David H. Lawrence XVII was the announcer on The Price Is Right and was the puppet master on Heroes. He gave great tips on acting and podcasting at Converted conference! Great guy!

David H. Lawrence XVII was the announcer on The Price Is Right and was the puppet master on Heroes. He gave great tips on acting and podcasting at Converted conference! Great guy!

I never miss Leadpages’ Converted Conference. Not only is it reasonably priced and full of great information from speakers who aren’t selling anything, but it is held in nearby Minneapolis! Can’t beat that!

Here are a few takeaways:

  • Facebook messenger will replace email as a permission-based marketing tool. I know. That one is hard to believe, but Andrew Warner, founder of Mixergy kept asking us to put aside our skepticism. The world is moving to mobile devices and text as the main form of computer-based communications. My take: When I run Facebook ads for my clients, I see the biggest responses are from Android users. I never would have predicted that!
  • From Marc Maron, comedian and host of WTF podcast: For a successful podcast, have an authentic conversation. Use empathic listening. Challenge your guest. Even though he did not have a business plan, the podcast is so popular, that ads go for $10,000 a shot. 70 percent of listeners buy something.
  • Pat Flynn’s new book, “Will It Fly” offers a great diagnostic tool to find out what you should be doing. Write down three jobs you’ve had. Now write what you liked best about them and what you liked least about them. Then write a short story about that. You’ll see a pattern emerge that should tell you what you should be doing. Great idea!
  • Who would have thought you could create a community of fitness buffs who were nerds? Steve Kamb launched “NerdFitness.com” and is doing so well that people even come to an in-person camp fitness every year! Just when you thought you couldn’t stand out in the crowd, he proves that if you find the right niche, you can build a tribe.
  • Come on down! David H. Lawrence XVII (yes, that’s correct) is the voice over host on “Let’s Make a Deal.” He offered these acting tips for podcasters: be authentic; don’t yell; smile while talking (words actually will sound better from a mouth that is smiling than a mouth that doesn’t have that shape!); don’t read from a script, use bullet points instead; talk to an audience of one, not a crowd; be vulnerable, don’t worry about mistakes; look at the back of the camera, not the front, to avoid a crossed-eye look; be kind and enthusiastic; be interested so you can be interesting. Great line: Never waste your pain. Learn from everything.”
  • Video ads on Facebook convert like mad, according to Ezra Firestone, founder of SmartMarketer.com and one of the top spenders on Facebook ads in the world. That’s because video engages more senses than print. Ads should be between 60 seconds and 6 minutes. Retarget messages to people who watch more than 25 percent of the video. If you can, make them laugh.