*On October 8, 2024, the SparkTogether marketing conference took place in Seattle.

**That sounds like a dry first sentence, right? That’s not how marketers or journalists are taught to write exciting news.

So, 10 years ago, the author of this piece first came across Rand Fishkin, through the YouTube channel and blog of the agency MOZ. Back then, we were separated by a 12-hour time difference and 5,468 miles of physical distance. Who would have thought that it would take just 10 years for a young Ukrainian marketer with no connections to cross that distance mile by mile.

After attending dozens of conferences, I can say that SparkTogether wasn’t like any of them. It felt more like sharing stories of success, challenges, highs, and lows within a family circle: we cheered with the speakers, empathized, applauded, hugged, and supported each other. As I said, in a circle of friends, you can just be yourself—with no need for achievement, no obsession with success, and no masks.

The warm, trusting atmosphere was further enhanced by one golden rule: no recordings. You won’t find any video recordings of the speakers’ talks, nor will you see any of the presentations. Confidentiality was key to keeping things real: many slides were marked ‘confidential,’ and some presentations were entirely hidden from the public.

Want to know how to see them? Come to SparkTogether 2025 and experience it for yourself. It’ll be worth it.

200 guests, 10 speakers. No recordings, just a few photos. However, you can read a few lines about the talks in the blog. Or, you could take my word for it—those talks were heart-stealing.

  1. Kickoff with Rand Fishkin (Co-Founder, SparkToro) and Amanda Natividad (VP Marketing, SparkToro).
  2. So You’ve Gone Viral … Now What? A Guide to Leveraging Online Notoriety—Geraldine DeRuiter, Best-Selling Author, “If You Can’t Take the Heat“.
  3. How I Failed, Let Go, Found Joy, Stayed Hydrated, And Made My Way Home—Ann Handley, Writer, Entrepreneur, World’s First Chief Content Officer.
  4. Defend the Internet—How to Use Your Digital Marketing Skills for Good—Lavall Chichester, Founder and CEO, Growth Skills.
  5. The Whisper Effect: How to Find Your Customers in an Age of Noise—Sarah Stockdale, Founder and CEO, Growclass.
  6. The Night the Lights Went out on Clickstream: A Meteoric Rise, Fall, and Redemption Story—Eli Goodman, Co-Founder and CEO, Datos.
  7. Inside the AI Industry: The Impact of Ego, Fragile Masculinity & Fundraising Frenzies—Britney Muller, SEO and Machine Learning Consultant.
  8. How Local SEO Brought this Small Business Back from the Dead—Darren Shaw, Founder, Whitespark
  9. The Anonymous Tipoff About That Google Search API Leak…—Michael King, Founder and CEO, iPullRank.
  10. From Blog to Book and Back: My Untold Story of Growth, Grit, and Going Global—Anne-Laure Le Cunff, Founder, Ness Labs.

On behalf of myself and Marketing Link, I want to thank Rand Fishkin and Amanda Natividad for an incredible day. Even my broken English didn’t get in the way of making connections and having a blast. You did it, friends.

SparkTogether took place on October 8th, just before the author and attendee’s birthday. I’m not big on coincidences, but I really believe this was a perfect match—life opens doors, and you’ve just got to walk through them. So here’s my advice: one of those cool doors is opening in 2025, and with the organizer’s permission, I’m inviting you to join SparkTogether next year. You know how amazing autumn is in Washington state, right? Well, it’s even more amazing during SparkTogether. Come hang out, and let’s grab a beer or coffee together. I don’t have any allergies or restrictions, just good vibes all around, so I’ll fit in with even the soberest crowd. And beer lovers, prosecco fans—you’ll feel right at home too. Thanks and meow 😻

In the photo, you can see Mykola Lukashuk, CEO of Marketing Link. In one of the photos, he is even pictured alongside Rand Fishkin.

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