Pro Podcaster Stories

Have you ever thought about starting a podcast? Podcasting is an ever growing ocean covering every topic your imagination can fathom. But what about the podcasters? Why did they start a podcast? What hurdles did they have to overcome along the way? What drives them to keep creating content? How do they define success? Pro Podcaster Stories dives deep to explore these questions and much more.

Passion Meets Podcasting with Glen Willis 05/05/2020

Best Resources for New Podcasters 04/28/2020

Using Your Podcast to Build Authority and Opportunities with Brad Larsen 04/21/2020

Helping Christian Organizations and Leadership Flourish with Al Lopus 04/14/2020

Podcasting About Sports With Father and Son Hosting Duo Mike and Brian Mountan 04/07/2020

Podcast Tips from the Experts at Podfest 03/31/2020

Podcast Tips from the Experts at Podfest I talked to some amazing podcast hosts and podcast professionals when I was at . It was a great experience, and many experts were kind enough to share podcast tips that will help podcasters and especially beginners have a smooth start and a show that they feel great about. who runs the Independent Podcast Conference shares the importance of letting your personality shine through and the goal that you should have to move the needle. Then I talk with who has been podcasting since 2006 and has hosted thousands of shows. He runs the Horse Radio Network and the Florida Podcast Network. Glenn talks about the importance of consistency and what sponsors are really looking for. If advertising is something you are interested in, his advice is very useful. Chris Curran from shares tips for microphone technique including how to speak soft and low and speak loudly. Harry Duran from talks about how to leverage the power of SEO in your podcast and how and why you should do that. If legal issues are something you’re concerned about, pay special attention to this next clip from , the podcast lawyer. Gordon talks about protecting your brand and content and gives us information on the types of consent forms and contracts that are useful to podcasters. Dave Jackson from the gives super good advice about what new podcasters really shouldn’t do. Even though it's a common mistake that many make. Jeni Wren Stottrup from gives a great tip for avoiding perfectionism and fear. Craig from talks about the importance of audience engagement. Coach Chris from talks about how important marketing is. Emily Peck Prokop from talks about not trying to do everything all at once, and Christy Haussler from rounds out the show with her advice on rankings and list building. Show Notes: [03:13] runs the Independent Podcast Conference, and he feels that it's important to have your personality come out in your podcast. The goal all the time is to move the needle and make people feel something. [04:09] is from the Horse Radio and Florida Podcast Network. He's been podcasting since 2006. It takes awhile to make money. You need to be consistent. Sponsors are buying you not your show. [06:27] Go to small companies in your niche. Work with them and involve them from the beginning. [07:53] Chris Curran runs . He teaches people how to engineer and produce podcasts at a professional level. He also hosts the podcast engineering show. [08:43] Microphone technique is really important. Stay close and speak into the microphone from the right angle. You can get closer to sound soft and low. Lean back to say something loud. Be passionate and love what you are talking about. [09:26] Harry Duran is the host of . His tip is to leverage the SEO power of podcasting. Choose a name that people are searching for that also speaks to a pain point. [10:08] Be careful how you choose your name and what you put in your description. Choose words that people are searching for. [10:16] is the podcast lawyer. Creating media content is big business, so think of yourself as a business. You may need to form a company. [11:10] Protect yourself by protecting your title and your brand. Register a trademark for your brand and a copyright for your content. [11:41] Get consent from your guests in the form of a release. Use royalty free music or make sure you have the proper license. Always use contracts. [13:10] Dave Jackson is from the . He also works for Libsyn tech support. Don't compare your show to other people's shows. [14:28] Jeni Wren Stottrup is from . She's a producer, editor, and podcast coach. Once you have a concept of what your show is then get your equipment and record right away. [15:33] Craig from says gauge the success of your podcast by audience engagement as opposed to download numbers. [18:30] Coach Chris from says sharing episodes instead of marketing them is one of the biggest mistakes he sees podcasters make. [23:10] Emily Peck Prokop from says new podcasters need to start with one step at a time and stop trying to do everything at once. [24:01] Christy Haussler from says not to focus on ranking in iTunes categories because it won't translate to anything tangible. The list is a vanity metric. Every podcaster should begin with an offer of something free to build their email list. [26:13] Darrell's takeaways: Build that email list. Sponsors are buying you. Don't get too clever with your podcast name. Make your podcast name easily searchable. Focus on engaging with your audience. Provide a way for your listeners to engage with you. Keeping a spreadsheet of your listeners is really helpful. Focus on one thing at a time. Links and Resources: /episode/index/show/propodcasterstories/id/13773212

All About Podcast Artwork and Branding with Podcast Design Specialist Mark Des Cotes 03/24/2020

Bringing Eastern and Western Medicine Together to Change the Mental Health of Corporate America with Dr. Romie Mushtaq 03/17/2020

Tips for New Podcasters from Lead Audio Editor Mike Lalonde 03/10/2020

Growing Your Business by Helping Others with Deirdre Breakenridge 03/03/2020

Talking About Great Ideas and Letting Your Guests Shine with Justin Honaman 02/25/2020

Talking Up Music Education with Mary Luehrsen the Executive Director of The NAMM Foundation 02/18/2020

Creating a Podcast to Help MSPs by Sharing Useful Information with Jennifer Tribe 02/11/2020

Being Authentic and Sharing Your Real Self With Your Audience with Melissa Radke 02/04/2020

Turning Your Love of Craft Beer Into A Hit Podcast with Chip Mims 01/28/2020

The Impact of Fitness and Adventure on Sobriety and Recovery with Tom Conrad 01/21/2020

Turning ADHD Coping Strategies Into a Successful Podcast with Eric Tivers 01/14/2020

Living an Honest Authentic Life While Chasing Dreams with Aimee J. 01/07/2020

Tips for Launching a Successful Podcast with Launch Specialist Jodey Smith 12/17/2019

Podcasting to Create Exceptional Leaders and Save Our Rural Hospitals with Dr. Bill Auxier 12/10/2019

Podcasting to Create Exceptional Leaders and Save Our Rural Hospitals with Dr. Bill Auxier Rural hospitals offer jobs and much needed emergency and local healthcare. You would think with a growing population, that the number of rural hospitals would be increasing. Unfortunately, that's not the case. Rural health care is in crisis. In the last 10 years, at least 114 rural hospitals have closed in the United States. The impacts of this are far reaching. The lack of fast access to healthcare can have devastating consequences in emergency situations. The lack of healthcare resources and loss of jobs also has a negative impact on small communities. Dr. Bill Auxier has made it his mission to prevent further hospital closures. One way he is doing this is his Rural Health Leadership Radio podcast, which helps rural hospital leaders know what other hospital leaders are doing. Not being in contact with other leaders has been one of the challenges these CEOs have faced. He also received the 2019 National Rural Health Association President’s Award because of his podcast. He is even developing a certification program for rural hospital CEOs to help increase the number of qualified candidates. Bill grew up in the rural Midwest and began his healthcare career as a nurses aide while he was in school. He later went on to become the CEO of a surgical device company and traveled all over the world. Eventually, he decided to go back to his roots and his passion by teaching leadership and advocating for rural health care in the US. He is the CEO of Dynamic Leadership Academy and Bill Auxier Healthcare Executive Coaching. Bill is also a speaker and author of To Lead, Follow. This enlightening podcast is about leadership, rural healthcare, and how Bill’s podcast affected his work and his success. Show Notes: [05:37] Bill feels that our core values are shaped by our experiences and the people that we've met. One of the exercises that he has leaders go through is reflecting on their upbringing. [06:12] He grew up in a poor area of rural Southern Illinois. His dad was a Baptist preacher. It was a community that came together and chipped in when someone needed help. [08:48] When a rural hospital closes, people have to drive further to get to a hospital, but the jobs are also lost. [09:45] Rural hospitals closing have far reaching ramifications. Bill wants to do everything that he can to prevent further hospital closures. [10:45] In high school and college, Bill worked as a nurses aide. This began his career in the healthcare industry. [11:54] Bill wanted to share his passion for leadership and rural health care. If not for the close proximity of the small rural hospital, his family story would look different. [15:37] Bill was the CEO of a surgical device company where he traveled all over the world. [16:02] He then decided it was time to refocus on leadership and rural health care. [16:31] Challenges that these small hospitals face is networking with other rural hospital leaders. Bill decided that he would create the Rural Health Leadership Radio Podcast to enable CEOs of rural hospitals to have a central place where they can get information and find out what other small hospital leaders are doing. [17:35] Through his research, Bill found PPS which helped him get started, and we continue to work together today. [18:24] He had 24 downloads his first month. He doesn't define success by downloads. [19:14] Because of his podcast, Bill received the 2019 NRHA President's Award. The podcast has opened many doors for him, and listener's even come up to him at conferences. [20:08] Hospital CEO turnover tops all industries. It's also hard to find qualified individuals, so Bill will be running a certification program for Rural Hospital CEOs. [23:38] Challenges that Bill has faced with the podcast has been timing of guest interviews in time for production. Now he has the opposite problem with a bank of interviews, with experts wanting to know when the show will air. [25:27] Some guests will write out their answers on his interview questionnaire, but then they read the answers. [27:15] Bill targets some guests and others come to him. He uses an info packet with three segments. It has guest info, and he lets the guest have an opportunity to edit. He also sends a list of questions. He also book end questions. The third section is where the guest can add things they would like to talk about. [30:46] He now uses Basecamp and has an intern coordinate things. He also has a portable home made sound booth. Made with room dividers and plastic sheets and sound tiles. He also has a stand-up desk. He found a great voice over artist on Fiverr. [33:51] Don't wait to start podcasting. Find a service like PPS and get going. [36:43] He's very proud of his book To Lead, Follow. He's also a fan of What Got You Here Won't Get You There and Triggers. Bill is also a Dan Pink fan. [37:48] Bills definition of leadership is when others follow when they don't have to. [39:44] Darrell's takeaways: Bill's passion is fueled by how rural health care affected his family. We all need things to refuel or fill our tank. Bill defines success by how he is impacting his niche. Finding a balance between recording in advance and having too much lead time. Links and Resources: Use promo code ProPod to get your first month free /episode/index/show/propodcasterstories/id/12333851

Teaching Hypnobirthing, Prenatal Health, and Yoga Through Podcasting with Kristy Rodriguez 12/03/2019

Conservation and Knowing Where We Came from in Order to Look Forward With Mardi Dickinson 11/26/2019

How Talking About Everything Good in Life Turned Into an Award Winning Podcast and Radio Show with Good Ol' Boy Mike 11/19/2019

Ditch the Sales Pitch and Generate Leads Through Educational Podcasts with Bob Sparkins 11/12/2019

Having Confidence In Yourself and Building a Community with Melanie Padgett Powers 11/05/2019

Seeing Business as a Creative Act and Focusing on What You Do Best with Andy Kushner 10/29/2019

Discovering Your Zone of Genius and Creating a Business and Podcast Around Your True Passion with Dr. Robyn Jackson 10/22/2019

Discovering Your Zone of Genius and Creating a Business and Podcast Around Your True Passion with Dr. Robyn Jackson Have you or has someone you know been in a job that you or they are really good at, but it just doesn’t feel like you or they are making the biggest possible impact? Most people will answer yes to this question. The difference between a career of passion and impact and a career of being good at something comes down to taking the time to discover what that passion or zone of genius really is. Today’s guest took the time to discover what she really wanted to do and what she felt passionate about. Dr. Robin Jackson felt called to teach and started out as a high school teacher, she then became a middle school administrator, and then put in her resignation instead of accepting a promotion as principal. Even though, it would be a great promotion, she knew she was called to do something else. Dr. Robin Jackson is the founder of an educational consulting firm that helps educators turn their schools into success stories using the resources they already have. She is also the author of 10 books including the best-selling and . She has been sending out a newsletter since 2006, but she wanted to have more intimacy with her audience. She started her in 2018, and discovered she not only had that intimacy and better connection with her audience, but the podcast helped her explain complex topics better and helped better prepare clients for her Builder’s Lab workshop. Robyn is so smart. Her podcast not only offers methods and tips to create better school leaders but better leaders overall. I found this conversation insightful, motivating, and inspiring, and I think you will too. Show Notes: [03:42] Robyn started out as a high school English teacher. She then became a middle school administrator. [04:08] She began to feel that she was called to do something else. She was about to be promoted as principal when she realized she wanted to quit her job and write a book. [05:15] She didn't know how everything would work, but she started a newsletter, Mindsteps Inc. and consulting. She had everything set up by the time she quit her job. [06:07] Robyn had learned a lot working in schools about what to do and what not to do. [06:20] Her work has crystallized with the idea that you can transform your school with the resources and people that you have. [06:37] She created a model for organizational transformation focused on schools. You can transform your teachers. The underlying principles were based on business principles. [08:51] If a school is struggling, it usually starts at the leadership or principal level. Mindsteps needed to help leadership, so that they could truly transform their schools. [09:28] They worked their way backwards from the results they wanted to see with the kids. [10:57] In high school, Robyn realized it was her calling to be a teacher. That's what she was meant to be. [11:31] Different teachers come into your life at different times when you need them. [11:53] In college, an English teacher gave Robyn a copy of Toni Morrison's Beloved, and it was the first time Robyn had read a book by an African American Author. [12:29] She has been blessed to have teachers who show up throughout her academic career and business. [13:35] Robyn has been doing a newsletter since 2006. She felt intimacy was missing. [14:38] She began podcasting to provide intimacy and a deeper experience. [15:41] Podcasting also allowed Robyn to fill a void that she saw in the education space. She wanted her podcast to be educational and transformational. [16:10] The podcast has helped Robyn to develop a deeper relationship with her clients. She can connect more with her audience, because they've been having a conversation every week. It also allows people to understand the work that she is doing in a way that enables them to buy in. [17:10] Listening to the podcast creates primed and ready to work clients. [17:33] The podcast also enables Robyn to reach a wider audience and people who may not necessarily read things like newsletters. [18:28] Robyn shares a story of a Builder's Lab member who came from the podcast and had a huge breakthrough because of the podcast. [20:10] When people listen to your podcast, they become transformed by what you are saying. [21:13] She started thinking about a podcast in 2017, but she didn't have the team. She decided to commit for a year. She then found the PPS team to help kick things off and help with production. [23:29] Robyn defines success on impact and the difference the show makes in people's lives not download numbers. Her focus is to help schools turn into success stories. [25:12] She travels a lot, so needs to take breaks or have seasons. It also helps her focus on a small amount of episodes at a time and then take a break and travel. Educators also have seasons. [26:19] They do a fall season and spring season which corresponds with the educators seasons. [29:06] Your zone of genius is what serves others and truly serves you. Robyn took time to think about what she wanted to do, and she started doing the morning pages. She discovered her dream and was brave enough to follow it. [32:58] She is safer and happier in her zone of genius. [33:48] Mindset is a family business, and their big goal is to have a wider impact and not have everything revolve around Robyn. [36:06] Darrell's takeaways: Get The Big Leap. Listen to your calling and pay attention. Find your zone of genius. Podcast about what brings you joy. Pause and evaluate what you are doing. Journal and think about your zone of genius. Podcasting provides a level of intimacy and professional development that was missing from the written word. It also helps create better prepared clients. Links and Resources: /episode/index/show/propodcasterstories/id/11728787

Raising Kids and Running a Successful Business in Harmony Through the Use of Systems with Rebekah Scott 10/15/2019

Building Business Authority Through Behavioral Economics and Podcasting with Melina Palmer 10/08/2019

Creating a Podcast With the Help of a Strategic Partner with Carrie Allen Tipton 10/01/2019

Creating a Podcast With the Help of a Strategic Partner with Carrie Allen Tipton Carrie Allen Tipton is a writer, editor, lecturer, and academic with a PhD in Musicology, MM in Piano Performance and BME in Music Education. She also served as the Director of the Lecture Series for the Bach Society Houston and too many prestigious academic accomplishments to mention. She is also the host of the Notes on Bach Podcast. A podcast that shares scholarly information about Bach to the general public. We talk about how she got the idea to start her podcast. What shows she was influenced by and her love of radio. Carrie also shares the smart way that she created a proposal for the Bach Society of Houston, so they could form a strategic partnership and sponsor the show from the start. Without financial constraints, she was able to put the time in to produce the quality show she wanted to make. They even helped with promotion and creating a professional logo. Show Notes [03:20] Carrie was doing work for the Bach Society in Houston. She discovered that people enjoyed learning about Bach from scholars, but they had no place to find the information on their own. [04:19] As a music scholar, Carrie knew that there was a whole world of information about Bach that these enthusiasts weren't being exposed to. [04:42] Carrie also discovered how the Ben Franklin's World podcast connects people with scholars that write about the colonial period. Carrie thought this was so cool, and she knew that no one in the music world was doing something like this. [05:17] She approached the Bach Society about sponsoring a podcast that would connect Bach fans with scholarly information. [06:01] She wanted a podcast about musicology. She also wanted the strength of an organization behind it. The Bach society provides funding, helps promote, and even generated a logo for the show. [08:34] Carrie has had a long standing relationship with radio. Radio allowed her to listen to classical music as a child. [09:41] She always loved the mission of public radio, and she had the voice for it. [10:20] When Carrie discovered podcasting, she thought it was people taking radio into their own hands. She knew that was something that she wanted to do. [10:42] She then thought it was worth writing a budget proposal for the Bach Society Houston. [10:57] Carrie writes a lot of articles for the general public about music, culture, history, religion, and the arts. She also does a lot of freelance editing and lecturing. [11:23] 80% of the work that Carrie does have a public facing component, so podcasting fit in beautifully with that. [13:01] Carrie releases episodes according to the academic calendar or artistic year from August to May. [15:01] Nonprofits are always looking for new ways to meet a new audience. A podcast was not a big stretch for the Back Society. [16:36] To educate a potential partner, give them a link to a similar show. For Carrie that was Ben Franklin's World. [17:23] Emphasize how your expertise could be showcased in a podcast and emphasize your background and show communication experience. [19:12] Carrie shares success defining moments like when the Oxford University Press tweeted out a link to her show. Some others have embedded her podcast on their websites. Seeing her numbers grow also represents success. [23:41] To prepare for her show, Carrie will read the book three months in advance. She has an elaborate note taking process. Most of the books on the show are argument driven. She scrutinizes the argument and the evidence. After spending two or three weeks reading the book, she puts it away. She then pulls out her notes and hashes out an interview outline. She gives the guest the outline two weeks before the show. She also asks for feedback. [26:23] She needs to improve technology preparation with the guests. [30:35] Make sure the guest has USB headphones and a quiet room. Don't overwhelm them. [31:41] Carrie uses Trello for keeping organized with her podcast. [35:19] Carrie learned that ideas and thinking are important from her parents. Her dad said that it's good to be a thinker. [36:15] Carrie reads self-help, mysteries, and everything in between. She's currently reading Virgil Wander. [37:42] Her radio songs are late 90s country. [38:47] She likes Dax Shepard's Armchair Expert podcast and the BBC's In Our Time. [40:31] Takeaways from Darrell: She partnered with Bach Society Houston from day one. Carrie was intentional about finding that partner. She presented a strategic vision. Show how you are a content expert, show communication background, and share similar examples. Links and Resources: /episode/index/show/propodcasterstories/id/11452151

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