The Independent Creator's Playbook

Hey friend! Thank you so much for joining me today. I hope you're having a good day wherever you are.

If this is your first time hearing or seeing me, welcome! I'm glad you're here! My name is Aaron Dowd and I'm here to help you learn about podcasting and connect you with other great podcasters in the podcasting community.

If it's been awhile since you heard from me, I'm sorry I've been absent for so long, but thanks for giving me another chance!

If you've been following for more than a couple years, you know I used to host a podcast and YouTube channel called The Podcast Dude. I'm renaming and relaunching that show and calling it Podcasting With Aaron.

First, to share everything I've learned about podcasting so far.

I've been making podcasts and helping people make podcasts for about 8 years now. I don't know everything, but I'd like to share what I have learned, and hopefully it will be helpful to you. Let's learn together!

Second, I want to introduce you to other podcast producers and people working in the podcasting.

I know that it's hard to do things alone, and finding other people who share your enthusiasm for podcasting can be challenging.

Fortunately there's an amazing community of people who are passionate about podcasting, and I think we should all be friends. I want to help facilitate those friendships and make introductions through this show.

That's right: New episodes every Saturday! I know how important it is to have something to look forward to, and a weekly cadence is what I'm committing to.

The format for the show will be simple, to prevent me from overthinking it and procrastinating.

I'm going to record a video for YouTube first, and export the audio from the video to publish in my podcast RSS feed.

I think you'll enjoy the video version the most, but I understand if you like listening in your podcast app better.

I'll try to make sure the audio-only version is just as good as the video version, and include links to anything I show in the video in the podcast show notes.

I'll have a few different segments that I'll be doing regularly:

I'll aim for 15 minute episodes, and try to keep them under 30 minutes unless I'm doing an interview (sometimes it's nice to let those go a little longer). I'll bring an outline and notes, but I'll try not to script it too much.

I'll make sure to have the next week's topic ready and share it at the end of every episode.

I do have a favor to ask: Please leave a comment in YouTube or a review in Apple Podcasts and tell me about yourself and your show.

I'd like to know how you found me, how long you've been listening or watching, and what your podcast is about, and if you have any questions or things you're currently struggling with related to podcasting.

This helps me get to know you a little better which will help me make this show better, but it will also help other people connect with you as well.

And if you have any feedback, suggestions, or encouragement you'd like to share, I'd love to hear those too.

The website for this show is podcastingwithaaron.com, that's where you can find links to my social media accounts and other resources and stuff related to me and this show.

If you have a question you'd like me to answer on the show, record a voice memo and email it to [email protected].

I'd like to dedicate this show to a few people.

To Sofia, for always inspiring me to get better, and to my nephew Silas: I hope this show inspires you to start your own helpful YouTube channel or podcast someday.

And finally, I dedicate this show to you (you reading, watching, or listening). Thank you for joining me and following along. Podcasting is definitely more fun with friends, so I'm thankful you're here.

There's a YouTube channel and a podcast that both inspired me to get back into making videos and podcasts. 

The YouTube channel is Yoga with Adriene, and the podcast is Deep Questions with Cal Newport.

I'm not exaggerating when I say they changed my life this year. They're both made by incredible people and absolutely worth your time.

Next week's topic will be How to Stop Procrastinating and Make a Podcast. This was a question from Chris B. on Twitter, and a topic I have YEARS of experience with. 

If you've been procrastinating on starting a podcast or making new episodes, leave me a comment or send me a message and tell me about it so I can talk about it in next week's episode.

Happy podcasting, and I'll see you next week!

Aaron Dowd 
Granbury, Texas 
December 5, 2020

Juleyka Lantigua-Williams shares her strategy for audience growth and how it's put her shows on the path to reach 1 million downloads by the end of the year.

Here's what I learned in this episode: Audience growth isn't something that magically happens once you start publishing episodes. 

If you want to grow your audience and get more listeners and fans, there's three important questions to ask yourself. These questions are important regardless of how long you've been podcasting.

The three questions are:

1. Who is the ideal listener for my show?

2. What needs do they have that I'm trying to address and fulfill with my show?

3. Where is my ideal listener spending their time and attention, and what's my plan for getting their attention?

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Juleyka Lantigua-Williams is the founder of Lantigua Williams & Co, an audio production company. She describes her role as building teams that make podcasts and films.

So a little more about Juleyka:

Juleyka is the Founder/CEO of Lantigua Williams & Co., an award-winning and Peabody-nominated digital media studio that builds teams that create beautiful experiences in digital audio and film. She is a journalism veteran with 20 years of experience as a writer, reporter, editor, syndicated columnist, book editor/scout, lecturer, and audio producer. Lantigua Williams & Co. produces original shows like Latina to Latina, 70 Million, and Feeling My Flo, and provides tailored consulting and white-label production services for clients that include Macmillan Podcasts, the Phi Beta Kappa Society, WHYY, KQED, and Civil Beat.

Juleyka says she first fell in love with podcasts after hearing Serial. After devouring that show, she became fascinated with the way story-telling techniques were being used in audio. She got the chance to work on Code Switch at NPR, and fell in love with the process of making podcasts.

I met Juleyka last year when Lantigua Williams & Co started using Simplecast for hosting. After several interesting and insightful conversations about podcasting, I asked her if she would be willing to be a guest on my show to talk more about her approach to audience acquisition.

Couple quick things to mention before we get into the interview:

First, Juleyka is hosting a series of webinars about working in podcasting she's calling Podcasting Seriously. If you're interested in getting into working in the podcast industry, or if you'd like to take your podcasting skills to the next level, I'd encourage you to check it out and sign up. Visit https://www.podcastingseriously.com/ to learn more.

Second, we recorded this interview using Squadcast, which dropped the call multiple times. Kind of a bummer, but that's how it goes sometimes. Next time I'll be sure to record locally as well. Luckily I was able to edit the show in a way that the drops aren't noticeable.

Alright, let's get into my conversation about audience acquisition (and more) with Juleyka Lantigua-Williams.

Q: Who is the ideal listener for your show? 

If you're like me, you might answer that question with something slightly vague, like, ”My ideal listener is someone who is interested in making a great podcast.”

That's a decent start, but let's dig deeper. Let's get specific.

So where do you start? What are the fundamentals?

So many people start podcasting before they've identified their show's number one biggest fan. You've probably heard about creating for an ideal listener before, but Juleyka takes the idea to the next level.

Juleyka looks for factual evidence for what she believes is true about her ideal listener, who even has a name and a face (check out the website).

Juleyka's ideal listener even has a name: Kenya.

Why this matters: Knowing your ideal listener gives you a target. It will help guide your decisions as you're planning out your content and pitching the show to advertisers.

If you're thinking about starting a show, answer this question:

"Will my ideal listener listen to this show?"

If you know that she will listen, then pursue the idea.

Once you've figured out who your ideal listener is, start thinking about what their needs are. What podcasts do they listen to and why? What are their needs? How can you make something that addresses those needs?

These can be difficult questions to answer, but if you know a few people who match the profile of your ideal listener, you should ask them which podcasts they listen to, and why. I think you'll find the answers interesting and thought-provoking.

"Once you know who she is, you need to figure out where she is and go there. Where is she? How can I take the show to her?""

Where is your ideal listener spending their time and attention?

Don't wait for them to discover you. Take the show to them.

Juleyka mentioned looking for consumer data about her ideal listener, which is something I've never really looked into getting before. I didn't get a chance to ask her for more details, but here's a link I found on Google that might be a good place to start: Where Can You Buy Big Data? Here Are The Biggest Consumer Data Brokers

Whether you’re an independent creative or someone looking to make a career move to podcasting, this series is for you. With so many excellent 101 resources available about HOW TO podcast, it’s time to take a deeper look at skills and ideas that will take you a step further into podcasting as an industry. Let’s talk, seriously.

Get your tickets now!

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Connect with me at https://www.aarondowd.com, and get more podcast episodes at podcastingwithaaron.com.

Thanks for listening!

Aaron Dowd
July 23, 2020
Fort Worth, Texas

In this episode, Sean and I discuss his new mobile recording setup, the challenges of the paid membership model for podcasts, Spotify's recent moves in podcasting (Joe Rogan, etc), how to grow an audience for a podcast, the best ways to make money with a podcast, what most podcasters get wrong about podcast promotion on social media and what they should do instead, and so much more.

If you'd like to support this show, please share it with a friend, leave a review in Apple Podcasts or your podcast app of choice, or become a paying member of The Podcast News.

Show Links:

Sean's website: seanwes.com

Sean's Mobile Recording setup:

Rode SmartLav Mic

Rode SC6L Lightning Interface

Ferrite (iOS app)

Brusfri Noise Reducer

If you'd like to support this show, please share it with a friend, leave a review in Apple Podcasts or your podcast app of choice, or become a paying member of The Podcast News.

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If this is your first time hearing this show, welcome! You can learn more about the show here: A Podcast About Podcasting, for Podcasters

You can find more episodes, links to cool stuff, and everything else at thepodcastdude.com.

Thanks for listening, and happy podcasting!

My guest today is Steph Colbourn, founder of Edit Audio, a podcast consultation and production company.

In this episode, we discuss how she got into podcast editing and production, how she connects with and on-boards new clients, her process for working with them and helping them be successful, what she's learned about launching and marketing shows, how she manages money and scheduling, why she's optimistic about the future of podcasting, and so much more.

Steph is passionate about creating high-quality podcasts, driven to get more womxn and LGBTQ+ people behind and in front of the mic, and working to ensure more voices are heard and to create media more representative of the world we live in.

Her company, Edit Audio, is a team of womxn working to record, produce, and market high-quality podcasts. She started the company in Toronto in 2012 and quickly expanded into the US and UK markets. Their clients include Harpers Baazar, Stack Overflow, Element AI, Cosmopolitan, If These Ovaries Could Talk, Glossier, Postlight, Tinder, and more.

If you enjoyed this episode, please take a moment to leave a rating and review in Apple Podcasts, or share the episode with a friend. Thank you! 💙