Fyreside Newsletter - 5/19/25

Hey Reader,

First, a video:

Not all marketing is digital marketing. Thanks for having me #buckeyelakepiratefest ! . . . . . #organicmarketing #contentcreation #marketinghottakes #digitalmarketing #socialmediamarketingtips #communitygrowth #smallcreatorsupport #marketingadviceforsmallbusinesses #smallbusinessowner #selfemployed #piratecosplay

♬ The Last Shanty with bagpipes - Ally the Piper

You're missing the meat forest for the internet trees

Have you ever heard the phrase "meatspace?" It's kind of upsetting, right? Upset or not, the "meatspace" is a word coined in the mid-1990s to describe the world off-line. Think of the "meatspace" as the opposite of "cyberspace." The "meatspace" is where we all meet up and interact with each other as human beings and not pseudonymous digital avatars. Now, and I promise this is the last time I'll say "meatspace" today, I believe the "meatspace" is the most effective place to market.

In the year 2025, it is easy to forget that there are marketing tactics which don't involve the internet. The reality is, perhaps now more than ever, in person marketing is incredibly effective. In fact, according to Statistica (via Event Espresso), 79% of US marketers generated sales using event marketing in 2022. For every client that has said "I don't have the time/energy/bandwidth for social media," I could give you 10 local events that would bring said client greater returns.

So, if even the digital marketing newsletter is telling you to get out and market in person, how does one do that?

Find things and make stuff.

Step 1: Find things to go to.

I love a local event. Small street fairs, town festivals, cultural gatherings, they're all a great time and an incredible opportunity to market. The key is to identify which of these events (local or otherwise) are worth your time and effort. How do you make these identifications? You consider your target audience.

The goal of in person events is to meet people. Specifically, the goal is to meet people meat to meat. (You're welcome.) When considering the value of an event, consider the people in attendance. Will the attendees of this event want to buy from you? Will they be potential business partners or valuable contacts? The value of going to an event, in any capacity, is the contacts you come home with.

Step 2: Make stuff to take to those things

I don't just mean product. You may not even be the type of business that sells physical product! That doesn't absolve you of the need to bring stuff. "So what sort of stuff?" I hear you asking. Great question, reader! You need at least something people can interact with and something people can take away.

Interactable things include but are not limited to: info sheets to read, videos to watch, prize wheels to spin, games to play, QR codes to scan, lists to sign, forms to fill out, etc, etc. You get the idea, it can be literally anything, but it's got to be something.

Take aways include but are not limited to: business cards, stickers, pins, tchotchkes, info sheets, example products, SOCIAL MEDIA PROFILES, reminders of future appearances, etc, etc. You get it. The ideas are endless, but you need something.

Let me help you

I have actually been working in event marketing for longer than I've been working in digital marketing. For those playing along at home, that's a long fucking time. As noted above, my ideas for this sort of thing are endless and I will give them to you at the slightest ask. Over the coming weeks, I'm going to work on some templates for both interactables and take aways that you can adapt for your business. They'll be available on the Free Stuff corner of my website. Friendly reminder that I have a Free Stuff corner of my website if you've never visited.

If you'd like some more hands-on assistance with in-person marketing, I am literally begging you to email me. I want to help you. So bad. Please, just let me. If you don't and I see you at an event with bad interactables or take aways, I will point at you and laugh.