Welcome to Podcast Insider!
Aug. 29, 2024

Networking and Navigating Industry Events: Tips from the Pros - PCI 411

Networking and Navigating Industry Events: Tips from the Pros - PCI 411

In this encore episode of Podcast Insider, we review best practices when navigating industry events. In this retro-but-still-relevant episode, hosts Todd Cochrane, Mike Dell and MacKenzie Bennett share their extensive experiences and practical tips about attending industry conferences. The episode opens with Dell briefly introducing their experience at the Podcast Movement conference in Washington, D.C. last week.

Recent Experience – Mike opens with insights from the Podcast Movement conference in Washington, D.C.

Flexibility at the Event – Todd underlines the value of adaptability for spontaneous engagements and social events at conferences.

Real-Life Examples – Mike talks about gaining listeners by attending a niche event related to his “Fast Food History” podcast.- Todd discusses how attendance at CES and DragonCon enhanced connections and podcast reach.

Building Credibility and Network – Importance of press passes highlighted. – Todd mentions a successful networking example with GoPro at CES.

Practical Tips for Industry Events – Wear comfortable shoes. – Stay hydrated and manage health. – Be prepared but open to new opportunities.

Networking Importance – MacKenzie and Mike tout networking as key to gaining speaking opportunities and insights.

Production and Content Creation Insights – Challenges and strategies for live broadcasting at events like CES and post-production efforts discussed.

Advice for New Conference Attendees – Dress comfortably, manage time efficiently, keep devices charged, and maintain health with hand washing and sanitizing.

Looking Forward – It’s good to start with local events and progress to national conferences. – Invite listener engagement through upcoming events and their website for more resources.

Episode Conclusion – Todd encourages maximizing conference experiences for personal and podcast growth.

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00:00 - Introduction to Podcast Insider

00:49 - Benefits of Attending Industry Events

01:37 - Exploring Industry Events Beyond Podcasting

04:10 - Gaining Recognition and Building Relationships at Events

05:01 - The Impact of Non-Podcast Specific Events

08:13 - The Evolution of Convention Participation

10:37 - Maximizing Opportunities at Industry Events

13:30 - First Experiences and Advice for New Attendees

17:34 - Practical Tips for Navigating Conferences

20:14 - Hydration, Health, and Networking Tips

WEBVTT

NOTE
Transcription provided by Deepgram

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Welcome to Podcast Insider. I'm Mike Dell, the

00:00:02.960 --> 00:00:06.420
VP of customer relations here at Blueberry. And

00:00:06.480 --> 00:00:09.679
last week, we spent the the entire week

00:00:09.679 --> 00:00:14.740
in Washington DC attending the podcast movement conference.

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The conference went pretty well. We met a

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lot of people, and I'm sure a lot

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of you that are listening today, if we

00:00:22.975 --> 00:00:25.295
saw you there, yeah, good good to see

00:00:25.295 --> 00:00:29.250
you. And, Yeah. I caught the the airplane

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crud on the way home, so I don't

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sound the same. But, anyway, we're gonna rerun

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an episode that we did early last year

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about, why you might wanna attend an industry

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conference. You know, not just a podcast conference,

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but, something in your niche. So without further

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ado, here is this week's episode.

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The game plan's gonna change, so be flexible.

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The best conversations are often in the hallways

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or in even the after evening events where

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you're having those deep intimate conversations where you

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can you can spend thirty minutes chit chatting

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about stuff and, meeting your, you know, your

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heroes and fans and at the same time,

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really getting this up and close personal information

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that you probably wouldn't otherwise.

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You're listening to Podcast Insider hosted by Mike

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Dell, Todd Cochran, and Mackenzie Bennett from the

00:01:21.315 --> 00:01:25.770
Blueberry team, bringing you weekly insights, advice, and

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insider tips and tricks to help you start,

00:01:28.969 --> 00:01:32.409
grow, and thrive through podcasting with all the

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support of your team here at Blueberry Podcasting.

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Welcome. Let's dive in.

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This is Todd Cochran, CEO and cofounder of

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Blueberry Podcasting.

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I'm Mackenzie Bennett, marketing specialist here at Blueberry.

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And I'm Mike Dell, VP of customer relations

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here at Blueberry.

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Today, we're discussing the advantages and maybe some

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disadvantages of attending industry events for your podcast.

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So, really, the question of the day is,

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should you go to industry events related to

00:02:02.800 --> 00:02:05.505
your show topic? Notice we didn't say about

00:02:05.825 --> 00:02:09.345
podcast events. We said related to your show

00:02:09.345 --> 00:02:12.385
topic, and I have pretty strong feelings about

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this. I I'm probably one of the few

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that well, at least I've done this many,

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many times.

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Yeah. I've done that as well, you know,

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with, certain things, but a lot of my

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podcasting has kind of been about podcasting. So

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I guess it's not exactly the same. But,

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I for a while there, I did that

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fast food history one, and I actually went

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to a, chili dog contest downstate. So, I

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mean, you know, that's an industry event, and

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I got some listeners out of it.

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And I think it really depends on your

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on your content too. And, you know, do

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you have an industry wide event that you

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can attend? And most, you know, I I

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think there's a convention or trade show almost

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for anything. You know, I've been to a

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variety events. I've been to, DragonCon. I've been

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to CES. I've been to NAB. You know,

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I've been to a variety of different events

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that surround some of my show content, and

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some of it's kinda supplementary as well. But,

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again, I know a lot of podcasters focus

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on going to podcasting events, which is fine.

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But at the same time, I think if

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you're trying to grow your show, surrounding yourself

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with people in your content space is probably

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pretty important. And there's also some advantages here

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in doing so. One of my, goals was

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to get a press pass in the early

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days to go to CES and and really

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was never an open event for anyone that

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was a blogger or a podcaster. So I

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it took a little took about a year

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for me to get recognized enough to be

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able to have not only the traffic volume

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to my website because sometimes they ask about

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that and some other key questions. You're gonna

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ask about what you wrote about or what

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you talked about and some examples, but I

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was able to get a press pass for

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CES back in two thousand and five. It

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was pretty exciting.

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Yeah. That's definitely something that that is nice.

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You know, I went to CES with with

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you guys a couple of times and, you

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know, to help out with production. And, you

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know, over the years, you got better and

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better spots on the floor for a broadcast

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booth and, you know, you you became one

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of the press, one of the the experts

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in that field. By the way, we got

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all three of us here today. Say hi,

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Mackenzie.

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Hi there. You know, going to the events

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that aren't podcast specific can sometimes be my

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favorites of the year. I love going to

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the Podcast Central ones because it's fun to

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catch up and meet all these creators and

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people that are passionate about these topics. But,

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it can be really refreshing to see how

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someone outside of the podcast community can view

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what we're doing or, you know, be totally

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new and confused by it. And I think

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it's helpful. Something good to do to, see

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if you're staying on the right track.

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You know, I remember when we first started

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going to events, we really did not know

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what to expect. And the first year, we

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just walked around with, the ability to do

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audio interviews and we decided that was probably

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not enough. And the following year, we came

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back with, with a camera and was able

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to do interviews and booths and talk to

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different people. It just gave people a different

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perspective. It's not so much that anymore. You

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can walk in almost with a cell phone

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and do a interview these days and it

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would probably be considered the norm. But I

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remember one of the events I walked into

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this little, little brand new company called GoPro

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and, that was our first year exhibiting and

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they had, I don't know, at that time,

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maybe they had a twenty by twenty booth

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that wasn't very big and they were literally

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getting, you know, people were kind of ignoring

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them to a certain extent. When that, when

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that first GoPro came out, it obviously wasn't

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the best camera, but it was definitely something

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unique. And I remember doing interview with them

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and I was like one of three press

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people that actually gave them video coverage from

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that event. And I earned really from that

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encounter alone a lifetime friendship with the, GoPro

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team. I, you know, today if I walk

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into a GoPro booth and there's key people

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around there that that know who I am,

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I'm just like kind of almost escorted into

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the back and, you know, offered a cocktail

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and, you know, now they're in a hundred

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by hundred booths and, you know, everyone wants

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to talk to them. So there's advantages of

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talking to people within the industry that may

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be new or are trying to build a

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business in the space that you're you're covering.

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It was just one of those things. And

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really my goal for attending industry events was

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really the ability to build authority. I was

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a tech blogger, not a good one. And

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by doing the podcast and covering tech content

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in an audio and visual way, it really

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opened up and gave me the ability to

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grow audience that was kind of outside of

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the normal consumption group because we were able

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to attract new listeners to the show by

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really having these high profile interviews with companies.

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And what really drove the new subscribers was

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those companies actually linked back to the content

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that we had written about them in the

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interview that we had posted. So not only

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did we get backlink love from the vendors,

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we also had vice presidents and presidents and

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directors of marketing that we had talked to

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were pushing people to listen to those interviews,

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which ultimately drove traffic and build authority for

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the website and for my podcast. So it

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really was a watershed moment for me to

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understand the value of going to an industry

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event, but that can lead then into a

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whole bunch of different opportunities. And Mike and

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Mackenzie, you both you've spoke at different events.

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Just by going to industry podcasting events, you've

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been asked to speak. What are some of

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the other reasons why you should attend?

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The biggest one for me is networking. That's

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where you're gonna be able to meet the

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like minded people for either your topic specifically

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that you're podcasting about or just podcasting in

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general. Like, whenever I go to these events,

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it's just so nice to see that people

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are excited to see other people and just

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everyone is so open to the idea of

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meeting someone else. That's my biggest thing.

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How about you, Mike?

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You'll go into podcast specific ones or other

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ones. It's it's simply the meeting the you

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know, meeting people and being able to connect

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with people and speaking. You know, that's another

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thing. You know, you you're the the more

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you do it, the if you got some

00:09:04.329 --> 00:09:06.465
topic to talk about you know, they're always

00:09:06.465 --> 00:09:08.145
looking for speakers. You know, some of them

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are more competitive than others, but, you know,

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it's really a a good thing to, you

00:09:13.105 --> 00:09:16.465
know, build your authority. And listening to speakers,

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that's the other thing. You know, there's certain

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ones I like to go to whenever I

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go to any events, you know, because I

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wanna hear some different perspectives on the industry

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that I'm going to or or whatever. But

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again, meeting the people is is is still

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the biggest one. Networking, like Mackenzie said.

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One of the things that happened with with

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my progression of going to industry events, and

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I use CES as kind of the story

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behind why I think industry events are important,

00:09:45.415 --> 00:09:47.175
is the first year I went with another

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podcaster, like I said, and we just walked

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the floor and did interviews. And the second

00:09:51.540 --> 00:09:53.380
year, we came back with between the two

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of us, we had a camera, and we

00:09:55.860 --> 00:09:59.380
did, interviews, just walking floor. Again, things that

00:09:59.380 --> 00:10:01.860
we thought were interesting. As that progressed, we

00:10:01.860 --> 00:10:04.625
started to build a team, and these were

00:10:04.685 --> 00:10:06.845
members of the Tech Podcast Network folks that

00:10:06.845 --> 00:10:11.165
actually were participating in, creating content as as

00:10:11.165 --> 00:10:14.285
a group. And what was fun was we'd

00:10:14.285 --> 00:10:16.285
have four or five different podcasters there and

00:10:16.285 --> 00:10:18.465
a couple of their support people and and

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over time this this entourage, podcasters grew, it

00:10:25.580 --> 00:10:28.060
got pretty big and I think the peak

00:10:28.060 --> 00:10:30.060
we maybe have twenty two or twenty three

00:10:30.060 --> 00:10:33.805
people at an event. So what happened with

00:10:33.805 --> 00:10:37.645
us is we were given the opportunity to

00:10:37.645 --> 00:10:40.705
do one of the first lives from CES

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and, there are these multimillion dollar boosts there.

00:10:44.580 --> 00:10:48.520
And that year, NBC Universal was getting ready

00:10:48.580 --> 00:10:52.740
for the Lake Placid Olympic games. And they

00:10:52.740 --> 00:10:56.260
had this, I mean, beautiful, beautiful multimillion dollar

00:10:56.260 --> 00:10:58.305
set, and they told us that we could

00:10:58.305 --> 00:11:02.165
use their set for ninety minutes to basically

00:11:02.945 --> 00:11:05.904
livestream and have guests come up on the

00:11:05.904 --> 00:11:09.024
stage. And and when we executed that, there's

00:11:09.024 --> 00:11:10.959
a whole story about that execution and how

00:11:10.959 --> 00:11:12.560
it went, but we had forty five thousand

00:11:12.560 --> 00:11:16.079
people watching the ten or so interviews we

00:11:16.079 --> 00:11:18.880
did in ninety minutes on this livestream. And

00:11:18.880 --> 00:11:22.160
it was it was an amazing, a really,

00:11:22.160 --> 00:11:26.255
really an amazing event. And then following that

00:11:26.255 --> 00:11:28.995
we took that data and we went back

00:11:29.055 --> 00:11:30.975
to the CEA and say, see look what

00:11:30.975 --> 00:11:34.575
we did with just ninety minutes, being live

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and exposing our audiences to this show And

00:11:37.890 --> 00:11:39.650
the following year, they gave us free booth

00:11:39.650 --> 00:11:41.090
space and it was really back in the

00:11:41.090 --> 00:11:43.650
nosebleed seats in the South Hall at

00:11:44.130 --> 00:11:46.790
South Las Vegas. Upper or something.

00:11:46.930 --> 00:11:48.690
Yeah. And I mean, it was really like

00:11:48.690 --> 00:11:50.450
the farthest booth you could matter of fact,

00:11:50.450 --> 00:11:52.390
we were the last booth in the corner

00:11:52.955 --> 00:11:54.955
And we did a couple of years there

00:11:54.955 --> 00:11:57.835
building our cred, and then, ultimately, we got

00:11:57.835 --> 00:12:00.875
moved. For those that know Las Vegas Convention

00:12:00.875 --> 00:12:03.055
Center, we got moved just outside the taxi

00:12:03.115 --> 00:12:06.130
stand inside the building of North Hall and

00:12:06.130 --> 00:12:08.209
had a Primo spot. We were there for

00:12:08.209 --> 00:12:11.250
three or four years. And then ultimately what

00:12:11.250 --> 00:12:14.550
has happened now is we are actually given

00:12:14.690 --> 00:12:16.709
quite a bit of space and several broadcast

00:12:16.769 --> 00:12:20.209
towers between two different sections of the building.

00:12:20.209 --> 00:12:22.105
We don't have to bring our, we don't

00:12:22.105 --> 00:12:24.505
have to hire security, we're given free internet,

00:12:24.505 --> 00:12:26.665
we're given the space, all we really do

00:12:26.665 --> 00:12:28.905
is have to get ourselves and our gear

00:12:28.905 --> 00:12:31.785
there and what that has really opened up

00:12:31.785 --> 00:12:34.900
is this opportunity once a year to really

00:12:34.900 --> 00:12:39.300
interview about two hundred different companies and grab

00:12:39.300 --> 00:12:42.020
information that can lead to sponsorships, that can

00:12:42.020 --> 00:12:45.620
lead to further engagement down the year as

00:12:45.620 --> 00:12:47.444
you're trying to create more content for your

00:12:47.444 --> 00:12:49.285
show and you get on their mailing list

00:12:49.285 --> 00:12:51.444
so that you know about their announcements, it

00:12:51.444 --> 00:12:53.845
just opened up for us. And again, it

00:12:53.845 --> 00:12:56.165
wasn't just one podcast, it was multiples of

00:12:56.165 --> 00:12:58.005
us that were teamed up. And, Mike, like

00:12:58.005 --> 00:13:00.644
you said, you had came and assisted one

00:13:00.644 --> 00:13:03.310
year or or two. I can't remember, but

00:13:03.310 --> 00:13:06.029
the thing about it was was that we

00:13:06.029 --> 00:13:08.589
all shared that content as a collective, so

00:13:08.589 --> 00:13:10.430
we didn't have to do it by ourselves.

00:13:10.430 --> 00:13:12.350
And everyone was responsible for their own little

00:13:12.350 --> 00:13:15.215
thing. I had one person booking appointments, another

00:13:15.215 --> 00:13:17.375
person that was in charge of, like, setting

00:13:17.375 --> 00:13:20.495
up the the the broadcast area. So you're

00:13:20.495 --> 00:13:22.175
able to accomplish a lot with a team

00:13:22.175 --> 00:13:23.935
and that's something you can do as well.

00:13:23.935 --> 00:13:25.375
If you're a podcaster, you have two or

00:13:25.375 --> 00:13:27.615
three friends that are have like minded content,

00:13:27.615 --> 00:13:31.660
maybe team up together. But so what's some

00:13:31.660 --> 00:13:33.580
of the stuff folks can expect when they

00:13:33.580 --> 00:13:34.960
go to an industry event?

00:13:35.260 --> 00:13:36.940
My first event, I think what I was

00:13:36.940 --> 00:13:39.360
surprised by the most was the long hours.

00:13:40.220 --> 00:13:42.940
The first thing that you can, that you'll

00:13:42.940 --> 00:13:45.385
see is it's probably gonna be, you know,

00:13:45.385 --> 00:13:47.144
a variation of the eight hours that you're

00:13:47.144 --> 00:13:50.845
used to working, but it's such a, confusing

00:13:50.985 --> 00:13:52.985
day if you've never been to this event

00:13:52.985 --> 00:13:55.785
before or you're just, you know, getting used

00:13:55.785 --> 00:13:59.065
to talking to people at booths because so

00:13:59.065 --> 00:14:01.350
much of going to an event is the

00:14:01.350 --> 00:14:04.389
expo hall if they have one. So the

00:14:04.389 --> 00:14:07.269
long hours for sure and the three of

00:14:07.269 --> 00:14:09.269
us, Todd, you taught me right away that,

00:14:09.510 --> 00:14:12.630
if you're doing a booth, wear comfortable shoes

00:14:12.630 --> 00:14:15.209
and stay on the carpet if you can.

00:14:15.885 --> 00:14:17.885
Yeah. That's the thing. And, you know, and

00:14:17.885 --> 00:14:19.885
the on those CES trips that I went

00:14:19.885 --> 00:14:23.005
on, we were what breakfast call was at

00:14:23.005 --> 00:14:25.025
six in the morning, and we were broadcasting

00:14:25.245 --> 00:14:26.845
by eight in the morning at the booth,

00:14:26.845 --> 00:14:29.670
and we stayed there till, what, five at

00:14:29.670 --> 00:14:32.570
night or or even later sometimes. And then

00:14:32.950 --> 00:14:35.110
we would have after events. So we'd have

00:14:35.110 --> 00:14:36.890
to go to all these other after events.

00:14:36.950 --> 00:14:38.550
And, you know, we come dragging into the

00:14:38.550 --> 00:14:40.470
hotel at ten o'clock just to turn around

00:14:40.470 --> 00:14:42.015
and do it at six. So, you know,

00:14:42.015 --> 00:14:44.015
it can be a long day depending on

00:14:44.015 --> 00:14:46.435
what you're covering, at that event.

00:14:46.895 --> 00:14:48.595
They're tiring in the best way.

00:14:48.975 --> 00:14:50.895
Yeah. It's well worth it, but it's and

00:14:50.895 --> 00:14:52.755
it's fun, but dang.

00:14:53.535 --> 00:14:55.700
And and I always say though, Vegas events,

00:14:55.700 --> 00:14:57.139
you don't if people say, oh, did you

00:14:57.139 --> 00:14:58.260
gamble? Did you have a good time? You

00:14:58.260 --> 00:15:00.339
go see shows and you kinda like, no.

00:15:00.339 --> 00:15:01.320
We didn't have time.

00:15:01.620 --> 00:15:04.600
You barely have time to eat. Right.

00:15:05.459 --> 00:15:06.980
You know, and I think too is what

00:15:06.980 --> 00:15:09.380
I end up finding no matter what event

00:15:09.380 --> 00:15:11.245
it is it is is there's lots of

00:15:11.245 --> 00:15:14.285
new information. And one of my goals going

00:15:14.285 --> 00:15:15.645
to an event let's say I'm gonna go

00:15:15.645 --> 00:15:17.645
to a session at an event, is I

00:15:17.645 --> 00:15:19.965
just look for one nugget, one nugget out

00:15:19.965 --> 00:15:22.045
of a speech and if I or out

00:15:22.045 --> 00:15:24.000
of a presentation. If I get one nugget,

00:15:24.000 --> 00:15:25.839
then by the end of that event, maybe

00:15:25.839 --> 00:15:28.639
I've attended six or seven sessions. I have

00:15:28.639 --> 00:15:30.639
six or seven nuggets to come home with

00:15:30.639 --> 00:15:33.920
because otherwise you're just overwhelmed because there's so

00:15:33.920 --> 00:15:36.685
much new information. And I always recommend if

00:15:36.685 --> 00:15:38.605
it's a trade show you're going to go

00:15:38.605 --> 00:15:41.165
to be educated on, always sign up for

00:15:41.165 --> 00:15:43.325
that digital passport too so that you're able

00:15:43.325 --> 00:15:46.285
to get the digital content afterwards or go

00:15:46.285 --> 00:15:48.445
rereview a session you sat in and to

00:15:48.445 --> 00:15:51.470
repick up stuff that you may have missed.

00:15:51.529 --> 00:15:53.610
There's lots of inspiration. You come off these

00:15:53.610 --> 00:15:55.790
events really kind of like on this inspiration

00:15:55.930 --> 00:15:59.290
high and you're excited, but it is truly

00:15:59.290 --> 00:16:01.930
a fire hose event. So you have to

00:16:01.930 --> 00:16:04.225
take it in little small bites to be

00:16:04.225 --> 00:16:06.385
able to really put that information to good

00:16:06.385 --> 00:16:07.745
use later. And if you're there to create

00:16:07.745 --> 00:16:10.545
content, then there's the whole job of post

00:16:10.545 --> 00:16:13.825
producing and getting those articles and interviews up

00:16:13.825 --> 00:16:15.365
online, which for us when

00:16:15.585 --> 00:16:17.649
Yeah. If you're trying to go live, you

00:16:17.649 --> 00:16:19.970
know, or or close to live same day

00:16:19.970 --> 00:16:22.130
coverage, then, you know, you figure you got

00:16:22.130 --> 00:16:24.450
some time in the in the editing booth

00:16:24.450 --> 00:16:26.690
or, you know, your laptop in your room

00:16:26.690 --> 00:16:27.570
or something. So

00:16:28.050 --> 00:16:30.370
Well, we we learned it was impossible, and

00:16:30.370 --> 00:16:33.005
it it that'd actually take us six weeks

00:16:33.465 --> 00:16:35.305
to get all the interviews published because you

00:16:35.305 --> 00:16:36.985
didn't wanna publish more than one or two

00:16:36.985 --> 00:16:39.865
a day just because you're feeding the RSS

00:16:39.865 --> 00:16:41.705
feed all this new stuff, and you're reach

00:16:41.865 --> 00:16:44.440
you're hitting your audience pretty heavy. So I

00:16:44.440 --> 00:16:47.639
actually set up a special podcast, actual I

00:16:47.639 --> 00:16:50.620
call it, Geek and Essential special media events,

00:16:50.839 --> 00:16:52.759
and it's its own podcast to be able

00:16:52.759 --> 00:16:55.660
to feed that that draconian amount of content

00:16:55.720 --> 00:16:58.774
into because there could be two hundred interviews

00:16:58.774 --> 00:17:01.254
that get posted over what you've collected in

00:17:01.254 --> 00:17:02.055
a five day period.

00:17:02.055 --> 00:17:03.815
I added about a hundred of them for

00:17:03.815 --> 00:17:05.115
one year for you.

00:17:05.575 --> 00:17:07.815
It's it's it's a lot of work to

00:17:07.815 --> 00:17:09.495
do that and then do the blog post

00:17:09.495 --> 00:17:11.050
and everything else. So you may not, you

00:17:11.050 --> 00:17:13.290
know, your your experience will be different, but

00:17:13.290 --> 00:17:15.690
we were going out for a mass mass

00:17:15.690 --> 00:17:17.930
amount of content. You may just go and

00:17:17.930 --> 00:17:20.490
get ten interviews. So don't think you have

00:17:20.490 --> 00:17:21.930
to go out and do two hundred, but

00:17:21.930 --> 00:17:23.690
the key thing is is to get quality

00:17:23.690 --> 00:17:28.185
ones that will feed Google, feed your show,

00:17:28.405 --> 00:17:30.565
and help you build audience. That's really what

00:17:30.565 --> 00:17:32.005
it's all about for these. And that's what

00:17:32.005 --> 00:17:33.845
I use the industry events for is building

00:17:33.845 --> 00:17:34.345
audience.

00:17:34.645 --> 00:17:38.005
I always tell people that conferences are a

00:17:38.005 --> 00:17:39.310
marathon, not a sprint.

00:17:39.310 --> 00:17:40.110
Oh, that's right.

00:17:40.110 --> 00:17:40.270
The

00:17:40.270 --> 00:17:41.870
the days will catch up with you. You're

00:17:41.870 --> 00:17:46.430
gonna be simultaneously inspired and motivated to do

00:17:46.430 --> 00:17:50.030
something new and also utterly confused on how

00:17:50.030 --> 00:17:52.190
to do it, or you just figured it

00:17:52.190 --> 00:17:55.184
out, and that's the exciting part. Yeah. You

00:17:55.385 --> 00:17:57.465
I I feel like at this point, I

00:17:57.465 --> 00:18:00.265
can spot a newbie at a conference, like,

00:18:00.265 --> 00:18:02.505
a mile away. Or if someone comes up

00:18:02.505 --> 00:18:04.904
to me and I can just tell that

00:18:04.904 --> 00:18:06.345
they're like, I know I should be here

00:18:06.345 --> 00:18:08.184
getting this information, but I don't know what

00:18:08.184 --> 00:18:09.804
I'm actually supposed to be doing.

00:18:09.945 --> 00:18:12.210
Yeah. Or sometimes they don't even know what

00:18:12.210 --> 00:18:16.450
to ask. Mhmm. They're there maybe having done

00:18:16.450 --> 00:18:18.130
no pre work. And I always think it's

00:18:18.130 --> 00:18:19.990
important if you're gonna go to an event,

00:18:20.610 --> 00:18:23.250
take a look at the vendors, make a

00:18:23.250 --> 00:18:25.270
list of those that you wanna talk to,

00:18:25.505 --> 00:18:27.665
think about the questions you want to ask

00:18:27.665 --> 00:18:30.625
them, and at the same time, you know,

00:18:30.625 --> 00:18:33.745
pick out a handful of topics that you

00:18:33.745 --> 00:18:35.745
may wanna attend as far as sessions goes.

00:18:35.745 --> 00:18:38.005
But here's the thing I've always told people.

00:18:38.225 --> 00:18:41.940
Once you hit the ground, it's like, the

00:18:41.940 --> 00:18:44.740
opening moments of any event. Things the game

00:18:44.740 --> 00:18:47.460
plan's gonna change, so be flexible. The best

00:18:47.460 --> 00:18:51.000
conversations are often in the hallways or in

00:18:51.140 --> 00:18:53.835
even the after evening events where you're having

00:18:53.835 --> 00:18:56.155
those deep intimate conversations where you can you

00:18:56.155 --> 00:18:58.735
can spend thirty minutes chit chatting about stuff

00:18:59.195 --> 00:19:01.915
and, meeting your, you know, your heroes and

00:19:01.915 --> 00:19:05.275
fans. And at the same time, really getting

00:19:05.275 --> 00:19:07.290
this up and close personal information that you

00:19:07.450 --> 00:19:08.490
probably wouldn't otherwise.

00:19:08.490 --> 00:19:10.810
Yeah. One thing I would caution people about,

00:19:10.810 --> 00:19:13.150
and I've made this mistake, so I know.

00:19:14.090 --> 00:19:17.370
On the after events, don't overdo it. There's

00:19:17.370 --> 00:19:19.690
a lot of booze flying around. There's a

00:19:19.690 --> 00:19:22.325
lot you know, you you could party till,

00:19:22.325 --> 00:19:25.205
you know, daylight. And, man, I'll tell you,

00:19:25.205 --> 00:19:27.365
there's nothing worse than coming in in the

00:19:27.365 --> 00:19:30.165
morning to a conference and not feeling very

00:19:30.165 --> 00:19:33.765
good. So watch that stuff, you know, and

00:19:33.765 --> 00:19:36.870
then, you know, also depending on, you know,

00:19:36.870 --> 00:19:39.269
whatever, you don't you don't wanna start talking

00:19:39.269 --> 00:19:41.350
about stuff you really shouldn't be talking about

00:19:41.350 --> 00:19:44.870
in public, which has happened, which is kinda

00:19:44.870 --> 00:19:47.210
interesting for those of us who don't overindulge.

00:19:48.415 --> 00:19:51.615
Yeah. And Vegas can be an event too

00:19:51.615 --> 00:19:54.735
where you're definitely gonna wanna have as much

00:19:54.735 --> 00:19:57.295
water or twice as much water as you

00:19:57.295 --> 00:20:00.415
do any type of adult beverage, just because

00:20:00.415 --> 00:20:02.095
it is so dry and most of us

00:20:02.095 --> 00:20:04.300
are not used to, especially if you're going

00:20:04.300 --> 00:20:06.380
to Vegas, not used to the the arid

00:20:06.380 --> 00:20:08.620
conditions there. Other cities aren't as bad, but

00:20:08.620 --> 00:20:09.740
Vegas in particular is

00:20:09.900 --> 00:20:11.660
Yeah. And there's a lot of conferences in

00:20:11.660 --> 00:20:12.460
Vegas. So

00:20:12.780 --> 00:20:15.980
Yep. So hydrate, hydrate, hydrate as much as

00:20:15.980 --> 00:20:18.800
you can and, wash your hands often too.

00:20:18.904 --> 00:20:21.164
Bring a phone charger, bring a water bottle.

00:20:21.385 --> 00:20:23.625
It's it can get it to be a

00:20:23.625 --> 00:20:24.125
lot.

00:20:24.264 --> 00:20:25.144
Yeah. For sure.

00:20:25.144 --> 00:20:26.745
And and I think too is the thing

00:20:26.745 --> 00:20:28.664
with now we're in post COVID. I think

00:20:28.664 --> 00:20:31.480
people are more cognizant of, you know, touching

00:20:31.480 --> 00:20:32.760
their face and all that stuff. But I

00:20:32.760 --> 00:20:34.760
think too is, you know, having a little

00:20:34.760 --> 00:20:36.600
hand sanitizer on you is always a good

00:20:36.600 --> 00:20:39.320
idea just because you are meeting so many

00:20:39.320 --> 00:20:40.919
people and you might be fist bumping or

00:20:40.919 --> 00:20:43.960
elbow bumping, but, you'll always wanna have that

00:20:43.960 --> 00:20:46.585
hand sanitizer available to, you know, to to

00:20:46.585 --> 00:20:47.645
keep yourself healthy.

00:20:49.465 --> 00:20:50.905
And then, you know, the the last thing

00:20:50.905 --> 00:20:52.905
we wanted to kinda talk about is podcast

00:20:52.905 --> 00:20:55.705
specific industry events. You know, you as a

00:20:55.705 --> 00:20:58.905
podcaster, podcast creator, you might wanna check out

00:20:58.905 --> 00:21:02.080
one of these, Podfest down in Florida, Podcast

00:21:02.080 --> 00:21:05.380
Movement twice a year in different different locations,

00:21:06.160 --> 00:21:09.040
that kind of thing. The podcast specific events,

00:21:09.040 --> 00:21:11.920
it's they all have their own personality, I've

00:21:11.920 --> 00:21:15.215
noticed. Like, Podfest seems to be a little

00:21:15.215 --> 00:21:19.135
more newbie, new podcasters, and and people just

00:21:19.135 --> 00:21:24.255
curious about podcasting, whereas Podcast Movement Evolutions is

00:21:24.255 --> 00:21:26.580
more of an industry thing. It is a

00:21:26.580 --> 00:21:29.860
lot more businesses and and things like that,

00:21:29.860 --> 00:21:32.260
but there's always a mix of both. I

00:21:32.260 --> 00:21:34.740
I I've never been to evolutions until this

00:21:34.740 --> 00:21:38.020
year. And, you know, it it seems to

00:21:38.020 --> 00:21:41.575
me that that that's more upscale as far

00:21:41.575 --> 00:21:44.475
as the people that show up there. But,

00:21:45.015 --> 00:21:46.615
again, you know, there are a bit of

00:21:46.615 --> 00:21:48.375
everybody, and it doesn't hurt to go to

00:21:48.375 --> 00:21:50.615
one of those events. The three of us

00:21:50.615 --> 00:21:52.615
have gone to just a bunch of these

00:21:52.615 --> 00:21:53.115
things.

00:21:54.080 --> 00:21:56.240
The podcast movement event that'll be happening in

00:21:56.240 --> 00:21:58.640
Colorado later this year is one that is,

00:21:58.880 --> 00:22:01.300
probably the the biggest event of the year,

00:22:01.840 --> 00:22:04.320
as far as numbers goes, and we'll have

00:22:04.320 --> 00:22:08.025
probably the biggest variety of of creators. But

00:22:08.025 --> 00:22:09.865
there's lots of events that could be happening

00:22:09.865 --> 00:22:13.625
locally. I recommend you, you know, stay attuned

00:22:13.625 --> 00:22:16.505
of, podcast insider at podcast insider dot com

00:22:16.505 --> 00:22:18.505
to to look for upcoming events that we'll

00:22:18.505 --> 00:22:21.165
be at. But also just search for podcasting

00:22:21.305 --> 00:22:23.840
events twenty twenty three or whatever year this

00:22:23.840 --> 00:22:26.159
may be that you're listening to this topic,

00:22:26.159 --> 00:22:27.840
and you will be able to find the

00:22:27.840 --> 00:22:30.480
events that are happening maybe in your local

00:22:30.480 --> 00:22:32.080
area where you don't necessarily have to get

00:22:32.080 --> 00:22:34.799
on an airplane and go someplace to, to

00:22:34.799 --> 00:22:36.100
hang out with some podcasters.

00:22:36.695 --> 00:22:38.215
For sure. And there's a you know, there's

00:22:38.215 --> 00:22:40.695
some local groups as well that, you know,

00:22:40.695 --> 00:22:43.175
you look on Eventbrite and there's other places

00:22:43.175 --> 00:22:45.335
you can look meetup dot com, I think

00:22:45.335 --> 00:22:48.375
it is, or whatever that, one was. But

00:22:48.375 --> 00:22:50.054
we used to have one in Columbus all

00:22:50.054 --> 00:22:51.975
the time. That kinda went away with COVID,

00:22:51.975 --> 00:22:54.590
but there's they're just all over the place.

00:22:54.590 --> 00:22:57.230
So there are local podcaster groups, so search

00:22:57.230 --> 00:22:59.650
them out. You know, that way you can

00:23:00.029 --> 00:23:02.350
meet other creators because sometimes this can be

00:23:02.350 --> 00:23:04.510
kinda lonely, you know, especially if you're a

00:23:04.510 --> 00:23:05.490
solo podcaster.

00:23:06.385 --> 00:23:08.945
So think about an industry event related to

00:23:08.945 --> 00:23:10.705
your show topic. I think you'll get a

00:23:10.705 --> 00:23:12.785
lot out of it. Start with something close

00:23:12.785 --> 00:23:14.385
and then maybe decide to go to a

00:23:14.385 --> 00:23:15.205
national event.

00:23:15.424 --> 00:23:17.184
I think we got it covered. Just we're

00:23:17.184 --> 00:23:20.060
excited to see you at events later this

00:23:20.060 --> 00:23:21.680
year and stop by the booth.

00:23:22.060 --> 00:23:24.700
Thanks for joining us. Come back next week.

00:23:24.700 --> 00:23:27.440
And in the meantime, head to podcast insider

00:23:27.820 --> 00:23:31.660
dot com for more information, to subscribe, share,

00:23:31.660 --> 00:23:34.065
and read our show notes. To check out

00:23:34.065 --> 00:23:36.625
our latest suite of services and learn how

00:23:36.625 --> 00:23:40.385
Blueberry can help you leverage your podcast, visit

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blueberry dot com. That's Blueberry without the e's.