It’s no secret that Content Marketing World is one of our favorite annual marketing conferences. The event is a highlight of our year, and we’re thrilled that even more marketers can join through the channel of their choice, given the new, hybrid event experience from September 28 to October 1, 2021.

Whether you plan to attend in-person or online, we know how hard it can be to book your tickets with excitement and then… wait. Wishing you can fast forward to September. However, there are plenty of ways to start planning your event experience today to maximize the potential value you can gain.

Based on the #ContentChat community’s attendance at CMworld since its inception, here is how you can best prepare for CMworld 2021 and our must-attend sessions.

How To Prepare for Content Marketing World 2021

You want to walk into the conference halls or log into your virtual event experience with more than just a smile and eagerness to learn (although those are certainly encouraged).

The conference will go by incredibly fast, and it can be easy to get lost in all the excitement. You need to prepare for the event so that you can best plan your sessions, meet up with friends or new acquaintances, and ultimately leave the event with a notebook full of new ideas and ways to improve your marketing results.

Our top tips to prepare for CMworld 2021 are:

Plan Your Agenda Ahead of Time

You will have access to a specific set of sessions depending on the type of pass you get. Review the 2021 Content Marketing World agenda and filter by your pass type to see what sessions will be available to you. If you’re attending in-person, it’s best to prioritize those in-person sessions and experiences because you can later review sessions virtually after the show or when you have a gap in your schedule. If you’re unsure which sessions you should prioritize, we share a few of our recommendations later on in this post.

Arrange Group and 1:1 Meetups Before, During, and After The Event

One of the best things about CMworld is that it feels like one giant group hug. It’s one of the most-attended content marketing conferences each year, and there are countless friends, colleagues, prospective business partners, and other marketing idols that you’ll want to meet with. So start reaching out to folks today to schedule meetings before, during, or after the event. If possible, we recommend you arrive in Cleveland two days early and leave a day late to maximize your potential for in-person meetups.

Bring Snacks and Supplies

Come prepared with multiple ways to take notes and pictures or videos. We love using Evernote at CMworld so everything stays organized and we can easily share notes with our full team. We also recommend bringing snacks and beverages, especially if you have any dietary restrictions that will limit your on-site options.

Follow and Join Conversations on Social Media

Follow #CMworld across social media channels and join in on conversations as they happen. There is also a Content Marketing World 2021 Facebook group to join. The #CMworld community is active all year, and you can start familiarizing yourself with some of the members well ahead of the event. TweetDeck is a great way to follow the conversations on Twitter, or use Hootsuite for cross-channel hashtag monitoring.

Alert Your Clients And/Or Colleagues

If you pay to attend a conference, it is in your best interest to focus solely on that event. Sure, you could take a quick call between sessions or skip out on the Wednesday night happy hour to finish up some client work, but why would you do that? Alert your team and clients that you will attend CMworld, and set clear expectations around roles and responsibilities and communication while you are at the event. By getting this on your team’s radar sooner rather than later, you’re better prepared to avoid any last-minute fire drills or unnecessary juggling while you’re at the event.

16 Must-See Sessions At CMWorld 2021 by Friends Of #ContentChat

The #ContentChat community will see a lot of familiar faces at CMworld 2021, as many of our longtime community members and rockstar guests will speak at this year’s event! As you’re planning your schedule, we highly recommend you try to catch these sessions from friends of #ContentChat either live or via replay after the event is over.

You can also stay in touch with several of these incredible marketers throughout the year through their value-packed email newsletters.

Ruth Carter

Are you looking to sharpen your understanding of the legal considerations facing marketers and how to create content that is inclusive of trans and non-binary audiences? Ruth is an internet, IP, and business attorney who is one of our favorite legal experts in the world of marketing. They’re presenting a breakout session on Guys, Gals, and Non-Binary Pals! Don’t Inadvertently Exclude Your Trans and Non-Binary Audience. For more from Ruth, you can read the recap of their 2021 legal considerations for marketers #ContentChat.

Chris Craft

Chris is the co-founder of NeoLuxe Marketing with Maureen Jann (we rave about her below), as well as the editor-in-chief of Inspire First. He’s an expert wordsmith and we’re constantly learning something new from him. Don’t miss his breakout session on Ideas to SEO: How to Turn Blog Topic Ideas into Juicy Keywords, and you can learn more from him in this #ContentChat recap on long-form writing tips and best practices.

Andy Crestodina

What can’t Andy do? He literally wrote the book on the most important and effective content marketing lessons, and you’d be hard-pressed to find a marketer who is not at least familiar with Andy, if not quoting something they’ve learned from one of his past CMworld sessions. You don’t want to miss his SEO workshop for hands-on marketers.

Jonathan Crossfield

Jonathan is an expert storyteller, having spent the past decades as a freelance writer and editor, content marketer, journalist, copywriter, and consultant. He was previously an editor of Content Marketing Institute’s Chief Content Officer magazine, and his breakout session B2B Content: The B Doesn’t Have to Mean “Boring” will teach you how to find a compelling angle on a potentially boring topic, and other ways to use humor and creativity in your content. We had him on #ContentChat to discuss how to conduct and edit compelling interviews—check out the recap to see his incredible tips and tricks!

Melanie Deziel

Melanie is a keynote speaker at CMworld 2021, presenting on Prove It: Using Content as Evidence of Your Most Important Claims. Her Content Fuel Framework has helped countless marketers brainstorm endless quality content ideas. Learn how you can apply the Content Fuel Framework to boost your content creation in this #ContentChat recap.

Pam Didner

Pam is a trusted B2B marketing consultant and host of the wildly popular B2B Marketing and More podcast, where she speaks with some of the greatest marketers to hear their tips, lessons learned, and secrets to success. Her workshop will help you Create a Scalable Global Content Marketing Strategy in 7 Steps, and she check out this #ContentChat recap for her guidance on how to enable your sales team with content.

Ann Handley

Any time you see Ann on a conference agenda, get to that session early. It will almost certainly fill to max capacity, because Ann is simply that amazing. She’ll keynote CMworld and teach you all about The Art of Storytelling: Telling True Stories Well.

Nancy Harhut

Nancy is an email marketing rockstar, and she’ll share 15 Email Mistakes You Don’t Even Know You Make – And How to Fix Them Fast in her breakout session. To get a sneak peek at some of Nancy’s incredible tips for email marketing, check out the recap of her Content Chat session on email marketing hacks that drive results,

Erika Heald

If you’ve been to a previous CMworld, you’ve more than likely seen Erika (probably sitting in the front row). This will be her ninth consecutive year attending the event, and she even received the 2016 Community Champion award. Erika’s breakout session will teach you How To Conduct a Social Media Audit That Helps Your Community Thrive.

Carmen Hill

Carmen was named the 2018 Community Champion at CMworld, and her breakout session this year will help you understand Content Modeling For Marketers: Making Your Content Work Harder, So You Don’t Have To. Check out her tips from this #ContentChat on how to conduct a content audit.

Maureen Jann

Maureen is a close friend of our community and she’s an all-around marketing agency founder extraordinaire. She’ll lead a workshop about Leveraging Content to Build Connections (and Gain New Clients), and you can get a glimpse of her personality in this chat recap on how to get started with marketing automation for small business.

Ahava Leibtag

Ahava founded the Aha Media group, which creates content for healthcare companies—which can involve a significant amount of regulation and a unique set of challenges. You’ll learn how to build a framework for trustworthy content marketing in her breakout session on Authenticity Is Not A Tactic: Building Trust In A Post-Pandemic World. We had her on #ContentChat back in early 2020 to discuss how to make content marketing work in highly regulated industries.

Mariah Obiedzinski

Mariah’s work at Stamats is all about crafting content for colleges and universities, so she is an expert on marketing to the next generation of professionals. Her breakout will help your brand communicate with Gen Z, and you can also learn her tips for how to align your content marketing and public relations teams in this #ContentChat recap.

Joe Pulizzi

Joe is commonly referred to as the Godfather of Content Marketing (Google “godfather of content marketing” to see for yourself!), as the founder of the Content Marketing Institute. He’ll keynote this year’s event to discuss Why the Mom and Pops are Crushing Corporate Content Creators, and you should check out the second edition of his bestselling book Content Inc. to learn how you can diversify your content revenue sources (this chat recap gives a sneak peek at what to expect from the book).

Shane Shaps

Shane is a beloved part of the #ContentChat community, and she is making waves with her Let’s Get Real livestreams about how to have a real voice on social media. You’ll learn How Employee Engagement Can Tell A Better Story in her breakout session, and she shares how to measure and define your content marketing engagement in this #ContentChat recap.

Dennis Shiao

Dennis is a leader in community building, and he and Erika held a Community Rx breakout during the 2019 event, a topic the two previously partnered on when Dennis was Erika’s client at DNN. Dennis was recognized as the 2020 CMworld Community Champion, and his breakout session this year will explore How to Take a Content Marketing Approach With Your Email Newsletters.

Will We See You In Cleveland?

Did we forget your top advice for making the most of your CMworld attendance? Or are there other sessions you can’t wait to see? Let us know in the comments!

If you’re planning to attend CMworld this year, we’d love to meet with you! Reach out and we can find a time to connect 1:1 or at a Twitter chat meetup.