Going to a blockchain event can be a bit of a blur. You go from one talk to another, download an app to keep track of the side events, and get caught up in conversations with countless people, only to return home with a phone full of contacts and tiny to show for it.
That’s a significant investment for very little in return. Tickets are usually expensive, the travel is hectic, and more importantly, you're taking away time from building your project to be there. So does that mean crypto events aren’t worth it? Absolutely not.
It just means that simply showing up is not a strategy. To see a real return, you need a clear plan and the ability to execute on it. Here’s a practical plan you can actually run.
Choose The Right Event First
Not all of these gatherings are going to be worth your time. The right blockchain events should have your exact buyer, partner, or investor on the floor in meaningful numbers, and they should have a format that allows for honest conversations to happen.
The blockchain space has become highly diverse, to the point where builders in the DeFi space may struggle to relate to those building in the metaverse of supply chain pace. Because of this, a scattershot approach of attending any Web3 event isn’t going to give you the best ROI.
Before signing up, research the event's target audience. Scan last year’s speaker lineup and sponsor list. You’ll learn who actually shows up and what they care about. It’s also a good idea to check the schedules to see what activities they have. Do they run workshops, roundtables, and office hours, or is it wall-to-wall keynotes? Identify the most relevant events and invest your time and energy in them.
Define What A Good Outcome Looks Like
Define what a win looks like before you book the hotel. Do you need partner pilots, investor meetings, partner signups, or media coverage for your blockchain PR campaign? If you’re going with crypto public relations in mind, you’ll need a completely different strategy from one where your sole focus is on getting new investment.
While it can never be an exact science, it’s always a good idea to put some numbers up here as a benchmark or target. For example, you want to speak to 12 investors and raise $100,000 within six weeks of the event. Alternatively, your goal may be to secure co-marketing partnerships with projects in adjacent spaces.
Whatever it is, be specific and be realistic. Doing this will give you more clarity and focus when you do get to the event, and it will prevent you from getting distracted (which is easily done at these gatherings).
Build Your Authority Before You Arrive
This one's essential, yet it’s one that most people miss entirely. If you're treating the conference as your first introduction to the industry, you've already lost.
The founders who get real results? Those are the people who are already known (at least in some capacity) before they walk through the door. They're not trying to explain their project from scratch to every person they meet. Instead, people are coming up to them saying, "Oh, you're the person who wrote that piece about real-world asset (RWA) tokenization?"
This isn't about being famous or anything vanity-related. It's about becoming known for solving specific problems that your target audience actually cares about. If you're building DeFi infrastructure, start publishing technical breakdowns of why current solutions suck and what needs to change. If you're working on gaming, share real data about what's actually driving user behavior in Web3 games.
Launching a blockchain PR focused on thought leadership and building your profile can do wonders for your brand and your image before you arrive at the event. Of course, if you’re just starting, it’s not possible to get everyone to know who you are in such a short space of time. However, incorporating thought-provoking content in key publications and engaging in valuable conversations beforehand can help you maximize the benefits of the event.
Follow Up Like You Actually Mean It
Most people make the mistake of attending events, collecting a stack of business cards, sending generic LinkedIn requests, and then wondering why nobody responds. After a week or two, the momentum is lost, and you fall back into your habits, and the people you met at the event have already forgotten the chats you had.
The real magic happens in the follow-up, but only if you set it up right during the actual conversation. When you meet someone interesting, don't just exchange contact info, create a specific reason to reconnect. Maybe that’s offering to share a resource, making an introduction, or continuing a discussion about something specific they mentioned.
Your follow-up message should reference something specific from your conversation and provide immediate value. Instead of "Great meeting you at Consensus," try something like "Thanks for sharing your thoughts on the RWA piece yesterday. Here's that research paper we talked about, curious what you think after you read it."
The founders who consistently turn conference connections into genuine business relationships have systems that make sure valuable connections don't fall through the cracks.
Final Word
The teams that keep winning at blockchain events run them like product sprints. They set a clear goal, warm up demand before wheels up, run tight meetings on site, turn the week into content, and follow up while the conversations are still fresh. Do that a few times in a row, and conferences stop being a cost. They become a steady channel for deals, partners, and brand momentum.
Yes, it takes a lot more effort and you’ll have to invest more time into your events. But when done right, you should see an exponential improvement in your ROI.
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