Free industry magazines, blogs and podcasts (UPDATED)

January 22nd, 2018 @ Michael Pinchera

magazines

The amount of informative, free online content for meeting and event professionals gets more extensive each day. To find real value in it, you’ve got to be able to find this material (needle) in the piles of “content” (haystack). Following are recognized media sources in the industry, so you don’t get stuck in the mire of worthless “content”—and there’s even more available if you venture onto the offerings shared via social media.

Plan Your Meetings

In addition to the twice-yearly Plan Your Meetings Professional Development Guide, don’t forget our regularly updated blog, which is completely free and offers hundreds of original posts across all aspects of the meeting and event planning profession. Recent posts include “Contract Trends: What’s Old May be New Again,” “5 Ways to Improve Engagement in Meetings” and “Event Marketing Strategies for Tough Economic Times.”

Of specific evergreen note: “The 33 Skills Meeting and Event Planners Need to Succeed” provides a rundown of the Meeting and Business Event Competency Standards (MBECS) categories and then links off from each listing to an original PYM post with relevant education.

MPI Blog and The Meeting Professional

MPI’s blog is more vibrant and accessible than ever, offering news updates as well as destination coverage and best practices for industry professionals. There, you’ll find original content by industry veterans, journalists and subject matter experts (including PYM’s former Chief Storyteller Kristi Casey Sanders). Recent posts on the MPI blog include “The Business Value of Meetings is Greater for Women and All of Us with More Diverse,
Accessible Events,” “How Planners and Vendors are Collaborating to Accommodate F&B Restrictions” and “Popular Meeting Destinations Rebound After a Difficult Year.”

The Meeting Professional, MPI’s award-winning monthly magazine, is available online in a custom flipbook format (just like the publication you’re reading right now) for members of the association at every level. However, much of each issue is published on a rolling basis on the blog, where it is available free of charge.

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12 More Free Mags

All of the following magazines offer free access/subscriptions (print and/or digital) to industry professionals. Some require that you fill out a web form to be “approved” for a free subscription, but their goal is to find and keep new readers, so the process is usually as easy as possible for planners. Many of these websites also offer free live and on-demand webinars and e-newsletters.

Conference & Meetings World

Connect

Convene

EXHIBITOR

Ignite

M&C

Meetings + Incentive Travel

MeetingsNet

Meetings Today

Prevue

Smart Meetings

Successful Meetings