Hello! Ever have so much you want to say that you become word-paralyzed? I am feeling that more than ever. I know - even me - I'm at a loss for words.
JUST KIDDING. I have so much to say and so little time to say it during this episode, but rest assured, I could be here all day. How do I prioritize the most important things to tell you? I hope I do the experience and you justice here, but forgive me, I did have COVID upon my return (and I think while I was there). Let’s get into it as this is a big episode today.
What’s inside:
FOMO
Marketing Hat
Pre/ditions
The future of this newsletter
Editions.dev
My Editions.dev workshop
Paid Content
Pre/ditions Panel videos
Editions.dev workshop optimization best practices slides
FOMO
What exactly happened last week if you were in Toronto? It still feels like a dream. For those of you that couldn't make it, first of all, I am so sorry. Second of all, I am so sorry.
For an entire week, my X and LinkedIn feeds were FILLED with content from Pre/ditions, Editions.dev, and everything pre and post those events from people all over the world. I was feeling FOMO for things that I missed, and I was there.
This episode will discuss the events from my POV, and there will be no content or release updates. I am not an expert at reporting on Shopify's Summer Edition releases or debriefing on the talks.
I have been to every single Shopify Unite, and now I've experienced Editions.dev. I don't go to these things solely for the content (which is ironic given that I did 2 talks in 2 days). The content at both events was FIRE and I wish they were recorded to watch now that I am back home and can concentrate on them.
I go for the networking. I go for the summer camp vibes. I go to feel the energy in the room and get inspired. Check. Check. And check.
Most days I am a party of 1 who sits at my desk grinding away 5-7 days a week solo. Occasionally, I will go to a coffee shop for a couple of hours but mostly it's me, my dog Kiva, my MacBook Pro blasting music on Spotify, and my 24-inch iMac. To say I was craving human interaction with people that I interact with weekly was an understatement, and I truly believe everyone was feeling exactly the same way.
Now, let's get real for a second. When the event was being launched and going on sale, I was nervous. I am a solopreneur with a handful of clients. This would be a large endeavor in both time and expense. So, for those who didn't make it, I almost didn't either. I looked at my Marriott Bonvoy points that I have been stockpiling and was about to drain the entirety of that account for my hotel stay. But then Shopify said, "We got you," and the pit of my stomach felt a sense of relief.
Let's just say that is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for which I will forever be grateful. But I also know there is no reality that I would ever want to miss a future event based on the magic that I feel at these things each time I go. So I will have to start saving now for next year, and I would suggest you put away $50 a week from now until next year yourself if at all possible, too.
Moving on…
Marketing Hat
Putting my marketing hat on for a minute, I got organized this year and actually brought some things to 'brand myself' in the minds of people I met. I gave away holographic Causeway 305 stickers and bags of freeze-dried berry skittle candies from my Love Sweets Candy Shop candy store for people to enjoy.
I also wore my company-branded shirt to the airport home and ran into some of you either at the airport or on my flight! Hi Josh, Alex, and Wade, if you're reading this!
Also, don't judge me for the no make up look, k?
Pre/ditions
The Band™ before the panel.
The Band™ and Jordan, the CEO of Mantle
The crowd during the panel - you guys really showed up and showed out for us
A couple of months ago, Jordan, the CEO of Mantle, came to me with an idea to speak at the Pre/ditions event hosted by Gadget and Mantle. I was honored and excited. I had also been in talks with Shopify to do a talk at Editions.dev but hadn't received confirmation yet. I thought it would be more fun to invite my app marketing friends to do a panel with me to vary the content from one talk to the next should everything come to fruition.
Future me thanked past me for that foresight. lol. No one needs that much of me talking back-to-back. The panel turned out to be really great. We all had a blast talking about what we love to do every day. Tim Peckover and Tina Donati crushed it! What an honor to be doing that with them.
Someone even told me the panel content was "caviar." I could have packed it up and gone home straight from that feedback alone, but alas, I had another talk to give at Shopify's Editions.dev. the next day.
Tim Peckover brought his fancy camera to record our session. Most of it was recorded, except Tina and my answers to the last question and the entirety of the Q&A, which IMO was arguably the best part. But at least we have some of it. I've uploaded it, and it's available to the paid subscribers further down the newsletter.
The Future of the Newsletter
I give out a TON of free content away and although it has been in my nature to do so, I realize that I need to start to become a bit more business-oriented with my time and expertise. Because my readership is mostly Shopify app devs, getting sponsorships would be challenging which is what most other newsletters do and how you can consume it for free.
Starting next week, I am going to be moving this newsletter to paid content to subscribers only. This week there is partially gated content which includes the videos from the Pre/ditions panel and my Shopify app listing optimization best practices slides from my talk at Editions.dev.
The annual subscription is nominal at around ($80/year) and less than a pick my brain session so I think this is fair. Most of you have had 5 months of free content.
If that isn’t something you’re interested in and want to unsubscribe, no hard feelings and I appreciate you reading up to this point. I’ve had so many people tell me how much they appreciate the newsletter and the value they get out of it. People often tell me they try a lot of the ideas. That is wonderful news and I really would love to continue to write more of it weekly.
Thanks for the support,
Deb
Editions.dev
Anyway, so back to Toronto…
Shopify's Editions.dev was out of this world. I wasn't sure what the scale would be, and I don't even know what to say about it other than WOW. The people, the set-up, the snacks, the vibes for days…
It was massive in scale, yet I saw so many familiar faces. It wasn't hard to run into my favorite people in the ecosystem. And that I did—over and over and over again. I was overwhelmed, overstimulated, and in awe like a kid walking through Disney World.
And then I met new people. A lot of new people…
II spoke to Scott Duncombe, the Engineering Manager for Shopify ads, as I popped my laptop open to discuss why my subscription-targeting ads weren't firing. Ya know, just casually geeking out with the guy that is responsible for this in the first place. WHAT!?
Tina Donati and I were returning from lunch to the main hall, and I was being silly and asked a couple of guys if they wanted water bottles from Simple Bundles. They said no, but then we randomly started chatting with them and discovered they were data scientists at Shopify who work on BFS. I can't even make this stuff up. I pulled out my list of things I wanted to get data on (poor guy was like, how did I end up here!?) lol. I was so geeked out that you have no idea. Well you prob do cuz you were prob geeking out to other things there or wanting to geek out to these things if you weren't there.
There was so much that happened. I hate that I will say this, but you just have to be there to know. Ya know?!
My Editions.dev Workshop
I want to say that I was cool as a cucumber right before my talk, but no, I wasn't. I was nervous the entire hour before—yeah, I am a human, and I get nervous, too. This was a career highlight for me. It culminated in 10 years of hard work in the ecosystem, coming down to a 30-minute opportunity.
I took the platform stage in workshop room 2 at 2:30 p.m., and you would think I was Miley Cyrus ready to perform Party in the U.S.A. , but I was in Canada.
So I put my hands up
They're playin' my song, the butterflies fly away
I'm noddin' my head like, yeah
Movin' my hips like, yeah
I got my hands up, they're playin' my song
They know I'm gonna be okay
Yeah, it's a party in the U.S.A.
Yeah, it's a party in the U.S.A.
I was immediately ‘at home’ and in my zone. It was time to talk about optimizing Shopify app listings for growth.
Unfortunately, I did not get any footage of that talk other than this .09-second clip and one more I posted on X the other day. Thank you for capturing these, Andrew Cargill, and for zooming in on my cankles.
I've added the conclusion slides from my workshop on optimizing your Shopify app listing to today's newsletter under the paid-for content section.
Thanks for being a part of my Shopiworld. This event confirmed that people need human interaction. We need to see each other in our 360 view animated, blinking, smiling, and laughing. Gadget, Mantle, and Shopify understood the assignment and filled our hearts with that much-needed fuel to take on the rest of the year.
I want more, but for now, I'm going to go back to grinding away in my loft in my slice of the world in Wynwood, Miami.
Deb
Keep reading with a 7-day free trial
Subscribe to The App Collective to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.