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Hi YATMers, I’m Harriet Cook, a perfectionist and self-confessed over thinker who has somehow landed in the wonderfully chaotic world of Social Media Marketing! For recruitment, no less!
I know, I could have chosen a sexier starting point for my career, but we mustn’t dwell!
Never did I think I’d become that employee, the one who hears, ‘You look busy!’ or ‘Must be nice to sit on Instagram all day!’ I nod, smile, and continue my very important research… on trending TikTok sounds.
For my recommendation I wasn’t sure if murder documentaries would be deemed appropriate. So, staying on theme, I’d love to shout out Richard Osman’s Thursday Murder Club book series. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, you’ll never want to put them down.
Let's make sure we connect today.
Here I am on LinkedIn
Where I work here
An in-person event gives you a cutting edge that AI can’t replicate.
You make unforgettable connections, new friends and memorable experiences for your audience.
It creates opportunities and lets you leave your mark by saying, ‘I brought everyone together.’ No platform can take that away from you.
I have seen so much change from delivering a big day event (I don’t want to always use the word ‘conference’) since 2018.
Let me share the differences between 2018 to today and what I have learned from delivering year after year about what makes people feel present and excited to return.
Why It’s Hard
2025 presents a unique set of challenges. The landscape has shifted dramatically.
These are the biggest changes I have seen since 2018 for in-person events.
1) People Don’t Need To Go Out
There has to be a clear reason for people to make that commitment.
A generic conference of speakers doesn’t cut it anymore.
You could spend a huge amount of budget on industry celebrities but that doesn’t necessarily mean that people will still attend. People know today that they have time on their side. Travel and spend add up, there needs an event more valid reason today to make that decision.
2) To Deliver The Event You Want, Costs More
You can take the mundane route of booking a hotel for a conference or you can push the needle.
The trade off with creativity is cost.
The biggest factor is venue fees and catering.
The challenge isn’t just finding cost-effective solutions, it’s ensuring that financial limitations don’t dilute the impact of the experience.
It is tough, we have seen first hand the year on year increase in costs for the necessities. At the same time, you have to keep an event value for money without passing on the full in-costs.
3) Scheduling Conflicts Are Part Of Today
When we delivered the first YATM conference in 2018 and 2019, I was oblivious to any other event, particularly on a national level.
As the YATM audience has grown it now attracts people from around the UK and overseas. However, people are faced with choice that affects budget allocation.
Creator Day is May 15th and we want to avoid scheduling it too close to other events with which we have a close relationship, such as our friends at UpLift Live. There next event is 26th March 2026 (check it out here).
There is now greater choice with Marketing MeetUp (March) and Atomicon (June). What I like is that it encourages everyone to raise their game.
4) Marketing Challenges Are Ramped Up
You cannot just keep posting about your event, especially if you want to start promoting it months in advance. People today are more likely to tune out.
Promoting an event without being intrusive is a delicate balance. Over-promoting can deter potential attendees, while under-promoting risks obscurity. Crafting messages that resonate without overwhelming your audience is a nuanced art.
The reason you are delivering the event is to be in tune with someone else. The challenge isn’t just about visibility, it’s about convincing people why your event is worth their time, energy and money.
Back in 2018 everything was built around belief of wanting to deliver an event, in 2025 people have to believe in you that you won’t let them down.
What Makes A Successful Event
Despite these challenges, success is achieved with strategic planning and understanding your audience.
1) Define Your Reason
Articulate the reason for hosting the event. Whether it’s to share knowledge, build a community, or showcase ideas.
Creator Day 2025 has two main objectives. First, it aims to recognise the effort required to stay relevant and avoid fading away.
Second, to maintain relevance, it’s essential to have support from others. Creator Day focuses on fostering connections and building closer relationships among attendees.
Every YATM event is designed with our community in mind. It’s a continual conversation to understand preferences and add ons, ensuring our events resonate and provide value.
2) Know Your Audience
You have to deeply understand who you’re trying to reach.
Tailor the event’s content, format, and promotion to align with their interests and needs.
This alignment increases relevance and engagement. For YATM, we know that our audience values interaction over passive learning, so we design our events to encourage conversation and connection.
I’ve realised over the years that persistence can become your biggest place of learning that you won’t find in a book. You start small and gradually build.
3) Create An Ecosystem
An event shouldn’t exist in isolation. A content ecosystem helps to support and amplify the event.
This could include blogs, podcasts, or social media discussions that build anticipation. This also means that promotion is not just centred around a main event, which helps prevent overwhelming your audience.
To explain what I mean around creating an ecosystem, the YATM year is scheduled like a school year. From September to April we have Lunch Clubs (2025 to 2026 will be in Poole, London and Bristol). In May we have Creator Day and in July we have an end of year party.
Events should be viewed as part of a larger narrative rather than isolated experiences. A genuine community-driven approach resonates more effectively than aggressive marketing.
4) Enhance The Whole Experience With Mindful Scaling
The success of an event isn’t just in its planning but in the execution.
I am starting to lean more into the full experience of people being around each other, to chat, to learn and to build friendships.
It’s not about the people on the stage, but the importance of knowing that we are better together.
The best way to do this is make it a living, breathing entity. YATM has now become the platform that welcomes people and encourages our own creative efforts to be seen and amplified. For instance, we close Creator Day ’25 with a live podcast, with an audience, for Indie Business Club with Mel Berfield and Ben McKinney.
Instead of chasing bigger numbers, you focus on depth of connection.
5) Knowing You Can’t Do It All By Yourself
The biggest lesson from delivering YATM events is that trying to do everything alone. This is what has led to my own burnout.
YATM has always been built on collaboration, whether it’s the speakers who bring their expertise, the venues that open their doors, or the people who step up to support behind the scenes.
Asking for help isn’t a weakness; it’s what makes YATM events work. The right people make the impossible achievable, and that’s what keeps this community strong.
Creator Day support this year, has been from reaching out to friends. FOUNDRY, Baggette + Co. Wealth Management, Yammayap, La Mias, X-Net and Wire & Cable Supplies, they have made the added pressures feel bearable. We all need the people can rely on, not the strangers who are not familiar.
Let’s Round-Up
Delivering an event in 2025 isn’t easy.
Costs are rising, expectations are higher, and attention is harder to capture.
What works is centred around a clear purpose, a strong community, and an experience that feels personal and immersive.
When you build something with the right people, for the right reasons, the challenges become part of the journey, not the obstacle.
Creator Day is a reflection of everything YATM stands for. I hope I'll see you in May at the seaside.
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Time Wasting
Played for much longer than you intend to. See you in 10 mins...
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This Week Around The Web
GROWTH, CREATION & YOUR INDEPENDENCE
Is a 102-year-old marketing book useful in 2025? - from Phill Agnew
THE COMMUNITY YOU CAN BUILD
I want community – but am I prepared to put the work in? - from The Guardian
Collaborations mean you never have to be alone - from Gordon Fong
GROWING YOUR NEWSLETTER
A 3-step plan to get email subscribers from LinkedIn - from Josh Spector
7 winning A/B tests that feel illegal to know - from Tom Orbach
Let's Swap Our Newsletter Knowledge
Access to each other means sharing our creative endeavours.
It's SWAPSIES next Wednesday (9th April) at 2pm GMT and the theme is newsletters. Do you have a newsletter you want to build and grow?
We share what we know, our pitfalls and hear tips we may not have taken on board.
This is also here to help you if you want to start a newsletter. Let’s pool our knowledge to help you save time and money and get the results you want, quicker.
This session is in YATM Club (on Circle), book it in here.
If you haven't joined YATM Club yet and want to see how the Club looks before you join, book in time with me here over the next week.
The Reason For Subscribers
Encouraging people to subscribe to you means you’re increasing your chances of building better relationships.
When someone provides their email, it feels like asking them to make a commitment where inboxes are crowded and we’re told attention spans are getting shorter.
Then again, it’s an opportunity to make someone’s day better, inspire an idea, or spark a connection
People Of YATM
"YATM is an attitude: that community matters, that anyone can join in, that creativity in all forms makes something new we can engage in and learn from, and that anyone can step up and lead.
It’s a place where we can come together, work together, share ideas and discuss how to do things.
I’m not in Poole but I can still be part of it. I’m welcomed just the same. And everyone in YATM is encouraging.
It’s always a positive experience whether you go to an event, or join in on the message boards."
Come and join in
Activity for you in YATM every single week...
🏡 This morning at 9.15pm is when we Work Together in YATM Club, join here
🍕 Today from 4.30pm is YATM Lunch Club London on personal brand, book here
💥 Thursday 10th April is YATM Lunch Club Poole on reinvention, book here
Here's the end of newsletter video. I'll see you soon, if it's for Lunch Club London today, even better!
