Are press releases still alive?

David Beach (00:02) I started out in theme parks as a walk around entertainer. I had a stage show as well, but two shows a day, it would be us going out and busking essentially, know, starting your performance and drawing a crowd. And almost everything in my life has revolved after that. That was my beginning of a professional career. And it is that sort of, hey, I'm... doing something over here, if you're interested in watching it, come on over. The crowds grow and you want to be a part of it. It's that sort of just natural build your community without, you know, yelling and screaming, but doing something that makes somebody go, something's, something's happening over there. Want to go check this out. Ben Ard (01:06) Welcome back to another episode of content amplified today. I'm joined by David, David. Welcome to the show. Yeah, David, I'm excited. This is going to be a fun conversation, but before we dive in, I want people to get to know you. Let them kind of explain your background history. Do you mind sharing a little bit about yourself? David Beach (01:11) Thank you for having me. Not at all. ⁓ I'm an actor. I've been out in California since 1994. I moved out here just in time for the Northridge earthquake, which was a pretty big quake. And it's just something I've done. I'm also a variety performer, juggler, ventriloquist, comic magician, performed at theme parks across the United States. So here I am. Ben Ard (01:42) That's amazing. I love it. So what we're going to talk about today is engagement and grassroots marketing. Like really like the creative side of marketing. Like this is real marketing stuff. This is the fun stuff where you get creative. You don't have to have a budget and you just kind of get there and get your message out there. I think it's so cool. So when it comes to like engagement and grassroots marketing, Maybe we take a step before we get into the details. Do you mind sharing what in your opinion, grassroots marketing means like just to make sure everyone's on the same page. David Beach (02:18) consider it to be sort of a face-to-face, hey, this is what I do, kind of like what I'm doing right now. I'm going to reach out to your audience by talking to you and just telling people when you meet them and you introduce yourselves and find out what they do, you just kind of toss in, do a podcast. It has unfortunately become sort of a cliche to be doing a podcast, but if you don't tell them, they're not going to know. And so rather than send out ads on Facebook, which is also somewhat grassroots, but I have a Facebook page and I just reach out and hope that expands and it's working okay. It could be faster if I sent out ads, I'm sure, but I like it to be a very natural growth and a very real growth. Ben Ard (03:05) Yeah, I love that. So when you're looking at natural and real growth and the engagement with the audience, like how does that work? Like how do you do that without? I mean, honestly, most marketers, a lot of us go back to saying, sweet, I need to grow my audience. Where do I run my advertisements and how much, how much budget do I have? How do you do that differently when it comes to just grassroots marketing and engagement? David Beach (03:22) Y-yeah. My main platform right now, other than where the podcast is hosted, is on Facebook. And I will tell my listeners who, you know, it started out friends and family, of course. I'll tell my listeners and post on Facebook, hey, share this story, share this, share that. And rather than it be, hey, I do a podcast, get out there, get, you know, it's, they share something to their page that I've put on my page and someone hopefully will go. where'd that come from? I want to check that out. And then it's more of a natural as opposed to force it down their throat. The unfortunate thing with my podcast is it's just stories of good news. So it's not like I'm giving information that people go, ⁓ I want to know how to do ABC. And then they turn to somebody who knows it. It's I'm offering a chance to instead of being inundated with bad news throughout, which I've been doing this for four years now, I guess they they can come and go, okay, here's two minutes of good news to start my day with. And I'd like to think that that's a better way to start your day than clicking on the news and seeing all the stuff that's happening. Ben Ard (04:32) I love that. One of the coolest things, especially about podcasting and you know, this way of doing marketing is the idea of experimenting and learning and really understanding what your audience wants. How have you capitalized on that to kind of tailor and improve over time to kind of meet the needs of your audience for the podcast? David Beach (04:52) See, it has to almost be the reverse in my situation because I'm not looking at my audience going, what do they want? I'm literally going, I'm saying, here's what I have. If you want it, it's here. Because they can get news anywhere. They can probably even find good stories anywhere, but I can't necessarily go, I need to think about what kind of good stories they want. When I'm researching a story to do, If it hits a note in me that makes me go, that's really cool, then I share that and I hope that that's the audience I get is those people going, well, that's a good story. But very rarely do people sit down and go, I'm gonna search for a place to find good news. So, you know, it's when you have a problem that you search for things and I can't imagine too many people going, I'm so tired of hearing bad news. I have to find a place. So it really depends on somebody going, Hey, you're having a bad day. You know how I start my day. I mean, that's kinda, that's kinda what I do. Ben Ard (05:52) I love that. I want to shift gears a little bit because I love how you approach this with artificial intelligence and it's almost impossible not to bring up AI and pretty much everything going on. What I love is that you have taken this channel and it's really it sounds like it's about you. It's you telling these stories. It's what resonates with you and people are connecting with you through the platform. Which is what I think most people need to think about because AI is taking that away a little bit. How do you bring your authenticity through in the podcast? Like how are people connecting with you through this channel? David Beach (06:30) I'd like to think that, and this goes back to being, I've done radio in the past, and this goes back to having that smile in your voice as opposed to a newscaster. Every introduction I do, I make sure that I'm having a good time and I'm smiling. And I know I've had comments, I've had responses, that that's what is appealing about what I do is the fact that, I'm... I'm just having fun and sharing a good story and I hope you like it too. I don't edit a great deal. Sometimes I'll screw up a word so I'll go back and change that. But I just let it roll. I mean it's only three minutes. How many mistakes can you make? So I just have fun with it. And if I think that, if that carries through then that's the audience. Ben Ard (07:16) Very cool. And you said it's mostly you have engagement on Facebook. How do you engage with the community there? Is it through comments? mean, how do you interact with everyone? David Beach (07:25) I post stories that don't fit a two minute timeframe. I definitely reply. I wish, and if anybody is listening that is a part of that group, I wish they would post more. I want to get more response from them. There's a handful of people that post occasionally, but I want it to be ⁓ everybody sitting around the fire, throwing out the stories they've heard. I really enjoy a... party atmosphere of, we're all just here having a good time. And that's kind of how I view Facebook. If I had more host in the show, that's how I would view it. I listen to radio programs where I feel like I've been invited to sit with these guys and have a good time. Ben Ard (08:10) So what I love about that is not only do we say we're getting away from AI and it's about people connecting with you, you're trying to use the platform to let people connect with one another and build a community. And so it is about giving everyone a platform and a voice. Do you talk about those kinds of things on the podcast or is it purely like the community and the channels? David Beach (08:29) I will mention the channel from time to time. In a three minute podcast, I've realized I can't really put an advertisement because that would kill the time. I can't really do a lot of asks for support because it is listener supported. not gonna get, I don't have the numbers to get a sponsor at this point in time. And I don't know if you can hear the construction going on now, it drives me nuts. But I... I really don't have a lot of times to go, join us on Facebook, we're in this group. But every five or six episodes, I'll toss that out. And that is really the best I can do. I really want it to be a show of good news, not, hey, join us, hey, this, hey, that. But I assume, I hope that someone will listen to it and go, I wonder if there's other places I can get this stuff. And then maybe listen to a few more episodes and catch on. It's not, probably not the best business plan, but it's a real business plan. is that sort of like, if they come to me, then they want to be a part of it. If I force it down their throat, then I don't know if they're going to stick around for the long run. That's how I kind of look at it. Ben Ard (09:38) Yeah, I love that. So you talked about this idea of the community building and all this stuff, but you also mentioned your work history and you're an actor, you're a comedian, you have all of these talents, their stage performance, things of that nature. How does that influence what you do on the podcast and this grassroots marketing? What lessons have you learned that you can bring to the table? David Beach (10:03) I started out in theme parks as a walk around entertainer. I had a stage show as well, but two shows a day, it would be us going out and busking essentially, know, starting your performance and drawing a crowd. And almost everything in my life has revolved after that. That was my beginning of a professional career. And it is that sort of, hey, I'm... doing something over here, if you're interested in watching it, come on over. The crowds grow and you want to be a part of it. It's that sort of just natural build your community without, you know, yelling and screaming, but doing something that makes somebody go, something's, something's happening over there. Want to go check this out. And you kind of grow your crowd that way. And the more it grows, the tighter that circle gets, the more people come in to see what's happening. And it Rather than posting a sign or having somebody go, there's this thing over there, you draw that crowd naturally, essentially. Ben Ard (11:01) I love that. That's so cool. So with everything you've talked about today, I love the concept. I think most marketers would agree. They just want to build an organic audience. They want the interaction. They want to tell the stories. They want to bring themselves to the table and have this authenticity of individuals and not brands per se. But sometimes they have a hard time justifying and measuring all of the efforts. David Beach (11:02) You Ben Ard (11:28) What are your thoughts on that? How do you measure success? And how do you know if like these grassroots techniques are actually paying off? David Beach (11:35) I try not to get too wound up in it. I've been doing this for a while now and my numbers still aren't big. I'm not Joe Rogan, which would be awesome to be able to sit down for two minutes and have that kind of crowd. But I can, the platform breaks it down so you can see the stats. And since I've begun, I have a very loyal fan base and that makes me happy in and of itself. I wanted to get beyond that, but to see that it is constantly growing, even if it's not leaps and bounds, that is enough to me. And there have been times where I'm just like, why am I doing this? I mean, I'm not making a whole lot of money, if any. And I'm really not spreading my, it's not like I'm promoting myself. And then I'll get an email that says, I can't start my day without listening to this or thank you, I was going through a bad time and. this cheered me up and it's like, okay, that's kinda why I'm doing it, I guess, and that's enough to keep you going for a while. It doesn't take a big compliment to get you high for the rest of the week, you know? It's just like one person contacted me early on saying they really wanted a transcript and I didn't know how to do that and it turned out that they were trying to learn English. and they were listening, but they wanted to see it written. That sort of thing of just like, I hadn't even thought about what that might be or what was going on with all sorts of different audience members. So yeah. Ben Ard (12:59) So I think that this concept is so cool and I think it's something and I not, I know not everyone gets to do this in this way, or form, but I look at the most successful people in life. And one example, just because I saw a video recently of Mr. Beast, right? So obviously is a big name out there. That guy, I'm determined that even today he would be posting YouTube videos if he had zero followers purely because he loves doing it. And there's something beyond the dollar sign. And I think no matter where you're at and what you're doing, if you can find that the quality and the joy and the satisfaction and the creativity, just go through the roof. And I love that you have this motivation is just, these are the stories that resonate with me and I'm bringing joy to other people and helping them out. And I hope it grows because I want this to influence more people. David Beach (13:28) Absolutely. Yeah. Ben Ard (13:54) but it is what it is because it's kind of who I am. And I think that that is such a resounding thing. Now here's, I'm going to show you a hard curve ball and David, let's see if you can handle this. All right. Let's say I'm a marketing professional who's listening to this podcast and is sitting there thinking, yeah, I need to bring passion to the table. I need organic growth. need to go grassroots. David Beach (14:05) Let me brace myself. Okay, go ahead. Ben Ard (14:17) But they're working in a company where they may not have a particular passion for the product or service that they're providing. How would you recommend to them? They're sitting in front of you. How do you recommend to them for them to employ this kind of marketing effort? David Beach (14:32) If they're working for somebody else, they got to follow what the boss says, I guess. That's the hard part. That's something I have a hard time wrapping my head around because I've always made it a goal not to work for a company where I didn't feel it inside me. So to say I'm promoting something that I don't really feel a passion for is kind of outside of my grasp, but they have to make it. work for them, whatever it takes. They have to believe in what they're pushing. And I would say reaching out to the people that are already there and saying, why do you like this? What can we promote that brought you to us? What is it about our product that made you turn to us and not the other opportunities and work on that, find that true drive for what brings them to you and see if you can get that. to amplify, if that even answers your question. Ben Ard (15:29) Well, I absolutely love that. Absolutely. It does because it's so cool. And I'm sure I've had like similar thoughts, but not like so are well articulated. The idea of if I'm in a business and it's something I'm passionate about, I can be that voice because it's my passion that can shine through. If it's not, it's not my industry. It's not my passion, but I work for them. Go find the person. David Beach (15:45) Yeah. Ben Ard (15:53) who is a buyer of that product service or whatever it may be, software. And if they are passionate, tell their story. It's about finding the passionate people and giving them a platform, which I think is really cool. David Beach (16:05) I mean, that's one of the things about being an actor and playing a character that you aren't that character, but you have to find out why that character would do that sort of thing. And that way it builds that in you. So you're like, ⁓ this would probably lead to that. And this would lead to that as opposed to going, I'm going to pretend to be this crazy person. It's like, why, what causes that? What leans them that way? And so it all kind of comes together in a way and yet. I'm not making millions of dollars making a movie, so I could be completely wrong. But it is that sort of what drives people and how can you make that build? Yeah. Ben Ard (16:43) love that. That's amazing. Well, David, we have run out of time. This has been a great conversation. I've loved it. Tell us about your podcast. Tell us how people can connect with you. How can they find you? David Beach (16:53) It's Awesome News Daily with David Beach. My favorite way of finding me is putting it in your daily brief if you have Alexa. You can wake up and hear good news in two minutes time, give or take. It is on pretty much every platform that I know of, and I'm just really happy with how it's working out. Ben Ard (17:12) I love it. And how can they find it on Facebook as well if they want to engage there? David Beach (17:16) search the groups and find Awesome News Daily with David Beach. Ben Ard (17:21) Love it. Perfect. Well, David, again, thank you for the insights. Thank you for everything. Anyone listening and scroll down will have all the links in the show notes. David, you're a rock star. Really do appreciate it. Thanks for your time. David Beach (17:23) Well, thank you. Thank you for taking your time and finding me. I appreciate that. Ben Ard (17:34) Yeah.