Throughout the year, you have opportunities to attend meetings and events (in person and online) for education industry professionals. Some events are tailored for senior executives who lead education-market companies: to network with their peers, interact with K-12 industry analysts, meet consultants, hear about market trends, and share important technology developments. Here's a description of popular conferences designed for and attended by movers and shakers.
Education Industry Investment Forum brings together executives representing venture capital firms, industry analysts, managers of educational technology companies, and the media, and is produced by the Institute for International Research (IIR). It is an opportunity to review and discuss industry trends and learn about market opportunities from the financial perspective. The three-day event provides networking for company executives who seek investment capital.
EdNet is an annual meeting of educational technology industry executives produced by Market Data Retrieval. It provides networking opportunities, information about market trends, updates on funding sources, and a look at new technologies. Participants take a close look at the challenges and business opportunities in the dynamic and evolving ed-tech market; forge new one-on-one relationships with other top decision makers; and gain the insights of leaders in business, education, and government.
SIIA Industry Forums are produced by the Education Division of the Software and Information Industry Association for senior executives and sales and marketing professionals who publish educational software and digital services for K-12 schools. The two key events are the Ed Tech Industry Summit, each May in San Francisco, and the Ed Tech Business Forum, each November in New York City. Participants have networking opportunities with senior K-12 industry executives along with keynote and breakout sessions highlighting important issues affecting ed-tech industry professionals.
Pending federal ESEA reauthorization and increased budget pressures are creating a growing need for publishers and developers to substantiate their product claims. Just-released 
School teachers and librarians are snatching up eBooks and eReaders in increasing numbers. They use them for a range of purposes in classrooms and for their own professional development. What do the numbers say about this dramatic shift from traditional books to digital books? 
How big is the market for your product(s)? What's your piece of the pie in your key market segments? What is the revenue and growth potential? How and where do you get reliable sales data for your strategic planning purposes or for raising capital to expand? These are questions all education marketing and school sales managers struggle with. Now, there's a new way of sizing the market you'll want to know about and connect to.
Online learning --it's big and getting bigger. A new study will give you a detailed look at the state of K-12 online. In order to net it out for you, we interviewed the lead researcher, John Watson, to get his perspective on impacts for school sales and education marketing. This is an important report and interview if you are a publisher of digital content or any instructional technology.
Changes in the school market are being catalyzed by a “perfect storm” of ravaged budgets, pressure for reform, and the promise of technology to boost academic productivity. Hear the perspective of the lead writer for the 2010 Horizon K-12 Report from the New Media Consortium. We’re providing expert insight about resources being embraced by educators and trends likely to impact companies that sell to schools.
We are facing the worst state budgets since the great depression. What will schools buy and what education marketing programs will motivate administrators to spend money in a resource-constrained world? Join Glen McCandless of SellingToSchools.com for a 10-minute interview with guest Dr. Richard Sims, Chief Economist, National Education Association. 
Imagine being able to predict which school districts are most likely to purchase your products. For years, educational technology companies have used government data to help target their education marketing plans. But a study from Grunwald Associates a few years ago reveals district characteristics that make it easier to hit the bull's eye.
Are you looking for new sales opportunities in the K-12 school market? Maybe you should consider the English Language Learner (ELL) market--the fastest-growing segment of public school students in the United States. 
