Arroe Collins Pod-Crashing

Pod-Crashing Episode 63
Remember when the only thing you heard on podcasts were comedians, political talkers, bloggers wanting to share their voice and hardworking deeply dedicated creative minds that somehow couldn’t land a job in radio.
Gotta be honest with ya. I don’t know how I got to stay on that tower as long as I did. I was extremely tired of babysitting a radio show mixed by the heavily programmed computer. We’d spend four to six hours a shift sitting in the studio preparing for three to four breaks.
Once voice tracking took over it was a completely different story. Listeners thought we were on the air when in reality many radio people were in the production room generating revenue for the sales department.
Today it’s even more distant. For some radio companies it’s become the game plan to have one talent in fifteen or more cities at a time. The closest thing you’re gonna get to local radio is the receptionist.
Podcasting has had its fair share of evolutions as well. From those early days of free spirit and frolicking around to a new age of the most brilliant authors and journalists delivering podcast seasons that keep you glued to those speakers like a longtime Howard Stern fan.
Jo Piazza is one of them. A bestselling author, award-winning journalist and digital strategist. She’s the author of seven critically acclaimed books, both fiction and non-fiction which have been translated into more than ten languages.
A former editor and columnist with Yahoo, Current TV and the New York Daily News, her work has also appeared in the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, New York magazine, Glamour, Elle and so many more.
Her Podcast is Fierce: Stories of Women Who Changed the World - The stories she shares tell listeners how much the past matters.
What happens when an entire category of change makers are overlooked? Fierce sheds much-needed light on the fierce women that history has undervalued. The award-winning journalist tells the story of one historical figure's life while connecting her legacy to a modern woman standing on her shoulders today.

Pod-Crashing Episode 62
Every day new podcasters leap onto the platform seeking out better ways to share their journeys. Being educational to just having fun, you don’t need a concrete building with a huge tower behind it to be heard.
When we first started out with Pod-Crashing the goal was to help open imaginations by way of showcasing tips of the trade. Rather than assuming that you could hold you head above water, it was my goal to help bring people into the open sea with a vision of always reaching for quality over just banging it out.
Part of that process is introducing you to other Podcasters. Unlike radio and television the people doing this vocal thing are the most down to earth creative minds you’ll meet. Learning new tricks and talking about it with you is just part of what we do. It makes our community that much stronger.
Casper Ter Kuile carries a lot of creative tools with him every place he travels. He’s a researcher at Harvard Divinity School and the co-founder of Sacred Design Lab. Plus he’s one half of the team that created the extremely popular podcast “Harry Potter and the Sacred Text” You’ve gotta love their motto: Reading fiction doesn’t help us escape the world, it helps us live in it.

Pod-Crashing Episode 61: Keeping It Local With Pete Kaliner

Podcasts are no different than snowflakes. There are no two the same. They may resemble each other. The same intensions at hand. Probably the same listening audience. It’s still impossible to call them the same.
Making each podcast unique are the captains running the ship. Their visions. Ambitions. Connections and reactions. All four play a huge role in shaping the final stages of how you want your podcast to grow.
I prefer to stay completely away from local issues and sales probably because when I first leaped into this circle of podcast love, the pioneers leading the way in 2012 were hooked on how far we could reach without putting focus the local street.
I was told to stop acting like a radio station.
I still pick up on that vibe with the enormous amount of Podcast promoters doing all they can to score your business. Every letter and conversation clearly states how important it is to reach. They promise more new listeners, more sharing and longer term impact.
Then I bump into fans and followers of Matt Burton from Lincolnton, NC and Pete Kaliner from Asheville. Both are super serving local. Matt with Hometown Radio and Pete with statewide politics. Which he believes is extremely important during these days of the massive numbers of those reaching.
Both Matt and Pete capitalize on being local by giving their advertisers an opportunity to move product. Whereas my advertisers rely on promo codes and other methods of attracting listeners several hundred miles from the storefront.

Pod-Crashing Episode 60 with NFL Star And More Jack Brewer
Wow. 60 episodes of this podcast deep. The main mission still engaged in the way of inviting everyone to their own platform. Your own voice. Difference and growth moving forward. To understand the importance of being heard while making your experiences part of the lessons required to keep us level headed on the streets.
Level Headed is Jack Brewers podcast. He’s also learned how to utilize his energy in multiple places of reach. Podcasting is only part of the process of connection. His commitment to people has led his journey to FoxNews.com and beyond. Which is why it’s so important to go to where you voice will be heard then push it beyond the harvest.

Pod-Crashing Episode 59: My Conversation With Comedian Todd Riley
Not all funny people are built the same. Which is why you can’t hit a comedy club once a year. The stories, the laughter, the multiple layers of performance style, some meant to be improv others well-rehearsed and timed out.
That being said not all comedians instantly stopped their careers twelve years ago during the Rogan and Maron birthing years and took up Podcasting or YouTube videos.
Covid-19 has though changed a lot of funny folks around. It first started out as trying to feed the beast demanding the stage to now it’s more of a deeper more enriched connection with not only fans and followers of the comedic walk but a new connection with listeners living vicariously through the daily struggles of the everyday unwritten chapter.
I’ve always wondered how many times a comedian is asked, “Hey got a podcast yet?” Over the past eight years of my experience the answer they’ve shot back has been, “Nope. Podcasting is too far along and I don’t have the time or energy to catch up.”
Then it happened. The world of entertainment stopped. Covid-19 became the evil empire in law that is still camping out within your fortress.
When I first started the podcast Play It Forward back in March of 2020, I reached out to comedian Todd Riley because I truly wanted to hear about this new world without a live crowd. He has evolved from never doing a podcasting to thinking about it. The first week of June 2020 and he’s got five episodes posted and growing.
Like the pain in the ass I am I wanted more of the story. I love swapping tricks of the trade. I just happen to record the conversations then blast it up to the International Space Station and back.

Pod-Crashing Episode 58 My Conversation with Melissa Rivers
Planted firmly inside the four walls of Storic Media Podcast Networks, "Melissa Rivers' Group Text," wastes no time unveiling its vast array of discussions fed by the energy of current events, pop culture, fashion, lifestyle, relationships, fitness, parenting, entertainment, mental health, and more.
The podcast was totally inspired by the daily group chats Melissa was having with her friends.
Both Melissa and Storic agree that "Melissa Rivers' Group Text Podcast" speaks the street when it comes to connecting with fans and followers.
Melissa’s not afraid to reach for the punch line or dive into mental health, ageism, COVID-19, and other complex topics. Calling it the perfect medium for the 21st century.

Pod-Crashing Episode 57 My Conversation with Bobbi Brown

When I first came up with the plan to layout a series of episodes dedicated to Podcasting, I truly didn’t have any mission other than to find my own focus. I figured if I wrote about this new age shape of broadcasting I’d learn something from the enormous amount of content available.
While collecting notebooks of pen scratches and listening to every professional share their points of direction, the weekly goal was to be a movie style critic for podcasting. Yeah ok that didn’t happen. I don’t have what it takes to form an opinion about other people’s art.
To me it is an art! It’s a blizzard white canvas hung on digital walls and millions of people from around the world stop in to check out your gallery. That’s it! I host episodes about what it’s like to manage my verbal picture collection.
In doing so I began to share incredible conversations with other well-known podcasters. But I would never post them as part of Pod-Crashing. The fear of running out of a good idea. You can’t develop a podcast with only half of the plan in action. I waited and waited until one day I finally took note of the pretty long list of podcasters that have been collected. And the list keeps getting longer.
This week my conversation is with Bobbi Brown.
Bobbi Brown is one of the most renowned names in beauty. But who is the real Bobbi Brown, and what can we all learn from her? The legendary makeup artist walked away from the billion-dollar beauty brand she founded and hasn't stopped creating since. She's a NY Times bestselling author, a certified health coach, and a serial entrepreneur, but her insatiable curiosity doesn't stop there. In Beyond The Beauty, Bobbi Brown enlists top-notch experts across the fields of makeup, wellness, fashion and entrepreneurship, along with her closest friends and family-all in search of the real meaning of beauty.

Pod-Crashing Episode 56 A Conversation With Dani Shapiro

Her podcast is Family Secrets. An extremely relatable title. When it comes to family secrets we all have them. And while the discovery of family secrets can initially be terrifying or traumatic, often these discoveries have the power to liberate, heal, and even uplift us.
Dani Shapiro is the bestselling author of the memoir Inheritance. Her guests explore their astonishing family secrets and uncover the extraordinary lessons that truth can teach us.
Listen and subscribe on the iHeartRadio app, Apple podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.

Pod-Crashing Episode 55: Conversation with Podcast Magazine Creator Steve Olsher
When I first got into podcasting in 2012 the days of being recognized as a communicator weren't bleak but a lot of top dogs in terrestrial radio weren't on board. I saw it as a great place to take radio station clients. It was no longer about purchasing 30 second commercials. Two clients bit into my vision to begin a process of sharing their stories. But I didn't know what I was doing. I was spoiled by the army of people who kept radio together and all I had to do was step up the microphone and do a four hour show. Podcasting came with a different set of expectations. The main being a little thing called where am I going to find listeners? Radio station consultants saw what I was trying to craft but it was always described as being that little thing that Arroe is participating with. Every episode was trial and error. Move the hands of time up to 2020 and now we have Podcast magazine. Not a training magazine for those performing the digital magic but as huge opportunity for podcast listeners to locate quality driven performances. That's another main issue. Listeners don't know where to look. You can leap over to Apple Podcast, iHeart Radio, Google or Podbean but unless you know what to look for most listeners end up sampling a podcast only to be delivered a rotten tomato. The creator of Podcast Magazine is Steve Olsher. His vision is totally organic and self-paced. Everybody seems to want to build a project then quickly capitalize on making a profit. Not so true with Steve. Develop the monthly magazine first by building up the readers. This truly is meant for podcast fans and followers that really get into the likes of Ronan Farrow to Marc Maron, Joe Rogan and countless others still waiting to be located. Steve is offering a brilliant first step to a brand new beginning to offering lifetime members to the magazine. Once inside that's where the connection begins.

Pod-Crashing Episode 54: Unknown Universe
Is the new movement becoming more vibrant? The project being podcasting. According to Edison Research’s Senior VP Tom Webster, “Podcast listeners have spent the past two months checking into episodes for 6.5 hours a week.”
Wait wait hold on. Before we pull out the party bus and champagne, we need to look at the larger picture.
The past two months have been February and March 2020. We were just getting into the Coronavirus experience. According to Tom, a lot of decision makers and podcast performers were expecting larger listening habits but the shutdown is proving to put performers on a different path.
Compared to January 2020 there’ve been no changes. Listeners were still checking in at 6.5 hours per week.
The biggest change is when listeners were getting locked into the episodes. On a normal business day it was during the commute or while at work or school. Being shut in at home totally took away that one on one alone time between the hosts and passenger.
So what’s changed with podcasting? The biggest audience grabbers. Leading the pack right now are news driven podcasts crammed with endless content about the virus and how to survive in an ever changing community. According to Edison Research News features are up 25% to 39% over the past two months.
Also checking in with a bigger following are podcasts that lean on religion, self-help and philosophy.
Sport shows not so much. Those that are getting the hits have redesigned their layout in the way of bringing forward more stories about the athletes and less about building a better game.
Even NPR has seen a 4% drop in listeners but maintain their strict policy of staying true to the format of each episode being no longer than ten to fifteen minutes. According to Ana Grundman her audience knows how much time they’ve got available and having such programming fits into stay at home cluttered day.
If you’re just getting into podcasting this is something to keep close to your heart. Adopting that shorter format and staying true to who and what your listeners are doing during the shutdown is speaking their street. It’s something they can not only relate with but grow with.
Knowing that there are no long drawn out commutes means listeners puts you ahead of the curve in the way of showing respect to your followers by way of recognizing the house the full of kids, the spouse is doing business in the kitchen while the others in a guest bedroom are trying to keep their head above the company expectations.
On a personal experience level. I saw a slight rise in listenership in April 2020. Mainly because of the huge drop I was experiencing a month earlier. I didn’t drop podcast episodes but I reconditioned them in the way of making them more about what the globe was experiencing.
Like Edison Research mentioned, shows that were religious based, self-help or philosophy were gaining in strength. The way I moved around that on the other podcasts was to make small shifts in my conversation format with artists, authors and actors. Don’t be afraid to talk about reality.
I also began an entirely new series called Play It Forward which puts a ton of attention on everyone in the entertainment industry affected but not infected by the Coronavirus. Plus, on my podcast Creativity The Addiction I began to reword how I described what creativity is. It’s not just artist thing but a huge part of our business world. Nothing gets done without creativity. Being shut down with no work doesn’t mean you can’t still feed that beast. If you don’t you’re setting yourself up for a hard hit of anxiety, depression, guilt and shame.
My biggest worry is Coronavirus burnout. How far do we as podcasters go before listeners start seeking a more up tempo escape?
Let’s look into this. The deeper we get into this shut down while experiencing several attempts at rebuilding the business world, in the end the employee is still gonna be the one taking the financial hit.
Meaning… How long can the average person hold onto their internet connection? Those endless date plans on the smart phone are awesome when you can afford to pay the bill. How hard will the impact be on podcasting if internet use takes a dump?
I can hear the experts now. Not going to happen. We live by being digitally connected. If people are having a tough time paying the rent two months in a row, how much longer before they drop what they love most. That content connection?
This is where NPR and iHeart Radio win big. They know they’ve got an empire of podcast followers that are amazingly faithful. Both companies also have terrestrial radio. It’s free. Will always be free. I’m not saying they’ll do it but they’ve got the stage to bring those podcasts forward to that hardcore fan base.
So what’s the moral of the story? Embrace for the change. Listening habits are on the move. Stay closely tuned to how your listeners are living life without having to jump the shark, or drop the podcast.
Being aware is your biggest tool. Maybe it’s time we learn from the people of fame and begin a new process of doing live shows on Instagram and Facebook. The goal should always be to re-engage.