The vast majority of our team is WFH and, as anybody who works as part of a remote team knows, it can get lonesome at times… And this is why try to orchestrate as many ‘in real life’ opportunities as possible!
Our European and UK-based teams often meet up at events across Europe and our US teams across the States. We’ve yet to do a global meet-up, but we’re working on it! Dom and Jenn, both based in the US, recently met up with Maria, who lives in Chile, at the Traffic & Conversion Summit in San Diego, California.
Maria:
I am currently based in Chile, so it was very exciting to travel all the way to the US to attend the Traffic & Conversion Summit that took place in San Diego, California, and to meet part of our remote team in person. Having the opportunity to travel, attend work events, and spend time with colleagues is definitely one of the perks of this job!
The Traffic & Conversion Summit lasted for three days and was largely focused on digital marketing, networking, and inspiring talks by email marketers and entrepreneurs. One of the most useful and engaging talks we attended was “6 Email Hacks That Drive Immediate Results” by Melanie Balke. It was the perfect opportunity to learn more about our customers: how they can create conversions with flash sales, subscriber engagement via gamification, turn unsubscribes into buyers, and the email lifecycle – from seeing an ad to making a purchase, subscribing and referring. Melanie also stressed the importance of SMS in 2022 for marketers with 90%+ open rates, the preference of Gen Z for SMS over email, and how to send a good marketing text.
We stayed in front of Mission Beach in a beautiful apartment overlooking the sea: it was the perfect location to unwind, and enjoy the sea breeze, afternoon walks, and sunsets. San Diego is also located close to Mexico, so we had the best burritos, tacos and spicy tomato Micheladas! The food was amazing and there was a great atmosphere – everyone was so friendly!
My American colleagues showed me part of their culture: we went to a typical baseball game and even compared different words such as trainers (I am British) vs sneakers! I also taught them how to make a typical British cup of tea (they didn’t do too badly!). We also went on a rollercoaster and had a bonfire on the beach with s’mores. It was so much fun!
It was so lovely to meet part of my team in person; we could not stop laughing and smiling the whole week! We wished we lived a little closer to be able to have more moments like this but we look forward to the next work event, that’s for sure.
Jennifer:
I had the privilege of traveling from Washington State, down to sunny San Diego, California, for the 2022 Traffic & Conversion Summit. Not only did I learn what is fast approaching in the email and marketing world, I was able to spend time with two of my colleagues. Being a remote company based in Christchurch, New Zealand, our team is located throughout the world! Dominique arrived from Georgia, US, and Maria arrived from Chile. We all flew in a day early so we could enjoy the beach, as we rented a place right on the ocean and we wanted to explore the city.
The conference was full of the world’s best and upcoming entrepreneurs and email marketers. As an SMTP provider, it was really important for us to hear what our customers and new customers are looking for and how the email space is going to change in the upcoming year. Being able to learn more about our customers is crucial for us to grow and to know how we can support everyone and each unique need.
The week was full of learning, laughs, and a great bonding experience for our remote team! We definitely look forward to the next time we can get together for more learning and laughs.
