Season 1 · Episode 38

From Attendee to Vendor My Podcast Summit 2026 Journey

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0:00Have you ever had an experience that blew you away?
0:05That's what I experienced at Podcast Summit 26.
0:11Yes, here, 2026 in Atlanta, Georgia.
0:17And with that being said, welcome, welcome, welcome
0:21to Alienize Photos Industry Talk
0:24with your host, photographer Jackson Steve Jackson
0:27of Alienize Photos Media.
0:30Bring you another episode
0:31of Alienize Photos Industry Talk.
0:35My experience here in Atlanta just blow me away
0:39as I'm recording in the Creator Clubhouse,
0:44home of David Shins and a lot of other creators
0:47you may or may not know.
0:49And usually I attend the summit.
0:52I take in the information and take my notes,
0:56apply some things, some things I don't apply
0:59that I should or, you know, sometimes I forget.
1:04But this year, I switched it up.
1:07I bought a vendor booth,
1:09something I never, ever, ever, ever, ever done before.
1:15It was amazing, amazing experience.
1:19It was nerve wracking at first,
1:21but just making it through,
1:22like just partnering with my partner,
1:26Brianna Casanova with Overflow Studios,
1:28shout out to her, shout out to her, shout out to her,
1:31who got a lot of things on the back end
1:34before we came down together.
1:39Shout out to great partners,
1:42great business partners, relationship partners,
1:45all that good stuff.
1:48Who's actually producing this episode?
1:51And just to speak about our experience,
1:53well, from my viewpoint, definitely get rest,
1:57definitely stay hydrated, definitely have a lead magnet.
2:01The lead magnet helps so, so much.
2:05Like me as an introvert, an introvert creative at that,
2:10I had to get creative, you know.
2:13My biggest thing was just networking,
2:17shaking hands, meeting new people.
2:20The most fruitful thing out of it all
2:22was just meeting new people,
2:26the connections, the fruitful conversations.
2:29You know, that paid for the slot itself.
2:33The context that I made was just amazing.
2:35Something that I don't get when I'm just
2:38sitting in these workshops and classes and activations.
2:42So that was something to look forward to in the future,
2:47not just at the next podcast summit,
2:49but for any event or if I become a vendor anytime soon.
2:55Which I'm not thinking about
2:56because we presented my first pod.
3:00We had our first Redemption in Cleveland, Ohio,
3:04where we tested it out, tested our offer,
3:08tested our production skills.
3:12And yeah, we loved it.
3:13So we wanted to bring it here to podcast summit 26
3:18and we did just that.
3:20We were gonna buy a general admission ticket or a VIP,
3:23but we was like, no, let's just buy a vendor booth.
3:27Why not?
3:28We could still attend the classes if we wanted to.
3:31And then we also have space to market,
3:35to make an offer, to sell and make money,
3:39recuperate our travel funds,
3:40because it's an investment.
3:43And we definitely took, what was it?
3:4610, 11, like 11-ish, 12 hours on the road
3:52because we had to transport so much equipment of our own.
3:58And yeah, we're doing it.
4:00We learned from some, walking around different booths,
4:03we learned from some people
4:05that have been doing it way longer than us.
4:08I mean, five, 10, 20 years, their whole lifetime.
4:13It's all they know, like real hustlers.
4:17And me being passive, it was like,
4:20man, I gotta pull it out of me.
4:23Day one, that was more passive.
4:25Me, day two, it's like, okay, we gotta grind
4:28and really present our offer.
4:31We didn't hit our quota,
4:34but we still made those connections.
4:37So we're going back to the drawing board
4:39right after this episode
4:42and figure out what can we do better,
4:46what can change, what can stay the same,
4:49what do we like, what do we didn't like, what worked.
4:54And just, you know, take the feedback in
4:56with each other, reflect,
5:00and go back to the drawing board
5:01and keep refining our offer.
5:03And this is gonna be happening time after time
5:05after time after time.
5:07And this episode is not rehearsed,
5:09I'm just simply sharing my thoughts.
5:12Usually I have my notes, my written notes and everything.
5:16Like last year, if you saw the recap of podcast
5:19Summit 25, you know, I have my notes and everything.
5:23But this year, no, I'm just going straight
5:27from the heart, from the mind, from the soul.
5:31I actually stepped out of my comfort zone.
5:33You know, I don't do too many interviews,
5:35but I sat down with Ashley Kirkwood,
5:38the entrepreneur powerhouse that's so phenomenal at sales.
5:46And so many other things, like wow,
5:48just hearing her story too, like man, I did not know.
5:53And throughout the whole Summit,
5:55like she was live streaming like 13 hours straight
5:58each day, like who does that?
6:01The vendors and volunteers, everybody was saying,
6:04she showed up before them,
6:06before the doors even opened.
6:09So that's something to admire, like wow, that's amazing.
6:1613 hours straight with a couple bathroom breaks,
6:19even when I seen her walk past when I've been to her booth,
6:23she's live like, oh, like, wow.
6:27On the way to the bathroom,
6:28I don't know what she did in the bathroom,
6:30I hope she sat it down somewhere, but that's inspiring.
6:36And we were positioned next to We're Jesus,
6:41Samuel, that's his brand, We're Jesus.
6:43And just seeing him just work the room
6:46and even step away from his booth,
6:48handing out business cards, shaking hands,
6:51meeting new people, like wow, that's inspiring.
6:55Like man, okay, I see how it's done a little bit.
7:00So, you know, we're definitely gonna go back
7:02to the drum board, and then me and Brianna
7:05also being introverts was like, okay,
7:09what can we do now?
7:11And we always have our, you know, our hot moments,
7:15you know, we trade off, okay, she's hot,
7:17okay, I'm hot.
7:18And then we see each other caught in conversations,
7:21like how do we break away from those conversations
7:25that's fruitful and engaging and enriching,
7:28but we're not making the sale?
7:30And then there's other people who's walking up to us,
7:34it's like, okay, can we break away?
7:37But, you know, that's just something to reflect on
7:41and think about for next time
7:43and what we can implement and do different.
7:46Yeah, so you'll definitely see us back at podcast 27.
7:52And wow, I ran into my guy,
7:55who actually helped build this studio,
7:58creator club house here in Atlanta, Mr. Tybo Audio.
8:03And wow, I invited him on my podcast.
8:06And it's just amazing that the willingness
8:10and openness, no gatekeeping of everyone we met,
8:14like I said, from Tybo,
8:17even giving us different pointers,
8:18even hearing him give different insights
8:21and tips to other people.
8:23Like, wow, even they're live,
8:25I don't know how long it took him
8:28and the team here in Atlanta,
8:31at creative club house,
8:33and David Shan's team with the podcast summit
8:36to set up the before the summit, days before.
8:40But it's just amazing to know the process
8:44and hearing that people share the process
8:47from Zell to, like I said, Tybo,
8:52even Jay Scribe, who's now in Miami,
8:55to Armani, like, wow, I feel for you all.
9:00Like, y'all did amazing.
9:02Like, just seeing the behind the scenes of that
9:05and just to know what goes on behind the scenes.
9:09Because I'm looking at the summit the previous years,
9:12but to know and see the behind the scenes is amazing.
9:17So another thing I would say is,
9:19shout out to everybody that did book their session
9:22with my first pod.
9:25And shout out to our team in Cleveland,
9:27the whole Pull Up Experience,
9:29Brittany Knight with Beauty Toe,
9:33Jess, What's Next, Jess,
9:35starting and launching her podcast.
9:38It's amazing, like,
9:40and everybody else that booked the session.
9:43And then I even had to book a session myself.
9:47Like, I'm recording this episode, you know,
9:49I don't really do video,
9:50but I had to here at the Creators Clubhouse.
9:55It's amazing, even from Cleveland all the way to Atlanta,
10:00just hearing the constant feedback,
10:04the good positive feedback that we hear that's fruitful.
10:09Like, wow, we did a good job and they're blown away
10:12that the work that we're doing is definitely showing up
10:16and they accept it and they love it.
10:20It's always good.
10:21It's always good to hear that good feedback.
10:23So we know we're doing something right.
10:25Like, it's purposeful.
10:27So we wanna keep bringing you my first pod.
10:31That is like our primary staple offer at this moment.
10:35So stay tuned for what we got next.
10:38And I'm just proud of everybody that started
10:41and launched their podcast, even if it was not with us
10:46and the game and tips and insights that we got out of it
10:51and we share with other people,
10:53people that just wanted to pick our brain.
10:55Like, we are open book because the people we meet
10:59are open books and just share, share, share.
11:04So what would it mean if we don't share?
11:08It wouldn't be right.
11:09So we must reciprocate that and share the wealth.
11:15Just being here at the Creative Clubhouse,
11:17home of David Shands, the social proof,
11:22almost at the social proof circle
11:23because we're in the social proof circle,
11:26but social proof podcast.
11:29David Shands always say, you know,
11:32once you learn something, build something,
11:35bring it back to the community, share it.
11:38So I'ma leave you with that thought
11:40and I will see you at podcast 27,
11:44whether if I'm attendee, a vendor, a speaker,
11:47we don't know yet, but we're bringing my first pod.
11:53And we thinking about going on tour with this
11:55because there's a lot of people that we met
11:57that wanted to start their podcast
11:59and that was messages after the fact,
12:02like, oh, we didn't get to see you,
12:03but we seen you at your booth
12:04and this and this and that.
12:06And we know, we know, we know,
12:10we just gonna refine, refine and improve
12:13and see how we can make this universal
12:15where we can travel and still be profitable
12:18because it is a cost to artists.
12:22But Podcast Summit 2026 was amazing.
12:25I'm looking forward to Podcast Summit 27,
12:29see all the things that's gonna come about,
12:31even the speakers, all the new connection.
12:34And if you haven't got there,
12:37it's a great, great, great, great room
12:40to be in to network.
12:42And I will see you again.
12:43This is photographer Jackson,
12:45Steve Jackson of Alienize Photos Media
12:48bringing you another episode
12:50of Alienize Photos Industry Talk
12:53here at the Creators Clubhouse,
12:55a special Atlanta edition.
12:57And I am signing out.
13:00But before I go,
13:01make sure you follow me at Alienize Photos.
13:05That's Alienize with a Z,
13:08Photos with a S,
13:10and alienizephotos.com.
13:14But if you wasn't at Podcast Summit,
13:17we did have a special offer.
13:20Not just my first pod,
13:22not just the real deal,
13:24but me and Brianna with Overflow Studios
13:27and that's with a S.
13:28We created the Producer's Playbook.
13:32So if you wasn't there,
13:33we will share it to you as well.
13:36So just make sure you DM one of us,
13:39Producer's Playbook,
13:40and we will send that over to you.
13:43Podcast Summit 26, it's a wrap.
13:45This is the recap from my perspective
13:48this year as a vendor.
13:50If you wanna check out last year's episode
13:52where I broke down some of the speakers
13:54and what they talked about,
13:55some of the insights,
13:57check that out.
13:58Podcast Summit 25, part one and part two
14:02for day one and day two.
14:04And yeah, check out all our episodes
14:07and we are out.