Marketing Lessons From Podcamp Philly 3 (#PCPhilly3)

Charlie Seymour Jr — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 21:52:13 +0000

Share Ideas With Like-Minded People And You Always Get More Than You Started With

I have to hand it to Whitney Hoffman and her group of organizers – they know how to put on a really good "show" when it comes to Social Marketing, Search Engine Optimization, Link Strategies, Podcasting (audio and video), and much more.

Podcamps started in Boston 4 years ago and they bill themselves as UnConferences dedicated to podcasting, blogging, vlogging, and new media. And they had seminars for the newbie all the way to the most experienced. (I'm one of those experienced ones, but learned a ton from each "class" no matter what level it was aimed for.)

First they find a location (Temple University's Tuttleman Learning Center), then get some of the best speakers around (people volunteer to speak and everything said is shared with everyone), and then they have to make sure we spend some time getting to know each other so that the "social" aspect of what we do will lead to our doing more of it even after the "big day" is over.

I hadn't spent much time on the Temple University campus in North Philadelphia before, but I sure was impressed with the Tuttleman Learning Center and all the electronic gadgets and computers it has.

Where Else Can You Get So Much For Free?

The Podcamp was free… well, we paid a small fee to guarantee we'd show up and then the organizers turned around and donated the entrance fee to Covenant House which serves mostly 17 – 21 year old homeless youth: and the success stories we were told were very impressive.

How could all this be free? Because Sponsors stepped up to help.

I had a good chat in the hallway with AWeber Founder and CEO Tom Kulzer and Director of Education Marketing Justin Premick. I was telling them about some of the difficulties I had had with some of their competition and how impressed I was when I installed AWeber for one of my clients. These folks are from the Philadelphia area and they support Social Marketing events throughout the area and deserve our support back (even if they weren't the number one email marketing service in the world).

Tom had already spoken to our local GKIC-Philly chapter and I have to tell you he's as nice as he is sharp. What a special treat it is to talk with industry leaders just like they're normal, regular folks (which, of course, they are!).

You can learn more about Tom, Justin, and their services by clicking on the small notice below. I am now a proud supporter and affiliate of theirs (and you might just see me in my T-Shirt that says "I Love AWeber" on it).

Try AWeber Email Marketing Risk-Free

Other sponsors included:

Microsoft
Blubrry.com (the social podcasting folks)
The Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation (who KNOW we'll go from this conference saying good things about the Temple Campus and the city itself)
Springhouse (the world-class training and consulting group)
realPlayer SP (which some describe as the digital Swiss Army Knife for playing audio and video online)
Social Media Club (with it's chapters all over the country)
LTLPrints.com (with larger than life prints – and if any of the prints at the Podcamp are an example of their work, you should use them when you need a larger-that-life hard copy of a graphic or photograph), AND
Temple University itself.

What Were Some Of The Sessions?

If you are involved with Social Media, blogging, podcasting, being online, how is this for a range of topics:

And those were only SOME of the listings… on the FIRST DAY!

What Are Some Of The Added Benefits Of Being Face-To-Face?

Not only did I get to listen and watch such super-talents as Wil Reynold, Mike Grehan, and others, I was able to ask them questions during their sessions and speak to them afterwards. And when back to Facebook, I was able to friend many of them as well.

Having lunch together, chatting in the hallways on breaks, finding people who share my interests are just a few of the extra benefits of committing a Saturday and Sunday to learn more about what I spend so much time doing. Here are just a few of the folks I got to know;

Scot Wittman

http://www.rutgersprep.org

Everett Reiss, Project Manager, Applied Systems Technology but who also has his own blog the speaks directly to those of us who work at home (they way my own blog speaks to the same group).

Flip20091004VID00038PodcampPhilly3EverettReiss.flv

Hans Fremuth, Founder, Metability Software who lives about 2 miles from me (so we found out)

Whitney Hoffman, Head, Hoffman Digital Media who pulled the whole event together and who is raising two fun boys who shared the weekend with us (and whom I had met at Podcamp Boston 4 a few months earlier).

Adam Zand, Consultant, Almost Ubiquitous, who flew down from Boston for the weekend

Corynne Corbett, Founder & CEO, Chic Jones Media who asked me a question after one of our sessions and found herself on my Facebook profile. LOVE the name of her website: The Black Girl Site

Flip20091003VID00033PodcampPhilly3TheBlackGirlSite.flv

Gloria Bell, Red Stapler Consulting, a sharp marketer who spoke at one of the sessions I attended.

Liana Evans, Director of Social Media, Serengeti Communications who knows her Search Engine Optimization and shares clear information very easily.

Chris Abraham, President, Abraham Harrison LLC, whom I first met at Podcamp Boston 4

Matthew Ebel, Musician, Matthew Ebel Entertainment – you have to check out his music – this guy is working hard and will give you three free songs just for joining his email list!

Flip20091004VID00037PodcampPhilly3MatthewEbel.flv

… and SO many more.

What Are The Lessons From Podcamp Philly 3?

As an entrepreneur, many of us get narrowly focused and often need great input from others to reopen our minds. This is a perfect place for that.

There is WAAY too much for you to learn on your own. You HAVE to let other people help, and folks at Podcamps are there for that exact reason: to help!

YOU often have a great deal you can offer to others – volunteer to lead one of these sessions – you'll learn more because you had to prepare AND you'll learn from everyone who attends your session.

Thanks To All Who Participated

This post didn't start out to be a commercial nor a thank you letter… but SO much information, good feeling, helpful advice was given over the weekend it's hard to mention the Podcamp and not be an evangelist for it while also being so grateful for all who participated.

Thanks, everyone!

To learn more, stay in touch with my blog – I'll keep you informed so that YOU won't have to do the heavy lifting. Charlie Seymour Jr's Blog – Click HERE To See More!

Best,

Charlie Seymour Jr
A Work At Home Dad since 1983, succeeding in this economy

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Charlie Seymour Jr is an entrepreneurial evangelist and marketing-success coach helping individuals and companies (up to $100MM) explode their success through online and direct-response marketing. He specializes in blogging, podcasting, photography, video, and Facebook applications. Visit his blog at Charlie Seymour Jr's Blog to learn more about his successes.

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