As a long time listener/reader of Six Pixels of Separation podcast/blog it was my pleasure to nab this interview with Mitch Joel of Twist Image.  He has been all over the place promoting his new book Six Pixels of Separation.  I listened to it from Audible and really enjoyed it.  It really is a great book for beginners who are thinking of diving into social media or digital marketing.   I found it to be rich in substance for everyone.  I know have to go buy a real book so I can go back and fold some pages for reference for my own use. (one bad thing about listening to a downloaded book- no pages to fold.)

I hope you enjoy the interview and catch his Podcasts at Six Pixels of Separation.

Here are some random keywords from my notes that I pulled while listening to Mitch’s book.  See if they spark your interest:

Compelling – contribute – speed-more and more personal –Google- new and compelling – create and see what others are creating about u.  Your personal brand—Welcome to snackable content- skimming- grazing-People need simple- short punchy–Specialty niche stuff- create create create!

Transcripts:

Mike McAllen:     Welcome back to Meetings Podcast. This is Mike McAllen with Grass Shack Events and Media and today’s we have Mitch Joel, he is the president of Twist Image which is marketing agency. He is the host and produce of the blog Podcast Six Pixels of Separation and also the host producer of the Round table Podcast Media Hacks. He is a keynote speaker of all things digital, software, media and marketing and he has a new book out, Six Pixels of Separation and hi Mitch.

Mitch Joel:    How are you sir?

Mike McAllen:    Thank you for talking to me. That was a long, long intro but you have so much, I didn’t know what to pick you have so much stuff you do. You’re a very busy man.

Mitch Joel:    I try and keep busy. I don’t want to be bored, I’m like shark. I just got to keep moving.

Mike McAllen:    I wanted to ask a question. Who are you and what do you do because I’m sure you’re doing that but I’m kind the already explain everything you do but why don’t you tell me a little bit about Twist Image?

Mitch Joel:    So, we’re essentially digital marketing agency. We’re base in, what we’re base; we have offices in both Montreal and Toronto and employees about 90 plus people. Yes, we’re full service digital agency, so anything in terms of what you should be doing online it’s typical the types of mandate we take on, so we help with everything from the strategy, to the design content and technology and marketing of it and I keep myself very busy by staying very active on all of our client work and it’s – I did a very charm life where I get paid to play on places like Facebook and YouTube and to speak people like you, so I have a very few complaints in my life.

Mike McAllen:    So, how did you get in to marketing, what’s your background like?

Mitch Joel:    It’s a sort of strange weird world the mind was, I – always was interested in, I guess – I guess with some of the guy are always interested in marketing to some level or not, I’m not sure sort of, if I always do was as marketing per se but just the way people buy things and why they buy things, always very entrepreneurial.

My background is actually started in journalism, first job in the late mid to late 80’s was entering Tommy Lee from Motley Crue and it jokily to help people it’s all down hell after that. I love journalism. I love publishing that whole sort of world and obviously with publishing it come advertising and the whole marketing of the magazine and getting the words out of it – the words and ads out there to the mass public. So, publish magazine for awhile put those magazine in very early days on the internet, in fact people say that I’m one of the first magazine ever online back in early, early 90’s. Stayed there on with that for awhile, always kept the freelance writing going but moved very quickly into shop called Mama.com which is one of the first search engines on the internet.

So, I was actually involved in search engine marketing and online advertising years before Google existed which is sort of strange to say but it’s very, very true. I went to the whole .com, boom-bust and echo stayed engage there. I round up, searching over and working at a company that specialize in mobile content and again if you’re going back seven or eight years you can imagine the look on carriers faces when you said, “People actually care data and not voice on mobile devices”, they looked to us like – like dog looks at your sideway when you talk it, you know? And that was sort of a fun, interesting journey. Spent a bit of time in PR, didn’t really think it was the right fit for me and then met my business partners at Twist Image and we sort of made it run at this agency. Started of, you know, very humble, we are free because partners of one employee and quickly moved up to where we’re right now which is the multiple offices and about 90 employees.

The real sort of back end story of it though is which is interesting, I didn’t really do much expect for start to blog to build the business and in doing that it lets people wanting me to speak which is about to my sort of real speaking event which was strangely enough in front of 7,000 people sharing the stage with Dr. Phil which is pretty wild and crazy. From there I manage to get introduce to couple speakers, bureaus and got engaged with that and so really built this business, this digital agency on the back of, you know, blog and a podcast and being highly engage in the channels like Facebook and Twitter and LinkedIn, etcetera and then speaking in such which led to a book ville, a book is called the Six Pixels of Separation. It just came out September 08 on Business Plus, Grand Central part of Hachette Book Group. It’s been doing great in both in the US and Canada and it’s about to launch international this month and there will be version is coming in Korean and Chinese and Italian and French.

So, it’s a – it’s a really exciting time, I blog like crazy still, I still write a lot. I do a weekly column for the Montreal Gazette and Vancouver Sun and I write a bit a tech column for En Route Magazine which is one of the number in-flight magazine, it’s actually on Air Canada and – so I started this weird, crazy lifestyle where – marketing communication is just part of everything but I really sort of chase after the stuff I love and just hope the money follows and so far I’ve been pretty lucky.

Mike McAllen:    That’s great. Yes, it’s very interesting to me, I had a conversation today with a friend and he wanted to bid on this industry event,  my company doing the production and he come from an AV company and wanted to do the AV part of it, he wanted to bid on it and again in front of all this meeting planner, a big meeting planner association and I kept thinking, I didn’t want to do that, I mean it’s you know, it’s the right thing to do is to do it but I’m really enjoying doing like the podcast and blogging and all the things which I just finished listening to your book.

Actually I listen to the book when I was in Hawaii and while I’m sitting on the beach I sent you an email with about that which is kind of interesting watching the bikinis goes by and then listening to your voice, not, not good mix but the book is fantastic and it’s all the things that I’ve been trying to implement which a lot more. I mean it got kick my ass to get our own website and gear and get in to more this things but I hear what you’re saying because I kind the trying to follow the same thing, not much money following yet but hopefully.

Mitch Joel:    Hey, look I mean it does – it does take time and it’s not some that happens necessarily overnight and I think what happen a lot as people think it’s spontaneous and what I always caution people is I been really pushing online since the late 80’s, it’s taken me a long time to have this overnight success as some people see it. It’s been a long urges process and everyday is so challenge. I mean in still running a 90 person shop, it’s a huge overhead and two offices and employees and all of the sort of stuff and it’s just like any small, medium size business owner has. I’ve got the same headaches and what I’ve done is I’ve essentially use a lot of the platforms that we’ve talked about the blog and the book and the speaking, not as a self-promotion tool for Twist Image but more as an educational platform by which I can be more of an evangelist for the industry and there’s a bit of a halo effect to happens with that where people, you know, want to work with the person who’s saying those things too and so it’s been very fortuitous for Twist Image and not me personally at all because it’s all tied into my business but it all ties in into the strategy.

And I think, you know, what’s interesting about the book is I didn’t write as a marketer, I actually wrote it as a business owner and it really as a road map and so when you say and I’m glad you enjoyed the audio book, read it or listen, doesn’t really matter to me but I actually wrote it for people like you. I mean I wrote it because I think a lot of people turn around and go, well maybe the mind doesn’t follow or how do you make money from blogging or is this really true and it’s not I get rich quick scheme at all. In fact I have a section in the book that I called, I’m crazy slow, where I think people have this misconception that the internet is about it’s really fast thing, you can do thing fast and cheap and get it up and make a million overnight and – so you will be on the Yahoo with a bunch, you know, bikini club women too or something real estate or something.

But the truth is that if actually a very, very process because what I’ve learn in the sort of discovery of it and being highly engaged is that it’s about the relationships you build and about, you know, how you can, you know, I would say leverage relationship but you know, the work the relationship to the point where people are talking and excited about it and it’s like, you know, it’s just like dating where it takes time. It’s not a one night stand and I think a lot of people think the online channel is a great one night stand when in reality I think it’s actually the ultimate, you know, relationship builder.

And so, you know, all I would say is you know, head down, chin in and you know, keep throwing out those jobs and eventually you’ll sort of at least figure out the plan and I’m glad to hear you say that too because I think the point of the book really was to get people to rethink how they’re doing the business even if they’re already online.

Mike McAllen:    I agree, I really, a lot of it really hit. I mean now I’m ask to do talk just with this little associations about, you know, social media and stuff and I always put well blast to I did, I have your book, I have David Meerman Scott stuff up, The New Rules of Marketing book and now yours is even better. I mean of all it’s really very cool, very cool book and anyone will listen to this, I think they should go and pick it up right away because it’s – if you’re into this stuff because it’s – it is a road map that’s a perfect way of saying it and you kind the, I think you said in the book too that it is a slow process but, you know, the sooner you’ll start the better because you want to build up your I don’t know equity, your Google equity, is that what you call it with. I don’t know the name.

Mitch Joel:    The Google Juice, yes. Well, I mean if people say how to get to the top of Google and again, you know, Google ranks, the name is base of a relationships who is linking to you, what the value is, how the present and active you are in certain environment and it is, it’s a lot of work to do that and I think a lot people are looking for silver bullets and unfortunately the net result of the book is it’s not a silver bullet but it is a map on how to build the gun and how to build the bullet and how to put it into the [cross-talk]

Mike McAllen:    Yes.

Mitch Joel:    And all you got to do is really, you know, take it the rest of the way. I think the challenge with it is that, you know, not to be contrary what you said but I think it’s also for a lot, you know, this real sort of spirit of the book was written for people who are saying, “I’m not sure about this” Everyone is like running into my office tell me to go on Twitter, go on Facebook and like, you know, it’s just a time suck or is there really something here and you know, unspecifically you know, there is stuff and you know, specifically your audience in terms of meeting planners. I mean how did their relationships and ability to make those connections to make your business more effect. It’s just tremendously powerful especially in recession where people are looking to do a lot more with less.

And so you know meeting planners and I’ve happen to do a lot of events for meeting planners and I know the industry quite well being a professional speaker on one side and then as a guide through association to helps organize events as well that you know, never, you know, in all the groups I usually talk to meeting planners especially really need to leverage this channels. I can’t tell you, you know, count on the stories and examples of whoever is listening, your competitor right now, using this channels and very saddle and easy ways to grow their business massively and its working.

Mike McAllen:    Yes, yes. So, what do you think about like the events, I heard you’re talking the other day kind of about this, I was just talking about doing an event camp in New York coming up with a bunch of other people who are – they asked me to be involved in it but – but I heard you kind the talking about that this camps like this pod camps and stuff, there now becoming like regular conferences, aren’t they almost they’re charging enough for them?

Mitch Joel:    So, you know, the unconference movement really started by I think it was, you know, the sort of initial spirit that it feels like when you research it was a bunch of pissed of people who are like, listen you know, we don’t get to speak about this big conferences and people don’t want our opinion. Well we’ll just gather on our own and share our thoughts with one other and speak with one other and they were very highly, you know, the self organized. I mean literally someone setup a wacky and people will say, I’ll speak here and I’ll do this, I’ll bring the food and I’ll print a t-shirt and it was a very, very community minded. I think the spirit of the unconference still remains where did they, you know, it’s like generally free even to come to but you know, they’ve residence on much popularity that it’s, you know, I believe it was – I think it’s Podcast Boston two or three where it’s like a thousand, five hundred people registered because it was free but only 300 showed up.

Mike McAllen:    Yes.

Mitch Joel:    But it is a self organize and you’re going to group to five or six people who are just also needing the charge to make sure the stuff getting done, that’s a big discrepancy, you know, you’re making a room for people and planning for lunches and suddenly you’re throwing food away and print of all this t-shirts and just go into the garbage.

So, I think that a lot of sort of charging of it is being done just to sort of really get a graft on who’s coming and then the other side of it it’s just, you know, people are want, sort of I guess a more of a real reason and so you have more scenarios where individuals are like, you know, mentioning keynotes speakers or special guests or stuff like that. So, it does – it sort of – is leaning back towards how we would see a traditional conference but at the same time it’s still very, very, very different.

Mike McAllen:    Can you talk a little bit about that, about doing events in your book which I really like too and it kind the gave me another kick in the assignment to maybe I should be having more just, you know, twit up kind of a things or you know, this camps but have them locally to get people together just to get like you said relationship building, it’s all about [cross-talk] …

Mitch Joel:    Sure.

Mike McAllen:    … that doesn’t always have to be online, it can be you know, get out there and meet people.

Mitch Joel:    Yes, I mean – look I think that ultimately what really builds community as one community come together and talk and connect and so you know, in the meeting planning industry, you know, I’ve done keynotes for the major association and conferences for sure but nothing wrong with on a weekend or a week night getting together and just, you know, each person presenting two or three things, just really simple, more specific in our industry and you know, I think part of it is not just attending them but it’s being the leader and that sort of the big idea, I really push [cross-talk] …

Mike McAllen:    Right.

Mitch Joel:    … in the book as to be the leader and so like you know, yes I might do it, you know, like take charge and go out there and organize, self organize your industry, they’re waiting for you.

Mike McAllen:    Yes, yes I agree. Yes the one in New York, they’re doing, I can’t remember what it is but at that hotel that social media hotel, what’s the name of the place? You guys, I think you podcast it from there.

Mitch Joel:    Oh, the Roger Smith Hotel.

Mike McAllen:    Yes, yes they’re all setup in there and they were talking about, I’m sure it was on the first conference call for the other day and they were talking about, how they’re going to do it and they had set speakers for the whole thing and I was kind of thinking more that unconference, maybe there should be some rooms that you can go and anyone can go and present stuff.

Mitch Joel:    Right.

Mike McAllen:    And they were kind the fighting me on that but then they were all meeting planners and they are very controlling, so they all wanted – they wanted have to know.

Mitch Joel:    Yes, it would be funny to see media – meeting planners – meeting planners about to my world but meeting planners actually doing unconference this Twitter like this concept. I think it’s so strange.

Mike McAllen:    I do too, I thought it would be fantastic but they were all really fighting but I kind the think I made it up from those things or maybe something will happen but – but I was kind of coming at it because I don’t really know a lot about it, I’ve just discovered it recently. I’ve been to a podcast here in San Francisco but …

Mitch Joel:    That was cool.

Mike McAllen:    … but I’ve never – I never really look in to it, you know, I’ve heard so much about them but I’ve never, I’ve been to that one but I didn’t, you know, how it work, so I was kind the pushing for the unconference thing but I think I was – I was raffling feathers at the same time but I didn’t know I was, till afterwards.

Mitch Joel:    Okay.

Mike McAllen:    So, anyway I don’t want to take up tons of your times because I know you must be doing tons of interviews and pushing this books of your which is fantastic. I really, really enjoyed it and I know I’ve said that already but I really did. But what else is going one with you, are you going on speaking at any conferences or anything coming up or?

Mitch Joel:    I do about, yes I do about 70 to 80 gigs a year which is I think ridiculous but I …

Mike McAllen:    Wow.

Mitch Joel:    … business stiller and doing all that but you know, see I’m doing a ton of events and I’m really, I think I looked at my calendar today and I’m on the road pretty much every week, not the whole week but just I’m away at least once during the week for up until the New Year and you know, when it came to the book, you know, a lot of people do traditional book two or three, I just didn’t want to it. I just felt like it sort of. I don’t know it just seem very traditional to me and my thing is going out and speaking, I’m doing a couple of little events here and there, some very different things too, doing a whole bunch events all over the place. I’ve also opened some ideas to all my blog where I told people you know, if you got a book club or anything like that, I’d be happy to either come in person or do a Skype video in or something if you can get people together and you know, get some books too and get people reading them.

So, you know, I’m pretty open to suggestion, I’m trying a lot of stuff. I’m excessively busy at the agency even during a recession we have a best quarter ever which leads me to believe that the digital space is vibrate and still moving at a very, very quick pace. And you know, over all life is really, really good for me. I don’t have many complaints, I got  you know, some cool newspaper columns that I got to write and I have a lot of fun, I mean you probably can tell by the tone of my voice that I don’t really – what I do slave labor exactly and so …

Mike McAllen:    Yes, not digging ditches.

Mitch Joel:    Exactly, I’m not exactly digging ditches or saving lives and although I love to be able to save life, I don’t take myself that seriously and I think a lot of people do. You know, my big thing is trying to be an evangelist right now for the digital marketing space. It’s trying to get very big brand to understand how dramatic this shift have been in the media in past couples of year and that was really the spirit on why I wrote a book and I want to write a business book for business people and business language about what’s going and I’m just sort of proud of the book. I’m proud of my team at Twist Image and I’m just keep, you know, I’m also in redemption, I’m keeping on, keeping on you know, and that’s pretty it.

Mike McAllen:    Yes, it sounds like this is the prefect time for Twist Image because everything is moving, moving that direction.

Mitch Joel:    It’s been interesting to see that you know sort of expand in digital go up and up and still being the only between sort 8% and 12% of the overall ad spend. I think we’re going to see an interesting you know, 24 months for sure and you know, hopefully, yes I think hopefully the world is going to shift a lot and we’re going to do some pretty interesting things in the coming year. You know, I’m hoping that you write and that I sort of pick a good spot to be. I’m notorious for being very, very head of the curve and leaving before it really hits and so Twist Image is my sort of personal sort thing was to be a bit like Rottweiler and not let go, just hold on to it and see how it goes.

Mike McAllen:    Oh, it’s fantastic, yes. Well, how do people get a hold of you if they wanted to get a hold of you, I guess there’s about eight million places but what is the best one?

Mitch Joel:    Well, the easiest place is always www.twistimage.com/blog or you can follow me on Twitter, its mitchjoel, one word, all lower case and I mean it usually any social network with that username and very, very approachable, very, very open to connecting and learning more from other people. So, feel free to connect.

Mike McAllen:    Fantastic. Alright Mitch, well thank you so much for talking with me. I’d love to talk with you somebody and see what else you’re up too, I’m sure it will be all changing in a few months, you’ll be off to something else.

Mitch Joel:    I’m here and happy to connect and stay connected. Thank you.

Mitch Joel:    Alright Mitch. Bye-bye.

Mitch Joel:    Take care.