Elite Retreat 7 last week was really awesome. It’s the 7th event we have had in 6 years. It’s rare that I am humbled, but this event has become everything I ever dreamed and much more.
The event took place at the prestigious Clift Hotel in San Francisco. The night before the event started we hosted a open reception which was kind of like a meet and greet.
I want to thank our speakers for not only doing an excellent job sharing their own experiences, but sitting down with all the attendees and helping them with their issues.
This year’s speaker list – Michael Sprouse, Andy Liu, Colin Theriot, Matt Mickiewicz, Stephan Spencer, Greg Boser, Allen Baler, and especially my legal team from Fraser Stryker – our general council - Troy Meyerson, and chief litigator - Pat Cooper.
I would also like to give a shot out to our awesome sponsors:
- AzoogleAds – Plat Sponsor
- Godaddy – Gold Sponsor
- ShareaSale – iPad Sponsor
- Nerdy Shirts – Shirt Sponsor
- Fraser Stryker – Dinner Sponsor
- Affiliate.com – Breakfast Sponsor
- Affiliate Summit
- BigPayout
We had a TON of goodies for attendees thanks to our sponsors!
We also had some great resources for attendees in the house – Founder/CEO of ShareaSale Brian Littleton, and c0-founder of the Affiliate Summit Missy Ward. Really great to have such internet marketing pioneers in the house!
I am super excited to watch the sessions. I missed all of them as I was working one-on-one with the attendees 
I was also pleasantly surprised to have my friend Guy Kawasaki drop by and give a great talk, which really was a nice break from the intense sessions. Guy asked me many times what I wanted him to talk about… I said I wanted him off the cuff talking about whatever he wanted. He killed it. He is always a great speaker.
Guy brought his friend Yiying Lu (famous for drawing the Twitter Fail Whale and many other Silicon Valley stuff).
She brought a TON of artwork which attendees loved. I saw many laptops with her designs. Thank you @YiyingLu !! (see model Tigh Buckles here)
Also our team – Tigh, Cassie, Autumn and Matt did a great job!
This is the time I say that this is the last event we will ever have… I mean you guys have to be used to that, right? Well… It’s true to an extent. My promise is that unless I think we can outdo the last one, we will never have another event. Somehow we keep pulling it off. But the bar is SUPER high if we do decide to do another one .
About the author...
Jeremy Schoemaker – who has written 2424 posts on ShoeMoney.com.
Hi I am Jeremy Schoemaker and ShoeMoney.com is my blog. 99% of the post here are done by me but you will see others occasionally make guest posts. This blog is fun to write but for my day job I run several online companies.
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{ 94 comments… read them below or add one }
Congrats on another successful event! Powerhouse lineup of speakers, and the goodies looked fantastic. Greg Boser or has been off the hook in his talks lately, I’d imagine just listening to him, would have been well worth the price of anyone’s admission.
Was Greg Boser supposed to be one of the Elite Retreat speakers?
I thought John Carlton on the list of speakers? Was he replaced by Boser?
Just getting admission to the Elite Retreat is privilege enough. I salute you for organizing yet another winner!
Seemed like an great show cast for people to come together and mingle. BTW..those are some great photos..
“Black Seo Guy “Signing Off”
Cool freebies!
Just seeing the amount of freebies given away to participants make my eyes water. (Perhaps a touch of beer can fix it in a snap.) LOL
So true.
If only I could attend events remotely like that. But I’ve yet to see one that offers such a unique opportunity to interact with industry experts.
If someone attended this event, and didn’t think it benefited them, do you really think they would post something negative?? Never..
If you were a speaker, and didn’t think highly of this event, would you say so? Never..
We will never truly know if this event is as great as Shoe says it is. This event might be a complete waste of time in several people’s opinion, but you’ll never hear about it..
Wow, you just blew this whole scam wide open! Great investigative journalism.
More than half of the attendees are repeat attendees. (I’ve been four times.) We go because it helps us truly elevate our businesses to a brand new level and foster some fantastic relationships as well. Jeremy is actually modest in touting the value of what he’s created here.
I’m sure being a whining troll delivers the same benefits to you, so good luck with that.
Some people are born skeptics.
Steve-
Here is what you can do.
You can attend and do a accurate review. If you don’t think its worth it I will 100% refund your money and you can tell everyone how bad it is… deal ?
Kapow! You really nailed that one, Shoe.
Definitely a win-win situation right there, Shoe.
Does that mean there’s going to be another ER next year?
Shoe,
Great idea! I accept your invite. I’ll assume the next one isn’t set up yet, but please contact me so we can get the ball rolling.
I doubt if anyone who’d spend almost 5 grand for a conference would hesitate to share negative feedbacks. They’d probably write about not getting their money’s worth if the event truly sucked. Besides, there was a money back guarantee.
Everyone on Jeremy’s team did a fantastic job. The Elite Retreat 7 was a superb event. Congrats!
Congratulations! I wasn’t there but judging from the photos you seemed to have pulled off another big one. Kudos!
Describing the event as “superb” is just an understatement. Kudos for sharing how amazing the Elite Retreat 7 is, Jeremy. More power to you!
It was a great event and I’m still organizing all the content I took in. Thanks again for everything Jeremy!
Sounds like all of the participants had a blast. Kindly post a video or two from the event, Shoe.
Jeremy – thanks again for running and hosting ER! It was fantastic – well run and a great set of folks all around.
For those of you in the biz or thinking of it, attend conferences. They may not be ER, but you’ll be amazed at how much you learn just by chatting with folks. You’ll even amaze yourself when you’re able to teach gurus a thing or two!
Can you share what these “events” are, by the way?
I’m guessing they signed a non-disclosure agreement, which is why even Jeremy’s a bit stringy on the details.
Looks like a blast!.. Good Job! to everyone for making it happen.
Shoe, how many of the retreat attendees are actual bloggers or just went there to learn how to make money from blogging?
I would say nobody there was a blogger or was there to learn how to get started. We screen all the attendees and make sure not only will they get a lot of value but we want to make sure they bring value to the event also.
We had to turn down over a dozen people for this event.
The Elite Retreat is such a great show. I’d love to go to another one in the future, so here’s hoping Shoe thinks he can top this one.
R-Kelley,
Wasnt the same without you as the M CEE
How about organizing a web marketing/Ironman competition, Rebecca? Besides honing our skills on making our online gigs flourish, we will all get healthy, too. Catch my drift?
I can’t even imagine myself competing in Ironman 70.3 much less the full one. I’d probably pass.
Rebecca, can you share free yet insightful links on triathlon and how to start become a well-rounded competitor in the sport? The idea of joining one is just too exciting…
Hey Jeremy – Thanks for the shout out! We were excited to sponsor the event this year and it certainly sounds like it was a big hit. Congrats on another successful event!
Two thumbs up for ER7! Just love how Shoe said “My promise is that unless I think we can outdo the last one, we will never have another event.”
This was my first ER and wont be the last. You cant put a price on these types of industry contacts. The information provided by the speakers was insane and I’m still trying to process it all. This event was worth the money after the initial “meet & greet” which was the night before.
Thanks again Jeremy for putting on this event.
(I must be important since my badge made the “goodies” pic..haha)
I really think Shoe and all of the sponsors have taken it up a notch this time. Congratulations to all the movers and participants of Elite Retreat 7 for a job well done! (Hey, Jason. Can I have your iPad as a Christmas gift?
)
The attendees must have been pleasantly surprised when they saw what they’d be bringing home with them. Apart from the key takeaways from the presentations and networking, of course.
I think all those giveaways just make the whole event even more special. Congrats to all participants for not just getting all that know-how — having all those freebies is just so delish!
Great line-up of speakers and the coolest freebies, how could you possibly go wrong with that?
Beautiful! Love it! Ipad want!
I just love how the ER7 organizers stacked all of the freebies in one exciting bunch. Definitely a win in my book!
Great photos! It certainly looks like everyone there had a grand time. Congratulations to you and your team!
ER7 in a nutshell: There won’t be crowds around the speakers like they’re giving away free beer, because there were only 35 attendees. You know what that makes sure of? That you get some quality time with those web marketing leaders…
Exactly the type of event where you get the best value for your money. No wonder it’s so exclusive.
it really is true.
hung out with Stephan Spencer at the cocktail party.
one day i had lunch with andy liu.
then i had breakfast with Jeremy.
then lunch with Jeremy and Matt Mickiewicz.
how often does that happen?
I sure hope there’s going to be another one next year. Any chance you could bring ER in Chicago?
I would love to attend an event like that. Do you have plans of organizing a somewhat similar event that newbies like can afford?
You could check out other conferences in the meantime. I think ER’s for those who already have attained a certain level of success in the business.
To tell you the truth, the pricetag on ER7 wasn’t quite budget-friendly for us tenderfoots. I wish Shoe would host an event that is similar to Elite Retreat but not that costly. If it’s in the $1000-$1500 range, then I am definitely in.
There’s going to be a monetize summit at ASW early next year. You could buy a Platinum pass with that budget. I definitely would, if I were you.
I heard even if you can afford an ER pass it’s still doesn’t guarantee that you’d get a slot.
Although I admire Shoe’s efforts to bring his brand of web marketing to other enthusiasts, I think the price tag for the ER is just too much…
I hear you. But I wouldn’t mind spending that much given the chance.
Great Event. Thanks so much to Jeremy and the rest of the SMS Group.
This can’t be the last ER! My husband and I are planning on attending the next one. He was not able to make all the events this last go around and only attended the cocktail mixer and dinner BUT he got so much out of that short time.
I don’t know what was better….the amazing speakers and presentations or just having drinks, meals with everyone and shootin’ the sh*t. you can learn so much just from that!
everyone is so open and willing to share what techniques they used to get where they are at.
again, fantastic time. amazing event!
Of course it isn’t! Shoe still has a lot of secrets up his sleeve!
It must have been a great experience for everyone. I hope you can share a few highlights of some of the speakers’ presentation.
I’ve tried to search for some attendees’ reviews but couldn’t find any. They’re probably not supposed to share details of the event.
You’ve elevated “elite” to a whole new level. It’s probably the most exclusive conference I’ve heard of.
I absolutely agree!
Not so exclusive if you have 5 grand at your disposal.
Well, if you’re paying $5,000 just to walk in the door then you should expect nothing but the best.
That was quite a gathering of thought-leaders in one place. Being part of that must have been really an amazing experience.
Not to mention the attendees who bring with them a wealth of experience in the industry. I imagine picking the brains of those people makes the ticket cost worth it.
Just browsing the photos of the freebies already make me drool. Hope you could post some actual discussion excerpts and video clips in the next few days. Best wishes from Indiana.
Did AzoogleAds gave away a ticket to their next Playboy Mansion party?
I don’t think the participants will be giving their full attention if a Playboy Mansion ticket will be up for grabs…
I agree. It would be great if you could share a few more details.
It’s not like any conference I’ve attended. No one-on-ones and no badass freebies either.
Guy Kawasaki’s one of your speakers in a previous ER, right? What did he talk about this time?
Perhaps he just talked about his recent trips to Spain. Touche! LOL
What’s in the GoDaddy.com containers? Honestly, it looks like Altoids to me.
Where’s the LIKE button when you need one?
Bwahahaahahahaah! This is the best comment in this thread!
Do you have any more of those freebies to give away to your most loyal fan, Jeremy?
Thanks, Shoe. I *know* you got some more giveaways up your sleeves for me.
How is ER7 different from the previous ones? Do you think it’s the best one you’ve organized so far?
I guess what makes every ER unique is the freebies and the learning points involved. Each installment is different and that makes attending even one amazing!
Looks like no expense has been spared to ensure the success of the event.
they really did not spare any costs. without going into the details of what was discussed, shared the events started out with:
meet and greet cocktail party. open bar of course, table with hors d’oevres and waiters with passed hors d’ovres with short rib sliders, arancini balls, yellowtail tartare and more.
breakfast, lunch, open bar, and afternoon snacks (so fun – red velvet cupcakes, beignets, fruit smoothies) on both days and a cocktail part and great dinner on thursday night.
they really did spoil us while we were at the event.
The freebies are so cool the participants don’t even feel they dished out 5k for the event. (I’m jealous, alright. I didn’t make the cut.)
It’s a rare opportunity for conference attendees to have a one-on-one discussion with the best marketing gurus out there. I can only hope other event organizers would take a leaf off your book.
Sounds like the conference more than lived up to the hype. Congratulations!
Likey! Likey!
Are those mini burgers on a tray in the first photo?
short rib sliders
Wow! I’d love to join the next Elite Retreat gig!
I sure hope you’d continue to organize ER because I fully intend to attend one in the near future. Good luck and more power to you!
that looks like a lot of fun…I wish I can go one of these days…I know that I’ll learn a lot to improve my online business…
I wish I would have made that one.
Hey Shoemoney,
The pictures of the event are awesome. Hope I too make it to that event one day. The goodies were great and you looked really great with that green shirt. Green suits you well
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I hope I can attend the activity in future