Empowered Podcasting CMO on Turning Followers into a Year‑Round Community (How EPC3 Makes Belonging Stick)

**Junaid Ahmed** (0:00)
Thank you for tuning in to Hacks and Hobbies with your host, Junaid. We are visited by our amazing guests coming from all walks of life. Want to learn their story, their struggles and their journey on how they got to where they are today. So stick around.
Online communities can connect thousands of people, but connection on the screen does not always become a real relationship. Sometimes, one meal, one hallway conversation or one shared experience can do more for a community than months of posts, comments and Zoom calls. By the end of this episode, you will understand how to bring an online community together in person, designing an event that creates genuine belonging and turn a few days and the same room into relationships and collaborations that last throughout the year. We'll also explore how Rich and the Empowered Podcasting team are applying those ideas to EPC3, taking place August 21st through 23rd in Charlotte, North Carolina. Today, I'm joined by Rich Perry, Partner and Chief Marketing Officer of Empowered Podcasting.
Rich is the host of 10 Minute Mentor with Rich and is preparing to launch his new show, Purpose First Entrepreneur. He's also the author of Talk of the Town, a practical guide to helping entrepreneurs strengthen their marketing and business communication strategy. Rich and I first met at PotFest Multimedia Expo. In fact, we also took the same flight to go to PotFest. Today, we're talking about how digital communities become stronger, more connected, more valuable, when people finally enter the same room. Rich, welcome to Hacks and Hobbies.

**Rich Perry** (1:55)
Junaid, what's going on, brother? I appreciate the introduction. I appreciate the invitation to come here and chat with you and just blown away by all the cool stuff you're doing.

**Junaid Ahmed** (2:05)
Absolutely, Rich, you know, I love technology and, you know, playing and tweaking those things just the right way is something that I love to do. But I'm so excited to have you here because we've met multiple times over many, many years at different conferences, different events, and it's always refreshing to go to those events and hang out in person. Now, people, Rich, people use words audience, network, and community almost interchangeably, but we know that there are not the same at all. What is the difference between them if you don't want my sharing?

**Rich Perry** (2:42)
Yeah, I mean, I think community is more the folks that you're interacting with on a regular basis. These are the folks that are playing a part, they're sharing ideas, there's a lot of give and take. Whereas, your audience, they might just be watching from the sidelines. You know, they might just be consuming your content, but never liking, commenting, sharing, reaching out to say hello.
With Empowered Podcasting, we certainly want to build the community aspect. We want those that give and take relationship. You know, having gazillions of followers out there doesn't really mean anything. Yeah, they're there, but we're not doing stuff together, you know.

**Junaid Ahmed** (3:30)
Exactly. Now, when did you first experience an online relationship becoming significantly stronger after meeting in person? Because I know we were talking about, you have so many audiences, you have so many followers, but when did it happen for you?

**Rich Perry** (3:48)
For me, I would say it was my first interaction, for my first time attending PodFest, you know.
I was there, my first introduction to PodFest was for the virtual summit during COVID, when we set the Guinness Book of World Records, and I felt it in the virtual setting, but then getting to go there and meet all these like-minded people, and I was like, holy smokes, these are my people, like these are the people that I want to hang out with, and interact with, and build relationships with, and work on projects together, and things of that nature. I would really, I would say that was a defining moment for me. I think before that I had people that I was working with locally, but I don't think I really had that strong relationship with folks in the online world until I attended PodFest for that first time, I met those types of people, met my types of people, you know?

**Junaid Ahmed** (4:55)
Yeah, and I felt very similar, especially for the first virtual event where my good friend Andy Wong was like, hey, you can be part of the Asian Podcasters Association and talk about studios.
I was like, what? I get to speak on stage, so that was a fun little experience, you know, and getting to be part of the Guinness Book of World Records. Like, come on, you can't put that down. Talk to me, Rich, was there a moment at Podfest or an Empowered Podcasting event when you saw people stop behaving like contacts and start behaving like a community?