Yellow Dog Consulting

Sales & Marketing Consulting for solo-preneurs.

November Pop Culture Round Up

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I hope your November pop culture consumption is going well – mine has been a little all over the place this month with travel and visitors in town. As we head into Thanksgiving here’s a few things I’m enjoying lately…

Reading

I’m not sure what’s going on with me lately but my desire to read has been dismal. I need to get a grip and stop reading Twitter and start picking up a book once in a while. I did read this fascinating article in the NYT over the weekend about the Jungle Prince of Delhi. It’s crazy good. I also loved the Seth Meyers By the Book Profile in the NYT earlier this month. I love that man.

Now to read a BOOK. And catch up on my comics…I know…

Listening

I really enjoyed the Pete Buttigieg interview on The Daily and the story about WeWork was fascinating. A Third Grader’s Guide to the Impeachment Hearings was exactly what I needed from The Daily. I also have appreciated “The Latest” during the impeachment hearings these past couple of weeks.

Rubicon is another helpful podcast I’ve appreciated since I don’t have time to watch all of the hearings. I do find myself starting off my day with What a Day and then swapping over to The Daily unless the topic is something I want to know more about ASAP. I haven’t listened to Pod Save America as much lately – too much ranting and not enough helpful education. I did however really appreciate the Lovett or Leave It where he interviewed his fiance Rowan Farrow.

Watching

So instead of reading on the plane I binged the newest season of Atypical which is such a wonderful series on Netflix. I loved this season and hope the series never ends. The addition of Sarah Gilbert was a delightful surprise this season too.

Speaking of Seth Meyers – his new special Lobby Baby is HILARIOUS. I can’t wait to watch it again because it was THAT GOOD.

I am really liking this season of The Good Place and have a feeling I’ll need to rewatch it all when it’s done and will catch MANY clues that I’m not currently appreciating. I am also really enjoying The Unicorn which I mentioned last month.

I started The Crown and it will probably be my holiday weekend binge. Our friends were visiting and added their Disney+ account to our apple TV so the kids could watch movies and now I can watch The Mandalorian. The first two episodes are great – and it’s helping me get PUMPED for The Rise of Skywalker.

Theater

When I was in New York earlier this month I had the chance to see Waitress and it was INCREDIBLE. Who knew Al Roker would make me cry? He was great. If the show comes to your town, or you’re in NYC in the next month (it’s closing at the end of the year) go see it!

What pop culture is getting you through November? What pop culture do you consume (or avoid) when you’re with family over the holidays?

October Pop Culture Round Up

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Oct 2019 Pop Culture Round UpThere’s something about October – new and returning TV shows, the cooler weather and I always seem to fall out of a good reading habit. If I’m going to make my Goodreads Challenge for 2019 I need to step up my game – I’m at 23 of 30 books for the year so far. Totally do-able, but I need to get it in gear!

Reading

I started Michelle Obama’s autobiography – Becoming and it’s great. I started while traveling earlier this month. I’m on a plane in a couple of weeks and hoping to make some good time for reading to get back into the groove. My comic book collection is also stacking up nicely…

I am REALLY excited for the new Erin Morgenstern book – she wrote The Night Circus a few years back which I loved! Her new book – The Starless Sea comes out next week and there’s a strong chance it will end up on a flight with me throughout the month.

Listening

I’ve gotten some GREAT podcast recommendations this month!

Preach – a friend suggested this podcast a few weeks ago about the “messiness” of faith. It’s really fascinating. I started with the married Mormon couple and have been hooked since. Also – if you grew up watching VeggieTales make sure to listen to that great two part series!

So far I’m liking What a Day – I have wanted a quick news recap in the morning – I love The Daily but it’s only one topic. So far What a Day is 3-4 topics which is helpful when I don’t have time to watch Rachel Maddow or miss other stories.

My latest cult themed podcast was The Gateway: Teal Swan. She certainly is an interesting character, and yes, very cult-like. I’m occasionally (always) terrified at what people will believe and do.

I’m being interviewed for a podcast this week so keep an eye out for that news next month…

Watching

I finally cleaned up my Netflix queue and finished a couple of series this past month. Mindhunter continues to be a great series, and I was shocked to learn that the Atlanta child murders are still unresolved. (sorry, spoiler there, except it’s not)

I devoured the new season of Big Mouth, and why YES the Queer Eye episode DID live up to all my wildest hopes and dreams. Another fantastic season of a show that I think all teenagers should watch. (This may also be a good indicator that not having kids was a smart move.)

I’ve started watching The Family on Netflix and it’s FASCINATING. It’s about a conservative Christian group who has been courting and supporting politicians in DC for decades. It’s really really interesting.

Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner with David Chang is great so far – we watched the Chrissy Teigen episode and as always, she’s amazing.

The Politician was a GREAT (and quirky) series and the final episode introduces one of the best comedic duos I didn’t realize was missing from my life. I can’t wait for Season 2!

I tried a couple of episodes of Modern Love on Amazon and it’s not my jam. I’m not a rom-com kind of girl anyway and these stories are very New York, and very meh. However this new season of Saturday Night Live has been great – I’m LOVING the two new cast members…

Righteous Gemstones finished their first season and it wrapped up so well that I’m curious what they’ll do with season 2. But I am glad to see Walt Goggins on The Unicorn which is a sweet show about a widow with two daughters. It’s a great cast and premise.

I’ve watched the first episode of Mrs Fletcher on HBO and I love Kathryn Hahn so am all in on this show. I continue to watch Perfect Harmony which is sweet, and I think I may just wait for Nancy Drew to hit Netflix at the end of the season. I haven’t started Watchmen yet but will try to get to that this weekend. I feel like I’m supposed to love Stumptown but something about it has it filling up on my DVR lately. I am however liking the new season of The Good Place and love all the continued twists and turns.

What pop culture are you enjoying as you cozy up on the couch from these cool fall days?

3 Ways to Grow Your Event Registration

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I was talking with a client the other day about increasing attendance for their events. It’s a common problem for small business owners looking to grow. I find I often have three recommendations (big surprise) when I talk with clients about increasing attendance – so here’s what I said in response to…

How do I get more butts in seats?

  1. Have a Good List – Do you have a list you can talk to about your events? If you are only reaching out to your newsletter list to pitch your event you want them to pay money for, you likely don’t have a well cultivated list. I always suggest clients have a regular newsletter sharing useful content so people can see how great they are. That way when you reach out to pitch your event/book/thing/give me money they’re excited and ready to go! Start to cultivate your list. Have a good free opt-in on your website and make sure people are regularly getting added to your list.
  2. Ask Referral Partners to Help – Every time my colleagues ask me to promote their event I am more inclined to help if they have sent me some content I can tweak and schedule to post on my social media. Create your list of referral partners (NOW) who have great clients/lists that can help promote your event to THEIR audience (and remember they will ask you the same – or maybe already have…). Give them some images, a link and maybe even a custom registration code…
  3. Track Everything – As my business coach Debbie Page says, “what you measure matters.” When I have a new program I make sure to use custom codes for discounts and registration. That way I know EXACTLY where every person came from. My clients get a code, every networking group I’m a part of gets a unique code, and any referral partner gets the code of their choice so that I can track where all my leads came from. Why do I do this? So I know what worked and what didn’t. Is that a good networking group for this topic? NOPE! Is this a good referral partner who has prospects eager to hear what I’ve got? YUP!

Planning and getting attendees to your events can be HARD. Make sure you’re setting yourself up for success by cultivating relationships and communicating regularly to save you the stress when the time comes. What else do you do to get “more butts in seats”?