So many cards. So little time.

Ever return from a conference with a million business cards and no plan of attack?

On the Creative Freelancer Conference Linked In group, I started a discussion about how the heck to organize your follow up when you come back to a trade show or conference. Here are some highlights:

Luke Mysse said:

The first thing I did this time is write notes on people’s business cards as I met them. I've heard of people doing this and it works like a charm. No way would I remember every conversation from this weekend but those little notes jogged my memory when I set out to connect with people later. I'll be using this for other networking events from now on. So simple but it works...

Second I sent emails to people saying thanks and asking them to connect with me on my other social spaces such as Linkedin and Twitter. I love that most of them responded with the same info so we can keep this community alive.

Third is that I'm only going to add the people to my address book that I do make real connections with. I don't want to build a giant list, I would much rather have a smaller more concentrated list of contacts...but that's just me.

Mark Duebner said:

I went through all my cards and searched everyone on LinkedIn and Facebook, and sent out invites/friend requests.

Each night I also sent a daily wrap up to all my Tribe members from CFC#1 who could not make it to Denver. It was a way to make them still feel connected to the energy of the Conference and also make them a little sad and jealous that they were not here! These reports were a big push to get them to commit to Chicago in 2011, especially since that is where it all started.

Lisa Youngdahl said:

I've entered all the cards into Batchbook, and in most cases, was able to connect on Twitter and/or LinkedIn. I made it a priority to do it this week while I could still remember which face went with what name.

Do you have tips and tricks? Contribute yours here or on the LinkedIn Group.

And save the date for the next Creative Freelancer Conference! It’s June 23-24th in Chicago.