question is about this: “Oh, that wasn't really worth all the time and money I put in, so I'm not going again.” Did that occur to you, or did you not think of that at all? How are you thinking about that?

[13:46] MARIA: I didn't go last year because I didn't have the cash flow to do it. For this year, even with the cash flow not being great for part of it, I was like, “This is going to be a really good opportunity.”

A number of my clients go, but there was one in particular I'd never met before. I know so many people from being part of all the different things at the Communications Network. It felt like the right thing to do.

And I should say, for the first conference, it's not that it was meh. It was great. I saw a lot of people. I met a lot of people. I would just say this time, I felt like a part of the community. I wasn't worried about going out and meeting a certain number of people, because they were already there wherever I was going.

[14:48] ILISE: I didn't mean to imply that the first one was meh, actually. What I'm thinking most about is the expectation that so many people have: You're going to spend all that money and all that time, and you'd better come back with something concrete—some project, some actual client. Do you think about it that way? And if not, why not? What's wrong with you?

[15:10] MARIA: What's wrong with me? I never think of going to any networking thing as getting a client, because that would feel very sad. Does it ever really work out that way? Not really. I don't think so.

I think maybe there was one person who said, “Oh, you do that. We could really use a hand with that.” One person out of all the people I met said that. But honestly, most of the time, it's just meeting people, getting to know them, chatting about what's going on.

I hosted a lunch table. There was an opportunity for one lunch—I don't know if I told you this—but I called it “Book Lovers Unite.” It was like, “People who love to read, come to this table.” We didn't have enough chairs.

[16:07] ILISE: Awesome.

[16:08] MARIA: It was so great. I'm leaving that with 14 people I'd never met before, a list of books to share with all of them, and potentially starting a book club.

Again, I'm not saying, “And then X percentage will return on investment.” No. But that's a little bit how it works. I'm sure there'll be someone, if not from the book club, then from something else, who will say, “Oh, I remember Maria. She did that thing. I know she does that, and I could use some help with that.”

[16:45] ILISE: Exactly. You're reminding me of an exercise I did recently with the S&P Plus program. Usually, I have them give their elevator pitch at the beginning of all our meetings. Instead, I said, “If someone had to refer you, they're not going to remember your elevator pitch. They would say something like, ‘Oh yeah, Maria, she has something to do with X.’” It sounds like that's what you're talking about.

[17:13] MARIA: Yeah. Honestly, I wouldn't give my elevator pitch when I meet people. People are like, “Hey, what do you do?” “Oh, I own a graphic design studio. We do a lot of branding, website design, and illustration for organizations and campaigns.” That's what I'm hoping they pick up on and remember.

[17:36] ILISE: Yeah, exactly. It sounds like you really—I want to say in quotation marks—“put yourself out there,” which is something a lot of people are afraid or reluctant to do. They say they're shy or introverted or whatever. But you did it, and I think that's really the key. That's about what you put into it.

You also go without the expectation that you're going to come back with something in your grubby little fist. You trust and know that it all works together, and it definitely compounds.

The other most important part of going to an event like that is follow-up. So what is your follow-up plan? Have you started your follow-up plan?

[18:28] MARIA: That's a very good question, and I'm feeling like I need to get a little bit more on top of it. I'll tell you what I've done and what I'd like to do.

I don't know if you're familiar with going to some of these big conferences. They have the app, and you'll see the agenda and the people. While I was meeting people, I was doing my best to bookmark them. With the people I met at that book club lunch, I was making sure I connected with them on the app.

What I've done so far is pull some of those names and the organizations they work for and put them in a spreadsheet: “I met them here.” I might have a little note: “They were at the book thing,” or a note about something we talked about.

I feel like I have another group somewhere. Maybe they connected with me directly on LinkedIn, and I have to find out who those people are.

I'm trying to be mindful of the amount of work I have to do and the fact that I want to follow up with everyone. There are a few I definitely want to meet up with one-on-one. Then there are some people I feel I could send a follow-up newsletter to. I am going to do a follow-up newsletter, and maybe forward that to them and say, “Hey, I put a note here about our book club list. It would be great to stay connected.”

[20:05] ILISE: Even sharing that list seems like a really good asset for all of your follow-up, even the people who didn't show up at the book club table.

[20:16] MARIA: Yes, I have the list right here. It's handwritten. I haven't figured out how to magically put that in the computer, but I guess you're right.

[20:30] ILISE: What I hear you saying is the first step is to organize all the contacts and the people you met, what conversation you had, if any, and whatever you remember about them before too much time goes by and you forget.

[20:47] MARIA: Exactly. That's exactly right, with a little note that reminds me, “Oh, this was the person that…” et cetera.

[20:57] ILISE: Right. Then the follow-up, in terms of setting up one-on-one coffee dates or whatever—there are a few people you want to do that with. But how do you make sure you stay in touch with everyone? Do you just add people to your newsletter list? Are you going to connect with them on LinkedIn? Talk a little bit more about the logistics of that.

[21:19] MARIA: You're reminding me of something. Last week, I was in one of the co-working groups, and Gigi said, “Did you connect with them on LinkedIn?” She didn't mean it in a shaming way at all, but I was like, “Oh my God, I haven't.”

I'm remembering that was the first thing I did when I was pulling everybody's information from the various places. I feel like, at least, that's something I will do. So yes, I will connect with everyone on LinkedIn.

Do I add them automatically to my newsletter? I've gone back and forth with that. Sometimes I do it, and then people unsubscribe immediately. I feel like I'd like to be a little bit more careful. Maybe I'll send them the newsletter and say, “I send this out once a month. People tell me it's good. Can I add you to my email list?”

[22:14] ILISE: The thing I'm sure you've heard me say—and I'll say it again for you and everyone else—is that the question is not really, “Can I add you to my email list?” because nobody wants to be added. But, “Here's how I stay in touch so you don't forget I'm out here if you ever need my help, or if we can help each other. Do you mind if we stay in touch this way?”

[22:37] MARIA: Yeah, I like that better.

[22:38] ILISE: Okay, do that.

[22:40] MARIA: Okay.

[22:41] ILISE: All right, last question. Any other networking tips you want to share about how people are networking at an event in 2026 or going into 2027? Do people have business cards? Was there AI everywhere?

The reason I wanted to have this conversation with you is because I really believe in the power of in-person networking as a way to solidify relationships, initiate relationships, and get to know people. Obviously, it's so much better than anything you can do online. So speak to any of that, Maria.

[23:26] MARIA: Sure. I would say there's definitely value in being part of an organization or two. For example, with the Communications Network, I'm not saying, “Everyone listening, join that network.” I'm saying, try a couple of things. See where the people you like to hang out with are, the places that feel comfortable, the places with the potential to meet buddies or potential clients. Nurture that kind of thing. Go a few times.

If you feel like becoming more involved, become more involved. I think that's important, rather than, “Oh, here are seven or ten different things I have to do this month.” Try to find the thing that feels good.

[24:22] ILISE: And where your people are. It sounds like you have found your people.

[24:25] MARIA: Yeah, very much so. Being a solo businessperson, the only employee, working in the corner in this house by myself—these are my work buddies. These are the people I get to hang out with in that respect and get to know that way, which is really nice. That's definitely one thing I would say.

Even though I'm pretty outgoing, I can get shy going to a thing. I always tell myself, “Just try it. Just see what happens.”

I went to another thing this past week. First of all, I think networking things need to work on noise management. Maybe I'm talking about my age or whatever, but some of these things are so loud that it really hinders the ability to talk to people. Anyway, just going to say that.

But I went. This was one thing where I knew some people, but I really didn't know anybody. It was really crowded, and I ended up bumping into some people. I just started talking to them: “Hey, how's it going? What brings you here?” I was at a brewery: “What are you drinking?”

Maybe I'll never see those people again, but it gives me a little bit of practice talking to people I don't know. I did that a few times before finding my friends and talking to them.

I get that it's not easy, but people go to these things wanting to talk to people and get to know them.

[26:10] ILISE: I think that's what people forget. It's okay to want to do business with people, and it's okay to want to make new contacts and business friends. That's why people go to these events.

When you're at home in your bathroom getting ready or getting dressed, and you're imagining the thing, you forget that people go because they want to connect with others.

[26:35] MARIA: Yes, they want to meet people. These are the places I've met people I've gone skiing with. They're clients too, but you never know what's going to happen. Our kids hang out and things. I'm not saying you go for that, but you never know what's going to happen.

[27:01] ILISE: That is a perfect place to put the bookmark, Maria. Before I thank you, tell the people where they can find you and your newsletter and anything else about you.

[27:13] MARIA: Sure. My website is germinatecreative.com—“germinate” like a seed germinates. If you scroll to the bottom, you can add yourself to my email list.

You can find me on LinkedIn: Maria Guerriero, G-U-E-R-R-I-E-R-O. If you go to my website, you'll find my email address, and you can always email me. I love talking business. I love talking worky stuff and not-worky stuff, and I would be happy to chat.

[27:46] ILISE: Awesome. Thank you so much, Maria, for sharing what you've learned. I'm sure this will not be our last conversation, because you're always willing to try things and then share about it. I really appreciate that. So thank you.

[28:03] MARIA: Thank you, Ilise. I think we're coming up on thirteen-ish years working together or something.

[28:10] ILISE: Yeah. Oh my goodness, it's amazing.

[28:13] MARIA: I am happy to share.

[28:15] ILISE: Thank you, Maria, and we will talk again soon.

[28:18] MARIA: All right, thank you.

[28:21] ILISE: Okay. Doesn't Maria's story just make you want to go right out and sign up for an event? If it does, please do it. I can tell you from personal experience that in-person networking was always a huge benefit to my business, even when I didn't feel like going.

If you want my help finding your people and/or figuring out which event is best for you, I hope you'll take advantage of my free mentoring session. You can find that and lots more resources, including the Simplest Marketing Plan, at marketing-mentor.com.

So enjoy, and I'll see you next time.

* This article was originally published here