Growing Conference Attendance with AI Podcasts

Founded in 2001, Premium Crickets began as Michael Houtzager's answer to a simple problem: reptile breeders needed reliable food sources for their animals.

Two decades later, Michael's "small business" now oversees a reptile industry ecosystem that includes ReptilesExpress, a premium distribution network for shipping reptiles nationwide, and Reptilium, an AI platform revolutionizing ticketing for reptile shows and zoos.

Today, Michael uses Jellypod to create Repticon Reptile Shows, an AI-powered podcast that has garnered over 16,500 monthly listeners in just 13 episodes.

And he launched it only two months ago.

Building an AI-Powered Sales Revolution

Michael realized that AI-powered content could completely transform how traditional businesses connect with their customers. Through Jellypod, he’s built and grown one of the only reptile podcasts in the world focused on real breeders and their stories—turning convention marketing into a sophisticated digital funnel that drives thousands of ticket sales each month.

His long-term goal: create an AI-powered sales funnel that completely transforms how people discover and purchase reptiles. Jellypod serves as the hook, while other technologies like conversational AI and avatars close the deal.

Repticon, which he sponsors, hosts approximately two shows every weekend across the United States. Each conference features dozens of breeders, each with their own fascinating stories. Traditional marketing—flyers, social media posts, email blasts—couldn’t capture the passion and personality that make these shows special.

"These breeders have incredible stories," Michael explains. "People travel from all over the world to see these animals, and Jellypod allows me to easily share their stories and give potential attendees a little taste of what to expect at Repticon."

When Michael’s Reptilium platform went live in early 2025, he became the primary ticketing partner for these conferences. And by using Jellypod, he’s built a novel pipeline to produce engaging marketing content that drives attendance to shows across the country.

The mission is to create an AI platform capable of telling the story of any animal, from any breeder, to thousands of people simultaneously. Where a breeder is limited by their time, Reptilium scales their presence infinitely.

This philosophy has transformed his podcast from a simple marketing tool into a conversion engine. Each episode serves as a strategic touchpoint in the customer journey—building excitement while providing a clear path to ticket purchases. His Jellypod podcast has become an indispensable lever in this conversion funnel, capturing interest from casual reptile enthusiasts and turning them into show attendees.

An Unexpected Success

Michael’s approach to Jellypod reflects his methodical nature as both a business owner and early AI adopter. Rather than treating podcast creation as a traditional marketing task (e.g., booking a recording studio, hiring an editor, etc.), he integrated an AI solution directly into his existing workflow.

Every time a new Repticon conference approaches, he pulls breeder-specific information from his unique database and feeds it directly into Jellypod. A few familiar AI hosts deliver that content to the community in an engaging way, featuring 3–5 breeders per show.

Each episode is hyperlocal—highlighting the specific breeders who’ll be at the Dallas show this weekend, or previewing the rare pythons you’ll only find in Tampa. It’s a teaser of exactly what attendees can expect.

The results have exceeded even Michael’s ambitious expectations.

In just three weeks after launching, he recorded over 13,000 unique listens. Now, with monthly listenership exceeding 16,500, his podcast has become one of the top performers in Jellypod’s ecosystem—and one of the only reptile-focused podcasts in the world.

Traditional Small Businesses Meet Silicon Valley

What makes Michael’s story remarkable isn’t just the numbers—it’s how he’s bridging two seemingly incompatible worlds.

Reptile shows are inherently physical experiences. People want to see a snake’s scales, hold a bearded dragon, or watch a chameleon change colors. These are sensations that seem impossible to translate to audio.

Yet Michael has found the perfect middle ground. His podcasts don’t try to replace the in-person experience; they amplify the anticipation for it. Listeners learn about the breeder who spent a decade developing a new leopard gecko pattern—and then feel compelled to see it in person. They hear about the conservation efforts behind certain species and want to support those breeders directly.

But Michael's ambitions extend far beyond Repticon shows. He envisions Reptilium automating storytelling, nurturing engagement, and driving reptile sales around the clock—creating an AI revolution in how reptile commerce works entirely.

From farming crickets in 2001 to now using artificial intelligence to transform an entire industry's sales model, Michael's journey proves that traditional businesses can not only embrace cutting-edge technology—they can use it to revolutionize markets without losing authenticity.