For the uninitiated, Amazon Academies are a free series of events for businesses looking to expand their online offering. They have been held up and down the country, with the last event taking place in April this year in Glasgow.

The events offer a wealth of knowledge, from how-to workshops on how to get started selling on Amazon, through to independent business experts on hand in the exhibition centre to dole out advice on a range of issues.

The next event will be held on 5 June in Newcastle, so we thought we’d explore the top takeaways for delegates:

• Meet the entrepreneurs – The event includes talks from panels of entrepreneurs who have been there and done it all before, offering candid advice. At the Glasgow event, we heard from Second Nature, Cheeky Panda and Trtl, all of which have found ways to make the most of selling on Amazon to grow their businesses. Get inspired!

• Networking – There is plenty of time throughout the day to get chatting to other like-minded business owners and make crucial connections, including a networking lunch and a drinks reception

• Advice – You can visit the exhibition area and get one-to-one advice from independent business experts

• Workshops – There are workshops to help you through every stage of your ecommerce journey, from initial launch on Amazon, to learning how to promote your products online and how to go global

• Business tools – Amazon offers a full suite of business tools for budding entrepreneurs and growing businesses, from its logistics offering Fulfilment by Amazon, to supplies from Amazon Business, through to cloud computing services from Amazon Web Services. Take this opportunity to see how these could work for your business

• It’s free – If you can tear yourself out of the office for one day, you can sign up to this event for free – and what you learn may well be priceless.

If you’ve been swayed, you can see a full agenda and book your free place at the amazon Academy Newcastle here.