I recently had the chance to speak with Eric Skwarczynski, host of the GOOD STORY Podcast. Eric, already a self-professed Troma fan, had read my book and was well-prepared with some great questions. In addition to being a great podcast host and producer, Eric has some great editing chops and put together some great short videos with excerpts from our talk, which I will share on Social Media. Meanwhile, below is the full podcast episode. Enjoy!
For the past few years, I’ve been visiting Traverse City, Michigan every summer to escape the Florida heat and humidity, and to enjoy the beauty, lakes, wineries, and breweries of Northern Michigan (fitting in some biking, hiking, kayaking, and sailing in between the wineries and breweries!) This summer, by pure coincidence I planned my trip during the well-respected Traverse City Film Festival. With its main venue the beautifully restored State Theatre, and the sister cinema, the Bijou, on the shore of the Grand Traverse Bay, and additional charming venues scattered throughout the small town, it is a perfect locale for a summer film festival.
The Traverse City Film Festival was started in 2005 by award-winning documentary filmmaker Michael Moore with a clear and determined mission:
“The Traverse City Film Festival is committed to showing ‘Just Great Movies’ and helping to save one of America’s few indigenous art forms- the cinema. We are committed to showing great movies that both entertain and enlighten the audience. We need movies that seek to enrich the human spirit and the art of filmmaking, not the bottom line. Our goal is for people to leave the theater with the feeling that they just watched something special.”
– Michael Moore, President and Founder
Back in my Troma days, I recall seeing Michael Moore and saying hello to him a few times on the streets of NYC, in and around Times Square, where he may have been doing post-production on one of his films. When I realized I’d be in Traverse City during the festival this summer, I hoped perhaps, to have a chance to see him again and perhaps even give him a copy of my book. As it happened, the summer stars aligned for me to be able to do just that.
Knowing the town would be flowing with film fans, including some who would likely recognize The Toxic Avenger, I packed a bunch of my tee shirts that have my book’s logo on the front and www.ToxicAvenger.marketing on the back and decided I’d wear that shirt every day the Festival was going on. I also got tickets for the opening night party and brought some copies of my book which I kept in my backpack at all times. I also attended some festival events including a great panel discussion on the “Future of Film” with Michael Moore, some of the festival filmmakers, and Ira Deutchman, film industry veteran, and Columbia University professor. I sat in the front row, in my promotional tee-shirt, and was sure to ask a question during the Q & A (and shamelessly plug my book in the process.) Always. Be. Marketing.
During the opening night party, a fun street party within a closed-off section of Front Street, with the classic State Theatre marquee as the backdrop, I did have the chance to say hello to Michael Moore and give him a copy of my book (see photo above). We had a brief and friendly conversation about Troma, and he could not have been nicer.
As I wore my Toxic tee-shirt around town during the festival, every once in a while I’d get a knowing nod from someone or a comment or question about The Toxic Avenger. When a short conversation would ensue, I’d always hand out a business card for the book. It was a lot of fun, and I was pleasantly surprised to even see a little spike in book sales during the festival days. In my book, there’s a chapter called “Alway Salute the Schwag” which talks a bit about the power of tee shirts and schwag. I put that power to work during my vacation in Traverse City! Remember, always be marketing!
I had the chance to talk in depth with Steve “Megatron” Phillips, host of the Altered Geek podcast. I really enjoy doing podcast interviews, as each one is a bit different based on the host and questions asked and the mood of the moment when we’re recording. This was a good talk and I think we cover a lot of ground around my tenure at Troma, and the book itself (which Steve clearly had read in advance). We discuss how, while the book is a treasure trove of behind-the-scenes tales to delight the Troma fan, the anecdotes and lessons within also appeal to readers who have never heard of Troma or The Toxic Avenger (yes, such folks exist!). Steve compliments the “short” chapters and I give credit to Steven Pressfield‘s Nobody Wants to Read Your Sh*t, which served as an inspiration to the style of writing I chose for my book.
In addition, we talk about how I got involved
There’s also a good discussion on culture and purpose in business, and… well, instead of my yapping on here, you can click here or on the embed below to listen to the show. Enjoy!
Chuck Reeves (aka #BeastHost) is a pretty interesting dude. After serving 10 years in the US Navy (thank you for your service, Chuck!) he’s been an outspoken character as a rapper, radio DJ, MC of hundreds of live events, and now as host of the #BeardSpeaks YouTube show and podcast. Chuck is very familiar with Troma and The Toxic Avenger, and he actually read and enjoyed my book before we spoke, so this was a lively and entertaining conversation. Chuck is also a passionate marketer himself and we also dive into a bit about my role at .CLUB Domains and the importance of domain names to independent creators (about 32:33 into the interview).
You can watch the full interview on YouTube below, or you can listen to the audio version embedded below the video. Enjoy, and if you do, give a shout out to Chuck the BeastHost and #BeardSpeaks!
Mike Lloyd is a successful photographer, and, as I found out, a great interviewer. His podcast, Photogs Unite!, is full of insights, wisdom, and advice that will benefit pro photographers as well as anyone running a business. The show is targeted to photographers as the audience, but Mike doesn’t interview photographers as guests on the show. Rather, his guests are folks with all sorts of business and marketing advice that his audience of photogs can learn and benefit from.
I was excited that Mike invited me to come on the show and share some of the lessons I learned from The Toxic Avenger. I think it was a great fit, as there are many things I experienced making movies that directly relate to what a pro photographer does, from dealing with talent and teams to scouting for and securing locations, and we cover it all during our talk. Mike did his homework, and not only did we dive into my book, but we also talk about opportunities with domain names and my role as CMO
I was on a panel about Indie Film Marketing at the Grand Indiewise Convention in Hollywood (Florida, that is…). I had the chance to share some of my experiences in the “old days” and how things have changed today with the proliferation of Social Media and new distribution channels. As the saying goes, “everything old is new again,” and I think that many of the marketing angles we applied “back in the day” can be applied to the Indie Film world today (but with a few new twists), and I share some of those ideas and tips in the video below. NOTE: This is an edited version of the panel, of mostly my bits, as I just had my phone pointed at me… 🙂
A few months ago I had the pleasure of recording an episode of The Small Business Puzzle Podcast with hosts Michael and Teresa Blaes. The episode was just released this week, so please listen here or at the link below.
As their show focuses on supporting the interests and challenges of small businesses, we talk about my book, as well as the domain name industry and the opportunities with new domain extensions such as .CLUB. We also talk a bit about mobile marketing, and we discuss a bit about the process of writing a book. I also share a story from my days working with William Shatner on his Tekwar computer game. It was a good conversation and I hope you’ll enjoy listening to it.
CLICK TO LISTEN TO THE SMALL BUSINESS PUZZLE PODCAST
I’ve been an avid fan of podcasting since the very early days of the format (2005). In fact, back in October of 2005, I made my first “guest” appearance on a podcast when I appeared as the subject of the “interview with a listener” on Episode 100 of the Podcast 411 show, hosted by Rob Walch. Interestingly enough, in that 2005 interview I talked about my experiences at Troma, and mention a bunch of things that I have now written about in Everything I Know about Business and Marketing, I Learned from THE TOXIC AVENGER. I also talk with Rob about many of the early podcasts I was listening to at the time, a number of which are still around today. Since then I’ve become friends with many of the podcasters I listened to, such as the talented author Scott Sigler, and I’ve had the chance to produce and host podcasts myself. I co-hosted the Cast of Dads podcast with some fellow “dad bloggers.” When I worked with Gapingvoid I launched and produced the Gape Into The Void podcast, with guests including Tim Ferris, Gary Vaynerchuk, and Seth Godin. I also turned one of my original screenplays, WUNDERKIND! into a podcast.
As such a fan of podcasting, it should be no surprise that appearing on podcasts has been an important part of my marketing efforts for my book. With that in mind, I was very happy when friend and domain industry blogger Andrew Allemann launched his service, PodcastGuests.com. Whether you are a podcaster looking for guests, or an author or expert looking for opportunities to be a guest on a podcast, this is a great service. The main component of PodcastGuests.com is a newsletter that features a guest expert, as well as a selection of podcasts seeking guests. If you think you’re a good candidate for one of the featured shows, you fill out a simple form that goes right to the podcaster. Signing up for the newsletter is free. If you want to be the featured expert guest in the newsletter, there is a fee, but you are also guaranteed to get a certain number of podcast appearances. A great deal, if you ask me.
There is also an online directory of expert guests at www.PodcastGuests.com with two levels of service. The directory is a great resource for podcast hosts looking for guests. Here’s a link to my profile in the PodcastGuests.com directory.
So, if you’re a podcaster looking for a great resource to find qualified guests, or if you are an author, or expert looking to gain exposure by appearing as a guest on a relevant podcast, PodcastGuests.com is a service you should definitely have on your radar.
And, of course, if you are a podcaster looking for a great guest to talk about movies, marketing, pop-culture, entrepreneurship, branding, and a fun new book, feel free to contact me! Here are just a few of my recent podcast appearances talking about Everything I Know about Business and Marketing, I Learned from THE TOXIC AVENGER.
Marketing Smarts by Marketing Profs
Six Pixels of Separation w/Mitch Joel
Enjoy!
‘Tis the season… of the sale, and my book, Everything I Know about Business and Marketing, I Learned from THE TOXIC AVENGER is no exception! Now through November 30th, you can get the Kindle Version of the book for only $0.99! Yep, that’s less than one buck… less than the cost of a few sips of that FrappaZappaTiniLatteLeche you’re drinking… and far more fulfilling! The Kindle version normally sells for $4.99 so you’re getting a whopping 80% off a book that is guaranteed to make you smile and get inspired by business and marketing tips you can actually use! Watch the short video below for some highlights of the 5-star reviews on Amazon! And don’t be shy… spend a buck and buy the book! Thanks!!!
Mitch Joel is not just a highly regarded author and marketing thought leader, nor is he just a long-established blogger and podcaster. He’s also not just a co-founder and president of a successful global digital agency, nor is he just a former rock and roll journalist. Mitch Joel, above all these things, is a mensch, in the truest sense of the word. For those of you perhaps not as familiar with the Yiddish term, a “mensch” is a person of integrity and honor – an all around great guy. That’s Mitch Joel, and I am fortunate to have had the pleasure of breaking bread (not bad) with him on more than one occasion. I am even more fortunate to be the guest on Episode #593 of his long-running and popular marketing podcast, Six Pixels of Separation.
It was great to talk with Mitch about my book, marketing, and even share some mutual love for the Mel Brooks comedy classic, Blazing Saddles… It is a fun, and hopefully informative and entertaining conversation. Click here or on the embed below to listen, and if you’re not already a follower of Mitch, please consider subscribing to the Six Pixels of Separation podcast.
If you enjoy listening to my conversation with Mitch, please consider reading my book!