As podcasters, we sometimes joke about people trying to game the system - the "podcast promoter" constantly messaging on LinkedIn, the host buying guest spots on other shows, and more. But the fact is, it's no laughing matter.

Not because people are gaming the system. But because when things go wrong, it could be our clients who take the hit. Their shows could be removed from directories. Their reputations could be tarnished or ruined. They might just want to give up.

We don't want that.

We want our clients to succeed. We want to see their shows grow organically, and it can be done. But if they don't know what to look out for, they could fall victim to someone else's black hat without even knowing it.

Thankfully, Leslie Martin joined us to share his experiences with the dark side of marketing so that we can know EXACTLY how some of these scams work.

You'll discover:

• How Leslie unintentionally got involved with a black hat marketer.
• How the entire system was set up to generate consistent cash flow and keep customers from leaving.
• How the scammer managed to get control of websites so that his customers COULDN"T leave.
• Some of the red flags to look for (hint: one of them is SECRET KNOWLEDGE that NOBODY else knows.)
• The story of three authors, a voice modulator, and more.

Leslie shared some incredible knowledge and insight with us and you won't want to miss this.

About Our Guest

Leslie Martin is a podcast engineer at GreatLand Media and a graduate of Podcast Engineering School. He lives in Anchorage, Alaska and has long had an interest in audio, ranging from old-time radio style audio theater programs, to audiobooks, to music.

Leslie was also the editor of episode 24, with Chris Trew.

Guest Editor

This episode was edited by Bryan Entzminger of Top Tier Audio. He was also on this show, so if he doesn't sound smart, it's his own fault. And he wrote this, so there...

Interested in being a guest on the show?

If you're a podcast editor, we'd love to see if you'd be a fit for a future episode. Fill out this form to let us know you're interested, and we'll contact you to see if it's a good fit.

Resources:

If you found this valuable and want some ideas for how to help your clients market effectively without having to go to some black hat promoter, check out some of our previous episodes:

• Planting Seeds for Your Business: Marketing Challenge Results — PEM0023
• Igniting Success Through Effective Email Newsletters with Tammey Grable-Woodford —PEM017
• Make Yourself Indispensable: Offer Podcast Marketing with Coach Chris Hines — PEM014

Your Yetis Are:

• Daniel Abendroth: https://rothmedia.audio | @rothmedia_audio
• Jennifer Longworth: https://bourbonbarrelpodcasting.com | @KYPodcasting
• Carrie Caulfield-Arick: https://yayapodcasting.com | @thekeldakitty
• Bryan Entzminger: https://toptieraudio.com | @toptieraudio

This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis:

OP3 - https://op3.dev/privacy