1 00:00:00,799 --> 00:00:04,480 Marketing your event can feel like a whole event in and of itself. 2 00:00:04,480 --> 00:00:08,160 And today, I'm excited to have Kristina Bartold on the podcast to 3 00:00:08,160 --> 00:00:11,759 talk to us all about event marketing. But before we get into 4 00:00:11,759 --> 00:00:15,575 that, I gotta give a shout out to our sponsor, Riverside. Riverside 5 00:00:15,715 --> 00:00:19,235 is the all in one recording studio I use to record this here 6 00:00:19,235 --> 00:00:23,075 podcast. And my favorite part is a little magic they do behind 7 00:00:23,075 --> 00:00:26,595 the scenes. It's called magic clips. You record your podcast 8 00:00:26,595 --> 00:00:30,119 episode, and then the little AI robot guy behind the scenes 9 00:00:30,179 --> 00:00:33,300 takes clips of the episode for you. So when you all see those clips I 10 00:00:33,300 --> 00:00:37,140 post on social media, yeah, that's AI and it it truly is 11 00:00:37,140 --> 00:00:40,519 magical. So check it out for yourself. Click the link in the show notes today 12 00:00:40,579 --> 00:00:44,344 and get 15% off your Riverside subscription by using the 13 00:00:44,344 --> 00:00:48,105 code drea, that's d r e a, at checkout. With 14 00:00:48,105 --> 00:00:51,945 that, Kristina, welcome to the show. Drea, it's a dream 15 00:00:51,945 --> 00:00:54,760 to be here. I'm so excited. So thank you so much for having me. I'm 16 00:00:54,760 --> 00:00:58,600 excited to have you because I'm just coming off of the high that was High 17 00:00:58,600 --> 00:01:02,280 Vibe Women, your, signature event that you hosted this 18 00:01:02,280 --> 00:01:06,120 past weekend in Kitchener, Ontario, and it was just absolutely 19 00:01:06,120 --> 00:01:09,674 fabulous. So I wanna start the conversation with the catalyst, the 20 00:01:09,674 --> 00:01:13,275 inspiration for getting into the event space because you come from 21 00:01:13,275 --> 00:01:16,955 a marketing and social media background. So what why why events? What 22 00:01:16,955 --> 00:01:20,795 started that line of business for you? Yeah. So similarly to 23 00:01:20,795 --> 00:01:24,410 you, Drea, I loved my marketing agency. So we've been in business 24 00:01:24,410 --> 00:01:28,250 almost 4 years. We do done for you social media and podcasting. We have 80 25 00:01:28,250 --> 00:01:31,850 clients, like, love, love, love, no need for a side project. But something I had 26 00:01:31,850 --> 00:01:35,690 noticed was a lot of the entrepreneurs, who I knew and who 27 00:01:35,690 --> 00:01:39,305 we got to serve said entrepreneurship was lonely. And they talked a 28 00:01:39,305 --> 00:01:42,905 lot about how they didn't have great entrepreneur friends. They didn't have people to 29 00:01:42,905 --> 00:01:46,345 bounce ideas off of. Maybe there was a lot of gatekeeping in their industry. And 30 00:01:46,345 --> 00:01:49,640 so I was really lucky that early on I was investing in a lot of 31 00:01:49,640 --> 00:01:52,439 really great American rooms and was going over to the states and going to some 32 00:01:52,439 --> 00:01:55,880 amazing events over there and just couldn't find anything comparable at home. 33 00:01:55,880 --> 00:01:59,400 So we started throwing these little dinners. They'd be, like, 34 00:01:59,400 --> 00:02:03,125 10, 15, 20 entrepreneurial women. We always joke that 35 00:02:03,125 --> 00:02:06,805 our first one, we made $7, and then we realized we never even counted the 36 00:02:06,805 --> 00:02:09,685 the gas that it took us to get there. So we're calling that one still 37 00:02:09,685 --> 00:02:13,365 in the green. But, we would go and we would get together, and we had 38 00:02:13,365 --> 00:02:17,010 kind of a little bit of a format of the discussion. And people would leave 39 00:02:17,010 --> 00:02:20,530 with these amazing connections. Businesses were formed, like, 40 00:02:20,530 --> 00:02:24,370 relationships, client relationships were made, and we realized we were kinda onto something. So 41 00:02:24,370 --> 00:02:27,569 we started to run a little bit bigger events, you know, 30, 40 people. And 42 00:02:27,569 --> 00:02:30,770 then last January, we ran our 1st 100 person event. This past weekend, we had 43 00:02:30,770 --> 00:02:34,445 a 140 women. In March we're gearing towards a 200 person event, 44 00:02:34,505 --> 00:02:37,945 but really focused around like how to help entrepreneurial women build 45 00:02:37,945 --> 00:02:41,625 community and, you know, better their business. We know 46 00:02:41,625 --> 00:02:45,079 that business is not really meant to be done alone. Our businesses are 47 00:02:45,079 --> 00:02:48,599 stronger, better, I think, more profitable when we can do them with others. And 48 00:02:48,599 --> 00:02:52,040 so, really just kind of leaning into that has has kinda how we got 49 00:02:52,040 --> 00:02:55,560 started. Yes. And I could tell being in the room the 50 00:02:55,560 --> 00:02:59,335 intentionality behind the connection piece because it 51 00:02:59,335 --> 00:03:03,175 really did feel like we were all on the same team. Right? Like, even though 52 00:03:03,175 --> 00:03:06,875 there were other even marketers in the room, other agencies, 53 00:03:06,935 --> 00:03:10,470 like, everyone was there to kind of lift each other up. 54 00:03:10,710 --> 00:03:13,990 And I think that that is some of the value of live events. And I'm 55 00:03:13,990 --> 00:03:17,830 seeing that, especially, like, in this post pandemic world, we wanna 56 00:03:17,830 --> 00:03:21,430 be together in the same place. But what do you think is, 57 00:03:21,430 --> 00:03:25,110 like, one of the biggest takeaways of these live events outside 58 00:03:25,110 --> 00:03:28,325 of the the connections that are made in the room? So a few things I 59 00:03:28,325 --> 00:03:31,525 think come to mind when you ask that, like, obviously, the connections are are the 60 00:03:31,525 --> 00:03:35,125 best part. But I would say, one is drawing inspiration for your business. Like, I 61 00:03:35,125 --> 00:03:38,290 think that is a huge one. So whether it be like, I have been so 62 00:03:38,290 --> 00:03:41,330 shocked by sometimes sitting next to someone at dinner who I think, like, in air 63 00:03:41,330 --> 00:03:44,210 quotes, I'm gonna say, like, that might not provide value to my business. Right? Like, 64 00:03:44,210 --> 00:03:46,770 you sit next to someone and they're a lawyer and you're kinda like, oh, like, 65 00:03:46,770 --> 00:03:49,570 how are well, actually, lawyers are really gonna pour into your business. But, like, how 66 00:03:49,650 --> 00:03:53,110 you know, someone who maybe not might be adjacent not be adjacent to your business. 67 00:03:53,465 --> 00:03:56,504 And you might not think, oh, like, you know, that's gonna be a really fruitful 68 00:03:56,504 --> 00:04:00,025 connection, but you have no idea what that person's experience or what they know or 69 00:04:00,025 --> 00:04:03,864 what they've tried. Whether that be an amazing marketing idea, maybe it might 70 00:04:03,864 --> 00:04:07,485 be a connection that they have. There's lots of really good 71 00:04:07,989 --> 00:04:11,349 opportunities there. And so I think, like, the connections are, 72 00:04:11,670 --> 00:04:15,430 great for the inspiration for your business. And I also think listening to some of 73 00:04:15,430 --> 00:04:19,269 the speakers is so powerful because it allows you to borrow belief 74 00:04:19,269 --> 00:04:22,965 from them as well. Right? So we had, a panel, a 7 figure 75 00:04:22,965 --> 00:04:26,405 founder panel. And people, I can't tell you how much good feedback we got about 76 00:04:26,405 --> 00:04:30,245 the 7 figure panel. And I was on the fence about doing it because 77 00:04:30,245 --> 00:04:33,365 not everyone's very comfortable always talking about their numbers, and I didn't want people to 78 00:04:33,365 --> 00:04:36,470 feel like they had to, you know like, maybe people don't wanna scale to 7 79 00:04:36,470 --> 00:04:40,230 figures. Maybe that's not an aspiration of theirs. But it was really cool 80 00:04:40,230 --> 00:04:42,950 to listen to people be like, oh, yeah. That's gonna be me one day. Like, 81 00:04:42,950 --> 00:04:45,110 I can't wait to sit on that panel. I can't wait to be part of 82 00:04:45,110 --> 00:04:48,955 that and really borrow belief from each other. So I think apart from the 83 00:04:48,955 --> 00:04:52,715 relationships, I think that inspiration is what keeps us going and keeps us 84 00:04:52,715 --> 00:04:56,555 really excited for, you know, changes that come in our business. And and that's 85 00:04:56,555 --> 00:05:00,075 really helpful when, you know, your business isn't in an up season. Right? You need 86 00:05:00,075 --> 00:05:03,740 that inspiration and and that joy. Yeah. It's so intangible 87 00:05:03,800 --> 00:05:07,480 too. Like, the the dynamic of, like I love that you said borrowing belief 88 00:05:07,480 --> 00:05:11,240 from people because we do need that as business owners, especially those of us 89 00:05:11,240 --> 00:05:14,920 who work by ourselves for ourselves. It could be very isolating. And 90 00:05:14,920 --> 00:05:18,365 so to have that camaraderie is so important. Okay. So let's talk about event 91 00:05:18,365 --> 00:05:22,205 marketing. You know, when we sit down, start planning out our events, how 92 00:05:22,205 --> 00:05:25,965 do we design an event that makes people excited to attend? 93 00:05:25,965 --> 00:05:28,865 What are some of the things you think about when you're planning your next event? 94 00:05:29,260 --> 00:05:33,020 Yeah. So in terms of when we're actually doing the actual planning, I think the 95 00:05:33,020 --> 00:05:36,700 the thing that we have noticed the most is actually and it's funny because I 96 00:05:36,700 --> 00:05:40,460 think this is actually counterintuitive is people think that speakers are 97 00:05:40,460 --> 00:05:44,295 what people come for. And we've always been so, like, blessed by our 98 00:05:44,295 --> 00:05:47,995 speakers. Drea, you spoke. You were fabulous. We had some amazing speakers. 99 00:05:48,455 --> 00:05:51,735 But I actually think people come more for each other. And so really when we 100 00:05:51,735 --> 00:05:55,575 start to think about our experience, we start to think about, like, what 101 00:05:55,575 --> 00:05:59,240 can we do to foster connection with each other. We 102 00:05:59,240 --> 00:06:02,919 think about what kind of things we'd want people to be talking 103 00:06:02,919 --> 00:06:06,039 about. What we think backwards a little bit. Like, what would we want people to 104 00:06:06,039 --> 00:06:09,340 describe our event as? What and then then we start to fill in the programming. 105 00:06:09,595 --> 00:06:12,315 Do we want people to feel like there was tons and tons of information? Do 106 00:06:12,315 --> 00:06:15,355 we want people to feel like there were lots of opportunities for connection? Do we 107 00:06:15,355 --> 00:06:18,155 want people to feel like, you know, there are a lot of photo ops? Do 108 00:06:18,155 --> 00:06:20,715 we want people to think that there was, you know, like, a lot of great 109 00:06:20,715 --> 00:06:24,255 snacks? Like, what whatever those things are. And we kinda plan from that point. 110 00:06:24,539 --> 00:06:28,060 And so I think that that's kinda what's made this, at least 111 00:06:28,060 --> 00:06:31,819 successful to this point has been there's been a lot of intentionality around the feedback 112 00:06:31,819 --> 00:06:35,039 that we take from people of of what people like and what people don't like. 113 00:06:35,099 --> 00:06:38,835 And we really use that to help, you know, build hype around what 114 00:06:38,835 --> 00:06:42,595 we're doing. And so I actually from a marketing perspective, you know, luckily 115 00:06:42,595 --> 00:06:46,275 being a marketer, like, I'm able to, like, actually use the words that people 116 00:06:46,275 --> 00:06:50,030 say about our event in the marketing. Like, when I hear people say, like, you 117 00:06:50,030 --> 00:06:53,550 know, I love meeting new people. I'm I'm really here for, like, you know, the 118 00:06:53,550 --> 00:06:57,229 people at my table were amazing. Okay. The next time, I'm gonna actually let 119 00:06:57,229 --> 00:07:00,270 people talk more at their tables. Like, when I hear that people are like, hey. 120 00:07:00,270 --> 00:07:03,630 I actually didn't really care that much about, you know, the snack break, but I 121 00:07:03,630 --> 00:07:07,175 really would have loved more movement. Okay. Great. How do we implement more of that 122 00:07:07,175 --> 00:07:11,014 stuff? So I think when thinking about building an event, really just listening to what 123 00:07:11,014 --> 00:07:14,294 people have to say about your event is helpful not only on the marketing side, 124 00:07:14,294 --> 00:07:17,995 but then also in the design perspective. And we always too 125 00:07:18,055 --> 00:07:21,539 when it came to social, I can't say enough that when you're planning an 126 00:07:21,539 --> 00:07:25,379 event, invest in the video, invest in 127 00:07:25,379 --> 00:07:29,219 the photography. You know, invest in the content creator. We had, like, at one 128 00:07:29,219 --> 00:07:32,500 point, there was our, like, videographer was standing and then I saw our photographer was 129 00:07:32,500 --> 00:07:35,300 standing in front of her and then it crouched down was a girl with an 130 00:07:35,300 --> 00:07:38,634 iPhone. And I was like, that is the way it's supposed to be, people. We 131 00:07:38,634 --> 00:07:42,074 need this content because people wanna feel part of something. They wanna feel part of 132 00:07:42,074 --> 00:07:45,914 that emotion. So that's why our first reel that we always post after event, 133 00:07:45,914 --> 00:07:48,555 there's lots of people in it because we want people to look for themselves and 134 00:07:48,555 --> 00:07:52,180 see themselves in in there. So I think really focusing on on your 135 00:07:52,180 --> 00:07:55,940 people makes such a big difference. Yeah. A 100%. Like, 136 00:07:55,940 --> 00:07:59,220 show them what it is instead of describing it. And I do wanna talk more 137 00:07:59,220 --> 00:08:02,820 about your marketing because I think that the challenge with 138 00:08:02,820 --> 00:08:06,525 events is that sometimes as the event planners, I I I work with a 139 00:08:06,525 --> 00:08:10,305 lot of event planners, they wanna just go, it's here. Sign up. 140 00:08:10,365 --> 00:08:13,965 Yes. And, like, we want people to just go, oh, yeah. I'm in. But 141 00:08:13,965 --> 00:08:17,565 there's a strategy behind just like, come to our event. Come to our event. Please, 142 00:08:17,565 --> 00:08:21,010 beg it. Come to our event. So talk to me about about the marketing 143 00:08:21,010 --> 00:08:24,530 strategy, like, leading up to event. What are some of the things that you're making 144 00:08:24,530 --> 00:08:28,310 sure to put in there to to to sell out the event? Yeah. 145 00:08:28,370 --> 00:08:31,810 So we were really blessed with this past event that we sold out that event 146 00:08:31,810 --> 00:08:35,490 in 10 days. So we were really, like, lucky and and before we'd even really 147 00:08:35,490 --> 00:08:39,055 announce speakers. So we were, like, getting close to like, we were still 148 00:08:39,055 --> 00:08:42,175 announcing speakers and the events had sold out. That was like, sorry speakers, your friends 149 00:08:42,175 --> 00:08:45,775 can't come. Like, it was actually getting, like, getting a little tight in there as 150 00:08:45,775 --> 00:08:49,215 you saw. But one of the things I think that we did well with that 151 00:08:49,215 --> 00:08:52,490 was we learned a lot from the first time we ran our 100% where we 152 00:08:52,490 --> 00:08:56,250 didn't sell out. And why I think, there was that 153 00:08:56,250 --> 00:09:00,010 difference there is one, I think proof of concept is very important. I think 154 00:09:00,010 --> 00:09:03,855 when you are selling an event for the first time, go easy on yourself. 155 00:09:03,935 --> 00:09:07,454 Like, it's so easy when you see other people. I have friends who run large 156 00:09:07,454 --> 00:09:11,135 scale 1,000 person events, and it's so easy to compare yourself and be like, oh, 157 00:09:11,135 --> 00:09:14,894 you know, people just don't want what I'm offering. Like, people aren't looking for 158 00:09:14,894 --> 00:09:18,700 that. But if you provide one really good experience, the second is easy for 159 00:09:18,700 --> 00:09:22,060 you to put on as well. It's just you just need that practice. It's like 160 00:09:22,060 --> 00:09:25,500 putting in your reps with anything else. So I think that's the first thing. The 161 00:09:25,500 --> 00:09:29,100 second is we did really focus on a lot of, like, 162 00:09:29,100 --> 00:09:32,745 FOMO creation in terms of content. I hate 163 00:09:32,745 --> 00:09:35,705 saying that because it sounds like non inclusive that I'm trying to, like, create FOMO 164 00:09:35,705 --> 00:09:39,545 for people. But we really wanted to show people, like, what they were missing 165 00:09:39,545 --> 00:09:43,145 out on, if they hadn't been there, the relationships. And 166 00:09:43,145 --> 00:09:46,605 and because we use so much content of the actual participants, 167 00:09:46,990 --> 00:09:49,470 it was so cool to see them, like, be like, oh my gosh, this was 168 00:09:49,470 --> 00:09:52,990 the best weekend ever. And then people are seeing their friends comment. Right? And they're 169 00:09:52,990 --> 00:09:56,510 like, oh, that's like that's the trust. And I think we know this as as 170 00:09:56,510 --> 00:10:00,204 marketers ourselves, like, we can say whatever until we're blue in the face, 171 00:10:00,204 --> 00:10:03,805 but that's nothing compared to someone else's, like, trusted 172 00:10:03,805 --> 00:10:07,485 friend or source saying it. I think about, like, anything I ever 173 00:10:07,485 --> 00:10:10,285 buy, I'm like, oh, I got hit by an ad for this. But, Drea, if 174 00:10:10,285 --> 00:10:13,259 you tell me to buy it, I'm definitely gonna buy it. Right? So we really 175 00:10:13,379 --> 00:10:16,180 like, we have a lot of trust in our people. So how do you actually 176 00:10:16,180 --> 00:10:19,620 get a lot of your ambassadors ready? And that's something that we did really well 177 00:10:19,620 --> 00:10:23,379 the second time was we were very honest with, like, you know, our friends 178 00:10:23,379 --> 00:10:26,605 and our entrepreneurial friends who are gonna be there. Like, hey. Like, it's our goal 179 00:10:26,605 --> 00:10:29,165 to sell sell out this event, and the tickets are gonna go on sale on 180 00:10:29,165 --> 00:10:32,524 this date, and here are the assets. And we made it easy for people to 181 00:10:32,524 --> 00:10:35,245 promote. Like, we didn't say, like, oh, we have this event that's coming out on 182 00:10:35,245 --> 00:10:37,805 this date. Like, you know, can you talk about it? It was like, hey. Here's 183 00:10:37,805 --> 00:10:41,589 an email you can send. Here just here are photos. Like, making it very, very 184 00:10:41,589 --> 00:10:44,709 simple for people. And there's also a rule too and, 185 00:10:45,350 --> 00:10:48,149 like, I think that this is something that we see with all forms of marketing, 186 00:10:48,149 --> 00:10:51,670 but event marketing too, is the more that people see something, the more it 187 00:10:51,670 --> 00:10:54,855 resonates for them. Right? So when people see something over and over again and they're 188 00:10:54,855 --> 00:10:57,975 like, oh, Drea went to that event. Oh, Kristina went to that event. Oh, like, 189 00:10:57,975 --> 00:11:01,595 this person went to that event. Then they start to kind of build a narrative 190 00:11:01,735 --> 00:11:05,430 around, like, what it is for good or for bad. And 191 00:11:05,430 --> 00:11:09,110 so I think, really, again, building that hype and asking people to share and 192 00:11:09,110 --> 00:11:12,710 be part of the messaging and the sharing of it, I think, was was kind 193 00:11:12,710 --> 00:11:16,230 of one of the keys that we had in in building it out. Yeah. Yeah. 194 00:11:16,230 --> 00:11:19,610 And I love that you talked about the ambassadors too because there is, 195 00:11:20,070 --> 00:11:23,685 a power in community. And I think when you're when you're talking 196 00:11:23,685 --> 00:11:27,365 about event, it literally is a community in and of itself. Right? And 197 00:11:27,365 --> 00:11:30,805 so having the ambassadors is a great amplification. It's like 198 00:11:30,805 --> 00:11:34,480 showing what that community is like. I'm I'm so 199 00:11:34,480 --> 00:11:37,680 guilty of this. When I go to events, I'm always like, well, who's gonna be 200 00:11:37,680 --> 00:11:41,520 there? Who who's gonna be in the room? Right? A 100%. And so that's 201 00:11:41,520 --> 00:11:44,960 what your ambassadors are doing. Yeah. And you know what? It's so interesting because 202 00:11:44,960 --> 00:11:48,635 I I've been that person too where even though there was an event 203 00:11:48,635 --> 00:11:52,175 recently in New York City I went to and there there was 75 people going. 204 00:11:52,475 --> 00:11:55,275 And my friend was, like, was running the event. She said, you should come. I 205 00:11:55,275 --> 00:11:57,755 was, like, yeah. I'm definitely gonna come. And I didn't buy my ticket. And I 206 00:11:57,755 --> 00:12:00,795 was, like, I was, like, oh, like, who's who's gonna be there? Like, who who's 207 00:12:00,795 --> 00:12:03,400 in the room? Like, who am I gonna step aside? Like, what what's the situation 208 00:12:03,400 --> 00:12:06,680 even though I was pretty bought in? And so we think it's the same for 209 00:12:06,680 --> 00:12:09,400 for anything that we do. It's like people want no one wants to be the 210 00:12:09,400 --> 00:12:12,920 first to do anything, so that's why social proof is really important. And whenever I 211 00:12:12,920 --> 00:12:16,635 tell anybody who's, you know, selling an event, something that we do that 212 00:12:16,635 --> 00:12:20,475 is so little that makes such a big difference is we will 213 00:12:20,475 --> 00:12:24,155 take screenshots of, like, receipts of people buying, like, with no 214 00:12:24,155 --> 00:12:27,835 personal information. No, like, Dreodon is buying a ticket. But, you know and 215 00:12:27,835 --> 00:12:31,410 we'll say, oh, look. There's, you know, 25 people who purchased. And I can tell 216 00:12:31,410 --> 00:12:34,770 you the how many times where I've been like, oh, you know, get your tickets. 217 00:12:34,770 --> 00:12:38,210 Like, we've we've, you know, we're at 60% sold out. We're at 218 00:12:38,210 --> 00:12:41,810 80% sold out. That those numbers that sit with people, they create 219 00:12:41,810 --> 00:12:44,985 urgency. And so something I see with a lot of people is they don't create 220 00:12:44,985 --> 00:12:48,585 any urgency in their marketing plan for, selling events. And 221 00:12:48,585 --> 00:12:52,105 so then they're like, why aren't people buying tickets? Why aren't people buying tickets? And 222 00:12:52,105 --> 00:12:55,705 then it's 2 days until the last day and they're like, oh, 10, 20 people 223 00:12:55,705 --> 00:12:59,100 bought a ticket because they were waiting. So what can you do to actually spark 224 00:12:59,100 --> 00:13:02,720 some excitement and some urgency in in folks so that they make a quicker choice? 225 00:13:03,019 --> 00:13:06,300 Okay. I wanna talk more about urgency Yeah. Because I I think it can be 226 00:13:06,300 --> 00:13:09,895 challenging depending on the timeline of the events. So when we're 227 00:13:09,895 --> 00:13:13,575 thinking about urgency, you know, sometimes when I work with event planners, it's like 228 00:13:13,575 --> 00:13:17,095 raising the price of the tickets over time. It can be things like, 229 00:13:17,415 --> 00:13:21,175 speaker announcements, booking rooms, you know, refund 230 00:13:21,175 --> 00:13:24,940 deadlines. What are some of your favorite ways to deploy urgency 231 00:13:25,080 --> 00:13:27,900 in marketing, especially when it comes to event marketing? 232 00:13:28,760 --> 00:13:32,440 So one of the things I will say I'm very passionate about is being 233 00:13:32,440 --> 00:13:36,200 honest about things. So, like, I think people sometimes create fake 234 00:13:36,200 --> 00:13:39,814 urgency. And, like, I've seen this before. I've gone to events actually 235 00:13:39,814 --> 00:13:43,175 before where they're like, it's 90% sold out. And I'm like, this is a a 236 00:13:43,175 --> 00:13:46,935 1,000 person here event, and there's 65 people here. Like, that's there was there 237 00:13:46,935 --> 00:13:50,454 was no 80% sold out. Right? And so that's a faux pas, and people don't 238 00:13:50,454 --> 00:13:54,000 like that, and people won't buy an event or ticket twice. Right? But I think 239 00:13:54,000 --> 00:13:57,459 for for when I think about creating urgency, it's it's really around, 240 00:13:58,160 --> 00:14:02,000 one, I love, the pricing structure of it. So something that 241 00:14:02,000 --> 00:14:05,805 I'm really also passionate about, maybe this is a hot take, but I don't 242 00:14:05,805 --> 00:14:09,565 like the, like, yo yo on the pricing. So where it's like, 243 00:14:09,565 --> 00:14:13,025 you know, you go with 4.99 and then and then it goes up to 5.99 244 00:14:13,085 --> 00:14:16,285 and then it's 2.99 and then it's back up to 5.99 because the people who 245 00:14:16,285 --> 00:14:19,565 bought at regular price are not happy about that. And and, for me, it's really 246 00:14:19,565 --> 00:14:23,340 important about kinda creating that experience for people. And this is something that we 247 00:14:23,340 --> 00:14:25,740 we were a bit the hard way, right, where we would be like, oh, you 248 00:14:25,740 --> 00:14:28,620 know, we get even this past weekend, we gave a code and bunch of people 249 00:14:28,620 --> 00:14:30,700 didn't use the code. And they're like, can you refund me the money for the 250 00:14:30,700 --> 00:14:34,445 code? And it creates kind of a logistical nightmare. So really, like, I think 251 00:14:34,445 --> 00:14:38,225 that early bird is really important and being really strategic with that early bird 252 00:14:38,365 --> 00:14:42,045 of, okay, I'm gonna give it a week. You know, maybe do a, like, a 253 00:14:42,125 --> 00:14:45,565 but and thinking about, like, what is a what is perceived value for people? So 254 00:14:45,565 --> 00:14:49,269 maybe it's, you know, a $100, $200 off, but it also could be cut like, 255 00:14:49,269 --> 00:14:53,029 could it include a breakfast? Like, could you add an extra something in a 256 00:14:53,029 --> 00:14:56,790 swag bag? You know, we had, our friend Jordy who 257 00:14:56,790 --> 00:15:00,545 does IVs. Like, could a b 12 shop be included? Like, can you 258 00:15:00,545 --> 00:15:04,144 do something like that that's creative and adds value that maybe doesn't hit the 259 00:15:04,144 --> 00:15:07,985 cost too hard? Then I would say as you're getting closer, I would I would 260 00:15:07,985 --> 00:15:11,825 just think about bonuses in different ways. One of my mentors what they would 261 00:15:11,825 --> 00:15:14,890 do if if they were ever in a in a pickle on people is they 262 00:15:14,890 --> 00:15:18,570 would offer, like, a hotel bonus. That would be, like, get 4 people to buy 263 00:15:18,570 --> 00:15:21,770 a ticket and we'll cover your hotel room for the night. Like, you know, thinking 264 00:15:21,770 --> 00:15:25,529 about different ways that, you know, is of respect still to the people who bought 265 00:15:25,529 --> 00:15:29,370 the tickets, but also can get creative if you need people kinda in the 266 00:15:29,370 --> 00:15:32,605 doors. But hopefully, the thing I will say too, Drea, 267 00:15:33,145 --> 00:15:36,745 in running an event, we didn't start with a 200 person event. And 268 00:15:36,745 --> 00:15:40,584 so I think when you're running an event, like, knowing kinda what 269 00:15:40,584 --> 00:15:44,130 your audience size is and, like, what people would buy 270 00:15:44,510 --> 00:15:48,350 is really important. So you don't have to, like, depend on urgency. Because 271 00:15:48,350 --> 00:15:51,230 I think that that's something I've seen people make mistakes on where they're like, I'm 272 00:15:51,230 --> 00:15:54,350 gonna run a 1,000 person event, but they don't have the 1,000 people who are 273 00:15:54,350 --> 00:15:58,015 gonna purchase an event, and maybe at that price point. And 274 00:15:58,015 --> 00:16:01,455 so even things like that, keeping those things in mind, and that's why market research 275 00:16:01,455 --> 00:16:04,975 is really important. But I would say for urgency, the big stuff is really just, 276 00:16:04,975 --> 00:16:08,255 like, on the front end. I think, like, what can you do to, like, create 277 00:16:08,255 --> 00:16:12,070 that kind of instant buy? Yeah. Yeah. I love that. I love this 278 00:16:12,070 --> 00:16:14,950 conversation. And one of the things that stuck out to me too about what you 279 00:16:14,950 --> 00:16:18,570 said is building trust with the urgency so that there's, 280 00:16:19,190 --> 00:16:22,790 higher potential for them to come to the next event. Right? It's like looking 281 00:16:22,790 --> 00:16:26,625 beyond just this isolated event and going, this is a long term 282 00:16:26,625 --> 00:16:30,464 strategy. And that's what I really loved about your event as well is the 283 00:16:30,464 --> 00:16:33,904 amount of people afterwards who messaged me, and they were 284 00:16:33,904 --> 00:16:37,530 like, this was amazing. Will you be at the next one? And then also the 285 00:16:37,530 --> 00:16:40,170 people who messaged me was like, man, I missed this one. I need to go 286 00:16:40,170 --> 00:16:43,370 to the next one. Why do you think that is? Like, why do you think 287 00:16:43,370 --> 00:16:47,050 your people are so loyal to your community? What are the 288 00:16:47,050 --> 00:16:50,810 moves that you're making so that the next one sells out just as much as 289 00:16:50,810 --> 00:16:54,625 this one does? Mhmm. Well, firstly, I'm honored to hear that because, 290 00:16:54,625 --> 00:16:58,385 honestly, like, I I don't take that for granted at all that people are interested 291 00:16:58,385 --> 00:17:01,665 in coming to these events. Like, me and Maria always joke around every time we 292 00:17:01,665 --> 00:17:05,184 book a venue, and our next one's larger and was quite a hefty deposit when 293 00:17:05,184 --> 00:17:08,369 we put it down. We're like, well, hopefully, it's not just me, you, and the 294 00:17:08,369 --> 00:17:12,210 stage, you know, up here. So every time someone buys a ticket, we're like, another 295 00:17:12,210 --> 00:17:15,970 one. So the first thing I will say is, I'm 296 00:17:15,970 --> 00:17:19,650 in a very privileged position in the fact that, there 297 00:17:19,650 --> 00:17:23,045 isn't a lot going on where I live. And so that is something to to 298 00:17:23,045 --> 00:17:25,765 keep in mind with folks. Like, I have a friend who lives in New York 299 00:17:25,765 --> 00:17:28,005 City, and she was like, how do you get your events to sell out so 300 00:17:28,005 --> 00:17:31,465 fast? I'm like, you could do something different every minute in New York. 301 00:17:31,765 --> 00:17:34,905 I live at just outside of Toronto, about an hour out. 302 00:17:35,810 --> 00:17:39,490 And there there aren't isn't a huge entrepreneurial scene here. And, 303 00:17:39,810 --> 00:17:42,530 or it is and I'm unaware of it. I don't know. Someone I always say, 304 00:17:42,530 --> 00:17:45,650 if someone knows it, please invite me to it. I'd love to come. So I 305 00:17:45,650 --> 00:17:48,930 think that's one piece that's really working for us is that, you know, we're kinda 306 00:17:48,930 --> 00:17:51,965 going first in a lot of ways and kind of really just, like, kind of 307 00:17:51,965 --> 00:17:55,725 building, which is great. I think what keeps people coming back, which we have a 308 00:17:55,725 --> 00:17:59,325 really high return rate for events. Like, it's very rare we see somebody only one 309 00:17:59,325 --> 00:18:03,085 time. So whether that be the small to the big. I think really 310 00:18:03,085 --> 00:18:06,810 a big piece of it is Maria and I's energy around the event. And I 311 00:18:06,890 --> 00:18:10,650 I think the leadership that people show in events is so important. Like, you know, 312 00:18:10,650 --> 00:18:14,250 I I take time to try to, like, meet everybody. I, you know, we go 313 00:18:14,250 --> 00:18:17,450 with, like, I'm great with names, which is a gift, but, like, really try to 314 00:18:17,450 --> 00:18:20,270 remember things about people's businesses, really try to make those connections. 315 00:18:21,050 --> 00:18:24,875 And I think that itself creates a ripple effect. 316 00:18:25,575 --> 00:18:28,055 I have a a mentor that I love and I I go to a lot 317 00:18:28,055 --> 00:18:31,495 of their events and they're the same. Like, you know, they they'll meet somebody and 318 00:18:31,495 --> 00:18:34,295 it's like, I'm like, oh, I there's no way they remember that person. And they're 319 00:18:34,295 --> 00:18:36,590 like, so sorry. I don't remember you. What kind of business do you have again? 320 00:18:36,590 --> 00:18:40,049 Oh, I have a great connection for you. Like, really just like that generosity 321 00:18:40,270 --> 00:18:43,150 goes a long way. And then people start to do that with each other. Yeah. 322 00:18:43,150 --> 00:18:46,830 And I think the nice thing about these events, Drea, is that once people 323 00:18:46,830 --> 00:18:49,950 start coming, it's really not about us at all. They're not coming for me and 324 00:18:49,950 --> 00:18:52,965 Maria. They're They're coming for each other. Like, it's like you go back to camp 325 00:18:52,965 --> 00:18:56,184 every summer. You don't really go for the counselors. You're going, like, for your friends. 326 00:18:56,485 --> 00:18:59,764 And that's kind of what the the vibe has become where, you know, they're like, 327 00:18:59,764 --> 00:19:02,644 oh, I see the next High Vibe Women thing. I'm so excited to see you. 328 00:19:02,644 --> 00:19:06,070 Like, and Maria and I are just kinda like the minions organizing it over here. 329 00:19:06,070 --> 00:19:09,910 And so, I think that that's it. And I think around the piece about 330 00:19:09,910 --> 00:19:13,590 selling out, you know, I I'll be vulnerable in telling you that 331 00:19:13,590 --> 00:19:17,270 moving this to a 200 person event at a hotel, like, has a different feel 332 00:19:17,270 --> 00:19:21,085 for it for sure. And, different level of investment on our end and 333 00:19:21,085 --> 00:19:24,925 and, like, really a lot of things. But I think what we we were so 334 00:19:24,925 --> 00:19:28,765 passionate about was just actually, like, could we we could have fit 335 00:19:28,765 --> 00:19:32,130 more people in, but the roundtables are really important to us. Us. Like, we wanted 336 00:19:32,130 --> 00:19:35,170 people to have seats where they could sit with lots of people and they could 337 00:19:35,170 --> 00:19:38,770 get to know a table rather than just, like, 1 or 2 other people. You 338 00:19:38,770 --> 00:19:41,970 know, there were there were little things that we kept, like, you know, having an 339 00:19:41,970 --> 00:19:45,505 accessible stage is really important to us. Like, little things like that 340 00:19:45,505 --> 00:19:49,185 that, you know, really keep our keep us at the forefront, I think 341 00:19:49,185 --> 00:19:52,945 are what make our events our events. And so, it's really 342 00:19:52,945 --> 00:19:55,105 easy, I think, when you're thinking about, like, how am I gonna sell up this 343 00:19:55,105 --> 00:19:57,620 event? Like, you know, do I you know, do a sale? Like, do we, like, 344 00:19:57,620 --> 00:20:00,580 you know, do I send a message to every single person I know? And but 345 00:20:00,580 --> 00:20:03,780 I'm actually noticing that our people are actually selling the event in a lot of 346 00:20:03,780 --> 00:20:06,980 ways for us. And, like, we're seeing people posting on Instagram being like, hey. Hi, 347 00:20:06,980 --> 00:20:10,580 Vibe Women. Like, there are 60% sold out of their VIP tickets. Like, if you 348 00:20:10,580 --> 00:20:14,135 want 1, grab 1. Like, and we're not even saying it, which is awesome. So, 349 00:20:14,355 --> 00:20:17,635 yeah, long winded, but I would say, like, really, it's keeping it to the the 350 00:20:17,794 --> 00:20:20,515 at the core of the energy of, like, what you wanna bring to the event. 351 00:20:20,515 --> 00:20:24,275 And, I think also, like, really using that community in your network to be 352 00:20:24,275 --> 00:20:27,960 able to to help you you move in in front of new people. Yeah. 353 00:20:28,020 --> 00:20:31,140 I wanna talk more about the energy piece too because I think that this is 354 00:20:31,140 --> 00:20:34,980 hard to capture in marketing, especially for events, 355 00:20:34,980 --> 00:20:38,820 especially for the first event. Right? Yeah. I think subsequent events, you can 356 00:20:38,820 --> 00:20:42,605 use the videos from the event. But, you know, for someone listening who's thinking, okay, 357 00:20:42,605 --> 00:20:46,285 I'm gonna start my first event, and I do wanna capture what 358 00:20:46,285 --> 00:20:50,125 that energy is like. What kind of advice would you give that person as 359 00:20:50,125 --> 00:20:53,860 they're they're planning their marketing? Yeah. So I would say if I was doing 360 00:20:53,860 --> 00:20:56,020 this all again and I was running my first event and I was trying to 361 00:20:56,020 --> 00:20:58,980 get, like, you know, a content creator or I was trying to give advice on 362 00:20:58,980 --> 00:21:02,580 what kind of person I I wanted, I would say really 363 00:21:02,580 --> 00:21:05,940 making it so much less about the people on the stage and making it so 364 00:21:05,940 --> 00:21:09,525 much more about the people in the room, and really 365 00:21:09,525 --> 00:21:13,284 capturing content of them rather than of you on 366 00:21:13,284 --> 00:21:16,645 stage or of your speakers even. Like, getting great shots for your speakers is so 367 00:21:16,645 --> 00:21:20,405 important, and and getting shots of you is important. But really making it 368 00:21:20,405 --> 00:21:24,210 about their experience and being quick with it. That's 369 00:21:24,210 --> 00:21:27,990 something that actually, like, my my friends who own Crate and Cultivate in the States, 370 00:21:28,050 --> 00:21:31,250 like, they actually post I think this is nuts and I like, in the best 371 00:21:31,250 --> 00:21:34,850 way, I've just never been able to actualize this myself, but they 372 00:21:34,850 --> 00:21:38,605 post fully edited photos day of. Like, we'll be at the 373 00:21:38,605 --> 00:21:42,285 event. Like, right now, a fully edited photo will be posted. And I think 374 00:21:42,285 --> 00:21:45,265 that's amazing, and it adds a very high level of professionalism, 375 00:21:45,965 --> 00:21:49,245 that I personally am not available for. Like, I'm I'm a tired woman. I'm like, 376 00:21:49,245 --> 00:21:52,990 I'm not gonna be editing these photos. But, but it was it's such 377 00:21:52,990 --> 00:21:56,830 a cool idea, but I think, like, what's even better is, like, how do you 378 00:21:56,830 --> 00:22:00,590 capture the spirit and the energy quickly? So if 379 00:22:00,590 --> 00:22:04,030 you're there taking video, it doesn't have to be perfect. It doesn't have to be 380 00:22:04,030 --> 00:22:07,804 fully edited. But, you know, hiring a content creator to come and make 2 or 381 00:22:07,804 --> 00:22:11,644 3 reels, and then the next day you're posting the reels while people are still 382 00:22:11,644 --> 00:22:15,404 so excited about it. I think that makes a big difference and 383 00:22:15,404 --> 00:22:18,600 really you wanna make it so people see themselves in it. So that it's not 384 00:22:18,600 --> 00:22:22,120 about you speaking, like, you know, you probably did a great job speaking 385 00:22:22,120 --> 00:22:25,900 and, or accolades for you. But, really, like, it's about 386 00:22:26,360 --> 00:22:29,880 how do you, like, really capture the spirit of the event and the people in 387 00:22:29,880 --> 00:22:33,260 the event. That's gonna make the big difference on selling the next one. 388 00:22:33,605 --> 00:22:37,205 Yeah. Yeah. Speed is key too because I feel like there's something 389 00:22:37,205 --> 00:22:40,965 about the psychology behind it as an attendee too. When we 390 00:22:40,965 --> 00:22:44,725 see the stuff happening after the event, we're more likely to, like, 391 00:22:44,725 --> 00:22:47,685 engage with it and share with it because we're still living in the moment. Right? 392 00:22:47,685 --> 00:22:50,850 I love that. I wanna shift gears a little bit and talk about success because 393 00:22:50,850 --> 00:22:54,370 this is something you mentioned earlier with your first event being 394 00:22:54,370 --> 00:22:58,210 $7, but you didn't count the gas. So I know that for 395 00:22:58,210 --> 00:23:01,909 a lot of events, people treat them as marketing assets 396 00:23:02,284 --> 00:23:05,804 rather than, business. So I'm curious about what you 397 00:23:05,804 --> 00:23:09,404 define success to be with your events, monetary, but 398 00:23:09,404 --> 00:23:13,245 also outside of that. Like, what what makes it, like, yeah, this was 399 00:23:13,245 --> 00:23:17,020 a win for me? Yeah. A 100%. And I was actually gonna bring that 400 00:23:17,020 --> 00:23:20,780 up earlier was that there's an it depends on what you think success is in 401 00:23:20,780 --> 00:23:24,220 an event and what your ideal is. Like, so a lot of people sell from 402 00:23:24,220 --> 00:23:27,674 stage at events, which is is very common where people will sell a 403 00:23:27,674 --> 00:23:31,294 program and that they actually don't care about making money about in on the ticket. 404 00:23:31,434 --> 00:23:34,735 It's about, you know, you're selling you're doing an upsell and you'll make $500,000 405 00:23:35,355 --> 00:23:38,875 on on a program. Like, that's great. That hasn't been our our 406 00:23:38,875 --> 00:23:42,600 goal. And truthfully, like, not to sound like Mother Teresa over here, 407 00:23:42,600 --> 00:23:46,360 but, like, really where where we came from with this was very, like, we're 408 00:23:46,360 --> 00:23:49,960 doing this out of, like, goodness. Like, we were, like, we just wanna bring women 409 00:23:49,960 --> 00:23:52,520 together. Like, we're we're not sure if it is to love or make money. We 410 00:23:52,520 --> 00:23:55,400 don't we this we don't actually need this to make money because our other business 411 00:23:55,400 --> 00:23:59,215 is doing fine. Right? So it was really at first about us being, like, what 412 00:23:59,215 --> 00:24:02,815 would happen if we brought women together? And we were using it as marketing. It 413 00:24:02,815 --> 00:24:05,295 was not uncommon for us to run one of these events and then get a 414 00:24:05,295 --> 00:24:08,415 client out of it, which is what we know to be true when we go 415 00:24:08,415 --> 00:24:12,060 to events in the US. Right? Like, that's how our business scaled so fast. And 416 00:24:12,060 --> 00:24:15,440 so I and I I love that. But at the same time, 417 00:24:15,900 --> 00:24:19,500 as more and more effort went in, we actually have to start being honest about 418 00:24:19,500 --> 00:24:22,720 the fact that we were like, oh, we're actually we've created a second business. 419 00:24:23,275 --> 00:24:27,115 And, you know, we're running events that are costing upwards of a $100,000. We 420 00:24:27,115 --> 00:24:29,915 probably should be trying to make some money. Like, we should probably try to figure 421 00:24:29,915 --> 00:24:32,715 this out. And that's where things like sponsorship come in and and all of that. 422 00:24:32,715 --> 00:24:36,495 So would I say I'm super clear on the metrics of 423 00:24:36,635 --> 00:24:40,370 what success looks like to us? Because Maria and I are very touchy feely, so 424 00:24:40,370 --> 00:24:44,050 we're both kinda like, but did you see the impact? And did you see 425 00:24:44,050 --> 00:24:47,810 these people connecting with each other? That person found their business best team. Did you 426 00:24:47,810 --> 00:24:51,570 see them collaborating? Like, they wrote a podcast together. How cute. Like, we 427 00:24:51,570 --> 00:24:55,305 are in that energy. But for us, really trying to increase the profit margins 428 00:24:55,305 --> 00:24:58,985 of these events has been big and not doing enough, expensive the 429 00:24:58,985 --> 00:25:02,745 tickets for, for the the people coming. We haven't tried to make 430 00:25:02,745 --> 00:25:06,125 these, like, you know, super expensive tickets. We want this to still be very accessible. 431 00:25:06,799 --> 00:25:10,160 But the other thing that's been really successful or, like, a metric of success for 432 00:25:10,160 --> 00:25:13,919 us has been about partnerships. And this is something that I think 433 00:25:13,919 --> 00:25:17,200 is really underrated that people do not do when it comes to events. There's people 434 00:25:17,200 --> 00:25:19,600 who do it and they do it so well, and then there's people who don't 435 00:25:19,600 --> 00:25:22,934 do it at all. And I'm somewhere in the middle, I think. But where people 436 00:25:22,934 --> 00:25:25,755 are are really connecting with brands and, 437 00:25:26,615 --> 00:25:30,455 organizations, businesses, even solopreneurs who wanna get in front of 438 00:25:30,455 --> 00:25:33,894 the audience that you're running an event for and finding ways to 439 00:25:33,894 --> 00:25:37,340 amplify them. And whether that be through a social media 440 00:25:37,340 --> 00:25:41,180 partnership, whether that be partnership day of, and 441 00:25:41,180 --> 00:25:44,060 really trying to move the needle there. And that's actually been an area where we 442 00:25:44,060 --> 00:25:47,900 found success and that's made these events a lot more profitable because it's been 443 00:25:47,900 --> 00:25:51,465 easier for us to find these people who, you know, are gonna serve these 444 00:25:51,465 --> 00:25:54,825 women. That's always what we always say when we when we go in partnership. It's 445 00:25:54,985 --> 00:25:57,785 it has to be win win and they have to serve these women. It's not 446 00:25:57,785 --> 00:26:01,545 a, hey. Come and pitch on stage for 20 minutes. But, 447 00:26:01,545 --> 00:26:05,250 really, like, I think those partnerships go such a long way and, can 448 00:26:05,250 --> 00:26:08,610 really grow the impact of an event. Yeah. That's so beautiful. And I 449 00:26:08,610 --> 00:26:12,290 think the same thing with that you mentioned earlier, you're, like, touchy feely. I'm the 450 00:26:12,290 --> 00:26:15,810 same way when I run the events of, like, who cares about the numbers? 2 451 00:26:15,810 --> 00:26:19,615 of my attendees are now doing a podcast together because they happen to sit next 452 00:26:19,615 --> 00:26:22,015 to each other at the VIP dinner. You know what I mean? Like, I'm always 453 00:26:22,015 --> 00:26:25,535 like, oh my gosh. This is, like, what I dream of. And also, like, we 454 00:26:25,535 --> 00:26:28,335 have to make sure we're not doing it at the sacrifice of our business. So 455 00:26:28,335 --> 00:26:31,549 I love that you've identified that partnerships is that way for you. 456 00:26:32,250 --> 00:26:35,149 Okay. So I wanna talk about challenges, especially 457 00:26:35,769 --> 00:26:39,610 with marketing and community building, because 458 00:26:39,610 --> 00:26:43,130 they go so hand in hand when especially when you're event planning. The 459 00:26:43,130 --> 00:26:46,505 marketing of the event all comes from the vibes in the 460 00:26:46,505 --> 00:26:50,025 room. Yeah. And sometimes we have those moments where we're like, oh, no. The 461 00:26:50,025 --> 00:26:53,705 vibe's off. It's not working. Or just in marketing, we're like, 462 00:26:53,705 --> 00:26:56,265 oh, this thing was supposed to happen. Or what are what are some of the 463 00:26:56,265 --> 00:27:00,105 oh, no moments in your community building or marketing, and how did you turn them 464 00:27:00,105 --> 00:27:03,919 around? So I would say I am 465 00:27:03,919 --> 00:27:07,200 generally pretty optimistic as a person, which is, like, both my, 466 00:27:07,760 --> 00:27:11,539 crocs and my joy is that, like, I kinda see the good in most things. 467 00:27:12,240 --> 00:27:15,965 But I would say early on, like, where something that 468 00:27:15,965 --> 00:27:19,245 we really struggle with with the marketing of community. And and I don't know, Dre, 469 00:27:19,245 --> 00:27:21,245 if this is where you're going with this question, but I will share this and 470 00:27:21,245 --> 00:27:25,005 be vulnerable for a sec is that, like, when you are 471 00:27:25,005 --> 00:27:28,765 building a community of of entrepreneurial women, lots of women, there 472 00:27:29,005 --> 00:27:32,530 it's very hard to, like, uphold boundaries sometimes around some of this 473 00:27:32,530 --> 00:27:36,210 marketing as well. And people expect you to, like, share 474 00:27:36,210 --> 00:27:40,050 everything that they post because they've invested with you or, you know, and that's 475 00:27:40,050 --> 00:27:43,090 something we kinda got into really early where people would be like, I have this 476 00:27:43,090 --> 00:27:46,585 launch. Like, would you mind sharing it? And, like, would you mind doing this? And 477 00:27:46,585 --> 00:27:49,545 it's I'm, like, such a big believer even with my own clients. I said this 478 00:27:49,545 --> 00:27:53,385 on stage, on on Saturday that, like, you know, I've we work with 479 00:27:53,385 --> 00:27:56,184 a luxury rug client. Anytime I could think of anyone who needs a rug, I'm 480 00:27:56,184 --> 00:27:58,425 like, you need to work with this man. Like, that is how my brain works. 481 00:27:58,425 --> 00:28:01,900 I love to support my people. But it also we had to set kind of 482 00:28:01,900 --> 00:28:05,260 like some precedents around, you know, what that felt like. And that doesn't feel good 483 00:28:05,260 --> 00:28:08,140 in community. Like, when you're in community with other people, it doesn't feel good to 484 00:28:08,140 --> 00:28:11,980 be like, no, sorry. I'm not gonna reshare that post because if I reshare your 485 00:28:11,980 --> 00:28:15,145 post, I have to reshare everybody's post every time they have a launch. So that 486 00:28:15,145 --> 00:28:17,945 was a really hard thing that we kinda came across, and we actually got some 487 00:28:17,945 --> 00:28:21,785 pushback on it where people were kinda like, we thought you support women. And we 488 00:28:21,785 --> 00:28:25,465 were like, we do really support women, but, like, we also need to not do 489 00:28:25,465 --> 00:28:29,305 this 247, like, where, you know, like, maybe we need to create a system or 490 00:28:29,305 --> 00:28:33,110 maybe we, you know, like, maybe we need to charge and and and create better 491 00:28:33,110 --> 00:28:35,670 assets for people. Like, it was, like, it started a bit of a spiral for 492 00:28:35,670 --> 00:28:38,470 us. And so I think for me, that was one of the big things with 493 00:28:38,470 --> 00:28:42,230 marketing community building where we had to really start to actually push back 494 00:28:42,230 --> 00:28:45,934 and be like, okay. What's important to us? What's important to the brand long 495 00:28:45,934 --> 00:28:49,294 term? How do we add the most value to people? What's gonna feel the most 496 00:28:49,294 --> 00:28:52,815 fair? And that's, like, not the space I like to live in. Like, the space 497 00:28:52,815 --> 00:28:55,135 I like to live in is, like, let me repost this and then also do 498 00:28:55,135 --> 00:28:58,679 a story and then also buy the program myself. Like, that's, like, where I live. 499 00:28:58,679 --> 00:29:02,520 I think YouTube probably, Drea. And then the other thing I would say 500 00:29:02,520 --> 00:29:06,360 too is that one of the things that, like, I've been really struck with, more 501 00:29:06,360 --> 00:29:09,960 lately is, like, you know, when things don't go perfectly at your events, like, not 502 00:29:09,960 --> 00:29:13,765 owning it. And I think the more that your events grow, like, whether 503 00:29:13,765 --> 00:29:17,445 it be small or so large or whatever, whether that 504 00:29:17,445 --> 00:29:20,485 be in, like, from a marketing perspective where you're like, oh, I thought this would 505 00:29:20,485 --> 00:29:23,205 sell more tickets or it's like, you know, something happens at the event, it's not 506 00:29:23,205 --> 00:29:26,950 perfect or or whatever. Like, these events can't be reflections of, like, who we are 507 00:29:26,950 --> 00:29:30,630 as humans. And so really just, like, taking that step back and being like, 508 00:29:30,630 --> 00:29:33,430 okay. Like, what's going well? Like, what what what do I have to be proud 509 00:29:33,430 --> 00:29:36,150 of here? And what can we change for the future? But, like, what do I 510 00:29:36,150 --> 00:29:39,030 have to be proud of and, how do I how do I continue to move 511 00:29:39,030 --> 00:29:42,845 the needle that way? Yeah. Not owning your yeah. Not 512 00:29:42,845 --> 00:29:45,965 owning the things that go wrong. I feel like that I needed to hear that 513 00:29:45,965 --> 00:29:49,805 personally because it is challenging as the organizer, as a marketer, as 514 00:29:49,805 --> 00:29:53,185 a community, like, space holding person to, like, 515 00:29:53,750 --> 00:29:57,210 feel responsible for everything and everyone's 516 00:29:57,269 --> 00:30:01,029 emotions. And I wanna share everyone equally and not, like, you 517 00:30:01,029 --> 00:30:04,070 know, do one thing more for another person. So, yeah, I think this is just 518 00:30:04,070 --> 00:30:07,909 part of, you know, being a leader and being very publicly a leader in 519 00:30:07,909 --> 00:30:11,695 this space. One of the things that I also really love 520 00:30:11,695 --> 00:30:15,155 about the way your events bring community 521 00:30:15,295 --> 00:30:18,975 together is that it feels very natural. And I've been at events 522 00:30:18,975 --> 00:30:21,555 where it kind of feels a little maybe 523 00:30:22,390 --> 00:30:26,230 orchestrated, like, over overly done. And so I 524 00:30:26,230 --> 00:30:30,070 think that part of that does come from the marketing of it, attracting 525 00:30:30,070 --> 00:30:33,830 the right people. So what are some of the things that you do as 526 00:30:33,830 --> 00:30:37,665 sig signals for your community to make it feel natural that that they're 527 00:30:37,665 --> 00:30:41,345 like, yes, I need to be in this room? I think a lot 528 00:30:41,345 --> 00:30:44,225 of a lot of the pieces around the marketing aspect of it is around the 529 00:30:44,225 --> 00:30:47,920 language that we use. Like, we're very, very key about, like, you 530 00:30:47,920 --> 00:30:51,200 know, high vibe is one of these words that could literally mean anything. Like, it's 531 00:30:51,200 --> 00:30:54,960 very vague. Actually, somebody asked me recently about, like, is this, like, a 532 00:30:54,960 --> 00:30:58,720 marijuana community? I'm like, no. No. But thank you so 533 00:30:58,720 --> 00:31:02,020 much for telling me this that someone else might think this. Thank you. 534 00:31:02,665 --> 00:31:05,065 And so it's funny. I was like, if you want it to be, it can 535 00:31:05,065 --> 00:31:08,905 be, but it's up to you really. But, really 536 00:31:08,905 --> 00:31:12,585 for us, it's really we talk a lot about community. We talk a lot 537 00:31:12,585 --> 00:31:15,809 about collaboration over competition. We talk a lot about, 538 00:31:16,210 --> 00:31:19,650 everything you need is in the room or one step away. Like, we talk 539 00:31:19,650 --> 00:31:23,490 about relationship. We talk about the follow-up, like, fortunate in the follow-up. Like, 540 00:31:23,490 --> 00:31:25,970 those are things that you will hear every time you come to one of our 541 00:31:25,970 --> 00:31:29,090 events. You're sit seated next to the person you're meant to sit sit next with. 542 00:31:29,090 --> 00:31:32,615 Like, we, in our smaller events, we choose everyone's seat 543 00:31:33,155 --> 00:31:36,995 and, intentionally. And people will be like, oh, they really came 544 00:31:36,995 --> 00:31:40,115 with my friend. And I'm like, nope. Not today. You didn't. You you came you 545 00:31:40,115 --> 00:31:43,920 came alone, and you're gonna meet this person. And then afterwards, always without fail, 546 00:31:44,000 --> 00:31:47,200 thank you so much. This was so helpful. I got to know someone different. We 547 00:31:47,200 --> 00:31:50,800 give them the the tools to have the conversations. We set people up. Something that 548 00:31:50,800 --> 00:31:53,360 we do in our smaller events, which is why a lot of the women tend 549 00:31:53,360 --> 00:31:57,140 to know each other is we have every single person go up and say 550 00:31:57,200 --> 00:32:01,005 who they are, how they help people, and something they need. And it's amazing 551 00:32:01,145 --> 00:32:04,425 how many people are like, I need a web designer, someone's like me. Another person's 552 00:32:04,425 --> 00:32:08,184 like, I help people, like, unblock money trauma. Someone's like, I didn't 553 00:32:08,184 --> 00:32:10,585 even know I had money trauma, but thank you for, like, bringing that to my 554 00:32:10,585 --> 00:32:14,140 attention. Like, let's do it. Right? So it really I think we do a lot 555 00:32:14,140 --> 00:32:17,660 of those efforts in our smaller events so the bigger events feel more homey because 556 00:32:17,660 --> 00:32:21,180 these people all already know each other. And I think a lot of it comes 557 00:32:21,180 --> 00:32:23,660 from the way that Maria and I wanna show up, which is, like, we wanna 558 00:32:23,660 --> 00:32:26,365 be like, we're always, like, we were laughing a bunch of the high vibe women 559 00:32:26,365 --> 00:32:29,265 like they did something together. And Maria and I were like, where was our invitation? 560 00:32:30,045 --> 00:32:32,925 You know, but it was fine. It's, like, felt like the teacher of of the 561 00:32:32,925 --> 00:32:36,125 school. But it was just, like, a reminder to me that it wasn't about us. 562 00:32:36,125 --> 00:32:39,550 Right? And that it's about the connection and the community. And so I think the 563 00:32:39,550 --> 00:32:43,310 signals that we give people is that this is a very community oriented space that, 564 00:32:43,310 --> 00:32:47,150 like, anyone's welcome. And I think another thing that we really prioritize when 565 00:32:47,150 --> 00:32:50,770 we're taking video and that when we're inviting people, when we're choosing speakers 566 00:32:51,230 --> 00:32:54,895 is, like, diversity. And and, like, whether it be ethnicity, whether it 567 00:32:54,895 --> 00:32:58,174 be age, whether it you know, like, all different types of women. We want we 568 00:32:58,174 --> 00:33:01,774 have women we've had women come who are 75 getting started, and 569 00:33:01,774 --> 00:33:05,410 we've had people who are new grads come and join us. Like, and those 2 570 00:33:05,410 --> 00:33:08,930 women will sit together and they will plot world domination, and and that's the beauty. 571 00:33:08,930 --> 00:33:12,770 So I think really just, just showing people, 572 00:33:12,770 --> 00:33:16,450 like, what our expectations are, I think people tend to fall in line. 573 00:33:16,450 --> 00:33:18,930 And and I'll be honest, sometimes people come and they don't have a good time. 574 00:33:18,930 --> 00:33:22,635 Right? And and I have to release that of, you know, I want 575 00:33:22,635 --> 00:33:25,755 everybody to, like, love everything that I do. I'm the only child, so my parents 576 00:33:25,755 --> 00:33:29,515 love everything I do. And so I'm like, oh, you must love this. 577 00:33:29,835 --> 00:33:33,610 But recognizing, like, not everything's for everybody. And, you 578 00:33:33,610 --> 00:33:35,850 know, maybe that's not a fit for them, and I'd love for them to find 579 00:33:35,850 --> 00:33:38,809 the space that is the right fit. It might not be with me, but, I 580 00:33:38,809 --> 00:33:42,570 know I'm still doing good stuff even if it's not for everyone. Yeah. So 581 00:33:42,570 --> 00:33:46,330 much goodness there. And I feel like there's, like, the everything you 582 00:33:46,330 --> 00:33:49,835 said is the magic sauce behind building a 583 00:33:49,835 --> 00:33:53,674 community that truly is energetic. Right? Like, being intentional about the 584 00:33:53,674 --> 00:33:57,515 smaller events and that the larger events feel homey. Making sure 585 00:33:57,515 --> 00:34:01,340 that, you know, people sit next to the right people in the room, whether 586 00:34:01,340 --> 00:34:05,120 that's accidentally or intentionally, like, all of it is supposed to happen. 587 00:34:05,420 --> 00:34:08,960 And I feel like these are all of those signals that we 588 00:34:09,179 --> 00:34:13,020 put in our marketing that do they do attract the right people. Right? It's, like, 589 00:34:13,020 --> 00:34:16,795 every little detail matters, and all of those details 590 00:34:17,014 --> 00:34:20,454 are, like, chef's kiss, what makes everything flow so nicely 591 00:34:20,454 --> 00:34:24,214 together. So I wanna end our conversation with the story. So 592 00:34:24,214 --> 00:34:28,054 you mentioned that the words that you choose in your marketing are very 593 00:34:28,054 --> 00:34:31,710 intentional, and I know that you have a story starter guide for us. So 594 00:34:31,710 --> 00:34:35,469 tell me about the starter guide. Yes. So, yeah, our 595 00:34:35,469 --> 00:34:39,070 story starter guide so it's so funny because, Drea, I don't talk about events that 596 00:34:39,070 --> 00:34:42,050 much on podcast. So this is like a this is my debut, my foray. 597 00:34:43,070 --> 00:34:46,154 But I would say, you know, our marketing agency, we do a lot of work 598 00:34:46,154 --> 00:34:49,674 with folks on on helping them, like, tell their stories. Right? And and actually that 599 00:34:49,674 --> 00:34:52,635 helps them be better when they're at events, and they're able to kinda meet with 600 00:34:52,635 --> 00:34:56,474 people. And so we have an awesome, story starter guide that gives you a, 601 00:34:56,795 --> 00:35:00,369 different story starter for every single day so that this way, for 30 days, you 602 00:35:00,369 --> 00:35:03,730 don't have to think twice about what you're gonna say when you, show up on 603 00:35:03,730 --> 00:35:07,510 your Instagram stories. And I'm gonna tell you when you practice these things, 604 00:35:07,650 --> 00:35:11,490 what your elevator pitch comes way easier when you're in person. So, yeah, I 605 00:35:11,490 --> 00:35:15,135 recommend you guys downloading it. Awesome. I'll put that link in the show 606 00:35:15,135 --> 00:35:18,975 notes. It's online dreya.com/331. Where else can 607 00:35:18,975 --> 00:35:22,575 we connect with you online, Kristina? Well, any friend of 608 00:35:22,575 --> 00:35:26,010 Drea's is a friend of mine. So feel free to come on over. Shoot me 609 00:35:26,010 --> 00:35:29,290 a DM. Let me know what you think. I also had Drea on my podcast 610 00:35:29,290 --> 00:35:33,050 called community, with Kristina Bartol. It's actually, like, maybe the 5th most 611 00:35:33,050 --> 00:35:36,730 downloaded episode. So, Drea's rise in the ranks. Let's go 612 00:35:36,730 --> 00:35:40,565 to number 1. But, we talked all things building a genuine community. Love for you 613 00:35:40,565 --> 00:35:44,105 to listen to that. And, yeah, come on over and let me know what resonated. 614 00:35:44,484 --> 00:35:47,685 Yes. Check that out. I'll put, that episode in the show notes as well as 615 00:35:47,685 --> 00:35:51,285 all of Kristina's socials, soccer, because her 616 00:35:51,285 --> 00:35:55,000 socials are fun, honestly. Love it. Thank you so much for being on the 617 00:35:55,000 --> 00:35:58,519 show, Kristina. This was great. Oh my gosh. My pleasure, and I'm just so grateful 618 00:35:58,519 --> 00:36:02,200 for you. And thank you, dear listener, for tuning in to another episode of the 619 00:36:02,200 --> 00:36:05,720 Mindful Marketing podcast. Make sure you rate us 5 stars on Apple 620 00:36:05,720 --> 00:36:09,335 Podcast and Spotify. You can now leave comments on Spotify, which is 621 00:36:09,335 --> 00:36:13,175 super fun. Continue the conversation there. It keeps us in the top 622 00:36:13,175 --> 00:36:16,315 100 marketing podcasts, and that's all because of you. 623 00:36:16,855 --> 00:36:20,470 Coming up, if you're not in the Mindful Marketing Lab, why 624 00:36:20,470 --> 00:36:24,170 not? You gotta come on in and join us. We're doing a 2025 planning workshop 625 00:36:24,789 --> 00:36:28,630 on November 13th. That's the day after this episode. If 626 00:36:28,630 --> 00:36:32,045 you're listening to it live, come on in. We're gonna plan out and plot out 627 00:36:32,045 --> 00:36:35,805 our marketing for the year. Yeah. 2025 is almost here. Dive 628 00:36:35,805 --> 00:36:38,684 on into all the things that we have available in the lab as well. I'd 629 00:36:38,684 --> 00:36:42,065 love to see you there. Next episode, I am doing my 2025 630 00:36:42,285 --> 00:36:46,109 predictions episode. This is the 5th one that I've done. If you want me 631 00:36:46,109 --> 00:36:49,630 to predict, take out my crystal ball and show you the future of social 632 00:36:49,630 --> 00:36:53,470 media, this episode is for you. Stay tuned for that next week. I'll 633 00:36:53,470 --> 00:36:54,930 see you then. Bye for now.