SHOW TRANSCRIPT

This transcript is automatically generated by Descript.  Any errors or omissions are unintentional.

[00:00:00] Jeff Sieh: Hello folks. Welcome to Social Media News Live. I’m Jeff Sieh and you’re not

[00:00:04] Paul Gowder: And i’m Paul Gowder and this is the show that keeps you up to date with what’s happening in the world of social media

[00:00:09] Jeff Sieh: and more Have you ever found yourself pondering how to turn a podcast into a profitable business?

[00:00:15] Maybe you’re intrigued by the strategies behind a successful podcast monetization strategy. Or maybe you’re looking to transform your podcasting passion into a revenue generating venture. If these questions strike a chord with you, then you are in for a treat. Today we are delighted to host a guest who has successfully Navigated this path.

[00:00:36] He’s a master of podcast monetization who turned his love for Disney into the award winning WDW radio podcast. Lou Mongiello will be sharing his journey, his insights, and his top tips for successful podcast monetization. So sit back, clear your schedule, clear your mind and get ready for an episode brimming with some great insights.

[00:00:58] Let’s dive on in. Lou, how are you doing doing today? My friend.

[00:01:03] Lou Mongello: Good, man. Good to see you guys again. Thank you so much for having

[00:01:05] Jeff Sieh: me. Yeah, and you know I talk about Lou a lot on the show, but if you haven’t met Lou before he is a former attorney who traded the courtroom for the magic of Disney, and he’s a passionate host and producer of WDW Radio, a platform that celebrates all things Disney through a podcast, live video, events, books, and tours, and cruises, which I’ve been on, and his podcast has been named the best travel podcast for I believe nine consecutive years, and he’s the author of several Disney themed books and audio tours, and his passion extends beyond entertainment.

[00:01:38] He’s the founder of the Dream Team Project, which sends children Outro

[00:01:49] 550, 000 to date and as a motivational speaker and widely recognized expert on Disney, Lewis shares the magic of Disney and the power of social media with businesses, their associations, and his students. He’s frequently interviewed by media for his expert perspective and has been featured in various outlets including People Magazine, USA Today, CBS, The Wall Street Journal.

[00:02:10] Lou is a personal friend and a mentor, and like I said, if you’ve ever listened to this show, you know I talk about him probably a little bit too much. It’s a little bit creepy, but Lou, once again, thank you, my friend, for being on the show.

[00:02:21] Lou Mongello: Thank you, and that was, that was the nicest introduction ever. I’m actually going to, to transcribe that.

[00:02:25] Okay,

[00:02:25] Jeff Sieh: great. Well, you know what else is really nice, and Lou and, I know Paul uses as well, is our friends over at Ecamm who sponsor the show. You can find out more about them by going to socialmedianewslive. com. And right now they’re having a special sale that if, you know, if you’ve never used Ecamm before, they have a special sale that’s going to end at the end of July.

[00:02:46] So you need to jump on it now. You can live stream with Ecamm. You can record up to 4K quality. You got features that make content creation a breeze. You got, it’s perfect for live streams, video podcasts, webinars, virtual events. Go to socialmedianewslive. com forward slash Ecamm and check them out over there.

[00:03:02] So appreciate them for sponsoring the show. So let’s get into this. Monetization of podcasting. So one of the things Lou is that I know a lot of people, you know, when they first get started, it’s, it’s really hard to kind of pick a niche, but like, how did you identify your niche in the Disney market and, and how important do you think it is for finding that niche for podcasting success?

[00:03:27] Lou Mongello: So for me, it sort of, it happened kind of accidentally because I didn’t sort of wake up one day go, You know, I think I’m gonna be a podcaster. Because when I woke up that day, podcasting didn’t exist. it started out in 2003. I had this idea to write the book I wanted to read about Disney, which was Disney Trivia.

[00:03:42] The book turned into a website and… Very early in 2005, I heard about this new technology called podcasting and Understand it understood the value of the spoken word. I think the impact and also being a horrible typer I figured this was a much better niche for me So I really sort of focused on the thing that I loved there was no sort of Marketing strategy to it.

[00:04:04] This was just a way to find and communicate, communicate with other people that shared that same interest in Disney that I had.

[00:04:11] Jeff Sieh: So if, you know, you, you kind of knew what you were gonna do with Disney. Did you, how did you pick, I mean, when you mentor people who are wanting to start a podcast, do you tell them to super focus and just, lock it in and that’s all you’re gonna do?

[00:04:24] Or do you let them kind of try out things before they decide on, the niche they need to serve?

[00:04:31] Lou Mongello: You know, and I think this is, it’s almost become marketing speak, but I really do believe, Jeff, that, and I tell people all the time, I say, what would you do all day, every day, if money was no object?

[00:04:43] what is that thing that you would love? And there’s a process I’ll take them through to sort of think about the things they enjoy doing, the things that they are good at, and finding the intersection of the two. And finding something that’s sustainable. Something that they would enjoy talking about, because people always ask me, what’s your exit strategy?

[00:04:58] I say, look, the day that this stops becoming fun is the day that I stop doing it. Knock on wood, it’s still a lot of fun for me. because I think that’s, really important. It’s gotta be something that, that you love, something that you’re interested in, and something that you can sustain.

[00:05:11] Jeff Sieh: Oh, I’ll take all the time.

[00:05:12] So I’ll let you talk. Yes,

[00:05:15] Paul Gowder: I’ve been a part of your community. I’ve seen your audience in person and online. How is it that you’ve built such a strong engaged community? How is it that you can engage with them and build this this community through a podcast?

[00:05:31] Lou Mongello: So again, it’s gonna, I’m going to use words that have always been very genuine to me, but have become marketing speak, it’s authenticity and it’s caring.

[00:05:41] So when I started, before Jeff was born, I mean, the word social media like didn’t even exist. I’m going way back to discussion forums, even before that on things like usenet newsgroups And it was this, There was no concept. It was just sort of being genuine people to genuine people and and forming relationships I think that we are all in the relationship business and when I started my discussion forum in 2004 I was amazed at what I saw because social media didn’t exist and how this community grew and it was this Drama free and continues to be sort of very drama free community of people that are there for the right reason I think Oftentimes, sometimes the reasons why communities almost get out of control and become spammy and fleeing

[00:06:35] is because the people that are in there are not necessarily in there for the right reasons. And what I mean by that is they are, I understand the concept of having a lead magnet and things like that, but sometimes if people are going into a community because they think that they’re going to get something out of it, as opposed to contributing to it, I think sometimes that’s why it happens, it’s why we’ve never had a moderator, like I’ve never needed a moderator because People are there for the right reasons.

[00:06:58] Jeff Sieh: Yeah, and I, we talk about community a lot on this show and use you as an example a lot of times. Can you kind of walk through maybe, and I know you do this at Momentum, but walk through a little bit about how you built your brand. I know brand is kind of an icky term sometimes and has a negative connotation.

[00:07:17] But you know, you started as a, you know, an author and then you did, I think this is right. And then you did the podcast and was it logical or did just like, Hey, I need to get word out about my book. I’m going to do this and I’m going to do this next. Like, how did like, talk about through some of the other steps you use to build your brand.

[00:07:33] You

[00:07:33] Lou Mongello: know, there’s part of me that wants to say Jeff. Of course, this was absolutely planned out. I had the roadmap. I knew exactly what I was doing was extremely well calculated. It wasn’t. I was doing and continue to do things that just feel right for me. So the book led to articles on the website because I was getting questions that I wanted to answer.

[00:07:55] Those articles led to community community eventually led to podcasting because I saw this new technology that It was very inaccessible, honestly, at the very beginning. It was very, very sort of difficult to find and consume podcasts, but it’s what felt right for me. And I’m always looking ahead to sort of what’s next, right?

[00:08:13] It’s why I’ve been doing live video since 2007. It’s why I always am trying to do different things. Don’t serve me, but I think serve the community and allow it’s why I love this, right? Why I love live video because it’s not putting out content and then waiting for the response I love the energy and the interaction of having those real time comments coming in

[00:08:36] Jeff Sieh: Speaking of real time comments.

[00:08:37] I wanted to do a shout out to one attendees Rich watch is saying good morning gentlemen. He’s in learning mode I am too rich and it’s always hard because I Take noting at the same time, but and our friend Gary Stockton watching over on YouTube saying good morning guys. Good morning, Gary. Hope you’re doing well And then Jerry Dugan says, Loooooo!

[00:08:56] So, brought his fans, as well. So, yes. So thank you guys for chiming in. Make sure you ask your questions as we’re going along, because I really do want to make this more about you than me. So, Paul, you had a question as well.

[00:09:07] Paul Gowder: Yeah, Lou, you and I, we reminisce all the time about the old days of V Bulletin and the forums.

[00:09:12] And I know for me what an impact it had as… social media came in. So how did that impact your community and how did

[00:09:19] Lou Mongello: you leverage that? You know, it’s funny and we talk about and reminisce and sometimes reflect in different ways about this, this transition that happened because look, if you know, you use the word community, you look it up in your old encyclopedia Britannica, Paul Gowder and powwows.

[00:09:37] com is there. A very, very focused, very engaged, very large community that still exists over on V Bulletin forums. When social media started, especially things like Facebook came and there was this sort of migration of attention to Facebook. It became difficult not only to place funds, but to right? Where do we want our sort of community to exist?

[00:10:03] Paul’s been able to sort of manage and balance that. Well, and for a long, long time, there was a very sort of hyper focused group that lived and wanted to continue to live on the forums. And I made a decision to move over to Facebook, sort of let the community home, be there pages and groups. And we’re still sort of bouncing a little bit, but I will tell you, and Paul and I have talked about this for years that.

[00:10:29] There’s a, there’s a party that wants to sort of fire up the old bulletin database and, and start that up again. Because I think the idea of, and this is the wrong way, way to phrase it, but understand what I mean, owning our community, sort of having our community live on our site, owning the email addresses, having no algorithm and, you know, controlling sort of the, the content and conversation is very appealing.

[00:10:53] And I’m wondering if someday there might not be a, a circle back to that once again.

[00:10:59] Jeff Sieh: Yeah, so, The next question I was going to talk about was engaging content because, and how to keep listeners to your podcast going back. But, I’m going to switch that up a little bit because I think I know the answer to that, and yours is community.

[00:11:13] So, but try to give some like budding podcasters some practical tips of how they can create that community based content. On a podcast because that’s kind of hard because it’s, you know, I know you have a call in where people can call in and leave messages and a lot of times you play those at the end of your podcast, which is very, very cool, but give some practical tips for people who can create community with a podcast because that’s really, really hard.

[00:11:39] Lou Mongello: So it’s interesting because I think podcast and the reason there’s a lot of reasons why I love right top 10 reasons why I love podcasting, right? But but part of it is the intimacy of the medium that we’re not you’re literally and figuratively in people’s ears. I think you form a connection. with the host or host, but there’s also a major disconnect because a lot of times when you’re listening to a podcast, you’re walking the dog, you’re in the car, you’re in that place that I believe is still called the gymnasium.

[00:12:05] so it’s very difficult to make somebody stop what they’re doing, get off the podcast app, go somewhere else and interact and engage and you have to sort of give people a reason to do that. So you mentioned. calling the voicemail line. That’s one way, but it still is disconnected from the community. So I want to have conversation exists, primarily in the Facebook group.

[00:12:27] But since the very beginning, one thing I’ve done is a trivia contest and it serves multiple purposes, right? It, one, it gives us, you know, something fun to talk about. It helps people learn a little bit of information that maybe they can pass along to somebody else and look like a genius when they’re touring their friends in the parks.

[00:12:44] But what it also does is You know, because the carrot is the chance to win a prize, get your name sort of mentioned on the show. It forces people who want to participate to come off the app, now go to my website, use the form there to engage. so, I’m, I mean, it’s not about collecting their email addresses, but it gets them to a place where they’ll see, well, wait a minute, oh.

[00:13:06] There is a vibrant community there. Oh, he has products. Oh, he has events. So it does sort of lead them down a path to hopefully where you want to lead them by getting them to your site first.

[00:13:16] Jeff Sieh: Well, we’ve got some great questions coming up from our community and I wanted to bring it up. This is from Cassie Tucker.

[00:13:21] She goes, any tips for encouraging engagement among your community members, you know, like getting your community to share, connect and chat with one another. I know on your podcast, one of the things that. You always do it’s like you say something like if you have found value from this All I ask you to do is this which is to share the podcast So, can you give cassie maybe some other techniques or ideas for?

[00:13:45] You know, engaging your

[00:13:46] Lou Mongello: community like that. So, I mean, I think it’s a great question, and one of the things I love about Facebook groups over Facebook pages is that everybody’s on an equal playing field in terms of the level of their voice. As opposed to a page, you know, the person posting is really the only one that you’re going to see there where everybody has a voice in the community, and I really encourage people not just to comment on the posts that I share, right, and that you as the community leader share, but you have to sort of lead by example, but encouraging them Even through some of that to share things that will start and spark conversation and It’s sort of this ball rolling downhill dare.

[00:14:25] I say momentum that happens when one person starts a conversation They’ll see that other people are are doing it and able to do that as well So I encourage people to ask questions to share photos not necessarily in comments, but by starting conversations as well but initially The, the host, the, the founder, the owner, whatever it is, really has to be the person that is sparking those initial conversations, right?

[00:14:51] Starting a number of different threads that are not just, here’s a piece of content, go ahead and consume it, but inviting engagement by asking questions. I tell people the simplest way, ask a question that anybody can answer. I use the, you know, if I could take you to breakfast at Walt Disney World right now, where would we go?

[00:15:08] Everybody has an answer to that question, right? Doing those things sparks conversation, it sparks, I think, ideas in other people, and it gets that ball rolling downhill. Awesome.

[00:15:19] Jeff Sieh: I wanted to bring up some, some real quick comments from our pal Gary Stockton. He goes, I like how Marc Maron works the sponsor of his podcast in, one second he’s talking about rock and roll, and the next he parlays that into Chipotle burritos.

[00:15:30] Yeah, he’s got a gift for that. Thank you, Gary, for sharing that. and we’ve got some more tips, I mean, some more questions. We’re gonna save some of those into the monetization strategy. Because, Lou, before we move on, I want to ask this question. Do you know how many people join your, find you from your live show first versus the podcast?

[00:15:48] Or does it usually, they’re listening to your podcast, they want to be part of the live community, you know, that you do on Wednesday nights. Do you know the answer to that question?

[00:15:57] Lou Mongello: So I don’t and because you know, and if you’ve heard me say this probably ad nauseum It’s not about the numbers for me. So I’m not super stat focused I’m not a person that’s looking at the numbers all the time and it’s not because I don’t care it’s because I want to focus my attention and care on the people who are already there because I think if you Do that genuinely and you love on and you care on the people who are there.

[00:16:22] They are the ones who are going to and tell others about your podcast. So for me, it’s not about growing my numbers by trying to find out who’s next, it’s growing my numbers by nurturing for, and genuinely caring about the people who are already there. So it’s a very roundabout way of saying, I don’t know.

[00:16:42] I probably could find out, but I have, you know, I don’t really dig down deep into that.

[00:16:48] Jeff Sieh: So there’s a great question from Chris Stone, and I want Paul to answer this. And then I would like to you because Paul also has a monstrous community over at powwows dot com. And the question from Chris is how do you identify topics, discussions and solutions for your community when things seem to get quiet or you get stuck?

[00:17:08] That’s a great question, Chris. Thank you for asking that. So, Paul, I would love to know what you think about that. Yeah, I’ll

[00:17:14] Paul Gowder: go back to what Lou said. Using questions that you know, the community is going to have answers to. I still do that to this day, even though, you know, my Facebook group is massive and they don’t need me to start conversations.

[00:17:26] I still go in there and do that. You know, things like, you know, if money was like Louis and if money was no object, what power would you go to today? You know, things like that. And you have to show up and in your community, especially in the beginning when there are quiet times and just like that. Not just showing up and posting questions, but engaging and answering other people’s questions, engaging in the comments and you know, asking follow up questions and being there.

[00:17:50] And I think that that will bridge those quiet times. It helps the community keep going.

[00:17:55] Jeff Sieh: So what about you, Lou? What would you say to that question?

[00:18:00] Lou Mongello: I agree 1000%. And Paul does this masterfully because it’s not when when we talk about engaging in the community and showing up, it’s not about it. Here’s the latest blog post.

[00:18:09] Here’s the latest podcast. Here’s the latest offer. Here’s the latest. That’s not what we mean And I think it’s it’s the simplicity of asking questions, right asking simple questions post a photo of you know Your Monday morning coffee mug, whatever it is easily Relatable and human right when you show up, it’s not showing up as I don’t show up as WWE radio I show up as Lou Mangello and it’s this idea of sort of humanizing the brand because people You know, they don’t fall in love with a logo.

[00:18:39] They fall in love with you. So Paul shows up as Paul, not as pow wows. I’m Lou. I’m not WW radio. And that’s what they want, right? Some people want that engagement with you, the host that they feel like they have this friendship or relationship with you because of the intimacy of the medium. And it is those often the simplest questions will garner the biggest responses.

[00:19:03] Jeff Sieh: Well, that’s the reason I kind of sought you out for. A mentor because this is what like Jim Alt says this, which I think is great. He goes good to hear that chasing the numbers is not the number one item on your task list. Thanks, Jim from over on YouTube. one of the things that why I sought you out the initial thing is I saw how your community was running and that you didn’t There’s a lot of people online who make you feel icky and they’re always like pounding you.

[00:19:27] Here’s the next thing. Here’s the next, here’s my new course and all this stuff. I didn’t feel like that. It was very organic for both of you guys. It’s very like, and my friend Guy Kawasaki says that, you know, it’s almost like the NPR thing. Like you give, give and give and then you have a pledge drive.

[00:19:41] You know, like he said, this is how you can support us. And it’s almost that kind of feeling like I give and give and give. But hey, by the way, I’ve got a cruise coming up. I’d love to hang out with you. And then Lou took all my money. and so that’s how that happens. but, but, but the way that that works I think is really, really cool.

[00:19:57] And, it’s not, you can stand out that way. We’ve got a lot of questions and I’m going to go right next to the, to the monetization strategies because a lot of people are here. But we’ve had multiple questions of people, asking. You know, how you can stand out. For example, Deb says this. She goes, there are so many podcasts that it can be a bit overwhelming.

[00:20:17] Curious how one can break through and all the noise, get noticed among all the other shows. How do you keep and, how do you get and keep attention? And then, Dan Hanson even says, Hey Lou, there are so many Disney podcasts out there. As someone who’s been a part of the community for such a long time, do you have any recommendations for how shows can stand out?

[00:20:36] So. That’s a real question, that a lot of people have who are starting or maybe been doing it for a long time. How do you stand out?

[00:20:46] Lou Mongello: I wish I could tell you that there was this magic silver bullet. And there’s not. How do you stand out? There’s a couple different ways. One, don’t pay attention to what anybody else is doing. And I know that sounds counterintuitive. Because I see all the time, and I still call it sort of… You know, it’s the cupcake blog mentality.

[00:21:03] Oh, look at all these people like making all this money on a cupcake blog I’m gonna go start a cupcake blog to next thing You know, there’s 30 million cupcake blogs that all look and sound and probably taste the same I think you have to focus on one again. It goes back to the sense of passion and authenticity, right?

[00:21:19] you need to do something that you genuinely love because unlike A blog or a book people can hear it They can hear in your voice if you’re faking it if you’re doing it for the wrong reasons So that that passion needs to be there with no Worry about the size of the numbers how much money you’re going to make Excuse me, you know being as popular and handsome as jeff c like those are not the things you should focus on in the beginning But if you’re doing it for the right reasons, they will come in time.

[00:21:49] I will tell you I don’t listen to any other Disney podcast and it’s not because I don’t like a lot of the other creators it’s one because the rare time that I do get to listen to podcasts I want to listen to things that are business or personal related and two Nobody can ever accuse me of copying somebody else’s idea or following in the footsteps of somebody else.

[00:22:09] I do the show That I would want to listen to and my hope is that there’s other people out there that would want to consume The same type of things we need to be magnets for the type of people that we want to attract and by doing By sort of staying in your lane and keeping your blinders on that’s how you do it That being said I also think you need to think when you’re starting out.

[00:22:30] What is my differentiator? What makes me? special, different, unique, whatever it might be from anybody else. I think if you’re going in and trying to be the next big, I’m going to cover everything for everybody in the Disney news space. It’s a long, difficult road to hoe, unless you have something that is going to make you stand out.

[00:22:52] From what everybody else is doing.

[00:22:54] Jeff Sieh: Disney news on fire because that’s what everybody says. They always add on fire to the So Paul go ahead. All right, so

[00:23:03] Paul Gowder: start talking about monetization and I know Lou you came into the podcasting from publishing a book So when it comes to your podcast, when did you know it was right to start monetizing it?

[00:23:13] And what were some of those initial things

[00:23:15] Lou Mongello: you did? So, again, this was never the intent, when I started. I did not go, I didn’t, I didn’t know what monetization was, and then it very quickly almost became a dirty word, because early on in days in podcasting, there was a lot of the planting the flag, like, no, you’re supposed to do it because you love it, and it’s genuine and authentic, and we’re not going to be radioing those things.

[00:23:36] But it happened accidentally for me, and again, it happened very authentically, because as I was finding things in sort of the Disney space that I liked, I would talk about it and it started with simple things like affiliate programs and to share just a very quick story to show how old I really am.

[00:23:52] the very first sort of non like Amazon type product was there was a company and by company I think it was like a husband and wife team that was producing a DVD set of video ride throughs from Walt Disney World. This is pre YouTube. I kid you not. they sold this DVD set for 199. And they reached out to me and said, Hey, would you like to be an affiliate?

[00:24:15] And I was like, dude, like I could watch videos and show my kids video and I watched them and they were great quality for the time and We sold a lot of videos and I was like, wait a minute Like if i’m able to bring something that people genuinely enjoy and maybe make a dollar or two on the side That works for me.

[00:24:35] and that really started the, the, the ball rolling of being able to introduce people to products and services That maybe they wouldn’t know and literally everything changed for me one day with one phone call like my wife comes running downstairs This is what phones used to look like Hands me the phone and somebody says listen, I’ve been listening to the show for a while.

[00:24:53] I love what you do I own, you know, ABC, it wasn’t ABC, but I own, you know, company, ABC, how much does it cost to sponsor your show? And I looked at the phone, like, I have no idea what you’re talking about. And I said, let me put together a proposal and I’ll get back to you and hung up the phone and ask how much to sponsor a pod.

[00:25:12] Ask Jeeves had zero answers because it was so early on, but that really is sort of how it started this ball rolling. And eventually me realizing like, wait, there might be a way that I can turn this thing that I love into, you know, a full time profession. That’s

[00:25:26] Jeff Sieh: awesome. and, and I know you, you, one of my favorite slides that you show at momentum is like, this is all the ways that I make money.

[00:25:35] Like you have all these different things and I’ve really tried to do the same thing. It’s like different. different areas. So you’re never if they kick one stool out, you still have a leg to stand on. You know what I mean? Like, because that happens in today’s day and age. This is the economy and you know, jobs, everything and having those multiple income.

[00:25:52] Remember COVID?

[00:25:53] Lou Mongello: Yes,

[00:25:54] Jeff Sieh: that kind of kind of happened too. So, Yeah. And one of the ways, and you have been successful at it, and Paul has been successful at it, and I, and there’s a great question from our friend Amanda Bonner says, I’d appreciate tips on how to roll out a Patreon and promote the added value.

[00:26:10] Because that’s a way that a lot of creators and podcasters use to start the, one is, Affiliates is one, like you just mentioned, but Patreon is another, and I know you both have that. So Paul, I’m going to start with you and kind of give your tips, and then we’ll let you wrap that up.

[00:26:27] Paul Gowder: First, I want to say, Lou, I bought that DVD set, so, yeah.

[00:26:32] Cleaning out the house the other day, I actually found it, so. but yeah, I think a Patreon is, is a, is one of those early things that you can do. It’s, it’s. For me, it’s an extension of the community. It’s another place where I can engage and, you know, I took it from Lou. He, he helped me kind of realize this early on is having the Patreon allows me to engage in a deeper level with folks.

[00:26:54] And so I offer like a monthly zoom call where we all get on and we can actually talk face to face. So for me, I view it and I, the way I promote it is here’s another way that you can be a part of the community. You can help support what we’re doing and have a deeper connection with some of the folks.

[00:27:11] Jeff Sieh: Right you Lou.

[00:27:13] Lou Mongello: So I think Paul made a really good point that that potentially might get lost. I think the timing of Opening up a patreon is critical because I do not believe that you start your podcast At the same time or even you know, three months later You’re like I’m gonna start a patreon because I think you need To build the foundation of real, grounded, authentic community first.

[00:27:38] It’s this idea of give, give, give, give, give, then ask, right? It’s the Gary V. Jab, Jab, Jab, Right Hook. I see too many people starting a podcast three months later, they start a Patreon, they’re like, well, I’m not making any money. I’m like, because you haven’t given people a reason yet to want to support you in that way.

[00:27:55] Because I don’t believe, and this is me and my feeling about the community, I don’t believe they joined Patreon. Because of the rewards. I think they join it because they’re looking for a way to say help. To say thank you. That’s the reason why I started Patreon. I literally got an email from somebody saying, Look, you’ve been giving me all this free content, great value, laughter, and education for so many years.

[00:28:16] I’ve bought all the books, I’ve bought all the audio tours. I’m literally trying to find another way to help you. And I was very, admittedly, very, very, very nervous about starting a Patreon. because I don’t like asking for money. it just gives me the heebie jeebies and I don’t dig it. And I said, well, if I’m going to do this, I need to sort of do it the right way.

[00:28:38] And it’s not about asking you to help me, but it’s another opportunity for me to give back to you. And yes, if you want to just say thank you for a dollar a month, here’s an easy way to do it. But I created a number of different levels that, again, it’s not necessarily about what you get in return, but what you want to give and how you want to say thank you.

[00:28:56] And honestly, like the day I started, I was Super nervous and freaked out, but I said let me just do the the movie theater popcorn mentality I’ll have multiple levels and because nobody’s gonna buy the big popcorn. I mean I do but that’s me And I and I launched and this is it. This is not about the money guys.

[00:29:11] It’s about the purposes of the the story I launched 100 level thinking nobody’s ever gonna do that, but they’ll you know do something in the middle. They’ll do ten They’ll do 25 And I, I put a, put a limited number of like 10, it sold out very quickly, right? Because it was a way for people to say, look, we really appreciate what you’re doing.

[00:29:34] I’ve had people say, I’m joining at this level. I don’t care about the monthly care package. That’s not why I’m doing it. I’m doing it to say, thank you. So it’s a very, very long winded way of saying, building the community. Giving value first forming those relationships and then people will want to say thank you which is which is why I think Patreon is such such a good opportunity if you do it the right way

[00:29:58] Jeff Sieh: Yeah, I think that’s I mean and one of the things is is in in your podcast, you know You, it’s very organic.

[00:30:06] Like, you’ll drop, like, hey, by the way, I did talk about the Haunted Mansion when I did the Liberty, Square, audio tour. You can, you know, you can find it here. And it’s, it’s very organic, and that’s what I love about that kind of sales. It’s very, it’s not, hey, buy my, my audio tours. We’re on special today.

[00:30:20] We got a special fire sale, you know. It’s more of like, hey, I, I, we’re talking about Haunted Mansion. I covered this, and there’s some really cool details you can find out even more about over here. And that’s the kind of sales that I want to do, and I think really. just like your patron. Like you’re saying, this is something that people did it because they wanted to say thank you.

[00:30:38] So, Paul, you said you had a question that you wanted to talk about.

[00:30:42] Paul Gowder: Yeah. Lou, one of the things you show at momentum that I think is extremely powerful is the percentage of people when you survey them that will buy from you because they trust you. So it could, how, how have you used that and, to pick sponsorships and how is it right?

[00:31:01] How do you balance between, you know, Your regular content versus when you’re selling and how do you leverage that to sell your own products like your books and your

[00:31:10] Lou Mongello: audio tours? So again, Paul you because it’s I think it’s organic to who you are what you do The most important word right there is trust, right?

[00:31:19] It’s it’s earning the trust, which is very easily broken, right? But it’s earning the trust of your community I talk about how they’re friends not fans and that’s not just a line like it’s meaningful so it’s, it’s the establishment of that trust. and then sort of give me a question again, because I sort of really sort of hyper focused on that word.

[00:31:41] There was a

[00:31:41] Paul Gowder: couple there. One, yeah. How do you balance between regular content, sponsored content, and how do you kind of choose when you leverage your own? Products versus sponsors. And how do you, I know you work it in so organically, how do you make those choices

[00:31:59] Lou Mongello: of when you do work it in again? I feel weird asking, like, even when I have something to promote, I get like the heebie jeebies and if I’m going to do like a live reveal, like I get all sweaty and gross because I’m like, you know, you get nervous about asking for something or launching, whether like, I remember like launching my tomorrow audio.

[00:32:14] Audio tour. Like I didn’t eat for like a day because I was really worried about, you know, what the launch was going to be like, but you mentioned the word sponsors and I think that’s a great way to monetize and it’s, it’s sometimes it’s the most difficult road to hoe in terms of finding a sponsor. More importantly, finding the right sponsor.

[00:32:31] I have turned down a lot of potential sponsors and, and to be transparent in some cases, a lot of money because the sponsorship was not Authentic and organic to what I do and would not serve my audience in the appropriate way that being said I’ve had a sponsor a Partner, I don’t look at her as a as a as a sponsor But a partnership with a Disney specialized travel agency.

[00:32:57] We’re going on I think 16 years and the way and the reason why that relationship works is Is not because at the end of the show, I say, Oh, go, you know, our friends at mouse fan travel. It’s because I have the owner of the show. Come on the show with me. We answer email questions, for example, which does a number of things.

[00:33:18] One, it gives a human face to a corporate brand, right? It’s not mouse fan travel. It’s Becky from mouse fan travel. It shows that she knows what she’s talking about. She has the experience. She has the expertise. and it doesn’t feel like. And add when it really is it again. It’s it’s this idea of forming a relationship with that person and that company who I’m going to trust with potentially thousands or 10 plus thousands of dollars to book a vacation, come on a cruise or do an event with us.

[00:33:50] So it really I was very, very careful and I remain very careful in one limiting the number of sponsors that I have. because they they need to sort of feel right. I don’t want to dilute the message of any and or all of them. and and building them into the show. The community. and this extended family that we have is is critical and is why our relationship has lasted for so long.

[00:34:15] Jeff Sieh: Well, I think it’s powerful to because because of the trust that and I’m not just speaking of Lou, but like the the influencers have and even micro influencers. influencers. It really makes a difference. Like I booked a cruise and I, you guys know, I talked about it when I got back and with Lou through, mouse fan travel, which I trusted because Lou talked about it on his podcast.

[00:34:37] And so now that I call Sue at, whenever I’m needed to travel or get plane tickets or Disney tickets or whatever, because of that relationship that started with Lou and more and more brands are seeing that. So I think that’s great. for podcasters, but you still have to build up that trust. You have to, just hopefully for, for like what you guys, when I, when I talk about, you know, EKM, when I say, hey, go to EKM because they sponsor the show, that came out of like, I love their product.

[00:35:03] I use it for so long. When I started the show, I said, hey, do you want to be a part of this? They said, yes. Just like Lou said about having Becky on, you know, a couple weeks ago I had Katie from Ecamm on and we were talking about how she does community because they do it really, really well over there and so that organic nature I think is so key and I think a lot of podcasters go for the quick buck.

[00:35:23] Or trying to get like, you know, I got to have this and instead of building that trust stuff at the beginning So I I think that is really really key and and hopefully you get that with this podcast And I know you do with lou and paul as well. So I just think that’s a hidden nugget that a lot of people look over quickly.

[00:35:39] They want the money, but you can’t have the money long term unless you have that trust build up and really believe in that product. we have it. So Jerry goes, Cassie, thanks for asking the question. So we need to bring up Cassie’s question because, a lot of people want to hear this. So how impactful and I see Paul just salivating over there.

[00:35:58] How impactful has email been in driving conversions to some of your offerings, I. E. Patreon events, etcetera. So, Lou, I’ll start with you and then Paul will give us the answer, at

[00:36:09] Lou Mongello: the end. Listen, man, I learned from the master, like, I kneel before Zod when it comes to Paul Gowder and email because nobody, like, I’m going to start singing the James Bond song, nobody does it better, than email and it’s not, I almost sort of hate the word email marketing.

[00:36:24] It’s email as an extension of your, your podcast and email as an extension of your community because I think the two. Are very much connected and parallel and almost sort of need to join forces because Email like podcasting is the only way to reach your audience with no algorithm or gatekeeper in between You subscribe to the show you subscribe to email you will get them Right.

[00:36:50] That’s it. I mean, there’s no, you’re not worried about, Oh, I’m only 1% of the people are actually seeing what I’m writing or listening to what I’m. So I think the two sort of function very well, together to Cassie’s point. And again, I’ve learned a lot from Paul in terms of the importance of email and the content that you put in there.

[00:37:09] I think email is critical and often way. undervalued and overlooked because so much focus and attention and time and effort and money is being spent on the new bright, shiny social media object.

[00:37:23] Jeff Sieh: Paul, what do you think?

[00:37:26] Paul Gowder: Everything? Lucid email is so for me, it is a vital part of my business and it is with a huge facebook page.

[00:37:35] sometimes I like lucid. The algorithm is just so terrible, right? If I put something out there, I don’t know who’s going to see it or respond to it. So Email is my way that I communicate with my audience, and I do, I view all my email I send out as an extension of the community. I talk directly to people in the email.

[00:37:53] I talk personally, you know, I put something in all my emails where it is being part of that community. Going back to some of those questions we were talking about, you know, these easy questions. I put those in email to and I get those responses back. That’s a way for me to start the conversation with people.

[00:38:09] As far as what Cassie is asking about driving conversions. That’s a whole nother show, but yeah, I use my email as use sequences to help build some of those foundations and, kind of onboard people into the community. And so some of that is talking about what we offer and our Patreon or Facebook group and those kind of things.

[00:38:28] Jeff Sieh: So, I mean, and, and by the way, we interviewed Paul about email marketing on a past episode. I don’t have that right in front of me. But if you go to, to any of your podcast players and look for Paul Gowder as the guest, he dives into this. It’s a really good one. And just to say about, you know, it’s also trust with email.

[00:38:45] So, Like, I have a relatively small list compared to these megastars on the show here. but one of the things is, is I send out an email, and you can sign up for it at socialmedianewslive. com and it’s just, I announce the show, who the guest is, and I actually just have like a PS at the bottom, like, when I do, my sponsors, it’s sponsored by Ecamm.

[00:39:03] I have people click on that every… Week and I make affiliate income every week from just a P. S. The same way with the I have a sign up right now for my course. It’s coming out. I have people sign up for that each week as well. So you don’t have to have a huge monster list. You don’t have to do it. But building that trust with that email, I think is really important.

[00:39:21] It’s I never do a huge big ask unless it’s for like Prime Day. And I’m like, Hey, these are great deals kind of a thing. But it’s more of like, Hey, P. S. This is my sponsor and here’s something I’ve got coming out and people will read that entire email, right Paul, and they’ll click on those links because they want to know more or they, or they want to help you out or whatever it is.

[00:39:40] So, it’s really, really cool. and once again, Paul knows that stuff, paulgouter. com, sign up for whatever he’s got because he’s amazing. So, let’s talk about one of the easiest ways and you touched on it. earlier, Lou, and it’s affiliate marketing. And I’ve heard some podcast coaches say this, and I would love to know your take.

[00:39:58] They say, like, even if you don’t have something to offer right away, but do something like Audible and, and train your audience to like, and it’s not a big push, but it’s like, Hey, this show is sponsored by Audible. You can find out more about dah, dah, dah. I tend to like that idea because it trains your audience that there will be ads coming in the future, or there’ll be, you know, calls to action coming in the future.

[00:40:18] Like, like that to sign up and start your podcast. That way. So love your thoughts on affiliate marketing.

[00:40:25] Lou Mongello: I agree with the sentiment. I don’t love the word train, condition maybe the audience to, right. Because it’s, you don’t want to sort of be doing a show for a year. That’s just, you know, great content.

[00:40:35] And then all of a sudden there’s this. Interruptive, disruptive type of ad. I don’t necessarily love ads like that. There’s a middle of a conversation and now all of a sudden there’s this ad that sort of dropped in there, which sort of feels weird. Like a television commercial, like at an odd time. I think you’re right.

[00:40:56] I think starting out initially, even if it’s not for the purpose of making money, but just so that people see that’s the flow of the show, Hey, there might be a pre roll a mid roll or end or a post roll ad in there. That you can modify as needed, whether they be with affiliate ads or partnership, you know, host red ads, whatever it might be.

[00:41:17] But I think starting it early will sort of help you and your audience sort of understand just the dynamic of the show flow.

[00:41:25] Jeff Sieh: Paul, what are your thoughts on that?

[00:41:28] Paul Gowder: I think affiliate marketing is a great place to start. I see we got a question from Mike about, you know, how do you monetize? Affiliate is an easy…

[00:41:39] way to start. But you have to build that trust and you have to do it organically. But it is, I highly encourage it. If you can find some products that align with your audience and that you feel like they can benefit from and it’s going to add value to their lives, then yeah, affiliate can be a great place to start monetizing.

[00:42:00] Lou Mongello: And I will just say really quickly, Jeff, before like There’s a, I think affiliate marketing with a podcast is a little bit more of a difficult road to hoe again, because you’re in your car, you’re driving, starting off with, with Amazon affiliates, for example, which is great, is difficult because what is my, why do I, as the consumer have to go, wait a minute, I love this, this, you know, microphone that Jeff talked about, let me go home, go to the website, find a link as opposed to just going to Amazon.

[00:42:28] So when you do affiliate stuff like that, it’s important to try and see if you can work out. Okay. a discount code or explaining to your audience what the value is for them or for you. Hey, you’ll really help the show by taking an extra step and going to my site using my affiliate code because that’ll help keep the lights on here.

[00:42:46] It has to be a benefit for them and or a benefit for you and being very transparent about what those are.

[00:42:52] Jeff Sieh: Yeah. And your point about making sure that it’s something simple, like that’s why the big podcast go like, you know, go to audi. com and forward slash, you know, You know, w DW radio. And so it’s something, you gotta make it really easy.

[00:43:05] I see so many of ’em going like, okay, go to episode number 5 4 5 9 2, and then enter the, the, the code July 24, 19 B, you know, and then it’s like, what? And so make it easy. I really like the call

[00:43:19] Lou Mongello: to action links. Pretty links is, yeah, pretty links is the best like tool in your, in your WordPress plugins.

[00:43:24] Jeff Sieh: One of the cool things, too, is I think, if, let’s say you don’t do any sort of, you know, affiliate at the beginning, I would do a call to action to sign up for your newsletter.

[00:43:33] Like, like Paul and like Luce, you own that and it’s, you don’t have any algorithms to worry about. so, if you’re just starting, I would start with a call to action to, you know, join your newsletter. And you can get free ones now, I mean, what is it, WebMonkey and a bunch of other ones that let you…

[00:43:49] Sign up for a certain amount of people before you have to start paying. And so I would do that if you’re just starting out. So, and our friend Ian says, yeah, he’s found in the past affiliate links work really well with blogging, but I’ve not had so much luck with podcasting. So thanks for that, Ian. let’s jump in with the time we have left.

[00:44:06] Cause I could talk to these guys all day, but let’s talk about growing this business. So I know Lou, you’ve diversified your income streams beyond just podcasting. like I know you said you don’t map this stuff out, but let’s put on your coaching hat right now and say, like, when would you tell somebody to start?

[00:44:24] Okay, you’ve got a podcast base. It’s going really, really well, you know, you need to start thinking about, you know, Patreon. Is it after the first year? Is it after a certain amount of downloads? It’s like, what’s the ladder to start building this podcast as a base of a business?

[00:44:41] Lou Mongello: So I think it’s less of a ladder than you’ve seen.

[00:44:43] The, the images that I use, sort of the, the Disney sort of hub and spoke, right? Where sort of you and your podcast are at the center and there’s these very different potentially spokes that come out of it, right? So there’s affiliate marketing, maybe it’s creating your own product, and it doesn’t have to be a physical, tangible thing.

[00:45:00] It could be a digital product if you’ve been doing the show. For a year and you’ve got, you know, there might be a PDF that you can sell. It might be a guide to, you know, a beginner’s guide to Walt Disney World because you’ve created that content already. You’re curating it from your shows and your audience.

[00:45:18] And you sell that as a digital product. Again, you’re sort of starting that. Machine wheel going of, Hey, I’m, I’m sort of showing people that this is the first of potentially maybe more products that I’m going to have, not just selling others, but selling our own as well. When you build community, Paul does this too.

[00:45:37] You sell simple things like. Stickers, pins, magnets, t shirts, whatever it might be. One, it’s a way to monetize. Two, it’s a way to foster and grow community, right? I used to, I used to buy tons of t shirts and just give them away to people. Why? Because I would wear them to the parks and people would go, Wait, what is WW Radio?

[00:45:56] What is that thing? Sort of paying for sort of marketing that way. I think people also sleep on the idea that you have knowledge and expertise and experience and value that you can sell as a service. So maybe you are, you can help coach people, you can consult people, you can teach people something through a course, through one on one consulting, mastermind groups, creating your own events.

[00:46:23] And this sort of hub and spoke model has sort of a ripple effect because one will sort of lead to another and another, as long as it’s something, like I said, that is, is… Keep using the word organic, but, but it was organic to you and to, you know, something that, that serves your community. Well,

[00:46:41] Jeff Sieh: great answer for that.

[00:46:42] Yeah. Paul,

[00:46:44] Paul Gowder: you, you mentioned that you have a relationship with a sponsor for 16 years. What is it that you are from the sponsor’s perspective? What is it that you’re delivering to them that helps you retain these sponsors for so long? What’s the, how do you, communicate the

[00:47:01] Lou Mongello: value to them? I think that’s a great question, Paul, because I think.

[00:47:06] You know, it’s, again, it’s, it’s, if I was a travel agency among thousands of, of Disney Specialized Travel Agencies, it’s, it’s hard to be noticed and heard. And rather than sort of… Starting them, starting their own podcast and having to grow the audience. One, I’m bringing them their targeted audience. I mean, I speak to exactly the people that they are trying to reach.

[00:47:30] So I’m bringing them the value of not just the size of the community and the length of time that we’ve had a relationship, but the massive, massive value that very sometimes it’s difficult to quantify in the trust that I bring as well. You know, I’m not a numbers guy. I’m not a guy, but years ago I surveyed my audience and I found out that 94% of my audience bought a product or service that I talked about on the show.

[00:47:57] That’s the number that matters, right? That is really the only number of that matters because that number can scale depending on how, how the audience grows and flows as well. So by giving them a voice, by giving them access to the audience, by. By offering them that reciprocity of trust, I think that’s where the value comes.

[00:48:21] And, and, when I, oftentimes when I work with a sponsor, I don’t necessarily lock in, like, these are the four corners of our agreement, and this is exactly, I’m giving you one of this, and two of this, and three of this. It’s very, very, again, it’s organic in terms of, yeah, you come on the show, and we do things like this, we’re gonna do events together, and we’re gonna share stuff on social, be in the newsletter, but hey, I have an idea, or you have an idea, because I want it to be a mutually beneficial.

[00:48:48] Jeff Sieh: Oh, we lost Lou there. Mutually beneficial, I think, is, what he was trying to say. let me, let me pull up some comments while we’re waiting for Lou to unfreeze in that oh so sexy position. he, so, I’m not sure who says this, but she goes, I’m going to make some stickers and pins in my shop.

[00:49:06] Etsy shop, thank you, Lou. And David says, thanks, Lou, for your genuine… podcast. Your insight serves you well and only mentioned food three times. that is very true. And yeah, Lou says, what is an attractive face? So he is, I don’t know what’s going on in Florida. It’s the heat is what it is.

[00:49:24] but this would be a great time while we’re waiting for Lou to come back. Paul to talk about like, where can people find out more about you? and all of the goodness that is Paul Gowder.

[00:49:34] Paul Gowder: Oh, thanks. So if people want to work on email, I’ve seen a lot of questions about that today. Please come check me out over at paulgowder.

[00:49:41] com and if you are interested, please head on over to powwows. com and find a powwow near you. They, there are powwows happening all over the country and it’s a great place to come and experience Native American culture in person.

[00:49:54] Jeff Sieh: Yeah, so there’s Louie’s back in the green room. I don’t know what’s going on with, it’s the heat is what it is.

[00:50:00] Lou Mongello: It’s the humidity, it’s not the heat. Yes, you’re

[00:50:02] Jeff Sieh: right. one of the questions I want to end up with, so how, Lou, do you measure the success of your podcast from a business perspective? Because you said you’re not a numbers guy, you’re not all this stuff, and I’d like I’d be interested, like, for some reason, the internet says, we’re done with podcasts, it’s illegal in the United States, we’re cancelling it.

[00:50:21] How hard would that hit your… Your business, because, you know, I know a lot of things started with the podcast, but because you’ve kind of gone everywhere, I’d love to know your thoughts on this. Like, how do you, one, how do you measure success and what would you do if your podcast went away tomorrow?

[00:50:40] Lou Mongello: So again, you’re going to hate this answer, but I measured success in terms of my levels of happiness, right? So I feel that I’m very, very successful in that regard. I don’t, and, and I’m probably the worst businessman, so this is probably like the, the most horrible answer. I don’t sit down and I don’t look at the numbers and say I need to make this much in revenue this year, and how do I do it, and how do I get there, and, and I do to a certain degree, but it’s not as, as, specific as it might sound.

[00:51:06] I, I measure success using a, a, a variety of, of different barometers, as it were. I do look at the numbers in terms of revenue. And look, I think COVID was, was, and I refer to it because it was a very, very difficult yet eyeopening experience because, you know, when they closed Disney World, like my entire career went away.

[00:51:28] And I said, well, that’s okay because I also speak, well, events went away too. So the two sort of halves of my business went away. And it’s why that hub and spoke model is so important. Thank God. And thank the extended family and community over on Patreon, because that really was life saving. to a certain degree through covenants.

[00:51:46] Why having not just multiple but varied revenue streams because you don’t know how and when one might go away. is is really, really critical in business.

[00:51:57] Jeff Sieh: Yeah. So I would. So I think your answer would be like if your podcast went away, you would still be okay because you have enough things, you know, it would hurt because that’s how you communicate and, you know, do a lot of stuff.

[00:52:08] But it would, it’s not the end. I’ll be all to Lou Mongello. He’s not gonna right off in the sunset and and never be seen again.

[00:52:16] Lou Mongello: I hope not. No, no. I’m all kinds of nervous. Do you know something? I don’t know. Well, I

[00:52:22] Jeff Sieh: don’t. Uh and and says, yeah, don’t put all your eggs in one basket. So, yeah, we’ve all been there and I think you’ve been burnt.

[00:52:28] If you’ve been burnt once, that’s all it takes and you learn really quickly and COVID did like that was like We will remember that our entire lifetime, like it’s going to be like, okay, this is great, but what happens if this, you know, and we all entrepreneurs and solopreneurs, I think they have that in the back of their head of what is going to happen.

[00:52:48] But before, before I give you the time to tell everybody to go to make your amazing podcast and everything, I do want to talk about another cool event. And I think there’s only like. Maybe like four spots left, but it’s this it is momentum weekend, September 29th through October. All of us here on the screen will be speaking.

[00:53:06] Lou doesn’t do much. He just, he, he gets all his friends to do it. but, if you got this, I go. I will continue to go this every year as long as he’ll continue to have me. It is amazing. It has changed my business. It’s changed the way I do things. It’s connected to me to so many people and you can see that because they’re on my show all the time now.

[00:53:24] Momentum Weekend. It’s amazing. It’s a Disney World. It’s three days this year. Lou, I’ll let you talk a little bit about that because it’s so, it’s so cool.

[00:53:33] Lou Mongello: Thank you. And look, I am always grateful and honored. I mean, I don’t invite you. You just sort of show up and walk

[00:53:38] Jeff Sieh: up on stage. You leave the door open.

[00:53:40] You leave the door open.

[00:53:41] Lou Mongello: Security will be a little bit tighter this year. No, It was born out of, of my love of learning and then wanting to help people, but in a much smaller, more intimate environment. So it’s 50 entrepreneurs and solopreneurs and business owners, together for three days in a very interactive workshop.

[00:53:57] It just happens to be at Walt Disney World, where the people who are up presenting, and, and helping are people that have walked the walk. They are entrepreneurs. Just like you who have sat in those seats and know some of the challenges and obstacles, and we really work collectively together to help one another out.

[00:54:14] And my goal is that you are going to walk out of momentum on Sunday night. I’m not just a change person, but change in your business because you’re going to do a lot of the work right there in the room and you are not going to be left just with a notebook full of notes, but actionable items that you’ve already started to work on.

[00:54:33] And the reason why I keep it 50 is because I want it to be small. I want it to be intimate. And you know, it’s a very. Fun, but but intensive three couple days. so yeah, we do just have, I think there’s, I think there may be five spots left for this year’s event. So,

[00:54:49] Jeff Sieh: and Paul, you’ve been going much longer than I have.

[00:54:51] So why don’t you give your experience about it to

[00:54:55] Paul Gowder: momentum is one of just the best conference you’ll go to. And it’s because it’s not a conference. It is a workshop. It’s and it’s not just about the sessions. It like we said, it’s the networking is the connections you make. It’s the the networking. Yeah.

[00:55:09] The speakers who make you dig a little deeper and actually do the work right there. I saw Kathy asked earlier about what to say in your emails. So that, so that’s what we’ll be doing it to remind us. We’re going to, we’re going to talk about what, what you say in your emails, but then we’re going to actually do it and start writing emails in the room.

[00:55:24] And that’s the kind of thing you get in momentum. It’s just, it’s so much fun to work through these problems with other people that have been there. Yeah.

[00:55:32] Jeff Sieh: It’s like a gigantic mastermind. I remember when I went out the first time, it’s like it was the first time I had felt as a, as a speaker. Because of the speakers stay there like you don’t like they don’t just fly in and I see ya and go.

[00:55:42] They’re there at the tables with you, and it felt like I was, it was the first time I felt like I, I got so much from it, but I could actually really help people like we sat down, Eric Fisher and I, Fisher and I did last year and help somebody like start a podcast and what they needed in their live show and all that stuff right there at the table and they can’t, they’ve done it.

[00:56:01] And we’ve even had some, Rich who was here last year, we were able to talk and you know, his company has, done some amazing things and, and it’s just this great collaboration and I cannot recommend it high enough. I wish I would have thought of it, but I, I don’t, I love being a part of it. So Lou, thank you for that.

[00:56:19] And before we end up, we quit the show. I want you to tell about, talk about where people can find you, all your stuff and all of that.

[00:56:26] Lou Mongello: So you can find everything I do on the Disney side of things at wdwradio. com. Everything I do on the business and coaching and momentum side of things at loumangello. com.

[00:56:37] I will tell you honestly, and this, and I wasn’t planning on saying this, but I’m going to anyway, I would not be where I am today if it wasn’t for the two of you, Paul, I’ve known you a long time and I’ve learned so much from you and gotten so much encouragement from you and Jeff, the first time I saw you up on stage, I think that social media marketing world, it was like.

[00:56:56] There was this golden aura. It was like Barbara Streisand walking out. It was the lighting. It was a good lighting. Yeah, it was. It was a lighting and there was nobody else there. So I had a direct line of sight .

[00:57:05] Jeff Sieh: Yeah. It was empty room. It was an empty room. Yeah, exactly.

[00:57:08] Lou Mongello: No, but you are, you are so giving with, with what you know and what you love and what you teach to, to others and, and I appreciate that.

[00:57:16] and I decided, Like 30 seconds before the show went on if it’s okay with you there’s a there’s a discount code right now. That’ll save you a hundred dollars off momentum But I create a special one just for you. So and you can I think there’s only like three of them if you use s social media s m n wait s m n l SMNL 200.

[00:57:40] You’ll save 200 off your ticket to Momentum.

[00:57:43] Jeff Sieh: That’s awesome. I thought it was going to be like 50 cents in, you know, Diet Coke or something, but that’s really cool.

[00:57:49] Lou Mongello: But you have to serve Jeff the entire time. You have to bring him his, you

[00:57:53] Jeff Sieh: know. Wipers! so, anyway. Wow! I appreciate all you guys for being here.

[00:58:00] You tell we have a good time together and I appreciate these gentlemen, being on the show today. I appreciate Ian for being here, David Powell, all the people who ask great questions. I appreciate you. I do want to give, Dan and let’s see who else was on here, Cassie and Jerry. All you guys questions.

[00:58:15] Thank you. It would not be the show, would not be what it is without you guys. I appreciate you. And I also want to say a big shout out to my sponsors, Ecamm. You can find out more about them at Social Media News Live. They’re actually doing a creator camp and I think it’s almost full. It’s October 11th through 13th.

[00:58:31] They do community really well as, as, as Lou does, but they’re doing a really cool camp. They got all sorts of things. They’re going to be learning how to do live streaming, podcasting, all the things. You can find out more about that at, leap, ecamm. tv forward slash creator camp. We’ll get you, the information about that.

[00:58:46] And I’d love to see you guys there. I will be one of the camp counselors. So, make sure you guys check that out. And with that, we’ll see you guys next time. Thank you guys. Talk to you later. Bye.