Hey Reader,

I spent the weekend at the Ohio Haunters Association Convention and I had a blast! It was an awesome opportunity to see old friends, network, and explore a historic building. I also had a phenomenal time presenting on social media basics to a room full of haunt and business owners. Lots of great questions and interesting conversations about marketing seasonal businesses. Great stuff, all-around!

But today, I am sad. :(

I'm sad because I just checked something huge off my bucket list and, much like hit 90s band Bush, I don't want to come down from the excitement. See, I love to teach; transferring knowledge is truly one of my greatest joys. I have always wanted the opportunity to find my way onto the stage at a conference or convention. Specifically, I've yearned to find a speaking engagement that would allow me to combine my professional skills with something that I'm really passionate about. So, amidst the blood and dust and fake body parts, my slideshow about Meta Business Suite fulfilled a dream.

Thank you for being part of the Bahnfyre PR journey! Without your support, this weekend would not have been possible for me. I am incredibly grateful and also incredibly tired, so forgive the shorter newsletter this week!

A Powerful Point Indeed

If you'd like to see what a presentation at a haunted house convention looks like, you can check out my slideshow at the link below. I also recorded the presentation and it will find its way to YouTube at a later date! Once the video is live, you, faithful newsletter reader, will be the first to know.

Things I'm Glad I Did

While this was definitely my most significant speaking engagement to date, it certainly wasn't my first presentation. Previous experience sent me into this weekend with a few tactics to be successful. In effort to continue sharing knowledge, here are some things that I'm glad I did for this event.

• Went to both days of the convention - Even though my class wasn't until Sunday, walking around the show on Saturday was super helpful. It gave me a better understanding of who I'd be talking to and what the expectations would be.
• Brought business cards - duh.
• Made a handout - Listening to one person ramble about social media is brutal. I created a one-page activity to break up the monotony and I think it was appreciated. Plus, some people are just more tactile learners.
• Planned to stay after - I had more folks come up to ask questions after my presentation than I did during my presentation. I was glad I didn't plan to jet as soon as I was done.
• Had a sign in sheet and sent follow up emails - Folks had to register for the class, but I didn't get that list. I printed my own sign in sheet and asked for names, emails and businesses. Not everyone filled it out, but I sent a thank you note to everyone who did.
• Posted the slideshow publicly - Not only is it a great resource, but it's got my business name and links to my website baked in. There's no reason to keep it private.

Things I Wish I Did

You learn more from losing than from winning, but you've got to learn from your wins, too. If I could go back in time, there are certainly things I would change about a presentation that I had very few complaints about. Here are a few of them.

• Practiced more - Boy do I love to wing it. Even when it goes well, I wish I would have rehearsed a time or two.
• Brought a phone mic - It's actually incredible how high quality cellphone recordings are these days. That said, the room was echo-y and I think a phone mic would have really improved my recording.
• Double checked the wifi - I connected my laptop to the wifi when I arrived and had no problems. Had I double checked before I started the presentation, I might have caught that my laptop disconnected in the interim. Not a huge deal, but it meant the pictures and, more importantly, the QR codes in my slideshow didn't load properly.
• Brought a timer - I was using my phone to record and couldn't see the clock on my laptop with the presentation in full screen. A colleague in the back of the room was giving me hand signals, but being able to watch the clock for my timing would have been awesome.
• Included a little less - 75 minutes is a difficult amount of time to plan for. I did alright, but I had to rush through my last few slides. A little less info probably would have made everything land more easily.
• Taken more pictures/videos - You can never have enough content. Sometimes I forget to follow my own advice.

One More Thing

A lot of folks consider bulleted lists to be a telltale sign of AI writing. Each and every above bullet came from my own brain gun, no AI included. I'll be back with more next week!

-MC

p.s.

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Something I've noted during my research. People love to talk about strategies, but no one talks about tactics. Watch the video

Balancing brand identity with lead generation. How much of each is too much? Watch the video

Hoping to fill this slot next week. Stay tuned!

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Let's celebrate your wins next. Ask me how!

$5.00 Bahnfyre Tip Jar This is so incredibly cool of you. Thank you!! -MC Send a tip

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