Overview
Tom Ward, a Forbes contributor with his own YouTube channel; Gareb Shamus, the organizer of ACE Comic Con; and George Sheppard, the lead singer of the band Sheppard, share with your host, Travis Chappell, their thoughts on how to connect with celebrities.
Episode Highlights:
- Tom Ward
- He’s fascinated by influencer marketing, and though he doesn’t do it himself, it’s what he primarily writes about.
- He still has a regular job in sales, which often surprises people.
- If you want to change careers or fields, one of the best ways to build evidence for your qualifications is to write.
- One of the ways Tom made career choices was by interviewing people doing what he wanted to do or thought he wanted to do to help him make informed decisions.
- He wants to shift into interviewing influencers and celebrities full-time in the next year.
- His value to an influencer is that he isn’t interested in the gossip, he’s interested in the business.
- Something else Tom adds is publicity in the most well-regarded business publication in the world, Forbes.
- People who see his interview with Demi Lovato don’t see the 9 months of work that went into it beforehand.
- Sales and networking are the same thing, but in networking, you aren’t selling a product, you’re selling yourself.
- Gareb Shamus
- ACE Universe was founded to do Comic Cons in a new way, with the aim of building community.
- Normally, when celebrities are at a Con, it’s a very exclusive and closed experience, but ACE wants these events to be accessible, open, and shareable.
- Audience demographics of Cons have changed from being 95% 14-15 year old boys to an older, broader demographic because these initial fans stayed with it so the fanbase simply aged up.
- As fans aged up, content got more mature, then women became part of it, and now there’s the generational aspect of older fans now coming with their kids.
- Disney’s purchase of Marvel and Star Wars has made fandom more family friendly.
- Networking is the most important life skill you can have, and it’s something you can always develop and improve upon.
- Before social media, Gareb had the mindset of making a connection and accessing people however was necessary, and he still does that without limiting himself to, for example, just phone or email.
- The more you research how you’re connected to someone and you can reach out through a trusted source, the more likely you are to have success.
- The failure isn’t in not getting a response or in getting no, it’s in not trying in the first place.
- George Sheppard
- You can be a great musician but you still need to know the right people to get your music out there.
- People who are most successful at networking are the people who are genuinely curious about other people.
- George’s band ended up getting their first single played on Australian radio because their songwriter’s brother’s coworker at a TV station invited them to play on the show.
- George can never predict what song will be a hit; a song can be good without all the other factors falling into place that makes it a hit.
- Their connections got them on tour with Justin Bieber and as an opener for Robbie Williams.
3 Key Points:
- Sales and networking are the same exact thing.
- Networking is the most important life skill you can cultivate, and it’s never too late to start.
- You can’t predict or force opportunities.
Tweetable Quotes:
- “It is a long game, but you should always be selling. Always. There’s always a connection to be made, there’s always a coffee to have or a lunch meeting to take or a networking thing to attend.” –Tom Ward
- “Networking is the most incredible life skill you can have. It never stops, it’s never too late to get started, and it follows you everywhere.” –Gareb Shamus
- “It starts with the song, but then it’s the whole host of other things that need to go right and planets that need to align for it to become a hit. There’s a difference between a good song and a hit song.” –George Sheppard
Resources Mentioned:
- Reinventing You by Dorie Clark
- Download a free guide on how to connect with influencers on Tom Ward’s website
- https://www.acecomiccon.com/
- Gareb Shamus: Twitter, Linkedin
- https://www.wearesheppard.com/
- Get podcast coaching from Travis at www.travischappell.com/apply.
- Shop easy, with smartly designed men’s clothes by Mack Weldon at www.mackweldon.com and use promo code “travis” at checkout for 20% off.
- Learn how to network at events at www.travischappell.com/yes
- Visit Travis’ website at Buildyournetwork.co
- Join the Build Your Network Facebook group BYN.media/fb
- Join the Build Your Network University Facebook group here byn.university
- Leave a rating and review for the Build Your Network Podcast on iTunes
- Watch Travis’ free masterclass on how to build the network of your dreams at threenetworkingsecrets.com
- Download the Himalaya App in the App Store or Google Play
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