PodOn Podcast

On this PodOn episode, TJ and Julian discuss an exciting topic for all podcasters: bringing guests to record. While bringing people in for interviews sounds fun and exciting, there are plenty of things to consider before even reaching out. Start by making sure your possible guests will bring something interesting to the table — and of course, add value to your podcast. Listen now to learn how to choose the perfect guests for your show and make the most out of your time together. TJ and Julian will share some powerful advice to keep your podcast engaging and your audience hooked!

Jump straight into:

(00:46) - Why should you have a guest in the first place? - “The best part of having guests is it keeps your podcast interesting.”

(01:49) - Embracing the mutual benefit of having a guest - “For your guest, it gives them more exposure to their audience.”

(03:02) - How to determine who to have as a guest on your podcast? - “You want to make sure you’re bringing value to the end listener.”

(05:13) - How to correctly approach a potential guest - “Social media is such a great way to connect with like-minded people in the podcast industry.”

(07:42) - The prep talk: how to prepare your guest for the show - “Give a brief overview of what your podcast is and then reiterate the WHY?.”

(09:47)) - How checklists lead to professionalism - “Being as organized as possible is really going to make it comfortable for your guest.”

(11:10) - How to maximise your episode’s exposure - “You should be creating content for every single episode that you’re posting.”

Resources

The Checklist Manifesto by Atul Gawande

Episode 2: Defining Your Audience

PodOn is hosted by TJ Bonaventura and Julian Lewis, founders of the full-service podcast company based in San Francisco, StudioPod. If you want more details on how to fully record and produce your podcast with our services, you can reach us at http://studiopodsf.com, send us an email at [email protected] or contact us through our social media channels as @studiopodsf. Music by GaryOAKland.

On this PodOn episode, TJ and Julian talk about a key step for both scrappy and expert podcasters: planning. Podcasting is booming and everybody wants to start a podcast, but most creators underestimate the amount of work and time it takes to even release the first episode. Experimenting with the format, considering recording time, and sharing information with your guests are some of the key steps you should make before even plugging in the microphone. Listen to today’s episode to learn from TJ and Julian’s expertise in podcast planning.

Jump straight into:

(03:30) - Focus on defining a format and theme for your podcast - ‘Just because the Pod On podcasts are gonna be about the educational format, it doesn't mean we can also have an interview.’

(04:25) - Finding your episode frequency, being consistent, and batch recording - ‘Who says that you have to do it for 52 weeks out of the year... maybe do two months' worth of content.’ 

(08:00) - How long should each episode be and how much time it takes to produce - ‘People want to talk for an hour... And then overtime, you see that they get shorter and shorter because they realize how much time is being invested.’

(09:14) - If your recording is too long, don't cut it short! - ‘They had an awesome interview, they didn't want to cut any of the content because it was too good, so we decided to break it out into two episodes and release them on the same day.’

PodOn is hosted by TJ Bonaventura and Julian Lewis, founders of the full-service podcast company based in San Francisco, StudioPod. If you want more details on how to fully record and produce your podcast with our services, you can reach us at http://studiopodsf.com, send us an email at [email protected] or contact us through our social media channels as @studiopodsf. Music by GaryOAKland.

On this PodOn episode, we chat with Cooper Surles and Ross Stripling from the overnight podcast success, The Big Swing Podcast. From fanboys turned professional interviewers, Cooper and Ross are playing the podcast game right. Remote recording, outsourcing, live events… they’ve done it all! Listen now to learn valuable tips and tricks from their experience and avoid the common mistakes rookie podcasters make. 

Jump straight into:

(02:43) - The Big Swing Story: A podcast success born from passion — “I remember waking up in the morning and asking ‘Are we serious about this?’, and within 48 hours we were announcing it on social media.”

(04:57) - How they defined their podcast and audience from scratch — “We didn't really anticipate how many people would listen.”

(07:41) - Finding balance with your podcast compadre — “I remember thinking we wanted to look like two guys talking about sports.” 

(10:12) - How to stay authentic: should you be cutting content down? - “I think people want to hear Cody Bellinger say ‘uhh…’ and not be perfect all the time.”

(13:49) - How Cooper and Ross found their cadence - “If we are gonna post it soon we stay current and talk about what is going on right now, and if it's not gonna be one we are releasing soon, we keep it kind of broad.”

(16:37) - How they prepare their guests for the show - “Basketball, golf and people in the acting realm, those people want more defined days before they share their contact information.”

(19:08) - The good, the bad and the ugly of podcasting - “Ross didn't sound good, I sounded mad, but we've had the self awareness to take a day and re do it tomorrow.”

(23:39) - On remote recording and how to get the right setup - “The person that is editing... it's a responsibility to listen to the whole thing, just to ensure there is now slip up somewhere or someone's microphone went out.”

(27:42) - Outsourcing audio editing and focusing on your podcast — “I get to a point where I can get couples out in the wild and for me spend the time to do so, but I can't just be editing.”

(30:59) - What to expect when you’re building a podcast — “As far as the podcast itself we never sit down and brainstorm, or a year from now this is our goal, we kinda take it almost week to week.”

(33:54) - How to profit from podcasting — “You can get stats and share those with sponsors and say this is the growth that we are seeing over these 65 episodes.”

(43:21) - Live events: Cooper and Ross in real life — “I just told Cooper, ‘Let’s do it! Let’s explore what it is and let’s pursue it’.”

(48:43) - Their advice for the curious, scrappy podcaster - “The biggest advice I would give is just press record and post it.”

Resources

Big Swing Podcast

The Swing Podcast Facebook Page

Listen to the Swing Podcast

PodOn is hosted by TJ Bonaventura and Julian Lewis, founders of the full-service podcast company based in San Francisco, StudioPod. If you want more details on how...

On this PodOn episode, TJ and Julian chat about a topic that may be overlooked by the majority of new podcasters: defining their audience. Defining an audience is as important as having great content, in the end, what matters is who’s actually listening to what you’re putting out there. Tailoring your episodes around your audience will not only improve your workflow in the production phase but will impact your whole podcast in a positive way in the long term. Check out today’s episode to learn from TJ and Julian’s experience as settled podcasters.

Jump straight into:

(01:12) - How to ensure each episode is going to be built for your audience - “I could help singles and couples with the pain point that they are going through when starting or growing a relationship”.

(01:47) - What ‘defining your audience’ really is - “Hone in on your topic and add value to a particular group of people and they want to learn more”.

(02:25) - How Pod On podcast defined their audience. “They are curious because they want to learn more and perfect their craft of podcasting, and they’re scrappy because they started in their bedroom and want to improve the quality of their episode”.

(04:16) - Reach for quality over quantity - “Often times brands are looking for nano influencers who have engagement rates versus someone who has a huge audience”.

(05:17) - Make sure you are listening to your audience - “Learn who these people are and what types of content they are engaging with”.

(06:15) - Analytics as additional tools to narrow down your niche - “You can start to use those resources to help you identify your audience even further.”

(06:51) - Target your corporate employees if you are interested in doing a podcast of a company - “Think more from the employee perspective versus an executive perspective.”

PodOn is hosted by TJ Bonaventura and Julian Lewis, founders of the full-service podcast company based in San Francisco, StudioPod. If you want more details on how to fully record and produce your podcast with our services, you can reach us at http://studiopodsf.com, send us an email at [email protected] or contact us through our social media channels as @studiopodsf. Music by GaryOAKland.

Welcome to PodOn, the podcast where we share stories from other podcasters and talk with them about the challenges we all face when beginning the podcasting journey. If you are a podcaster, we would love to hear your story and your feedback. If you love this podcast, please subscribe and share it with your friends. 

On this PodOn episode, Julian and TJ talk about a feared yet common phenomenon in the podcasting community, the podfade. Every new podcaster makes the mistake of underestimating the immense amounts of work and time that it takes to really take a podcast to the next level. The podfade doesn’t discriminate, no matter if it’s an indie production or part of a corporate project, it doesn’t take much for even the best podcasts to fade away. Learn TJ and Julian’s tips and tricks to own your time back and focus on your creativity to stay ahead of the curve, not behind it.

Jump straight into:

(00:56) - What does podfading stand for? - “The average podcaster, when they get started, lasts about four to seven episodes before they fade away”.

(01:59) - Quick tactics to prevent the podfade - “What I wish I had done was start to plan and then do all my recordings then I can worry about all the post production work”.

(03:36) - How batch recording and hiring editors can help you stay focused - “When I first got started I definitely underestimated the amount of time an energy it would take to produce a podcast”.

(05:22) - The key is your content: do your research and remember your passion! - “If I was spending all my time recording then I wasn't spending time on relationships”.

(06:55) - Why your podcast won’t thrive unless you are consistent and build your rhythm - “Once you start falling behind it’s going to be harder and harder to catch up and eventually that fade is going to happen”.

PodOn is hosted by TJ Bonaventura and Julian Lewis, founders of the full-service podcast company based in San Francisco, StudioPod. If you want more details on how to fully record and produce your podcast with our services, you can reach us at http://studiopodsf.com, send us an email at [email protected] or contact us through our social media channels as @studiopodsf. Music by GaryOAKland.

Welcome to PodOn, the podcast where we share stories from other podcasters and talk with them about the challenges we all face when beginning the podcasting journey. If you are a podcaster, we would love to hear your story and your feedback. If you love this podcast, please subscribe and share it with your friends. 

With this podcast, we hope to help you understand everything related to defining your podcast's audience, how to choose the right name to your podcast, and many more things. Our mission is to do so in episodes that are 15 minutes or less.

PodOn is hosted by TJ Bonaventura and Julian Lewis, founders of the full-service podcast company based in San Francisco, StudioPod. If you want more details on how to fully record and produce your podcast with our services, you can reach us at http://studiopodsf.com, send us an email at [email protected] or contact us through our social media channels as @studiopodsf. Music by GaryOAKland.