Operation Get on Stage: DENIED
Apply to Call for Speakers
To be seen by more, I apply to a ton of call for speakers. Hey, if I want people to learn about Zack Miller, I have to give them an avenue to say hello. Podcast Movement is the big juggernaut in the podcast conference world, so when I heard their annual conference had a call for speakers I will lit. Lit, as in excited, because that’s what the young bucks say!
Embarking on a new journey, I worked on a new talk. One that, if accepted to the Podcast Movement stage, would be different than all the others. To my dismay, I got the dreaded, “you suck emailâ€, aka you didn’t make the cut. It sucks, it happens. But I believe the topic is really important. I’ve shared it with some of my friends who are in “that world†and were surprised I got denied. This isn’t a dig on Podcast Movement in anyway btw. I’m excited to apply again next year and show the world why Zack Miller reigns!?
Show Off Your Skills
I’ve been thinking a lot of why I didn’t get accepted, and while the copy I haven’t changed, I’ll show you it exactly in a minute. I have decided that text and copy are not going to convey how I can win a live crowd, so I need to show off video in my call for speakers. I talked with my buddy Chris Hill and we decided a sizzle reel (a compilation of Zack Miller hits) would help a ton. Since, being live around a group is a better scenario for me than a writing proposal. Just ask every English teach I have ever had.?
Capitalizing On a Brands Voice
I researched Podcast Movement and recognized their brand uses a lot of culturally relevant meme’s as a part of their brands voice. One in particular, they used The Office meme’s in some of their commentary, so I titled my talk around one of the characters, Dwight K. Schrute.
Building Relationships
In general the talk is about relationship building instead of views and downloads as a key performance number. Call me crazy, but I don’t think everything needs to be about how successful your guests are, how much cash you drive from sponsors or how many downloads and listens you have. I play the long game, the game of life that will pay far more dividends over my lifetime than a six-month contract to a sponsor. I think and know it is incredibly important to create a ton of friendships and thats how I capitalize on my show, Fervent Four.
Building relationships from podcasts works, because I do it myself. Because of this, I’ve mad a ton of new friends from having guests on my show, to those who listen. One guest, Alex Young, host of The Powerful Mind, introduced me to a buddy of his and said I was “one of the most authentic people that I know and is all about building real relationships.�
This is my call for speakers application. Note: I did not use this pic of Dwight.
Headline: Becoming BFF with the Assistant to the Regional Manager, Dwight K Schrute
Description:
Stop focusing on creating a big audience and numbers and instead focusing on creating relationships. No one knows who you are and podcasts are blending together. While many are creating these shows to be seen, there is another avenue one can take that is more genuine and will have a longer tail life effect. Relationships.
Eyeballs and downloads are the metrics most podcasters are driven by, but that doesn’t mean those are the data points you need to be focused on. Instead, what if your single KPI was measured in friendships.
A lot of people network, think of podcasting as growing your network. But instead of trying to sell someone your product or service, create a friendship with them and invite them onto your show. Studies show that a person is changing careers or jobs roughly every 40 months. Imagine you meet someone on month 39.5 and all you did was annoyed them and tried selling to them. Rather than acting like a kid on the playground and making a new friend and focusing solely on that, instead of the sale. And it doesn’t have to be focused on who your guests are it could be your viewers as well.
For the past decade of my business career, I have focused on the long game and not the short one. Why? I am investing my time in helping others and a podcast can be just that.
- Find your target guests (new friends) throughout the internet and already existing friends
- How to create lifelong relationships with your guests
- Do more for your guests
- Stop worrying about downloads and instead focus on creating friends as the data point
This performance will not show you
- How to hack the podcast system
- Get sponsors
- Become podcast famous
Create Relationships as a Movement
So, there ya have it. What do you think? Is this a topic you think should be discussed more? Should I have made the cut? By focusing on an authentic relationship, you can have decades of wins instead of a one-off.
Create friends people!