Amanda Perelli/Business Insider
- Creators are breaking through the screen and hosting in-person events to meet fans face-to-face.
- Events like live shows and meetups are helping creators foster deeper audience connections.
- Creator events are filling theaters with kids who watch , the creator behind the “Drinks First” dating podcast, hosts events in NYC using Posh.
Vox Media has also doubled down on investing in podcasting and is helping its podcast creators expand into live events.
Jackie Cinguina, chief marketing officer, and Lillian Xu, executive director, spoke with BI about the company’s offerings for podcast creators.
Vox Media, which works with Celebrity Memoir Book Club, has a production team that collaborates with podcast talent and producers when planning a live event, Cinguina said.
Vox Media leans on specific marketing, like placing podcast talent into larger in-person events to perform, like South by Southwest. This year, Vox Media programmed the conference’s podcasting stage.
During the pandemic, Vox hosted several virtual events, but they didn’t prove to be a complete replacement for the energy created by an in-person event.
“From an audience standpoint, we thought it was really important,” Xu said about bringing back live events. “From a podcaster perspective, we saw that they’re often able to test new formats or try things out in front of a live audience and get that real-time reaction. And that gives them a lot of energy. You see them react to the audience and feed off of them when they are in front of a live audience.”
Substack, too, is finding its footing in the IRL market.
In 2024, the newsletter platform — which has worked to strengthen its podcast play this year — helped several creators host events, such as live readings hosted by writers like Delia Cai, a quiz show hosted by Hunter Harris, and a fashion week experience with Emilia Petrarca.
“Substack is fundamentally built in these direct relationships between publisher and subscriber,” said head of writer relations Sophia Efthimiatou. “It creates a very intimate and strong bond.”
While ticket sales are a clear mark of success for events like those put on by Substack (some of which have been sold-out events), Efthimiatou sees these events as a bigger project of human connection.
As Efthimiatou wrapped a Substack event earlier this year, a woman in the audience shared that she was leaving with 10 new contacts of people she had met at the event, Efthimiatou told BI. The woman was leaving with several potential new friends.
“How amazing is that?” Efthimiatou said.
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https://www.businessinsider.com/influencers-in-person-events-build-communities-make-money-2024-9