I’ve attended a handful of Seth’s live events over the 15 years (cf Why I like Seth Godin’s quirky workshops from 2005) and always come away recharged. Today’s was dubbed a practicum on the future of book publishing. It was held at the intimate Helen Mills Theatre on West 26th Street in New York and about 100 people attended, coming from as far away as Hawaii and Australia.
It was great to reconnect with Pamela Redmond Satran (we hadn’t seen each other in over 30 years), Elizabeth Marshall of Author Teleseminars, Matthew Cavnar of Vook and John Moore of Brand Autopsy (he called The Corporate Blogging Book the Best Business Blogging Book). As well as meet Dave Kerpen, Susan Piver, Cynthia Louden, Cindy Praeger of Gazelles and others.
Seth’s fans are a tribe
Seth has serious fans and they are often as inspiring as he is. That’s why we’re called a tribe. Every author and entrepreneur needs a tribe, BTW. More about that in another post.
Like his other events, I give today’s an A. Not at A+ because that would be grade inflation. Seth, who has a keen interest in improving our educational system, doesn’t believe in that sort of thing and I think he’ll be happy with an A.
What I mean by recharging
When I say recharged it’s not a hallelujah, everything is cool kind of feeling. It’s more that I’ve spent the day re-examining what I’m doing and why and peering into the abyss of possibility with Seth looking over my shoulder. Seth makes me think. And thinking, frankly, is hard work. I am a professional procrastinator and can spend an entire day putting off 20 minutes of writing. The urgent too often displaces the important. And like many entrepreneurs, I also don’t put aside enough time to think about my business.
Today was a chance to do that. And of course the start of a new year is a good time to question all your why’s and what’s. So I ask, am I a social media consultant? Groan. I am sick of that phrase. Am I someone who makes you think differently about how to communicate authentically with your customers? Through a blog, for example. That sounds better. So, yes. But I’m more than that.
The importance of a permission asset
I’m a speaker and an author and a publisher. And I have, over the past decade, created a permission asset (Seth’s phrase) of followers and fans and subscribers. This asset consists of close to 10,000 followers on Twitter, some 7,000 e-newsletter subscribers and about 5,000 blog readers, give or take. One of the things that really hit home today, listening to Seth, is that I have seriously erred in how I have handled this asset recently. I have not paid enough attention to you. I have not been nearly consistent enough in delivering regular blog posts and e-newsletters.
I am not ready to make a specific promise (a new blog post every day or an e-newsletter every week, for example). I want to under promise and over deliver so I have to think through a few logistics. But stay tuned.
I’m writing (OK, rambling) as I ride the train back to DC through the snowy darkness. Hey, I can be as poetic as I want, right? It’s my blog. Click away quietly if you wish. But it would be more fun if you’d leave a comment below to say hi. I hope you are as excited about your new year as I am.