351: Topic | Connecting With Celebrities with Tom Ward, Gareb Shamus, and George Sheppard

Tom Ward, a Forbes contributor with his own YouTube channel; Gareb Shamus, the organizer of ACE Comic Con; and George Sheppard, the lead singer of the band Sheppard, share with your host, Travis Chappell, their thoughts on how to connect with celebrities.   Episode Highlights:  Tom Ward He’s fascinated by influencer marketing, and though he doesn’t do it himself, it’s what he primarily writes about. He still has a regular job in sales, which often surprises people. If you want to change careers or fields, one of the best ways to build evidence for your qualifications is to write. One of the ways Tom made career choices was by interviewing people doing what he wanted to do or thought he wanted to do to help him make informed decisions. He wants to shift into interviewing influencers and celebrities full-time in the next year. His value to an influencer is that he isn’t interested in the gossip, he’s interested in the business. Something else Tom adds is publicity in the most well-regarded business publication in the world, Forbes. People who see his interview with Demi Lovato don’t see the 9 months of work that went into it beforehand. Sales and networking are the same thing, but in networking, you aren’t selling a product, you’re selling yourself. Gareb Shamus ACE Universe was founded to do Comic Cons in a new way, with the aim of building community. Normally, when celebrities are at a Con, it’s a very exclusive and closed experience, but ACE wants these events to be accessible, open, and shareable. Audience demographics of Cons have changed from being 95% 14-15 year old boys to an older, broader demographic because these initial fans stayed with it so the fanbase simply aged up. As fans aged up, content got more mature, then women became part of it, and now there’s the generational aspect of older fans now coming with their kids. Disney’s purchase of Marvel and Star Wars has made fandom more family friendly. Networking is the most important life skill you can have, and it’s something you can always develop and improve upon. Before social media, Gareb had the mindset of making a connection and accessing people however was necessary, and he still does that without limiting himself to, for example, just phone or email. The more you research how you’re connected to someone and you can reach out through a trusted source, the more likely you are to have success. The failure isn’t in not getting a response or in getting no, it’s in not trying in the first place. George Sheppard You can be a great musician but you still need to know the right people to get your music out there. People who are most successful at networking are the people who are genuinely curious about other people. George’s band ended up getting their first single played on Australian radio because their songwriter’s brother’s coworker at a TV station invited them to play on the show. George can never predict what song will be a hit; a song can be good without all the other factors falling into place that makes it a hit. Their connections got them on tour with Justin Bieber and as an opener for Robbie Williams. 3 Key Points: Sales and networking are the same exact thing. Networking is the most important life skill you can cultivate, and it’s never too late to start. You can’t predict or force opportunities. Tweetable Quotes: “It is a long game, but you should always be selling. Always. There’s always a connection to be made, there’s always a coffee to have or a lunch meeting to take or a networking thing to attend.” –Tom Ward “Networking is the most incredible life skill you can have. It never stops, it’s never too late to get started, and it follows you everywhere.” –Gareb Shamus “It starts with the song, but then it’s... For information regarding your data privacy, visit https://www.acast.com/privacy (acast.com/privacy)

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