Should I Attend This Podcasting Event? - The Podcast Report

But now there's just something about seeing these people, looking at them in the eye, spending a little time with them, maybe snagging a meal or a coffee or a drink with them. One drink. If you need to make the virtual physical, an event like this might be exactly why you want to do it. You are listening to the Podcast Report with Paul Colligan. Here's Paul. If there was a title for this episode, it would be should I attend this podcasting event. I just got back from an event. It was Social media Marketing World 2018. It was a great event. I'm glad I was there. But as I looked to the calendar in the year ahead, as I opened up my Alaska app and saw all the times I'm getting on a plane this year, I just started to, needed to, must intellectually, emotionally, spiritually. Was asking myself the question, is this the right event for me to go to? Are these the right events for me to go to? So I got some takeaways, I got some ideas. If you're struggling or thinking through the process of whether or not I should attend a podcast event, this is just for you. If you want to hear kind of what my thoughts on are, this is great. If this isn't something that you're struggling with, it's okay. But I would consider listening anyway. A lot of people go to events for the wrong reasons. A lot of people go to events for the right reasons, but then sometimes they get distracted in what it is that they're doing. Got some strategy here for you that I want you to take a listen to. But before that, the tip of the week, you don't have to. And you might not always want to have the word podcast in your name. If you think about it, there are really two types of people in this world. Those who know what a podcast is and those who don't. For those who know what a podcast is, they're getting you on their favorite podcast client, they're getting you at their favorite podcast directory, they're getting you via podcast. You don't need to say that it's a podcast anymore more than it is media, any more than it is the spoken word or the visual. If it's a podcast, you don't need to say the word podcast to someone who knows it's a podcast. And of course, what happens if your podcast starts getting picked up by things like online radio? What happens if your podcast ends up getting picked up and you maybe even move it to things like apps? Is it a podcast anymore? What happens at that point? But it's not just the podcasters who don't necessarily need the word podcast. It's also people who don't know what a podcast is. There are people who are probably already, if not will be soon, consuming your content, who don't know how to find a podcast, who don't know how to subscribe to a podcast. They might be listening on the Amazon lady in a tube. They might be listening on a smart speaker. They might be reading transcripts from Amazon. They might be doing all sorts of different things if they don't know what a podcast is. And that word gets them distracted, gets them frustrated, gets them looking for answers that you don't necessarily have. You might lose a customer, you might lose an audience member because you've used an unnecessary term. You don't have to call it a podcast. And you might consider doing just that. So I'm back from social media Marketing world number six. As always, it is a great show. As always, it is inspiring to see how fast and how quick this industry has grown. As always, it was great to see friends give hugs, eat food together, drink beverages together. As always, San Diego was a tremendous time. But it has me thinking, how many more events do I have left? How many more events should I be attending and going to? And at the same time, is events the best strategy for everyone? Mike Stelzner shared his goals to get the event to 10,000. Not a bad idea. I think Mike will do it. But which 10,000? Who is in that list? I wanted to share today just general thoughts on attending podcasting events. I met the guys from ECAMM Networks. I've always been a fan of the software. I've always been impressed with what they've got. I'm going to be doing some things with ECAMM live, and to get there and to realize there were just three of them was absolutely fantastic. It is an honor and a privilege to be in an industry where people so small and people so, so thin can make such an impact. Thank you guys. So, events, podcasting events. Should I attend this one? General thoughts Is this the best way to spend your money? And in some cases the answer is yes, absolutely. I am part of who I am today because of some events that I've attended, some people that I've met at the event, some connections that I've made at the events. But I'm also who I am today because sometimes I got distracted because sometimes I wasn't able to get the work done because I was so busy doing the busy work. Is this the best way to spend Your money. That's a question of experience. It's an question of knowledge. I took some notes. I thought I'd share with you what you shouldn't come to a show for. I see a lot of people come to shows for some very specific reasons. And I want to give the list of reasons why you should not attend a podcasting event. And this is a beginning podcaster. This is an experienced podcaster. This is a consultant. This is someone looking to launch. This is someone who has launched a couple things. Number one, don't come for the free stuff and for the show specials. The free stuff and the show specials will never save you more than the event will cost. And remember, the event is an issue of the ticket to get in, but it's also the airline ticket to get there and the hotel price to get there and all those things. Don't go for the free stuff on the show specials. It'll always be cheaper. Don't go for the training. Honestly, the virtual ticket will always be cheaper. You will be more focused. You could be at a better place. You could take what it is that you want to take. If the only reason you're coming is for the training, grab the virtual ticket. Don't come for the alcohol to bar the parties. Be awake. The power of these types of events is who you get to meet with, who you get to hang out with, spend time with, chat with, not, you know, what kind of, well, what you drank last night. Don't come for the hack. Don't come for the hack. Don't come for the hack. What do I mean by that? There are a lot of us who think subconsciously I'm going to learn something in a session that's going to change my life. I'm going to overhear something in the hallways that's going to change my podcast forever. Those things can be heard. But you know what? You hear them on other podcasts. You read them in the news, you hear them shared from other people. Don't go for the hack. Don't go to beat the system. I've seen way too many people. I've, you know, you've shaken my hand. You know who you are. There are people who have like, well, what I'll do is I'll try to bunk with someone, see if I can get a free room out of it, and then I'll try to, you know, see if I could sneak into a session or two, maybe borrow someone's name badge or that type of thing. The break is not going to come from hacking the system. It Comes the rate comes from hard work. You know, it's the overnight sensation 10 years in the making. Don't come for. And don't worry, we're going to get to the good stuff here. Don't come for boothless sales. If you are trying to sell and you haven't purchased a booth, you don't understand the reason for going to an event. And this is from the stage. So many introductions are a thinly veiled, really bad sales pitch that just doesn't work. Sometimes the content is a really veiled thin. Yuck, yuck, yuck. Don't try to do the boothless sales from stage or person to person. Well, you know what I have for you today, or the amount of people came out to me with a little brochure or a little card or that type of thing. It's just not worth it. Not only does it get thrown away, but, oh, it leaves a really bad taste in the mouth. The last reason not to come is, is if you are working on something more important than the event, do that. I know that sounds weird, but a lot of times we have projects that need to be completed, we have things that need to get done. And by going to event and to the next event and to the next event and listening to the next podcast and the next podcast, the next podcast and participating in the next forum and the next forum and the next forum, we can spend months, years, not launching. There is tremendous value in the moment. I took off basically last week was a week in the making. Monday and Tuesday was a little bit of work, but then Monday to Friday and then Saturday, it took up the week. And if that wasn't what I should be doing, if that wasn't what others should have been doing, maybe you shouldn't come to these events. But what do you come from? What do you do? Number one, making the virtual physical. If you're looking to do real business with your podcast and you have the theory, you have the idea, you've listened to the shows, you've made the notes, you've taken the first steps, but now there's just something about seeing these people, looking at them in the eye, spending a little time with them, maybe snagging a meal or a coffee or a drink with them, one drink. If you need to make the virtual physical, an event like this might be exactly why you want to do it. Another thing is strategic connections. Sometimes just showing up has tremendous value. Me tweeting a response, me putting something on Facebook, me leaving a note to one of your podcasts will never be the same as me coming up, shaking you in the hand, looking you in the eye, telling you about the impact that you've made. There are times when the virtual becomes physical and then we're able to do more with it. We're able to answer more questions with it. Not everyone can wrap our minds around this. Not everyone should wrap their minds around this. In the virtual, sometimes it needs to be physical to do that. Strategic connections Showing up has value. Needed encouragement. Being with peers. If you are at a point to where you need the encouragement that you're not getting anywhere else, an event might be the exact place to do it. Watching others who are doing the same thing as you, watching others who are succeeding, watching others who went through the journey. Sometimes needed encouragement is exactly what you get at an event. And what's neat is sometimes the encouragement comes from the person on stage with all the success. Sometimes the encouragement comes to the person next to you. The person you met at breakfast, the person you shared the Uber with, sometimes needed encouragement. Ethical lead generation. Ethical lead generation is very different from the boothless sales that I chatted about earlier. Sometimes speaking gets you a lead. Now, sometimes it's part of the presentation. Be careful. But sometimes afterwards the lead comes because you made the presentation, not as a result of the presentation. And that's a really careful line that you want to draw. Don't forget about the replay. If you have integrated follow up opportunities into what it is that you're doing, There might be 20, 30 people in the room, but there might be 400, 500, 600 people who listen to the replay. Make it ethical lead generation. Make it an issue of service, make it an issue of part of who you are and make it an issue of part of how it is that you want to play. You know, if you give so much content that you are just limited by the confines of the event and you give someone the opportunity to grab more, that's great. If the unlocking of the puzzle, if the completion of the process happens with lead generation, it's not the same. Don't be sleazy. If you feel weird doing it, don't do it. And the last reason to go, and I think this might be one of the most important. I don't know if I necessarily have the words for this correct, but sometimes you need time to focus only on that topic. A lot of people the podcast is, oh crap, it's Tuesday morning, I gotta get an episode out. Oh crap, it's the end of the quarter, I've gotta get a season out. You know, oh my goodness, is it time again? Do I have to do this again? I pushed it off enough weeks. Podcasting becomes a secondary thought. And if you can go to a podcast event, or you can go to a video event, or you can go to a social marketing event and you can throw yourself into entirely into the topic and get the things done that you needed to get done so that when you get back, you can focus on the other things that matter. Sometimes focus is a really good thing, and sometimes an event can do that. So come to the event to make it the virtual physical. Come to the event to make strategic connections. Come to the event if you really need the encouragement you're not getting it elsewhere. Come to the event for ethical lead generation. And come to the event if you need time and focus only on a topic. Don't come if you're looking for free stuff. If you're looking just for the training and don't intend on chatting with anyone. Don't come for the alcohol. Don't come for the hack. Don't come for the break. Don't come for sleazy bootless sales, and don't come for an excuse to not get the job done. My Journey I travel a lot less than some people in the industry do, but I travel more than I want to travel. I've done a pretty good job of being strategic about my travel. My joke is that, you know, I only go west to the Mississippi to jump on a plane. From Portland to Santa Barbara is two and a half hours. Alaska's got three flights a day. I know a good amount of the flight attendants by name. Jumping there is so much easier than jumping over to New York or heading down to Texas or doing something in Florida. But I travel a lot, and every mile is, you know, every day away is a day away from my family. Every week gone is a week away from my business. I travel a lot. One of my clients is Dan Sullivan and Joe Polish with the 10x Talk podcast. If you haven't seen the 10x Talk podcast, take a look at 10xtalk.com get that there's an episode and I will put it in the show notes@the podcastreport.com 143 of a tool called the Impact Filter. And this Impact Filter tool is a way for you to consider really intelligently the pros and cons of an event. At the end of the event, I got together with an associate and we were chatting about the Impact Filter and I realized that I have not been filling out Impact filters on the events that I've attended. Now, social media marketing world was definitely worth it for me. And I'm not saying that any event isn't worth it. This is not a complaint. But I gotta sit down and I need to consider where this event fits in the grand scheme of things, where this time is worth taking away from my business, from my family, from the other things that I'm doing. The impact filter 10x talk. I'll link to that in the show notes and then I'll be honest with you. I have gone to events, I have gotten on planes, I have attended sessions, I have gone to parties because I'm distracting myself from the work to be done. You know, distraction is part of the entrepreneurial world. Sometimes finding something else to do other than what needs to be done is there. We see this happen with podcasters a lot. A lot of podcasters really obsessed with reviews. Oh, what is it that the Russians said about me? Doesn't matter. We got some of us really obsessed about microphones. I have chatted about that more and more. There are the ones who spend all day about codecs. If you know what one is, stop worrying about it. If you don't know what is, don't worry about it at all. Which directories to be in, which platforms to be in, which podcatchers to be in. If I am distracting myself from the work to be done, I need to stop doing that. I've actually joined Strategic Coach this year. This isn't a pitch, this is just a statement. And you know, I'm getting to a point where I'm focusing very clearly on what it is that I need to be doing. And maybe that's the reason for this whole episode. Who knows? Another thing I'm looking at, and I've chatted at this a bit before in past episodes, one really clear filter for these events is I really need to be able to go to events that I can bring clients to. Now, social media marketing world was definitely an event that I could bring a client to, and I actually brought a client to this event. But not all the events that I've attended are the type of thing I could bring a client to. Now, that's me. I am in the space. I do high level podcast consulting. If that's not something you do, you won't need to bring people to this event. But when it comes or a event, when it comes together strategically, it's a good place. And I guess when it comes down to it, I am kind of committing to you, I'm kind of committing to myself, that for future events I'm going to be able to simply answer the question. I am here so that I can what? I am here so that I can what? No longer going because everybody else goes. No longer going because it's the place to be. No longer going because I love a vacation to sunny San Diego. I'm going so that I can. And if I don't know the answer, I'm not going to go. Your podcast is more important than any podcasting event. Your message is more important than any plane you get on. Your audience deserves your best attention and focus that going to an event just might pull away from. I want you to think about it. I'm doing it. We'll chat soon. Bye. Long and short of it, we need a strategy that determines what it is that we're doing. If we are going to events, if we were going to spend the money, if we're going to take the time away from our business, from our podcast, from our family, we want to be smart about it. This has been episode 143 of the podcast report. I would love your thoughts on this. Tell me what events you're definitely going to, maybe what events you're staying away from. We'll go from there. See you next week. Bye. We love the social interaction here at the podcast report. 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