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This will be my 11th VidCon.

Yikes.

I’m not such an OG that I can claim to be at the first two in 2010 or 2011 at the Hyatt Regency, but I’ve been to every Anaheim Convention Center VidCon that started…let’s say... very humbly.

I'm happy to provide a primer for those of you ramping up to attend their first VidCon this year (btw, it’s June 27 - 29 at the Anaheim Convention Center).

NEWS:

VidCon adds Questlove and Cody Ko to the VidCon line up

Despite reports that Paramount is looking to offload VidCon, this year’s lineup will be as impressive as ever.

I’ll be there, so that fact alone has gotta be worth a community track ticket.

But what you see on the website doesn’t capture the essence of getting as much bang for your buck out of your VidCon experience unless you’re a superfan who plans to spend four days waiting in autograph lines.

And if you’re a creator rep, there are things you should know whether you plan to attend or not.

Breaking from format, rather than providing a simple ‘my point of view’ on VidCon, here are the top 5 tips for creator reps going to VidCon.

• Very little business gets done at the convention: I usually get an Industry Pass as a speaker, and the industry lounge will often have attendees looking to do deals, but the reps ‘in the know’ will be at the creator hotel at the Hyatt Regency about a 20-minute walk or 5-minute shuttle from the convention. That’s where most wheeling and dealing takes place. But historically, you’ve needed a wristband from one of the hospitality suite sponsors to get in or an ‘All Access’ pass granted to mostly featured creators and sponsors. The BIG BIG execs in the know are at the Hilton and Marriott lounges next door to the convention. So if you don’t have tickets but live close, you still may want to go to those.

• Watch your talent like a hawk: I’ve seen a lot of talent poached at VidCon. Heck…I’ve worked at companies and watched our talent get poached; my talent managers have been the poachers. You don’t want to smother your talent, but you want to make sure competing reps aren’t showing you up by buying your talent free drinks or offering to introduce them to Michelle Khare.

• Most business leaders leave Saturday morning or before: Meet with brands and platforms on Thursday or Friday (very few people are there on Wednesday) because Saturday is a dead zone for business. The junior high-aged fans come out in full force on Saturday, so the smart money will leave before VidCon becomes an all-out fan convention. You probably shouldn't stick around unless you’re protecting your talent (see the above point).

• Don’t schedule meetings at the Hyatt and the Convention Center on the same day: The shuttle is a short ride, but there’s often a line, and it seldom arrives quickly. If you have a 3pm meeting at the conference followed by a 4pm meeting at the Hyatt, you’ll likely miss that 4pm meeting. Instead, I group all of my Hyatt meetings into one day and all of my convention meetings on another, often at the Hilton lobby or Marriott poolside (often available seats).

• Be prepared to get sick. The week after VidCon, everyone has the ‘con flu’. In recent editions, everyone got COVID. When you spend four days around groups of people, shaking hands and crammed into small open bar lounges, you’re going to get germy. Find time to take breaks, drinks lots of water, don’t stay out to late (nothing good ever happens after midnight), and may the odds be ever in your favor.

If you’re attending, send me a DM on LinkedIn, and I’ll be happy to meet up for a quick ‘hello’—or perhaps I’ll have some party invites to send along!

Quit sending emails like a dinosaur.

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NEW OPPORTUNITIES:

A fan gifting wishlist without privacy concerns.

Any fan can see your address if you have a public Amazon Wishlist.

Of course they can! They’ll see the shipping address when they buy!

I’m shocked at how often a home address comes up when I go through the funnel. But even if it’s a P.O. Box, if someone is a total creeper, they will know you or someone in your inner circle will be there weekly.

Yikes.

But I also recommend creators have a wishlist, as many fans would rather give you a present than send you money through your Passes account or, God forbid, Cash App.

That’s why you should recommend Throne to your creators, a privacy-first solution for a wishlist.

As an added bonus, there are some fun gamification features like ‘surprise gifts’, trophies for consistent gifters, and the ability to send special ‘thank yous’ to senders.

As always, if you decide to reach out, please let them know ‘The Creator Rep’ newsletter sent you!

SOCIAL OPTIMIZATION:

Link-In-Bio Structure Matters

I’m shocked…SHOCKED…how few creators put real thought into their link-in-bio.

Even with huge creators, I’ve seen broken social links, links for old sweepstakes, and the ultimate sin: link text that doesn’t clearly indicate the destination.

But the link-in-bio is your clients’ new webpage, and web design best practices are still in play.

Make sure your best links are highlighted at the top. For example, if your primary destination is Snapchat, pop that link at the top.

Anything below the fold, meaning you must scroll down to see it, will get far less attention.

The goal is fewer links with higher impact so you don’t cause choice paralysis. Be Trader Joe’s, not Costco.

Most importantly, try out a few link-in-bio options before you decide! Each has different design and engagement features, including animated links and custom design templates. You want to find the one that will provide the best experience to your clients’ audiences.

Last year I tried 12 different link-in-bio platforms. You can read my thoughts here.

And for all creator reps, ensure one of the links is an e-mail contact! Brands go to link-in bios to reach out for branded opportunities, so not including an e-mail is a huge miss!

INDUSTRY HIRING:

BRĒZ needs a TikTok Shop Growth Strategist for their microdose drinks, so you know it’s going to be a super chill work environment.

BlockApps wants a Web3 Influencer Marketing Manager. Only apply if you post WAGMI on Twitter daily.

Fixated (Hey! That’s us!) requires a Content Producer / Filmer for a Top-Tier Creator if you want to learn the ropes of being a creator from the inside!

MEME ZONE:

Thank you for reading! If you enjoyed this edition, give it a share and if you get someone to sign up, I’ll send you my ‘10 Rep-Friendly Ways to Monetize Today!’ deck!

Until next time, protect yo rep.