In this episode, we focus on some thoughts that were delivered to us by a thought leader, Chris Brogan, in an email from his subscription list. The mail was dated 9 August 2020, and the subject was: “What we’ve learned so far.”
In addition, as one of the earliest podcasters in 2004 and 2005, he was one of the four founders of the podcamp events, which are barcamp-style inbound conferences that had several good ideas — among them, no fees for everyone, and all people were participants and not attendees, and that anyone could present and share without having to be in a psuedo-elite class.
Because I have known Chris since 2010 in our in-person meeting (and since 2007 in various podcamps and other podcast meetings and entrepreneur venues), I thought that his words-of-wisdom may be beneficial for both podcasters and entrepreneurs.
My dealings with Chris Brogan
The last time I met in person with Chris was in 2014 at the initial Podcast Movement conference in Dallas, in which he was the keynote speaker to kick off the first ever conference of this type (which is still going strong, with a virtual conference scheduled for October).
Before then, I had actually had an interview with him and Julien Smith, as co-authors of the book, Trust Agents. And we discussed the plights and tribulations and benefits that faced the entrepreneur at the time. In fact, I did record the interview, and it was published in PodcastReporter.com as a bonus episode on 28September2009.
And when it came time for him to be the keynote speaker of the very first Podcast Movement conference event in 2014, I was there with him to get his ideas for entrepreneur and podcaster success factors. So I did manage to corral him in a corner of the conference during a few moments which he did not have scheduled in a break-out or session, and I managed to get an interview at the Podcast Movement Conference in 2014:
The latter was known as episode # 12 of this show.
Now, sometimes the original text of a short email and what is said is much more important than a summary or an abridged edition. In this case, I felt that for the entrepreneur and podcaster to get the maximum benefit of this conversation, it would be best to deliver the entire message from Chris. And knowing him personally as I do (and, yes, I have purchased some of his webinars and offers from him before), I know that the would not mind for me to share these words with you. And if you find this of value, you may want to go to his web site and subscribe, or go to his YouTube channel of The BackPack
And there, you can also subscribe to his video channel and latest delivery of information.
“What we’ve learned so far…”
And here is the email letter that was sent out by Chris Brogan to his network of subscribers on 9 August 2020:
“All the world’s a stage, Fred.
Seems that way in pandemic-ville, doesn’t it? Endless Zoom calls (remember Skype?), and every speaker and podcaster friend I know getting back into video. It’s a very visual world for some.
I launched The Backpack Show originally to be a way to just connect and stay in touch. A …point of contact. Then, I shifted it to be a way to …catch up. Then, I knew I wanted to do it even better, so I brought Kerry O’Shea Gorgone in as consiglieri and co-host, and that’s the show.
Last week, I talked about the graphics changing the world. I thought I’d share some more learnings from the show as they apply to YOUR business and how to promote.
Steal These Learnings
Package – the ads and graphics conversation from last week covers this. You need visuals to really pop the projects you work on. Naming something is good. LABELING it is better.
Guide The Community – doing the Backpack Show for a little while now, it’s easy to feel like everyone’s been there to see every episode. There’s always someone new, so be crisp in guiding people through every experience. “It’s a business show, but with morning show energy” is one of our taglines because we’re setting the stage for what to expect. Do this often.
Promote – we’re getting ready to do a few Facebook ads to see if that pumps the numbers. Feels like it will. For as much as I ever tweet, or if Kerry tweets, that still drives very little traffic. If the guest shares the show with their community, the show pops.
Go Beyond – our guest list over the last few weeks and upcoming shows:
Mountain climber
Former pro football player/CEO
Professional comedians (2)
Magician/Positioning Expert
Broadway actor/singers (2)
The voice of Siri
NASCAR driver
Pro wrestler
YouTube celebrities (2)
Poop doctor
Chef
Adult film star and model
Futurists (2)
What’s interesting is that every time we invite one of our marketing or sales or business peers or friends, the results of attendance are mixed. Fewer views and less engagement for people in my same industry. Much more attendance and energy around the more unique guests.
Unknown is whether the perceived value of attending one type of show versus another changes. If you learn something from Daniel Pink or whoever, does it matter if fewer people see it than Scotland’s darling Janey Godley (who had 100x more views)?
Community-Driven – you know me. Everything I do has a massive community element. The show has live comments. We just launched a show email. We talk to guests and the community all the time on places like Twitter. Even more gratifying is we see people reach out and embrace our guests and thus expand those people’s communities even more. Threading together good people is the primary driving force behind how we execute the show.
Worth Checking Out / Thinking About
Not directly related to the show, but maybe so, it’s worth thinking about a few details:
People are consuming more video every day.
Very short form (sub 1 minute) and long form (over 30 minutes) seem to be the highest growth categories.
Instagram continues to gain attention share away from Twitter, Facebook, and the other social networks.
Email marketing is still the best platform for people hoping to do business with people and not just entertain.
People continue to make the transition from laptops/desktops to mobile-only computing/device usage. It’s a mobile world. Plan your business around that.
Finally – It’s the Work
You have what you sell and all that entails, but this – *waves hands around* – is also the work. Make content that engages. Connect with people around that content. It’s an easy model:
Content — Community — Marketplace
Build content that attracts people
Nurture those people into a community you serve
Articulate a marketplace that serves that community
That’s your work. Not just being good at your job. Not just running your company. It must be visible. And very very reinforced through repetition.
Are you ready for that?
Chris…”
We hope that these words from Chris Brogan may help to strengthen your resolve to succeed, in spite of the “Plandemic” and fearmongering and mask-debates going on during the virus crisis.
We hope that you can reflect on what you have learned so far, and that this will help to get you aimed at the targets of not only where you will want to go in the near future, but the success targets that you will have to learn in the coming months and years.
Thank you for your attention.
Copyright (c) 2020, Matrix Solutions Corporation and Chris Brogan. All rights reserved.
