Guerilla Marketing at Conferences: My Cheap Approach to Getting Noticed
Aron Schüler Published
I’ve been to my fair share of tech conferences over the years, and I’ve noticed something: the best promotion doesn’t feel like promotion at all. It’s just a nice chat. And it even benefits all: you get direct feedback on your product, and the other person learns about a nice tool that might benefit them (if you picked the right conference/audience/group). Here, I will share some low-key guerilla marketing tactics I’ve picked up that actually work.
Just Talk to People
This sounds obvious, but it’s the foundation of everything else. I used to think I needed some grand strategy, or some pitch. But just being genuinely curious about what others are working on and what they think of your product opens more doors than any elevator pitch ever could. When someone asks what I do, I share it naturally in the context of our conversation. If they don’t ask, I don’t push.
Wear Your Story
I always pack a hoodie or t-shirt from a project I’m proud of. Not in a “look at me” way, but because it’s a natural conversation starter. This requires some kind of preparation, though, since designing and printing something you’d actually wear is not the fastest thing to do. Someone notices your shirt, asks about it, and boom—you’re talking about something you’re passionate about. But if you’re short on prep time, you can also just wear a sticker. Which is the next section.
Stickers Are Magic
Seriously, bring stickers. Bring more than you think you need and more designs too. Some should be a bit more subtle, like a logo on the back of your laptop, some should be more marketing focused. People love stickers, and they’re perfect for laptops that travel to other conferences. They blend in naturally, too. Don’t make it too pushy. I’ve had traffic months later from QR codes on stickers or landing pages promoted on stickers. It’s like planting seeds everywhere.
Create Event-Specific Landing Pages
This is where you can get a bit clever. I create simple landing pages specifically for each conference—something like yoursite.com/conferenceX25.
You don’t need to build a whole landing page for each event. You can just redirect to your main page. But some kind of content specific to the event is cool.
With the landing page, I can then track exactly how much traffic and signups come from that event. And it doesn’t take a lot of time.
Social Media: The Subtle Art
I share what I’m learning, the cool people I’m meeting, and interesting talks I’m attending. I mention the events hashtags. But I also weave in mentions of what I’m working on naturally. “Just learned about X at this talk—definitely going to try it in my project Y.” It feels natural because it is. And people will be curious to learn more, when they discover your posts through hashtags.
The key to all of this? It doesn’t feel like marketing because it isn’t, really. It’s just being a genuine participant in the community who happens to be working on something interesting. And that authenticity is what makes people remember you long after the conference badges are forgotten.
Speaking of marketing…
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Thanks for reading!